Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

We had a fantastic day today!  Lieutenant Mettinger from Loudoun County Fire and Rescue came to talk with us about fire safety.  This afternoon, we conducted our pumpkin investigations.  We rotated through each 1st grade classroom, conducting experiments and observations along the way.  Please ask your child about our day!

It's the time of year when the calendar begins to fill up quickly, both at home and at school!  I have many things to tell you about.  

Important Information About School Pictures:
Fall pictures will be taken Tuesday, October 29th.  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.

Fall Party:
I hope to see many of you at our Fall Party on Thursday.  It begins at 12:00 pm in our classroom, and ends at 1:05 so we are still able to go to our specials that day. I sent a food permission slip home in yesterday's Thursday folder.  Please sign and return it by Wednesday, October 30th so I know which party food your child may eat.   Since no costumes are allowed that day, please help your child contribute to our festive atmosphere by dressing in something orange or Halloween themed (a Halloween shirt, hair ribbon, etc.).

Turkey of the Year:
Turkey of the Year voting begins next week, and will continue for the next few Fridays! Your child must read to vote for the staff member he/she would like to see come to school dressed in a turkey suit.  One hour of reading equals one vote. Each Friday, please sign and return that week's voting slip, which came home in yesterday's Thursday folder.  If you lost the voting slips, please write a note to indicate how many hours your child read during the previous week, sign it, and send it to school on Friday. 

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences have begun!  If your conference is in the morning before school, I will meet you at the front door of the school to let you in since our office staff may not yet be here.  You will not need to sign in.  If your conference is after school, please ring the school visitor bell, be prepared to show your photo id to our office staff, and sign in at the office.  You may walk to our classroom after you sign in.  

50th Day Celebration:
We will celebrate the 50th day of school on Thursday, November 7th with some fun, 1950's themed activities.  (I sent a note home with all the details.) Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day.  We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats.  (Please note:  root beer is soda; there is NO alcohol in it!)  If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before November 7th.  

Veteran's Day:
Please read the following message from our school office regarding Veteran's Day:

"Pinebrook Elementary students and staff would like to honor our Veterans during our annual Veterans Day Celebration that is being held on Monday, November 11, 2019. If you, a family member or neighbor are a Veteran please join us for this special celebration. All are welcome to attend!  This year, Veterans will not be asked to speak to a classroom of students. We invite you to come, relax, and allow us to honor you.
Schedule:
8:00-8:30 Breakfast in the library
8:30-9:15 Celebration in the gymnasium."

Please RSVP for our Veteran's Day celebration by clicking here.

PAWS for Knowing Your Student ID!
As we continue through the school year, the students will use their student id numbers (often called "lunch numbers") more often.  I have started giving 3 paws to any student who can memorize his/her id number for signing onto the computers and buying items in the cafeteria.  :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn how word detectives use snap words to read.
• Writing:  We will continue our How-to unit, in which we teach our readers "how-to" do something in our writing. 
• Math:  We will begin our geometry unit.  We will identify shapes in the environment, talk about the numbers of sides and vertices in circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles, and define a right angle. 
• Science:  We will finish our pumpkin investigations.  We will paint our pumpkins so they are festive and ready for Halloween! 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  Don't forget - no school on Monday due to Teacher Workday.  

Savey and Leo will head to the World Series Game 5 on Sunday - if it's needed. Go NATS!!  👍  We will carve our pumpkins and have a movie night with friends. 

Meantime, I hope you have a fun weekend making final preparations for Halloween!  I couldn't resist this meme because I may just kinda be this parent...although I usually hide in the pantry to eat their candy....

Weekly Update

Hello Parents!  Happy Friday!

Sometimes short weeks feel like long weeks, but this one flew by!  We had some beautiful days in the sunshine at recess this week, and didn't mind a rainy day for indoor recess too.  As the weather cools, please be sure to send a jacket each day with your child. 

This morning, we attended a NED assembly in anticipation of next week's Spirit Week to mark Pinebrook as a bully-free zone!  Please ask your child about this fun assembly!

I have several things to share with you this week...

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences will begin next week!  If your conference is in the morning before school, I will meet you at the front door of the school to let you in since our office staff may not yet be here.  You will not need to sign in.  If your conference is after school, please ring the school visitor bell, be prepared to show your photo id to our office staff, and sign in at the office.  You may walk to our classroom after you sign in.  

Next Week is Spirit Week:
Next week, we will have a Spirit Week to celebrate Pinebrook as a bully-free zone! Themes for each day are as follows:

• Monday:  "We are all tied together" - Wear bowties, neckties, bows, ribbons, etc. to symbolize that we are all tied together to prevent bullying.
• Tuesday:  "Take a walk in someone else's shoes and wear red for the Nats" - Wear mismatched shoes to symbolize what it is like to walk in someone else's footsteps AND wear red to celebrate the Nats in the World Series.
• Wednesday:  "Unity Day" - Wear orange to honor Unity Day and be unified against bullying.
• Thursday:  "Team Up Together" - Wear sports attire to team up against bullying.
• Friday: "Be a Superhero Against Bullying" - Dress up like a superhero to prevent bullying.

Pumpkins:
If you haven't done so already, please send your child's small "pie-sized" pumpkin for our pumpkin investigation.  Please send the pumpkin no later than Wednesday, October 23rd.  Please label your child's pumpkin with his/her name. Black permanent marker works well for this.  

Important Information About School Pictures:
Fall pictures will be taken Tuesday, October 29th.  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 Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Thursday, October 31st in our classroom.  Our party will start at approximately 12:15; I will confirm the exact time next week.  All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.)  I will send home a food permission slip for the party in next week's Thursday folder. Please return the signed food permission slip by Thursday, October 31st. 

50th Day Celebration:
We will celebrate the 50th day of school on Thursday, November 7th with some fun, 1950's themed activities.  I sent a note home with all the details in yesterday's Thursday folder.  Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day.  We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats.  If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before November 7th.  

PAWS for Knowing Your Student ID!
As we continue through the school year, the students will use their student id numbers (often called "lunch numbers") more often.  I have started giving 3 paws to any student who can memorize his/her id number for signing onto the computers and buying items in the cafeteria.  :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will begin our Word Detectives Unit, in which we become word detectives who solve cases involving tricky words and letters. 
• Writing:  We will begin our How-to unit, in which we learn about procedural writing, and teach our reader how to do something. 
• Math:  We will begin our magnitude and estimation unit.  This is a short, one-week unit about reasonable quantities, and making reasonable estimates. 
• Science:  We will finish our Famous Virginians unit, and begin our pumpkin investigations.

Thank you for all you do!  As always, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome!

Leo and Savey are headed to the Caps/Rangers game tonight as they eagerly await the outcome of the Yankees/Astros series.  We are from New York, so they are both HUGE Rangers and Yankees fans.  (I know that's not very popular around here.  😬)   

Happy Weekend!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

It's been a busy week!  We spent time learning about repeating and growing patterns, playing in the Fall sunshine, making "BFF Words", and crafting Otis the tractor.  #ourbusyfirstgradelife

My son, Savey ("Say-vee"), is in the Educators Rising Club at Champe.  As part of the club, he'll be coming to Pinebrook each Tuesday morning to spend an hour in our class before going to his school.  The kids are really enjoying him, and he's having a ball with them. Savey has a real heart for little ones.  He's going to love his time in our class!

Pumpkins:
We will complete an in-class pumpkin investigation.  Each child will need his/her own small pumpkin.  I sent a note home about this in yesterday's Thursday folder. Please send your child's small pumpkin to school by Wednesday, October 23rd.  Please write your child's name on the bottom of his/her pumpkin.  (Black permanent marker works best for this.)

Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Thursday, October 31st.  The final time is yet to be determined, but the party will start sometime around noon and last until 1:15 pm. All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.)  I will send a food permission slip home before the party. Our awesome Room Mom, Mrs. Lackey, and I thank you for your donations. Your funds will be put to good use as she plans for our class celebrations.  If you signed up to help with our Fall Party, Mrs. Lackey may contact you with further details.

Extra Clothes:
Because first graders are still prone to bathroom accidents and playground slips, please consider tucking an extra set of clothing (to include underclothes) into your child's backpack.  I will not collect and store the clothes in our classroom. The extra set of clothing will simply sit at the bottom of your child's backpack until it may be needed.  Thank you!

Water Bottles:
If you're not already doing so, please be sure to send a water bottle to school each day with your child.  We do NOT have an in-class water fountain.  The kids get tired and thirsty over the course of our day, and water goes a long way toward helping them stay energetic and attentive.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will finish our first reading unit as we summarize the good reader habits we have learned, and the good partner habits we have learned.  
• Writing:  We will study published authors' work, and try applying some craft moves from mentor authors to our own writing. 
• Math:  We will finish our patterns unit.  We will predict what comes next in a pattern, solve pattern word problems, and review growing and repeating patterns.
• Social Studies:  We will finish talking about Famous Virginians and their contributions to our country.  We are learning about Christopher Newport, Powhatan, Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, Maggie Walker, and Arthur Ashe.

I sincerely hope you are beginning to feel settled in the year.  Reach out anytime with questions, comments, and feedback!

I am so excited for the long and sunny weekend!  We are going to visit the Renaissance Fair in Maryland, and spend time around the fire pit.  Leo will put something on the grill, and we will catch up on our family time.  Jonah and I may visit Savey at Cox Farms too.  

I hope you enjoy the long weekend!

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

Yesterday's Puma Olympics were a huge success!  Earlier this week, we hosted another first grade class to share our writing.  I sent several pictures of these activities over Remind.  If you haven't yet signed up for my Remind text messaging service, please do so.  You can download the Remind App and join my class by texting @jlombardo to 81010.

Just a few quick items for you...

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.  You can 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.  I am excited to meet with each of you to discuss your child's progress!

Scholastic News and Science Spin Money:
Please kindly remember to send Scholastic News and Science Spin money if you have not yet done so.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn how reading partners support each other.
• Writing:  We will continue writing small moment stories, and talk about how writers edit their writing.
• Math:  We will continue our patterns and sorting unit.  We will identify and create growing and repeating patterns, pattern units, and patterns in our world. 
• Social Studies:  We will begin talking about Famous Virginians and their contributions to our country.  We will learn about Christopher Newport, Powhatan, Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, Maggie Walker, and Arthur Ashe.

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

My family is really, really hoping for the weather to cool.  Savey prefers the cooler weather when he's outside at Cox Farms.  If you visit the farm, he works at the Dino Slide - stop by and say hello!  Meantime, Leo, Jonah, and I would love to cozy up around the fire pit.

Have a fantastic weekend!