Update June 2nd

*Thank you for coming into school on Friday for the Excellence Fair.  It was so great to see how proud and excited the kids were to show you their hard work from this year.  I'm so grateful to see such incredible progress in first grade.  Grade one can be a challenging year, most students learn to read in first grade, but is it so rewarding to see their pride at the end of the school year.  I've enjoyed working with all of your kids and learning about your families this year.  I hope you will stay in touch throughout the years.  My first class is graduating from Westford Academy this year- it sure goes by fast!

*On Tuesday, the 5th grade chorus from Crisafulli will come to perform for the kindergarten, pre-1st and first grade students.  This is always a treat!

*On Wednesday, we have a speaker coming to school to present "The Secret of Kindness."

*We will begin to learn about American Symbols over the next two weeks.  We will talk about what a symbol is and learn about the White House, Bald Eagle, Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty and the American Flag.

*In Math, we will finish up learning about coins (counting collections of coins.)  We will also play math games to reinforce math concepts.

*We will finish up our Father's Day projects this week too.

*This will be the last week for spelling homework.  I will no longer be sending home math homework for the year.

Looking Ahead:

Monday, June 10^th- Art Day

      We will celebrate Art today!  During the day, we will participate in fun and exciting art projects in our classroom. 

Tuesday, June 11^th - Game Day

      Bring your favorite board game or card game from home.  Remember to put your name on your game.  We will share our games with friends throughout the day.  Please do NOT bring electronic games into school. 

Wednesday, June 12^th  – Book & Blanket Day

      Bring a towel or blanket and your favorite book to school!  We will enjoy the beautiful weather and cozy up with a great book in the front lawn.  Please also wear sunscreen!

Thursday, June 13^th - Movie Day

     Please bring an extra snack to school to munch on during our feature presentation!

Friday, June 14^th - Red, White and Blue Day & Move Up Day

       Wear your favorite red, white and blue clothes to celebrate Flag Day!  We will also participate in Move-Up Day. Students will meet their teacher and classmates for next school year.

Monday, June 17^th   - Last Day of School- 12:20 Dismissal

      We will have a pizza party to celebrate the end of the school year.  Please send in $2 if your child is going to buy pizza.  If they are not buying pizza, please send a snack.

Update May 27th

*Excellence Fair is coming up this Friday, May 31st from 2:15-2:45pm.  We are inviting parents to come into school at 2:15pm to view your child's work from first grade.    During the Excellence Fair, you will have a chance to view your child's work and the other student's work as well.  We ask that you make plans for siblings during this time, so the first graders can shine!  The fair will end at 2:45 in order for parents to clear the parking lot for dismissal to begin. Please email me if you or another adult is not able to come to the Excellence Fair.  I will have a sign out dismissal form in my classroom if you would like to take your child home at the end.  They are very excited to share with your their excellent work!

*This week in Math, we will be taking three days to complete the End of Year Math Assessment (check-in.) These assessments will be passed on to your child's 2nd grade teacher and be used to help determine students that would benefit from additional math support in 2nd grade.

*We will also use our Weekend News to assess student's progress in writing this year.   Students will be able to use writing check-lists and students dictionaries to edit their work.

*During our last full week of school, we will be doing fun activities.  We will end with a pizza party on the last day of school.  I will be sending home more information on our End of Year Spirit Days this week.

Looking Ahead:

May 31st- Excellence Fair (parents invited, no siblings please) 2:15-2:45pm

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

Update May 17th

*This Wednesday, May 22nd is Field Day!  We will spend part of the morning and part of the afternoon outside participating in fun games and activities.  Students decorated shirts this week to wear to Field Day.  When they come to school on Wednesday, they will change into their shirt.  I would encourage shorts or athletic pants depending on the weather.  Everyone should wear sneakers and sunscreen and bug spray if needed.  Sunscreen and bug spray need to be applied at home before coming to school.  Please also send students to school with a water bottle that is labeled with their name.

*On Friday morning, Nancy from the JV Fletcher Library will come in to talk about their Summer Reading Program.  If your family hasn't participated in the Summer Reading Program, it's a great way to continue reading throughout the summer and earn some great prizes!

*In Math, we will finish Unit 9.  We will continue to review concepts we've learned this year.  An area we continue to need support in is telling time on an analog clock.  Students should be able to tell and make times on the hour and half hour.  Students are having some difficulty when creating times.  They need reminders about the hour hand being short and minute hand long.  Also when creating half past times, the hour hand must be between two numbers.  This would be great to practice at home!

*We will be writing the 100 Power Words for the final time this year over the course of the week.  I am also beginning to assess student's reading levels.  I'm amazed at all of the growth the class has made in reading (accuracy, fluency and comprehension) this year!  We will continue to read in groups and send home books to read at home.

*Excellence Fair is coming up next Friday, May 31st from 2:15-2:45pm.  We are inviting parents to come into school at 2:15pm to view your child's work from first grade.  Over the next two weeks, students will choose pieces of work they are proud of and they believe shows Excellence.  During the Excellence Fair, you will have a chance to view your child's work and the other student's work as well.  We ask that you make plans for siblings during this time, so the first graders can shine!  The fair will end at 2:45 in order for parents to clear the parking lot for dismissal to begin. 

Looking Ahead:

May 22nd- Field Day 

May 27- No School, Memorial Day

May 31st- Excellence Fair (parents invited, no siblings please) 2:15-2:45pm

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

Update May 5th

*This Tuesday, 7th is School Store for First Grade.  This will be our last School Store of this school year. 

*This Tuesday, May 7th is also a 12:20pm Early Release.  We will have snack at school but not lunch.  Please send a note if your child has a change in dismissal.

*On Friday afternoon, the Starlab from the Museum of Science will be coming in with an inflatable planetarium.  We will have a chance to learn more to go along with our Science unit about the Sun, Moon and Stars.

*This week is Science, we will focus on the pattern the sun takes each day.  We will also focus on the change of seasons and the track the number of hours of sunlight in each season.

*In Math, we are about to begin our final unit.  Unit 9 is a review unit.  On Monday, I will pre-assess students using the Unit 9 assessment to have a better understanding on what math concepts we still need to work on. I will use the data to create math groups for the final unit and create my lessons based on the student's skills.  We are also focusing on learning about coins.  Students have learned to identify pennies, nickels and dimes and know their value.

*In Writing, the students have finished researching and making notes on their pond animal's babies, food preferences and habitat.  This week, they will begin to write their final product.  Students will work on writing complete sentences, starting with capitals and ending with periods.  They will also use their personal dictionaries to edit spelling.

Looking Ahead:

May 17th- Book Buddies at Crisafulli

May 22nd- Field Day (volunteers needed)

May 27- No School, Memorial Day

May 31st- Excellence Fair (parents invited, no siblings please) 2:15-2:45pm

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

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)