Miatta Smith

April 21, 2008

CRCT – Begins Wed. 4/23 through Fri. 4/25.  Now would be a good time to ensure that the students get to bed at an early time so that they will have had plenty of sleep by the time testing begins.  Have the student pack book bags, lay out clothes, and even decide what they want for breakfast, the night before.  Hopefully, that will eliminate some of the morning stress.  Make sure a good healthy snack is provided as well.  They will not have homework during the testing days to help alleviate some of the test stress they may be having.

More information upcoming:

High Tech/High Touch – May 12^th or May 13th

Author’s Tea – Monday, May 19^th from 10:55 – 11:45

You may begin sending in your self-addressed stamped envelope for mailing your student’s final report card.

Mrs. Smith plans to return on May 13^th!!  Yay!!  We all miss her so much!!

March 24

Theme - Nutrition, please send in food labels so that we can use them for our literacy centers, math, etc.

Math - Measurement - Weights - please see last week's blog for links to measurement ThinkMath! games.  The children really enjoy them.

Reading - We are reviewing our phonics lessons and we are picking up the pace in Reading. 

CRCT - If your child uses the CRCT web site to practice taking tests, please sign his/her agenda to have their name added in a drawing.

March 19, 2008

Math - we are learning about measurement.  Today we used paper clips to estimate and then measure different objects around the room.  Here are some links to games on the web:

Extra Practice on Measurement

beginning level

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/longer_shorter/

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/heavier/

grade level

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/length_strength1_clips/

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/length_strength1_inches/

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/length_strength1_centi/

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/which_tool/

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/pounds/

advanced level

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/ounces_pounds/

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/choose_the_unit/

proficient level

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr3/22.html

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/length_strength3/

Ms. Chambers is using the Promethean Board for alot of fun, interactive learning!  It is being used as one of our centers.  Ask your child about all the things they are learning on there.

We have made some changes to recess "time out."  Instead of the whole class losing recess time, due to a few students, those individual students will lose the time.  Sometimes peer pressure works, sometimes it doesn't.  All the students thought that would be more fair. 

We are just about done with our Phonics lessons.  After that, we will be re-reading our phonics books and completing higher level thinking skills using those books.

Thank you for all your support! 

March 10, 2008

Fun Run is Wednesday, 3/12.  If it is raining, it will be postponed to Thursday 3/13.  All the parents are invited to participate or watch.  The time we will be at the upper field will be 10:15 - 11:15.

*************** Class Pictures will be taken this Thursday, March 13*****************

Reading - We have completed our phonics books and are now using other take home readers for comprehension questions.  Please have your child answer the questions in a complete sentence.

Math - We just finished time and we will be reviewing this before the test next week.  Please visit http://www.hbschool.com/thinkmath/index.html and practice the time exercises.  Some of them have been doing this in class, but the extra practice at home will really help.

Snacks - Your child is getting a buggy buck for bringing a healthy snack from themselves ;)

CRCT Practice - If you are experiencing problems signing on to the website, contact the front office.

The Water Cycle will be our theme next week.  They really enjoy learning about weather and I am sure they will enjoy the water cycle as well.

February 25

Yay!!  We made it through another week without our beloved Mrs. Smith.  We miss her terribly and look forward to her coming back.

Field Trip on Tuesday, February 26^th.  We are going to HIllgrove to see a performing arts play.  We are planning on wearing our class t-shirts.  Buses leave at 9:00 a.m. and we will return around 11:00 a.m.

Reading & Spelling – we are getting toward the end of our phonics lessons and the children have really grown in this area.  It is amazing to see how well they are reading. 

Math – we finished our chapter in graphs.  We have been doing graphs throughout the year and they did really well on the chapter test.  We are beginning.

Theme – We are moving into Dental Hygiene next week so if you have some dentures laying around . . . don't send them in ;)

Extra Practice on Graphs

beginning level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/counting_objects/

grade level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/dino/

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/calculator_tally_table/

advanced level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/lets_graph/

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/lets_graph/

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/dino/

proficient level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr3/25.html

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr3/26.html

Fractions

beginning level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/loading_shapes/

grade level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/cross_the_river/

advanced level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/bowling_for_fractions/

proficient level

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/elab2004/gr3/11.html

http://www.harcourtschool.com/jingles/jingles_all/35how_easy_is_that.html

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/con_math/g03c21.html

Baby Gilbert:

February 1

     GO GIANTS!!!

In class...

  In phonics, we learned the spellings for the /aw/ sound: au & aw.  We began the reading comprehension sheets that go along with some of our phonics books. Please have your child re-read these books when they have a reading sheet assigned.  They will help in comprehension. Have your child show you where they found the answer in the book.

  We have learned what nouns or "naming words" are. Please ask your child to tell you what a noun is. Have them tell you nouns from books they are reading.

  We continued our unit on money. Please have your child practice counting by 5’s & 10’s. This will help them when counting nickels and dimes. Also, please have your child make trades of coins, e.g.: 5 pennies for a nickel, 2 nickels or a nickel and 5 pennies for a dime, and various combinations for a quarter.  Practice, practice, practice!!!!

Here are links to money websites that consist of identifying coins (beginning), counting money (intermediate), and comparing (proficient) amounts. If your child is getting the coins confused, have them begin working on the beginning money website for several days until they get the hang of it. Then they can move on to the intermediate page. 

Write a note in your child's agenda, stating your child completed some of these activities for some BUGGY BUCKS!!!

Beginning Money:

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/money_build_robot/ 

Intermediate Money:

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/counting_money/ 

Proficient with Money

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/comparing_money/ 

Homework

·        Please have your child arrive at school in the morning with enough time to get unpacked for the day.

·        Please make sure your child is completing his/her HW every night. This is extremely important. The work we send home for HW reinforces the work we do in class. Also, make sure to sign your child’s agenda and HW folder each night. This lets us know that you have seen their agenda, any comments it may contain, and they have read their Phonics book to you. Thank you!!

·        Be sure your child is practicing addition and subtraction facts to 18 daily – flash cards, give your child three numbers and have them write the “fact family” (5, 7, 12 – 5+7=12, 7+5=12, 12-7=5, & 12-5=7).

·        Please have your child read & reread the Phonics books to you each night. This will improve their fluency.

·        If your child has a yellow sight word folder, please be sure to be practicing their words each night. Recognition of these words will help them to become better readers. Students need to know all 220 sight words by the end of the first grade.

Update

  I just wanted to update all of you on my maternal state. I am planning on my last day being Thursday, February 14. Of course, this date is always subject to change. J  Dr. Navarro and Ms. Smith have found a wonderful person, Ms. Sonya Chambers, to join the class.  Ms. Auzenne will be leading the classroom in my absence and Ms. Chambers will be supporting her.

Valentine Exchange 

  Next week, Thursday, Feb. 14, is Valentine’s Day. We will be doing a Valentine Exchange in class. These may consist of cards or cards & a special treat. Please assist your child in filling these out. A class list will be coming home with your child this week. 

Accelerated Reader (AR)

  Our class has reached their 50% goal in AR. That means we are just about on track for the school year.  All of the students helped us reach this goal by reading AR books and passing their AR tests. Our prize for reaching our 50% goal is an Ice Cream Party which we had this afternoon.  The students enjoyed themselves.

  Keep encouraging your child to check out AR books and take tests on them.

PTA Performance

   This week you should have received a yellow half-slip with information about our PTA Performance. Next Thursday is the February PTA meeting that we will be performing at.  It will start at 6:30.

• Students should wear their brown class t-shirts or another brown shirt.
• Students should wear jeans with pockets.
• Please drop your child at our classroom by 6:25.
• Take your child’s jacket with you to the meeting. (Students will not be able to get back in the classroom after they perform.)

Dates to Remember...

    Weds. February 6 – Early Release Day: Students dismissed two      hours early

  Thurs. February 7 – First Grade performs at PTA Night

   February 18 & 19 – No school: Presidents’ Day & Teacher workday

Next Week

   Theme: Groundhog Day/Winter

Thank You     

   Rebecca's mom for keeping track of AR tests, extra snacks, for our AR Ice Cream Party, and for bringing in a bag of Valentine message hearts. Thanks so much!

Wanted...

• Volunteers to make copies
• Items for the Treasure Box
• Extra snacks
• 1 bag of Valentine message heart candies

January 25

In class...

  In phonics, we reviewed the spellings for the /ow/ sound.

  We began our unit on money. It went very well. Please make sure to send your child with a labeled baggy of coins: 10 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, & 2 quarters. We will use these coins to help us practice counting money for the next few weeks. Thanks!

Here are links to money websites that consist of identifying coins (beginning), counting money (intermediate), and comparing (proficient) amounts. Write a note in your child's agenda, stating your child completed some of these activities for some BUGGY BUCKS!!!

Beginning Money:

Identifying coins

Intermediate Money:

Counting Money

Proficient with Money

Comparing Money

Homework

·        Please make sure your child is completing his/her HW every night. This is extremely important. The work we send home for HW reinforces the work we do in class. Also, make sure to sign your child’s agenda and HW folder each night. This lets us know that you have seen their agenda, any comments it may contain, and they have read their Phonics book to you. Thank you!!

·        Be sure your child is practicing addition and subtraction facts to 18 daily – flash cards, give your child three numbers and have them write the “fact family” (5, 7, 12 – 5+7=12, 7+5=12, 12-7=5, & 12-5=7).

·        Please have your child read & reread the Phonics books to you each night. This will improve their fluency.

·        If your child has a yellow sight word folder, please be sure to be practicing their words each night. Recognition of these words will help them to become better readers. Students need to know all 220 sight words by the end of the first grade.

Update

  I just wanted to update all of you on my maternal state. I am planning on my last day being Thursday, February 14. Of course, this date is always subject to change. J  Dr. Navarro and Ms. Smith have found a wonderful replacement for me, Ms. Sonya Chambers. 

Accelerated Reader (AR)

  As we are now in the second half of the school year, students are now expected to take AR tests by themselves. Students may no longer retake failed tests and we will no longer delete failed tests (below 80%).

  Please be sure that your child has read their AR book to you at least 2-3 times. Ask him/her questions afterwards to make sure they understand what they are reading. If they are having trouble reading the book to you – they may have a problem reading the test questions and answers by themselves. We want to ensure the students’ success on these tests. Thank you for your help.

  Students are now allowed to check out two books from the

Media

Center

.  We are encouraging the students to always have at least one AR book checked out at a time. Please help your child to find a “safe” place for these books at home. 

Conferences

   It was wonderful to speak with all of you this week. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to discuss with us your child’s progress.

Dates to Remember...

  January 28 – Parent/Teacher conferences – Early Release all week: Students dismissed two hours early

  Weds. February 6 – Early Release Day: Students dismissed two      hours early

  Thurs. February 7 – First Grade performs at PTA Night

   February 18 & 19 – No school: Presidents’ Day & Teacher workday

Next Week

   Theme: Winter

Thank You     

   Rebecca's mom for keeping track of AR tests and for extra snacks, Alex K’s mom for setting up food for teachers, Leslie for bringing in treasure box items, and the parents who sent in snacks for teachers during conference week.  Thanks so much!

Wanted...

• Volunteers to make copies
• Items for the Treasure Box
• Extra snacks
• 2 bags of Valentine message heart candies

January 18

Happy Birthday Dr. King!

In class...

   We read several books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the wonderful contributions that he made to our country. We discussed his dream and wrote about what our dreams are.

  In writing, we will be focusing on informational writing. We will write about the information they have learned about Dr. King. Mystery Question: What did Martin Luther King, Jr. tell his mother he was going to do when he grew up? (It was in the book, My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris)

  In phonics, we learned three new spellings for the /ow/ sound, (as in cow & now). Now we know that /ow/ makes two sounds.

  In math we learned more strategies to help us add numbers higher than 12.

Homework

·        Please make sure to sign your child’s agenda and HW folder each night.

·        Be sure your child is practicing addition and subtraction facts to 18 daily – flash cards, give your child three numbers and have them write the “fact family” (5, 7, 12 – 5+7=12, 7+5=12, 12-7=5, & 12-5=7).

·        Please have your child read & reread the Phonics books to you each night. This will improve their fluency.

·        If your child has a yellow sight word folder, please be sure to be practicing their words each night. Recognition of these words will help them to become better readers. Students need to know all 220 sight words by the end of the first grade.

Accelerated Reader (AR)

  As we are now in the second half of the school year, students are now expected to take AR tests by themselves. Students may no longer retake failed tests and we will no longer delete failed tests (below 80%).

  Please be sure that your child has read their AR book to you at least 2-3 times. Ask him/her questions afterwards to make sure they understand what they are reading. If they are having trouble reading the book to you – they may have a problem reading the test questions and answers by themselves. We want to ensure the students’ success on these tests. Thank you for your help.

  Students are now allowed to check out two books from the

Media

Center

.  We are encouraging the students to always have at least one AR book checked out at a time. Please help your child to find a “safe” place for these books at home. 

Report Cards

   If you haven’t done so already, please send back the signed report card signature card in the manila envelope with your child.

Conferences

   We look forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child’s progress so far this year. Please be on time for your conference, as they are scheduled back-to-back.

  Thank you to those of you who have returned the conference scheduling forms. If you have not returned the form yet, please do so as soon as possible.

Dates to Remember...

  Monday, January 21 – No school: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

  January 22 – 28 – Parent/Teacher conferences – Early Release all week: Students dismissed two hours early

  Weds. February 6 – Early Release Day: Students dismissed two      hours early

  Thurs. February 7 – First Grade performs at PTA Night

   February 18 & 19 – No school: Presidents’ Day & Teacher workday

Next Week

   Theme: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (cont.) / Winter

News from Room moms

   A notice came home this week about conference week snacks. If you are able to bring in the requested fruit on Thursday, 1/24, please be sure to send back the bottom part of the form.  You may send the snacks in with your child. Adrienne Kaambo will pick them up from the classroom and bring them to the teacher’s lounge. Thank you!!!

Thank You     

   Rebecca's mom for assisting students’ with and keeping track of AR tests, Jack’s mom for making copies.

Wanted...

• Volunteers to make copies
• Items for the Treasure Box
• Extra snacks

January 11

Happy New Year!

  We hope that you and your family had an enjoyable and relaxing break.  This week we were back in full swing.  The kids came in excited to see each other and eager to catch up and share their news from the break.  It is such a privilege to get to work with them and with you!!

In class...

   We picked up right where we left off last year. J  In phonics, we learned three new spellings for the long o sound: _oe (as in toe), oa_ (as in boat), & _ow (as in snow).  In math we learned more strategies to help us add numbers higher than 12.

AR

  As we are now in the 2nd half of the First grade, students are now expected to read their AR tests & questions on their own. Also, we will no longer be deleting failed (lower than an 80%) tests, which means that there will not be any retaking tests . 

Homework

   Please make sure your child is practicing addition and subtraction facts to 12 daily.

Report Cards

   Today your child will be coming home with their report card - in their blue Take-home folder - for the 2^nd 9 weeks.  Please sign the signature card and return in the unsealed manila envelope next week.

Conferences

  A form went home with your child on Tuesday regarding dates & times of your parent-teacher conference. If the date/time is fine, please sign and check the appropriate line on the bottom portion of the form and send it in with your child. If you have a conflict and cannot attend at the date/time we have scheduled for you, please write us a note letting us know which day/time is best so that we can reschedule your conference.

  Thank you to those of you who have returned the forms. If you have not returned the form yet, please do so as soon as possible.

Dates to Remember...

  January 21 – No school: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

  January 22 – 28 – Parent/Teacher conferences - Early Release - Students dismissed two hours early

  Weds. February 6 – Early Release Day: Students dismissed two      hours early

  Thurs. February 7 – First Grade performs at PTA Night

   February 18 & 19 – No school: Presidents’ Day & Teacher workday

Next Week

   Theme: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    We will learn some strategies to help us with our subtraction facts to 12.

Congratulations to...

  Chloe Nogame, January’s TERRIFIC Kid.

Thank You     

   Rebecca's mom for assisting student's with and keeping track of AR tests.

Wanted...

• Volunteers to make copies
• A volunteer who can come in once or twice a week for 30 minutes to bring students to the Media Center to check books out and take AR tests.
• Extra snacks

  We want to thank you all for making us feel very appreciated with our gifts and cards for Christmas.  It was wonderful!!! Your thoughtfulness meant a lot to us. 

December 21

In class...

   We completed assessments for the 2^nd 9 weeks. The students are progressing very well. We are very proud of all of them.

     In Writer’s Workshop we completed our writing on our Holiday Family Traditions. We also wrote about a visit to the North Pole. The students were very creative in these narrative writings.

Homework

     Please make sure to have your child read or read to your child every day over the Break. Also, have your child practice his or her addition and subtraction facts up to 12.

   The students will be coming home with a gift from Ms. Auzenne, Ms. Beth, and I. Inside is a deck of cards and a booklet of Math Card Games, with instructions on how to play.  This is a fun way to have your child practice their addition and subtraction facts over the break and beyond!!!

J

Upcoming Events...

  December 24 – January 7 - No School: Winter Vacation

  January 21 – No school: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

  January 22 - 28 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

  January 6 - Early Release: Students dismissed two hours early

  January 19 - No School: Teacher Workday

In 3 Weeks

   Theme: New Year’s

Congratulations to...

  Brandon, for being nominated as this week's Character Kid for Gratitude.

Thank You     

   Rebecca's mom for assisting students with taking AR tests, the moms of William, Alex K., and Alex S. for helping to set up and clean up at our holiday party, Alex K.’s mom for organizing our holiday party.

Wanted...

• A volunteer who can come in once or twice a week for 30 minutes to bring students to the Media Center to check books out and take AR tests.
• Kleenex  tissues for the computer lab

We hope you and your families have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and healthy, Happy New Year. See you in 2008!!!