Gallop/FHS Parade 2018

What a fun first week of October.  Friday was such a blast, and I have included a lot of pictures of our students at the gallop and watching the FHS homecoming parade.  The gallop is always one of my favorite Marshall events, and to fall on the same day of the parade was extra special.  I heard one of the students say, "This is the best day of school ever!"  It sure felt that way, I hope you enjoy the pics below.  First, here is what is happening for our upcoming short conference week.

Math:  Our students will continue to solve subtraction word problems by learning how to draw the word problem and cross out the part they know.  They will also learn how to start labeling the number bonds that match the number sentence for the word problem.  This is important because it helps them start thinking about what the numbers stand for and what is the number they are truly solving for.  This also helps them to write a more correct number sentence.  For example if they know that they have 4 leaves and 3 are red and the rest are yellow, they should be able to label 4 as T for total or L for leaves.  The 3 should be labeled R for red and then the 1 should be labeled Y for yellow.  They can then know they found the missing part of 1.  Therefore their number sentence should be 4-3=1.  They subtracted the 3 because it was the part they know.  They found the 1, therefore the number sentence 4-1=3 is not as correct.  Learning how to label their parts will help them in this thought process.  

ELA:  Because of our short week our ELA will be put on hold until after the break.  However, because of Friday's festivities we were unable to get to our spelling test.  Therefore I will send home the same list for two days worth of spelling homework and will administer the test on Wednesday morning.  This will be the only homework the students will have this week!

Science:  We will wrap up our plant unit this week.  The students had a great time giving their grass a "haircut" last week, and reading about how seeds travel.  This week they will watch a fun video about how seeds travel and make a book to go with it.  Then we will try to squeeze in a review about the inquiry process, and if time allows we will take our first assessment on this.

Social Studies:  Mrs. Ogg will be wrapping up her unit on Ancient Mesopotamia this week as well.  On Wednesday we will be combining the two classes for the grand finale.  We will be giving the kids a taste of Ancient Mesopotamia with a sampling of some of the foods from that region.  If you could help out by bringing the following contributions we would greatly appreciate it:

• Apples (sliced)
• Honeydew (sliced)
• Cantaloupe (sliced)
• Pita Bread
• Grapes
• Figs
• Dates
• Goat Cheese
• Grapes
• Sesame Seeds

Again, thank you for your help.  These activities are such a great way to expand our lessons and give the students a better understanding of the times, and they are only possible with your contributions.

Parent/Teacher Conferences:  Congratulations room 9 families, for the first time ever I have 100% of my families signed up for a conference.  You all are so amazing.  Your children should have gone home with a final conference schedule on Friday.  If you forget your time, please feel free to email me or call the office.  Don't forget all three days are early release days, so plan for child care accordingly.  Monday and Tuesday are 12:25 release and Wednesday is an extra early release time at 11:10.

Clothing Exchange:  While you are here for your conference don't forget to swing by the clothing exchange, located in our science lab.  It's a chance to shop for some "new" gently used clothing.  We have all sorts of clothes and footwear of all sizes for every member of the family (including babies to men).  You do not have to bring in clothes to shop, and everything is FREE!

Walk to School Day:  This Wednesday, October 10th is International Walk to School Day.  If you would like your child to participate please drop them off at the Armory across from Thorpe Park, where there will be teacher's there to walk with groups of students starting about 8am.  If you would like to join us in walking, please do.  If your child rides a bus they will need a signed permission slip to be dropped off by the bus driver at the Armory.  Permission slips will go home on Monday.  Please DO NOT send these back to school, these are to stay with your child and to be given TO THE BUS DRIVER on WEDNESDAY morning.  Thank you. 

Box Tops:  Box Tops are due on Friday, October 19th.  Keep collecting!  Thank you for all the box tops that have come our way so far.

Morning Announcements:  Every morning a group of students announce the Pledge of Allegiance over the intercom.  Our class has been chosen for this honor on Thursday morning's for the month of October.  This first week Tate and Nevaeh made us proud, and announced the pledge loud and clear.  The rest of the class was so happy to hear their classmates over the loud speaker, and greeted them with a round of applause as they entered the room.

Marshall Gallop:  Our gallop was a huge hit, and fun was had by all.  A huge thank you to our amazing PTO for providing T-Shirts commemorating Marshall's 65th birthday to every single student and staff member!  One of the students put on his shirt and looked at me and said, "Ms. Shaw, we match!"  Huh, imagine that😄! So funny.  A thank you also goes out to our food services for providing water, oranges, and bananas after the run.  I have already received a few pledge packets back.  Money is due on Friday, October 19th.  Remember, the class with the most money collected and the class with the most participation wins a special prize.  I would love for this class to win one of these for all of their hard work.  This is our one and only fundraiser for the year, and we appreciate all your efforts!  As promised, here are some amazing pictures from the Gallop.  Check out the video, I love how the kids were dancing and just so happy.  This is them all the time, and I love it!

FHS Homecoming Parade:  The Gallop was followed by the FHS parade.  The students lined the curb in front of the street and clapped and cheered FHS, who are celebrating their 95th birthday this year!  The parade even featured our very own Mr. Billy in the Purple Heart truck.  Here are some photos of all the parade fun.

I cannot begin to explain to you how happy these children make me.  I feel so lucky every day I come to work.  They make me smile and laugh all the time, and I love my job because of these happy, smiling faces.  We have so much fun together, and I just love, love, LOVE these kiddos!  Thank you for sharing them with me. -Ms. Shaw

October Madness

Happy October 🍁.  Hope everyone is ready for the rains.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather that is headed our way.  Closed toe shoes (or rain boots) and a jacket.  It may be a good idea to pack a dry pair of socks and an extra pair of shoes if possible.  Also, please remind your students to stay away from the puddles, as they will not be able to go to Nurse Becky for dry clothes.  This is because she has very limited clothing supplies and we cannot change every student who wishes to ignore our stay out of the puddles rule.  Thank you in helping us to reinforce this with a quick stay dry discussion!  Now, here is the scoop on the beginning of a very busy month...

Math:  We will finish learning how to subtract using a number lines and wrap up our unit with a test.  After this we will move on to learning how to solve subtraction word problems.

ELA:  From our NatGeo will be reading a story about a seed called, "The Daisy."  This will continue to coincide with our science unit.  We will also be learning our CAFE lesson of identify plot and back up and reread.  Spelling will focus on our blends of fl, pl, bl, cl, and gl.  

Science:  We will continue our plant unit by wrapping up the parts of a plant with a quiz at the beginning of the week.  We will also conclude our data on what happens to seeds in wet soil, and write our conclusions.  Then we will head into how seeds travel.

Social Studies:  The students will begin a two week unit of study on Ancient Mesopotamia.  They will learn about the people, traditions, and foods of the Ancient Mesopotamian people.  

Marshall Gallop:  This Friday, October 5th is our Mustang Gallop.  First grade will be running at 9:35.  Every student will be receiving a commemorative 65th Marshall birthday t-shirt to wear during the jog-a-thon.  First grade will be continue the birthday theme by dressing up as "First Grade Funfetti."  If you would like to come help us run, usher kids to the water station, and so forth we would love to have you join us.  Plan us meeting us in the classroom about 9:15 to put lap stickers on students, assist with using the bathroom, etc...  Thank you in advance!

FHS Homecoming:   Friday is also the FHS homecoming parade, which our kiddos will get to watch during lunch recess.

Parent/Teacher Conferencs:  I am sending home the newest conference schedule with your child on Monday.  If you do not have a conference but would like one, please sign your name under two of the remaining spots and return to me ASAP.  Please remember, all three days will be early release days so plan for child care accordingly.  Monday and Tuesday release is at 12:25, and Wednesday is an extra early release at 11:10.

Clothing Exchange:  While you are here for conference plan on making time to stop by the science lab and shop at our annual clothing exchange.  This is a great opportunity to "shop" for some clothes for FREE for the whole family.

Fall Break:  Conferences will be followed by fall break.  School will be closed Thursday, October 11th and Friday, October 12th.  Hope everyone has a fantastic four day!

Corn Day Festivities:  Corn day was a big hit.  Thank you to everyone who donated food items for our corn taste testing.  Our kids also had a chance to make a book about how the corn gets from farm to store, make a corn mosaic, compare and contrast two types of popcorn, and take part in a dancing corn science experiment.  The day before we also learned about adjectives with a fun popcorn activity.  The students used their 5 sense to observe popcorn popping, then wrote their adjectives on pieces of paper popcorn, which they glued into their construction paper popcorn containers.  I love when we have an opportunity to add a craft to our learning.  I took some pictures at the end of corn day, when our class was finishing up a few projects at once.  I wasn't able to get pictures of them in the other classes unfortunately, but these ones are just the best.  Enjoy!

Love these faces!  See everyone in the morning.  Stay dry and safe.  -Ms. Shaw