Fall Greetings

It has been a great month so far!  Students attended their first field trip to MSUM for their Learning Bank field trip.  At MSUM, students enjoyed a performance by MSUM's band, Fuego Tropical.  The students learned about many instruments and enjoyed the performance.  It is always fun to go on a bus ride too!

Conferences are just around the corner.  Thank you for returning your conference slips promptly.  If anything should change with your scheduled time, don't hesitate to contact me.  This first conference will provide a great opportunity for us to visit about your child's strengths and set goals for the remainder of the school year.  Watch for a pre-conference survey to come home soon.

We will have a Pumpkin Party on Wednesday, October 31.  The day will focus around pumpkins as students participate in literacy, math, science and writing activities.  In the afternoon, students will have a short celebration with games and a snack.  Just a reminder, students should not wear or bring costumes to the party. 

Star Student

We had a lot of fun getting to know more about James in our classroom.  James is one of the hardest workers in 1st grade, always persevering!  We had fun celebrating his 7th birthday at school too!  

A Peek at Our Week

Reading: This week in reading we will learn about another Notice and Note Signpost: Aha Moment.  Students will hear the story I Want My Hat Back and try to determine when a character has a "light bulb" moment.  They will also work to summarize the main idea of a story.  In phonics we will practice using double consonant blends such as ll, ss, and dd.  We will also practice using final ck blends.  

Math: Math workshop began today!  Students began math with a whole-group mini lesson on subtraction.  Following the lesson, students rotated through four stations: Math with Teacher, At Your Seat, Technology and Hands on.  During each station, students had the opportunity to reinforce our new skill.  The students are very excited to try out their independence during math.  Ask your child what his or her favorite part of Math Workshop is!  Below is our Math Workshop rotation board.

Writing: Students are busy working through the writing stages.  Today we learned that some students may be planing where as others are drafting or revising.  No matter what stage of writing students are in, the most important thing is that they are writing.  We've enjoyed examining several personal narrative texts such as The Night of the Veggie Monster and Fireflies.  By examining real mentor texts, students are able to imagine themselves as real authors!

Science: We are busy being engineers during our first STEM unit of the year.  Today students explored the STEM design map by imagining, planning, designing and experimenting with their STEM teams.  Students built beanstalks using only tape and index cards.  In the end, team four managed to build a beanstalk that was 27 inches tall.  All teams worked hard to collaborate and communicate through this challenge!

Upcoming Reminders

October 24: 4th Grade Buddies (Mrs. Krueger's class)

October 31: Pumpkin Party

November 6: Picture Re-Take Day

November 9: Book Orders Due

Washington Walk-a-thon!

Wow!  We had a fabulous, first annual Walk-a-thon at Washington on Friday!  I saw so much excitement, joy and pride in the 1st graders as they walked and ran 207 laps on a chilly day outside.  Thank you so much to the families and friends that attended, donated and supported from afar.  Our students and school greatly appreciate the donations.  As of Friday, our school total was just over $17,500!  WOW!  We are eager to use the funds to boost our book room supply of quality literature as well as purchase STEM materials for our school.  Additionally, these funds help support our first grade reading medalist program that occurs each spring!

Star Students

Cole was our Star Student and we enjoyed getting to know him!  He really enjoys recess and gym at school and shared that he can even do a front flip.  We enjoyed reading a sweet letter from his big brother to the classroom.  He beamed as he heard just how special he was!

Asher was not only our Star Student but also celebrated a birthday!  Asher is a great kiddo that is kind to his classmates at school.  He enjoyed bringing his superheros to school for show and tell.  We loved learning more about Asher and I found out that he has a sweet tooth like me! 

A Peek at Our Week

Reading: We have been busy with small group reading for the past two weeks.  Thank you for taking time to read the guided reading books with your students at home.  Remember, you can jot these books down the Book-It log as well!  This week in reading we will learn more about story structure, which includes character, settings and plot, while reading Gus Takes the Train.  We will continue to practice using nouns, verbs and adjectives in our speaking and writing.  Below we practiced labeling Jackson with adjectives that describe him!  What a great sport he was!

Writing: In writer's workshop students will participate in their first reading celebration of the year.  Students will share their published writing with peers, showcasing their amazing pieces.  We will move into our first structured writing unit where students will learn about personal narrative stories.  Students will work hard to write about a small moment that has happened in their life.  I will use a one on one conferencing model to share students strengths and personal goals when writing.

Math: In math students are busy learning about addition to 10.  Students have practiced strategies such as counting on and arranging the order.  We have also learned how to use part-part-total diagrams to help with addition.  We will take our unit 2 test this week in math.  Please watch for it to come home and as usual, review, sign and return to school.  In preparation for Math Workshop to begin, students have learned how to work independently as well as with partners by playing games.  We even practiced missing addends with a fun write the room activity!  I look forward to beginning my work with small groups next week!

Science: Our plant life cycle exploration is in full force!  Students experimented with plant needs by giving some seeds water, shade and little oxygen.  All students planted carrots or sugar snap pea seeds and luckily, they all seem to be growing nicely on our windowsill.  By using clear cups, students are able to see the complex root growth occurring throughout the soil.  Students also created animal habitat dioramas after discussing the differences among various environments.  

Upcoming Reminders

October 11: Scholastic Book Fair (Please feel free to send cash with your child to shop during school.   All cash should be labeled in an envelope or baggie.)

October 12: Scholastic Book Orders Due (Don't forget to select your FREE book!)

October 15: Field trip to MSUM for Steel Drum Show 10:00-11:30 (Please note, this is not on the calendar)

October 18-19: No School