First March Newsletter

I have to apologize for my lack of communication over the past month.  With everything going on in the past few weeks, the weekly communication has always fallen to the bottom of my to-do list, and unfortunately not been completed.

After all the excitement of spirit week, this week is going to seem very quiet.  Tuesday is drama club at lunch as well as green day, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.  Friday is a holiday for students and a PD Day for staff.  Friday is also the first day of spring!

Coming up in the next two weeks, however, are book fair (March 25-27), our School Celebration of Learning (March 25^th for Division One), and Report Cards on April 1^st.

Grade One celebration of learning will run March 25^th, 2009 from 4:30pm – 7:30pm in four separate sessions:  

Session 1 – 4:30pm – 5:15pm

            Session 2 – 5:15pm – 6:00pm

            Session 3 – 6:00pm – 6:45pm

            Session 4 – 6:45pm – 7:30pm

My request is that you send back the bottom slip of 

this paper and return it as soon as possible so that I have an idea when families are coming.  If you have to change your time, that is fine – nothing is set in stone and the evening is meant to be flexible.  But having a general idea of parent’s preferences will help me plan for a smoother event.  Students need to be present for this evening, as they are responsible for demonstrating their learning in grade one, so pick a time that works for them as well.

This week in math we are going to be taking a really focused look at beginning subtraction and addition.  The students have been working really hard gaining an understanding and recognition of numbers and how they relate to each other.  Find opportunities in your home to use the language of math – explain how you add plates and silverware to the table, and pouring cups of milk results in less milk in the jug, how we add ingredients to cookie dough and take away the garbage and recycling.  We are also going to be looking at the seasonal changes of spring this week in science.  We will be finishing our study of long u in language arts, and continuing to work on our reading and writing skills. 

Spelling words this week are:  use, little, from, fruit, suit, and the star word *Mississippi *.

Since I have fallen so far behind in my blog posts of classroom activities, I will be posting once a day this week and next, so keep an eye out for some of the fun experiences we have had in our grade one classroom.

Book fair also runs next week (and will be open during the celebration of learning).  The theme is Beach Book Fair: Catch the Reading Wave.   To celebrate this event, the book fair is running a contest.  Students are invited to create a sea creature out of reusable and recyclable materials from home.  There is an idea sheet coming home, but students are welcome to be creative.  They must bring their creations to school by Monday, March 23, 2009, when they will be judged by a panel of book fair committee members, and one winning entry from each class will win a prize from the book fair.  All creations will then be used to decorate the library, before being returned to the students.

Have a safe and happy week!

100 Days of School!!!

How exciting that today we are celebrating our 100^th day of grade one, and all of the things we have accomplished already this year.  It has been an enlightening journey for myself, and hopefully for the students as well.  I have seen so much growth and progress in the children and can’t wait to see what the next half of the school year brings.

This week in school is going to be busy – along with the 100 day party we are hosting today, the family dance will occur tonight at 7:00 pm in the Tom Karren Gym.  Admission is $2/family, and cookies and milk will be sold following the dance for 25 cents each.  Also, the grade threes will be selling Marigold seeds for their campaign to raise money for students in Cambodia.  Students do not need to report to their classrooms prior to the event.  We will call them down to do the chicken dance from where they are sitting with their families in the stands. 

Tuesday is drama club for our students, and Wednesday (weather permitting) will be an opportunity for a walk outside to celebrate physical activity in the winter.  Friday will be our class valentine party, so please have their Valentine’s cards ready by this time to place in their classmates’ pouches (a list was sent home last week).  Book orders are due Friday.   Friday is also the last day of school until Monday, February 23^rd, 2009, due to the family day/reading week/teacher’s convention holiday.

Because of this, there will not be a newsletter coming home the last week of February, so here are the events for the week of school after the holiday:  Monday afternoon will be a special performance by the SunQuest theatre, followed by another special assembly performance by singer Bob King (with such songs as ‘Sandwiches are beautiful’).  For more information on these events, please contact the office.  Tuesday will also bring Drama club, and Friday will be the last official day of our beloved principal Ms. Brenda Beck.  We hope you will join us in paying tribute to her work and contribution to our school, in both well wishes and gratitude, but also in the continuation of striving to all be the best that we can be, and to strive to improve student learning.

On that note, our grade one class would like to offer a sincere welcome to Mr. Brad Sabey, who officially began his transition into the Principalship today.  We look forward to what he has to offer, and the growth and progress he will bring to our school.

Now that skating has officially wrapped up, we have moved onto our dance unit, and the students are enjoying such traditional dances as the bird dance, the hokey pokey, the bunny hop, the Macarena, and the Virginia Reel.  We are continuing our work in the building things unit in Science, and are working phonetically on the Long A sound.

Spelling words for the week of Feb. 9-13:  tape, gave, lake, made, maid, and ‘heart’ word: Valentine.

Spelling words for the week of Feb. 23-27: tie, pie, die, lie, bike, and star word yet to be determined.

Our busy, buzzy goal this week is to ‘bee’ loving because of Valentine’s day.

Have a good week!

Last Week of Skating - And Next Week Too!

This week is the end of our skating program for this school year.  Grade one students will again skate from 2:30 till about 3:10 on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and you are welcome to come help tie skates and watch their quick progress.  Wednesday is a PD day, so there will be no school for students.  Other activities this week include Tuesday Drama club and Friday Pizza lunch.  Lunch forms need to be returned by Tuesday morning, as there is no school on Wednesday.

Also, I will be attending a PD seminar dealing with the new math curriculum on February 2^nd and 3^rd (next Monday and Tuesday).  There will be a substitute teacher in the room, and I will not be sending a newsletter home.  Here are the important reminders for next week:

-       Tuesday is both Drama and Lego club for grade one students.  Send a lunch if your child is involved in either one of these.  Friday lunch is tacos. 

I am running our spelling words a little differently right now in order to prepare the students for our work in long vowels.  Our spelling lists will revolve around families with long a sounds to begin.  Last week was the ‘ay’ family, with words such as ‘say’ and ‘play’.  This week is the ‘ai’ family, with the words mail, nail, pain, said, again, and star word skate.  Next week, the spelling words will revolve around the long a sound that is created by adding and e to the end of a word, and the spelling words will be game, name, cake, page, take, and the star word will be picked by the students and written in their agendas.  Continue to encourage them to recognize the patterns, especially in words that belong to similar families.  Also, help them identify beginning and ending sounds in these different words, and other words that would rhyme.

Our busy, buzzy goal this week is to ‘bee’ cheerful.  With shorter, colder days, everyone has a tendency to grow more solemn and moody, and children are certainly not immune.  So we are making a conscious effort to find things to be cheerful about.

Our school website has been updated, and is really neat – be sure to go check it out.  There are links on there now for resources for teachers and parents, and links to the school calendar.  It is listed on our classroom website and the school division website.

Have a good week!

Skating Next Week - And Other Reminders

Some important reminders – this week is Tuesday lunch hour Lego club and drama club for our grade ones.  Thursday there will be a special farm safety presentation in our room from 10:30 – 11:15.  Friday is lunch hour tacos for $3.50.

Also a reminder that even though the temperature outside has temporarily improved, weather can turn really fast for the worse.  Please continue to ensure that your child comes to school with inside and outside shoes, proper coats, gloves and hat for winter weather.

This week in grade one we are learning about odd and even numbers, as well as counting by 5 and 10 to 100.  In Social studies, we are learning about the difference between living in an urban and rural community.  We’ve begun the unit ‘building things’ in science, and are reviewing our short vowel sounds and ‘wh’, ‘ch’, ‘ph’ and ‘th’ blends in words such as ‘phone’, ‘what’, ‘that’ and ‘chop’.

Spelling words this week are long, time, good, with, look, and the star word is heart.   The spelling try-it this week is to write the word on a scrap paper or white board and draw a picture to go with it.

Our busy, buzzy goal this week is to ‘bee’ safe.  We want to focus particularly on snow safety – both in playing and traveling and working with. 

Next week we begin our skating unit, Monday thru Thursday starting at 2:30, with the exception of Wed. Jan 28, which is a PD day (no school).  Grade one students progress more quickly when their experiences are as consecutive as possible.  We will head to the arena at 2:30 to get ready and tie skates.  We will get off the ice at approx. 3:10 or 3:15.  Your child needs skates and must have a helmet of some kind.  It is also helpful to have warm clothes like mittens, gloves, jacket and snow pants.  Sometimes two pairs of sock s can prevent blisters.  We would appreciate any help we can get for tying skates, untying skates, and parents that are willing to skate on ice with the children as they are learning to skate or skate with the hockey players.  Thank you for your help and cooperation in this matter.  If you cannot find skates, the school has a few extra pairs available to borrow.  Please let me know ahead of time.

Have a good week!

Back To School After Christmas

Welcome to a brand new year!  I hope that your Christmas was safe and refreshing.  I’m excited to be back, and I hope the students are too!

The spelling words for this week are:  three, ride, this, part, many.  The star word this week is: bells.  The try-it at home this week:  while eating your breakfast cereal, try finding the spelling words on the box – like a cereal treasure hunt.

There are notices coming home today about Friday’s comfy day – if you need any more information, please feel free to contact me.

The school phys. Ed. Skating program will be starting this month.  Grade ones will be going to the arena from January 19 – 29, except for Fridays and Jan. 28, which will be a PD day (no school for students).  Students are encouraged to bring their own pair of ice skates and warm winter wear (we do have a few pairs of skates to share).  This year students will not be permitted to participate without a helmet.  Our scheduled time is from 2:30 – 3:00, however, we will probably make our way to the arena following the afternoon recess, to allow for time to get into skates and tie laces.  If you are interested in volunteering some time to come help out, you are welcome.  Just let me know.

Friday lunch this week is pizza.  I will send the forms home tomorrow – please have them back by Wednesday morning if you want to order.

January book orders are coming home today.  If you are interested in ordering anything, please have them back to the school by January 20, 2009. 

I would like to send a quick thank you to all those parents involved in the Christmas party and the Christmas concert – they were both well done! 

Hope you have a great week!

Twas The Week Before Christmas

I hope that you are enjoy the beautiful snowy week we are having.  Please be sure to remind your child of the importance of their safety while crossing slick roads and sidewalks.  Though it is beautiful this time of year, it is also harder for cars to stop on our icy roads, and we don't want anyone to get hurt.  

Just a head's up about the Christmas concert Thursday at 7:00pm in the Tom Karren Gym.  The grade one's will be performing two versions of Jingle Bells - the Australian version and the Canadian version.  So for costuming we are asking that all of the students in my class come and get dressed in summer gear - shorts, t-shirts, sandals, sunglasses.  Anything that makes them look like they are enjoying the sun on an Australian beach.  We hope to see you there!

Friday will be our class Christmas party, from about 11:45-12:00ish, running till the end of the school day at 1:00pm.

This week in school we are continuing a short unit for physical education that is an introduction to basic gymnastics - the students will be doing a lot of rolling, tumbling and balancing on mats and small beams.  We will finish looking at sorting and classifying 2-D and 3-D shapes in math, and will be working on the short sound of 'o' in language arts.

Spelling words this week are: will, five, what, made, play and candycane.  The try it this week is use Christmas bread or cookie dough to shape your words and bake them.

At this point in the year, you may start to notice more homework coming home with your students.  Please be aware that while I do expect such assignments to be returned to the school, there is no strict timeframe on when they are to be done.  I would rather have students working in 10-15 minute periods over several days rather than a straight hour of additional schoolwork.  I also understand that families have busy lives and schedules.  When work comes home labeled 'please finish', I would just request that it be finished and returned in a timely manner that suits your schedule and your child's best interests.  Sometimes homework may come in order that a student does not fall behind (such as is the case when they have been sick).  Also, I like to send work home on occasion that gives the parent a chance to interact with their child using the same subject matter they are studying at school.  This keeps you more informed on what your child is learning, and gives you a first hand view of their skills and understandings.

There is a new reading program being introduced at the school by the Cheesecake cafe.  Your child will be bringing home a newsletter and cheesecake page that allows them to color in one slice of the dessert for each twenty minutes of reading books that they complete (for a total of 200 minutes).  Please write the name of the books on the slice as you finish them and send them back to school once the whole cheesecake is colored in.  They will then receive a gift certificate for a free kids meal from the Cheesecake Restaurant.  This program is completely optional, and any books count - zippy books, library books, personal home books, etc.

Our busy, buzzy goal this week is to 'bee' good, encouraging the general ability of our students to work at being good, caring individuals.

Take a quick peek back before the end of the week to see some of the special content I will be posting - we've had a lot of exciting activities and experiences this month, and I should have them up on the blog in a day or so.

It's hard to believe, but it is the last week of school before Christmas holidays.  Students finish at 1:00pm on Friday and will not resume until Monday, January 5, 2009.  I hope that you and your families have a safe and enjoyable break, and look forward to seeing you all again in the new year.

Best Wishes!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The Magrath Elementary Drama Club has the opportunity to perform at the Magrath Community Christmas concert on Thursday, December 4, 2008.  We have been preparing a short skit that follows a snowman theme, and your child is invited to participate.  Grade 4, 5, 6 have been assigned specific roles.  Grades 1, 2, 3 will be singing the song “Once there was a snowman”, and are encouraged to wear as much white as possible (to look like a snowman).  Any student performing that night should be at the LDS Stake center stage by 6:30pm for the event which begins at 7:00pm.  We will be performing second on the program, so the early arrival is important to organize and prepare.  After the students perform, they are welcome to join their families to enjoy the concert, or to leave for other commitments. 

 We have not yet had a chance to do a dress rehearsal on the performance stage, so we are asking all students to meet at the Stake center after school on Thursday, so that we may run through our skit and have one final practice.  Please make every effort to have your child there.  If you have any questions, please contact me at the school.

  We have begun our school Christmas presence project.  Students who bring non-perishable food items to the library will be given small paper Christmas ornaments to decorate and place on the classroom trees attached to each class door.  If we work together, we can help make Christmas a little merrier for every family in our town that needs some holiday cheer this year.

 We have also started a Christmas chain countdown.  Each day is patterned either red or green, and has a good idea for a way to celebrate Christmas or something to do for someone else in the true spirit of Christmas.  The students also completed their own chain, which they can keep at home (some were not quite able to finish, but you are welcome to complete it with them – it is not homework, just a fun Christmas countdown activity).  Each day we cut off one link, with the chain slowly getting shorter until it finishes on Christmas Eve.

            Friday will be our classroom winter party, which is the basis of the new science unit we will be working on until holidays – seasonal changes of winter.  We will be doing several activities related to the storybook The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, which will include watching the animated movie of the same title.  This movie is rated G, and for more detail on its content, you could visit www.kids-in-mind.com, a website dedicated to giving detailed information about positive and negative content in movies.  If you have any objections to your child watching this movie, or any questions, please contact me by Friday by phone, or email, in person, or send a note in your child’s agenda.  I will happily arrange an alternative activity for any child or parent not comfortable with this activity.

            Besides our new science unit, we will also be switching gears in math, and taking a closer look at shapes that are 2-D and 3-D, their names, and various everyday objects of those shapes.  We will be examining, finding and sorting these spheres, cubes, pyramids, etc.

            In Language arts we will be completing a lot of activities related to Christmas, and in phonics this month we are focusing on the short sounds of vowels.

            Our busy, buzzy goal this week is to ‘bee’ giving.  Part of the magic of Christmas is learning how good it feels not only to receive a gift, but also to give one.  Gifts can be more than material as well.  We are all capable of giving of our time, talents, friendship and respect.  This is lifelong goal we can all strive to be better at.

            Now that winter is setting in, it is very important that students have proper winter gear.  Please be sure that you student comes to school each day with a warm winter coat – even if the weather seems fair.  Gloves and a hat and scarf will also help protect our students from standard winter weather.  Also, we are having an issue with students not bringing proper shoes to school – students should have a pair of inside and outside shoes.  Outside shoes (such as snow boots) are to be left on the boot racks at the front foyer, and inside shoes in cubbies, to prevent mess on the library carpets and in the cubby bins and hallway.  We appreciate your assistance in this matter.

            One last reminder to return the yellow report card envelopes with your signature.  Please keep your child’s report cards, and remember, if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

            Have a great week!