November 19 -- newsletter

Mrs. Smith’s Class       November 19, 2010

 A peek at our week

In reading, we are working on sequencing a story.  We have ordered events from stories using story cards and in our reading response journals.  We have been learning about the l blends, such as in the word “black.”  We have been sorting pictures by their sounds and writing words with l blends in them.  In writing, we have begun work on our personal narrative.  A personal narrative is a true story about one event.  Personal narratives usually are told in the first person, using “I.”  In math, we are finishing our geometry unit and we are learning about solid figures.  The solid figures we are learning about are cube, cone, sphere and cylinder.

Specials Schedule 

Monday (11/22)– Spanish and integrated studies	Tuesday (11/23)-  computer	Monday (11/29) – music gym and library
Tuesday – music and gym	Wednesday – art	Thursday – library Friday – Spanish and integrated studies

Upcoming Events

November 24, 25, 26 – No school

December 3 – Wilmore spirit Friday (wear your Wilmore shirt!)

No Homework

There will be no homework next week due to Thanksgiving break.  The next homework packet will be due Dec. 3.  Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday!

Homework Pass

Yeah!  We filled up another SMART chart.  For this SMART chart reward, your child earned a Homework Pass.  Your child’s Homework Pass is in your child’s folder today.  The Homework Pass allows your child to not do homework that week.  Your child can choose when they want to use their homework pass.  When you want to use the Homework Pass, put it in the “Homework” section of the STAR folder.  Even when you use the Homework Pass, your child will still have to take Friday’s spelling test, so study those words!  Each child will only be given one homework pass, so keep it in a safe place so it won’t be lost.

Food Drive

Wilmore Elementary is sponsoring a food drive.  We would love it if you could send food for the food drive (and coats and toys).  The first pick-up for the food drive is next week so they can try to get some food to people for Thanksgiving.  The big pick-up will be the first full week we're in school in December so they can make the boxes to give people for Christmas.  Ms. Carlola is using our donations to make a "mountain" in the front hallway in front of the trophy case.  Thanks for supporting us in showing our students how important it is to give.

November 12 -- newsletter

Mrs. Smith’s Class       November 12, 2010

 A peek at our week

We are working on making connections to what we read to help us understand what we are reading better.  In writing, we are working on using interesting words when we write, such as “pleasant,” “beautiful” and “amazing.”  We are working on writing descriptively.  We are also working on reading and writing short u words.  In math, we are learning about solid figures (cylinder, rectangular prism, cube, sphere).

Specials Schedule 

Monday – computer	Tuesday-  music, gym and library	Wednesday – gym and music
Thursday – art	Friday – library

Upcoming Events

November 11 – wear red, white or blue to support veterans

November 19 – Team Spirit Friday (wear a shirt to show your support of your favorite team, ie. UK or WJHS, etc.) 

November 24, 25, 26 – No school

December 3 – Wilmore spirit Friday

Team Spirit Friday and Wilmore pride Friday

As a school, we have decided to dedicate the first Friday of the month to Wilmore pride day.  On the first Friday of the month, please have your child wear any Wilmore Elementary School shirts that they have.  I understand that most first graders do not have Wilmore Elementary school shirts, yet.  We are hoping to collect orders soon.  The third Friday of every month is team spirit Friday and your child can wear a shirt that supports any team they like (WJHS, UK, etc.).  These Fridays are just a fun way to show our spirit.  They are not mandatory and there is no pressure.

Food Drive

Wilmore Elementary is sponsoring a food drive.  We would love it if you could send food for the food drive (and coats and toys).  The first pick-up for the food drive is next week so they can try to get some food to people for Thanksgiving.  The big pick-up will be the first full week we're in school in December so they can make the boxes to give people for Christmas.  Ms. Carolola is using our donations to make a "mountain" in the front hallway in front of the trophy case.  Thanks for supporting us in showing our students how important it is to give.

November 5 -- Newsletter

Mrs. Smith’s Class       November 5, 2010

 A peek at our week:

This week, we have been learning about the sound of “sh” and “th.”  We have also been practicing finding the main idea and details in books we read.  We have written the main idea and details in our Reading Response Journals this week.  In writing, we are working on “word choice.”  In other words, we are trying to use more descriptive words to make our writing better.  We have been looking for interesting words in books we have read and have made “word collectors.”    In theme, we have begun our study of the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.  In math, we are learning to describe plane shapes (circles, triangles, rectangles, etc.) by how many sides and corners they have.

Specials Schedule 

Monday – library, music and gym	Tuesday-  gym and music	Wednesday – art
Thursday – library	Friday – Spanish and integrated studies

Upcoming Events

November 11 – wear red, white or blue to support veterans

November 24, 25, 26 – No school

Lost and Found

We have a Canon lens cover that was found at the field trip to Bi-water farm.  It was found outside of the corn maze.  Also, I have a clear plastic container with a blue lid left from the fall party.  If either of these items are yours, please write me a note and I will send the item home with your child.

Water Bottles

We are collecting used (but clean) water bottles for a project at school.  If you have any clear, disposable, empty water bottles please send them to school.  Individual soft drink bottles with a screw on lid would work, too.  We need these by November 11 if you have any water bottles to donate.

October 29 newsletter

Mrs. Smith’s Class             October 29, 2010

A peek at our week:

What a busy week – pictures, a great field trip, a tornado drill, a half day and a fall party!  We have been practicing finding the main ideas and details in non-fiction books.  We have also been writing a paragraph that starts with the main idea sentence and has multiple detail sentences.  We have been learning about the season of fall.  We measured and counted using the pumpkins we got from the pumpkin patch and then painted our pumpkins. In math, we are finishing our unit on subtraction and will begin a unit on geometry next week.

Specials Schedule 

Monday – library	Tuesday – no school	Wednesday – Spanish and integrated studies
Thursday -- computer	Friday – library, music and gym

Upcoming Events

November 2 – No school

November 3 – Art to Remember due

November 9 – book order due

Art to Remember

You should have received an Art to Remember packet yesterday with your child’s artwork on a magnet.  If you want, you may purchase the magnet included in the packet for $5.  There are other items available for purchase, also.  If you do not want to purchase a magnet (or anything else), please leave the entire packet (including the magnet) in your child’s folder.  I will remove all Art to Remember packets on Monday and I will assume you do not want to purchase anything if it is blank on Monday.   

pumpkin party

Our fall party will be Friday, October 29 at 1:45. Your child can wear a costume to school that day. Please make sure your child's costume is not scary and the children will not be allowed to wear masks.

Mrs. Smith’s Class October 15, 2010
A peek at our week:
This week, we have practiced the short o sound, like in fox. We are learning to identify the main idea and details in nonfiction books. I am so impressed with how well our students can identify the main idea! We are learning to write “how to” pieces and wrote how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and how to grow a pumpkin. In math, we are learning about subtraction. We are beginning by relating addition to subtraction. We have practiced finding the missing parts of a whole number. For example, we have 7 blocks total and 3 are outside of the bag. How many block are inside the bag? We have also practiced making fact families. Fact families are using three numbers in different subtraction and addition problemsn and finding the relationship between these numbers. For example, 3, 4 and 7 can be 3 + 4 = 7, 4+3=7, 7-4=3 and 7-3=4.

Specials Schedule
Monday – gym and music and library Tuesday – gym and music Wednesday – art
Thursday – library Friday – Spanish and integrated studies

Upcoming Events
October 22 – report cards come home
October 26 – field trip to Bi-water pumpkin patch
October 27 – early dismissal at 11:45
October 28 – school pictures

Penny War
Mrs. Stratton’s class is leading Wilmore Elementary School in a penny war. The proceeds will go to help cancer patients. All pennies that go in the first grade bucket count positively for us. All silver coins or dollars in the first grade bucket are subtracted from our total. We can put silver coins or dollars in any other grade level’s bucket, subtracting from their total. We want to put all pennies in our first grade bucket. The grade level who wins receives a reward. If you want to send in pennies, coins, or dollars, please send them in a bag marked with your student’s name and “Penny War” marked on the bag.

Money and notes
Please put money in an envelope with your child’s name and the purpose of the money. Checks for lunch money are fine without an envelope as long as you write “lunch money” in the “for” line. When I am going through folders in the morning, I pull out all notes and do not always remember to write names on the items I pull out of the folders.

October 1

Mrs. Smith’s Class October 1, 2010
A peek at our week:
This week, we have reviewed some important word wall words and talked about some reading strategies. We have learned about “checking for understanding.” This strategy is to stop after reading each page and tell what happened. We also learned about “cross checking” which means thinking about if the word you read makes sense, looks right and sounds right. In math, we learned about story problems and we took a test on addition. HAVE A GREAT FALL BREAK!

Specials Schedule
Monday – gym and music Tuesday – art Wednesday – library
Thursday – Spanish and integrated studies Friday – computer

Upcoming Events
October 4-8 – Fall Break
October 22 – report cards come home
October 27 – early dismissal at 11:45
October 28 – school pictures

Homework
Don’t forget to fill out the reading log every week! It is OK to put chapters or page numbers instead of books. Also, remember that I would like for students to read 15 minutes each night. Please be sure to ask questions about what your student reads to you. Example questions: What is your favorite part? What do you think will happen next? Does that remind you of a different book? What does this story make you think of?

Reminders
1. Please sign and return the blue “Learning Agreement” if you have not done so already.
2. If you have not scheduled a conference, please do so as soon as possible. I am looking forward to meeting with you.
3. We try to go outside (for at least a little bit) even in cold weather. Please send coats for cooler weather.