Week of December 12, 2016

Thank you for taking time out of your schedules and coming to our First Grade Winter Sing!  The students did an excellent job singing and reciting their lines!  Can you tell that they love Rudolph (with the “surprises”)?  

In the spirit of “Hour of Code” the students played a couple coding games on Code.org with Miss Pugliese (Our school STEAM teacher).  The students played the Moana game and the Frozen game.  It’s free access to all, so if your child is interested, they can navigate through the games at home.

We had a successful field trip to see the play, The Elves and The Shoemaker.  The students did a good job sitting nicely for the show.

Friday is our class Holiday Party!  The party will be from 10:50-11:50 and will include a pizza lunch.  Thank you for signing up to help out with the fun.   Please see our Shutterfly Shares Site for signing up to volunteer for the party.  Students can wear their pajamas to school on Friday, but please make sure they are wearing regular shoes for recess.

There is no homework or Spelling for next week and over the Winter Break.   I will send home the next homework packet in January 2017! However, please continue to practice reading 20 minutes a day.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Week of December 5, 2016

We had a very busy week!

Monday we had a great assembly with Steve Seskin.  The songwriter of the song and story, Don’t Laugh At Me.  The book was shared with us on Tuesday for our Cornerstone lesson with Mrs. Kasenchak and Mrs. Dupree.  Wednesday we had a YSI (Youth Science Institute) Presentation on Insects and Arthropods.  We learned about their body parts and their life cycle.  We saw some live insects too, including a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Stink Bug, Golden Knee Tarantula, and a Vinegaroon.

Friday, December 9th, the first graders will sing as a gift to you.  The show will begin at 2:10 prompt in the cafeteria.  Students can wear their Holiday outfit for the performance.  If your child wishes, they may wear a Santa hat.  Please no reindeer antlers, bells, or hats that would obstruct the view of another child.  I hope you can make it!

If you would like to contribute to the One Warm Coat Drive, the AV Student Council will be accepting gently used coats and jackets next week in the cafeteria (before school), December 5-12. Thank you for your consideration to help others.

Thank you to all our classroom helpers this week!  Thank you!!

Enjoy a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm so impressed with our students!  We made a Thanksgiving card for our families today and a few wrote in different languages.  

Have a wonderful week!

Week of November 28, 2016

I first want to thank you for the many emails I received in concern of my son, Andreas.  He fell at school and we thought he might have broken his hand but the x-ray came out clean.  He's a little sore but on the mend. Thank you for your thoughts and well wishes. 

I’m attaching the Grandparent Interview, just in case you need it.

I did not send home homework lesson #13 today, I will send it home on Monday 11/28.  We will start Bonus Words next week.  I will post them in the Bear Print Newsletter.  I would really like students to focus on the list words first and foremost.  If they have the list words down they can practice the Bonus. 

Monday we will have an author visit from Steve Seskin.  He wrote the book, Don’t Laugh At Me.  

Tuesday we will have a Cornerstone lesson with Mrs. Kasenchak and Mrs. Dupree.  The book this month happens to be Don’t Laugh At Me. 

Wednesday we will have an in class YSI presentation on Insects and Arthropods.

Friday, December 9th, the first graders will sing as a gift to you.  The show will begin at 2:00 in the cafeteria.  

Thank you to all our classroom helpers this week in and out of the classroom! 

I hope you and your family will have a great Thanksgiving break.  

Week of November 14, 2016

It has been great meeting with all of you during parent-teacher conferences.  Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to meet with me.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any further questions or concerns.

Today, I sent home homework #12.  Don’t worry if you didn’t return #11 today, you can turn it in on Monday.

On Monday, the hearing bus will be here for a screening.

Next week I will send home the Grandparent (Or older friend/relative) Interview project.  This is to see how times have changed or stayed the same.  If you need an extra copy, it will be on our First Grade Information Page.

As a reminder there is no school tomorrow for Veteran’s Day (11/11).

Have a great weekend.

Week of November 7, 2016

In Math, we are focusing finding the numbers that make 10 first and then adding the rest.

It has been nice meeting with you for our conferences. We will continue conferences and early dismissal time at 1:15 through Thursday. There is no school on Friday in observance of Veteran’s Day.

Your child may turn in their homework packet #11 early on Thursday or later on Monday. I will send home the next packet #12 on Thursday November 10th.

Save the date! Our First Grade Holiday Sing will be on Friday, December 9th at 2:00 pm. We will sing holiday songs for our families!

Remember that Daylight Savings Time ends. Hopefully, you got to enjoy an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning!

Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers this week!

Week of October 31, 2016

What a great party we had in class today! A huge thanks to all of our parent helpers who organized such a wonderful Halloween party with centers & treats. The class enjoyed themselves very much. Smiles all around. :)

Thank you to our parent helpers this week in and out of the classroom! We appreciate you!!

Monday, October 31st is a staff work day so no school for students. Hope you can enjoy some Halloween fun with your child.

Friday, November 4th is picture retakes.

The next two weeks students will be dismissed at 1:15 for Parent Teacher Conferences. Here is our schedule: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084ea4ad28a7f49-mrs

I hope you enjoy a fun Halloween weekend with your children.

Week of October 24, 2016

I’m happy to announce that we have a new student in our class.  Please welcome Jenni and her family to our class and community!

It was great to see many of you at the Walk-A-Thon last Saturday!  It’s always a fun event for everyone.  :)

On Tuesday, we will be working on our Clay projects, glazing them.  Set up starts at 12:30, if you’re interested in helping out.

On Wednesday, we will have Art Vistas from 11:00-12:00, please let me know if you’d like to help out with the project.

This Friday we are celebrating Halloween at school (The 31^st is a Staff Work Day, so no school for students on Monday 10/31).  I know your first grader can't wait to show off their costume!  It will certainly be a day filled with excitement!  On Friday, students should wear their costumes to school.  The Costume Parade starts at 8:30 on the Primary Playground.  It usually lasts about 20-30 minutes.   I will also attach the principals message about costume guidelines.

Our class party will follow recess from 11:00-12:00.  Parents are welcome to join us for the party.  If you'd like to contribute, please see the sign up under Volunteer on the Shutterfly Site.

We’ve been really good about returning our library books; let’s keep that up!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Week of October 17, 2016

I hope to see you tomorrow at the Walk-a-thon!  Make sure your child is wearing their Walk-a-thon t-shirt if they pre-registered, so they can collect lap tallies.  Here is the website if you need more information.  http://altavistawalkathon.org/about.asp

Don't forget to sign up for Seesaw.  We added another video today about our big buddies.  Click on https://app.seesaw.me/s/894-752-735 to sign up.

Please return your AV School Library book on Monday.  I do remind the students to check their backpack for their books, but I do not check it for them; if you pack the book for your child, let them know as well. :)

Thank you to our parent volunteers this week! 

Have a great weekend!

Week of October 10, 2016

This was our first week of "Cougar Time," RtI – instructional reading groups.  The students have done a great job lining up for their Cougar Time class.  It's a transition, and all of the first grade teachers are pleasantly impressed.  Cougar Time will be Mondays-Thursdays, 8:30-9:30.

We will start Centers this Monday from 1:00-2:00.  Here are the dates and signup.  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084ea4ad28a7f49-classroom2

In math homework often asks students to “draw a picture” to match the number sentences (equation).  We’ve talked about this in class, and drawing pictures in math are simple ones.  They are pictures to represent the numbers; so circles, squares, lines, and other easy shapes will work perfect.

Students who have registered online for the Alta Vista Walkathon will receive their t-shirt in class on Friday.  If you haven’t been before, it’s a fun filled day.  Students like to walk laps with their friends and parents too!  So far we have 17 friends from room 1 signed up!  Yay!  www.altavistawalkathon.org

Please remember library books for Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Week of October 3, 2016

Dear Families,

We have had an exciting week! Thank you to all our parent helpers this week!

Our caterpillars have changed into their chrysalis state and soon will become butterflies.

This will be our first week of "Cougar Time," RtI – instructional reading groups. Monday will be a practice and “Getting to know” the students day. Cougar Time will be Mondays-Thursdays, 8:30-9:30. There is more information about RtI on our First Grade Webpage. altavista.unionsd.org

Here is a list of some of the websites we have been working on in class. http://bit.ly/AVFirst (It’s case sensitive)

I will send home a copy of your child’s log-ins on Monday. If you’d like them sooner, send me a quick email and I can get that to you for the weekend.

Don’t forget to register for the Alta Vista Walkathon. Even if you can’t make it that day, your child will receive a t-shirt with a $40.00 donation. The t-shirts are usually passed out in class on the Friday before the event. So far we have 12 friends from room 1 signed up! www.altavistawalkathon.org

Please remember library books for Monday.





Have a great weekend!

Week of September 26, 2016

You may have heard from your first grader, we are observing caterpillars.  Each student has a small container on their desk and each day we have been observing and recording any changes to size and action in our Caterpillar-Butterfly Journal. 

For Sharing, please help your child prepare 3 clues written on paper.  They should prepare by writing three descriptive words or sentences.

Monday will be our first Art Vistas lesson from 11:00-12:00, there is a volunteer sign up on our Shutterfly site.

Wednesday will be our first Clay project around 9:30, and the volunteer sign up is on our Shutterfly site as well.

Wednesday, September 28th is a School Spirit Day.  Wacky Wednesday meaning wear mismatched or backwards clothes.  Some other ideas were long funny socks; I know a lot of our students have these.  ;)

Friday, September 30th is School Picture Day.  If you wish to order pictures, please do so by Friday morning.  You can order online or with the form sent home last week.  For online orders, go to mylifetouch.com and use the Picture Day ID: BY416706Q0

We’ve been working with the iPads in our classroom.  Some of the Apps we have been using are Lexia Core 5 Reading, Zearn Math, Spelling City and Adobe Spark Video.  This year we are using mainly your child’s Google ID and password to log into their accounts.  I will be sending the account information home to you next week, then you can access all of the paid programs we have subscriptions to.

Today at 5:00 our school website is going though an upgrade.  Some information might be missing at first as we go through this transition.  Please let me know if you can’t find something on the new site.

Please remember to bring your child’s Alta Vista library books back on Monday.  I already have many of them.

I hope you have a great weekend!