September 12-16, 2016

Thank you for supporting our PTA and helping them to reach their goals for this school year. PTA supports many school activities for our students, such as paying for their educational field trips and providing financial resources for curriculum enrichment materials and programs. Your membership and donations will go back right to your children by supporting and enriching their learning experiences. 

This Tuesday (tomorrow) is our Library Day!  We will have check out, so please send books back!  This day might change after this week, so be on the lookout for that notification.  Mrs. Byrne’s class is having some scheduling issues and we might need to help them out. 

SCHOLASTIC ORDERS

If you are able to purchase books for your child from the Scholastic flyers that were sent home last week, that is awesome!  The more books our class buys, the more books I can get for our classroom library!  It is easier for me if you order online at www.scholastic.com and use the class code on the flyer.  If you don’t have the flyer anymore, the class code is HL96Y.  You have until the end of September to order books from the flyers. 

Here is what we will be doing this week:

READING

This week in reading we will talk about expectations for and  practice “partner reading”.  Reading with a partner will help us to be a better reader, practice our fluency and mostly it is lots of fun.  We will learn how to sit closely to our reading partner, so our elbows and knees touch. This close proximity will allow us to read with such quiet voice that only our reading partner can hear us and not the rest of the class.  It would also allow both of us to see the words and the pictures. We will learn how reading partners take turns choosing a book to read, and how they can take turns reading a paragraph or page of the book.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Spicewood Springs public library has a variety of "I read, you read" books, where there is a harder paragraph for the parent to read and an easier one for the child to read. But you can practice partner reading with almost any book, as long as it is a good fit book for your child.

WRITING

This week in writing we will continue working on our stories.  The children have done a great job illustrating and writing about some real events in their lives.  We will learn how to write in complete sentences.  A complete sentence is a complete thought that tells who or what the sentence is about, and what happened. It starts with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark.  We will also learn how to use our word wall list to spell the first grade sight words correctly.  Please refer to your child's daily folder for a list of 100 first grade words. Some other skills that we will be working on this week include saying the words slowly in order to hear the beginning, the middle and the ending sounds in each word.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Please encourage your child to form the letters correctly. When writing the letters of alphabet, we always start from the top to the bottom.  Some children have the habit of forming the letters from the bottom to the top and this will affect their handwriting as well as speed in writing.  When writing their names, please encourage your child to practice writing his/her names neatly starting with a capital letter and then lowercase letters for the rest.  If you need double lined paper at home, please let me know.

MATH
This week we will continue working on teen numbers, comparing teen numbers, and ordering them from the least quantity to the most quantity.  We will work with dimes and pennies since dimes represent a group of 10 pennies and could stand for a ten frame or a ten stick and pennies represent ones. We will compose and decompose numbers up to 20 as so many tens and so many ones.  We will apply our knowledge of teen numbers and comparison in math word problem solving.

SCIENCE
In science we will learn about properties of objects.  We will learn that we can use our five senses such as sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste to observe and explore the objects around us.  Properties are characteristics of objects.  These characteristics include color, texture, size, mass and shape. We will use some science tools such as hand lenses/magnifying glass to observe the properties of objects closely.

Thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

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

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

September 6-9, 2016

We had a great second week of school! The children are getting accustomed to procedures and expectations as we review them each day. I appreciate all your help and support. As a friendly reminder, please continue sending a healthy snack each day and the Daily Agenda back to school every morning. 

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Parent Information Night is on Thursday, September 8th at 6:30(location: our classroom, 305) followed by PTA meeting at 7:00. Please refer to Kathy Caraway website for more details. This is a Parents Only Event. I would appreciate your effort in making sure that at least one parent for each child would attend this meeting. I will cover lots of important information regarding your child's year in first grade. 

This Week:
Monday: Labor Day- No school
Tuesday: Tuesday folders come home. Please sign and return the folders the next day.

Thursday:  Parent Information Night 6:30-7:00 pm in our classroom.  (Room 305) Hope to see you all then!
Friday, Sept. 9: Grandparents Day Luncheon & Library Orientation/1^st Check out

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: P.E. days.  Please have your child wear tennis shoes.

Here is what we will be doing next week:

READING
We Have started to learn about the procedures of reading workshop.  Reading brings joy to our lives and in order to become strong readers we need to practice every day.  Whether we are using the classroom library or the school library, we have discussed how to choose a "good-fit" or "just right book".  These are the books that have only a few unknown in each page and we can read them with fluency and ease. As we teach comprehension and thinking skills, it is also important that we can understand the book we are reading. This week we will continue to read independently for a little longer each day. We will learn how to protect our classroom library by using the books carefully and responsibly. We will talk about the importance of respecting everyone's reading time and using kind reminders when we are being disturbed.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S READING AT HOME?
Please make sure your child has access to a variety of "just right books" at all times. Public libraries offer a great selection of leveled readers as well as easy-to-read chapter books.
Make the reading time a special time where you and your child can sit together comfortably.  Pick a time in the day that you know your child is not too tired to read. Maybe your child likes to read after school, or before bedtime.  You know when it is the best time.  Sit beside your child, turn off the TV and have your child read to you.  If your child is stuck on a word, read the word to your child quickly so she/he won't lose the flow.  It is also important that you read to your child every night.  Children need to hear the fluent reading with expression from a parent.  Do a picture walk together before reading a book.  As you read, stop periodically and see if your child has understood the story so far.  Read together, laugh together, and make this special time as joyful as possible!

WRITING

In writing, we will learn about two skills: One is the importance of illustrations in our stories and how to make our illustrations match our words. We will look at many different picture books and discuss how illustrations can enhance a story. The other skill is to say the words slowly (stretch the words), listening for the sounds, and writing down all the corresponding letters. Your child will have independent writing time where he/she will be conferencing with me and working on what has been taught so far.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Provide a writing journal at home.  Your child can decorate the front cover however she or he likes to.  Have your child think of a memory, a place that they have been before, a time they could remember, an activity that they did.  Something true that they have experienced.  It could be just a short ride in the car to HEB, when you both saw a deer on the street!
Have your child draw a picture of that memory first, and then add words to write about it.  When writing, remind your child to start the sentences with capital letters, put one finger space between the words, and end their sentences with a period or exclamation mark. Show excitement, encourage and celebrate every attempt! Share their writing with family members and friends! Let them see that they are real writers!

MATH
We will work on grouping items such as cubes and beans in groups of 10. With any given number, we will discuss how many groups of 10 we can make and how many items are leftover (meaning they are less than ten and can't be grouped as 10).  We will practice showing the numbers 0-20 as numerals, words, tally marks, groups of tens and left over ones (using ten frames), or different dots arrangements.  We will compare the teen numbers and apply our knowledge in problem solving activities. 
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING AT HOME?
Provide some counters such as beans, macaronis, pennies, buttons, or anything similar for your child and have them count the items.  Your child will probably start counting by ones first.  Some children may count by 2's.  After that have your child record the number on a paper.  Let's say, your child counted 14 beans.  Ask your child, how many groups of 10 can you make with these beans? How many left overs do you have? let your child see that there is one group of 10 and 4 left over.  Ask: Is 14 greater than 13 or less? Show how you can take off one bean and now there are 13 beans.  So 13 is less then 14.  Practice with different numbers and counters and make this as fun as possible.

SCIENCE

This week in Science we will explore and discuss what scientists do. The students will be introduced to science journals and we will discuss the importance of using our senses to observe and record 
our scientific observations in our science journals. We will learn about science safety, and some tools in science that could help us to extend and protect our senses such as hand lenses, stethoscope, goggles, ear plugs, mask, and gloves.

Thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

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

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 8:  Parent Orientation Night @ 6:30-7:00 pm

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

August 29-September 2, 2016

We had a great start to the new school year! We learned about many school and classroom procedures, rules and expectations. Throughout the week, we reviewed expectations for the cafeteria, bathroom, playground, hallway and more!

In first grade we often include "Growth Mindset" lessons in our daily activities.  We want the children to understand and believe that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This mindset creates a love of learning that is essential for great achievements.  We are learning that there are things that we can do very well and things that we may not be able to do YET.  We know by being persistent and working hard, we will be able to accomplish anything.  We will work 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. As a reader, we can read the pictures, read the words, and retell the story as we read books.  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 learn to be first grade writers, by learning about writing tools (papers, pencils, markers, crayons, tape, glue, scissors) and resources around the room that help us write (alphabet charts, first grade words, the print 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.

MATH
This week we will count and represent quantities to 20.  We will work on recognizing instantly the quantity of structured arrangements and use concrete and pictorial models to compose and decompose numbers up to 20. We will think in groups of ones and groups of tens.  We will use objects, pictures, and expanded and standard forms to represent numbers up to 20.

SOCIAL STUDIES
Last week we explained the purpose of rules and laws in our community.  We have rules and laws to stay safe, establish order, and manage conflict. We also identified the characteristics of good citizenship in the classroom and our school.  These include being respectful, responsible, safe and kind. This week we will continue to review these characteristics and traits and evaluate actions that show good, or poor citizenship.  We will learn that good citizens have responsibilities to help each other and be part of the community.

* The daily Agenda has been delivered, but…they are so flimsy!  They will all be torn in a matter weeks (if not days)!  I am putting them in braded folders and will send them home sometime this week.  I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I want them to last!

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

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

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

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 5:  Labor Day- No School

Sept. 8:  Parent Orientation Night @ 6:30-7:00 pm

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

August 29-September 2, 2016

We had a great start to the new school year! We learned about many school and classroom procedures, rules and expectations. Throughout the week, we reviewed expectations for the cafeteria, bathroom, playground, hallway and more!

In first grade we often include "Growth Mindset" lessons in our daily activities.  We want the children to understand and believe that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This mindset creates a love of learning that is essential for great achievements.  We are learning that there are things that we can do very well and things that we may not be able to do YET.  We know by being persistent and working hard, we will be able to accomplish anything.  We will work 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. As a reader, we can read the pictures, read the words, and retell the story as we read books.  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 learn to be first grade writers, by learning about writing tools (papers, pencils, markers, crayons, tape, glue, scissors) and resources around the room that help us write (alphabet charts, first grade words, the print 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.

MATH
This week we will count and represent quantities to 20.  We will work on recognizing instantly the quantity of structured arrangements and use concrete and pictorial models to compose and decompose numbers up to 20. We will think in groups of ones and groups of tens.  We will use objects, pictures, and expanded and standard forms to represent numbers up to 20.

SOCIAL STUDIES
Last week we explained the purpose of rules and laws in our community.  We have rules and laws to stay safe, establish order, and manage conflict. We also identified the characteristics of good citizenship in the classroom and our school.  These include being respectful, responsible, safe and kind. This week we will continue to review these characteristics and traits and evaluate actions that show good, or poor citizenship.  We will learn that good citizens have responsibilities to help each other and be part of the community.

* The daily Agenda has been delivered, but…they are so flimsy!  They will all be torn in a matter weeks (if not days)!  I am putting them in braded folders and will send them home sometime this week.  I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I want them to last!

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

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

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

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 5:  Labor Day- No School

Sept. 8:  Parent Orientation Night @ 6:30-7:00 pm

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

August 23-26, 2016

Yay for the 1^st Day!

We had an amazing day in First Grade!  We read books, we talked about our feelings, we learned about rules and what the classroom rules are, and we were artists! 

Here are a few reminders for this week:

* 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 7:30 and work begins promptly at 7:40. 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. Kiddos must wear comfortable shoes as well. Please avoid flip-flops, sandals, or high heels. Your child will not be able to play, run or have fun on the playground if he/she is wearing uncomfortable shoes.  Tennis shoes are REQUIRED on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we have PE on those days.

* Your child needs to bring a medium sized backpack, large enough to hold the folders that will be sent home 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 daily. Examples 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 lunch: one way is to pay directly to the cafeteria (Debra Parks-cafeteria manager  512-464-5519) and the other way is to pay online at  MySchoolBucks.com.  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 to.

* If you choose, you can also send a small water bottle with your child's name on it. They will keep it in their cubbie but can drink from it throughout the day.  I do ask that water bottles have a flip lid or a straw in order to deter spills. This is optional as we take quite a few bathroom and water breaks during the day.

* Please avoid sending toys and stuffed animals in your child's backpack. This is distracting to children's learning 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 returned on the following day.

* The daily Agenda with the communication log is still at Printshop.  I am hoping for it to be here by the end of the week.  They are swamped right now with print jobs and they simply got backed up.  Thank you for understanding!

* And last but not the least: Your precious kiddos have been home with you for the last couple of months during the summer. Coming to school early in the morning and saying goodbye to you might be difficult for some of them. 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, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*Tuesday folders come home.  Please return the folders the next day.

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

*PE:  We have PE on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Please make sure your kiddo is wearing tennis shoes (for sure) on these days.

       

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Sept. 5:  Labor Day- No School

Sept. 8:  Parent Orientation Night @ 6:30-7:00 pm

Sept. 15:  Riata Roundup @ 6:00-7:00 pm

Sept. 28:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Oct. 5:  Bike and Walk to School Day

Oct. 10:  Columbus Day- No School

            Parent/Teacher Conferences

Oct. 13:  Science Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 22:  Harvest Festival @ 4:00-7:00 pm

Oct. 26:  Early Release Day.  Dismissal @ 12:00

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day Program @ 8:00 am

Nov. 21-25:  Thanksgiving Break- No School

Nov. 30:  Skate Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Dec. 1:  Family Art Night @ 6:00-7:30 pm

Dec. 5-9:  Book Fair

Dec. 8:  International Festival @ 6:00-8:00pm

Dec. 15:  Winter Parties/Last Day of 1^st Semester

Dec. 16-Jan 2:  Winter Break

Jan. 3:  1^st Day of 2^nd Semester

May 23-27, 2016

Thanks to all of our wonderful parents who volunteered at a station, helped the kiddos or chaperoned our line during the Field Day.  We couldn't have done it without your help.  A big thank you to our P.E. coaches for organizing this event. The kids had a blast!

We will have a busy week ahead of us! Please mark your calendar for Thursday, May 26th at 9:30.  We will have an award ceremony for our Fabulous Firsties.  Each student will be honored for a special quality, character, or effort that they have shown this year. We
would love for you to join us.  The award ceremony is at 9:30-10:30 in the cafeteria. Hope to see you all there.

There will be no more Homework Bags this year.  Please continue to have your child read every day, work on writing and math as well. 

REMINDERS
Tuesday: Tuesday folders
Thursday: Award ceremony 9:30-10:30 in the cafeteria.
Friday: Career Day 8:15-10:30

READING and WRITING
We will continue working on our first grade memory books and write about all the great memories that we've had in first grade.  In doing so, we will review the writing conventions such as capitalization, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and correct sentence structure.
In reading, we will continue reading fiction books and review some comprehension strategies that we've been working on this year such as making inference, prediction and connection.

  

MATH and SOCIAL STUDIES
This week, math and social studies will be integrated.  We will learn about financial Literacy and discuss different ways people earn money.  We will also discuss ways money earned (income) can be spent. We will talk about options for saving money or sharing money with others (charitable giving).

THANK YOU!
Thank you for supporting your child's learning at home.  Your child's success and education is a result of, us working together! So thank you for being a partner in your child's learning!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
*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*

*No more school Library check out!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

May 26: 1^st Grade Award Ceremony @ 9:30 in the cafeteria.

May 27:  Career Fair

May 30:  No School- Memorial Day

June 2:  End of the Year Party, Last day of School