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News for the week of November 26th

It sounds like everyone had a great Thanksgiving break and I was so excited to see most everyone back this morning. We only have 3.5 weeks until our winter break and I know that it will zoom by fast!

 

CLASSROOM HAPPENINGS:
HEADPHONES AND NEW SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS:
We would like to have each child in first grade have their own set of headphones. They will be helpful as we continue to use iPads and integrate laptops into our classrooms. Too many noises coming from various computers can pose a problem so having their own headphones is necessary. You can find inexpensive ones at places like Target or Five Below. Please send a pair of headphones with your child’s name on them in a Ziploc baggie when they return from the Winter Break. In addition to the headphones, we are asking that children bring a new spiral notebook to school after the Winter Break as well to be used during our Math Workshop time. We have been documenting our learning and have gone through much of the notebook already. Thank you for sending another spiral notebook with your child after the Winter Break so we can continue to show all that we know during the second half of our year!

 

LUNCH:
Just a few reminders regarding lunch as we are getting to the middle of the year. Please make sure that your child knows their lunch plans before coming to school. Talk about if they are buying, bringing a lunch box, or if you will be dropping off their lunchbox on the red cart for them to pick up. If you are sending in lunch money, please send it with your child so we can get it to the cafeteria first thing in the morning. That way the line can run smoothly during the rush of lunch time. If you are bringing  your child’s lunch, please make sure to have it here on time. Our lunch starts at 11:14 and ends at 11:44. Lastly, the cafeteria only makes enough for what has been ordered in the morning. If you are coming to have lunch with your child, please bring your lunch and any siblings’ lunches with you. Thanks!

 

TAG REFERRAL WINDOW NOW OPEN:
The TAG Referral Window is now open and all paperwork is due back to Mrs. Henrichs and Mrs. Hamilton by December 7th.

 

COOLER WEATHER AND JACKETS:
Now that we have enjoyed a few cooler mornings, we are seeing more jackets and sweaters on our students.  We are also finding these items left in various areas of the school, but there are no names on them.  Please label your child’s coats, jackets, and sweaters with names.  (Also include lunch boxes and water bottles, too!)  This will prevent our lost and found from filling up.  Thank you! 

 

FROM THE COUNSELOR:
Did you know that CCE has the POWER OF YET?
Do you have a Fixed or Growth Mindset?
Don’t know what any of this means? 
Join Principal Crawford on Wednesday, November 28th at 7:45 am   to watch Carol Dweck’s Podcast on the Power of Yet and learn how CCE is incorporating this learning strategy.
If you have any questions, please contact Family Support Specialist Lisette Castaneda at 512-428-2819

 

SUPERSTAR: Our Superstar this week is Aaron and we are so excited to learn more about him.

 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Nov. 29: Picture retakes (for those who returned picture packages)
Nov. 30: Parent Reader (Luke’s Family)
Dec. 19: Winter Party
Dec. 20-Jan 7: Winter Holiday, No School
Jan 8: Students return to school

 

WEEK AT A GLANCE:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
  • Respond to literature
  • Practice reading/writing words with digraphs (ch, sh, th)
  • Introduce other fictional genres such as fables, fairy tales and folktales
MATH:
  • Analyze attributes of 2 dimensional shapes and 3 dimensional solids to develop an understanding of their properties
  • Compose 2D shapes by joining 2, 3, or 4 figures to produce a target shape in more than one way
SCIENCE:
  • Discuss seasons and patterns over time
  • Discuss customs and traditions that shape our community

Happy Thanksgiving

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
Can you believe we are already at Thanksgiving break! I am enjoying these little turkeys and hope you enjoy a week long break with them as well as family and friends. I am very thankful for each and everyone of the kiddos and feel very blessed to be their teacher.
I wanted to say thank you to the families that donated books to the classroom from the book fair. You were beyond generous and our class will certainly love reading all these new stories.

We were busy this week leading up to our break. We had two wonderful watch dogs this week. The extra help is always so appreciated and then kids love seeing our dads at school.

We also had a parent reader on Friday. Jade’s mom and read to us and the kids loved having that quiet story time.

This week was Digital Citizenship week so Mrs. Owen came and did a lesson with us on being safe online and gave the kids some great advice on how to stay safe when using the internet and technology. She showed this video to the students as well.

Mrs. Owen also showed us Dash and how to drive Dash using an iPad. We will be using these for our STEAM night in January and we were excited to let the students try them out. They also used some blocks to build towers for Dash to break down and mazes for Dash to go through. Fun was had by all!

Shaquille was our superstar this week and we loved getting to know him better!

Our Pineapple friend will be taking a Thanksgiving break as well next week. We will have a new superstar when we return!

 

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

 

 

News for the week of November 12th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS

It definitely feels like fall these days!  We have certainly welcomed the cooler weather and want to make sure that our first graders are dressed appropriately.  We do go to recess during the fall and winter months, unless it is raining, so please make sure that your child has a jacket on days when it is chilly.  Please label your child’s coats, jackets, and sweaters with names.  (Also include lunch boxes and water bottles, too!)  This will prevent our lost and found from filling up.  Thank you!

We had a busy week filled with a lot of learning. We wrapped up our directional words and used scarves to show the different directional words we have been talking about. Towards the end of the week, we started discussing properties of soil. We looked at soil from Austin, Cedar Park, Leander and Pflugerville. It’s interesting to see how different soil can be when the locations are not far apart at all.

With the ending of our Spanish lessons last week, we began German this week. It was a fun class and we got to learn all about the pretzel!

We learned a lot about our Superstar this week, Nidheesh! It was a lot of fun getting to know him better!

We also wrapped up our week with our parent reader. Quinn’s mom came and read today which was a lot of fun!

This is also the time of year that families go on vacations which require taking students out of school, so please let me know of any dates that you are aware of so I can have that information and pass it along to the office as well.

STUDENT SAFETY:

A gentle reminder: In the interest of student safety, please notify the school if your child will have a change of transportation at dismissal time.  This can be in the form of a written note to the teacher or a phone call to the office the day that the change happens.  (Please remember that teachers will not always have a chance to check email or voicemail during instructional times.)  The notice that there is a change should not be a “student-to-teacher” conversation. Thank you for your help with this!

THANKSGIVING LUNCH ON WEDNESDAY:

If you are attending the Thanksgiving feast at our regularly scheduled lunch time on Wednesday, November 14, please factor in a few extra minutes for sign-in.  The office will have a table set-up in the front hallway, but most likely there will be a line with the crowds that are expected.  Our lunch time starts at 11:14.

We leave the room a few minutes before 11:14.  You are welcome to wait by the cafeteria and we will see you there!  🙂  Our class will be called to line up at the end of lunch at 11:44.  This is your signal to give hugs and say goodbye.  We will take a quick restroom break and then the students head to Essentials.  We look forward to seeing you!  If you are unable to attend, your child will enjoy a “Friendsgiving” lunch with classmates and me!  Fun will be had by ALL!

FALL BOOK FAIR:

It’s Book Fair time! Our book fair brings kids the books they want to read and raises funds for library programs such as author visits. Students will be bringing home wish lists Fri, Nov. 9,  and we will be open for shopping all next week.

To SHOP ONLINE, click here! Books will be sent to school and delivered to student (or if they are gifts, we can hold them in the library – contact the library to let us know:).

To VOLUNTEER, click here!  We need you!

IN-LIBRARY shopping hours:
Monday, November 12 7:20 am – 3:30 pm
Tuesday, November 13 7:20 am – 5:45 pm (LATER HOURS)
Wednesday, November 14, 7:20 am – 3:30 pm
Thursday, November 15, 7:20 am – 4: 40 pm (LATER HOURS)
Friday, November 16, 7”20 – NOON (CLOSING EARLY)

 

HERE’S A PEEK INTO THE WEEK …
READING:
– Read procedural text to follow directions in the order they are given
– Develop reading vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension
– Practice retelling
– Practice making connections when we read
WRITING:
–  Writing to learn: research on Thanksgiving and its history
–  Writing brief notes about a topic
MATH:
– Continue to explore the number relationships of addition and subtraction
– Utilize addition and subtraction strategies to solve problems
– Look closely at story problems to find clue words that help us solve
SCIENCE:
– Continue our study of soil and its properties
HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK:
Read 10-15 minutes every day. Record a book response Monday-Thursday inside the planner.
HOMEWORK FOR THE THANKSGIVING BREAK:
Please read 3 times over the 9 day break!  For those first graders that would like to read more, that is wonderful!

 

SPECIAL STAR is Shaquille this week!  We are looking forward to learning more about our special classmate!

 

DATES TO REMEMBER:
November 12-15: Scholastic Book Fair
November 16: Parent Reader (Jade’s Family)
November 19-23: Thanksgiving Break

 

DONATIONS NEEDED:
Thank you for all of the hand Clorox wipe donations!   We have plenty, for now, and will be able to easily wash pesky germs away!  Here are a few other donations that are needed:
-glue sticks

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I feel thankful each day to spend my working hours with such amazing kids!  They make every day better!  I am also so thankful I have such helpful parents who support me and who work with their children at home!  Enjoy this special time with your family and friends!

News for the week of Nov. 5th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
Wow! That was a busy, fun week! Halloween and a field trip all in one week. We had a lot of fun on Thursday’s field trip!!! From the bus ride, the picnic in the park and the show, we had a great day. It was the perfect day after a busy Halloween night.

We had our first round of watch dogs this year. Jade’s dad and Asha’s dad joined us on Monday and read to our class. We also had our character counts lesson with Mrs. Hougham this week as well.

In science, we explored with magnets and got to test out things that were magnetic and things that weren’t magnetic.

It was fun to learn more about our friend Swara this past week while he was our superstar.

Natalie S.’s mom came to read to us as our Friday parent reader. This is always a time our class looks forward to each week.

CLASSROOM HAPPENINGS:
Field Trip: We had a wonderful time on our field trip to The Georgetown Palace Theater to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The weather was beautiful for the park and all the kids seemed to love the show. Thank you to Molly Sylestine and Shweta Arora for helping chaperone on our first field trip this year. We will have another field trip in the spring!
 
SPECIAL STAR is Nidheesh this week!  We are looking forward to learning more about our special classmate!
PICTURE RETAKES:
For those who ordered a school picture package, if you are not satisfied with your child’s pictures, return the entire packet to school and we will hold onto them until re-takes on November 29th.

 

DATES TO REMEMBER:
November 6: TAG Info Night at 6:00 in the library
November 9: Parent Reader (Quinn’s Family)
November 12-15: Scholastic Book Fair
November 19-23: Thanksgiving Break

 

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE …
READING & WRITING:
– Informational books on Thanksgiving and factual writing about Thanksgiving
MATH:
– Explore number relationships through properties of addition and subtraction
SCIENCE:
– Demonstrate the ways that objects move, such as straight, zigzag, up & down, back & forth, round & round, fast & slow
– Observe soil and record soil properties
– Identify how magnets work
HANDWRITING:
-review letters learned
-review correct pencil grip
-review correct posture
-revisit correct placement of the letters on the lined paper
-practice starting letters “at the top”
-On the website you will find a section titled “Handwriting Helpers.”  You can use that section to help your child with handwriting at home.
TECHNOLOGY
-learn how to log onto the computer
-learn keyboarding skills
-showing our learning through Seesaw
HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK:
  1. Read 10-15 minutes every day. Record a book response Monday-Thursday inside the planner.
Have a fantastic week!
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