Holiday Breakfast

This Friday will be our annual first grade holiday breakfast.  This is a time for students to enjoy eating breakfast together while also making a gift for their families.  Since we want to keep that gift a surprise, this holiday event will be for students only.  However, I am hoping that you will be able to donate one of the breakfast foods that were listed on the note that was sent home.  I am sure that the students will have so much fun!

This Wednesday is a full day of school. Please remember to send athletic shoes with your child on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.  Happy Holidays to all of you, and I will see you and your student in the new year!

Holiday Shop

This Friday your child will have the opportunity to attend the holiday shop.  Last week, you received information and an envelope for the holiday shop.  If you would like your child to attend the holiday shop, please fill out the envelope and place your child's money into the envelope.  Only students with envelopes will be attending the holiday shop.   Students not attending the holiday shop, will stay with me  in the classroom to continue our learning.  Envelopes should be turned in no later than Friday morning. 

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50 pm.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Wednesday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Winter Walk-Through

This Friday is our annual Winter Walk-Through.  In preparation for our Winter Walk-Through, your child received a gingerbread man to decorate on the Friday before Thanksgiving break.  I hope that you had a chance to be creative as a family and decorate your child's gingerbread man in a unique way.  Please make sure to send your child's gingerbread man in as soon as possible.  I will be displaying them for the Winter Walk-Through.  If your child was absent, he or she will be bringing home his or her gingerbread man on Monday.

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50 pm.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday. This Thursday is Kindness Club.  The students will meet at 3:45 pm in the library and will be dismissed at 4:45 pm.

Winter Attire

As the colder weather continues, please make sure that your child has the appropriate winter attire to play outside at recess.  Students are required to go outside for recess unless a parent can provide a doctor's note.  Students should have snow pants, boots, a warm coat, a hat, and insulated gloves.  In addition, please make sure to send shoes for your child.  Our boots are kept outside of our classroom to keep our tile floor from becoming slippery.  This can only happen if students have shoes to wear so that they can change out of their boots.  If you are unable to provide boots for your child, please email me.  I will provide a resource for you to use to get boots for your child. 

Changing into and out of winter gear can be a challenge for first graders.  Practicing at home can help with this.  We practice in the classroom every day, but some students may require more practice at home.  Have your child practice putting on his or her snow gear.  This will help them to become more skilled and take less time during our school day changing in and out of snow gear.  Thank you for your support with this skill.

This Wednesday is a full day of school.  Please remember to send your child with athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Report Cards

On Friday, your child will be bringing home his or her first report card of first grade.  Please read over your child's report card carefully.  Report cards are scored on a progression learning scale.  Many students will be receiving 1's and 2's for their first report card.  These numbers reflect our continual learning in each subject.  A score of 3 would reflect that your child has already met the end of the year goal.   If you have any questions regarding your child's report card, please do not hesitate to email or call me. 

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50 pm.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday of this week for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Field Trip

This Friday is our Field Trip to the Sea Life Aquarium.  If you have not turned in your child's permission slip and money, please do so as soon as possible.  Any students without a signed permission slip and money, will be staying back in a  second grade classroom for our field trip.  If you are planning to chaperone, please make sure to have an additional $10 in cash on Friday if you have not payed already.  We will need this money before we leave.  At this point, we are planning on having enough space for all chaperones to ride the bus.  However, the bus garage has not officially given us the numbers for the amount of children and parents that can fit on two buses.  With over thirty chaperones attending, there is still a chance that some chaperones will need to drive separately.  At this point, the students will be eating lunch on the bus.  If this changes, I will let you know.  Please make sure that your child has a cold lunch on this day.  Lunches that can be completely thrown away are best so that no lunch boxes are left behind.  We will be leaving the school promptly at 8:45 am.  Please make sure that your child is to school on time. 

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50 pm.  Our spelling test will occur on Thursday of this week due to the field trip on Friday.  Please make sure to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday of this week for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back on Thursday. Kindness Club is this Thursday from 3:45-4:45 pm.

Halloween Party

On Thursday of this week, we will be having our Halloween Party in the afternoon.  The Halloween Parade will begin at 2:00 pm and our Halloween Party will be shortly after the parade at 2:30 pm.  I sent home a note regarding the party last week in your child's binder.  If you have not done so, please consider bringing one of the listed snacks.  In regards to costumes, please make sure that your child does not wear his or her costume to school.  We will be changing into our costumes shortly before the parade.  Please leave masks, face paint, and play weapons of any sort at home.  At our Halloween Party, we will be eating some snacks and playing Halloween Bingo.  The party will end at 3:00 pm so that the students can attend recess. 

If you have not done so already, please send in your child's field trip permission slip and money by Friday of this week.  Any student without a signed permission slip, will be staying at school in a second grade classroom while we are gone.  We are hoping that we will not need to leave any student behind.

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50 pm.  Our library time has been moved to Wednesday of this week because of our Halloween Party.  Please remember to have your child wear his or her athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday of this week.

Welcome Back and Field Trip

Welcome back from Fall Break!  I hope that you enjoyed your time with your family.  As we get back into the swing of things, we will be revisiting routines and expectations.  Please make sure to check in with your child's Class Dojo points daily so that you can have discussions with your child regarding positive and negative behavior. 

Our field trip to the aquarium is coming up very quickly.  If you have not returned your student's permission slip or paid the $10.00, please do so as soon as possible.  Also, for the parents who plan on attending the field trip with us, there is an additional $10.00 that must be paid to chaperone.  We are still unsure if parents will be able to ride the bus with us to the aquarium.  We have very full classes this year so space is very limited.  Please be prepared to drive yourself or carpool with another parent.  Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding our field trip.

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50 pm.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Fall Break

Next week will begin fall break.  Please make sure to have your child read during this two week break.  Students can lose their academic growth in as little as two weeks.  This is also a great time to work on the goals that we discussed at conferences.

This Wednesday is a full day of school.  This Thursday is Kindness Club.  The students will be dismissed from Kindness Club at 4:45pm.  If you would still like your child to participate in Kindness Club, please contact me or Mrs. Schaffer.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Galaxy Day

Thank you to all of you who attended conferences this past week!  I enjoyed discussing your child's progress with you. This Wednesday will be our second galaxy day.  Your child will be learning a lesson from his or her galaxy teacher that will center around controlling impulsivity.  Please make sure to have your child wear his or her galaxy shirt on this day. 

Your child will be taking his or her second math test this Tuesday.  Please look for the chapter review to come home on Monday and for the test results to come home on Wednesday.

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50pm.  Please remember to have your child wear his or her athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Conferences!

Conferences will occur on Wednesday and Thursday of this week unless you have scheduled a morning conference on Monday, Tuesday, or Friday.   If you require a different day and time, please let me know so that I can reschedule your conference.  For conferences, please have a literacy and mathematics goal in mind that you would like your child to work towards for the next several months.  In addition, please bring your child to the conference so that he or she can partake in setting goals.  Each conference will last approximately twenty minutes and will focus mostly on where your child is academically.  

This is the first week for spelling.  Your student will take his or her first spelling test on Friday of this week.  You will find the spelling words in your child's reading packet.  Please review these words daily to help your child prepare for his or her test.  On the spelling test page of the homework, your student can simply write each word twice.

This Wednesday is a full day of school.  Please remember to send athletic shoes with your student on both Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday but are not due back until Thursday.  

Snack

We are currently running low on snacks.  In your child's binder, you will find a calendar that will have your child's name listed for the day that he or she will need to bring in snack.  A few student's names are not listed and will be listed on the following month's snack calendar.  If you are unable to provide snack on your student's day, please let me know so that I can purchase snacks.  Thank you for your support!

I still have quite a few parents that have not signed up for a conference yet.  I will be sending an email this week to any family that still needs to sign up.  If you are having a difficult time accessing the website, please email or call me to let me know.  I can't wait to discuss all of the learning that your child has been doing this past month. 

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50pm.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Conference Sign Up

Conferences are just around the corner.  If you have not signed up for a conference yet, please do so as soon as possible.  To sign up for a conference, please visit the PTC Fast website.  If you are having a difficult time with the website, please contact me so that I can help. 

This Thursday is the first day that the Kindness Club will meet.  If you signed your student up for Kindness Club, please remind him or her that he or she will be going to the library after school.  Kindness Club will dismiss at 4:45.

The first Edru Skate Night will take place this Thursday from 6:00-8:00 so be ready to skate.

This Wednesday is a full day of school.  Please remember to have your student wear athletic shoes on Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday. 

Galaxy Day

This Wednesday will be our first galaxy day.  On galaxy days, your student will be traveling to a different classroom to complete a lesson with his or her galaxy teacher.  Each classroom will have a mix of kindergarteners, first graders, second graders, third graders, and fourth graders.  Our lessons will focus around the habits of mind skills that our entire school is learning.  Your student will return to our classroom after about a half hour.  Your student will be receiving a school t-shirt that we would like him or her to wear on each galaxy day.  Your student will only receive one t-shirt so please make sure that he or she takes care of it.  Additional t-shirts will need to be purchased.  I will notify you before each galaxy day so that your student knows when to wear his or her shirt.  

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50pm.  There is no school this Friday.  Please make sure that your student wears his or her athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday of Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Math Test

This week your child will be taking their first math test online.  Please look for the chapter review to come home on either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.  Please review the problems with your child so that he or she is prepared for the math test.  Typically, the questions on the review are similar to the questions on the actual math test.  I will then be sending home a score sheet with your student so you can see which questions he or she answered correctly.  If you would like to view the questions that your student missed, I will be sending home a Think Central sheet that will explain how to access your child's account.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to message me or email me. 

This Wednesday is a full day of school.  Please remember to have your student wear athletic shoes on Thursday for Kinetics.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.  

Class Dojo

If you have not logged into Class Dojo yet, please do so as soon as possible using the access code that was sent home in your child's binder on the first week of school.  This system is a way for me to continually communicate with you regarding your child's behavior.  Class Dojo also is a wonderful tool for me to post pictures of what we are currently working on in class.  I also use this application to communicate with you in a form of  messaging.  This allows you to message me with any questions that you may have regarding your child's homework, behavior, or learning.  You can also customize your child's account by changing your child's Avatar.  Many of the students have expressed how they would like to change their Dojo Avatar.  If you are having difficulty viewing your child's account because it is logging you into last year's teacher, use the access code that I sent home to make sure that you are accessing our classroom's Dojo instead of his or her class from the previous year.  If you need another paper for the access code, please let me know.

This Wednesday is a full day of school.  There is no school on Friday of this week or Monday of next week.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday.  Library books should be returned on Wednesday and are due back Thursday.

Open House

What a great first week!  The students have had such a successful start to learning rules and classroom procedures.  I have enjoyed every minute of being with your children.  Let's have another great week!

This Tuesday, Sycamore will be having an open house and a back-to-school picnic from 5:00-7:00pm.  This is a great time to get to know the Sycamore staff and to also ask any questions that you may have about first grade.  At 5:00pm, I will be available in our classroom.  The students will complete a scavenger hunt with you where they can show you all about our classroom. I will also be available to answer any questions that you may have as you are pondering about what happens in first grade. The open house will take place in our classroom, room 104. If you have not dropped off your students supplies (dry erase marker, tissues, binder, crayons, and glue stick), you may do this at the open house.  The picnic is also a great time to meet other families from Sycamore.  I hope to see you there!! 

This is the first week of homework.  I sent home a homework packet and a reading log on Friday.  Reading homework will be due each week on the following Friday.  All homework must be turned in to receive homework credit.  Remember to initial at least three of the activities on the Family Times that you have completed before returning it to school.  Readers will also be coming home this week with many of the students.  Advanced readers will receive a reading passage instead of readers.  Please add these books to your child's reading log along with any other books that your child has read to you or you have read to him or her.  Reading logs will also be turned in every Friday and then returned.  Please make sure to be reading with your child on a daily basis.  Math homework will also be coming home this week.  Math homework should be returned daily.  Only the first page must be completed unless your child has been absent.  Thanks for your support! 

Your child will also be assessed on his/her reading and math this week.  However, it will be a couple more weeks before I will have a complete picture of your child's reading and mathematical needs. 

This Wednesday is an early release day.  The students will be dismissed at 1:50pm.  Please remember to have your child wear athletic shoes on Monday and Thursday for Kinetics.