Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!

I love Teacher Work Days.  I spend the day organizing materials, decluttering our classroom, moving desks, and preparing for the weeks ahead.  The coffee pot is on, the music is playing, and I am in my Happy Place!  :)

SOL Vocabulary Parade:
The Vocabulary Parade is next Tuesday, January 31st.  Please send your child's Vocabulary Parade project to school on that day.  Parents are welcome to attend and watch the parade. The 1st Grade Parade is from 9:00-9:30 am in the gym at school.  

100th Day of School:

The 100th day of school is coming!  Weather permitting, we will celebrate our 100th day on Tuesday, February 7th.  I have some super cool, really fun stations planned for 100th day!  I sent home a food permission slip in yesterday's Thursday folder because 2 of the stations involve food.  Please kindly sign and return the permission slip as soon as possible.  If we have any snow days before the 7th, I'll adjust our celebration to align with the 100th day.  I'll notify you if this happens.

Valentine's Day Party:

Mark your calendar...our classroom Valentine's Day party will be Tuesday, February 14th from 12:45-2:15 pm in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend.  The kids will exchange Valentine cards at the party.  If your child brings Valentines, please be sure he/she has one for every student in the class.  If your child wants to attach a little "something" to his/her Valentine cards, please don't attach candy or food... little items like pencils, erasers, tattoos, stickers are fine.  Our Room Moms will be providing bags for your child's Valentine cards.  Please watch for more details and a food permission slip soon!

Calling All Colored Pens, Pencils, and Markers:
Are you looking for a new home for the gently used colored pens, pencils, markers, and gel pens collecting in your junk drawer? Please consider donating them to our classroom writing center.  The kids absolutely LOVE the writing center, and it's largely because of the various writing tools with which they can write.  Many of our pens and markers have begun to dry up.  I appreciate any donations you may provide to keep our writing tools stocked. 

STEAM Expo:
The annual Pinebrook STEAM Expo will be held on Friday, February 24th during our regular school day.  This day is filled with tons of fun and engaging hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math exploration.  We need many volunteers to make the STEAM Expo a success!  Come spend the day with us! Please volunteer by clicking HERE.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore nonfiction text features, such as tables of contents, headings, maps, diagrams, and glossaries. 
• Writing:  We will continue writing to inform as we focus on editing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling.
• Math:  We will begin our Geometry unit.  This is a quick little unit in which we explore shapes in the real world, and count the number of sides and vertices of various shapes.
• Social Studies:  We will continue our Famous Americans unit, in which we discuss the lives and contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, Benjamin Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Enjoy your weekend!  We are going to an "after-the-Holidays" party at my husband's company!  Just when I fit into my clothes again....