STAR Student

Merissa was our STAR last week.  She lives with her mom and dad and little sister.  Her favorite hobby is cooking with her dad.  She brought in a lot of neat pictures where she was helping him.  She has been to Sea World and had the opportunity to touch dolphins which I was envious of!  She is a big Dr. Seuss fan and brought in Green Eggs and Ham as her favorite book.  We also enjoyed seeing her stuffed bear she sleeps with.

Holiday Party

Details are still being worked out and an e-vite for our holiday party will be e-mailed sometime this week.  We are still planning on having our party on Wednesday, December 17 from about 10:00-12:00.  If you plan on volunteering and manning a station at the party, I will need you there closer to 9:45.  Immediately following our party, the children will enjoy a pizza party that we won for collecting so many box tops.  Hope you will plan on being there! 

STAR Student

Our STAR this past week was Julia.  She has 3 people in her family as well as her two pet fish.  She collects Webkins and has nearly 30!  Julia enjoys going fishing with her Dad and apparently always seems to catch the biggest fish.  

Santa Sacks

As a December incentive for behavior, the students have decorated a "Santa Sack". Each day your child is on green, they will get a little something in their sack. They will recieve their sacks on the last day before break: December 19. If you would like to send in a class set of something to contribute to the sacks Ms. Downing's bank account would be oh so appreciative :) A set of 20-21 things would be perfect. We've already had pencils donated and I've purchased a few things through Oriental Trading. Anything small and fairly inexpensive (i.e.: erasers, small toys, candy canes, etc...). Thanks for your help!

December dates to remember

1st- Progress Reports sent home
- Please sign and return immediately

5th- Scholastic Book Orders Due

10th- Early Release

12th- Holidays Around the World
**Children will "travel" to other first grade classrooms to learn how various countries celebrate their holidays.

17th- Holiday Party

18th-19th- Weather Make-up Days. School WILL be in session.

Week of November 24

There will be no "official" homework for the upcoming week (since there are only two school days). I noticed many of the students had trouble with recalling a story and I will be sending home their work with a note for additional practice. I would like to see some returned work by December 1. I may send additional practice pages for selected students in areas they are struggling. Please return all assigned work by Monday, December 1.

STAR Student

Parker was a STAR this week. He has five people in his family including two younger brothers. He enjoys building with Legos and looking at his favorite book about birds. He even brought in a $2 bill for us to look at! Parker is also our November character student of the month. This months character trait was patriotism. Parker is respectful of our flag as we say the pledge every morning. He is also a good school citizen.

December's character trait is Kindness and Caring.

Report Cards and Save the Date!

When report cards are sent home, please sign and return the lower right portion along with the report card envelope. The signed portion is needed so that I know you received your child's report card. The envelope will be used throughout the year. If you have not already done so, please send in immediately.

Save the Date for our holiday party... Wednesday, December 17. E-vite with all of the details will be coming your way!

NEWS

Salvation Army Stockings

The Loretto Student Council is sponsoring a toy drive for the salvation army.  Our class is responsible for filling two stockings.  One is for a 6-8 year old boy and one is for a 6-8 year old girl.  Please send in small, new items for a child of this age.  Items can range from toys to personal items.  All items are due by December 5.

Thanksgiving Dinner

...well maybe more like lunch :).  I would like to invite you to have lunch with your child on Thursday, November 20.  We will eat lunch 11:20-11:50.  Afterwards, everyone is invited back to the classroom to listen to the children share their writing about the things they are thankful for.  If you can't make it for lunch, feel free to just come for their reading.  You can bring lunch for your child or purchase the Thanksgiving meal the cafeteria is serving that day.

Thanksgiving Food Drive

Although there have been a few food drives already this school year, Loretto is conducting its annual canned food drive.  This is a drive that directly benefits families at Loretto who are in need this holiday season.  Any non-perishable food items will be accepted, but it would be especially nice to pick up an extra "Thanksgiving" item while your out grocery shopping in the next few days.  All items will be collected on Wednesday, November 19.

PTA meeting

A reminder that the November PTA meeting will be held on Tuesday, the 18th.  There are some neat things happening at the meeting (see the recent post about the PTA meeting) so be sure to get there at 7:00.  In addition to the original post, they will also be displaying the Thanksgiving boxes that we are using to collect canned food items.  The dragonflies have been working hard at decorating our box, so this would be a great opportunity for you to be able to see it. 

READING

We will begin Theme 4 week 1 this week if you are following along on the vocabulary list in the back of your child's folder.  This theme is focusing on family and community.  Please continue to read nightly with your child as well as having them read independently.  Children will be expected to read close to 90 minutes for the FCAT test before they leave elementary school.  In first grade we are working on getting each child's reading stamina up.  By the end of first grade I'm aiming to have them reading independently for approximately 20 minutes.  While reading, be sure to ask your child questions about what is happening in the story, even making predictions as to what will happen next in the story.  Our strategy focus this week happens to be on retelling.  Children have begun taking tests using the accelerated reading (AR) program.  Usually they read a book from the school library and answer 5 questions pertaining to the book.  Scores are written on your child's reading log to inform you how they are doing.  The number of tests they take depends on the volunteer help I have for the week.  If your child consistently does well on these tests, I will consider advancing their level for library checkout.  If the opposite occurs, they may be demoted in their level.  It would be helpful if you would write the AR level from the library book onto their reading log.  It is not imperative that books they read be "AR".  Feel free to continue to check out books from the public library and read books from your home library. 

WRITING

We are in full swing of non-fiction writing.  Children have been selecting topics to write about and working at thinking of categories to place all of their facts into.  I ask that they come up with 3-4 categories to put their facts into.  For example, if they wrote a report about dogs, their categories may be "what dogs eat, what dogs look like, and things you need to take care of a dog".  We will discuss pictures and a table of contents this week.

MATH

We have taken a small break from number combinations and we are focusing on geometry.  The children are learning the difference from two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) shapes.  They have begun learning the names of some of these shapes as well.  We began the unit by identifying everyday objects in are classroom that happen to be shapes.  This would be a great activity to do at home too!  Try having your child identify if it is a 2-D or 3-D shape and for an extra challenge if they can name the 3-D shape!

PTA Meeting

There will be a PTA meeting on Tuesday, Nobember 18 at 7:00. As a little incentive, the class that has the most students at the Meeting will be given a pizza party with Mr. Begley paid for by the PTA!!

Agenda
Kathy from Oxford Learning - Brief discussion of Oxford's tutoring services;
Sharon Miller - Introduction of Student Council Members and information on what Student Council will be doing this year at Loretto;
Thanksgiving Food Drive - Decorated boxes will be displayed and judged;
Coach's Jugglers - Coach will have a group of kids display the juggling talents they have been mastering in PE.

Also, the Safety Patrols will be handing out free samples of Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies that they are currently selling to raise money for their Washington D.C. trip and they will accept orders at the meeting.

Holiday Party

We are allowed 2 school parties per year. It's time for our first party of the year. I would like to celebrate the end of 2008 with a winter holiday party. In the years past, I have let parents do most of the planning. If you are interested in helping plan the party this year, send me a quick e-mail or note in your child's folder. I can offer suggestions and ideas, but would rely on parents to coordinate the events of the morning and any donations we would need. I need to know soon so I can set aside a day that works for everyone involved.

News

Star Student

I had mentioned in a previous newsletter that we would begin having a Star Student each week beginning October 27.  Plans were delayed slightly, and we will begin this week. I will be the first to go in order to set the tone.  If your child is chosen to be the Star for the week, they will be asked to speak about a specific topic each day.  They may also bring mementos that apply to the subject they are speaking about.  The days will be go as follows:

Monday- Family

Tuesday- Favorite Hobby

Wednesday- Something Unique

Thursday- Favorite Book

Friday- Favorite Toy

You will be told the Friday before the week begins as to whether your child is the Star for the week, so you will have time to prepare for the week.  Each child will also bring the Star Student bag home.  In it, you will find a bear, notebook, and small games and toys.  Your child will take care of our bear for the week and write at least one journal entry in the notebook.  If you have any questions, be sure to contact me!

Canned Food Drive

Yes!  More cans!!  Our annual Loretto food drive will be kicking off.  All canned food collected stays at Loretto and goes to needy families AT LORETTO!  It is so important to have families contribute to this drive.  Any non-perishable item will be accepted, but all food will be delivered to families in time for them to use at Thanksgiving.  While you're at the grocery store in the coming weeks, pick up an extra item or two to help a family at Loretto.

All cans will be collected in the classroom and the PTA is encouraging us to submit a decorated box.  If you are interested in helping design something please let me know.  I want the kids to do all of the decorating.  In years past I've seen the Mayflower, turkey, and plenty of other designs.  We will need to get going on this soon!

Charlotte's Web Day

It was so wonderful to see so many parents willing to help.  We got all the necessary items donated and had plenty of helping hands in the classroom.  Check out pictures at the bottom of the page for Johnny Appleseed Day and Charlotte's Web Day.

Character of the Month

The character trait for the month of October was fairness.  Anna was our character of the month, demonstrating that she knows how to take turns and never minds when she's not the first one.  She is willing to work with any partner she is assigned and does it with an awesome school attitude.  November's character trait is patriotism.  It is described as someone who is a good school citizen (respecting the rights of other and authority), participates in events in the community and school, and shows respect for the flag and other symbols of our country.  I'll be on the look out!

Halloween Candy

Got extra candy around the house?  Feel free to send it in for our candy bucket!  We're getting awfully low on our supply.  Any kind would be appreciated!!

Destination Success

This is a wonderful program that the county has purchased.  We have accessed it at school, but the cool thing is that you can log on at home too!  It offers practice in reading and math.  The activities are fun and interactive!  

Click on the link:

Destination Success

Log-in: first name + last name + 030 (no spaces)

Password: 4-digit birth month and day 

Let me know how it goes!

October 22 News

I'm giving the whole "blog thing" a try, so please be patient as I try to update weekly. Let me know if there's anything you want to see and I'm always open to tips :)

End of the nine weeks
Nine weeks of school has gone by so fast! The children practiced skills in reading like cause and effect, comparing, sorting, real vs. fantasy, and so much more! They all published at least one narrative story that was to have a beginning, middle, and end. We will revisit narrative writing towards the end of the year. Our next genre of writing will be informational/report writing. They are diligently practicing combining numbers together as well. We have played various games and done lots of activities to help students work with number combinations. Continue to practice all of these things at home to help your child progress through their first grade year with ease!

Canned Food Drive
We are in the midst of a canned food drive. All non-perishable items will be donated to the Mandarin Food Bank. I think this is a wonderful way to teach our children about compassion for others in their time of need. The school is encouarging each child to bring at least one item. Food is to be sent up on Tuesday, October 28, so make sure your donation comes in by then!

Charlotte's Web Day
I have gotten a great response to the evite I sent out from parents that will be attending our special day on Friday, October 31. We have been reading Charlotte's Web throughout the month of October. We will culminate our reading on the 31st with the children participating in various activites to go along with spiders and the farm theme throughout the book. If you were not able to receive the evite, please let me know so I can get a more updated e-mail address from you. It's always okay to send me a note as well.