Spring Break 2018

🌷Happy Spring Break!  It sure was great to see so many families at conferences.  I was truly amazed at the number of parents who not only came to conferences, but who also reached out to make other arrangements to make a conference happen.  This has been a great group of involved parents and I want to let you know how much I appreciate you all!  If you were not able to make your conference for any reason, and would still like to touch base after break, please feel free to contact me and we can make it happen.  Here is what will be going on in our class when we return on Monday, March 25th:

Math:  We will be returning to place value, using dimes and pennies to represent tens and ones.  We will also be working on comparing quantities of two digit numbers and how to write the symbols to correctly compare those quantities (>, <, =).

ELA:  This will be week two of our Bee unit.  Therefore we will continue with our Hartcourt story, "Busy Buzzy Bee."  In addition we will read different bee books to enhance our bee studies.  This week we will really focus on the lifecycle of a bee, which will include some writing to show our learning.  Instead of a normal spelling test we decided to have a "fun" spelling test with some bee terms.  There will be 2 bonus words that will be the "4 pointers" in lieu of the spelling sentences this week.

Science:  We are beginning our earth science unit on air and weather.  This is a really fun unit in which the students really discover how air works and how if affects many aspects of our life, including the weather.  

Social Studies:  More maps.  When we return they will be doing a "Me on the Map" activity, tying in with their prior knowledge from our previous story.  This will give them a better understanding of where they live on this great big planet, and where exactly the city of Flagstaff sits. 

Extra Scoop of Information:

We are in need of snacks and hand sanitizer!  If you are able to contribute with either of these items we would greatly appreciate it!

I am hoping to try some different seating options in our classroom by the end of this year.  I want to try flexible seating and see how it works for our students.  The idea behind flexible seating is to give students an array of seating options, and everyday they will choose the option that they feel will best suit their educational need for that day.  Of course, as with anything else this will be preloaded with learning about how each seating option will work, the rules and agreements on how they will use ("behave" with) flexible seating, and the understanding that if their choice is not working to optimize their learning and that of others, I have the ultimate right to pick their seating for the day.  Before we can get to all of this however, I need to purchase our seating.  I have set up a fundraising account with a company called donorschoose.org.  Basically, anyone can click on the following link  

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/sitting-for-success/3120256/

and give any amount of money to help with the purchase of these items.  I would greatly appreciate it if you could share this link with any friends or family members who you think would love to support this cause.  I do not have facebook or any other social media, so I am a little limited on my ability to reach out to a large amount of people.  Please let them know that if they give within the next few days and use the code LIFTOFF donorschoose.org will match their donation up to $50.  What I really do not want is for you all to give your money to this.  I feel my families already give so much to our class and to your child's education that I want you to understand I really am not asking for you to give to this as well.  I just need help spreading the word to a large audience!  The cool part of this organization is that once they post it publicly, other foundations can view and match funds, and from my understanding this happens often.  Of course, if this project does not happen this year, I will probably end up purchasing most of the items myself over the summer.  This is just something I thought I could try to get a little financial help, and to see if I could make it happen on some level for this years kiddos.  Thank you for helping spread the word, that is all I need from my families!  

Save the Dates:

• Thursday, March 29th - Family Fitness Night - 5:30-7:00 So much fun, I really hope you make time to attend.

• Tuesday, April 3rd - 1st grade Suzuki performance at FHS - Details will be in letter going home Monday! 

• Saturday April 14th - Flagstaff Sights and Sounds at the Mall - We have decided we will set up a display to promote our robots, and parents will not have to sit and "man the booth" so to speak.  

• April 16th - 20th - Scholastic Book Fair in the Library - More details to come.  

• Monday, April 23rd and Tuesday, April 24th - School Closed (Currently) Snow Make Up Days.

I hope everyone's Spring Break is off to a great start.  I hope families and students find time to relax and ways to refill and rejuvenate mind and soul.  I will see you all Monday, March 25th. -Ms. Shaw

Conference Week 2018

Hello Families, and happy conference week.  Your child should have gone home with a final conference schedule so that you know your scheduled time.  If you need another copy, please write a note in the agenda and we will send one home.  Remember, Wednesday-Friday are early release days because of conferences so please plan accordingly.  Wednesday we release at 11:10, and Thursday and Friday at 12:25.  Also, homework will be limited to spelling and story only, no math for the week.  I'm sure students and parents alike will be saddened by this, but I hope you will enjoy your small reprieve.  The week may be short, but we have many exciting things planned.  Here is the scoop for the week ahead...

Math:  We will be wrapping up our coin unit this week.  The students seem to have enjoyed identifying pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, and telling how much they are worth.  Try pulling out coins and seeing what they know.  You can even give them practice by asking them what other coins could they use to equal the value of a dime, or a quarter, etc...  

ELA:  Our Hartcourt story this week is "Busy Buzzy Bee."  This story kicks off a 2 week unit on bees.  We will learn all about the many jobs of the different bees, what goes on in the hive, and the lifecycle of the bees.  

Science:  We are wrapping up our motion unit with an assessment.  We will also incorporate our bee unit into our science this week, learning about pollination.

Social Studies:  Social Studies will continue with Ms. Reger and Miss Kelly after we return from Spring Break.

This weeks conferences are followed by Spring Break.  School will be closed from Monday, March 19th - Friday, March 23rd.  Hope you all find time to rest, relax, and enjoy your families.  Report cards will be sent home this Friday for those opting out of a conference.

Save the Date:  Thursday, March 29th is PTO's Family Fitness Night.  Come ready for an active night full of fun!  

Tuesday, April 3rd is 1st grade Suzuki night.  This is your child's first chance to show you what they have been busy learning all year long.  This is their night to dress up and shine!  More information to come on when and where.   All family is invited.

Looking forward to seeing families at conferences.  -Ms. Shaw

Conferences and Robots!

Happy March!  What a week, ending with our robots!  They caused us some challenges, but they were a huge success at the end.  At the end of this blog are some great pictures from this fun Friday morning.  Before all that, here's the scoop for this upcoming week....

Math:  We will begin our unit on money.  Our goal is for students to be able to identify pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters by their image, name, and value, and to be able to decompose these coins into smaller coins that equal their value.  Then we will return to place value to use money in understanding tens and ones.  We will also visit money when we begin comparing quantities.

ELA:  Our Hartcourt story of the week is "Little Bear's Friends."  Such an adorable story!  We will also continue working on Daily 5 CAFE strategies.  Last week we learned to blend the sounds of tricky words, stretch the words and reread.  This week we will learn how to trade a word/guess a word that makes sense and skip a word and then come back.

Science:  We hope to wrap up our discoveries on the motion of push and pull this week and then move onto other areas of motion.

Social Studies:  Ms. Reger will begin our 1st grade unit of geography next week.  All about cardinal directions, map keys and symbols, reading and making maps, and looking at and understanding various types of maps.

Extra Scoop:

Don't forget the following upcoming important events:

NAU STEM Night -  5:30-7:30  If you said you planned on attending for a one hour block of time to have your child show the public their robot, we will have the robot there for you.  When your time is up, please leave the robot if you plan on attending any amount of time at the upcoming Flagstaff Festival of Sights and Sounds.  If you do not wish to attend Flagstaff Festival of Sights and Sounds you may take your robot home!

Parent Teacher Conferences are Wednesday March 14th -Friday March 16th.  I will not be holding PM conferences on Friday.  This round of conferences are optional, but I do encourage anyone who would like to touch base about their child's education to do so.  I will be sending home the sign-up sheet on Monday.  Please select 2 or 3 options that work best for you, indicating choice #1, #2, etc... I try hard to try and give everyone one of their top 2 time slot preferences if possible, but it is first come first serve.  Also, conferences are early release days.

  Wednesday, March 14th - 11:10 Dismissal

Thursday, March 15th - 12:25 Dismissal

Friday, March 16th - 12:25 Dismissal 

Also, please note that these conferences are scheduled for 15 minutes each, back to back.  If you are extremely late, we will reschedule.  Or if you wish to speak about matters more in depth we may schedule more time on another day, which I am happy to do.  However, I will wrap things up at the end of our 15 minutes to respect the next group of parents who had to schedule time out of their day to attend the time slot they picked that worked best for them.  I will not keep them waiting past their time.  Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Wednesday, March 7th - Rescheduled Kindergarten Registration

Monday March 19th - Friday March 23rd - SPRING BREAK!  Need I say more?

Thursday, March 29th, 5:30-6:30 - PTO Family Fitness Night.  Mark your calendars for this night!  This is truly one of the funnest nights of the year.  A night where kids come and learn about playing healthy, eating healthy, and being healthy.  Healthy minds, bodies, and choices.  So many vendors and companies come out to give the students a hands on experience.  From flag football to gymnastics, and yoga to hockey,  plus so much more!  In the past the have made healthy snacks, essential oils has been on hand.  Not sure what will be in store this year, but my guess it will be much like this.  My favorite part (besides it is FREE FAMILY FUN) is that the kids play so hard they go home exhausted and get a great night sleep!  I highly encourage all my families to make time for this event!

Saturday April, 14th - FUSD Festival of Sights and Sounds

Cherry On Top:  

Here's what you've all been waiting for.  Pictures from robot day!  Thank you to all the Grandpa's, Dad's, and Mom's who came in and helped us with our robots.  The kids love them.  Some wires came out at the end, but after the kids left I fixed those few, and as of now we have 100% of our robots working.  With that being said, if your child's robot should wiggle loose a wire all you will need to do is reattach the wire with electrical tape and the robot will be up and wiggling in no time.  Please make sure wires stay attached exactly as they are or they will overheat!  The robots did not go home yet because those who said they are going to STEM will need them then.  Also, I will be sending home a paper asking who plans on attending the above mentioned Sights and Sounds Festival.  If you do, I will need to keep your robot.  If you do not, I will let your child take home their robot by Friday of this week.  Now for the pictures!

Great Stuff!  The students had so much fun.  Lots of smiling, even when they encountered robot issues.  It was a great morning.  One of those teacher "I love my job" kind of days!       -Ms. Shaw