Edwards

March 2

Early Release Day: Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 3) is Early Release Day. Students are dismissed two hours early.

 

Help with classroom materials: We have “grown out” of most of our workboxes, and are ready for more academic tasks for independent work. If you would be willing to help me put together some folder games, I’ll supply you with the materials. It involves cutting, some coloring, and gluing. If I can get several people working on them, we can turn out a lot of new activities in a short amount of time! Let me know if you would like to give me a hand.

 

This Thursday: March 5^th- PTSA meeting with First Grade music performance.

 

Coming up: March 11 is Paraprofessional recognition day. If you’d like to send in a card for Pam or Ms. Amber, I’ll deliver your greetings. We couldn’t keep this class running if not for them!

 

Spring Forward: Next Sunday, March 8, turn your clocks forward 1 hour.

 

This Friday: Relay for Life hat day. For a 25 cent donation, wear your hat all day.

 

Reminders:

·        Wear warm coats & keep gloves/hats in backpacks

·        Send in handwritten excuses for absences

·        Check in at the attendance office if students are arriving after 7:50 a.m.

February 18

Georgia Alternate Assessment: Please return the permission form for using photos to document student progress on the GAA. For students being evaluated on GAA instead of the CRCT, we submit evidence of their progress in the form of work samples, observations, photographs, videos, sound clips, etc. This way we can show the achievement of those for whom a standardized test does not appropriately measure growth. (Thank you to those who returned them right away!)

Wee Deliver Mailboxes: Thank you to those who volunteered to donate a mailbox. The offers were so numerous that the need was filled within the first day. Unless you get the instructions from the committee, you don’t have to donate at this time. We’ll let you know when we have another need!

Field Trip: Due to some unforeseen problems with numbers and scheduling, we will not be attending the Puppetry Arts field trip. I will let you know when the next field trip is being planned.

 

This Friday: Relay for Life hat day. For a 25 cent donation, wear your hat all day.

 

Coming Up: March 5^th- PTSA meeting with First Grade music performance.

 

Reminders:

·        Wear warm coats & keep gloves/hats in backpacks

·        Send in handwritten excuses for absences

·        Check in at the attendance office if students are arriving after 7:50 a.m.

December 10

Wear Warm Coats: Whenever possible, we will go outside after lunch, even if it is just to walk the track for ten minutes. Please be sure students have warm jackets. I also recommend keeping mittens and a hat in a backpack pocket.

Holiday Party: Our class party will be on Wednesday, December 17 from 1-2 p.m. We will need some parents to help us out, so let me know if you can come in that day. We are going to play some games, decorate some cookies (Gluten-free, of course) and make some ornaments.

Book Fair: Be sure to stop in at the book fair this week. There are lots of wonderful books to give as gifts to your child. Check out my classroom wish list, too! The book fair runs all this week from 2:15 until 6:00 p.m.

Reminder: Don't forget to send in a handwritten excuse for absences. The attendance office must have a parent signature to excuse an absence (email is not sufficient). See the school policy for details on types of absences that are excused.

October 24

It's that time of year: Now that the weather is getting cooler be sure to send in extra sets of clothes for the cold weather. Please label clothes. We do the best we can to keep things separated but occasionally a mix-up happens. Also, please put names in coats. We haven't memorized everyone's coat yet, and during this changing weather, sometimes you send different coats depending on how cold it is. It will help us make sure you get the right coat back.

Thank you! The supplies everyone sent in will keep us in good shape for quite awhile! We really appreciate your generosity.

Field Trip: Thanks to everyone for your quick responses about our field trip. I have received most of the lunch choices and many of the payments were turned in. However, the Cobb County Permission Forms MUST be returned in order for the students to go on the trip. Even if you are meeting us as a chaperone, you need to return the county permission form. I will put another copy of the form in folders on Monday.

We wear our Still t-shirts on trip day, so we can quickly spot everyone. If your child doesn't have a shirt, please let me know right away and we can get one.

We are winners! We had 50% participation in the Sally Foster fundraiser, so we earned a great rolling backpack for our class from Sally Foster. It will come in handy this week on our field trip, as well as trips to the upper field or lunch room for various activities. Thank you parents, for supporting our school.

October 17

Please remember: Whenever your child is absent, please send in a written excuse when the student returns to school. The school must track and report excused and unexcused absences. Certain types of absences are not excused even with a note, but send the note anyway so we have the information. You can find the policy on absences in the handbook that came home at the beginning of the year.

Field trip: We are going on a field trip!! Details of our trip to Cagle's Dairy farm will come home on Monday. I would like to have enough adults to have 1:1 assistance for each child, so I will need several volunteers. Mark your calendar now, for Thursday, October 30.

Classroom needs: Plastic forks, disposable plates, both small & large.

Daily Report: The revised daily report did not get finished as I had anticipated. I tried to include personal notes this week for anything out of the ordinary. Watch for the new forms on Monday.

Reflections Contest: Everyone in our class submitted a watercolor picture for the Reflections contest, under the special needs category. You will receive an invitation to the art show here at Still. A permission slip is necessary only for the entries to be promoted to the regional level. I am including those permission slips for you to complete if you would like your child's picture to be considered for promotion.

September 9

I need your feedback:

You have been recieving daily reports from me in the form of the "My Day" forms. I am going to tweak them somewhat and would like your help. Please let me know what kind of information you would like to see in a daily report, and what things are not interesting or useful to you. I still need to have a single form that goes to everyone, since preparing 8 folders takes a significant amount of time each day. However, I want the form to be something that is helpful if I am going to take the time to do it. You can write your thoughts on the form or send me a note/email. I really appreciate your input.

Early Release Day

Next Tuesday, September 16 is an Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed to Special Education buses at noon.

Spirit Days

School spirit days are scheduled on Fridays throughout the year. They are not every Friday, but students in my class can certainly wear their Still t-shirts on Fridays. If you would like to order a shirt, return the blue form with your check. Relay for Life is also sponsoring hat days on Fridays. For 25 cents, students can wear a hat all day. (If not wearing a hat the rest of the week might be a problem, there are many other ways you can contribute to Relay for Life!)

Announcements from the office for all Still families:

• Please do not put any notes inside or write notes on the outside of money  envelopes regarding your child.  These envelopes may not be opened until after school is out.  Write notes on seperate sheet of paper.
  
• We strive to provide a safe and secure atmosphere for all students.
  Please stop by front office and get a visitor sticker if you are going past the office into the building. This is for the safety of all students.

Welcome!
2008-2009 School Year

I am looking forward to a great school year! You will be able to check here weekly for any news of our class. Depending on your needs and what we do this year, this blog will keep you updated. I usually send a weekly newsletter home which will cover the same information for those of you who prefer to have this in hand.

Additionally, you will be able to look at our class schedule, supply list, and my contact information. Look at the links in the column on the right of this page.