newsletter September 2

A peek at our week:

This week, we have learned to “read to others.”  During this time, the students pick a partner and read to each other.  The students take turns reading and checking for understanding.  They have also learned to “coach” their partners when they come to a word they do not know.  In reading, we have been learning about short a words.  We have also been learning about the word families –ack, -ag, and –at.  In math, we are working on counting using ten frames, counting on and simple addition. 

Grandparents’ Lunch

Unfortunately, I will be out on September 8 for some doctor’s appointments.  I am so disappointed to miss getting to meet our grandparents.  Don’t forget, if grandparents are unable to come, please feel free to send a “substitute.”

Upcoming Events

Sept. 6 – fundraiser is due

Sept. 8 – first grade grandparents are invited to join us for lunch from 11:10-11:35

***please plan to be there 5-10 minutes early

Spelling Words: pin, win, hit, sit, miss, kiss, sad, map, be, ride

Bonus Words: September, autumn

August 26 newsletter

Mrs. Smith’s Class       August 26, 2010

A peek at our week

We are settling into a routine.  This week, we have learned about the short a families of –at and –an.  We have sorted pictures and words and practiced writing these words.  Also, we are working on metacognition. This means that we use what we read in a book plus our own thinking to create real reading.   We are finishing our “All about me” unit and I am very excited for you to view your student’s work at our “Parent Information Night.”

Clothespins

We use clothespins as our warning system.  Students get three clothespins each day and every time I give a reminder I take a clothespin.  I do this because it is a visual clue for me and the students about how many warnings the students have had.  This system has helped a lot with behavior.  My advice is to not worry about warning clips.  They are truly the children’s warnings and expecting children to keep them all day every day is unrealistic.  My goal is for the students to learn from the reminders they are given and not repeat the behavior.  When they aren’t learning from their warnings, their color is changed.  That is reported to you in the STAR folder.

Parent Information Night

I hope you can make it for our parent information night on September 1.  This night is designed to help you to know what we do in school, why we do it and how you can help at home.  I plan to show you in pictures what our day consists of.  Please come prepared with questions you may have about homework, spelling tests, reading logs, etc.

There is more information on the back!

Smart Charts

Woo hoo!  We have filled up our 3^rd smart chart.  When our entire class gets caught doing something right, we get a smart sticker on our chart.  When we fill up our smart chart, we get our name announced on the morning announcement and a small reward (such as a pencil or a picnic for lunch).

Grandparents Lunch

Our grandparents lunch is coming up on September 8 from 11:10 until 11:35.  I understand that some grandparents will not be able to attend.  If that is the case, you are welcome to have another adult (ie. Mother, father, aunt, friend) come to lunch that day as a “substitute” grandparent.

Upcoming Events

Sept. 1 – First grade parent orientation meeting (6:30-7:30)

Sept. 6 – fundraiser is due

Sept. 8 – first grade grandparents are invited to join us for lunch from 11:10-11:35

Spelling Words:

dad, sad, back, nap, tap, sack, man, mat, too, over

Bonus Words: 

because, think

no lunch numbers

I did not send the lunch numbers home to practice because the cafeteria staff told me the numbers might be changing.  Have a great weekend!

newsletter August 19

A peek at our week:

We have had a wonderful week.  We have been learning “All about me.”  We have been talking about what makes us special and our roles in our families.  We will continue this unit next week.  We are learning to choose just right books.  We are also practicing being independent readers and writers.

Lunch numbers

Your child’s lunch number is on the attached paper.  Please practice the lunch number at home!

Upcoming Events

Sept. 1 – First grade parent orientation meeting (6:30-7:30)

*note:  the time was wrong on the behavior calendar, this is the correct time

Sept. 8 – grandparents lunch are invited to join us for lunch from 11:10-11:35

First Spelling Test

Your child will have their first spelling test on Friday, August 26.  We will start a reading log and monthly homework next week along with our weekly spelling test.  Here are our words for next week’s spelling test:

man, hat, ran, cat, mat, can, up, down, jump, not

bonus words:  fantastic, gnat

August 12 newsletter

Thank you

Thank you for sending in school supplies.  It is great to have new crayons and pencils!  Also, thanks for sending in items on the wish list.  I also enjoyed reading what you have written about your students on the student information sheet.  I find this so helpful in getting to know your child and how they learn best.

Off to a great start…

We have already gotten off to an amazing start.  We are learning the school rules and our classroom rules and procedures.  We are also trying to fit in some fun activities every day that you will see at our parent learning night.  I am looking forward to working with you to make this a successful year.  I feel very blessed to work with such great families and children.  

Upcoming Events

Sept. 1 – First grade parent orientation meeting (6:30-7:30)

Sept. 5 – no school

Sept.  8 – Grandparents lunch (we would love for grandparents to join us for lunch from 11:10-11:35)

Blog

I have posted this newsletter on the blog.  The blog address is www.wilmorefirstgrade.blogspot.com  

Homework

We will be starting homework gradually.  There will be no homework due next week.  Our first spelling test will be August 26 and the spelling words will be in next week’s newsletter (August 19).  We will begin our monthly homework and our reading log August 29.