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