It's Winter Break!

Hi Parents,

I'm writing today to wish you a happy, healthy, joyful Winter Break, and to pass along wishes for the happiest of holidays.  I will send along a weekly update at the beginning of January with classroom information for the first week of the new year.  

I'd also like to offer my sincerest thanks for the treats and gift cards so many of you sent.  I am humbled by your kindness and generosity.  :)

Enjoy the time off!  May you rest, recharge, and relax.  May you connect with your family and loved ones.  We are headed to Vegas in the morning, then home before Christmas to celebrate together. 

Many Blessings,

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!

It's about to be my favorite week of the entire school year!  The anticipation for Christmas and Winter Break is in the air, everyone is in a festive mood, and everyone is even kinder than normal.  We have some fun events planned next week to mark the Holiday, and will be finishing up some of our academic units too.  

Holiday Shop:

We previewed the items for sale at the Pinebrook Holiday Shop yesterday.  Students may purchase items next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.  If your child is purchasing Holiday Shop items, please kindly use the envelope I sent home yesterday to send his/her list and money next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Students who bring money may shop during our recess time.  Please remember there is no obligation to buy.  If you'd like to shop with your child, the Holiday Shop will be open tomorrow morning from 9 - 11:30 am.  The 5th Grade will be hosting its annual Pancake Breakfast fundraiser, so come for breakfast too.  :)

Interim Progress Reports:

Interim progress reports (commonly called "interims") will go home Wednesday, December 13th.  A friendly reminder that I do not send an interim home for every child.  If I send one for your student, you will receive it via email at the email address on file in your ParentVue account.

Hour of Code:
In celebration of Computer Science Eduaction Week, our school participated in Hour of Code this week.  The goal of Hour of Code Week is to introduce students to computer science and computer programming through fun, self-paced, computer based games.  You can find many of these games on our 1st Grade Symbaloo page by clicking HERE.  While you're there, check out the other fun online learning resources!

Winter Break Reading Log:

I sent home a Winter Break Reading Challenge in your child's Thursday folder yesterday. If you have any questions about this reading incentive, please email me.

Holiday Travel:

If you are traveling over the Holidays, and your child will be absent from school, please kindly notify the school in advance.  You can send a message or note to me, which I will forward to the office.  You may also submit your notification to the office directly by using the "online absence excuse", which is found on the Pinebrook home page.  The link to the Pinebrook home page is HERE.

Focus Areas for Next Week:

• Reading:  We will read the Holiday Classic The Polar Express, and review many of the good reader strategies we have learned this year, such as predicting, retelling, making connections, and story mapping.  
• Math:  We will continue our subtraction unit, in which we learn strategies for quickly solving subtraction facts.  
• Writing:  We will complete some Holiday writing projects.
• Science / Social Studies:  We will talk about Holiday traditions around the world with our annual Holidays Around the World on Thursday morning. During this time, the 1st grade teachers take turns rotating through each other's classrooms teaching the students about a holiday tradition from a particular country or culture.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!  The Mercer Band and Chorus will come Wednesday morning for a Holiday concert, and on Friday, the entire school will pile into the gym for our annual Holiday Sing Along.  We sing Holiday songs from the many faith and cultural traditions represented at Pinebrook while the teachers and staff all take turns leading the songs.  Seriously....I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MYSELF.  I am 43 years old, but at this time of year, I am a 6 year old.  It's one reason why YOUR children are "MY PEOPLE"!  (It's also the reason I am typing in so many CAPITAL letters.)

Have a great weekend!  I am looking forward to time with friends, wrapping gifts, and some Christmas cooking, all the while (hopefully) watching a little snow fall. We leave for Las Vegas early next Saturday morning, so I'll be getting ready for our trip too!   

                                     

Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

I'm writing to you from home today!  Every year, I take a personal day at Christmastime.  I keep my boys home from school (shh!) and we bake all day long. We make all the cookies I baked with my own mom growing up.  It's one of my favorite days of the year because I am able to connect my boys to memories of my mother.  💜  I hope you have a special Holiday ritual in your family too.  :)

Just a quick update for you this week...

Timeline Projects Due December 4th:
Your child's "Look At Me Now" timeline project is due Monday.  Please send your child's project to school with him/her on Monday.  The kids love sharing their projects, and I'm excited to see their creativity on display!

Inclusive Schools Week:
Next week is Inclusive Schools Week, which is a time to celebrate our public schools as environments in which all students are invited to learn, regardless of educational, emotional, or behavioral challenges.  We will welcome a guest reader, who will share a story and lead a discussion about the importance of including everyone in our learning environment.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue or Word Detectives unit, in which we learn strategies for solving tricky words.  We will discuss the questions good readers ask when they read a story.  We sometimes call this "wondering".
• Writing:  We will respond to writing prompts and self-chosen topics as we continue to practice capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and letter formation. We will add a bit of "seasonal spice" to our writing with some Holiday themed projects.
• Math:  We will finish our addition unit.  We will begin our subtraction unit, in which we explore subtraction as the inverse of addition.  
• Science:  We will finish our study of economics: wants and needs, goods and services, consumers and producers.  We will begin to talk about communities.  We will talk about the community helpers who provide goods and services within communities.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback.

We are headed to the city this weekend for some Holiday culture and fun.  Enjoy your weekend!  Next week, the cold weather is coming!