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Egg-citing Week: News for the Week of 4/1

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
It was a great week back from Spring Break and it sounds like you all had a nice week off with family and friends. I loved hearing all about your fun break! We hit the ground running coming back! We started exploring subtraction a little deeper this week. We used our addition skills to help us relate to subtraction.

We also got to go and see the 5th grade balloon launch on Friday. The 5th graders make balloons and see how far their designs will float once launched. They also have a hot air balloon as well.

Of course we had a parent reader on Friday. Jade’s mom came and read to us. We love parent reader time!

Did you hear the news?  We have 12 chicken eggs in our classroom that we are observing!  We are very “egg-cited” about those eggs in our incubator!  There is a lot to learn about how chicks grow!

FIELD TRIP ON MONDAY
To coincide with our Science learning, as well as our Spring Project Based Learning project, the first graders are heading to Callahan’s General Store on Monday, April 1st!  We will learn how to care for our baby chicks once they hatch – everything from providing a living space to meeting their needs.  This past week, we brainstormed a list of things that we will need to research.  During our field trip, we will gather some very important information!
Thank you to everyone for getting the permission slips and money turned into me in a timely manner!  We are looking forward to a fun time!
Please remember to read the field trip reminder note that came home on Friday.  The directions are a little different than our first field trip.  Lunch is much later than normal, so it is important that the children bring a healthy snack to eat in addition to their sack lunches.  The snack will be eaten at school before we board the buses.  We appreciate your help with this! Below is a picture of the note in case it did not make it home on Friday.

PARENT HELP NEEDED:
For our upcoming chick unit, we need parent help!  Now that we’ve launched this project, we need a few parents willing to help cut wood and assemble our class brooder.  Some of the wood cutting may need to happen before our build day at your house due to heaviness of tools.  The building time will take place during school hours (from 8:00- 11:30ish) on Friday, April 12th.  Email me if you are available to help out on this date.  Thanks so much!

PARENT INPUT FORMS:
Parent Input forms for 2nd grade will be coming home soon. They are due back to the office by Monday, April 15th.

NIGHTLY HOMEWORK:
This is the start of our final quarter together in first grade.  Spring is in the air and I know lots of students will be involved in many activities.  Please remind your first grader that we still have lots of learning to do (as well as fun events planned) and our expectations will be raised as we work on our final preparations for Second Grade.  I appreciate your continued support at home with nightly reading homework!

 

SUPERSTAR:

Our superstar for this week is Quinn! We are excited to learn more about Quinn and her family!

HERE’S A PEEK INTO OUR WEEK:
READING AND WRITING:
-Introduction to media literacy
-Understand how commercials convey a purpose (to entertain, inform, or persuade)
-Continue research about chicks
-Continue to develop our accuracy, fluency, and comprehension through the stories we read
MATH:
-Use objects and pictorial models to solve problems involving the separation of two numbers
-Subtraction strategies (number -0, number -itself, number -1, count back, count up, using a number line to count back & count up)
-Decide on most efficient subtraction strategy based on the numbers given
SCIENCE:
-Gather facts about chicks from Callahan’s General Store
-Plan and create a 3D chicken brooder using popsicle sticks & wood glue
-Create a list of supplies needed for a full-size brooder
-Record the life cycle of chicks as they develop inside the eggs
HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK
1. Read 10-15 minutes every day. Record in the student planner about their favorite part of the story. 

 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
April 1: First Grade Field Trip to Callahan’s General Store
April 5: Western Day (dress like a cowboy or cowgirl)
Parent Reader (Macy’s family)
April 29-May 3: Book Fair

 

Hope you have a wonderful week!

News for the Week of March 25th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
It is hard to believe that next week is already Spring Break!  When we return we will only have a little more than nine weeks left in the school year!  We had a great week last week and we are ready for a nice break before we come back and finish 1st grade strong!
Our superstar this week was Vihaan. It was fun to learn more about him and his family.

We also had Raiya’s mom come and read to us as our parent reader on Friday!

IN YOUR CHILD’S BACKPACK:    
Throughout the year, we work hard to monitor and assess our students to determine areas for continued focus.  Three times each year, our Intervention Department administers reading and math screening to help the school staff best target instruction.  This year, for the middle-of-the-year assessments that the students took in January, the State of Texas mandated that all first graders also take several assessments that will identify children at risk for a reading disability, specifically dyslexia.  We received the data late this week that was compiled by our interventionist, and your child’s results are coming home in his/her backpack today.  Please do not panic if you see individual areas considered at risk.  It is information that we utilize to guide instruction and is only one data point in a collection of data that we use when monitoring students.  If there is a history in your family of members having difficulty learning to read (i.e., dyslexia), please let me know.  It is something that definitely runs in families and early identification is helpful for accommodating students.

 

SPRING BREAK READING:    
For Spring Break, the students do not have a reader’s response sheet to complete.  However, please encourage your child to find opportunities to enjoy a good book!  We will jump right back in on March 25, so it is vital that they maintain practice.  Thanks for your help!


CALLAHAN’S GENERAL STORE: 
On Monday, April 1st, we will visit Callahan’s General Store.  This important learning experience will coincide with our Spring Project Based Learning (PBL) assignment.  We look forward to introducing the students to an exciting problem after Spring Break which will require their help.  If you have not returned your child’s permission slip and/or money, please do so by March 27th.  The transportation fee for each child is $6.00.  Just as with the first field trip, please send in exact cash or a check made out to CCE.
We will be able to accept all the parents who want to volunteer for this field trip as long as you are an approved RRISD volunteer.  We ask that you provide your own transportation; carpooling with other first grade parents would be great!  Please remember, no siblings are allowed to accompany you. If you would like to volunteer for this field trip, please email me and let me know.

 

PARENT HELP NEEDED:
For this upcoming PBL assignment, we need parent help.  Once we launch the project, we will get more specific details out to you, but we need a few parents willing to help cut wood and assemble a piece of equipment for each class.  Some of the wood cutting may need to happen before our build day at your house due to heaviness of tools.  The building time will take place during school hours on Friday, April 12th.  Email me if you are available to help out on this date.  Thanks so much!
HERE’S A PEEK INTO OUR WEEK:
READING AND WRITING:
-Introduction to contractions
-Begin a new research project tied to science
-Continue to develop our accuracy, fluency, and comprehension through the stories we read
MATH:
– Understanding the inverse relationship of addition and subtraction
-Use objects and pictorial models to solve subtraction
SCIENCE:
-Wrap up our unit on plants
-Introduce another egg-citing unit in life science!  More coming soon!
HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK
1. Read 10-15 minutes every day. Record in the student planner about the main idea of the story.
SUPER STAR!
This week, we do not have a star of the week scheduled due to our break.  We look forward to learning more about our special classmate the first week of April!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

March 18-22: Spring Break
March 25: School Resumes
March 27: Field Trip permission slips and transportation fees due for Callahan’s General Store
March 29: Parent Reader (Jade’s family)
April 1: First Grade Field Trip to Callahan’s General Store

 

Wishing you a relaxing and fun-filled Spring Break!

News for the Week of March 11th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS

Can you believe that this is the last week before Spring Break?! It’s flying by!!!! We have worked very hard this year and after Spring Break we will continue the fun and finish strong! We have some very exciting things coming up in our final semester and we will be looking for volunteers to help us!

Thank you to everyone that shared about your culture this week! We loved learning about foods, clothing, etc. from many cultures! We have been really excited for the multi cultural fair this evening!

Our super star this past week was Natalie S.! We loved learning about her and her family!

As always we love having parent readers on Fridays! Aisha’s dad came and read to us and we really enjoyed our story time!

PAY IT FORWARD

Pay It Forward started March 4 and we need you to help donate to the Rainbow Room Round-Up! The Rainbow Room is a non-profit organization that provides supplies to children in foster care. Girl Scout Troop 2523 is teaming up with the PTA to collect new items like sheets, blankets, toiletries and diapers to pay it Forward to the Rainbow Room and the children in Child Protective Services. Pay It Forward runs until March 15.

CALLAHAN’S GENERAL STORE:

On Monday, April 1st, we will visit Callahan’s General Store.  This important learning experience will coincide with our Spring Project Based Learning (PBL) assignment.  We look forward to introducing the students to an exciting problem after Spring Break which will require their help.  If you have not returned your child’s permission slip and/or money, please do so by March 27th.  The transportation fee for each child is $6.00.  Just as with the first field trip, please send in exact cash or a check made out to CCE. 

We will be able to accept all the parents who want to volunteer for this field trip as long as you are an approved RRISD volunteer.  We ask that you provide your own transportation; carpooling with other first grade parents would be great!  Please remember, no siblings are allowed to accompany you. If you would like to volunteer for this field trip, please email me and let me know. 

PARENT HELP NEEDED:

For this upcoming PBL assignment, we are in need of parent help.  Once we launch the project, we will get more specific details out to you, but we need a few parents willing to help cut wood and assemble a piece of equipment for each class.  Some of the wood cutting may need to happen before our build day at your house due to heaviness of tools.  The building time will take place during school hours on Friday, April 12th.  Email me if you are available to help out on this date.  Thanks so much! 

MONEY SYSTEM

Our students are loving earning money the last few weeks.  We continue to defined their roles in the classroom (i.e., listen, complete quality work, help friends, participate, maintain a neat work space, etc.).  If they complete their job responsibilities each day, they will receive compensation.  In the future, they will have the opportunity to spend their money on a fun classroom experience.  The experiences from which they are able to choose will depend on the amount of money they earn during class time.  They are highly motivated and our hope is that they will have a better understanding of the choices we all make as consumers.  First grade consumers will also have the opportunity to practice saving their money for more “expensive” experiences in the future.  It is fun to hear them budget their money!

HERE’S A PEEK INTO OUR WEEK:
READING AND WRITING:
– Discuss common vowel teams with the u sound: /u-e/, /oo/, and /ew/
– Review parts of a sentence: verbs and nouns
– Discuss adverbs
– Review common long vowel teams with a fun bingo game
MATH:
– Continue and wrap up our learning about coin recognition and their values: penny, nickel, dime and quarter
SCIENCE:
– Introduce needs of plants
– Identify parts of a plant
– Discover a plant growing
– Identify what parts of plants we eat and comparing different plants
HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK
1. Read 10-15 minutes every day. Record in the student planner about the main idea of the story. 

 

SUPER STAR!
Our super star for this week is Vihaan! We are excited to learn more about our special classmate!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
March 11-15: Education Go Get It Week
March 15: Parent Reader (Raiya’s Family)
March 18-22: Spring Break
March 25: School Resumes
March 27: Field Trip permission slips and transportation fees due for Callahan’s General Store
April 1: First Grade Field Trip to Callahan’s General Store

 

Have a great week!

News for the week of March 4

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
Wow…where did February go? It’s hard to believe we are closing in on our third grading period with report cards coming home at the end of the month.  We are really stepping up our academic & behavior expectations as “soon to be second graders” and the students are being rewarded for this with pretend money! After a week of earning money, we counted what we earned on Friday and exchanged for nickels and dimes!

MONEY SYSTEM:  The students continue to earn pretend money for performing their school jobs well.  Last week, we defined their roles in the classroom (i.e., listen, complete quality work, help friends, participate, maintain a neat work space, etc.).  If they completed their job responsibilities each day, they received compensation.  In the future, they will have the opportunity to spend their money on a fun classroom experience.  The experiences from which they are able to choose will depend on the amount of money they earn during class time. Every year, the students find this learning experience highly motivating and our hope is that they will have a better understanding of the choices we all make as consumers.  First grade consumers will also have the opportunity to practice saving their money for more “expensive” experiences in the future.  It is always fun to hear them budget their money!

 

We had some fun visitors in our classroom this week. Mrs. Hougham came for her monthly character counts lesson. This month the word was hardworking! We also had Quinn’s mom come and read to us as our parent reader. We love having visitors in our classroom!

 

On Friday, every student in the school participated in Big Art Day! They got to create a butterfly and add it to the school display. It turned out so beautiful! We are so lucky to have such an amazing art, music, and p.e. team at CCE!

Clemente was our superstar this past week. We enjoyed learning more about our friend!

DIVERSITY WEEK & MULTI-CULTURAL FAIR:
March 4th – Bring a picture of your favorite food from your culture.  Tell your class what it is and why you like it!
March 5th – Bring a picture of your ancestor.  Tell your class where he/she came from, what he/she did, etc.!
March 6th – Mark your country of origin on a map in the classroom!
March 7th – Dress in clothes from your culture!
March 8th – Bring your family and attend CCE’s Multi-Cultural Fair from 5-8 p.m.!

 

CALLAHAN’S GENERAL STORE:
On Monday, April 1st, we will enjoy our second field trip to visit Callahan’s General Store.  This important learning experience will coincide with our Spring Project Based Learning (PBL) assignment.  We look forward to introducing the students to an “egg-citing” problem after Spring Break that requires their help.  The permission slip for this field trip will be sent home on Tuesday, March 5th and is due back no later than Wednesday, March 27th.  The transportation fee for each child is $6.00.  Just as with the first field trip, please send in exact cash or check made payable to CCE.  If you are interested in attending the field trip, please note this on the permission slip.  Any parents interested are welcome to join us!

Our SUPERSTAR for this week is Natalie S.!  We look forward to learning more about our special classmate!

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE: 
LANGUAGE ARTS:
-Discuss common long o spelling patterns: /o-e/ (home), /oa/ (float), and /ow/ (row)
-Discuss how poets use alliteration and repetition
-Attempt to write a free choice poem
MATH:
-Use mystery bags to compose and decompose numbers with tens and ones
-Review concept of 10 more and 10 less on a hundreds chart
-Review how to write the expanded form of a two digit number (30+6=36)
-Identify coins, including pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters and the relationship among them
SOCIAL STUDIES OR SCIENCE:
-Discuss characteristics of animal groups: amphibians, reptiles, birds and insects
HOMEWORK: 
Read 10-15 minutes each day.
Record 4 responses for the week.

 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
Mar. 8: Parent Reader (Jade’s Family)
Mar. 8: Multicultural Fair
Mar. 11-15: Education Go Get It Week
Mar. 16 – 24: Spring Break
Apr. 1: Field Trip to Callahan’s General Store

 

Have a great week!
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