Weekly Update

 Good Afternoon!

I hope you all had a fabulous week! I am glad to see some sunshine and a little warmth to end our chilly week :) When reflecting and thinking about what I am thankful for this year, I know instantly that I am beyond grateful for all of the support you have given your child and myself during this crazy distance and hybrid learning year! We make an incredible team and I cannot thank you enough for all of your efforts! I hope you enjoy the holiday!

Weekly Parent Plans: 

Click here to access next week’s parent plans. You will only need to follow the days your child has an at-home asynchronous day.

Navy Group - students who come to school on Tuesday/Thursday

Maroon Group - students who come to school on Wednesday/Friday

Asynchronous Work: 

Please remember that students MUST complete all asynchronous work on the days they are learning from home. Students should follow this order when completing their work - listen to the provided recorded lessons (new content to stay on pace for the year) for each subject, then complete Independent/Seesaw work for that subject work. Some Seesaw work is being submitted early in the morning, and is incorrect, which means students are not listening to the lessons first.

Library Books:

Students received library books this week by choosing favorite topics from a book menu. Our assistant Librarian then hand-selected books for them, and delivered them to our room. Students may keep their books for two weeks. They can return them on either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the day they come to school after the two weeks.

Dreambox: 

We will be adding Dreambox to our asynchronous math blocks every day. Dreambox is a wonderful program that targets specific math areas that your child needs to work on. It progresses them as they successfully complete levels. When students are at home, we ask them to complete 15-20 minutes of Dreambox each day. 

Seesaw: 

Please remember to check your child’s Seesaw account every Friday to make sure that they have their Must Do activities completed for each week. The days that you are in school, your child will complete their Seesaw activities in class, but activities still need to be completed on asynchronous at-home days. Any activities that are not completed will be given a 1 and marked as “missing.” This will impact your child’s grades. I also ask that you allow your child to complete these activities independently so we know areas of strength and areas of improvement. We want the work that they are completing on Seesaw to reflect their ability. I understand that you want to support your child, but please do so by reading the directions and then taking a step back to allow them to complete it independently. There are folders listed under every activity that say “must do” or “may do” to let you know which assignments will be taken as a grade. 

Thanksgiving Break: 

We will not have school on Wednesday, November 25th through Friday, November 27th next week, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Classes will resume on November 30th. 

Holiday Travel:

If your child will not be in school on Monday, November 23rd or Tuesday, November 24th, due to holiday travel, please let myself and the main office know. If your child is in our Tuesday and Thursday hybrid class and will not be in class in person, please let the main office know that they will not be in person that day. Thank you! 

ParentVue Survey for 2nd Semester Choices: 

As a reminder, submissions for your 2nd semester preferences for your child are due today, November 20th.  It is very important that you submit if you would prefer to have your child remain in the distance learning environment or change them to a hybrid learning environment.  If you do not submit a preference in Parentvue, then your child will automatically be placed in hybrid. As a reminder, the hybrid model means that your child will attend school 2 days a week, and participate in asynchronous learning days (like the Mondays we currently have) on the remaining 3 days.

Supplies: 

Since we are back in the classroom, we are already quickly going through supplies and/or forgetting things between the rotation of home and school (understandably). If you are able to send in any of the following supplies to have as class extras, it would be greatly appreciated! I will let these items sit for 72 hours, then keep supplies stored in the back of the room. I will hand them out as needed. 

1. Box of 24 crayons

2. Thin dry erase markers

3. Sheet protectors for individual math games

4. Box of tissues

Also, here is a list of the supplies that your child will need at school each day, what they can keep at home, and what they can keep at school. Anyway that you can help your child be prepared with the materials needed each day and to help them stay organized, would be greatly appreciated!

Supplies to bring back and forth to school	Supplies to keep at home	Supplies that stay at school
Pencil Box Crayons Pink eraser Dry erase marker Dry erase board eraser Scissors Pencils (at least 3) Glue Sticks (2) Chromebook quick card **I know that many of you are having your child keep their pencil box at home, thank you!	Name Tag	Labeled bag with extra change of clothes
White Board	Pink Writing Journal	Catch Up Folder
Student agenda	Math Binder	Math Folder
Composition notebook	Number cards	Brain Break Box
Chromebook	Letter cards	Go! Math Books
Thick Markers	Learning folder
Writing folder with writer’s checklist inside	Fine tip markers
Water Bottle
Headphones
Navy Blue Take Home folder

Puma Paw:  Please click here to access the Puma Paw for important school and grade-level information.

Weekly Update

Happy, Happy Friday!

Thank you for sharing your children with me this week! We had a wonderful time earning our word detective badges, studying maps, and working on some turkey themed activities. Below is the information that you will need for next week. Please take the time to review it carefully. 

I noticed this week that many students did not have the supplies that they needed each day. Many students were missing their writing folders or didn't complete the writing assignments at all. This really affects their learning in the classroom. It is expected that students still complete lessons on asynchronous days, so we can complete the next lesson when they are in school. If assignments are not completed at home, then I need to change my plans the next day in the classroom. If you have any questions about asynchronous work, please let me know. Mrs. T and I are trying to make things as easy as possible by recording all the lessons needed and providing opportunities for learning at home to stay on pace with the distance learning classrooms. 

 Weekly Parent Plans: 

Click here to access next week’s parent plans. You will only need to follow the days your child has an at-home asynchronous day.

Navy Group - students who come to school on Tuesday/Thursday

Maroon Group - students who come to school on Wednesday/Friday

Asynchronous Work: 

Please remember that students MUST complete all asynchronous work on the days they are learning from home. We are providing recorded lessons with new content, and assigning work in Seesaw that is being counted as a grade. It makes it very difficult for students to understand what is being taught at school if they are missing the lessons being taught at home.

Seesaw:

Please remember to check your child’s Seesaw account every Friday to make sure that they have their Must Do activities completed for each week. The days that you are in school, your child will complete their Seesaw activities in class, but activities still need to be completed on asynchronous at-home days. Any activities that are not completed will be given a 1 and marked as “missing.” This will impact your child’s grades. 

Supplies: 

Since we are back in the classroom, we are already quickly going through supplies and/or forgetting things between the rotation of home and school (understandably). If you are able to send in any of the following supplies to have as class extras, it would be greatly appreciated! I will let these items sit for 72 hours, then keep supplies stored in the back of the room. I will hand them out as needed. 

1. Box of 24 crayons

2. Thin dry erase markers

3. Sheet protectors for individual math games

4. Box of tissues

Also, here is a list of the supplies that your child will need at school each day, what they can keep at home, and what they can keep at school. Anyway that you can help your child be prepared with the materials needed each day and to help them stay organized, would be greatly appreciated!

Supplies to bring back and forth to school	Supplies to keep at home	Supplies that stay at school
Pencil Box Crayons Pink eraser Dry erase marker Dry erase board eraser Scissors Pencils (at least 3) Glue Sticks (2) Chromebook quick card **I know that many of you are having your child keep their pencil box at home, thank you!	Name Tag	Labeled bag with extra change of clothes
White Board	Pink Writing Journal	Catch Up Folder
Student agenda	Math Binder	Math Folder
Composition notebook	Number cards	Brain Break Box
Chromebook	Letter cards	Go! Math Books
Thick Markers	Learning folder
Writing folder with writer’s checklist inside	Fine tip markers
Water Bottle
Headphones
Navy Blue Take Home folder

Reminder:

Please send your child with their headphones each day, as we will begin small group reading sessions next week!

Red Choice Board Items:

Items that are red on the Choice Board are Must-Do items for your child. Please remind your child to complete those red activities sometime throughout the week during their Choice Board time in the afternoon. Thank you!

Puma Paw:  

Please click here to access the Puma Paw for important school and grade-level information

As always, please reach out with any questions, comments, concerns or feedback! If you are traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday and your child will not be in school on the 23rd or 24th, please let myself and the main office know of your child's absence. 

I hope you have the most wonderful weekend! We could all use some rest and relaxation!

Weekly Update

 Happy Friday!

Below is our weekly information update!

Daily Lesson Plans: 

Click here to access next week’s daily lesson plans. Please remember to review the Parent Lesson plans the day/night before class. We are including some printable activities, as we feel some activities away from the screen are very important for first graders. We understand that not everyone may have access to a printer, so please feel free to modify any worksheet activities with a notebook and pencil. There is no School on Monday in observance of Columbus Day!

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Daily Supplies:

We hope you are finding that the parent lessons plans are helpful in preparing your student for class each day. In addition to what is asked on the parent plans, please make sure your child has access to their whiteboard and a notebook every day. We try to plan as much as we can ahead of time for lessons, but at times, there are teachable moments when a whiteboard or additional paper is very useful! 

Social-Emotional Learning Home Link:

Each week we share a social-emotional learning home link to parents on the Monday parent lesson plan. The home links align with the curriculum your child is learning during morning meeting for that week. We ask that you incorporate the vocabulary and skills that are being taught during morning meeting time in your home environment. The activities are beneficial for everyone! To see the home link for the week of October 13th-16th, please click here! 

Seesaw Grading:

I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing student’s work on Seesaw. It is such a great way to check for understanding. It is encouraged that an adult ensures students understand the directions before completing the activity. Activities though, should be completed by students as independently as possible. All Seesaw activities assigned during our asynchronous portion of the day need to be completed, as some activities will be graded. I will check these assignments every week to track your child’s growth, to give feedback, and to give them a grade. This is the grading policy that I will be using:

Writing Booklets: 

If your child is in need of more Writing Workshop booklets, please click here to access a printable version of the paper. 

Fall Literacy Assessments:

On October 5th we began the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) with our students. Just like with our PALS assessments, we are asking that each child sign-up for a 30 minute time slot for your child to complete their assessment.  If your child needs more than 30 minutes for their assessment, we will prompt you to sign-up for another time to finish assessing. There will be some time slots on our sign-up that are during our whole group synchronous learning. Those assessments will be administered by one of our wonderful resource teachers at Pinebrook. Lessons will be recorded for your child to watch during their afternoon asynchronous time. We ask that you be present during your child’s assessments to help support technology and logging your child into the Google Meet being used for the assessments, but know that the assessment piece will need to be completed by your child only. We need to accurately determine your child’s strengths and instructional needs. This will help us provide direction for our instruction. Thank you to those who have signed up for a time slot already! This has been a huge help!

Click here to sign-up for your child’s DRA assessment time slot!

Loudoun County Fire Safety Lesson:

We apologize for any inconvenience with our Loudoun County fire safety lesson on Monday. We have been in touch with Loudoun County Fire and Rescue about the issue of the videos not working. We have found that the videos will work on a device other than your child’s Chromebook. We ask that you share this learning experience with your child at home! It is so beneficial for your child to understand and practice the emergency safety plan for your home. Please click here to complete the fire safety lesson! 

Support Center:

Please click here to view a short video about how to submit a trouble ticket for technology issues. This could be trouble with your Chromebook device or LCPS Go applications!

Hybrid Information: 

Below is the list of highlighted items that were suggested for students to purchase as school supplies at the beginning of the year for distance learning. As we transition into our hybrid setting, you may want to consider purchasing extra supplies for your child to keep at school. We will also be using that are not highlighted as well. School supplies will NOT be shared this year. Each student will need their own supplies. Students will need their composition notebook, pencil box, and Chromebook each day. We also ask that each child have their own set of headphones. Many of our activities will still be on the Chromebook, so this will help students to remain in a quiet and focused learning environment. 

• Change of clothes to keep in backpack in case of an emergency. The clinic will be unable to provide clothes.

• Water bottle

• Extra face mask

• 1 Pencil Box Sterilite Plastic 8.5" x 5.5" x 2"

• 1 Marble Composition Books Wide Ruled 100 Sheet Black

• 1 Plastic Two Pocket Prong Folder Red

• 1 Plastic Two Pocket Prong Folder Yellow

• 1 Plastic Two Pocket Prong Folder Green

• 1 Box Crayola Crayons 24 count

• 1 Box Crayola Pre-Sharpened Colored Pencils 

• 1 inch binder

• 6 Elmer's Large School Glue Stick Purple, Dry Clear .77oz

• 1 Pair School Scissors 5" Blunt Tip 

• 2 Boxes Dixon Ticonderoga HB #2 Pencil 12ct Pre-Sharpened

• 2 Crayola Markers Broad Tip Classic 10ct

• 2 Red Ballpoint Pens

• 4 Expo Dry Erase Marker Low Odor Fine Point Black

• 2 Pink Eraser Latex-free

• 1 Kleenex Tissues Large 160ct

• 4 pads of sticky notes

• 1 Koss Stereo Headphones Foam Earpad 3.5mm plug

• 1 3 Hole Zipper Pencil Pouch

• 1 Zipper Bags Gallon 19ct (BOYS ONLY)

• 1 Zipper Bags Quart 24ct (GIRLS ONLY)

Friday, October 23rd:

Friday, October 23rd will be an asynchronous day for K-2 students. Students will still have their live morning meeting and read aloud like they would on a Monday schedule. The purpose for this day is to allow our hybrid K-2 teachers prepare for hybrid students to return to school on Tuesday, October 27th. Thank you for your understanding!

I understand that this is a lot of information, so if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know!

I hope you all enjoy the three day weekend! We all deserve some extra relaxation time with family!

Weekly Update

 Happy Friday! 

Thank you for all of your wonderful support this week! I could not have done it without all of you! I have loved being able to share your child’s learning on Seesaw this week! So far it has been a HUGE success!  Next week we will begin our DRA assessments, so please view the information below to select a time for your child to complete their assessment. 

Daily Lesson Plans: 

Click here to access next week’s daily lesson plans. Please remember to review the Parent Lesson plans the day/night before class. We are including some printable activities, as we feel some activities away from the screen are very important for first graders. We understand that not everyone may have access to a printer, so please feel free to modify any worksheet activities with a notebook and pencil.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Fall Literacy Assessments:

On October 5th we will begin our DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment). Just like with our PALS assessments, we are asking that each child sign-up for a 30 minute time slot for your child to complete their assessment.  If your child needs more than 30 minutes for their assessment, we will prompt you to sign-up for another time to finish assessing. There will be some time slots on our sign-up that are during our whole group synchronous learning. Those assessments will be administered by one of our wonderful resource teachers at Pinebrook. Lessons will be recorded for your child to watch during their afternoon asynchronous time. We ask that you be present during your child’s assessments to help support technology and logging your child into the Google Meet being used for the assessments, but know that the assessment piece will need to be completed by your child only. We need to accurately determine your child’s strengths and instructional needs. This will help us provide direction for our instruction. Thank you for your continued support during this process! 

Click here to sign-up for your child’s DRA assessment time slot!

1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports:

1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports  ("interims") will be issued on Wednesday, October 7th. If your child receives an interim, it will be emailed to you on Wednesday, October 7th 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.

Independent Reading: 

We are now implementing Reading Workshop in our daily schedule!  Part of our workshop includes independent reading time. Students should have 3-5 books to read during this time. If your children are in daycare and do not have access to books there, please be sure to pack 3-5 books for them to use.

Writing Booklets: 

If your child is in need of more Writing Workshop booklets, please click here to access a printable version of the paper. 

Support Center:

Please click here to view a short video about how to submit a trouble ticket for technology issues. This could be trouble with your Chromebook device or LCPS Go applications!

Bookmark Websites:

Sometimes we use more than one website at a time during our synchronous time (for example, using epic or Raz-Kids during reading workshop) or there are times when LCPS Go is not working. To best support your child, I encourage you to bookmark the following websites on your child’s Chromebook. Also, please take the time to educate your child on opening a new tab and using the bookmark options. 

• Schoology

• Seesaw

• Raz-Kids

• Epic! 

• Dreambox

Scholastic Book Club:

Dear Family,

Now more than ever it is so important for your child to have books in the home. Plus our class gets FREE books with every order!

• Class Order Due Date: 09/30/20

• Connect to Our Class Page 

• Shop the flyers with your child 

 When you checkout, make sure you have your books shipped to your home!

 Thank you for encouraging the love of reading!

PS: Feel free to forward the class page link to extended family who may want to support your child's reading.

Class Code: PB4G4

Seesaw Grading:

I have started assigning tasks in Seesaw each day for your child to complete. Although, this week was a way to get to know the Seesaw tools and get into the routine of using Seesaw, it is very important that you look at your child’s daily schedule to see what “asynchronous” work they are doing for the day. All Seesaw activities will need to be completed starting the week of October 5th. Some activities will be graded. I will check these assignments every week to track your child’s growth, to give feedback, and to give them a grade. This is the grading policy that I will be using:

Morning Meeting Visitor: 

On Monday morning we will have a teacher/visitor in our morning meeting. This teacher is here to celebrate the ways we are building our classroom community. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. 

Welcome Back Hybrid Students! 

I’m so excited to have your child join me in the hybrid setting beginning on October 27th. It will be an adjustment once again, but please know that I appreciate your patience and understanding in advance. We are still problem solving and planning our hybrid setting experience for our students. Please be on the lookout for more information about the hybrid setting from Mr. Thiessen.

I hope you all enjoy the beautiful fall weather this week! Please reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns!