Weekly Update

Hi Everyone! Happy Surprise Snow Day!

What a fun week! We have been reading gingerbread stories all week. Thank you to those who allowed their child to bring in an extra special gingerbread story for us to read with the class.

The John Champe PEER group visited and presented a puppet show about friendship. The Willard band visited this week and we enjoyed a holiday concert. Those eighth grade students were in my first class at Pinebrook so it was a bit emotional to see them so grown up and doing something that they enjoy.

Meantime, it's about to be my favorite week of the entire school year! The anticipation for Christmas and Winter Break is in the air! We have some fun events planned for next week to mark the holiday season, and we will be finishing up some of our academic units too. Please hang in there and read this entire message. :)

World Market:
Our World Market will be this Tuesday, December 17th at 8:30 a.m. We may not be as prepared as I hoped that we would due to our day off, but it will still be special. At the market, each first grad class will "sell" one item that represents a holiday tradition from around the world. Our class is selling German Christmas pickle ornaments. All items range in price from 50 cents to a dollar. Students have been earning paper dimes for demonstrating ready, respectful, and responsible over the past few weeks. They will use their dimes to to shop at the market. Our first grade team needs help at the market to count dimes and to look after classroom tables. If you are available and interested in volunteering, please email me. We anticipate being done by 9:15 a.m.

Holiday Travel:
If you are traveling for the holidays, and your child will be absent from school please kindly notify the school in advance. You can send a message or a note to me, which I will forward to the office. You may also submit your notification to the office directly by using the "online absence excuse," which is found on the Pinebrook homepage.

Winter Break BINGO:
I will send home a Winter Break BINGO board in next week's Thursday folder. It is not mandatory, but is a great way to keep the kiddos busy over the two week holiday. If you have any questions about the BINGO board, please email me.

Polar Express:
Just a reminder that I will be showing the Polar Express movie on Friday, December 20th. I will also be serving hot cocoa made from Swiss Miss and water. No marshmallows will be given, but I will serve a peppermint stick on the side. Please kindly return the permission form by Friday, December 20th if you give your child to participate.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will read the holiday classic The Polar Express and review many of the reading strategies we have learned this year. 
• Math-We will finish our data and graphing unit, as well as, complete some fun Polar Express themed math activities. 
• Writing- We will complete some holiday traditions themed writing activities. 
• Science/Social Studies- We will have our World Market on Tuesday!

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! The World Market is Tuesday, we are counting down the days to break, and Friday morning we watch The Polar Express! Teaching first grade definitely makes me feel like a kid again this time of the year. Friday will end with our school-wide holiday sing along :) 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. 

Have a great weekend! I am looking forward to seeing the Nutcracker in D.C. tomorrow (my mom used to take me every year as a little girl, and I still need to see it every year), wrapping gifts, and some Christmas cooking baking! 

Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

So sorry to be writing my post late! I was away for the weekend in Pennsylvania celebrating my childhood friend's wedding. I am so grateful that I was able to be there by her side on her most special day :)

Holiday Shop:
We previewed the items for sale at the Pinebrook Holiday Shop on Thursday. Students may purchase items today, Tuesday, or Wednesday. If your child is purchasing Holiday Shop items, please kindly use the envelope that I sent home on Thursday in your child's Thursday folder to send his/her list list and money on Tuesday or Wednesday. Students who bring in money may shop during our recess time. Please remember, there is no obligation to buy. If you have any questions about the Holiday Shop, please let me know.

Scholastic Book Fair:
The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at school all week. Students previewed the Book Fair on Friday during our Library class time. Students who bring in money may shop at the Book Fair during our recess time this week. If your child plans to bring in money for the Book Fair, please send the money in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, my name, and "Book Fair" on the outside of the envelope. If you would like to attend the Book Fair to shop with your child, our Family Shopping Night will be Tuesday, December 10th from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Due to the Book Fair, students will not check out new books. Please keep your child's current library books at home until Friday, December 20th.

Gingerbread Week!
This week, we will read various versions of the story The Gingerbread Man. If your child has a version of this classic story at home, he/she is invited to bring it to school, and I will read it to the class.

We Celebrate Winter Holidays!
We have been studying winter holidays from other  countries and cultures over the past week. It is now your child's turn to share about the winter holiday that they celebrate with family! In your child's Thursday folder, I sent home a We Celebrate Winter Holidays! paper. Please complete this activity with your child and return to school no later than Monday, December 16th. Your child will have the opportunity to share your family's holiday traditions with the class.

Gingerbread House Supplies:
As a culminating activity to our unit on gingerbread stories, we will be creating our very own gingerbread houses. I sent home a note home on Tuesday, November 26th requesting supplies for this project. Each child has two items highlighted on their list, that I would like them to provide to help our class in making our gingerbread houses. Supplies were due today (Monday, December 9th). We still have a lot of supplies missing for this special project. If you are available to help, we will be making the gingerbread houses tomorrow, Tuesday, December 10th at 12:30 p.m.

Polar Express Movie Party:
During the week of December 16th-20th, we will read and explore the holiday classic The Polar Express. As a special treat, Friday, December 20th will be a pajama and movie day! Students are welcome to wear pajamas to school on that day. I will offer hot chocolate to drink too. I will make the hot chocolate with water only, without marshmallows, and I will offer a candy cane on the side. I will be sending home a Polar Express  "movie ticket" in your child's Thursday folder this week. This is your child's permission form so he/she may watch the movie and the hot chocolate treat. Please kindly sign and return the ticket as soon as possible.

Interim Progress Reports:
Interim progress reports will go home on Wednesday, December 11th. A friendly reminder that I do not send an interim home for every child. If I send one for your student, you will receive it via email at the email address on file in your ParentVue account. If you need assistance accessing your ParentVue account, please contact Mrs. Sciortino in our school office at 703-957-4325.

Focus Areas for This Week:

• Reading- We will be reading various gingerbread stories to compare and contrast the story elements of each. 
• Writing-We will complete some gingerbread themed writing activities and practice handwriting. 
• Math-We will start our graphing and data unit. We will talk about tally charts, bar graphs, picture graphs, and object graphs. We will analyze graphs and create our own graph. 
• Social Studies-We will finish our Holidays Around the World rotations and begin to prepare for our World Market on December 17th. 

There's a lot happening as we head toward Winter Break! Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback. 

I hope you have a wonderful week!