Update May 28th

*No School on Monday, May 29th- Memorial Day

*This Wednesday, May 31st is Field Day (rain date June 1st.)  Students will be outside for long period of time today.   Please put sunscreen on before coming to school.   They may bring sunscreen and bug spray into school-labeled with their name to reapply if needed.  I would recommend sending students in with a hat and/or sunglasses.  Every student should bring a reusable water bottle with their name on it to school for Field Day.

*This Friday will be my last day of school before maternity leave.  That is, if I haven't left yet (I wrote this blog last week!)  I have loved having your children in my class this year.  They have all grown in many areas: academically and socially throughout the school year. Thank you for sharing a piece of them with me this year.  Mary McCabe will take over for the remainder of the school year.  She can be reached via email at mmccabe@westfordk12.us.  

*On Friday, students will enjoy a School Wide Dance Party.  This dance party is to celebrate the great success of our Race for Education Fundraiser from the beginning of the school year.

*During Science, students will have the opportunity to explore more information about the Sun, Moon and Stars.  They will explore books and share interesting information with their classmates.

*In Math, students will construct 3D Shapes and spend time working on their number scrolls and math journals.

*We will begin reading books by Leo Lionni.  Leo Lionni writes children's books about friendship skills.

Update May 21st

*The students will be working hard this week to prepare for our Excellence Fair on Friday at 2:15pm.  They are very proud of the work they picked out to highlight their strengths in first grade.  When you come into the classroom on Friday, I'll ask that you visit with your own child and view their work.  Also, I'll leave sticky notes and pens on the reading table so you and your child can view other student's work and leave them "notes" of praise.  If you or another adult are not able to come on Friday, please send me an email ahead of time.  We look forward to seeing you then!

*On Monday, we will have a short assembly about water safety put on by the Goldfish Swim School.  

*Tuesday is our last School Store of the school year.  I recommend sending no more than $1-$2.

*On Friday, we will have a Memorial Day Assembly at 9:30.  We are extending a welcome to any heroes of the military, police or fire  to join us for this assembly.  Friday will also be a USA Spirit Day at Robinson.  Students may dress in patriotic clothing (red, white, blue.)

*Excellence Fair at 2:15pm on Friday!

*We will have another busy week at school (thankfully cooler than last week!)  Please remember to send water bottles into school with students.  It can get very hot in our classrooms and we take frequent water breaks.  Students are able to refill water bottles in the classroom using the faucet or in the cafeteria using our water filling station.  

*Over the next week, we will be finishing up big concepts and assessing student's knowledge in different areas.  Take a peek at last week's blog to see more information about what the class will be engaged in after this week.  There is still plenty of work for them to do!

*We will finish our last math lesson on Monday.  This lesson is about equal shares.  The remainder of the week in math will be spent on assessing student's math knowledge on the End of Year Math Assessment.  This assessment is quite lengthy, however I expect the students will be very successful in sharing their math knowledge.  Due to the length of the assessment, we will take three days to administer it, so students are not feeling too much stress over it.

*We'll finish our study of the Sun, Moon and Stars by learning about Stars this week!  We will go on a stargazing trip in class.

*Most students have finished up their Non-Fiction Books and are so proud of their work.  Everyone will have time to finish up this week.

*This is our last week for weekly spelling words.  Students will have their last spelling check-in on Friday!

Looking Ahead:

Monday, May 29th- No School

Wednesday- May 31st- Field Day

Friday, June 2nd- Mrs. Conway's Last Day

Update May 13th

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope everyone enjoys their mother's day tomorrow.  Thank you for all you do to make your children successful in life, school and friendships.

*This Monday and Tuesday we will have early lunch at 11:05 to accommodate the 2nd graders presentation of "Day in Ghana."   We will have snack in the afternoon.

*This Thursday, May 18th is a 12:20pm Early Release.  We will have snack at school, but not lunch.  Please send a note if there is a change in dismissal.

*We will be busy over the next two weeks finishing Non-Fiction Writing (pond animals) and preparing for the Excellence Fair.  Please remember that the excellence fair is Friday, May 26th at 2:15pm.  We do ask that you make arrangements for siblings for this event so that your first grader can be the Star for the day.  If you (or someone else) is unable to attend the Excellence Fair, please send me an email at cconway@westfordk12.us so I can arrange for an adult from Robinson to come into class that afternoon.  An invitation with more details will go home Monday.

*We will complete Unit 9 of Everyday Math this week.  Our focus this week will be on reviewing 2-digit addition and subtraction, place value and 3D Shapes.  Starting next week we'll begin our End of Year Math Assessment.  

*For the final time this year, students will write the 100 Power Words that we've been working on in spelling all week.  I'm excited to see the growth students have made during this school year!  We will write the 100 words over the course of 3 days this week.

*In Science, our focus this week is on the moon: how the moon rises and the phases of the moon.

*Last week a note from Mr. LaCoste went home about the end of the school year.  My last day before maternity leave in Friday, June 2nd.  Last week students were introduced to Mary McCabe, who will fill in for the last 13 days of school.  Mrs. McCabe works in the 2nd grade as a teaching assistant and is excited about working with your children for the end of the year.  Most concepts, lessons, skills and assessments will be completed before I leave on June 2nd, in order for me to complete grades before I leave.  The students will be engaged in a number of learning opportunities and experiences after I leave including:

*Daily 5 each day- with some still working in reading groups

*Math Centers each day- including math games, Dreambox, finishing up math journals and number scrolls.

*Social Studies- American Symbols.  Students will be learn about five American Symbols (Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, American Flag, Bald Eagle and the White House.)  They will complete fun projects for each American symbol.

*Writing- reviewing narrative writing skills.

*Handwriting- working on review pages.

*First Grade Spirit Days-more details coming!

Looking Ahead:

Thursday, May 18th- 12:20pm Early Release

Tuesday, May 23rd- School Store (last of the year)

Friday, May 26th- Excellence Fair 2:15pm

Monday, May 29th- No School (Memorial Day)

Wednesday, May 31st- Field Day

Wednesday, June 21st- 12:20 Early Release- Last Day of School

Update May 8th

*Thank you for coming into school on Friday to see our first grade play.  I was so proud of all of the students work-everyone sounded great!

*Two weeks ago, we began a pom pom jar in our classroom.  Students and the class as a whole earned pom poms for showing 2nd grade behavior.  We quickly filled up the pom pom jar and the students were able to vote on a class reward.  This Tuesday, May 9th, students may bring in a stuffed animal from home to spend the day at school.  Please only send one stuffed animal.  I have extra stuffed animals at school if anyone forgets one on Tuesday.  I will also send a reminder home on Monday.

*On Wednesday, teachers will be participating in placing students in their classes for next school year.  To accommodate the time needed for these meetings, our recess/lunch schedule has changed for the day.  We will have lunch at 11:05 (typically we eat at 12:45.)  Therefore, we will have snack in the afternoon instead of the morning.

*On Friday, students will walk to Crisafulli for our last meeting of the year with our 4th Grade Book Buddies.  Students will read books and spend some time playing together on the playground.  Please dress students for the weather.

*If you haven't come in to be a Mystery Reader this year and would like to read a book to the class, please send me an email at cconway@westfordk12.us.  We can set up a time within the next few weeks to have you come in to read!

*In Science, we will continue our discussion of the number of hours of daylight throughout the year.  We'll also discuss "where is the moon in the sky."  Students will learn about the moon’s path across the sky in one night and observe a calendar to show the moon’s shape at different times of the month. 

*In Math, our focus will be on addition and subtraction including 2 digit addition and adding 3 numbers together.