October 15-19

I am very sad.  I had the wrong dates and  this will be Ms. Yurek's last week in our classroom.  She has done an amazing job in first grade and we wish her the best as she transitions into a 4th grade class.  I have encouraged the students to write letters or make cards that we could present her with on Friday.  We will celebrate her time with us on Friday the 19th with a class party.  If you would like to include a note of encouragement, I know it would mean a lot to her.

We have a lady bringing in an owl and hawk from the Birds of Prey on Wednesday.  This is always and exciting day for the children.  We will be learning facts about owls, creating a pastel art drawing, writing what we have learned and disecting owl pellets this week. 

We have completed our 2nd Unit in reading.  I will be sending home ALL of their books off their bookring this week.  If your child has brought in a shoebox, they will decorate it to keep their books in at home.  This will be their "Shoebox Library".  I encourage you to keep all the books at the end of each unit to review.  This gives them books that they can read independently.  When we complete a unit, I will send home the books rubber banded together.

Our math skills for the remainder of this quarter is still focusing on counting to 120, reading and writing the numbers and identifying greater and less than numbers.  We are also focusing on all the combinations that make 10 and problem solving.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Parent Teacher Conferences October 24th and 25th.  I only have 15 minutes with each family to review your child's progress.  Please respect other families by being on time and prepared with any questions you may have.  If we need more time to cover any specific concerns, we may need to schedule another conference time.  There will be no school on Friday, October 26th.

Our Halloween Party will be on Wednesday, October 31st. I will allow the children to change into their costumes after PE (1:00)  we will begin around 1:15.  Please let me know if you would like to help with the food and games.

October 8-12

It's getting chilly!  I think fall has finally arrived.  It is my favorite season.  Be sure to send jackets to school with your children.  It is helpful to write their name on the label in case they leave it outside.  Fall brings lots of fun activities into our classroom.  We will be learning about spiders, nocturnal animals, pumpkins and Columbus...and that's just this month!  I can sure use some extra adults in the room. If you can volunteer once a week it would help us through this busy month.

Thursday is picture day!  Please send in your payment (if you are planning on purchasing them) before Thursday.  Everyone will get photographed, so be sure your child has on a clean shirt, has brushed their teeth and hair and is wearing a smile!  Those missing front teeth are too adorable to miss.

I hope Homework BINGO is working out for you and your child. First graders should only spend 10 minutes a night doing homework.  Choose one activity that your child needs the extra practice on and work on it together.  Many of the activities you can do while you are out and about.  The key skills for homework is spelling, reading and math. 

We will be getting a visit from the Middleton Fire Department this Friday.  We are so grateful that they take time to come and visit with the students about fire safety.  I know as a parent this is one thing that I would not have discussed with my children if it had not been for the schools.  Please take time to discuss a safe exit route and meeting place...and don't forget to check those smoke detectors!

I believe we have a family getting the class pumpkins!  Thank you to Mrs. Sargent for her connections and generosity.  We are still in need of some owl pellets. I will be checking with some other resources, but if you have owls in your yard, please  begin collecting them for us.  We will be getting a visit from a live owl (Birds of Prey) next week and would love to follow up with dissecting owl pellets.  The kids love this hands on activity!

October 1-5

I was so excited to see all the cookie dough orders come in today!  Thank you for your support.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

This is a short week.  There is no school Thursday and Friday due to teacher in service.  We will be learning more about our new state common core standards.  I am excited at how this will enhance my teaching. 

I am sending home a BINGO homework sheet.  The spelling words will be continued into next week because of the short week, so your child will have extra time to practice.  Please make sure your child is returning their bookring every day.  We use these daily for our silent reading time and those without them do not have anything to read.

If you have not checked Family Access to see your child's progress this year, please take time to do so.  If you do not have Internet access, let me know so I can send home a copy of their progress report. 

By the end of First quarter your child should be able to:

• read 13 words per minute
• know 42 sight words
• count objects 120
• write numbers to 30
• compare and order numbers to 30
• find parts of ten
• all letters written correctly
• use of capitals, punctuation and spacing when writing sentences

First grade teachers are wanting several owl pellets for our students to explore.  If you have any owls nesting nearby and you would be willing to collect them, our students would love the experience of finding bones.  We will be having a live owl visit this month!   I am also looking for any parents who have connections to a class supply of pumpkins, my connection has fallen through this year.  Please let me know if you can help in either of these areas.

I am still uncertain of what our first grade team is doing for Halloween.  I will let you know as soon as possible so that you can plan costumes accordingly. I will be contacting parents who signed up at Open House to help plan and organize the party once I have confirmation of what we are doing as a grade level.

October kicks off our Book It program sponsored by Pizza Hut.  To qualify, students must read 15 minutes 5 times a week.  Log the days they read on the calendar provided.  I do not require you to track minutes, just mark the days your child reads.  Return the calendar at the end of the month to receive a FREE personal pan pizza coupon.  This promotion goes from October through March.  Those that participate each month will be invited to a class Pizza Party in April.  I will provide a reading calendar each month.