Last Week of November 2018

Happy end of November.  I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving holiday.  Only 4 weeks left before our Winter break.  Next week is pretty normal, then we will head into our holiday studies to wrap up the semester.  Please read on to get the whole scoop on what is happening for the rest of the year in room 9 and at Marshall.

Math:  As mentioned last week, this week we will continue with making a ten and dive into some deeper thinking with comparing efficiency of strategies and critiquing peer solutions.  I love how our students are asked to think about their strategies and made to figure out which strategies are used when comparing problems with these lessons.  

ELA:  We will be reading the first 5 chapters of Frog and Toad Together.  Each student will have their own copy of the book, and we will use the stories to work on comprehension and reading skills.  This series will go hand in hand with our Nat Geo stories, focusing on animal life cycles.  This week we will learn about the lifecycle of a frog and create a cute project that helps us to understand that concept.

Science:  We will wrap up our body unit this week.  We will finish our body bags and have an assessment with a labeling activity.

Social Studies:  The students will wrap up their Thanksgiving unit with Mrs. Ogg this week.  This will be our last week of switching until we return from winter break.

Cultural Holiday Celebration Sign-Up:  The 3 weeks in December we will spend learning about the different holidays celebrated during this time of the year.  Each week we will learn about a different holiday, who celebrates it, how they celebrate, when they celebrate, and why - the importance behind that particular holiday.  The first week is Kwanzaa, followed by Christmas, and Hanukkah.  On each Friday of these 3 weeks we will end with a celebration for the holiday we are learning about.  December 7th we will have a mini Kwanzaa feast to celebrate the harvest, the 14th we will have a Christmas craft morning where we will be making our parent gifts and gingerbread houses, and the 21st we will make latkes and play dreidel game.  We will need your help with supplies in order to make this happen, and I will need volunteers on the 14th and 21st as well.  You can sign up to help with all our festive fun by clicking on our sign up genius link here   https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0e4fa4a72ca0ff2-cultural.  I will also send home a paper version with the names of our online sign up added on and send home about midweek for those who prefer.  Thank you all for your help in making these moments happen for our kiddos.  I absolutely love these Friday's in December.  The students learn so much and it is such a magical time of the year!  

Scholastic Book Orders:  Book orders are in the cubbies.  Again, this will be the last one until we return from Winter Break, which means this is the last chance to purchase any books you may want for the holidays.  Book orders will be due Friday, November 30 to ensure that all orders will make it in on time well before we go to break.  Remember, you will also be able to order online using our classroom code Q7YBM.  Remember, if you are purchasing books for gifts for your child just let me know and I will make sure to get them to you without them knowing!  Thanks for ordering.

Special Early Release:  Thursday, December 13th is a special early release day.  Students will be dismissed at 12:25 for a teacher report card prep day.  Please plan for after school care accordingly.  

Marshall Gallop:  Our Marshall Mustang Gallop was a huge success this year.  The school raised over $15,000, the most we have made in many years!  Our class raised quite a good chunk of that!  Mrs. Hulls' class was the class that brought in the most money and Ms. Grimmett's class earned the nod for highest percentage of participation.  It was a great year for our Gallop and for our PTO and I cannot thank everyone who raised funds and participated in this event enough!  You are amazing and we are thankful for your help in making this one of our most successful Gallops we have had in a while!

I look forward to seeing everyone rested and ready for tomorrow! -Ms. Shaw

Thanksgiving 2018

Happy Thanksgiving week!  Although it is a short week, I wanted to send a quick update anyway.  Here's what our two day's will look like academically.

Math:  We will take our first assessment on unit two (three addend addition, making a ten when one addend is a 9) after reviewing a little more.  When we return from break we will continue with making a ten and dive into some deeper thinking with comparing efficiency of strategies and critiquing peer solutions.

ELA:  We will be reading about turkeys to learn about turkey facts.  We will use these stories to focus on concepts such as main idea and details, finding information in our text, and using text to answer our questions.

Science:  We will be adding our intestines and stomachs to our body bags, and learning about these organs and labeling all the parts we have learned about.

Scholastic Book Order:  I will be sending home a book order on Tuesday.  This will be the last one until we return from Winter Break.  This means this is the last chance to purchase any books you may want for the holidays.  Scholastic books are great for under the tree or as stocking stuffers.  If you would like to purchase for any of these reasons, let me know via email or agenda and I can sneak them to you without our first graders knowing.  Book orders will be due Friday, November 30 to ensure that all orders will make it in on time well before we go to break.  Remember, you will also be able to order online using our classroom code Q7YBM.  Be on a lookout for the holiday flyer on Tuesday.

Don't Forget -  No School Wednesday, November 21st - Friday, November 23rd.  Happy Thanksgiving!🦃 

I am particularly grateful for this group of first graders this year!  This group of kids is that group.  That group that makes you love getting up in the morning and coming in to work.  That group that is the very reason you love teaching.  That group that makes your heart swell with happiness.  That group that makes you smile and laugh out loud all the time.  I cannot tell you enough how much joy this group of students brings me, EACH AND EVERY ONE!  I am thankful for each unique and wonderful little personality.  I wish you all could spend a day in our class so you could experience my daily joy!   I am thankful to my parents and grandparents who pour so much love and time and effort into these little beings, you are the reason they are who they are.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of their lives!  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.  -Ms. Shaw  

Veteran's Day Post

Happy Veterans Day weekend families.  Reminder school is closed tomorrow (Monday, November 12th) in observance of this holiday.  That means a short and busy 4 day week ahead.  Here's the scoop on what's coming up...

Math:  We did not get quite as far as I wanted in math last week as 3 addend addition took a couple of days longer to teach to a level of understanding that I was happy with took a little longer than I thought it would.  My guess is making a ten when one addend is 9 might take a little extra as well, which we will dedicate this week to.  That means that is 7ish days on these 4 lessons, with an assessment this Friday.  This is fine with me, these are concepts that I rather spend extra time developing an understanding of rather than moving on quickly.  So, we will still be concentrating on the concepts described in last weeks blog.

ELA:  We did not have a chance to read enemy pie last week because I choose to read "Americas White Table" to teach the students about Veterans Day.  We learned what is means to be a veteran and a soldier.  The children are making Veteran Day lap books, which we will complete during the beginning of the week.  Then we will move onto "Enemy Pie."  We will also be reading stories from our Nat Geo curriculum over the next couple of weeks, having to do with animals and life cycles.  

Science:  We continue with our exploration of the human body.  We will be adding inflatable lungs to our body bags, as well as stomachs and intestines.  We will also learn the functions of these organs.  

Social Studies:  Our students continue to learn about the first Thanksgiving with Mrs. Ogg and our friends from the Magic Treehouse series, Jack and Annie.

Here Comes the Bus:  Many of you have asked about, or at least have heard from your kids about bus tags.  What are they and what are they for?  The tags will be going home on Tuesday, attached to your child's backpack.  This is where they must stay if they are a bus rider or if you ever wish to track them when they take a bus on a field trip.  Here comes the bus is an app you can download and create an account.  This app will allow you to monitor your student getting on and off the bus (they will scan their card for this) and track the bus while in transit.  You will need the 5 digit school code (83662) and your child's 16 digit identification number, which is located on the back of their bus card.  Also on the card was their first and last name, but I have taken a sharpie and blacked out this part of the card, which I was told was allowed.  To me this is a safety issue and nobody needs to see any type of name identification on the outside of your child's backpack. This is one of the reasons they do not yet have their cards.  The use of this app is optional, but I will be placing the cards on their backpacks even if they are not bus riders (again - for field trips if you want to monitor those excursions).  Please do not remove them from their backpacks if they are a bus rider, as the district will be able to use this system to track busers as well.  You may visit this link for more information as well...  https://herecomesthebus.com/getting-started/.  Our two newset students were not sent cards from the district, Erin has been notified and she has ordered them.  As soon as she gets them they will have them as well. On a side note, the kids are really excited about having these cards.  They feel very grown up, and some are convinced they now have access into the building 😂.  Although it is very funny they might need a reminder that these cards are not a toy and they should not remove them and play with them either.

Picture Retake Day:  Thursday is picture retake day.  If you missed picture day or were not satisfied with your child's pictures Thursday is your opportunity for a redo!  The good news is these pictures are taken in the morning (as opposed to after lunch recess like last time) so any and all hair do's should last and children should remain clean.  

Thanksgiving Break:  Wow, already?  Wednesday, November 21st - Friday, November 23rd school will be closed for Thanksgiving break.

Save the Dates:  

• November 21st-23rd - School Closed - Thanksgiving
• December 5th (Wednesday) - PTO in library - all are welcomed to join!  Free childcare is available.
• December 13th (Thursday) - Special Early Release @12:25
• December 7th (Friday) Kwanzaa feast - details to come soon
• December 14th (Friday) Christmas Craft Morning - details to come soon
• December 21st (Friday) Hanukkah Celebration - details to come soon

Happy Veterans day and a huge thank you to all who have served and to their families!  Freedom is not free and your service and dedication to our country is appreciated!  See everyone back on Tuesday.💙-Ms. Shaw

First Week of November 2018

Happy November.  I love this time of year.  Crisp air and the beginning of the holiday season.  I promise to keep you update on all the excitement and activities that will take place over the next couple of months, there will be many.  Here is the scoop on our upcoming short week.

Math:  We are officially done with Module 1, moving into Module 2.  This is the unit where I start to get excited about the cool stuff our students will be learning.  We will begin with learning to add 3 addends (ex: 9+2+1) and using our commutative and associative properties of addition to make 10 to solve 3 addend problems.  We will also start adding sums greater than 10 by making a 10.  This is a really cool method that always blows my mind, which will look something like this... 

                 and   

                              9+1=10

                     10+2=12, so 9+3=12

It looks like a lot, but I will break it down and teach it in the steps so that it makes sense to the students.  The cool part is that every year they see the pattern inside the problem, which helps them to solve the equation as well.  This is just another method they can choose to solve problems, but I find it exciting to teach and to see them connect with it!

ELA:  Now that mummies are concluded, we will be moving on.  This week we will be reading "Enemy Pie" and creating a bulletin board that coincides with the story.  Then it will probably be on to some Frog and Toad stories.  We will continue with Daily 5 and learn the CAFE strategy for accuracy - back up and reread.  

Science:  We have begun our unit on our bodies.  Last week on Halloween we learned about our bones.  This week we will begin assembling our body bags, gluing our heart, lungs, rib cage, and pelvic bones onto our bags.  We will also learn about the function of our heart and lungs.

Social Studies:  Our students will begin learning about the first Thanksgiving with Mrs. Ogg this week.

Veteran's Day Weekend:  Don't forget, this week and next are both 4 day weeks, as school will be closed this Friday, November 9th (Teacher Professional Development Day) as well as Monday, November 12th for Veteran's Day.  Enjoy your 4 day weekend!

Thanksgiving Break:  Wednesday, November 21st - Friday, November 23rd school will be closed for Thanksgiving break.

Looking Ahead:  In December we will not be switching for science and social studies.  I will be keeping our kiddos so that I may teach our holiday studies unit.  The first week I will be teaching Kwanzaa, followed by Christmas, and wrapping it up with Hanukkah the last week.  We will be learning who celebrates these holidays respectively, how, and why.  Each Friday we will have a celebration in honor of each holiday.  December 7th we will have a Kwanzaa feast, the 14th will be Christmas craft morning, and the 21st we will have a Hanukkah celebration, making latkes and playing the dreidel game.  I will need classroom volunteers on the 14th and the 21st, more information as December draws near.

December Early Release:  Thursday, December 13th will be a special early release for report card prep.  School will release at 12:25, please plan for child care accordingly.  

Can you feel the holiday magic in the air?  Now all we need is some more snow!  Hug your babies for me.  - Ms. Shaw