December 22: See you in 2018!

Thank you to Ms. Mariel and all that volunteered today or donated food/items for our winter party! The kids had such a great time! They ate a lot so don't be surprised if they are not hungry for a while! 😋
I also would like to say thank you for all the sweet cards, gifts, and acts of kindness that were shown to me. It is so appreciated! I look forward to many more memories made with our kids in 2018! I hope you and your families have a great winter break!

December 21

This morning we went to Ms. Clay's class and made a snow globe!
Then we went to the Tech Lab.
In math, we reviewed comparing numbers and number patterns!
In writing workshop, we edited our stories by checking our sentences for ending marks and capitals in the right places.
We ended the day doing another STEM activity with Mr. Mendell!

Reminders:
*Tomorrow is PJ day AND early dismissal at 12:30! 
*Our class party will be 10-11am! Thank you all for your help!

December 20

This morning we went to Mrs. Martorelli's class and made a snowman. (Sky)
We also finished our mugs of hot chocolate! (Bennett)
We took our math test in math! (Andrew)
We read a story about winter and discussed how the pictures bring more meaning to the words!
We get to take home our Holiday Around the World suitcases today! (Jonathan)
It was a great day!

December 19

This morning we went to Mrs. Geraghty's class and made winter mittens! (Corey)
We read how gingerbread men are made in our new Scholastic News! (Callie)
We watched a few different versions of the Gingerbread Man today and compared them!
We took a practice test in math. (Lia)
In writing workshop, we talked about all the tools we have to help us write teaching books! (Zoe)
We ended the day talking about Winter Holidays celebrated in the United States!

December 18

This morning we had an assembly from the Franklin Institute and learned about flying!

In writing workshop, we read our stories to our writing partners to help us start revising our stories.

We "went" to Germany and talked about their neat holiday markets!

In math, we worked on ordering numbers from least to greatest!

We went to Mrs. Getty's class and made a winter hat!

We ended the day looking at some of our Traveling Teddy email messages!

Notes:

*Click on the December's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

*This week we will visit each first grade class and do a fun winter craft!

December 15

We took our spelling test on our long o words today!
We even went to the Tech Lab! (Sky)
We read the non-fiction story We Stay Safe Together to learn how some animals work together in their communities to survive! 
In math, we worked on number patterns by using our number lines. (Sandy)
In writing workshop, we worked on our introductions and conclusions.
We "went" to Egypt and talked about some Egyptian traditions/celebrations and made a pyramid! (Andrew)
Have a great weekend! 

December 14

This morning we reviewed the diagraphs th, sh, wh, ch, and ph!
In math, we continued to practice comparing numbers using place value!
In writing workshop, we discussed how we could write with details and help our readers picture the details by using comparisons!
We also talked about some holiday traditions in China!
Student wrote nice comments about a friend on their "gold coins"!

December 13

We talked about the main events from the story The Big Circle!
In math, we worked on comparing numbers. (Mamdouh)
In writing workshop, we talked about the different kinds of writing we can find in teaching books like how-to writing!
We "went" to Africa and learned about Kwanzaa! (Alannah)

Note:
Please click on this link to see how you can help Mariel with our winter party next week!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4facab2aa1fb6-mrs

December 12

This morning we talked about contractions! (Hailey)
We read and discussed the story The Big Circle about dinosaurs! (Cheyenne)
In math, we continued to practice place value. (Jeffrey)
In writing workshop, we discussed how we could plan and write chapters in our stories!
Today we "went" to Mexico and talked about Los Posadas! (Huck)

December 11

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss how animals work together in their communities to survive.
Our spelling words have a long o sound made with a silent e at the end! (Jonathan)
In math, we practiced place value! (Bella)
In writing workshop, we discussed what to do if we wanted to add a table of contents to our stories! (Phin)
We "went" to Italy today and wrote a little note to a family member!
We shopped this afternoon at the Holiday Shoppe! (Joshua)

Note:
Please click on the December's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

December 8

This morning we took our spelling test.
We read the story Neighborhood Map that taught us more about map features!
In math, we learned a new game to help us see how we can turn a big group of ones into a ten! (Bennett)
In writing workshop, we started editing our stories using our writing checklists! (Lia)
We ended the day singing our Hootenanny songs! (Zoe)
Have a great weekend!

Reminder:
Our day to shop at the Holiday Shoppe is Monday 12/11. If your child is going to shop, please don't forget your money on Monday!

December 7

Today we reviewed this week's spelling features (i-e words, diagraphs ch, wh, & ph).
In math, we started our new math unit on Numbers to 20! (Huck)
In writing workshop, we looked at our new Information checklist to help us make goals on things we can work on in our stories. (Ozzy)
We talked about Israel and the holiday Hanukkah! (Callie)
(The kids thought it was neat that my husband will be flying there this weekend! I'm hoping he will send us some neat pictures while he is there!)
Have a great evening!

December 6

We put the events from the story Who Works Here in the right order. (Phin)
In math, we took our test on ordinal numbers and position words. (Andrew)
In writing workshop, we met with some friends to see if our stories made sense. (Callie) They helped us see if there was something we should add in our stories or take out to help them understand better!
Mrs. DeSanctis talked to our class this afternoon about ways we can express ourselves when we are upset or mad at someone. (Zoe)

Reminder:
Family Night at the Book Fair today 6-8 pm!

December 5

We talked about the diagraphs wh, ch, and ph!
We read the story Who Works Here and discussed what jobs community workers have in our community.
We got to do some computer coding in the Tech Lab this morning with Mr. Mendell! (Sandy)
In math, we took our pretest over ordinal numbers and position words. (Joshua) Please check over it tonight for homework!
In writing workshop we discussed how we need to be "brave" when spelling unknown words that seem really hard or fancy. (Lia)
We ended the day doing another STEM activity with Mr. Mendel. (Bennett)

December 4

This week we will discuss, read stories, and sing songs about people that work in our communities to make them nice places.
Our spelling words have the long i sound made by the silent e at the end! (Mamdouh)
We read the story Too Much Trash and discovered the author's purpose for writing the story. (Corey)
In math, we did some thinking cap activities that challenged us to use position words and ordinal numbers correctly. (Cheyenne)
In writing workshop, we discussed how important our illustrations are in our teaching books! (Jonathan)
We made suitcases that we will use and fill up as we learn about holidays around the world!

Reminder:
*Please click on the December's Weekly Newsletters tab above to read more about this week!

December 1

This morning we took our spelling test!
We read the story Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog and had fun reading something else pigeon really wanted to have!
In math, we talked about ways we can use pictures to help us learn more position words. (Jeffrey)
In writing workshop, we wrote a class needs book and a class wants book! (Bella)
We read another story written by Mo Willems the author of the pigeon books called The Duckling Gets a Cookie!(Sky) It was neat to see the similarities between the duckling and the pigeon! 
We ended the day singing in Hoot with our first grade friends!
Have a great weekend!

Reminder:
Next week is book fair at NPE.

November 30

We read the story Helping Hands at 4-A and discussed ways the students worked together in their small school community.
In math, we practiced using more position words to tell order. (Alannah)
In writing workshop, we discussed how we should keep our readers in mind and how we can add more details to our writing to answer their questions. (Hailey)
We sorted some of our needs and wants on our own!

Note:
*I've already started receiving emails about Traveling Teddy! I hope you find this to be a fun family activity! We will start talking about him in class in a few weeks.
*Next week we will begin talking about holidays around the world. If you would like to send in a decoration symbolic of a holiday you celebrate please feel free! (ex: Hanukkah menorah, Kwanza kinara, holiday celebrated in China, Egypt, ...) If you have an extra string of lights, feel free to send some in so we can add some twinkle to our room!

November 29

We discussed some tips that will help us figure out when a g & c make a soft sound in a word.
We put the events in order from the story The Farmer in the Hat. (Jeffrey)
We went to the Tech Lab this morning! (Bella)
In math, we talked about using position words to help tell order! (Lia)
We reviewed how we can plan our teaching books by using our fingers when telling our information, sketching and writing our words. (Joshua)
We read the story Pigeon Needs a Bath and identified some of our needs and wants!

Note:
Tomorrow is picture retake day!

November 28

Today we reviewed c and g's soft sounds!
We read the story The Farmer in the Hat and discussed the cause and effect events in the story.
We continued practicing ordinal numbers in math.
In writing workshop, we talked about ways we can get ready to write teaching books on a topic.
We went to an assembly about bullying.
We ended the day reading Pigeon Wants a Puppy and reviewed the meaning of a need and a want.

November 27

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss how a school is like a community.
Our spelling words have a long a sound and a silent e at the end! (Hailey)
In math, we started our new math unit on ordinal numbers. (Sandy)
In writing workshop, we wrote our first information story. (Phin)
We read the story Pigeon Drives a Bus to help us identify his needs and wants!

Note:
*Click on the November's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

November 20

Today was a great day!
We did a lot of different Thanksgiving activities!
We also read Thanksgiving stories and sang Thanksgiving songs.
I look forward to seeing some of you this afternoon and tomorrow at our conference!
I hope you and your families have a great Thanksgiving break.

November 17

This morning we had our Thanksgiving gathering! (Mamdouh)
It was such a great time celebrating together. Thank you to all that helped and/or contributed in any way!
We talked about Traveling Teddy and how we will map the places he goes! (Alannah)
I am giving you Traveling Teddy at our conference! The kids are really excited about them!
We talked about our new math chapter on ordinal numbers and position words. (Corey)
In writing workshop, we wrote our last narrative story! (Zoe)
We went to the Gobble Bowl during specials.
Have a great weekend!

Notes:
*No homework next week!
*Normal school day on Monday 11/20 but no school for students the rest of the week.
*I will see some of you at our parent-teacher conference on Monday and Tuesday!

November 16

This morning we read the story At Home and discussed how we knew it was a literary non-fiction story.
We also read about the first Thanksgiving and put 4 events from the first Thanksgiving in the right order.
In math, we took our Chapter 5 test on shapes and patterns.
In writing workshop, we made covers for our stories and celebrated our writing!
We practiced our Thanksgiving songs for our fall gathering tomorrow!
It was a good day!

Reminders:
*I will see some of you tonight at our conference!
*Please wear yellow tomorrow and bring your food item for our fall gathering!

November 15

Today we created more words with the th and sh diagraphs.
We also built "all" words.
We read the story "Annie Helps Out" and discussed the sequence of the story.
We took a Chapter 5 pre-test to help us get ready for our math test tomorrow. (Andrew) Please check it tonight for homework.
In writing workshop, we worked on revising and editing our favorite story with our writing partners. (Jonathan)
We read about pilgrims in our Scholastic News. (Callie)
We ended the day making little turkeys!

Reminders/Notes:
*I will see some of you tomorrow at our conference. Please check the date/time of our conference.
*Friday is the last day of our can food collection.
*Please wear yellow to our fall gathering and bring your food item that was highlighted on your form by Friday!

November 14

We read the story A Big Fish for Max and put the events in the right sequence! (Huck)

We talked about the "all" sound in words! (Bennett)

In math we made patterns with solid shapes. (Ozzy)

We read about the Wampanoag tribe in our Scholastic News.

Then we told about something we are thankful for this season!

Notes:

*Return your turkey "feathers" when they are completed! The kids are having fun seeing how our turkey is growing when they are returned!

*Thanks for the can donations and fall gathering snacks already being brought this week!
*Please wear yellow on Friday to our fall gathering!

November 13

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss what families do together.

Our spelling words this week have sh and th diagraphs! (Cheyenne)

We read the story No Turkey for Thanksgiving and discussed the sequence of events in the story. (Sandy)

We also went to Tech Lab. (Alannah)

In math, we made patterns with solid shapes. (Sky)

We looked at the story No Turkey for Thanksgiving for any "tricks" the author used to make her story more entertaining!

We ended the day with Mr. Mendell doing another STEM activity!

Notes:

*Click on November's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

*If you have not returned the fall gathering slip, please do asap.

*Please check your calendars for our scheduled conference date/time. I will see some of you this Thursday!

November 10

This morning we took our short u spelling test. (Andrew)
We watched a story about a military family! (Bennett)
In math, we talked about shapes we can see around us. (Jonathan)
In writing workshop, we read the story Night of the Veggie Monster to see if there were other neat things we can try in our stories. (Ozzy)
We ended the day in Hoot singing with our friends.
Have a great weekend!

Notes:
*School pictures are going home today! Check folders!
*I placed Scholastic book orders for those that ordered. I will let you know when they have arrived!
*Tomorrow is the 11th annual Wellness Fair.  The event is from 10 to 1 at Strath Haven high school in the gym.   Everyone is invited, and the event is free.
*If you have not returned the bottom portion of the fall gathering note, please do at your earliest convenience.

November 9

We reviewed rhyming and blending sounds together to make words that rhyme. (Mamdouh)
We read about Veteran's Day in our Scholastic News. (Zoe)
In math, we talked about building with solid shapes! (Lia)
We looked at the story Night of the Veggie Monster to see how the author used verbs to tell us how the characters were feeling in his story. (Corey)
We ended the day discussing how we could honor our veterans.
It was a good day!

November 8

We reviewed how to read words that end with final blends. (Bella)
We read the story Animal Park and talked about the cause and effect in the story. (Sky)
In math, we made pictures and models with different shapes. (Huck)
In writing workshop, we looked at some of the special things the author of the story Night of the Veggie Monster did to make his book special. (Callie)
We watched a video about elections and discussed why we have elections in the United States.

Notes:
*Scholastic book orders are due this Friday if you are ordering books!
*If you ordered a student directory, they are going home today!
*Please return the bottom portion of the Fall gathering note at your earliest convenience.

*I am sending a turkey "feather" for you to decorate! Check folders for it today! Below is a picture of a turkey similar to the one I'd like to have in our class!

November 6

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss what we can learn about wild animals by watching them!
Our spelling words this week have a short u sound and blends! (Bella)
We went to the Tech Lab this morning! (Jeffrey)
We read a story about a fox family. Then we discussed the cause and effect in the story! (Phin)
In math, we talked about the different ways 3D solid shapes can move. (Hailey)
In writing workshop, we checked the sentences in our stories for capitals, spaces between words, and ending marks. (Joshua)
Mrs. DeSanctis ended the day talking to our class about feelings.

Notes:
*Click on the November's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!
*There are 2 books in WEB folders for tonight and tomorrow night's homework!
*There is a lot going home today in folders. Please pay special attention to the note about our Fall Gathering. I have highlighted an item for each family to send in. Thanks in advance for your help! 

November 3

We took our short e spelling test!

We watched the story Stellaluna and identified the main idea of the story!

We also labeled the parts of a bat on a diagram!

In math, we talked about solid shapes.

We reviewed how we can spell unfamiliar words in writing workshop!

We sang with our friends in Hoot!

Have a great weekend!

Reminder: Next Tuesday, no school!

November 2

Today we read a new Scholastic News about flying foxes! (Jonathan)

We learned many new facts about this type of bat!

We made our own bat in math by folding our paper evenly! (Callie)

We discussed how we could act out or imagine the stories we are writing in writing workshop.

We did a nocturnal and diurnal animal sort! (Corey)

It was a good day!

November 1

We discussed how to read words with initial consonant blends. (Sandy)
We read the story Get the Egg about 2 kids who find a nest full of bird eggs. (Bennett)
Then we did a story sort!
In math, we compared how shapes are alike and different. (Lia)
In writing workshop, we wrote about the story Pigsty.
We went on a nocturnal hunt in our room and discussed how they use their senses in the night! (Alannah)

Notes:
*If you ordered Scholastic books last month, your child received them today so please check backpacks!
*Today someone had a bathroom accident in our room. I tried to see who it was without any embarrassment but couldn't figure it out. Please talk to your child about any restroom concerns they have. If I'm instructing I ask students to wait UNLESS it's an emergency. Other than that they are free to go. Some of the kids ask to go many times and it seems like some wait to the very last minute to ask. If they have frequent restroom problems, a visit to the doctor may be helpful. Thanks so much for your help with this matter.

October 31

The morning was filled with a lot of Halloween fun!
First the parade then our party! Thanks to all that helped or contributed in any way!
In math, we made a trick or treat class graph to see what kind of things we like to get when we go trick or treating!
In writing workshop we discussed how we can add details to our illustrations to help our readers see how our characters are feeling or what they are thinking!
We ended the day talking about nocturnal and diurnal animals!

Notes:
*No homework tonight! Enjoy your night!
*If you have not signed up for a conference, please do so by going to this link!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d48aaac29abf94-mrs1
Please email me if any problems with times occur. Due to picking up my kids before their school closes, I am not able to stay late on the 20th so I have added additional times. I look forward to meeting with you all! Thanks again for a great start to our school year!

October 30

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss what wild animals live in our neighborhoods!
Our spelling words this week have the short e sound! (Andrew)
We got to do our first STEM activity with Mr. Mendell!
He challenged us to build with cards! (Sky)
In math we reviewed the names of shapes and how they are alike and different! (Joshua)
In writing workshop, we talked about telling our stories in itsy bitsy steps to help our readers understand our stories!
We ended the day talking about the history of Halloween!

Reminder:
*Please click on the October's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week! 
*Tomorrow is our Halloween parade and party!  

October 27

We took our spelling test this morning.
We read the story Otter Loves Halloween and identified the main idea of the story!
Then we drew a picture of us wearing our Halloween costumes!
We also got a Halloween bag from Bennett for his birthday!
We practiced writing the number 6.
In math, we are starting a new chapter about shapes and patterns!
We read the story Go Away Big Green Monster then we made our own monster out of shapes!
In writing workshop, we discussed how we can "unfreeze" our characters in our illustrations by making them talk and move!
We ended the day singing in Hootenanny!

Note:
If you bought an NPE shirt, all of the shirts ordered were large to ensure they would not be too small for anyone. On the order form, it stated that one size would be purchased. Sorry for any confusion about shirts. 

October 26

We read a fable called The Fox and the Grapes. (Jeffrey)
We practiced writing the numbers 4 and 5. (Cheyenne)
In math, we took our subtraction test. (Hailey)
In writing workshop, we used a checklist to see if our stories were finished. (Zoe)
We ended the day drawing one way we can make a healthy choice for our "pledge to be healthy" door display!

Reminder:
*Students can wear slippers & pajamas to symbolize "Don't slip up" when it comes to making healthy life choices! *Please have regular shoes in backpacks as a backup!

October 25

We practiced using words with inflected ending -s correctly in sentences. (Cheyenne)

We did a story sort for the story A Fox and a Kit. (Ozzy)

Then we went to the Tech Lab this morning! (Phin)

We took a practice math test in class to help us get ready for our test tomorrow over subtraction! (Huck)

*For homework, please finish any problems not completed and check and/or correct it! 

In writing workshop, we discussed how we can read our stories the same way we read other published books! (Mamdouh)

In Social Studies, we discussed healthy life choices and decorated our "character keys" with some of our examples.

Reminders:

*Wear red, white, and/or blue tomorrow!

*If you would like to donate money for our class parties this year, I re-sent an email this morning with information from Mrs. Trimble (in case you missed it last week). Thanks again for all your help and support!

October 24

Today we learned about the ending -ing that can be used at the end of verbs! (Lia)
We read the story A Fox & A Kit and discussed the main idea of the story. (Bennett)
We practiced writing the number 3. (Joshua)
We reviewed different subtraction strategies in math. (Sandy)
In writing workshop, we talked about ways we will use our writing partners to help us plan our stories!
We made a crown of some ways we can make healthy choices!

Note:
*Wear orange or favorite sports clothing tomorrow!
*Just a reminder about class allergies, since food will be provided at our upcoming Halloween party. Please be mindful that food items should be peanut-free, including tree nuts, almonds, and eggs. 

October 23

This week we will read stories, sing songs, and discuss how wild animals take care of their babies! (Jeffrey)
Some of our spelling words this week end with an "s". (Zoe)
We are seeing how inflected ending -s can change our verbs and how they are used in a sentence!
We reviewed the right way to write the number 2. (Mamdouh)
In math we worked on fact families. (Callie)
We are seeing how related number sentences can help us solve word problems!
We kicked off Red Ribbon Week by talking about 3 ways we can take care of our bodies!

Reminders:
*Click on the October's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week.
*Tomorrow wear red to symbolize Red Ribbon Week!

October 20

Dear Families,
We took our spelling test this morning over our short o words.
We read a new Scholastic News about leaves! (Alannah)
Then we did some leaf rubbings! (Hailey)
Mrs. DiProsperos' second graders came to our class and did a small play! (Corey)
We started working on fact families in math. (Bella)
In writing workshop, we reviewed how we can stretch unknown words to help us spell them.
We had Hootenanny before we dismissed.
Have a great weekend!

Note:
Next week is Red Ribbon week. On Monday your child can wear purple and/or wacky socks to "Knock your socks off with good CITIZENSHIP"!

October 19

Dear Families,
This morning we had a volunteer from the program Art Goes To School talk to our class about art! (Jonathan)
We reviewed the letter y and its sound. (Huck)
We visited the Tech Lab too! (Phin)
We solved new subtraction word problems in math. (Andrew)
In writing workshop, we discussed how we can add on to our stories by adding more words or illustrations before starting a new story!
We read a story about Summer and discussed what we wear in the Summer season!

Note:
Thank you to all that already signed up to help or donate items for our Halloween party! It is so appreciated!

October 18

Dear Families,
We learned about the letter z and its sound. (Andrew)
We also built some extra short o words for review and listened for rhyming words.
We did a story sort for the story The Big Blue Ox.(Ozzy)
We practiced solving more subtraction stories. (Sandy)
In writing workshop, we reviewed the 4 steps of writing a good story. (Huck)
We ended the day talking about the summer season!

October 17

Dear Families,
We read the story The Big Blue Ox and discussed why it was an animal fantasy! (Bennett)
In small groups we read a new story and identified the characters, setting, and plot!
We reviewed the letter l and its sound! (Callie)
In math, we told subtraction stories about pictures! (Hailey)
We discussed the steps good writers take to write a good story in writing workshop.
We read a story about winter and shared how the characters changed how they felt about winter. (Joshua)
It was a good day!

October 16

This week we will read books and discuss how animals can help people.

Our spelling words this week have the short o sound! (Zoe)

We reviewed the letter w and its sound. (Phin)

In math, we learned how we can use number bonds to help us subtract. (Mamdouh)

We wrote our first narrative story in writing workshop!

We read a story about 2 mice in the fall season!

Reminder:

Click on the November's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!

October 13

This morning we went to the Tech Lab. (Bella)
We learned about the letter j and its sound. (Ozzy)
We got a new Scholastic News about new tools that help firefighters fight fires!
We practiced different ways we can subtract in math. (Jeffrey)
We cleaned out writing workshop folders since we are starting a new writing unit next week! (Lia)
We then shared our favorite story with the class!
We ended the day singing at Hoot with our first grade friends!
It was a good day!

Note:
Please see the email I forwarded from Mrs. Trimble our room mom about our upcoming Halloween party! 

October 12

Today we reviewed the letter h and its sound. (Bella)
We put the events from the story Pig in a Wig in the right order. (Corey)
In math, we practiced counting on from the number that is less to get the answer when subtracting. (Jonathan)
We took pictures today! (Hailey)
In writing workshop, we finished editing our stories after meeting with our writing partners!
We discussed ways we can stay safe at home! (Alannah)
It was a good day!

Notes:
*Fall Festival wrist bands are in folders today if you ordered them.
*Tomorrow is stuff animal day for our 2nd class celebration! Please make sure it can fit in your child's backpack.
*There have been some questions popping up about WEB books and reading levels so I thought this would be an easier way to answer them. I will begin reassessing reading levels at the end of the month. I meet daily with your child in small groups on their instructional level which means they are working on reading strategies and stories "harder" than the ones in their WEB folders since WEB book levels were determined based on their September assessments. If you would like additional stories, please use our RAZ kids program online. Ms. Jackie, our classes support teacher, actually does the WEB books with our class not me. She has the kids read a little of the story read the night before and checks their word rings. Once your child has 10 tallies showing 10 times they have correctly read the word, she will replace words with new ones. (If there is more, she is aware. We try to stick to 10 but due to time constraints it could go over.) I will go over all reading assessments along with the others I have done at our upcoming November conference. 

October 11

Dear Families,
We reviewed the letter x and its sound. (Huck)
We read the story Pig in a Wig and talked about reasons it was an animal fantasy. (Lia)
We reviewed how to take away and cross out to help us subtract! (Corey)
We went to the Fire Station and had a great time seeing the tools our firefighters use to help keep us safe.
In writing workshop, we wrote about our trip and shared our writing with a friend! (Ozzy)
We talked a little about the importance of signs in our communities and how they help us stay safe.

Notes:
*Tomorrow is picture day. If you are ordering please send in money by tomorrow.
*Last night's spelling sentences were so good. Thank you for helping your child at home feel so successful with their homework!

October 10

Dear Families,
This week we will read stories and discuss who helps animals.
We reviewed the letter r and its sound. (Jonathan)
We wrote our new spelling words in small groups today! (Phin)
We read the story A Perfect Visit and identified the setting and characters.
In math, we started talking about subtraction. (Bennett)
We met with our writing partners before we started writing in writing workshop. (Callie)
We talked about ways we keep our schools safe and how we can help by being responsible!

Reminders:
*Click on the October's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!
*You will recieve information about our upcoming Halloween party soon from our room mom Mrs. Trimble. The party will follow the parade that starts around 9:15am!
*The kids earned another class celebration for their 10th team star! They voted to bring a stuff animal to school this Friday! Please make sure it fits in their backpack, if not please choose a smaller one.

October 6

Dear Families,

This morning we took our first spelling test! 

Then we went to the Tech Lab! It was so exciting to see the kids log on so easily!

We read the story Pumpkin Pumpkin and put 4 pictures from the plot in the correct sequence.

In writing workshop, we wrote about the pictures and shared our sentences with our writing partners.

They helped find any "mistakes" we may have overlooked!

In math, we took our chapter 3 test! I'm extremely proud of their hard work!
We even found time to create a silly pumpkin face!

We ended the day singing with the other first grade classes in Hootenanny!

Have a great long weekend!

October 5

Today we reviewed the letter d and its sound. (Andrew)
We read a new Scholastic News about pumpkins! (Mamdouh)
We took a practice math test in math. (Joshua)
In writing workshop, we got new writing partners! (Zoe)
We will meet with our writing partners to help us revise our stories!
Mrs. DeSanctis, our counselor, met with our class this afternoon to introduce herself!


Note:
Practice math tests are in folders. Mistakes were indicated so they can be discussed when doing math homework tonight. 

October 4

Dear Families,
This morning we read the story A Kid's Best Friend and listened for some of our amazing words (vocabulary words).
We reviewed the letter v and its sound.
We reviewed rhyming and completing sentences using short a words in our small groups.
In math we worked on solving real-world addition problems.
We talked about writing more details in our stories in writing workshop.
We ended the day drawing a picture for an artwork fundraiser you will get information about tomorrow!
*I wrote our email today to give our kids more time to work on their artwork before dismissal!

October 3

Dear Families,  
Today we talked about the final ck sound! (Jeffrey)
We read the story Sam Come Back. (Cheyenne)
We discussed the characters and setting.
In math, we made up addition stories and wrote number sentences. (Alannah)
We talked about writing stories about the first time we did something we'd like to share with our friends in writing workshop!
We are trying to remember capitals at the beginning of our sentences, spaces between words, and ending marks! (Sandy)
We talked about the life cycle of a pumpkin!

Notes:
*Picture order forms are going home today!
*Thanks so much for helping your child complete homework and turning it in daily. They are so excited to show me in the mornings!

October 2

Dear Families,
This week we will read stories and discuss what pets need!
We read a story about a girl name Ana wanting a pet hamster.
We also talked about the letter Qq! (Jonathan)
We practiced our new short a spelling words in our new Daily 5 center called word work! (Jeffrey)
In math, we used number bonds to help us practice adding. (Cheyenne)
We discussed important people we can write about in writing workshop!
We ended the day making a setting that pumpkins can grow for our October reading activity!
It was a good day!

Reminder:
Click on the October's Weekly Newsletters tab above to read more about this week! Homework this week will include: WEB folders, Spelling homework, and Math homework. Today you will get information about the October reading activity "Grow a Pumpkin"!

September 29

Dear Families,
We talked about the vowel u and its 2 sounds today. (Callie) 
We practiced putting words in ABC order. (Zoe)
We read a photo essay about yards.
We talked about a new daily 5 station called Word Work that we will start next week!
In math, we learned some new adding games to help us practicing adding in class. (Huck)
We ended the day singing in hootenanny with the other first grade classes.
Have a great weekend!

September 28

Dear Families,
We learned about the vowel i today! (Phin)
We practiced putting words and letters in ABC order!
We also reviewed verbs by acting out action words!
In math, we practiced adding using the biggest number first to count on or using a number line. (Joshua)
We worked on our stories in writing workshop. (Mamdouh)
We ended the day tasting 3 different apples and seeing which one our class liked the most! Ask your child which one won!
It was a good day!

Reminder:
Tomorrow is pajama day and the last day to order a $5 NPE shirt!

September 27

Dear Families,
We talked about the letter g and found out it can sometimes make the /j/ sound too! (Bella)
We started using ipads today in our new daily 5 station called Listening to Reading. (Hailey)
We read the story Tip and Tam about kids raking leaves outside with their pets. (Corey)
We started adding up to ten in math. (Alannah)
In writing workshop, we are working on writing complete sentences on our pages. (capitals, spaces between words, and ending marks)
We ended the day labeling the parts of an apple on a diagram!

Notes:
Pajama day is Friday!
T-shirt orders are due Friday!

September 26

Dear Families,
Today we learned about the letter b and it's sound. (Bennett)
We went to the Tech Lab in the morning and it was so much easier to get our computers started! (Ozzy)
We took our number bond test in math. (Sandy)
We read the story Little Apple in writing workshop. (Andrew) 
We discovered the author wrote the story to teach us about apples.
We put 6 pictures showing the apple life cycle in the correct order!
It was a good day!

September 25

Dear Families,
This week we will read stories and discuss things that we see and like to do outside.
We also learned about action words called verbs! (Lia)
We reviewed the letter f and its sound. (Bella)
In math, we took a practice test for our number bond test tomorrow. (Alannah) You can look over it to see if your child missed anything so it can be practiced tonight along with tonight's homework!
We finally put our photograph pages in our writing workshop folders. (Ozzy) 
We ended the day talking about Johnny Appleseed!

Notes:
*Please click on the September's Weekly Newsletters tab above to see more about this week!
*Today our class earned our first class celebration! They voted for pajamas so this FRIDAY is pajama day!

September 22

Dear Families,
We reviewed the letter O and its 2 sounds. (Jonathan)
Today we started practicing a new Daily 5 center called Read to Someone! (Cheyenne)
In math we practiced number bonds and played a number bond game called spill the counters! (Bennett)
We need just one more ticket to earn our first class celebration! (Lia)
We ended the day in Hootenanny with the other first grade classes. This is a time of singing and building community!

Note:
I'm sending home login information for a math game you can play at home. It is called Splash Math. 
I hope you enjoy using it along with RAZ kids!

September 20

Dear Families,
Today we talked about the letter n and its sound. (Joshua)
Then we read the story Snap! (Andrew)
We discussed the setting and sequenced the story events in order.
In math we practiced using number bonds. (Zoe)
We wrote some writing ideas that we can use when we can't think of something to write about in class. (Corey)
We ended the day with a guidance lesson with Mrs. DeSanctis!

Reminders:

• No school tomorrow. I'll see you Friday!
• Math homework is 2 pages front and back (stapled together).
• Return WEB books daily so books can be changed.
• If you are ordering a NPE t-shirt, please send $5 with your order form.
• Tomorrow is the last day to order Scholastic books if interested.

September 19

Dear Families,
Today we reviewed the letter p and its sound!(Callie)
We went to the Tech Lab and logged on to RAZ kids! (Mamdouh)
We started math workshop today! (Hailey)
Then we wrote our own stories in writing workshop! (Phin)
We ended the day talking about ways we can fill our friends buckets!

Notes:
*I'm so excited to see the kids so eager to show me their homework in the mornings! If you forget homework, just return the next school day.
*Everyone should now have a word ring in their WEB folders. Please remember to return these daily so books can be changed.
*Return field trip permissions slips at your earliest convenience.
*If you would like to order a NPE shirt, they are $5.

September 18

Dear Families,
Today we talked about the letter c and its sound. (Huck)
We heard the story Surprise and discussed the setting in the story! (Jonathan)
We started a new math chapter on Number Bonds in math. (Jeffrey)
We discussed how to sound out unfamiliar words we write in writing workshop. (Sandy) We even got our own dictionaries!
We ended the day reading the story How to Be a Bucket Filler!

Note:
Click on September's Weekly Newsletter tab above to see this week's newsletter!

September 15

Dear Families,
This morning we reviewed this week's word wall words and identified more nouns!
In math, we took our first math test!
It was a great morning!
Thank you again for the amazing turn out last night! It was nice to meet you. Unfortunately I was not able to speak in depth with all of you but I look forward to more opportunities as we move forward!

A few reminders:
*If you would like to volunteer in the library this year let me know and I will put volunteer forms in your child's folder next week. 
*Please send in your child's card-stock with photographs or drawn pictures for writing workshop early next week.
*T-shirt order forms will go home next Monday if you are interested in ordering a shirt.

September 7

Dear Families,
We learned about the vowel a. (Corey)
We learned a new Daily 5 center called Work on Writing! (Bella)
In math, we reviewed for our math test tomorrow! (Callie)
We read the book If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, DON'T!
We got new writing workshop tools! (Hailey)
We ended the day making Baxter the Germ!
I hope to see you tonight at Back to School Night!

September 13

Dear Families,
We talked about the letter  t today. (Andrew)
We read the story Sam in our new reading books and talked about the characters in our story. (Cheyenne)
This morning we went to the computer lab. (Alannah)
Ear buds for some of our kids were difficult to use. Please ask your child about them today.
In math we worked on number patterns. (Ozzy)
We ended the day hearing a story about Velma the Germ!

Reminder:
Back to School Night is tomorrow at 6:30! Hope to see you!

September 12

Dear Families,
We talked about the letter s today. (Phin)
We reviewed what nouns and characters are in our stories!
We played at the playground.(Joshua)
In math, we worked on comparing numbers using our train of cubes!
We ate snacks. (Bennett)
We made Jasper the Germ after we read another story about the germ gang! (Corey)

Notes:
This Friday lunch will not be served due to early dismissal.
I will check Healthy Me charts on Friday! 

September 11

Dear Families,
This week in Language Arts, we will read books and talk about things we see around us!
We talked about the letter m, its sound, and how to write it. (Mamdouh)
We also talked about nouns! (Sandy)
In math we worked on comparing numbers. (Callie)
In writers workshop, we wrote a letter to our families. (Lia)
We ended the day talking about germs!

Notes:
*Please click on the tab September's Weekly Newsletters above to see this weeks newsletter.
*Tonight we have math homework! Please do both sides!
*Please remember to call the office or email me before 1pm for dismissal changes.
*If you have not sent in your Scholastic News money ($5.75) please do so at your earliest convenience. Thanks!

September 8

Dear Families,
We read our Scholastic News: Furry Friends to discuss how we can play nicely with others.
Then we wrote about a new friend in class. (Zoe)
We used our scissors to cut out pictures of good and poor choices! (Jonathan)
We went out for recess. (Lia)
In math we played a counting game with 3 of our friends. Then we practiced 2 math papers that are like the math homework pages we will start to get next week. 
We read about Tedd Arnold, a real author, in our Scholastic News.
Then we had writing workshop! (Phin)
We ended the day in a school assembly!

Notes:
*I will upload newsletters on our website on Mondays. You will get important class information including homework :)
*Monday is Patriots Day so I thought it would be fun for our kids to wear red, white, and/or blue on Monday!
*Starting next week, there is no need to wear dismissal tags to school. If you want to attach them to backpacks that is fine. If there is a dismissal change, please email me or call the office. I will not check tags for changes.

September 7

Dear Families,
We heard the story Chrysantheum and discussed how words can really hurt us.
Then we wrote our names and put them on our word wall. (Sandy)
We did a fun friend search in the class to help us learn more about our friends!
We practiced reading in Read to self.
We went outside for recess! (Andrew)
We reviewed counting and reading number words in math. (Huck)
We read the story There was an Old Lady who Swallowed Some Books and started writing another story in writing workshop! (Cheyenne)
We ended the day talking about good and poor choices.

Reminder:
Sept. 14 @6:30-7:30--Back to School Night

September 6

Dear Families,
We read the story First Grade Here I Come and discussed 3 ways we can read a book.
We started one daily 5 station called Read to Self. (Bennett)
We also started math today! (Corey)
We drew our faces for a guessing game for Back to School Night! (Jeffrey)
We had indoor recess this morning because it was raining. (Alannah)
It was a great second day!

Reminders:

• There are quite a few of our kids without scissors and ear buds. Please send these if you have not done so already. At this time, no other supplies are needed! **Just realized from a parent that scissors were not on the list! If you can not send scissors, I will take care of it!
• Please remember our class is a peanut free classroom so no snacks with nuts. It is okay for lunch but not in our room. Also stated in our first newsletter, non-food items are preferred for birthday treats going forward.

September 5

Dear Families, 
We read the story First Day Jitters. (Bella)
We started creating our class agreement!
We had recess! (Hailey)
We made a graph showing how we go home. (Ozzy)
We found out we have a lot of walkers this year!
We started writing our first story in writing workshop. (Mamdouh)
We had a great first day!

Note:
Students took home their daily take home folder today. Inside is a newsletter from me about our class! Please empty folders and send them back everyday!

See you soon!

Our first day of school will be September 5^th!

Please click on the tabs above to familiarize yourself with our class website and to learn a little about me! It will be updated regularly! 

A letter is being sent out to you this week with some important information including a dismissal tag for the first few weeks of school. Click here to see it!

*Please add my email kpandov@wssd.org and bookmark our class website so you can read our daily blog once school starts!