Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

We had a delightful week in Room 9.  The rain isn't putting a damper on our spirits; with today's Den Rally, we made our own sunshine!  🌞

Important Information About School Pictures:
Fall pictures will be taken this Wednesday, October 3rd.  I sent home information about pictures in last week's Thursday folder.  This will be a day for individual pictures only; a whole-class picture will be taken in the Spring.  Following are some guidelines to help facilitate your picture order / purchase:

• If possible, please order your child's pictures online.  It's the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to order your child's pictures.  If you order online, you do not need to send anything to school with your child on Picture Day!
• If you are not ordering online, please fill out the payment envelope, enclose your payment, and send it to school on picture day.  Your payment envelope must include your child's name, my name, your "look" (or background) selection, your package selection, and your payment.
• Picture purchase is optional.

Please Sign Up for a Conference!

Parent / Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter.  I am using Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences.  I sent the Sign Up Genius via email and Remind earlier this week. You can also sign up for a conference time by clicking HERE.  If you are unable to attend a conference on one of the dates / times listed, please send me an email to make alternate arrangements. 

1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports:
1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports ("interims") will be issued Wednesday, October 3rd.  If your child receives an interim, it will be emailed to you on Wednesday, October 3rd using the email address on file in your ParentVue account.  You can update and/or verify your email address by logging into your ParentVue account.  If you are unable to access your ParentVue account, please contact our school office.  (I'm sorry; I'm not able to help you with this - you must contact the office.)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn good habits for solving hard words. 
• Writing:  We will begin learning the routines and procedures of Writer's Workshop.
• Math:  We will finish our patterns and sorting unit. 
• Social Studies:  We will talk about Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day.

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

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

It's been so refreshing to see the sun!  I think we've had more inside recess days than outside ones this year.  I hope your spirit has been renewed by the sunshine too.

I have a few things to tell you this week...

Important Information About School Pictures:
Fall pictures will be taken Wednesday, October 3rd.  I sent home information about pictures in yesterday's Thursday folder.  This will be a day for individual pictures only; a whole-class picture will be taken in the Spring.  Following are some guidelines to help facilitate your picture order / purchase:

• If possible, please order your child's pictures online.  It's the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to order your child's pictures.  If you order online, you do not need to send anything to school with your child on Picture Day!
• If you are not ordering online, please fill out the payment envelope, enclose your payment, and send it to school on picture day.  Your payment envelope must include your child's name, my name, your "look" (or background) selection, your package selection, and your payment.
• Picture purchase is optional.

Fall Literacy Testing:

Our Fall literacy screenings are underway.  I am administering both the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) and the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) to each student.  I've received several questions about the DRA, and will send an overview of this assessment to you in the middle of next week.  I look forward to discussing the results of your child's assessments at our Fall Conference in October.

Donuts with Dads:
The PTA is hosting a "Donuts with Dads" on Friday, September 28th from 7:00 - 7:30 am at school.  All dads and kids are welcome.  To ensure there are enough doughnuts for everyone in attendance, please complete the Donuts with Dads RSVP form found on the Pinebrook homepage.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about good reader habits. We will talk about rereading to smooth out our voices, scooping up words in phrases, and giving reminders to our reading partners.
• Writing:  We will learn about editing marks and practice editing our writing.
• Math:  We will begin our sorting and patterns unit.  We will discuss sorting attributes, such as size, color, thickness.  We will learn about growing and repeating patterns and pattern units (the part of the pattern that repeats). You can help by asking your child to sort things at home (laundry, buttons, coins, etc.), and by asking your child to look for and describe patterns in the environment.  
• Science:  We will learn about apples and the life cycle of an apple.
• Social Studies:  Throughout first grade, we will talk about various Famous Americans, and their contributions to our country.  Next week, we will talk about John Chapman, also known as "Johnny Appleseed", and Eleanor Roosevelt.

As always, I welcome your feedback.  Please let me know if you have any questions!  

We are going to a "fancy dinner" for my husband's company this weekend, so I am looking forward to wearing lipstick and heels!  Here's to a wonderful weekend!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

We've had a fantastic week!  I'm starting to see little personalities emerge as the kids become more comfortable with me, and with each other.  This is when I can really start to build a relationship with them, connect with them, and see our class environment take shape.  It makes me happy.  :)

Meantime, ask your child about our special guest teacher at math today!

Here's your weekly update:

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Homework Starts Next Week:
The kids have practiced doing their homework in class this week.  Next week, they will begin to do their homework at home.  I have taped the homework routine to the inside front cover of their homework journals.  Please read that for the outline of what to do each day.  A few notes about homework:

• I will send homework journals home on Tuesdays, since that's the day the written homework begins.
• Homework journals are due back on Fridays.  I will check homework journals on Fridays.  Your child will receive a completion grade.
• The homework journal gives your child practice writing the 1st Grade Words of the Week.  I will assign 5 words per week.  On some pages of the homework journal, there is room to practice more than 5 words. Your child should, at a minimum, practice the 5 words for that week. Your child may use the rest of the room on the homework page to practice writing any other words from our 1st grade list.  This is encouraged, but not required.  The 1st grade word list was sent home earlier this year, and it is posted in the 1st Grade section of the Puma Paw.  You can visit the Puma Paw by clicking the link on the Pinebrook home page.

Ice Cream:
As a general rule, ice cream will now be available for sale on Fridays in the cafeteria. Your child may buy ice cream to eat with a school lunch, or to eat with a packed lunch.  I don't ask the kids if they are buying ice cream on Fridays; I expect them to know whether they have permission to purchase ice cream.

Library Books:
Please help your child remember his/her Library books each Wednesday.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will begin learning the routines and procedures of Reader's Workshop.
• Writing:  We will continue handwriting practice, emphasizing proper letter formation and starting letters at the top.
• Math:  We will continue learning the routines and procedures of Math Workshop as we finish our number sense and counting unit.
• Science:  We will talk about the 4 seasons, earth's rotation on its axis and around the sun, and why we have day and night.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!  

I'm not sure about the weather this weekend!  If you have family in the path of the hurricane, I sincerely hope they are all safe.

Weekly Update

Hi Parents!

Sometimes short weeks feel like long weeks, but this one flew by.  I think the kids are settling into the year.  On the whole, I am quite pleased with how quickly they're picking up on classroom routines and procedures.  Staying focused during the afternoon has been a bit difficult, but I am hopeful that as the kids build stamina for a full school day, they will have an easier time staying on task.  

We will have our Patriot Day ceremony at the flag pole on Tuesday morning. We will honor those who lost their lives on September 11th, along with all service members and first responders who keep us safe.  It's never lost on me that for our kids, September 11th is part of history, but for those of us alive on that day...well, our hearts continue to weep at the memories.  Truly, we will never forget.

Here's your update for the week:

Please Subscribe to My Blog!
If you were directed to this post by a link in an email, please take a moment to subscribe to my blog by entering your email address in the box to the right that says "follow by email".  You will receive a confirmation email to verify your subscription. Please clink the link in the email to verify your email address.  You will then receive an automatic notification each time I've published a message. Please don't skip that important last step -- you MUST verify/confirm your email address to be subscribed. 

Online Learning Resources:
In yesterday's Thursday folder, I sent home your child's log-in information for 3 of our most popular online learning resources...Dreambox Math, Reflex Math, and RAZ-Kids.  These programs allow your child to practice literacy and math skills from any computer, and most tablets.  I also placed the log-in information in the inside pocket of the front cover of the kids' agendas.  This information is also listed in the "online resources" section of this blog.

Scholastic News and Science Spin Subscription Money:
If you have not done so, please send in your child's Scholastic News and Science Spin subscription monies as soon as possible.  This is a one-time fee of $7.50 cash or check (made payable to Pinebrook).  Thank you!

Homework Update:
Homework will begin on September 17th.  Next week, the kids will practice their homework routine by completing their homework in class each day with me. To promote consistency, our weekly homework routine will be as follows:

• Monday:  Read 15-20 minutes.  Read your Words of the Week 3 times to an adult.  (Words of the Week will be written in your child's agenda and posted on my blog.)
• Tuesday:  Read 15-20 minutes.  Complete the assigned page in your Homework Journal using your Words of the Week.  (The assigned page will have that day's date written at the top.)
• Wednesday:  Read 15-20 minutes.  Complete the assigned page in your Homework Journal using your Words of the Week.  (The assigned page will have that day's date written at the top.)
• Thursday:   Read 15-20 minutes.  Complete the assigned page in your Homework Journal using your Words of the Week.  (The assigned page will have that day's date written at the top.)
• Friday:  Be ready to take a spelling quiz on your Words of the Week.  You must be able to spell each word correctly.  

Please note: I will tape an information sheet to the inside cover of your child's homework journal, which outlines this routine in detail.  I will collect and check Homework Journals on Fridays.  Your child will receive a completion grade for homework.  You may always email me with questions! :) 

Thursday Folders:
Please empty your child's Thursday folder each Thursday and return it to school on Fridays. I do reuse these folders each week.

Box Tops for Education:
Box Tops for Education are due Friday, September 14th.  I will send out a Remind on Thursday.  There are various incentives for collecting Box Tops, from popsicle parties to ice cream parties.  Please help our class earn some of these fun incentives by collecting and sending in Box Tops.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will begin Book Shopping, which is the process of choosing just right books for our book boxes.
• Writing:  We will practice Handwriting, emphasizing proper letter formation, and starting our letters at the top.
• Math:  We will begin establishing the routines and procedures of Math Workshop as we focus on number sense, counting, ordering numbers, and comparing numbers.
• Science / Social Studies:  We will talk about the meaning of Patriot Day.  We will define and discuss the 5 senses.  We will learn about the 4 seasons.

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

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Savey is enjoying his last weekend of freedom before he begins working at the Cox Farms Fall Festival.  Jonah's birthday is next week, so we are starting to prepare for our celebration.  My mother's birthday is Monday.  We will remember her this weekend on what would have been her 73rd birthday. 💜