Update September 30th

*On Friday, we practiced our first ALICE Drill.  During our first drill, we evacuated and the second drill, the students barricading the door and were ready to counter.  I was incredibly proud of all of the students.  Everyone remained calm, worked together and showed great leadership.  You should all be very proud of your kiddos!

*Last week, the class filled up our classroom "expected behavior" pom pom jar for the 2nd TIME!  The class voted to get a class fish.  I was able to fund a fish, tank and all of the accessories through a grant from "Pets in the Classroom." Our class fish will spend its first day in Room 3 tomorrow.  We will vote on the fish' name as a class tomorrow!

*On Monday, the first graders will meet to learn more about our upcoming service learning project to the Westford Food Pantry.  Students will learn about the problem and find out their roles in helping collect food for the pantry.

*On Tuesday, we will visit the Westford Food Pantry with Mrs. Mannone and Miss Dean's classes.  We will survey the shelves and make list of items the food pantry needs.  We will bring the list of items back to our school community and ask all students to join us in collecting food items.  In a few weeks, Mrs. Capobianco and Mrs. Carvalho's classes will go to the food pantry to stock the shelves!

*Wednesday is Picture Day!  It is recommended that students avoid wearing green, as they will stand in front of a green screen for photos!  We don't want any floating heads!

*Looking Ahead: Monday, October 8th (Columbus Day) and Tuesday, October 9th (Professional Development) there is NO SCHOOL.

*Reading Groups are now in full swing!  Students will come home with books to read a couple times a week.  Please read at home, sign off on the reading log and return the next day.

*In spelling this week, we will focus on words with short a, o and u.

*In Math, we will focus on subtraction number models, tally marks, combinations of 10 and addition.

*In Science, we will learn more about the differences in animal and human senses.  Last week, we were able to observe roots growing on seeds and students planted their seeds in soil.

*In Writing, we are learning about the importance of using periods at the end of sentences.  At this point, we're expecting to see students experimenting with periods. 

Update September 24th

*Happy Fall!*

*Starting this week is Spelling Homework.  On Monday, students will receive their spelling list as well as a Spelling Tic Tac Toe.  Students will have activities to choose from to practice their words two nights this week.  New activities are shared each week to work on spelling words.  If you find an activity that works well for your child but isn't on that week's list, please do it!! We will also practice these words in class this week.  On Friday, we will have a spelling check-in.  

*In math we will finish up Unit 1.  We will check student's learning with a math assessment on Monday.  Unit 2 will start on Tuesday.  Our focuses this week are:
*counting on (starting at 5 to count up 3 more)
*turn around facts (1+2=3 so 2+1=3)
*2 Fisted Penny Addition (combos of 10)

*In Daily Five, we continue to practice Read to Self, Read to Someone and Work on Writing.  We will introduce Work on Words this week.  Students will learn strategies to practice their spelling words at school.  We will begin reading groups this week during Read to Self. 


*We will travel to the Cameron Senior Center on Tuesday, October 2nd (11:30-12:30) to visit the Westford Food Pantry. Our class will join Mrs. Mannone & Miss Dean's classes to survey the food pantry shelves.  Students will write list of food and supplies the food pantry needs.  A master list will be used to ask our school community to donate food and supplies.  Please return permission slips to school.  I will be in touch if you are chosen to chaperone the trip.

Looking Ahead:
October 8th- No School, Columbus Day
October 9th- No School, Professional Development for Teachers & Staff

Update September 15th

*On Monday, we will travel by bus to the Day School to visit the Living Lab.  We will leave at 9:20am and return just after 11:00am.  Our focus at Living Lab will be how living things use their body parts and the comparing plants.  Please dress for the outside weather as we will explore the Reed Brook during our visit.

*I hope to see many of you on Monday night (September 17th) from 6-6:45pm for Back to School Night.  We will quickly chat about curriculum and spend time learning about important information for all parents to know.  Please note, this session is for parents/guardians only (no students) in order to discuss what to expect in first grade.

*Starting this week, students will be taking books out of the Library during their weekly visits.  Please be sure to send books back to school each Monday so your child can take out another book.

*On Friday, we will be walking through the Robifulli trail to Crisafulli to meet our 4th grade Book Buddies from Mrs. Boyle's class.  Each month, we will visit our Book Buddies.  We will get to know them and enjoy reading activities together.  Again, please dress student's for the weather.  We will be a Crisafulli from 10-11am.

*September 21st is International Day of Peace.  We hope you enjoy our display of peaceful pinwheels outside when you arrive for Curriculum Night on Monday.

*Students will have a writing ideas homework assignment this week that will be due back to school on Friday.  The paperwork and information about this will go home on Monday.  We will be using these ideas for writing throughout the school year.  Please continue to send it sticky notes on Mondays to help students remember what they did over the weekend. Every Monday, we will write about our weekend and share with our classmates.  Some students get stuck on what to write about and having a reminder from home will be helpful.

*Our Focus in Math This Week:

*data collection

*counting by 1s and 5s

*exploring math materials

*solving simple number stories

*counting larger numbers

*In Science this week, we will explore how animal's body parts help them.  Students will see how animals use their fur, blubber or feathers to keep them stay warm.  

*We will continue building the components of the Daily 5.  Students are building their stamina in Read to Self and Work on Writing.  We will introduce Read to Someone and Work on Words this week.

*In Writing, we will discuss what to do when you think you're done with a piece of writing and how to continue a story.  We will also explore how you can use known words to spell tricky words.

Update September 8th

*On Friday, our class filled our Pom Pom Jar for the first time this year.  Students earned pom poms individually or by whole class expected behaviors.  Pom poms were earned for pushing in chairs, cleaning up quickly and quietly, walking through the halls in a safe way or showing expected behavior.  The class voted on a prize for filling the jar and have decided to have a "Bring Your Stuffed Animal to School Day" this Tuesday, September 11th.  They should bring one stuffed animal from home and it should be small enough to fit in their backpack.  Please help me in congratulating them on a great start to first grade!

**Last week, we began our routine of doing "Weekend News Writing." Each Monday, students will write about something they did over the weekend.  Often times, students forget what they did over the weekend.  Please recap your weekend with your child on Sunday night or before school on Monday.  If it's helpful for your child, write a sticky note with a couple of ideas to bring to school.

**We will continue to introduce the components of Daily 5.  Last week students worked on building their Read to Self reading stamina.  This week, we will introduce Work on Writing and finding I-Pick Books.  I-Pick Books are books that students feel they can read on their own and are of interest to them.

**We will continue our Science Unit- Plants and Animal Parts.  This week, we will find similarities between offspring and their parents.  

**In Math, we will focus on 1-more, 1-Less Number Stories, Comparing and Ordering Numbers and Introducing Tally Marks.  We will also learn the rules of some important math games.

**Our classroom tends to get warm throughout the day.  We take frequent water breaks to fuel our bodies.  Please consider sending your child to school each day with a refillable water bottle.

**We have been working on learning the I-Care Rules in our class.  All teachers at Robinson follow the I-Care Rules.  Students will see these same rules when they visit other classrooms: in the gym, art room, etc.  This week students will be working on an I-Care Rules homework called, Caught Using the I-Care Rules.  Students will be tasked with noticing friends and family members using the I-Care Rules.  This homework will be sent home on Monday and need to be returned by Friday.

Looking Ahead

**Grade One Back to School Night is Monday, September 17 from 6:00-6:45pm. 

These sessions will be for parents and guardians only. This will allow much needed time for teachers to focus on curriculum topics and for parents to ask questions. I hope to greet many of you as I discuss the first grade curriculum.