August 31-September 4, 2015

We had a great start to a new school year! We learned about many school and classroom procedures and expectations. Throughout the week, we reviewed cafeteria expectations, recess and hallway, before and after school procedures. Thank you for sending the signed Daily Agenda to school every day. I truly appreciate your support.

I enjoyed the children's presentation about "Special Me" bag.  We had so much fun learning about one another, our favorite sports, toys, families, friends and pets!  Each one of us is special in a different way.  We closed our presentations with this thought: We are so much alike, but we have differences too.

This year we are going to include “Growth Mindset" lessons in our daily activities.  We want the children to understand and believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This mindset, create a love of learning that is essential for great achievements.  This week we learned that there are things that we can do very well and things that we may not be able to do YET, but we know with motivation and hard work, we will be able to accomplish anything.  We are learning to change our words in order to change our mindset.

This week:

READING

We will learn how to read independently to ourselves for a few minutes at a time. Each day we read for a little longer period to build up our stamina. We will learn that strong readers read every day. A picture is worth a thousand words and we can read the pictures as well and retell the story through pictures.  We will talk about our favorite reading memory, when reading felt so good to us.  The children will practice using the classroom library correctly and responsibly.

WRITING

We will begin our first lesson: Introducing the writing tools (papers, pencils, markers and crayons, tape, glue, scissors), and resources such as the alphabet charts, first grade words,  and the prints around the classroom. . I will first model how to brainstorm, sketch, and write about my story, something that I know and care about. The children will then begin writing a true story about themselves, something that they have experienced and has happened to them.

MATH:

This week in math we will explore numbers.  Numbers represent different and specific quantities.  We will think about things that we can count and different ways that we can find the answer to the question, "How many?" At this age some children count individually and some can count by 5 or 10's.  If asked to show 6, some children count one by one and some can show 6 in one move. Our goal this week and forward is to push children to use the benchmarks of 5 and 10 to determine the total amount vs. counting one by one.  We will work on recognizing instantly the quantity of structured arrangements. 

SOCIAL STUDIES:

This week we will be discussing rules, and laws at school, home and in our community. What is the difference between a rule and a law? Why do we need rules and laws? We will discuss the characteristics of good citizenship at school.  We will also identify the leaders/authority figures at school, home, and in our community.

SCIENCE:

In science we will learn about who a "scientist" is and why do we need to learn about science? Science helps us understand the world around us.  Scientists ask questions, make observations, record data, and communicate their thoughts.  We will learn how to follow safety procedures during investigations in order to keep people safe and healthy.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
-Tuesday: Tuesday folders come home.  Please sign and return the folders the next day.

-Agendas:  Please initial the behavior calendar and send it back every day.

-Snack:  Please send a healthy snack with your child every day.

-PE:  Group A will have PE on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

       Group B will have PE on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

          *Please make sure your child wears Tennis shoes on those days*

          *You can see what group your child is in on the right side of this blog*

IMPORTANT DATES:

September 14:  Open House @ 6:30-7:00

August 22, 2015

Welcome to First Grade!

We are going to have a great year.  I am so excited to have been able to meet all of you and I look forward to getting to know you and your kiddo better throughout the year.

This is going to be where I post the learning objectives for each week.  I will send an email when the blog is updated but you might want to just go ahead and follow.

I can’t wait to see all of those cute smiling faces again on Tuesday!

Happy Birthday Summer Babies!

Chase- June 26

Jacob- August 14

Puneet- August 23 (TOMORROW!)

Here are some important reminders:

* Please put your child to bed early each night (between 7:30-8:00) in order for them to adjust to their daily school schedule. School starts at 7:35 and work begins promptly at 7:45. Please allow time in the morning for your child to have a nutritious breakfast and use the bathroom before coming to school. We take a few bathroom breaks during the day but it is still important that they enter the room prepared and ready to go.

* Please have your child wear comfortable clothing. Children must wear socks and comfortable tennis shoes as well. Please avoid flip-flops, sandals, or high heels for girls. Your child will not be able to play, run or have fun in the playground if he/she is wearing uncomfortable shoes.

* Your child needs to bring a medium sized backpack, large enough to hold the Tuesday folder and small enough to fit in our cubbies. Each child shares a cubby with another child, so please avoid getting a very large back pack. Also, please avoid backpacks with wheels as they are not very safe and might cause other children to trip and fall.

* Please send a nutritious snack packed separately from their lunch daily. Examples of snack include: cut up pieces of apples, carrots, crackers and cheese or anything they like as long as it is healthy and nutritious. Please avoid sending chips, cupcakes or cookies. We eat snack mid-morning.

* Our Lunch time is @ 11:30. If you're packing lunch for your child, please let them know that they have lunch and won't be buying from cafeteria. If you choose to buy lunch from cafeteria, there are two ways to pay for it: one way is to pay directly to the cafeteria and the other is to pay on-line. You can find the link on RRISD website under parents section. The link is called PayPams. You can also send the lunch money to me but please put the money in an envelope or a plastic bag with your child's name and my name on it. This way the cafeteria manager knows to whom the money belongs.

* If you choose, you can also send a small water bottle with your child's name on it. I will keep them by the sink if they get thirsty during the lesson. This is optional as we take quite a few bathroom and water break during the day.

* Please avoid sending toys and stuffed animals in your child's backpack. This is against school policy and unfortunately I have to take it away from your child and return it to you if I see one. Thank you!

* Each Tuesday afternoon, your child will bring home a "Tuesday Folder" containing all of the graded work for the previous week.  Please take time to look over your child's papers with him/her and make any corrections.  Folders should be signed and returned on the following day (Wednesday).

* Daily Agenda comes home every day.  Please sign the agenda and send it back to school the next day.  The agenda is a way for us to communicate on a daily basis.

* If you are making any changes regarding your child's transportation on a particular day, please notify me by e-mail or phone or call the office (464-5500), either the day before or on the same day, but please try to call as soon as possible, so I can make the necessary arrangements. If you send an e-mail or leave a voice mail in the last few minutes before the dismissal, I may not have time to get your messages and therefore not be aware of your changes. If your child take the bus home, please let me know the route number so I can put your child in the right bus.

* And last but not the least: Your precious children have been home with you for a couple of months during the summer. Coming to school early in the morning and saying goodbye to you might be difficult for some children. Please help me to help your child to make this transition as smooth and as successful as possible.  For this reason please make your goodbye short and sweet and don't linger at the door too long. Be confident that your child is going to have a great day and she or he is in excellent hands!

I thank you all for your help and support and thank you again for trusting your children with me and for being a partner in their education.