Spelling Unit #18

Knew I forgot something on the last post!

Unit 18 words
1.  we
2.  me
3.  he
4.  be
5.  see
6.  need
7.  tree
8.  sheep
9.  meet
10 (a surprise word with the ee spelling pattern)

Love your family. Spend time, be kind & serve one another.

 Make no room for regrets.

Tomorrow is not promised & today is short.....unknown

The Family Collages continue to amaze us!  Everyone in the school is enjoying looking at them!  Thank you!!!!

Mrs Hunter is looking for some books that were lent to the Kindergarten class last year (this year's grade ones).  These books belong to her, not the school, so please look to see if you have one at home.  The books are very small, published by Scholastic and do have her name written inside them.  Please return to school if you have one, thanks!

Reading levels - I have indicated in the agendas which reading level your child is presently achieving.  I having been trying to Benchmark test all students this week.  Some students were able to move up 2 levels!

 

Home Reading etc

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts!  ~Author Unknown

Family Collages are Fantastic!  The students LOVE to talk about their families and are really enjoying learning about the differences and similarities in their classmates families.  The collages are up in the hallway and will stay there until after Parent-Teacher Interviews in March.

Home Reading - we are progressing well in Home Reading but I wanted parents to be aware that the goal for Grade One is Level 14 and higher.   Most students will be able to achieve this HOWEVER I can't benchmark test your children until they have read 5-8 books at a level.  SO.... if books are only coming back once a week it makes it really hard for them to move along at the pace they should be.  Also, I can't always have the students exchange everyday so that can slow down the process as well.  In short, please try to get the books back every day!
Students should be reading Level 10 at this time or very close to it.

Welcome back!

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
.....Mother Teresa

I hope everyone had a nice break.  It seemed a little strange to be in the school for 3 days without the students but there was certainly lots of planning etc to do.

Family Collages

Thank you to the families that have sent the Family Collages!  They are beautiful and I can tell that a lot of time and effort was put into them.  We were able to listen to Austin Stringer, Keenan MacDonald and Izzy Pratte today.  They did an excellent job discussing the people in their collages as well as their likes, dislikes, interests etc.  Really looking forward to hearing and seeing all the presentations!  The collages will be put up in the hallway. 

Healthy Eating Action Plan - Mrs. Hunter's Health class

Please send these back before Thursday.  Thanks to those who have sent their sheet in.

Family Collages Due Soon!

Hope everyone is enjoying a nice break!  Wish the weather was a bit warmer but that's just the kind of winter we are having!  It will make us appreciate spring all the more!  And talking about spring - is anyone else experiencing Spring Fever?  I find myself restless and wanting to go to the lake! 

A reminder that we need the Family Collages in by March 1 for sure.  The collages are the basis for our Family Unit discussions.  Remember, a collage is great, a scrapbook you may already have or a DVD are all options.  Make sure your child knows who the people in the pics are as he or she is expected to present the collage to the class.

Enjoy the rest of the break!

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love....Lao Tzu

What a lovely Valentine's day!  I was so impressed by the kindness and caring that all the children showed as they oohed and aahed and thanked each other for their Valentines and treats.  What a wonderful group of children! 

Highlights were: 

• Victoria gave handmade cards to everyone!  Thanks for all your time (and mom's too!), Victoria!
• Yummy treats from Hailey S and Hailey W and Emment!  How do you busy moms' do it?!!!!
• I was spoiled with boxes of chocolate!  Thank you!  Off to Curves tonight 'cause I have zero will power!
• And, a beautiful yellow rose from Emmet!  I love it!  Thank you so much!  I will always remember it!

Have a great Valentine's Day!   1 more sleep until a week later!

Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood....

 Oscar Wilde

For all the great women out there.....lol!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Unit #17 Spelling Words - test not until Monday, February 25!

1.  gate

2.  rake

3.  name

4.  bake

5.  fine

6.  bike

7.  hide

8.  mine

9.  lake

10.  side

"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."

-- Maya Angelou

Spelling Unit #16 Results:  100% for Dyson, Lexi, Keenan, Izzy, Jonathan, Tori, Aiden, Austin and Hailey W.  Well done!

Remember:  a quick glance the night before isn't enough anymore!  Please try to practice often during the week.

Report cards are coming up in March and I am doing some assessment already for the report card in math.  Practicing counting by 2s, 5s and 10s will help!  Also, practice counting backwards by 10s and 5s.

Valentine's Day is low key as we have PE, Outlaw Time and ERI scheduled that day.  We will exchange Valentines in the morning.  If you would like to send a class treat you can but we won't be having a party.  We have some Valentine's Math centers to work in.

Happy 100th Day!

“I would rather have eyes that cannot see; ears that cannot hear; lips that cannot speak, than a heart that cannot love”

 - Robert Tizon

We had a great 100th day!  Ask your child about the different activities we did.  We will be continuing to work in the 100th day centers tomorrow.

Tuesday morning will be Unit 16 Spelling Test.  Words were on the blog and should be in agendas.

On Wednesday we will shift gears to get ready for Valentine's day!

Valentine's Day and 100th Day

Dear Parents:

We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Thursday.  We will be hand out Valentines in the morning and we will be working in some fun Valentine’s Day activity centers.  If you would like to send a treat for the class you can but we won’t be having a party.  Instead we will be working in centers.

Below is a list of the names of the students in our classroom to help with addressing Valentines.

Caybrie, Emmet, Dyson, Victoria, Lexi, Keenan, Izzy, Jonathan , James, Tori, Hailey S., Aiden, Austin, Hailey


100th Day is Monday, February 11
We really need all the 100 day collections tomorrow as we will be beginning our 100 day activities this Friday.  I think I have almost all of them.

Curriculum Update

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

— From "The Lion and the Mouse, Aesop's Fables

 

Writing The students are working this month on writing Winter informational essays. We have been focussing on proper sentence construction:  every sentence starts with a capital and ends with a period.  Also, every proper name needs a capital.  We have been over this a thousand times I am sure! 

By this time the students should be able to write a 5 word sentence with most standard words spelled correctly.

 

Reading  Most students are approaching Level 10 which is average for this time in Grade One.  Remember, they only get Benchmarked after reading at least 5-8 Home Reading Books at a level.  Please be patient about Benchmarking.  It's difficult to do and teach the whole class at the same time!

 

Social Studies - we are learning about Families.  Remember, the Family collage project is due after the February Break!!!!

 

Mathematics - we are working on adding and subtracting.  We will begin Place Value shortly.  I have been testing the students are counting forwards and backwards by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s.  You can certainly help with this skill by practicing at home.

 

Art - the students did a wonderful job with Ted Harrison like painting.  We are now making a giant gingerbreak man after reading The Gingerbreak Man.

 

ELA - we enjoyed a mini-unit about Groundhog Day!  We will be selecting a book a week to do a Literature Study or Author study on.

 

Report cards are fast approaching in March!

 

 

 

 

Monday update

'All good things must come to an end.....Good bye Canadian penny!"

Your children will the last class I ever teach the value of the penny too!  Strange.....!

Thanks for remembering to send warm clothing!  The children are having a wonderful,WET time in the snow!

Spelling Units are getting harder!  While the units follow a pattern (long a words, etc) the words are becoming more difficult.  So, please make the commitment to study!  This week congratulations go to Hailey Wenger, Austin Stringer and Izzy Pratte for 100%!  Well done!

Unit #16 words

1.  five

2.  time

3.  like

4.  dime

5.  ride

6.  nine

7.  my

8.  by

9.  fly

10.  line

If you haven't sent the 100 counting items, please do as quickly as possible.  So far we have collections of macaroni, beads, pennies, etc.  Use your imagination but please keep items around the size of a penny or slightly smaller.  Thanks!