Hello Parents,
This week our class celebrated 100 days of school! They have come so far and learned so much, and yet there is still so much to learn and experience in first grade. I am proud of their hard work. For the next two weeks we are learning about our earth: the layers, volcanoes and geysers, minerals and rocks in the earth, and fossils and dinosaurs. We are also learning about kindness and friendship, and the students are learning how to write friendly letters. Next Friday our first graders have a Dental Health Assembly at 2:00 here at the school. You are welcome to join us if you would like. VALENTINE’S DAY - Next week is Valentine’s Day, and your child is welcome to share valentine cards with each other on Thursday, February 14th. Please have your child sign his/her name on each card, but do not write CLASSMATES’ NAMES on the cards. This will save us oodles of time and will help prevent any peer distress. We will decorate Valentine bags in class for sharing cards, so you do not need to prepare a “mailbox” at home. If your child would like to share valentines with their friends, please keep it simple. Sweets are fine (we will be sending everything home so that you can decide what you would like your child to have). Non-food or healthy treats are even better. (Please be sure that any food treats are store bought and individually packaged.) Of course, simple cards or notes are fantastic as well. We have 24 students in our class, as well as Ms. Dastrup and myself. Let me just say, however, that Ms. Dastrup and I would be delighted with a hand-written note from your child, so if you are buying a 24-pack of valentines, please do not buy an extra pack for our sake. BOX TOPS - We will have a parent volunteer coming to our class next week to collect BOX TOPS, so if you have been saving them at home, please send them to school with your child. Remember that these become money that can be used directly by our school to purchase supplies! FEBRUARY BOOK REPORTS - The book reports for this month will require a little more forethought than most. The assignment is for students to read a biography / autobiography, and then to type a digital report (summary). Because this is a short month, you will want to help your child to get started right away with a book selection. If you do not have access to a printer, you may send a PDF or Word document to my email, and I can print it out here at school. The book options are much broader than our school reading list for this genre. This is a great opportunity for your child to learn more about a real / historical person whom they admire. Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!
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Hello Parents,
This has been a great week of learning for our wonderful first graders. We have spent these past couple weeks learning about astronomy. We have learned about the sun and stars, and the phases of the moon. We have learned about the earth’s rotation and its orbit around the sun. We have learned about the 4 inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and the 4 outer planets as well: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. READING GROUPS - I have been so excited about our reading groups during Voyager time. We are working in small, leveled reading groups, and are rotating throughout the week between four stations: 1. Computer time (all of our kids are working with the Imagine Learning program, which is individualized reading instruction - so exciting!), 2. Sight Word practice, 3. Word Work Groups (working with phonogram and targeted reading skills). and 4.. Guided Reading Groups (we are reading stories from the Houghton Mifflin Reading series). We also take time each day to practice our reading and writing skills by using our sight words to read poems and compose great sentences. Ms. Dastrup and I are working together with the groups, but if you would like to be involved in helping the students with their reading during this time, please let me know. We would be happy to have you in our class. VALENTINE’S DAY - Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. We will not have a class party on Valentine’s Day, but we will do some friendship activities and games throughout the week,, and the children will have an opportunity to share valentine cards with each other on Thursday, February 14th. We will decorate Valentine bags in class for sharing cards, so you do not need to prepare a “mailbox” at home. If your child would like to share valentines with their friends, please keep it simple. Sweets are fine (we will be sending everything home so that you can decide what you would like your child to have). Non-food or healthy treats are even better. Of course, simple cards or notes are fantastic as well. We have 24 students in our class, as well as Ms. Dastrup and myself. Let me just say, however, that Ms. Dastrup and I would be delighted with a hand-written note from your child, so if you are buying a 24-pack of valentines, please do not buy an extra pack for our sake. CONGRATULATIONS - Last week at our award assembly, we were happy to honor some outstanding students: Congratulations to Aiden, who received our Academic Achievement Award for the 2nd term. Aiden has been doing great work, and we are proud of him. Congratulations also to Reagan, who received our Citizenship Award. Reagan is very kind, and helpful to her classmates and her teachers. Way to go! A big congratulations to our students who received an award for perfect attendance throughout the 2nd term: Anni, Asher, and Mia. Great job - that is a wonderful accomplishment. I would also like to congratulate Tayli, who gave a wonderful hula-hoop performance at our school talent show today. Nice job! Thank you so much for all of the support you give to your child’s academic growth each day, and for all of the ways you help to support our school. I am so happy to be working with you. Have a great weekend. Hello Parents,
Grades are finalized for term two, and we are now entering the final half of first grade! I am so thankful to be working with this fantastic group of kids, and I am so proud of all that they have accomplished so far this year. BOOK REPORTS - Mystery mobile book reports will be due on the 31st. I am including a copy of the report form, as well as a list of recommended books. OPEN HOUSE - Odyssey will be hosting an open house next Thursday night, January 24th, from 6;00-7:30 p.m.. If you know anyone who would like to learn more about our amazing school, please spread the word. DIBELS - I gave you the wrong information in my last newsletter. DIBELS mid-year reading assessments began this week, and will continue until the 23rd of next week. I can’t wait to see the progress that our students have made. CONGRATULATIONS - Congratulations to Abby, our January Ambassador of Resilience. Abby never gets discouraged with trying again, and she works at a task until she “gets” it. Congratulations, also, to Jaxon, who was our December Ambassador of Dedication. Jaxon loves to learn, and he always puts his best effort into all of his work. THANK YOU - Thank you so much for helping out with our final C.E.T. today. The kids had so much fun tasting Mexican food, learning new dances, and making art projects. Thank you for all of you who provided all of the supplies to help make our activities a success. Enjoy the long holiday weekend with your family! I will talk with you again next week. Hello Parents,
I hope that you all had a wonderful winter holiday! I had the loveliest time with my family, and I am feeling refreshed and ready to tackle this new year. I hope that your children are looking forward to this second half of first grade. We had a great day coming back together again. Our school counselor, Ms. Lewis, was in our class today, talking about the character trait of resilience, and she was so complimentary about how polite and well-behaved our kids are. (I agree!) There are a few things that I want to share with you. DIBELS - The DIBELS reading test begins next week. I am excited to our students' progress, and to have feedback for areas to keep improving. You do not need to do anything to prepare for this, except to please be sure that your child is here during the week of Jan. 9 - 16. BOOK REPORTS - Thank you so much for getting those December book reports turned in. If your child has not turned his/her report in yet, please be sure to send it tomorrow. I will be handing out the January book report form & reading calendar tomorrow. MEXICO C.E.T. - This is our final C.E.T. for this year, and it is such a fun experience, as all of our first grade classes will be coming together to participate. Please consider how you would be able to volunteer for this event. Here is a link to the sign up genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b48a5aa2ba5f58-mexico LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - I am so thankful to be able to bring our needs for volunteer service to you. Thank you for partnering together with us to make our school an excellent experience. Here is a note that our librarian, Ms. Beckstrand, wanted me to pass along to you: Urgent Help Needed – Rewarding Weekly Volunteer Hours! Library Shift Volunteers – There is an urgent need for help with shifts in the library including helping out with OUR class! This is for weekly shifts working directly with the students in the library. Available shifts include Monday and Thursday afternoons for a 1½ or two-hour shift before carpool. Job Description: Library shifts are to assist in students finding and checking out books on the computer. We have a lot of fun directing children to the books they are interested in, and helping them learn to become responsible little people. Volunteers need to be consistent, able to be here each week, and willing to try to find their own sub when they cannot be here. No preschoolers, please. Go to this link to see what shifts are available or email the librarian, [email protected] Hello Parents,
Can you believe that winter break is almost here? We have been learning about the early American civilizations: the Maya, the Aztecs, and the Incas. Next week and the week following break, we will learn about Hernan Cortes and other conquistadores. BOOK REPORTS & READING CALENDARS - This month’s book report is READER’S CHOICE. Please let your child choose any book that he/she loves for this month’s report. The due date for book reports is December 19th. However, I did not get the report forms out until a week into December (sorry!), so I will extend the deadline for our class to Friday, January 4th. I would encourage you to have your child turn it in before the winter break, but if you need the extra time, please know that it is available. Please be sure to keep track of reading minutes throughout the month of December. Reading calendars will also be due January 4th. CHRISTMAS PARTY - We will have a Christmas party in our class on Wednesday, December 19th, from 12:15 - 1:15. We would be happy for you to join us. I am so thankful to Heather Andersen and Kristina Gregory for their efforts in organizing our party. Please let them know if you would like to help out in any way. [email protected] / [email protected] WINTER BREAK - Wednesday, December 19th is an early out day, and it will be our final day of school until we return on Thursday, January 3rd. MEXICO C.E.T. - Our C.E.T. learning times are always so exciting for our students! Our final C.E.T. for the year is about MEXICO, and it will be held on Wednesday, January 14th, from 1:30 - 2:45. Our C.E.T. coordinator, Lyndsey Meyer will be sending out a sign-up genius form, but if you would like to talk to Lyndsey about any way that you can help during the winter break, you can email her at [email protected] THANK YOU - Last, but not least, I want to tell you how grateful I am to be working with this wonderful group of families. I thoroughly enjoy working with your kids each day, and I so appreciate how supportive and encouraging you all have been. I wish you all much joy as you celebrate this holiday season. Hello Parents,
We have had such a great week. We finished our ancient Egypt unit this week. The kids read about the pharaohs and pyramids, and about the Egyptian homes, clothing, and food, and then they shared their discoveries with their classmates. We had a fun C.E.T. about Egypt today: The kids made mummies, colored a headdress, and wrote their names on an Egyptian Cartouche. They tasted foods that were familiar to the Egyptian people: hummus, lentils, dates, and honey. A great big thanks for all of your donations and to so many of you who were able to come and help in our classroom. I am so grateful for your support. THANKSGIVING BREAK - There will be no school on Wednesday, November 21st - November 23rd, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope that you all enjoy this time together. FOOD PERMISSION - Our class earned a “Friday fun fifteen” reward, but with the C.E. T. today, we are going to postpone our reward to Monday. I am planning to make applesauce with our class, but I want to ask that if your child is not able to eat the applesauce, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY MONDAY. The ingredients are apples, cinnamon, lemon juice, and a little sugar. FOOD DRIVE - Thank you for bringing food donations to our school this week. There were five full barrels in our front hallway by the end of the week. Great job! BOOK REPORTS - Please remember that it is only a couple weeks before November book reports are due. The genre is fiction - you can choose any non-fiction book that will help your child to learn some new facts about something about which they are interested. I will attach a copy of the book report form. Have a wonderful weekend! Hello Parents,
We have had a full week of learning. We learned about the Nile River and why it was important to the ancient Egyptian people. We learned about the pyramids and the Great Sphinx. We learned about Dr. Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, also known as “King Tut.” Our class had an extra treat today: We took a “15-minute field trip” to the upstairs hallway where we saw the display of the sarcophagi that the sixth graders created. The sixth grade students acted as our “tour guides,” and they taught our class interesting facts about ancient Egypt, and lessons about each individual sarcophagus! EGYPT C.E.T. - Our first grade team will finish our study of ancient Egypt next week, and we will conclude the unit with our C.E.T. activities. Please consider how you might be able to volunteer. Here is a link to the sign-up genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b48a5aa2ba5f58-1stgrade5 COATS - As the weather is getting colder, please be sure to send warm jackets or coats with your child. Some of our students are wanting to sit inside rather than going out to play because they are not bringing jackets to school. Please label all of these outerwear items as well - we want to be sure that they are returned quickly if they become lost. CONGRATULATIONS - Tyler is our November Ambassador of Courage. Tyler is so confident and is willing to try any task. He works so hard each day to learn and to reach his personal best. Congratulations Tyler. I am so happy to be working with all of you. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to teach your fantastic children each day. Have a great weekend! Hello Parents,
It has been a busy, exciting week. We have begun our study on ancient civilizations. This week we learned about Babylon, the great city of ancient Mesopotamia. We learned about the canals from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers for the Mesopotamian farm lands, the ancient cuneiform writing, and the Code of Hammurabi. We also learned about the Ishtar Gate at the entrance of Babylon, and the Hanging Gardens that King Nebuchadnezzar built for his queen. THANK YOU - Thank you Heather Andersen and Kristina Gregory for all of the effort that they put into planning and organizing our Halloween class party. Thanks also to all of you who came to help with the party, and those who prepared materials and donated supplies. The kids had a great day! CONGRATULATIONS - Thursday was our 1st quarter award assembly. Congratulations to Dax, who won the Academic Award for this term. Congratulations to Leslyn who won the Citizenship Award for this term. And Congratulations to Arnav, who won an award for perfect attendance. I am very proud of each one of these fine students. NOVEMBER BOOK REPORTS - I have sent home the reading calendars and book report forms for November. Our genre is non-fiction. It is not so crucial this month that you find a book from our OCS classical literature list. There are so many great non-fiction books available. Please just help your child find a good book that will teach them more about something that they are interested in learning. LABELS - Thank you for writing your child’s name on the labels of coats, jackets, lunch boxes, etc.. This makes it so much easier to find items that have gone missing, and it will save all a lot of distress. Enjoy your weekend! Hello Parents,
I hope you all enjoyed your fall break. The weather was lovely. I was pleased by how well the kids came back to school ready to learn and to get back to work. (Have I mentioned how fantastic I think our students are??) CLASSICAL CHARACTER PARADE - Thank you for those who have returned your classical character forms. If you have not returned these or contacted me but would still like to have your child dress up for our Classical Character Parade on the 31st, please return the form or let me know via email. BOOK REPORTS - I was noticing today that there is a discrepancy between the due date set by our first grade team and the due date listed on the Classical Character informational flyer. Our due date for October book reports was set for this FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26TH. However, since the date on the flyer is set for the 29th, I WILL ACCEPT OCTOBER BOOK REPORTS ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 29TH. (This is different than what I told our students today.) Please help your child to complete and return his/her HISTORICAL FICTION book report by Monday. If you are still uncertain about book ideas, you can check at your local city library (or the school library), or you can do a google search on historical fiction books for 1st grade. Here are a few good lists that I found: https://www.cantonpl.org/content/suggested-historical-fiction-first-grade https://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist?subject=History%2FGeography/14&category=I+Can+Read+Historical+Fiction/4437 CURRICULUM - This is our final week of the “Similar Stories / Different Lands” unit. We are beginning our sight words this week during our voyager time. I am excited about the work we are going to be doing together. I will let you know more about that next week. HALLOWEEN PARTY - Our room parents, Heather Andersen and Kristina Gregory will be sending emails to let you know how you can help with our class party on the 31st. Thank you in advance for all of your support. HOME AND SCHOOL NEWSLETTER - I am also attaching a copy of the “Home and School” newsletter from our Assistant Director, Brooke Austin. I hope that you will take a minute to read it. Thank you, parents, for all of your great work! Hello Parents,
We are coming to the end of the first quarter. It is quite exciting to see how much your children have accomplished already this year! This week we completed our alphabet handwriting practice workbook. Our class is working hard, and I have seen much improvement in their penmanship. In our Core Knowledge time, we are reading stories from different countries and comparing what story elements are the same and which are different. I am feel so grateful to be teaching your children each day. RED RIBBON WEEK - This has been a great week of conversation as we have talked about the importance of making good choices for our bodies. Our class has learned why red ribbon week began, and we have talked about why it is important to say no to drugs. We also discussed why the improper use of medicine can be just as detrimental to our lives. The kids were eager to commit to living a drug free life. END OF TERM - Next week is the end of term one, and I will be busy finalizing grades. Please be sure that any missing assignments are turned in by MONDAY, OCTOBER 15th. FALL BREAK - Fall break begins next Thursday, October 18th. There will be no school on Monday, October 12th, for Professional Development training, so classes will not resume until TUESDAY, October 23rd. NO SCHOOL LUNCH NEXT WEEK - Our lunch vendor will not be able to provide lunches for us next week. Please send a home lunch with your child next week, OCTOBER 15-17th. AMBASSADOR OF LOYALTY - Congratulations to Jamila, our October Ambassador of Loyalty. Jamila is a good friend to her peers, and she is so kind and helpful to her classmates. THANK YOU - Our human body C.E.T. was a success! The students made skeletons, experienced how the digestive system works, and charted their different eye and hair colors Thank you to all who helped make our first C.E.T. successful - both to those who donated time to help, and those who donated supplies. It is so wonderful to be working together with such supportive families! I will not be sending a newsletter out next week, so I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful, relaxing fall break. |
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