Update April 26th

*This Tuesday, April 30th the first graders will be presenting "Under the Sea" for parents at 2:00pm. The students have been working very hard to prepare and are excited to perform for all of you.  On Tuesday, they need to wear blue or jean shorts or pants.  They also should wear a blue, green and white t-shirt.  I suggest short sleeves or sleeveless as it can get hot up on the stage.

After the performance, you can come back to our classroom to greet your child.  If you would like to take your child home at the end of the performance, I will have a dismissal check-out paper in the classroom.  You can sign them out there.  Please send me an email if you or someone from your family is not able to come to the performance.

*In Math, we will finish Unit 8.  Our focus this week will be on working with a number grid and creating shapes.

*In Writing, we will continue researching and writing information about our pond animals. Students did a great job last week learning about their animal's babies and habitats.  Our focus this week will be on the food our animals eat and interesting facts.

*In Science, we will begin our unit exploring the Sun, Moon and Stars.  This week our focus will be on the objects that we can see in the sky during the day and at night.  We will also learn about the path of the sun in the sky throughout the day.

Looking Ahead-

May 7th- 12:20pm Early Release

May 17th- Book Buddies at Crisafulli

May 22nd- Field Day (volunteers needed)

May 27- No School, Memorial Day

May 31st- Excellence Fair (parents invited!) 2:15-2:45pm

June 17th- Tentative Last Day, 12:20pm Early Release

Update April 12th

*I hope everyone enjoys their time over April Vacation.  We will not be in school April 15-19th.  We'll return on Monday, April 22nd.

*Tuesday, April 23rd, we will first grade School Store.

*On Friday, our 4th Grade Book Buddies will come down to Robinson to meet and read with us.

*In Writing, students choose the pond animal they would like to research.  We will begin to research and write notes about our pond animals.

*In Math, we will continue divide shapes in half and fourths.  We will also practice telling time to the half hour.

*In Reading, we will continue to answer comprehension questions in our response journal.  At this point, students will begin to create their own sentence starters for answering questions.  We have begun to use words in the question to start our response.  For example:

Question- What was the author's message in the book?

Sentence Starter for answer:  The author's message was...

*In Social Studies, we will make a map of our desks.  Students will be asked to incorporate all of the concepts we've learned about map making: compass rose, bird's eye view and map keys.

*We will be busy this week with rehearsals for our first grade show, Under the Sea.

Looking Ahead:

Tuesday, April 30th 1st Grade Show, "Under the Sea" at 2pm

May 16th- Early Release

May 22nd- Field Day

May 27th- No School, Memorial Day

May 31st 2:15-2:45pm 1st Grade Excellence Fair

Update April 5th

*This Monday, April 8th we will travel to the Day School to attend the Living Lab.  We will be leaving Robinson at 9:25 and returning at 11:00.  Please dress students for the weather, as we may be outside.

*In Math, we will continue to work on geometry concepts.  This week, we will learn the name of and build with 3D Shapes.  We will also construct bigger shapes with smaller shapes.

*In Social Studies, we will learn about and use map keys.

*In Writing, we will begin our study of non-fiction writing.  Students will choose a topic to research and begin writing their own information text.  The class will choose a pond animal to research, including beavers, crayfish, mallard ducks, geese and snapping turtles.

*We will begin to rehearse for our First Grade Musical Performance, "Under the Sea."  Parents are invited to join us for the performance on Tuesday, April 30th at 2:00pm.

Looking Ahead:

No School, April 15-19

1st Grade School Store, April 23rd

Book Buddies, April 26th

1st Grade Musical, April 30th at 2:00pm (families invited)

1st Grade Excellence Fair, May 31st 2:15-2:45pm (parents invited)

Update March 31st

*Students can bring in their Famous Person Projects any day this week.  We will present to the class throughout this week and next, if needed.  This is always my favorite presentation of the year.  I love to learn about people the students love, respect and think so highly of.

*This Wednesday, April 3rd is a 12:20pm Early Release.  We will not have lunch at school, but we will have snack in the morning.

*On Thursday morning, we will welcome a special guest speaker to our Community Meeting. Becca Pizzi will be speaking to our school community, and will share her message of believing in yourself, hard work, determination, perseverance, and excellence. During her presentation, Becca shares a simple question that has helped her to create a life she loves and to break two world records- WHY NOT ME? Below is a link to Becca's Ted Talk from last July.

About Becca:

She was the first American female to run the World Marathon Challenge in 2016 - 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, and then went back to do it all again in world record time in 2018. Her current goal is to complete a marathon in all 50 states and to run the Kona Ironman. She lives in Belmont, MA with her husband Joe and ​daughter Taylor. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Becca is the first American female to run the World Marathon Challenge in 2016- 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, and this year, she made history by running it again and breaking the World Record; 6 Days, 7 Hours and 58 minutes. Her current goal is to complete a marathon in all 50 states and someday take on Kona Ironman. She is also a business owner and has a job managing Moozy’s Ice Cream shop. Becca is 38 years old and lives in Belmont MA with her husband Joe and 10-year-old daughter Taylor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbry1Bmyl48

*Next Monday, April 8th we will travel to the Living Lab at the Day School for our final trip.  We will leave Robinson around 9:25 and return at 11:00.  I am looking for a parent volunteer to join us.   You can either ride the bus with us or meet us at the Day School.  Please let me know if you are available.

*In Math, we will begin Unit 8. Our focus this week will be on constructing polygons and making equal shares (half and fourth.)

*In Writing, we will continue to work on editing our weekend news.  This week, our focus will be on adding transition words and finding the first word of every sentence.

*In Social Studies, our focus will be on finding the similarities and differences of compasses and compass roses.

Looking Ahead:

April 8th-Living Lab at the Day School

April Vacation- No School April 15-19

April 23rd- School Store

April 26th- Book Buddies

April 30th- 1st Grade Performance (I will send out the exact time when I know. Performance is near the end of the school day.)

Update March 22nd

Reminder:

Monday, March 25th- No School Parent/Teacher Conferences starting at 2:00pm.

Tuesday, March 26th- 2 Hour Delay. Parent/Teacher Conferences starting at 8:45am.  We will have lunch and snack on Tuesday.

*There will be no spelling list this week since it is a short week.  The students have been working so hard learning and retaining each week's spelling words.  I'm really pleased with their progress.

*We did not get to see our Book Buddies last week due to the weather.  The fourth graders wrote us letters last week.  This week we will write a friendly letter back to our Book Buddies.

*Mr. Middlemiss will come to our classroom this week to read the next Care To Read book titled, One Day House by Julia Durango.  This book will focus on the word "Responsibility."

*In Social Studies we will finish learning about famous Americans.  The final famous American is Ruby Bridges.  On Tuesday, I will be sending home a Famous Person project for students to complete at home.  Students will think about someone they know (a person from their own life) that they think possess the same character traits as the famous Americans we have learned about.  Projects will be due back any day the following week (April 1-5.)

*We will also begin our Social Studies unit about Maps & Globes this week.

*In Math, we will finish up Unit 7 of Everyday Math.  We only have two more units to teach before the end of the year.

Donations: Any donations would be so appreciated!

*Dry Erase Markers (black, thin is best!)

*Stickers

*Fun Colored Markers

Update March 17th

*We will attend the Book Fair this Wednesday, March 20th at 10:30.  Students can purchase books during this time or create a wishlist.  The book fair will be open during parent/teacher conferences next week.

*On Friday, we will see the 2nd graders perform their Spring play.  It's always fun to see other students perform.

*Last week, the class filled their pom pom jar again.  They voted on having a Game Day in our classroom.  On Friday we will have a game day during our Math block. Students are welcome to bring in board games/card games from home to play with other classmates.  Please do not bring in games that are electronic.  Also, please put names on games.  

*Last week, we began editing our weekend news.  This week, we will edit and re-write our weekend news.  I'll share this week's edition of weekend news with parents next week at conferences.

*In reading groups, we will focus on making connections with the text we read.  We will make connections to our lives, other books or movies we've experienced.

*In Social Studies we will learn about Martin Luther King Jr and Neil Armstrong.

*In Math, our focus will be on addition and shape attributes.  We will also learn about function machines to find rules and patterns in addition and subtraction.

*In Writing, we will finish up our unit on Opinion Writing.  I look forward to sharing opinion letters with you at conferences.

Looking Ahead:

Monday, March 25th- No School 2-8pm Parent/Teacher Conferences

Tuesday, March 26th- 2 Hour Delay 8:15-10:30 Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, April 3rd- 12:20pm Early Release

Update March 6th

We have been having fun with our Read Across America spirit days! On Thursday, we will combine crazy sock and hat day. On Friday, students can dress as their favorite book character.

*Family Literacy Night is this Thursday, March 7th at Crisafulli.  If you're attending with your family, I hope you have fun!

*The Online Sign-Up for parent teacher conferences will go live at 3:30PM this Friday. Conferences will take place from 2-8pm on Monday, March 25th and 8:15-10:30am on Tuesday, March 26th. The link will go live for sign up on Friday, at 3:30pm. http://signup.com/go/vEveSOG

*Tuesday, March 12th is School Store for 1st Grade.

Thursday, March 15th- 12:20pm Early Release

There will be no lunch served.  We will have snack in the morning.

*On Friday, March 15th, we will walk to Crisafulli to visit our 4th Grade Book Buddies.  Please dress for the weather, snow boots are a great idea for the trail.

*In Writing, we will begin using an editing checklist to edit our Weekend News.  Students will focus on adding punctuation to the end of sentences.

*In Math, our focus is on fact families.  We will use dominoes and fact triangles to find the two addition facts and two subtraction facts that are in the family.  For example:

5, 3, 8

5+3=8

3+5=8

8-3=5

8-5=3

*We will continue learning about famous Americans.  Our focus will be on Martin Luther King Jr.

Looking Ahead:

Friday, March 8th and Monday, March 11th- I will be taking personal time these two days.  My family, along with my in-laws, are taking a quick weekend trip to Disney.  Mrs. Carvalho, a substitute the students know well, will be filling in during my absence.  Please remind students to show expected behavior.  Thanks!

Monday, March 25th- No School 2-8pm Parent/Teacher Conferences

Tuesday, March 26th- 2 Hour Delay 8:15-10:30 Parent/Teacher Conferences