November 1st Newsletter

 Important Dates

November

          1 - Family Halloween Party at Ide

          5 – Conferences 3:45-6:00

          6 – Conferences 3:45-6:00       

8 – No School

            11 – No School – Veteran's Day

          26 – Report Cards

27, 28, & 29 – No School –

                             Thanksgiving Break

Halloween Party

    Thank you to all of the parents that helped out with the Halloween party and also to the parents that brought in paper products, food, treats, etc.  The party ran very smoothly.  The children had a good time.

Book-It

      If you haven't turned in your October reading calendar yet, please do so by Monday. Thanks.

Author of the Month

Our author for the month of November will be Leo Lionni.

We do not have a student of the week for next week since we will be gone on Friday.

****Remember to change your clocks on Sunday and to also change the battery in your smoke detectors.

Comprehension Strategies

We will be discussing important characters in a story and sequencing events to retell a story.

Phonics Skills

We will be using double consonants such as -ll at the end of words.

Grammar Lesson

We will be working on plurals.

Spelling Words

red, win, drum, will, bell, doll, skull, said, here, windmill

     In math, we have been working on using ten frames to help children add numbers with sums over 10.

          Next week we will be working on strategies to use when subtracting from a number greater than 10.

    Conferences will be on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.  I will send everyone a master copy of the conference times.  If you are unable to make it to your conference, please email me or call the office and let them know.  Thanks.

October 25th Newsletter

 Important Dates

October

          31- Classroom Halloween Parties

            1:40 – Parade, 2:00 – Party

November

          1 - Family Halloween Party at Ide

          5 – Conferences 3:45-6:00

          6 – Conferences 3:45-6:00       

     8 – No School

            11 – No School – Veteran's Day

          26 – Report Cards

27, 28, & 29 – No School –

                             Thanksgiving Break

Jr. Achievement

       Our class is starting the Jr. Achievement program this week.  This program will last for 5 weeks and will cover the following topics:  families, needs & wants, jobs, and paying for needs & wants.  Our presenter is Ms. Ross, a volunteer from the McDonald’s Corporation.  She will come into our classroom once a week for 30 minutes to teach each lesson.   These lessons coordinate with our social studies curriculum.

     

  On Monday, we went to see a play about bullying at Lewis University.  The play was cute and conveyed a good message. The children were well-behaved in the theater as well as on the bus.  I was really proud of them!

Boo to You!

     After reading the story, Boo to You!, by Lois Ehlert, the class collected leaves from the playground to make a spooky looking cat.  We then wrote a couple of sentences describing our cats.  The children really enjoyed this project.

Comprehension Strategies

          We will focus on making predictions, connections, and inferences within a story.

Phonics Skills

          We will review some basic sounds.  We will also be working on words that end with the letters – ff.

Grammar Lesson

          We will be working on when to use “a” or “an.”

Spelling Words

Our spelling words for the week of October 28th are: up, man, crab, off, cliff, stiff, cuff, come, some, stuffing

Emily will be our “student of the week” for the week of Oct. 28 – Nov. 1.

October 18th Newsletter

 Important Dates

October

        21 – Field Trip

24 – Early Dismissal – 12:00

            31 - Classroom Halloween Parties

November

        1 – Family Halloween Party at Ide

            5 – Conferences 3:45-6:00

            6 – Conferences 3:45-6:00

            8 – No School

            11 – No School – Veteran’s Day

Halloween Party & Parade

        Please come and watch our parade.   It will be outside (weather permitting) in the back of the school.  We will begin at 1:40 on Thursday, Oct. 31 and will parade outside beginning in front of the school and will circle around to the back of the school.   We will then return to our classrooms for our party.  

    The students should bring their costumes to school. We will help them get dressed prior to the parade.  Since the students will have a treat and a drink at the party, no additional candy treats are necessary.

            Author of the Month

            Our “author of the month” for October is Lois Ehlert.  This week we read Color Zoo and Color Farm.  We are working on making our own colorful animals using a shape template and markers.  The children will then write a couple of sentences to tell about their animals. 

Field Trip

      On Monday, we will be going to Lewis University to see a play.  We will be leaving around 9:30.  Chaperones should be here by 9:15.  We will return around 11:45 in time for lunch.  We probably won’t have time for snack so make sure your child eats a good breakfast that morning.  Thanks.

Comprehension Strategies

     We will concentrate on topic, main idea, details, summarizing, and evaluating.

Phonics Skills

We will be reviewing short vowel sounds.

Grammar Lesson

We will work on alphabetical order.

Spelling Words – List 7

       The following words will be tested on Friday, October 26: dog, bran, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you, your, Saturday

           

Liam will be our “student of the week” from October 21-25.

    During library time this past week, Mrs. Hayes took the class to the computer lab and worked on keyboarding skills.

October 11th Newsletter

 Important Dates

October

        14 - Columbus Day - No School
        21 – Field Trip

  24 – Early Dismissal – 12:00

        31 - Classroom Halloween Parties

November

            1 – Family Halloween Party at Ide

            5 – Conferences 3:45-6:00

            6 – Conferences 3:45-6:00

            8 – No School

            11 – No School – Veteran’s Day

Halloween Party

        Please come and watch our parade.   It will be outside (weather permitting) in the back of the school.  We will begin at 1:40 on Thursday, Oct. 31^st, and will parade outside beginning in front of the school and will circle around to the back of the school.   We will then return to our classrooms for our party.  

    The students should bring their costumes to school. We will help them get dressed prior to the parade.  Since the students will have a treat and a drink at the party, no additional candy treats are necessary.

    In math, we have been working on addition fact strategies, such as counting on, doubles (4 & 4 = 8), & doubles plus one (4 & 5 = 9).  Some children understand these concepts very quickly, and others it takes repetition and a lot of practice to master them.

Jonathan will be our “student of the week” during the week of October 14.

Conference Sign-ups

    Conferences will be held on November 6 and 7 from 3:45-6:00.  I will be sending a link along with this newsletter for you to sign up for a time on the computer.  The conference will be held in our classroom.  If none of the times work for you, I will try to find a time that is convenient for both of us.  If you do not have a computer, you can send me a time that works for you and I will enter it into the computer.  If those times are already taken, then I will send you a schedule of the times that are left once everyone has signed up.

     

Progress Reports

    A progress report is being sent home with your child on Friday, October 11.  Please look it over, sign it, and return it to school. 

Reading

Comprehension

     We will work on summarizing and story structure.

Phonics

We will be working on the sound of /ar/ and blending words with the CV and CVC pattern.

Grammar

We will focus on using common nouns.

Spelling Words – List 6

at, yes, slug, arm, hard, scarf, card, are, all, morning


  Good luck to our librarian, Mrs. Hayes, who will be running the Chicago Marathon this weekend.

October 4th Newsletter

                    

 Important Dates

October
           9 – Field Trip Money Is Due

          14 – Columbus Day – No School

          24 – Early Dismissal – 12:00

          31 - Classroom Halloween Parties

November

           1  – Family Halloween Party at Ide

Exploration Stations

     We have started doing Exploration Stations on Fridays.  These lessons go along with our science and social studies curriculum.  There will be 5 lessons taught over a 5 week period.  Every teacher will present a lesson each week.  The teachers will rotate to a different classroom each Friday.  This way we know that every 1^st grader is receiving the same science & social studies curriculum.  The topics for this theme are: Native Americans, pioneers, Navajo Indians/hogans, Christopher Columbus, & Pilgrims.

Author of the Month

            Our “author of the month” for October is Lois Ehlert.  She has written and illustrated many books.  We will be reading quite a few of her books throughout the month.

         

Grammar

We will be introducing proper nouns, such as the names of people, cities, states, and countries.

Comprehension Strategies

We will be working on fantasy, realism and noting details.

Phonics Skills

We will be reviewing the /qu/ sound.

Spelling Words

On, but, plum, quick, quiz, queen, squid, to, do, and squirrel

Student of the Week

Elijah will be our “student of the week” for the week of October 7-11^th.

Field Trip

       If you haven’t turned in your child’s permission slip and money for our field trip, please do so as soon as possible.  It is due on October 9.  The field trip will be on Monday, Oct. 21.  Thanks.