Weekly Update 6/7-6/10

Hello, everyone!

It is the LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! I know the kids are so excited for summer to begin. They  have told me all about their vacation plans.  This week we are going to wrap up our Science unit and do some fun things. Here is more information about that:

*We are having a pajama and pizza day on Wednesday. Your child may wear their pjs to school (wear regular shoes, please)! They may also:

*bring a stuffie

*bring their favorite drink to go along with their pizza snack

*If you know that your child will not be here on pajama and pizza day, please send me an email so I know how much pizza to purchase. Thank you!

*We are going to have flashlight D.E.A.R. time this week. Please have your child bring a flashlight and blanket to school on Monday. They will keep those items here at school until their last day.

*Thursday is the last day of school. We will have Lunch on the Lawn on this day. If you choose to check your child out early, please see me to sign them out. This is important because if you don’t sign them out and I can’t find them, I go into panic mode thinking they are lost. So, please check out with me! Thank you!

*In a year filled to the brim with challenges and frustrations, your kids showed resiliency, focus, cooperation, and creativity. I could not be more proud of our class this year. I love them all so much, and will miss them dearly. It has been my honor to be their teacher. Thank you for your support and patience as we navigated new territory. We may have gotten a couple of bumps and bruises in the process, but ultimately it was a year full of successes!

HAVE A FANTASTIC SUMMER!

Weekly Update 6/1-6/4

Hello, everyone!

Here are this week’s announcements…

*No more spelling tests for the year!  Woo-hoo!

*Willow Creek will have the “Day of Awesomeness” on Thursday!  It is supposed to reach 100 degrees on this day.  Your child will spend a good part of the day outside. Please have your child:

*wear shorts and a t-shirt

*wear tennis shoes

*bring a spill-proof water bottle filled with water

*bring sunglasses and/or a hat

*wear sunblock to school and bring sunblock to reapply

*bring anything you have that will help them keep cool (miniature battery operated fans, cooling neck gaiters, etc.)

*Book orders are here! Kids who ordered books will bring their orders home Tuesday.

*If your child has a library book at home, please have them return it to school ASAP.

*If your child borrowed a Decodable Reader from me, please have them return it to school ASAP.

*If your child has an iPad charger or hotspot at home, please have them return it to school ASAP.

*Thursday, June 10th, is the last day of school! We will have the traditional “Lunch on the Lawn” starting at 12:00 pm. I will have a sign-out sheet available if you choose to check your child out after Lunch on the Lawn. School is full day, so kids who don’t go home early will be with me for the afternoon!

Weekly Update 5/17-5/21

Hello, everyone!

Here are this week’s announcements…

*We will have our spelling test on Wednesday, May 19^th. Spelling words were sent home last Wednesday.  

*Our school earned a “Day of Awesomeness” because of our participation in the fundraiser for our P.E. program earlier this year! It will be on June 3^rd. Mrs. Reed is asking that each class have a parent volunteer on that day. If you are interested, please send me an email. I’m not sure if it’s an all-day commitment or not.

*Although I won’t be assessing the last sight word list until June 7^th, please have your child study a little each week. Don’t forget—they only need to know how to read the sight words this time around. They WILL NOT be tested on the spelling of them. I hate that we have to go right up until the end of the year, but I would just feel more comfortable if they knew these words before they went on to 2^nd grade. Thank you!

Literacy *Good readers can retell a story. *Sequencing events Identifying fact v. opinion statements Mathematics *Comparison unknown story problems *Part unknown story problems with bigger numbers *Working with numbers 100-121 and higher! *Adding two digit numbers Word Study/Grammar *bossy r spelling pattern *Adjectives Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *New Science Unit “It’s Alive!” Writer’s Workshop Information writing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Update 5/10-5/14

Hello, everyone!

Monday is May 10^th, and that means we have only 1 month left of first grade!  We are still learning so much every day.  I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day , and enjoyed reading your child’s opinion writing paragraph about you. They worked really hard on them, and I loved reading their work! 

Here are this week’s announcements…

*We’ve got one more set of sight words to work on. I’ll be sending those home on Wednesday. For this last set of sight words, the kids will only be required to memorize/read them. They do not need to practice spelling them! The due date to have all sight words memorized is June 7^th. We will practice at school, and they will be expected to practice reading them at home. Some kids will already be able to read all of them.  Some will need nightly practice.

*But wait…we will still have spelling words!  I am going to send home a weekly review spelling list of words we’ve had throughout the year, in addition to phonics pattern words. Our next spelling test will be on Wednesday, May 19^th.  I will send home the first set of review words this Wednesday.

*A book order was sent home last week. It is the last book order of the year. Orders are due by Friday, May 14^th!

Literacy *Good readers can retell a story. *Sequencing events Identifying fact v. opinion statements Mathematics *Comparison unknown story problems *Part unknown story problems with bigger numbers *Working with numbers 100-121 and higher! *Adding two digit numbers Word Study/Grammar *bossy r spelling pattern *Adjectives Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *New Science Unit “It’s Alive!” Writer’s Workshop Opinion Writing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Update 5/3-5/7

Hello, everyone!

Here are this week’s very short announcements…

* There is no spelling test this week. I will be assessing children on the reading of their unit 3 sight words.

*Later this week, I will send home this month’s book order. This will be our last book order of the year!

 

Literacy *Good readers can retell a story. *Sequencing events Identifying fact v. opinion statements Mathematics *Comparison unknown story problems *Part unknown story problems with bigger numbers *Working with numbers 100-121 and higher! *Adding two digit numbers Word Study/Grammar *bossy r spelling pattern *Adjectives Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *Finishing up unit on sound and light waves Writer’s Workshop Opinion Writing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Update 4/19-4/23

Hello, everyone!

Last week was such a busy week, and our class worked really hard. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our O.W.L.s are becoming crazy good readers!  It is so fun to hear them reading.  It’s especially exciting this year, with COVID and their kindergarten year being shortened. They had an uphill road to walk, and they are succeeding! 

Here’s this week’s announcements…

* We will have our spelling test on Wednesday. They will be tested on the week 5 list words.

*I will not be at school on Thursday or Friday of this week. Mrs. Hecht will be my substitute. If you need to reach me, you can contact me via email, as I will be available to check email during this time.

*Last week in Science, we learned about how an object makes sound. We made kazoos to experiment with that. If your child hasn’t shown you their kazoo, have them show you, and ask them to explain how the kazoo is making sound (the air makes waves/vibrates to make sound).  Thanks again for sending in the paper towel rolls for our project! 

Literacy *Good readers can compare and contrast characters and settings from stories Mathematics *Comparison unknown story problems *Part unknown story problems with bigger numbers *Working with numbers 100-121 and higher! Word Study/Grammar *bossy r spelling pattern *Helping verbs *Introduction to contractions Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *New Science unit-“Catch A Wave”  -How is light “made”? Writer’s Workshop New unit on opinion writing starts next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Update 4/5-4/9

Hello, everyone!

Just a couple of announcements this week--

* We will have our spelling test on Wednesday. Kids will be tested on the week 3 list words.

*There is no school for kids on Friday, April 9^th. This is a professional development day for teachers.

 

Literacy *Good readers can compare and contrast non-fiction books on the same topic. Mathematics *Double digit addition *Story problems with bigger numbers Word Study/Grammar *Vowel team phonics/spelling pattern (“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking”) *Introduction to Adjectives Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *New Science unit-“Catch A Wave”  -How do we use light and sound to communicate? -What makes an object make sound?

 

 

 

Weekly Update 3/29-4/2

Hello, everyone!

We are back at school today, heading into the final stretch of the craziest year ever!  Here are this week’s announcements..

*If you haven’t already…Please have your child bring in a paper towel roll to help us with a Science project we will be doing after spring break.

* We will have our spelling test on Wednesday. They will be tested on the week 2 list words.

*Book orders are in!  If your order is for Easter baskets and you don’t want your child to know about it, please send me an email and I can put your book order up front in the office for you to pick up. 

*There is no school for kids on Friday, April 9^th. This is a professional development day for teachers.

 

Weekly Update 3/15-3/19

Hello, everyone!

Here are this week’s announcements..

*Thank you so much for helping us stock up on glue sticks!  I think we have enough for the rest of the year. We appreciate it!

*Don’t forget about paper towel rolls! Please have your child bring in a paper towel roll to help us with a Science project we will be doing after spring break.

*Children brought home their new sight word lists last week. We will have a test on Wednesday. They will be tested on the week 1 words.

*Our class has been working really hard to earn a special “fun” day, and they have met their goal!  They have earned a pajama and pizza day for this Friday!  Your child may wear their pj’s to school this Friday. They may also bring a blanket and stuffie to snuggle with while we watch a movie. Additionally, we will have a special pizza snack on this day, so children only need to bring a favorite drink from home for snack on Friday.

*Spring Break is the week of March 22-26.  School resumes on Monday, March 29.

Weekly Update 3/8-3/12

Hello, everyone!

Here are this week’s announcements..

*New sight word lists will be sent home on Wednesday. Our next spelling test will be Wednesday, March 17. 

*We have class pictures on Thursday, March 11^th. Fun news…EVERYONE will receive a FREE class picture this year!  Students will also have individual pictures taken, and you can purchase those pictures if you’d like. Picture purchase envelopes were sent home last week, please check your child’s OWL folder for that.

*Yearbook order form envelopes are due Friday, March 12. Please check your child’s folder for the envelope form.

*We have a Science unit coming up that requires every student to have 1 empty paper towel roll. As you finish up a roll of paper towels, please send the empty roll in with your child.

*WE NEED GLUE STICKS!  Thanks to those that have sent in glue sticks! We are running low on glue sticks. I would appreciate any donations of glue sticks for our class. Thank you in advance for your help!

*Spring Break is the week of March 22-26.  School resumes on Monday, March 29.

Literacy *Good readers can use non-fiction text features and details to identify the main idea. *Good readers know the difference between a main idea and a detail. Mathematics *Adding and subtracting double digit numbers Introduction to regrouping (fancy way to say borrowing and carrying over  😊) Word Study/Grammar *Vowel team phonics/spelling pattern (“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking”) *Past tense verb rules/spelling Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *What are symbols that represent our country? *How do we make decisions in our country (voting)? Writer’s Workshop Informational writing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Update 3/1-3/5

Hello, families!

It’s hard to believe that we are heading into March this week. What a wild ride of a year!  Our class has been working so hard in class, and the kids are coming to school every day, ready to learn. Thank you!

Here are this week’s announcements..

*A number of our kids have expressed interest in entering the district art show/contest, which is very exciting. If your child is interested in submitting an art piece for the show, please have them turn in their piece by Wednesday, March 3. A parent MUST fill out the information and sign the form below. Please send this form in with your child. Click on the link below, then click on the link that says "Elementary-Middle Student Submission Form"

Art Show Student Submission Form

*We have a Science unit coming up that requires every student to have 1 empty paper towel roll. As you finish up a roll of paper towels, please send the empty roll in with your child.

*WE NEED GLUE STICKS!  We are running low on glue sticks. I would appreciate any donations of glue sticks for our class. Thank you in advance for your help!

*Spring Break is the week of March 22-26.  School resumes on Monday, March 29.

Literacy   *Good readers can use non-fiction text features and details to identify the main idea. Good readers know the difference between a main idea and a detail. Mathematics *Comparing numbers using place value rules *Adding and subtracting double digit numbers Word Study/Grammar *Pre-assess unit 3 sight word list *Introduction to verbs Unit (Social Studies and/or Science) *What are symbols that represent our country? *How do we make decisions in our country (voting)? Writer’s Workshop