Dear Room 2 Families, Friday, September 16, 2016
It was so nice to see so many of you at
Curriculum Night last week! I realize that it’s a very busy time of year and
that not everyone was able to make it to the meeting. I look forward to meeting
with those of you whom I’ve not yet met during our fall conference! I will be
in contact with families who need to set up a conference time.
So, I know I really gushed about your stellar
children during Curriculum Night, but you must let me continue….I am so
impressed with the way this group is listening to directions and putting forth
great effort in a variety of activities throughout the day! Person after person
has complimented our respectful, quiet line in the hallway. Teachers who help
out in class have commented on what sweet kids and hard workers we have! They
follow directions, they listen well, and they’re just super sweet and lots of
fun! They’re very enthusiastic and eager
learners! It’s really an awesome feeling to think about the year ahead with
them! It feels like a real gift, and I’m very thankful to have this opportunity
to share in their lives.
We've continued to work on establishing our
classroom environment by familiarizing ourselves with first grade life. Children have taken part in several “getting
to know you” activities during Morning Meeting and Open Circle. We’ve practiced
how to get into our Morning Meeting setting safely, calmly and cooperatively.
We've discussed rules, appropriate behavior, and positive work habits during
our first few meetings as well. Our class is also working on fostering
friendships and creating connections between children by sharing what’s
important and special to them with their Important Boxes. We even made
connections after reading William Steig’s book, “Which Would You Rather Be?”
This week, the children drew pictures and
wrote about the grand opening of the playground on Monday. Kids have also written
in their journals and have shared ways they can fill someone’s bucket with acts
of kindness. We had a fire drill last week as well. Kids did a great job
getting out of the building quickly, safely and quietly. Wow, have these kids
been flexible with schedule changes due to school photos and the fire drill
practice! Kids have come to school well rested and eager to participate in
activities. I thank you all for supporting your child in these first weeks of
transition into first grade. Oh, and a great big thank you for getting your
photo forms backin such a speedy fashion! That was the quickest-ever
turn-around time, so I appreciate you all adding one more thing to your very
full plates! J
Reader’s Workshop
Our reading program is off to a smooth start.
The children are becoming familiar with the structure of Reader’s Workshop in
first grade. Each child will have a
selection of appropriate reading material in his/her book bag in the next few
weeks. I've been listening to children
read various leveled books as I assess their current skills. What an exciting
time for first graders as they begin to embark on their journey into reading,
or as they continue to discover the wonderful adventures that books provide us
with! We will start small group work in October. Children will meet in small
groups to reinforce/practice skills, strengthen fluency, and learn
comprehension strategies.
Word Work/Phonics and
other Literacy Information
We have been reviewing beginning sounds
during our daily Word Work (phonics) lessons. We'll be playing lots of word
games to help strengthen phonemic awareness (the awareness of the sounds that
make up spoken words). Listening to the
sounds of words and segmenting them helps children to identify the sounds that
make up words. Learning to manipulate
these sounds will allow them to sound out and spell unfamiliar words when they
read and write. The children will also take part in several hands-on activities
that require them to manipulate or match up words and sounds.
We’ve also introduced 2 of our Reading Strategy Beanie Baby Buddies,
Eagle Eye and Lips the Fish. Eagle Eye reminds kids to look at the pictures for
clues to help figure out an unknown word. Lips the Fish cues kids to get their
lips ready; to say the first few sounds of the word out loud and then read to
the end of the sentence and say the sounds again. I’ve attached a set of
bookmarks for you and your child to use together at home; I hope these are
helpful!
We've been enjoying literacy experiences through
a number of read-alouds. Several of our class favorites during read-aloud
include:
First Day Jitters
by Julie Dannenberg
That’s Good! That’s Bad! By Margery Cuyler
A Fine, Fine School
by Sharon Creech
Hunter’s Best Friend at School by Laura Mallone Elliott
If I Built a House by
Chris Van Dusen
Missing Math: A Number Mystery by Loreen Leedy
Children are welcome to
borrow any of these books from our classroom library if they wish to share them
with you at home!
Math
Our math lessons have focused on the
collection and sorting of data. We’ve used data we’ve collected to create
graphs and make observations of our findings. We’ve asked questions such as
“How did you get to school?” and “Do you have a pet at home?” Then children
have recorded their answers. Language used in our observations has included
terms such as more than, less than, how many more, how many less, most, least,
same, different, compare, collect, and data.
We also played math games including Bunny Hop and Fill the Bear Houses. These games have provided practice for kids
in counting on a number line and counting forward from 1-40 and backwards from
40 to 1.
Homework and Important
Papers Folder
Each day your child will bring home
his/her “Homework and Important Papers Folder” with notices and completed work.
Please use it to return any notes or forms. I'll send some of your child’s work
home to you once I have taken a look at it. I'll be keeping some pieces for
your child’s portfolio, which will be very helpful when looking at your child’s
progress during conferences. It may be
helpful for you to go through your child’s backpack at the end of each day,
asking questions about our activities so that you can get a general feel about
your child’s day. I'll be sending
newsletters home with explanations and details about various activities and
upcoming events. You may want to read
certain parts of the newsletter with your child to remind him/her of our
activities if your child is one to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember”
when asked about his/her day. This is more common than you think so I'll do my
best to provide you with as much information as possible so that you are
feeling fully in touch with your child’s school experience. Paper copies of
newsletters will be sent home at first and then I’ll be posting letters on my
blog on the Happy Hollow website. I’m very new to the world of blogging, so our
Technology Specialist is helping me to update my Happy Hollow website and post
newsletters online. I will let you know when I post information. If you have
not yet sent me your email address, please do so at your earliest convenience so
that you will receive important classroom information via email. Also, if you
would prefer a paper copy of our newsletter, please let me know and I will be
happy to send one home with your child.
Who is....?
I know I shared information about the
adults that your child is coming in contact with during the school day, but I
thought I’d put them down on paper as well. Here are the folks that will be a part
of our first grade experience this year:
Jennifer Norton:
Ms. Norton is our special education liaison. She will be in the classroom for
some language arts and math lessons. Even if your child is not on an education
plan, he/she may occasionally work with her.
Christine Hayes: Mrs.
Hayes is our reading specialist. She will work with small groups of children
during Reader’s Workshop. She has been helping with reading assessments this
week. She will be meeting with small groups of children three times a week
(beginning in October), as determined by the results of our literacy
assessments.
Deede Bergeron and Laura O’Brien: These 2 ladies are my beloved first grade
teaching colleagues! Your child may work in a math group or reading group with one
of them or both of them during the school year.
Maddie Keyes and Tom Donaldson : Ms Keyes and Mr. Donaldson are our Happy
Hollow building substitutes. They may occasionally help out in class if they
are not assigned to another classroom on any given day. They LOVE first graders
and always enjoy spending time with us!
Beth Santomenna: Mrs. Santomenna is our guidance counselor
this year. She will join us on Friday
mornings for our Open
Circle.
Homework
Many of the children have been asking for homework.
They are so eager to show you how grown up they are! I told them that homework
for first graders in Room 2 consists of 10-15 minutes of reading each night,
either independently or with a family member. As I explained at Curriculum
Night, kids may read on their own, they may read to an adult or a sibling, and
they may even read to a family pet or stuffed animal! ANYTHING that makes them
proud to be a reader and gives them practice. Again, it is equally valuable to
be read to, so if your child is tired after a long day, reading to him or her
will offer a valuable voice in tone and fluency. Plus~you get the treasure of a
good snuggle curled up with a book together! Lots of outdoor play and family
time are also wonderful ways to spend time after school. Building strong
bodies, appreciation for others and for nature, fostering creativity and
strengthening confidence all enrich the whole child.
Fifth Grade Buddies
We will be meeting with
our Fifth Grade Buddies in Mrs. Leo’s class in the next few weeks! Details to come!
Volunteers
Many of you have asked if I will be
looking for parent volunteers to help out in class this year and the answer is
a great big YES! I’ll take the first month of school to establish routines
within the classroom and to get to know the children, and then I’ll have
parents in as volunteers beginning in October. I love having parents in class,
both to help out with activities, and so that you can see how the children
learn and grow in their school environment!
Keep an eye out for emails from our room parents, Lisa Bagley and Erin
Mueller, about signing up to help in class. J
Looking Ahead…
I’m excited to have our class take part in
the Global Cardboard Challenge this year! Dates and specifics to follow, but
in a nutshell, it’s a day where we plan and create team projects made from
recyclables. It’s an awesome experience for kids! If you have any egg cartons,
cardboard, shoe boxes (or other interesting boxes), toilet paper tubes, paper
towel tubes, berry boxes, etc., please send them in! If you think kids can
build and create with it, we’re happy to take it off your hands. No sharp
objects or glass, please! Also, if you have any extra masking tape, clear
packing tape, or duct tape at home, we’d LOVE donations; thanks so much for
contributing to what is sure to be an amazing combination of math, science,
art, teamwork and FUN!!!!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at
508-358-2120.
I hope you all enjoy the weekend ahead!
Take Care,
Lise Weig J
