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Good Bye 1st Grade

I hope everyone is enjoying their first week of summer. The dust is finally settling a bit at my house as we switch into the summer “schedule” or lack there of. It’s always an adjustment from the hustle and bustle of the school year. I already miss my first graders! We had a busy last week of school with the senior walk, the reptile guy, field day and of course our end of year party. Here are some pictures from our week.

It was a fast and furious week filled with a lot of fun. I absolutely adored this each and everyday I had with your precious kiddos. Thank you for entrusting me with them each and everyday. They worked hard and learned a ton and you should be more than proud of them. I know I am.

Thank you so much for all the kind cards, sweet treats and generous gifts. I am looking forward to using my spa gift certificate from the class. It will be a nice relaxing treat. Thank you to Ricki and Shweta for throwing such an amazing end of year party and for their help with all the parties and events throughout the year. I appreciate you!!!! Enjoy your summer! Have fun and stay safe. Please come by and say hello when you all come back as second graders!!!!

News for the Week of May 20th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
How did it get to be the last week of first grade? I am very proud of each and every one of my students. They have all made tremendous growth this year. The last week/day of school is hard for everyone, and I am sure there will be lots of emotional times this week. Please try to keep things as normal as possible on the home front to help us make a smooth transition into the long awaited summer break.
We had a surprise author visit this past week. Joy Saxton read us her new book and then walked us through how to write our own story and then act it out. The kids loved it. 

LIBRARY NEWS:
All library books are due back to the library!  If your child has any outstanding books, please return them as soon as possible to the library.  They are taking inventory and closing down for the year!  If your child has a missing book, it will need to be paid for prior to getting your child’s report card on the last day of school. 

 

FIELD DAY REMINDERS:
Our annual field day is Tuesday, May 21st.  We are looking forward to a day full of new and exciting activities!  We are asking the students bring a towel, a change of clothes, and wear closed-toed shoes or water shoes (no flip-flops, please). Some of our activities will involve getting wet! Students are allowed to wear swimsuits as long as they wear t-shirts or cover ups that follow our district dress code policy. The new Comets Field Day t-shirt would be a great choice as a cover-up! Please apply all sunscreen at home, as teachers are not responsible for this.  Students should also bring their refillable water bottles to stay hydrated.
If we have bad weather, Field Day will go on with indoor activities. 

 

FIELD DAY TRANSPORTATION CHANGE:
On Field Day the playground and field side of the school will be set up with lots of fun Field Day activities.  For morning drop-off and dismissal the kindergarten car line will be rerouted to the first grade side of the building.  Thanks for your assistance with this change. We will be back to our usual traffic pattern on Tuesday, May 21st.

 

RECYCLE BAGS NEEDED:
Parents, we need your help! If you have not already, please  send a reusable grocery store bag to school that we can use to store some of the many things that will be going home on the last day of school. The green HEB bags would be perfect for our needs, but if you have a large department store bag with handles (such as Macy’s), that would also work. Please make sure that your child’s name or your family’s last name is somewhere on the bag. Thank you so much for your assistance!

 

END OF THE YEAR PARTY:
On the last day of school, Thursday, May 23rd from 8:30-9:45 (brief set-up from 8:00-8:30; clean-up from 9:4510:00), we will celebrate our amazing year in first grade with a delicious brunch.  We are looking forward to this event and I hope you will be able to join us. Please remember to sign in at the office to pick up your visitors pass before coming to the classroom. As always, thank you for finding child care for your preschoolers. See you then!

REPORT CARDS:
Report cards are coming home on Thursday, the last day of school.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
May 20: Reptile Guy
May 21: Field Day
May 23: End of the year celebration (8:30-9:45)
May 23: Last day of school

 

HOMEWORK…
  1. Read for a minimum of 10-15 minutes every evening.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE…
 READING: 
-Responding to reading
WRITING: 
-Create a memory book
-Finish our Handwriting book
MATH:
-Review math concepts from this year
SCIENCE: 
-Finish discussing desert animals (tortoise, vulture, roadrunner, prairie dog, kangaroo rat, jackrabbit, Gila monster, rattlesnake, bobcat, coyote) and their special adaptations for living in the desert

 

Have a wonderful week and an AMAZING summer!  I will miss you all!

News for the Week of May 13th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS
Wow…what a week! It’s hard to believe that this year is quickly coming to a close!   On Tuesday morning, the First Grade Showcase was such a success!  I appreciate you taking the time to come and let your child show off some of their best work and most recent projects.  The contents of their suitcase were also a reflection of things that are considered strengths as well as areas to work on over the summer.  I am so proud of each one of them and know they are looking forward to next year!  We only have 9 more days in first grade … let’s finish strong, Comets!

 

This has been such a fun year with your child and I have felt blessed to not only teach them, but to watch them grow both academically and socially!

 

“Three of a Kind” was an adorable production!  Thank you for all the support you provided at home helping your child learn their lines and the songs.  Tuesday night’s performance was truly memorable!

On Friday, we had the most wonderful Ocean Day thanks to our room moms, Ricki and Shweta! We created a tranquil, shimmery ocean in a bottle and mingled with octopus, shrimp and crab friends. We sampled delicious seafood, learned a lot about whales, and dove into a sweet blue ocean of jello.  It was an amazing journey – free of itchy sand and sunburns!  Thank you to all of the volunteers who donated food items, supplies, and/or your time.  It was perfect!

Thank you for making last week a special Teacher Appreciation Week with all the handmade cards, sweet treats, lovely gifts and gift cards! This group of children have stolen my heart and I feel blessed to have spent this year getting to know them and their families like I have. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity and hopefully they know how special they are to me too!

 

We also got to show our Kindergarten friends all about 1st grade when they came to visit our rooms for Comet Kickoff. It was great to see them all become great leaders! We read books, answered questions they had about 1st grade and then made a jellyfish craft together that hung in the hall for ocean day.

 

LIBRARY BOOKS:
All books are due back to the library!  If you still have a few around your house, please send those in with your child on Monday.  Lost books need to be paid for so your child can receive his/her report card on the last day of school.

 

END OF YEAR EMOTIONS:
This time of year brings out many different kinds of emotions in children. On the one hand, the students are very excited and are anticipating the upcoming break.  They look forward to having more free time, play dates, sleeping later, and vacations.  However, on the other hand, they are sad to leave first grade and the comforts of our classroom.  Second grade brings about nerves and the knowledge of “starting over.”  These emotions come to the surface in different ways: bugging friends, grumpy behavior, hands on others, overly silly, lots of talking, crying, etc.
To help your child with this upcoming transition, please try to get him/her to bed at a reasonable time at night.  This will help him/her when working through emotions during the school day.  A clear head is helpful when relational issues arise because your child will feel more equipped and able to utilize classroom strategies.  I continue to discuss these things in the classroom and am handling any misunderstandings and/or tears.  Thanks for your continued efforts at home, as well!   They are a precious bunch!

 

RECYCLE BAGS NEEDED:
Parents, we need your help! By Friday, May 17, we need each student to bring a cloth grocery store bag to school that we can use to store some of the many things that will be going home on the last day of school. The reusable HEB bags would be perfect for our needs, but if you have a large department store bag with handles (such as Macy’s), that would also work. Please make sure that your child’s name is on the bag.  Thank you!!

 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS IN FIRST GRADE:
“IN-SCHOOL FIELD TRIP”: Soon we will have a special presenter provide an “in-school field trip” experience to help support our wonderful Science learning this year.  Thank you in advance to PTA for providing the funds necessary to make this possible!
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE:
READING and WRITING:
-Read and respond to text
-Memory book
MATH:
-Understand how to represent and compare whole numbers and the relationship between the numbers
SCIENCE:
-Learn about the desert
-Understand the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals
-Locate various deserts on a map
-Identify desert landforms
-Learn about desert animal adaptations (tortoise, vulture, roadrunner, prairie dog)

 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
May 20: Reptile Guy (in school field trip)
May 21: Field Day (1st grade: 9:40-10:40 am)
May 23: Last Day of School & End of Year Brunch Party
Finally, if you know that your child will be leaving school before our last day, Thursday, May 23, please let me know.

 

Thank you!
Have a wonderful week!

News for the Week of May 6th

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHENANIGANS:
FIRST GRADE SHOWCASE: The first grade students and teachers are excited to invite you to come by your child’s classroom on Tuesday morning, May 7, from 7:20 – 7:40 a.m. for our First Grade Showcase.  Your favorite first grader will be ready to show you some of the great work that he/she has been doing this year!  Please come to cheer your child’s hard work and show your appreciation for all he/she has learned in First Grade.  We look forward to seeing you here!

 

We said goodbye to our reading buddies this week. Another hard goodbye to close out the year. We enjoyed a popsicle treat with them and played during a recess together. They have all grown so close this year and helped each other become better readers!

 

Our Superstar this past week was Jade. She was our final superstar for the year and we loved getting to learn more about her and her family!

We had our final parent reader of the year. Blake’s mom came and read to us. Thank you to all the moms and dads that came to read to us this year. We loved having you visit in our classrooms.

A MESSAGE FROM MRS. MARTIN:
Dear First Grade Families:
The combined 1st Grade classes will be performing the musical “Three of a Kind” on Tuesday, May 7th at 6:30 pm in the CCE Cafeteria.  Students should be in the Music Room by 6:15 pm to prepare for the performance.  We will begin promptly at 6:30 pm since there is not a PTA meeting prior to this performance.
Attendance at this week’s early morning rehearsals has been outstanding.  Thank you ALL!  The students are very excited about performing for you!
We are all looking forward to seeing you on May 7th!

 

LOOKING AHEAD …
Ocean Day is this Friday, May 10!  The First Grade room parents have been hard at work helping us get organized for this journey into the ocean.
Thank you to those parents who have notified me about seafood allergies or new food allergies!
Here is the sign-up for this event: Ocean Day!  Thank you to Erin for getting everything organized!
We will also need parent volunteers anytime during the 12:20-2:55 time slot – for setting up, during the event to help students, and for cleanup.  You must be an approved volunteer through RRISD.  We appreciate your help!

 

RECYCLE BAGS NEEDED:
Parents, we need your help! By Friday, May 17, we need each student to bring a cloth grocery store bag to school that we can use to store some of the many things that will be going home on the last day of school. The reusable HEB bags would be perfect for our needs, but if you have a large department store bag with handles (such as Macy’s), that would also work. Please make sure that your child’s name is on the bag.  Thank you!!

 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS IN FIRST GRADE:
“IN-SCHOOL FIELD TRIP”: Later in May, we will have a special presenter provide an “in-school field trip” experience to help support our wonderful Science learning this year.  Thank you in advance to PTA for providing the funds necessary to make this possible!

 

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE:
READING and WRITING:
-Finish Ocean Research Project
-Create and write stories
-Continue to develop our accuracy, fluency, and comprehension through the stories we read
MATH:
-Draw conclusions from picture and bar-type graphs
-Generate and answer questions using information from picture and bar-type graphs
SCIENCE:
-Review Ocean animals and finish up Ocean research
-Ocean Day!

 

 HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK
  1. Read 10-15 minutes every day. Record in the student planner about their story. This will be our final week of homework! These first graders have worked so hard. Continue to read but there will not be any more reading logs in the planners after this week. Finish strong!
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
May 7: First Grade Showcase 7:20-7:40 a.m.
         Volunteer Breakfast in the library 7:15-8:00 a.m.
         First Grade Performance 6:30 p.m.
May 10: Ocean Day
May 20: Reptile Guy (in school field trip)
May 21: Field Day (1st grade: 9:40-10:40 AM
May 23: Last Day of School & End of Year Brunch Party
Finally, if you know that your child will be leaving school before our last day, Thursday, May 23, please let me know.
Thank you!
Have a wonderful week!
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