Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

We had a fantastic day today! Lieutenant Mettinger from Loudoun County Fire and Rescue came to talk with us about fire safety. There is information about today's visit in your child's homework folder. This afternoon, we also began to conduct our pumpkin investigations! We rotated throughout each first grade classroom, conducting experiments and recording observations along the way. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish, so we will pick up with it next week. Please ask your child about their fun Friday! :)

It's the time of the year when the calendar begins to fill up quickly, both at home and at school! I have many things to tell you about.

Important Information About School Photos:
Fall pictures will be taken on Tuesday, October 29th. I sent home information about pictures in last week's Thursday 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 will 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 Party:

I hope to see many of you at our Fall Party on Thursday, October 31st. It will begin at 12:00 p.m., but parents may come in at 11:30 to start setting up the activities. I will have the students outside for recess to get some energy out before we begin the party. I sent home a food permission form for the party today. Please sign and return the food permission form by Thursday, October 31st. Since no costumes are allowed that day, please help your child contribute to our festive atmosphere by dressing in something orange or Halloween themed (a Halloween shirt, hair ribbon, etc.)

Turkey of the Year:

Turkey of the Year voting begins next week, and will continue for the next few Fridays! Your child must read to vote for the staff member he/she would like to see come to school dressed in a turkey suit. One hour of reading equals one vote. Each Friday, please sign and return the week's voting slip, which came home in yesterday's Thursday folder. If you lost your voting slip, please write a note to indicate how many hours your child read during the previous week, sign it, and send it to school on Friday. 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Conferences have begun! If you conference is before school, please let the front office know that you are here for a conference and come on down to Room 3. You should not need to sign in for a conference before school. If your conference is after school, please ring the school bell, be prepared to show your photo ID to our office staff, and sign in at the office. You may walk to our class after you sign in. If you have not signed up for a conference, please do that ASAP using the Sign-Up Genius by clicking HERE.

50th Day Celebration:

We will celebrate the 50th Day of School on Thursday, November 7th with some fun 1950's themed activities. (I sent home a note with all the details.) Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day. We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats. If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer soda and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before November 7th. 

Veteran's Day:

Please read the following message from our school office regarding Veteran's Day:

"Pinebrook Elementary students and staff would like to honor our Veterans during our annual Veterans Day Celebration that is being held on Monday, November 11, 2019. If you, a family member or neighbor are a Veteran please join us for this special celebration. All are welcome to attend!  This year, Veterans will not be asked to speak to a classroom of students. We invite you to come, relax, and allow us to honor you."
Schedule:
8:00-8:30 Breakfast in the Library 
8:30-9:15 Celebration in the gymnasium
Please RSVP for our Veteran's Day celebration by clicking HERE

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will begin our Word Detectives Unit, in which we become word detectives who solve cases involving tricky words and letters. 
• Writing- We will begin our How-To unit, in which we learn about procedural writing, and tach our reader how to do something. 
• Math-We will continue with our Geometry unit. We will identify plane shapes in the environment, talk about the number of sides and vertices in circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles, and define a right angle. 
• Science-We will finish our pumpkin investigations. We will paint our pumpkins so they are festive and ready for Halloween!

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Don't forget--No school on Monday due to the Teacher Workday. 

I hope that everyone has a fun-filled weekend! Can't wait for another week of fun next week! :) 

Weekly Update

Hello Parents! Happy Friday!

Sometimes short weeks feel like long weeks, but this one flew by! We had some beautiful days in the sunshine at recess this week, and didn't mind a rainy day for indoor recess too. As the weather begins to cool, please be sure to send a jacket with your child each day.

This morning we attended a NED assembly in anticipation of next week's Spirit Week to mark Pinebrook as a bully-free zone! Please ask your child about this fun assembly!

I have several things to share with you this week...

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences will begin next week! If your conference is in the morning before school, I will meet you at the front door if our school staff is not here yet to let you in. If your conference is after school, please ring the school visitor bell, be prepared to show your photo ID to our school staff, and sign in at the office. You may walk to our classroom after you sign in. If you still need to sign up for a conference please click HERE. If the available dates/times do not work with your schedule, please send me an email so I can make further arrangements.

Next Week is Spirit Week:
Next week we will have a Spirit Week to celebrate Pinebrook as a bully-free zone! Themes for each day are as follows:

• Monday- "We are all tied together"- Wear bowties, neckties, bows, ribbons, etc. to symbolize that we are all tied together to prevent bullying. 
• Tuesday- "Take a walk in someone else's shoes and wear red for the Nats"-Wear mismatched shoes to symbolize what it is like to walk in someone else's footsteps AND to celebrate the Nationals in the World Series
• Wednesday- "Unity Day"-Wear orange to honor Unity Day and be unified against bullying
• Thursday- "Team Up Together"-Wear sports attire to team up against bullying. 
• Friday-"Be a Superhero Against Bullying"-Dress up like a superhero to prevent bullying

Pumpkins:

If you haven't done so already, please send your child's "pie-sized" pumpkin for our pumpkin investigation. Please send in the pumpkin no later than Wednesday, October 23rd. Please label your child's pumpkin with his/her name on the bottom. Black permanent marker works well for this!

Important Information About School Pictures:

Fall pictures will be taken on Tuesday, October 29th. I sent home information about pictures in yesterday's Thursday 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, and your payment. 
• Picture purchase is optional.

Fall Party:

Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Thursday, October 31st in our classroom. Our party will start approximately at 11:30; I will confirm the exact time next week. All families are welcome to attend! (NO costumes please!) I will send home a food permission form in next week's Thursday folder for all food items being served during the Fall party. Please return the signed food permission form by Thursday, October 3st. Our fabulous Room Parent, Mrs. Ramineni, has been working very hard to prepare for our Fall party. If you are able to, please offer any support by volunteering to help out during the party, donating food items, or money to purchase the awesome crafts and games. She cannot do this alone, so let's all work together to make this an awesome party for Room 3! Mrs. Ramineni has graciously created a Sign Up Genius for our party. Please click HERE to offer your support. If you have any questions, please email her or I. 

50th Day Celebration!

We will celebrate the 50th Day of School on Thursday, November 7th with some fun 1950's themed activities. I sent home a note with all the details in last week's Thursday folder. Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day. We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats. If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before November 7th. 

PAWS for Knowing Your Student ID!

As we continue through the school year, the students will use their student ID numbers (often called "lunch numbers") more often. I am going to start giving 3 Puma Paws to any student who can memorize his/her ID number for signing onto the computers and for purchasing lunch/food items in the cafeteria. 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will working on story comprehension and retelling and talking about our favorite parts of stories. 
• Writing- We will be completing some fun Halloween themed craftivities with writing
• Math- We will continue with our magnitude and estimation unit. We will also begin our geometry unit. 
• Science/Social Studies-We will finish our study of Famous Virginians and we will begin to investigate pumpkins

Thank you for all that you do! As always, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome!

I need to apologize for not updating the blog last Friday. I was in Whistler, British Columbia for a wedding. 

I hope to do some much needed relaxing this weekend! Many of your kiddos shared that they would be going to Cox Farms this weekend, so I can't wait to hear about their fall-themed weekend! Enjoy!

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

Yesterday's Puma Olympics was a HUGE success! Room 3 could not stop talking about how much fun that they had! Thank you to all the families who came and supported Team Drumheller Diamonds!

Just a few quick items for you...

Please Sign-Up for a Conference!
Parent/Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter. I am using a Sign-Up Genius to schedule conferences. You can sign up for a conference time by clicking HERE. If you are unable to attend a conference on one of those dates/times listed, please send me an email to make alternate arrangements. I am excited to meet with each of you to discuss your child's progress!

Scholastic News and Science Spin Money:
Please kindly remember to send Scholastic News and Science Spin money if you have not yet done so.

Thursday Folders:
Thank you all for being patient with me this week...I am so lucky to have awesome parents part of Room 3 this year! Your child received their Thursday folder today. Please empty your child's folder sometime over the weekend and have them return it to school on Monday so we'll be all set for next Thursday. :)

Nightly Reading:
I know that everyone has busy nightly schedules with after school activities, but I was hoping that you would sign your child's agenda each night with the title of the book(s) that they read and your signature. I do check your child's agenda every morning to make note of those who are reading each night. Thank you so much!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will learn how reading partners support each other to build positive reading habits.
• Writing- We will continue writing small moment stories and study other authors to use as mentor texts. 
• Phonics-We will study high-frequency (snap) words to learn about phonics
• Math-We will continue with our patterns and sorting unit. We will identify and create growing and repeating patterns. We will sort objects based on attributes.
• Social Studies- We will finish learning about Christopher Columbus and begin learning about Famous Virginians and their contributions to our country. We will learn about Christopher Newport, Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, Maggie Walker, and Arthur Ashe. 

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

I am once again traveling back to PA for the weekend! We are celebrating one of my best friend's this weekend with her bridal shower! I cannot wait for some cooler weather to kick in tomorrow! I hope you all have a fabulous fall weekend!

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!

We had a delightful week in Room 3, and we ended on a high note with a Den Rally! Today's topic at the den rally was responsibility. Donuts for Dads was a success, and tomorrow is the Fall Festival! It's a great time to be a Pinebrook Puma!

Just a few items for you...

Scholastic News and Science Spin Money:
Please kindly remember to send Scholastic News and Science Spin money if you have not yet done so.

1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports:
1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports  ("interims") will be issued on Wednesday, October 2nd. If your child receives an interim, it will be emailed to you on Wednesday, October 2nd using the email address on file in your ParentVue account. You can update and/or verify your email address by logging into your ParentVue account. If you are unable to access your ParentVue account, please contact the school office.

Puma Olympics:
Our Puma Olympics will be held on Thursday afternoon. Students will spend time outside participating in a variety of team-building and cooperative games. Please be sure that your child comes to school dressed in comfortable clothing and athletic shoes/sneakers.

Fall Fundraiser:
If you have not yet registered your child for our Fall Fundraiser, it is not too late! Right now Team Drumheller is in the lead with the most donations! If we win, then our classroom will receive a $100 Amazon gift card to buy some awesome things for our classroom!

Class Directory:
Please review the classroom directory to verify that your information is correct or if I need to make any changes. I appreciate all those who already sent me an email just to say that it was all correct or to change up a few items. As soon as everyone responds, then I will send out the link to the final draft. :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will learn about habits for solving hard words in our reading
• Writing- We will continue writing small moment stories, but revising to make our stories really come to life. 
• Phonics- We will begin our study of words by looking at letters, vowels, syllables, digraphs, and blends
• Math-We will begin our patterns and sorting unit. We will identify and create growing and repeating patterns, pattern units, and patterns in our world. 
• Social Studies-We will talk about Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day. 

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

I cannot believe October begins next week! Where is the fall weather?!

I will be stopping by the Fall Festival tomorrow so I hope to see many of your kiddos there! Have a wonderful weekend :) 

Weekly Update

Hello Everyone!

It's been refreshing to have some cooler weather with sunshine! Recess has been quite enjoyable this week! :)

I just have a few things to tell you this week...

Scholastic News and Science Spin Money:
If you have not yet sent your child's Scholastic News and Science Spin subscription fee, please kindly do so as soon as possible. The cost is $8. You may send a check made payable to Scholastic News or send in the exact amount of cash.

Fall Literacy Testing:
Our Fall literacy screenings are underway. I am administering both the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) and the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) to each student. I will discuss the results of your child's assessments with you during our Fall Parent-Teacher conference.

Donuts with Dad:
The PTA is hosting a "Donuts with Dads" event on Friday, September 27th from 7:00-7:30 a.m. at school. All dads and kids are welcome. To ensure that there are enough doughnuts for everyone in attendance, please complete the Donuts with Dads RSVP form found on the Pinebrook homepage.

Writing Folder Photo Project:
Students are excited to begin decorating their writing folders with pictures that remind them of special memories or of things that they enjoy! After we have decorated our folders, we will be able to use the pictures to give us ideas of topics to write about during our writing workshop. The pictures can be printed on regular printer paper from the computer. Please do not send in photos that you hope to be returned, students will be gluing the photos to their folders. If you have any questions about this project, please let me know. The last day to send in photos is Monday, September 30th.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will continue to discuss good reader habits and build those habits with our reading partners. We will set goals for our reading. We will talk about rereading to smooth out our voices, scooping up words in phrases, and giving reminders to our reading partners. 
• Writing- We will learn how to edit and revise our writing to make our stories come to life. 
• Phonics-We will learn skills and strategies to "study" words. 
• Math- We will finish our number sense unit by learning how to order numbers and compare them. Our number sense assessment will be on Friday. 
• Science- We will talk about apples and the life cycle of an apple in celebration of Johnny Appleseed Day. 
• Social Studies- Throughout first grade, we will talk about various Famous Virginians, and their contributions to our state. 

As always, I welcome your feedback. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Donal, Raleigh, and I will be traveling to PA this weekend to visit my family. We will also be going to my hometown's famous fair called the Bloomsburg Fair. I'm sure I will have lots of photos to share with the kiddos on Monday :) 

Enjoy your weekend!

Weekly Update

Hello Everyone!

I hope that you've had a fantastic week! I'm starting to see little personalities emerge as the kids become more comfortable with me. and with each other. This is when I can really start to build a relationship with them, connect with them, and see our class environment take shape. It makes me happy :)

Here's you weekly update...


Homework Starts Next Week:
Homework will begin on Monday. A few notes about homework...

• I will send home a homework packet on Mondays. It will be due back on Fridays. 
• Homework will follow the same formula each week, to afford your student/family flexibility in planning and completion of homework. There is a suggested assignment for each night, but your child can complete the homework pages in any order and in any timeframe, as long as the homework packet comes back on Fridays. 
• Nightly reading will continue to be part of homework. 
• We will have 5 "Words of the Week" that are practiced each week as part of the homework. The Words of the Week come from the 1st Grade Sight Word list posted on the Puma Paw website. The words will be written on the right side of your child's agenda each week and I will also list them on the right side of the blog. 
• We will have a spelling test each Friday on that week's Words of the Week.
• Please encourage your child to read and spell their Words of the Week at home and to identify them in their nightly reading. 

Library Books:

Please help your child to remember to return their library books by each Friday. If they are done with them before Friday, then they can bring them in at any time. Students are not allowed to check out new books until their old ones are returned.

Snack:

Please be sure to send in a nut-free snack with your child each day. Please do not send dips, sauces, or other liquids for snack. Please do not send snack cakes with cream or frosting. Please do not send snacks that require utensils to eat. We ask that snack be one item that can be ate during our snack time. 

Online Learning Resources:

In yesterday's Thursday folder, I sent home the log-on information for RAZ-Kids and Dreambox Math. There are detailed letters included to help you get your child started too. Your child should regularly log onto these learning platforms to get extra practice with reading and math. Your child will also be receiving Reflex math information later in the year, once we have learned addition and subtraction. If you have any questions about the online resources, please let me know. 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will begin our first Reader's Workshop unit by learning routines and procedures of Reader's Workshop and building a reading life. 
• Writing- We will begin being our first Writing Workshop unit by learning the routines and procedures of Writing Workshop and writing about small moments.
• Phonics- We will begin our first Phonics unit by exploring and studying our names, and noticing the spelling patterns we see in them.
• Math- We will continue learning the routines and procedures of Math Workshop as we finish our number sense and counting unit. 
• Science- We will talk about the 4 seasons, Earth's rotation on its axis and rotation around the sun, and why we have day and night. 

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

I hope that you all have a super weekend! 

Weekly Update

Hello First Grade Families!

Short weeks sometimes feel like long weeks, but the week still flew by! I think that the kids are settling into the year. On the whole, I am quite 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.

We will have our Patriot Day ceremony at the flag pole on Wednesday morning. We will honor those who lost their lives on September 11th, along with all the service members and first responders who keep us safe. Truly, we will never forget.

Here's my update for the week...

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Please sign up for Remind if you have not done so. If you still need to do this, please do so my downloading the Remind app and joining my class. After you download the Remind app, click "join a class" and enter my class code: @grade1drum. I send many messages via Remind. Please don't miss out and please let me know if you have any questions!

Room Parent Needed
I am still in need of at least one Room Parent to help coordinate and plan our yearly parties and events. If you can help with this, please email me. You will be guided through the year by our PTA Room Parent Coordinator, beginning on Wednesday, September 11th with a Room Parent and Volunteer Welcome Coffee at 8:35 a.m. in the Pinebrook cafe.

Homework Update:
Homework will be begin on Monday, September 16th. To both afford families flexibility and to facilitate time management, homework will follow a predictable pattern. Each week, your child will receive a homework packet on Mondays. The completed homework packet will be due back no later than Friday. Each week students will practice writing our 5 words of the week/sight words, and complete some math and/or literacy practice. Nightly reading will continue as a homework requirement in addition to the homework packet.

Nightly Reading Homework:
I have noticed that the past two weeks, many students have not been completing their nightly reading homework. Students are required to read 15-20 minutes each night with an adult. We ask that you then record their reading each night on the right side of the agenda. Please note the book(s) that they read that night, the number of minutes, along with a signature. If you have any questions about recording your child's reading in their agenda, please let me know.

Thursday Folders:
Please empty your child's Thursday folder each Thursday and return it to school on Fridays. I do reuse these folders each week.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will begin Book Shopping, which is the process of choosing Just Right books to out into our reading bags and we will be learning about our literacy centers.
• Writing- We will talk about types of sentences, learn about our Super Star Spelling Dictionaries, and using our writing folders.
• Math-We will begin establishing the routines and procedures of Math Workshop as we focus on number sense, counting, ordering numbers, and comparing numbers. 
• Science/Social Studies-We will talk about the meaning of Patriot Day. We will define and discuss the 5 senses. We will learn about the 4 seasons. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback. :)