Word Study/Homework

One quick reminder...

I have noticed last week that several students are not completing their daily homework. It is an expectation that each child read for 15 minutes each night. This daily reading requirement is to promote your child to be using the reading skills learned in the classroom in real world experiences outside of the classroom. I want them to be practicing these skills and building their reading life, so they know that reading can take place everywhere! :)
Remember to:
Write what your child read
How many minutes read
Signature
(Optional) A quick note about your child's reading

I am so grateful for those who have been adding little comments about their child's reading. This helps me to know what skills to be working on with your child in small groups as we become more in-depth with our learning.

Word Study:
Your child will be coming home with a set of word study words/pictures tonight. Every Monday, students will receive their new set of words/pictures and every Friday will be their assessment. Your child does not have Word Study homework, but I thought it would be helpful if you would like your child to practice at home...doesn't hurt!
Suggestions for Word Study:

• Sort words/pictures in groups
• Spell words
• Play memory/matching game with words

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Classroom Updates Week of September 25-29

Happy Monday!

Hi Everyone!

We've come to the end of a long week.  We had a few challenges this week with ready, responsible, and respectful choices during lunch and during our transition times.  The kids are becoming more comfortable with each other, so it can be easier for them to exhibit off-task behaviors.  I am hopeful that next week will be smooth sailing as we continue to discuss how to be ready, responsible, and respectful 1st graders.  

Important Information About School Pictures:

Fall pictures will be taken this coming Tuesday, September 26th.  I sent home information about pictures in yesterday's folder.  This will be a day for individual pictures only; a whole-class picture will be taken in the Spring.  Following are some guidelines to help facilitate your picture order / purchase:

• If possible, please order your child's pictures online.  It's the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to order your child's pictures.  If you order online, you do not need to send anything to school with your child on Picture Day!
• If you are not ordering online, please fill out the payment envelope, enclose your payment, and send it to school on picture day.  Your payment envelope must include your child's name, my name, your "look" (or background) selection, your package selection, and your payment.
• Picture purchase is optional.

 Fall Literacy Testing:

Our Fall literacy screenings are underway as I have begun administering both the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) and the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  I look forward to discussing the results of your child's assessments at our Fall Conference in November.

RAZ-Kids, Dreambox Learning, and Reflex Math:

RAZ-Kids, and Dreambox Learning are web-based programs that allow your child to practice reading (RAZ-Kids), math skills (Dreambox Learning).  I will send home your child's log-on information for these learning tools as soon as I have them.  Most have an app you can download too.  Please allow your child to explore these fun and valuable learning tools!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about good reader habits. We will talk about retelling stories and making connections when we read.  I will continue administering the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) to determine your child's current independent reading level.
• Writing:  We will begin learning the routines and procedures of Writer's Workshop as we talk about habits of good writers.
• Math:  We will continue learning the routines and procedures of Math Workshop as we explore number sense and counting.  We will talk about different ways to show a number (using digits, dots, a ten-frame, tallies, etc.)
• Science:  We will talk about the 5 senses, 4 seasons, and the relationship between the Sun, Earth, and Moon.
• Social Studies:  We will talk about John Chapman, also known as "Johnny Appleseed", and why we remember him.

Have a wonderful week!

Classroom News

Hello!

I think the kids are settling into the year.  On the whole, I am pleased with how quickly they're picking up on classroom routines and procedures.  Staying focused during the afternoon has been a bit difficult, but I am hopeful that as the kids build stamina for a full school day, they will have an easier time staying on task.

Here's your update for the week:


 Snack Reminder:
Snack time has been going great! We eat snack around 9:30am each day...and surprisingly we are down to about a 12 minute snack time! :) WOO!  Thank you for sending your child with an easy "grab and go" item. Please remember to pack a HEALTHY snack though!

Specials Reminder:
Please remember to send your child with sneakers for P.E. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Library books are due back each Monday. 

Scholastic News Reminder:
Please remember to send your child to school with $6 for our classroom to purchase Scholastic News. I can't stress enough the importance of exposing our children to nonfiction news. Thank you to those who have already supported your child in sending in the scholastic news order. 

Homework Reminder:
Students are to be reading each night for 15 minutes Monday-Thursday (Awesome if you read on the weekend too!) Some students have been coming into school with uncompleted reading logs in their student agenda. Students should write the title of book, number or minutes, and have a parent signature each night. Thank you so much!!

Water Bottle Reminder:
Please remember to send your child to school with an easy open water bottle. We no longer have water fountains in our classroom and I cannot allow students to walk down the hallway by themselves to get a drink of water. I think it would be best if each child had a water bottle at their desk. 

Also, its not too late to order books from Scholastic. Remember to enter our classroom code PB4G4 to have your child's books shipped free to school!

Our first Box Tops for Education collection was today, but your child can continue to send in box tops throughout the year to add to our classroom collection envelope. 

Important Dates:

September:

• Saturday, September 30th:  Fall Festival at 4:00 pm at school

October:

• Monday, October 2nd:  PTA Believe Kids Fundraiser ends

• Tuesday, October 3rd:  WatchDOG Dad kickoff at 6:00 pm at school
• Wednesday, October 4th:  Walk to school day at 7:20 am (meet at the Kirkpatrick Farms clubhouse)
• Monday, October 9th:  No school due to Columbus Day
• Saturday, October 14th:  Fall Festival Rain Date
• Monday, October 16th:  PTA Meeting at 4:00 pm in the library at school
• Monday, October 23rd:  No school for students due to Teacher Work Day

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue Book Shopping, which is the process of choosing just right books for our book bags. We will also work on good reader habits like using a smooth voice and rereading to see more in our books.
• Writing:  We will practice Handwriting, emphasizing proper letter formation, and starting our letters at the top.
• Math:  We will learn how to use our "Rise and Shine" morning work binders to show the month, day, and number of school days in various ways. We will also be working with number recognition to 20 including some graphing to compare numbers.
• Science / Social Studies:  We will talk about what it means to be a scientist, and what scientists do.
• Word Study: Students are completing a practice word study sort to prepare for their word study groups and assessments. Students will be placed into their groups on Monday, September 25th and will have their first word study assessment on Friday, September 29th. Students will also come home with a copy of their word study words each week. Please encourage your child to sort their words at home and practice spelling the words. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys the last bit of summer! :) 

Classroom Updates

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend! It's hard to believe that we had an extra day because it still went by so quickly.

I just wanted to post about a few changes/updates happening in our classroom.

Behavior Charts
Students were given their behavior charts today. Behavior charts will be kept in the back of their blue Homework folder. Each day students will color in the date box with the color that the ended the day on. Students also started earning their Caught Being Fantastic tickets last week. So, ending the day on green earns them 1 tickets, purple earns 2 tickets, and light blue earns 3 tickets. Like I said, students started earning tickets on Thursday, so you may have heard them coming home and talking about them.

Agendas
Students were also given their agendas today. Our school had to order more agendas, so not every student has one yet, but they should be here by the end of the week. In your child's blue Homework folder, it gives directions on how to use the student agendas. Right now, students are only using their agendas to track their nightly reading. Students are expected to read 15 minutes a night. Please sign and list the title of the book(s) your child read on the right side of the weekly agenda page. You may also leave a note about your child's reading too :)

Box Tops
Pinebrook Elementary collects Box Tops for Education. Box Tops can be found on many items purchased. We have set a goal to collect 1,000 box tops in our classroom this year. There will be five collections throughout the year: September 15th, November 17th, January 12th, March 16th, May 18th. Students can bring in Box Tops any day of the week and we will place them in our class collection envelope. You may send your child's box tops in a baggie or envelope with their name on it so they have the chance to earn individual collection awards as well. If our class collects the most box tops and reaches our goal...we could earn an ice cream party at the end of the school year! Start collecting!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know via email (hillary.drumheller@lcps.org)

Week Two

Happy Friday!!

I just want to send a friendly reminder to everyone to sign up for the Remind text messaging service to be sent classroom reminders directly to your phone.  If  you have not done so, please take a moment to download the Remind app (look for the white text bubble on a blue background) from the app store and join my class.  After you download the Remind app, you can join my class by texting @grade1dr to 81010. Also, I apologize if I am unable to respond to your messages right away. I know that some have sent messages during the day when our class is extremely busy learning, but I will always try to respond to your message by 8pm that evening. 

Thank you to the parents who have started following my classroom Twitter! It's great to show off what Room 3 and Pinebrook are doing!

We made it through one full week of school! Your children have really opened up their personalties and I have learned so much about them. I hope they are all enjoying first grade as much as I am. This week we focused mostly on following the 3 Rs (Ready, Responsible, and Respectful) and following directions. Your students practiced picking out just right books and created a purpose for reading. In math, we practiced counting to 20 forwards and backwards and created a My Number Book to showcase numbers in written form. 

I am still missing a few forms from students, so please be sure to check that all Back to School forms have been completed. Most forms were to be turned in today. The forms I am collecting include:

• ·         Blue "How Is My Child Getting Home?" Form
• ·         Yellow "Emergency Dismissal" Form
• ·         Pinebrook Handbook Acknowledgement Survey -- This is an online form you should complete and submit via the Pinebrook website.
• ·         Yellow "Student Rights and Responsibilities" Form
• ·         Green "Technology Use" Form 
• ·         Bright colored student information card
• ·         My Great Kid Form
• ·         Class Directory Form

A couple of reminders:

·         Please check for your child’s blue daily communication folder each day. It should travel back and forth daily with your child.

·         Please send in a small healthy snack (one, no more than two items) with your child each day, as well as a spill/leak proof water bottle. Please help your child to know whether his/her lunch box contains a full lunch or just a snack. Some children have been bringing snacks in a lunch box, but they are meant to buy lunch in the cafeteria. This has been a little confusing for some of our little ones.

Please reach out at any time with questions, comments or concerns.  

I hope you and your children enjoy the much needed three day weekend! I can't wait to hear all about the exciting memories they create being with friends and family. I am off to Pennsylvania to visit my parents who still live there...bring on the 4 hour drive tomorrow!