September 27th newsletter

Magazine Sales

          Thank you for participating in our magazine fundraiser.  It was very successful again this year.

Book-It

     As a part of our reading incentive program, our school has decided to participate in the Pizza Hut Book-It reading program beginning October 1.  Children will receive a coupon each month for a personal pan pizza if they return their reading calendar/log at the end of the month.  A reading calendar and record sheet will be sent home soon. Please try to read with your child each day & put your initials on the calendar on the days that you read. Please turn it in at the end of October.  Thanks.

         

Computers

            During the month of September we worked on Starfall, Mathblasters, ABCya, I-station and RAZ Kids either in the classroom or in the computer lab.   

RAZ Kids is a program that works on reading skills.  The children read books at their level and take a short quiz on it.  They earn points for each task completed and can then use those points to decorate a rocket within the program.  They seem to really enjoy it.

Reading

Comprehension Strategies

We will be working on making connections when we read.

Phonics

We will be working on the sound of /ng/.

Grammar

We will practice recognizing capitals and lower-case letters.

Spelling Words

   Our spelling words for the week of October 3^rd are:

in, leg, glad, ring, sang, strong, lung, be, was and length

Field Trip

We will be going on a field trip to see a play on Monday, October 21.  The play is entitled, “Professor McBumble’s Fabulous Fairy-Tale Follies Revue – The Bully Show!” and will be performed at Lewis University in Romeoville. The bus will leave at approximately 9:30 and will return by 11:50.  The children will still be able to order a hot lunch for that day if desired. A permission slip will be sent home soon.  Please fill it out and return it along with $7 cash.  Thanks.

Have a great weekend!

September 20th Newsletter

 Thursday Night Homework

     Most of the children have been doing a nice job of completing their homework and turning it in on time.  Homework is sent home on Thursday and needs to be returned on Friday or the following Monday.

 Important Dates

September

          26 – Picture Day

          27 – Early Dismissal – 12:00

October

          14 – Columbus Day – No School

         

            Our new vocabulary “BIG Words” for next week are: fierce, suspense, clumsy, capture, delightful, and rescue.  We introduce new words every other week and try to use and listen for the old ones throughout our day.

Book Fair/Ice Cream Social

    The book fair & ice cream social was a big success once again.  Thank you for your generous donations to our class for the book fair.  We were able to purchase several books.  Thanks!

Luke was our student of the week this past week. He did a nice job of leading the classroom and making a cool t-shirt.

Math

     In math we have been working on adding and learning how to solve story problems. We cut out flash cards and practiced different ways to solve a problem, such as using counters, cubes, or drawing pictures.

This week we worked on “word work” which involves learning different techniques in order to practice spelling words.

Next week in reading:

Phonics Skills

l  /th/ sound

l  blending words that have the cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern

Grammar

We will work on using punctuation in sentences.

Spelling Words

   Our spelling words for the week of September 23rd are:

us, sad, flag, this, with, that,

 thank, me, we, and thinking

Have a good weekend!

September 13th Newsletter

Student of the Week

     Luke will be our “Student of the Week” for next week. I will send out a master list for the student of the week date that you chose at curriculum night.  If you forgot to sign up or if you were unable to make it to curriculum night, then I put your name in a slot that was still open.  There will be a note in the bag that will be sent home the Friday before, reminding you of the time you are to come in & read or share your occupation. 

Thanks.

  Important Dates

Sept. 13 – Magazine (Little book) turn in

17 – Magazine orders turn in day

19 – Fall Book Fair/Ice Cream Social

27 – Early Dismissal – 12:00

 

Book Fair/Ice Cream Social

    The book fair & ice cream social will be on Thursday, September 19.  Parents and children are invited to come to Elizabeth Ide School (in the gym) to enjoy some ice cream and purchase books if desired.  Hope to see you there.

              Author of the Month

       Last week we read Mr. Seahorse by Eric Carle.  The book discussed the different ways that fish & sea horses cared for their eggs.  We painted a piece of paper many colors and then cut out a sea horse and added a wiggly eye.  This is how Eric Carle makes the illustrations for his books.

     We also visited Eric Carle's website and did a little exploring on it.

Homework

      Homework is being sent home on Thursday.  Please help your child to read it and complete the pages. You may return it on Friday or the following Monday. I am also sending home a Making Words sheet.  You may use this to have your child practice his/her spelling words at home.  I do not need these papers back.

     This past week we worked on “Reading to Someone.”  The children were given partners and a book to share.  We went over the rules and expectations and then practiced in order to build up our stamina.  The children were able to read with a partner for 15 minutes so far.  They’re really doing a nice job.

NEXT WEEK:

Spelling Words

     Our new words for next week are: 

if, hot, blot, chips, lunch, chest, much, he, she, and chicken

Phonics Skills

l  ch sound

l  blending words that have the cvc pattern

Grammar Lesson

l  develop the students’ understanding of sentences

Have a good weekend!

September 6th Newsletter

                                   

Author of the Month

   Recently we read The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.  We  discussed treating others the way we wanted to be treated and also talked about time.  We noticed details throughout the book and made predictions as we went along.   After we finished reading the book, we made ladybugs out of construction paper and hung them in our classroom.

               

Important Dates

Sept. 10 – Magazine Sales Kickoff

Sept. 19 – Fall Book Fair/Ice Cream Social

Sept. 26 – Picture

Sept. 27 – Early Dismissal – 12:00

     Thank you for signing your child up to be the student of the week. If you didn't get to sign-up for a certain week at curriculum night, then I will choose  a date for you & send the information home with your child.  Once I get all of the names typed in, I will send out a master schedule.

 Reading Calendars

    We will be sending home reading calendars beginning in October. Even though we are not starting our reading incentive until then, it is still important that you read with your child each night.  This will help him/her to recognize basic words & will also help to build their confidence in reading. Thanks.

Spelling Tests

     We will have our first spelling test on Friday, September 13th.  We will be focusing on the “sh” sound.  We will write & practice spelling these words throughout the week.  The list of words for next week are:

am, get, clap, ship, fish, shut, wish, I,  the, and shampoo

 Reading

      Next week we will be practicing how to “Read to Someone” as part of our Daily 5 lessons.  This past week we worked on the correct way to “Read to Self.”  The children are doing a nice job so far of following the rules and paying attention.

     We will be working on comprehension skills this year using a program called, “Making Meaning.”  We will begin this program next week.

     Grammar - We will focus on using capital letters at the beginning of sentences.

 First Grade Curriculum Night

     Thank you for attending curriculum night. It was good seeing everyone again! 

Enjoy the nice weather this weekend!