END OF THE YEAR SLIDESHOW

Pen Pals

We have been communicating with another 1st grade class for half of the year.  They are from Mrs. Maxwell's class (a former Loretto teacher) at Abess Park Elementary.  The children have been anxious to continue correspondence with their pal so I'm putting out an offer to parents to keep up the writing between friends.  It would be an ideal way to keep your child writing this summer in a way that will not be like pulling teeth!  They have really enjoyed writing to their friends.  I told Mrs. Maxwell that I would poll my parents to see what information you might be willing to offer up to the other student.  In an e-mail or on a paper in your child's folder please send me any of the information you would be willing to provide your child's pen pal.

Address

Phone number

e-mail address

or none of the above

I would really like a response either way.  Thanks!

Homework week of 5-26

You got a note about a book report that will be due on Monday, June 1st.  Please make sure your child is doing a little bit at a time so that this project will turn out as excellent as possible.  If you have any questions, e-mail me or write a note in your child's folder.

In addition to working on the book report this week, please have your child complete at least 4 of the bookworm activities.  This sheet is stapled in the packet that was sent home today.  I thought this would be a fun way to keep your child reading as we wind up our school year.

Because of Winn-Dixie permission forms should be sent in by the end of the week.

Math Olympics

Be sure to mark your response if you haven't already done so!

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=IHWMQYDUDMFYUBKIMWVW

I'll be handing out some awards after the olympics are finished.

Homework week of 5-18

This will be the last week of spelling homework.  I've decided to go out on a limb and and give all the children the same spelling and math homework for the final week.  We discussed the /ir/ sound last week.  The pattern require plenty of memorization so working with the spelling words nightly will be crucial for your child in helping learn the pattern.  There will also be some homework that goes along with the measurement unit we are working on in math.

Scholastic Books

The final order of the year has arrived!  I will do my best to sort through orders on Monday and send the books home with your child if you placed an order.  Be on the look out!

Better late than never

Progress Reports went home with your child Friday.  Next thing you know report cards will be going home!  Please be sure to sign and return them as soon as possible.

Special Days

The last week of school, each day will have a special theme to it.  I am in need of volunteers and some donated items, so please let me know what you might be willing to do.  

The special days are as follows:

Monday (6/1)- "Book Report Day"

- You will get lots more info. on this, but to tell you a few details your child will be responsible to fill out a book report form for a selected favorite book.  They will receive all information on this May 26th.  They will have to bring items to go along with their book and even dress up as the main character.  They will be presenting their book to the rest of the class.

Tuesday (6/2)- "Pajama Day"

- We have been reading the book "Because of Winn-Dixie" in class throughout the month of May.  We will culminate our reading by watching the movie in class.  Students are encouraged to dress in pajamas with school approved shoes.  They can bring something else (i.e.: stuffed animal, small pillow, etc...) as long as it fits in their back pack.  There will be a permission slip coming home in the next few weeks.

Wednesday (6/3)- "Math Olympics"

- We have been studying measurement.  We will be doing all kinds of measurement "competitions" throughout the morning.  I will need lots of volunteers for this.  Please let me know if you're interested.

Thursday (6/4)- "Game Day"

- Children will be allowed to bring non-electronic games to class.  We will share and play throughout the day.  Kids should also bring yearbooks and anything else they would like signed by their classmates.  We will make time for signing.

Friday (6/5)- Early Dismissal

- Children will be dismissed at 12 noon.  I thought it would be fun to get some breakfast items and enjoy our last day together.  The kids will be helping get the classroom ready for summer.  If you would like to donate a breakfast treat or paper product, please let me know!

Thank You!

       

I received not just one vase-ful of flowers, but three vases full of beautiful flowers from all of the kids today.  I loved how diverse they were and so colorful!  I'm amazed how many vases they filled out.  Thank you Rhonda Hull for the cute dragonfly vases!  It really made my week and I look forward to enjoying the flowers at least through the week, but hopefully into next week as well.  Thank you!

Scholastic book orders

Book order forms went home on Friday.  You can order from all five of them an pay with just one check.  You can also place orders online and make a secure credit card transaction.  All orders must be placed by this Friday, May 8.  All purchases earn points so that I can buy needed classroom materials and books.  This is a great opportunity to buy books for summer reading.

www.scholastic.com/parentordering 

Class username: msdowningsclass

Password: firstgrade

STAR Student

Jacob was our STAR last week.  In addition to his mom and dad at home, Jacob has a younger brother who will be going to Loretto next year.  He has a few dogs and their family likes to take in dogs when they can.  Jacob loves to play soccer and baseball.  He is very unique in that he has a Nana that teaches third grade at his school.  He has a passion for Star Wars related things and loves to read Star Wars books.  Jacob's week wouldn't have been complete without bringing in some bakagons (sp?).   

Play Day and Carnival

Check out the pictures from recent events at school!

STAR Student

Our STAR this week was Mary.  Mary has 5 people in her family and one more baby brother on the way!  She also has two adorable dogs at home.  She loves to listen to music for fun.  Did you know she was born in Washington D.C.?  Mary's favorite books are Magic Tree House and Cam Jansen.  Her favorite toy is her Nintendo DS.

Play Day

1st graders will have their "play day" on Monday, April 20. In case you are not familliar with play day, the entire grade level will be participating in relay activities they have been practicing at PE. It is not a competition, but rather a fun way for kids to cheer eachother on and be active. New this year, there will be NO tug-of-war.

Coach has given us a few reminders:

Proper attire: tennis shoes and sunscreen. Hats are permitted outside.
No chairs
Water bottles stay at tables.
Do not let your students play on any of the equipment. (swings,pull-up bars, etc.)
There will be a water break midway through the relays. (bathroom as well).
Please do not leave any trash on back field.

The plan is to start at 9:30 unless the weather is bad. I'm not sure if this will interfere with our lunch time, so plan on having your child bring their lunch so we can picnic afterward. We will need some water bottles, a cooler to transport them, and possibly a cool treat for the kids to enjoy afterward. If you would like to bring an item, please leave a comment on this post.

Upcoming Dates to know

14th- Mrs. Cushnir (Ms. Downing) is back!

15th- 1st grade teacher training.  Kids with resource teachers all morning

17th- Report Cards go home

20th- 1st grade Play Day beginning at 9:30

22nd- Family Night at Bruster's Ice Cream (6:00-8:00)

25th- Loretto "Go Green" Carnival... sign up to volunteer!

STAR Student

Alyssa was our STAR last week. Along with her parents, Alyssa has 2 older sisters she lives at home with. One of them is in 5th grade here at Loretto. Alyssa shared with us her own unique style of how she dresses. She loves being silly at home and brought in her microphone that she likes to sing with.

STAR Student

Garett V. was our STAR last week.  Garett shared with us that he is a triplet for his unique thing.  I actually think it's very unique that Garett is one of 6 children.  In addition to his other two triplet brothers, he has twin sisters and an older sister in college!  Garett enjoys playing soccer and he also brought in his skateboard to show us.  His favorite book is "Green Eggs and Ham".  We enjoyed reading the book together since most of us are so familiar with it.  

Scholastic Book Order

Order forms went home today for 5 different book clubs. Thank you Rhonda Hull for pulling from all of the different catalogs! Orders will be due to me by Friday, March 13. You can pay with one check when ordering from multipe catalogs. You may also submit orders online:
www.scholastic.com/parentordering

Username: msdowningsclass
Password: firstgrade

All purchases help earn books and other materials for our classroom. Thank you in advance for your purchase!

A few books of interest:

1. Both SeeSaw catalogs had a "Ready Freddy" book. This is a series introduced to them recently.

2. The Lucky Catalog has a Horrible Harry which is another series the kids enjoyed. Only $1!!

3. In April will be discussing Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. There are some Science books that hit on this theme in the Math and Science catalog.

4. The March SeeSaw catalog has 20 great book titles for only $15! If you're looking to build your home library, this is a great selection!

2nd Grade Expectations

1st and 2nd Grade teachers recently got together to discuss any issues they are seeing as the kids progress from 1st to 2nd.  One of the issues brought up was the children's lack of experience with time and money.  This is treated as a "life skill" in 1st grade.  It is touched upon during our calendar math time, homework, and periodically when I call attention to it.  This is something that can be easily practiced at home.  A parent one year would make her daughter count the change that she found around the house.  If she counted correctly, she could keep it.  Talk about an incentive to learn!  Point out the clock at home when you tell your child they have 30 minutes to play their game.  See if they can identify where the "big hand" is headed or where it is at during that moment.  We've discussed hour and half hour, but I don't feel that is rooted in many of them as we move on to discuss 15 minutes.

In addition to the time/money issue, handwriting and capitalization and punctuation were addressed.  This is yet another thing that needs to be reinforced as you were one-on-one with your child.  I encourage you to go over their work for the week.  Praise them for the wonderful job they do and make them re-do things they have done incorrectly.  I set aside time at the end of the week to have children correct and finish work, but sometimes it needs to go beyond this.  Many of the kids are STILL forgetting capitals and periods at the end of something simple like their spelling sentence.  The more it is addressed and practiced, the more en-grained it will be.  

As always, continue to have your child read nightly to increase fluency and comprehension.

Resource Schedule

If you look on your child's calendar you will see that there are no resources for the next two weeks printed. Our computer teacher, Mrs. Smith, is in charge of scheduling and she has come up with a special schedule during FCAT testing. Our resources are:

• 3/9 Art
• 3/16 Music
• 3/19 PE

Please have your child dress accordingly on those days.

STAR Student

Paul was our STAR this week. Paul has five people in his family including two older brothers that go to Loretto. We saw many pictures from all the different places Paul has been to including San Fransisco, Belgium, and Chile! Paul loves to play soccer and showed us one of his trophies. All the traveling Paul has done would make him plenty unique, but he also speaks English, Spanish, and is learning Chinese. He brought in coin collection from all different countries. Paul's favorite books is Anansi the Spider. We have already read one Anansi story this year. He also brought in his favorite magnetic toy to show us and built us a little project.

Reading Log

I'm happy to see most children still coming in with about 5 books written down per week. I see a few of the reading logs slowing down. Please make sure you are writing your child's books down or having them do it on their own. We are at a point in the year where the children need to start building and practicing their independence. They can identify title and author, so it surely wouldn't hurt to have them write down 1 out of 5 books so they can get into the routine. 2nd grade holds high expectations and I want to make sure they are prepared.
In addition we are at the point where the kids should be reading most of their books independently. I think it is WONDERFUL if you read from a higher level chapter book, but books in their reading log should ONLY be books that THEY read from here on out. They are rewarded for every 10 books they read and I think it's only fair that now they are rewarded for books they read. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this.

February Student of the Month

The February character trait was respect and tolerance. The children are extremely respectful when I'm speaking to them and for the most part they are respectful towards each other. Garett V. really stood out to me. He never quarrels with any of the other children and he is so attentive to what I say. He's always willing to help out another student and he never judges based on personality. Garett is is our character student for February. Congratulations Garett!

FCAT

Each primary classroom is paired with an upper classroom during FCAT testing week. Each class is responsible to encourage the older students during the testing week. We are paired with Mrs. Laney's 5th grade class which is so exciting because we have been buddy reading with them periodically throughout the year.
The kids are going to work on cards, notes, and bookmarks but we are in need of a few other donations. If you would like to be responsible for one or more of the following items, please click on "comments" to let everyone know that item is taken care of. If you think of something additional you would like to donate, please let me know!
**Items in red have already been "claimed"

1. 22 chocolate gold coins

2. 22 "fun" pencils that 5th graders might enjoy

3. 22 packages of smarties

4. 22 cookies to go with theme: "you're a smart cookie"

5. approximately 48 Popsicles (this can be split between two people, but I would like for the Popsicles to be the same (give or take flavor)). We will enjoy at least one treat with our buddies.

Spring Pictures

We will be taking Spring Pictures at school this Friday, March 6. Our class is scheduled to go around 10:15. Order forms went home on Friday. Pictures can be paid for in advance or previewed afterward. Dress your best!

Field Trip

We had so much fun on our recent field trip to MOSH. We listened to a presentation about habitats. Merissa and Garrett T. got to go up front as volunteers and hold some stuffed animals. The children took turns guessing which habitat they would fit into best. They got to see a real live box turtle and they also got to gently pet a Screech Owl! I think that was a favorite for some of the kids. We were then allowed to explore in small groups. We were able to see pictures and facts about ocean life as well as how the human body works. Upstairs was a hands-on area the kids REALLY enjoyed. Lunch was at Friendship park where we were able to snap a class picture in front of the fountain. Check out the pictures from the trip!

STAR Student

Max was our STAR this week. Max has an older brother at Loretto in 3rd grade and lives with his mom, dad, dog (Lulu), and 2 fish. Max is a HUGE Star Wars fan. His hobby is playing Star Wars and he loves to read Star Wars books and play Star Wars video games. Max worked with his Grandpa to come up with 100 different Jell-o combinations. He shared a picture with us for his unique thing about himself. He also shared a clock he made from a potato!

Upcoming Dates

**Progress reports should be signed and returned as soon as possible.**

February 24th-
Field trip to MOSH. Please send your child with a bagged lunch. All children should wear their dragonfly shirts if possible.
Box Top competition ends. Get those Box Tops in!!

March 10-15 FCAT TESTING (3rd-5th)
We are paired up with a 5th grade class that we would like to support during this important test. If you have ideas or would like to donate items, contact me!

March 24
End of the 3rd nine-week grading period

March 27
Teacher planning day

Got clothes?

I have 2 jackets left by the kids and no one wants to claim them. They look like boys clothing. Both jackets are gray zip-up "hoodies". One is Champion and the other is GAP and looks to have a faint marking of a name. Please let me know as soon as possible if this jacket belongs to your child.
So many of their jackets and sweatshirts are left here everyday. Please talk with your kids about taking all of their items with them everyday. I have threatened flipping cards and am left with not much choice, but to actually follow through on these threats to make them realize the importance of being responsible for your belongings.
Thanks for your help!

Progress Reports

Yes, it's already half way through the 3rd nine weeks! I'm always amazed with how quickly the year flies by. Progress Reports will go home tomorrow (Tuesday, February 17). Please be sure to sign and return immediately. If you have any questions or would like a conference to discuss your child's progress, please let me know.

STAR Student

Jake was our STAR this past week. Jake lives with his mom and dad as well as a younger sister and brother. Jake loves all sorts of sports, but he likes playing baseball and football best. Much to my dismay, Jake likes watching The Gators with is family :) Jake brought in "Where the Sidewalk Ends", a poetry book by Shel Silverstein. He had quite a few favorites, but actually memorized one! Jake also enjoys playing his X-Box and tossing the football around.

FCAT Testing

FCAT begins this week with the 4th grade writing test. There will be quiet time all morning on Tuesday and Wednesday. This means that no volunteers are allowed on campus and students who are late will be housed near the office and won't be allowed to walk to their classroom. Please make sure your child is on time on these days.
The remainder of testing will begin in March. We have been buddy reading with Mrs. Laney's 5th grade class. The school has paired lower grades with upper grades to be supportive to them during this testing time. The plan for our class is to do things to let them know we're thinking of them and want them to do their best. We will make cards and give them mints to promote "fresh" thinking. I'm looking for other ideas and possible donations. I was thinking one afternoon towards the end of testing we could enjoy a treat like Popsicles in the afternoon with our buddies. Please contact me if you can think of another idea or would like to donate something. I'll confirm more exact dates later.

Valentine Exchange

Our Valentine exchange will be this Friday, February 13. If your child wants to participate, they must bring a Valentine for every child in our class (a total of 21). I sent home the list of names about two weeks ago. If you need this list again, please contact me and I will send you a new one. Each Valentine should have a child's name. We will be doing an alphabetizing activity with them. I am need of just a few items:

2 bags of candy conversation hearts

1 package of heart doilies

If you would like to contribute one of the items mentioned, please hit the "comments" button on the blog to claim the item. We will need them by Friday. Thanks for all your help!

STAR Student

Paige was our STAR this week. Paige celebrated her 7th birthday on Monday, which was also our 100th day of school. Paige lives with her mom and dad as well as an older brother and younger brother. Her older brother is in 2nd grade here at Loretto. Paige enjoys dancing and showed us her clogging shoes and tap shoes. The kids were impressed with the different sounds they make. She also has recently taken up knitting. She showed us a scarf that she is working on and she answered a barrage of questions from the other students. Paige's loves the Junie B. Jones series along with the rest of us. Her favorite is "Junie B. Jones Jingle Bells Batman Smells, P.S. So does May". At the end of the week Paige brought in an American Girl doll as her favorite toy.

100th Day

Our 100th day was a memorable one! The children made 100th day mini-books, we read stories, and we saw some awesome projects made of 100 items. I was very impressed with the creativity. At the end of the day, we enjoyed a yummy 100th day treat. Check out some of the pictures:

STAR Student

I'm about a week behind on giving STAR student updates:

Simon was our STAR 2 weeks ago.  Simon has two older sisters and lives with his mom and dad.  He brought in several books to share with us including a Puff the Magic Dragon book.  He loves sleeping with a Batman pillow.  It was about half the size of Simon and somehow managed to fit into his backpack!  

Lake was our STAR this past week.  It happened to be his birthday on the 28th.  lives with a mom and dad.  He loves army stuff!  He likes reading about past wars and enjoys playing with army men.  He has been to a Virginia and seen a natural bridge.  He brought in pictures for us to see.  His favorite book is "Dumb Bunny".  Although I wasn't a huge fan of the title, it WAS a very amusing book!!  He also enjoys playing Wii sports.

Valentines

With New Years and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday under our belt, we now have Valentines to look forward to. I will be sending a list home with each of the student's names as early as next week. If your child would like to participate in the Valentine exchange, I ask that he or she brings one for every student. I also would request that each child's name be on a Valentine. We will be doing an activity with the Valentines where they will practice alphabetical order.
Our Valentine "mailboxes" will be made from a gallon jug. I need each student to bring in one clean, dry gallon jug as soon as possible. If you are able to send in more than one, that would be wonderful in helping us reach our goal of 21.

100th Day

The 100th Day is coming soon (7 school days to be exact)! It will be on Monday, February 2. We will be commemorating the day by doing 100th day-themed activities that correlate with our reading, writing, and math. In addition to the many activities we will be doing in class, I have a project I would like your child to complete at home. They should take 100 of any one thing and make something with it! I have had some creative projects in the past and I know this year's group will not disappoint. Some examples are 100 pieces of pasta, 100 Q-tips, 100 stickers, etc... The project should be brought in on that Tuesday to share with the rest of the class. We will have a gallery of 100 things on display. Depending on the size, I would like to keep it in the room for the week. The idea behind the project is to show the kids that 100 things can look VERY different. I will be sending a note with next week's homework to re-state the directions. Contact me with questions regarding this project (sooner than later :)).
In addition to our project, I've always had the kids partake in a 100th day snack. Each child would need to bring in approximately 100 pieces of a small snack food or candy. They will practice making 10 rows of 10 on a 100's chart, so the items should be relatively tiny. Some ideas are miniature marshmallows, tiny crackers or cookies, licorice bites, raisins, peanuts, cereal (such as cheerios), skittles, etc... This can be brought any time between now and the 100th day. I will need everyone to participate in order to make it a success.

STAR Student

Myah was our STAR this week.  Myah lives with her mom, dad, cat (max), and dog (dirty).  She loves riding her bike and her favorite books are Curious George books.  Myah recently took a trip to Disney World and got to go up on stage to help with a performance with the Who's from the Grinch who stole Christmas!  Her favorite toys are her Barbies.  On a side note, Myah will be celebrating her 7th Birthday this Saturday (1-17).  Happy Birthday Myah!!

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair is officially set up at school! I went to a special teacher preview today and there are SO many books to choose from! I highly suggest you come and check it out. The PTA has set aside two evenings in which families will be invited to browse and purchase books: Thursday, January 22 and Tuesday, January 27. Both family nights will be from 3:00-7:00. Credit Cards will be accepted. The Safety Patrol will be selling pizza (from 5:00-7:00) to raise money for their upcoming field trip to Washington D.C.
Our class will be browsing the Scholastic Book Fair on Thursday, January 29 around 12:20. If you would like to come purchase books with your child at that time, you are more than welcome to join us. You may also send money with your child. Students went home with a flyer that listed most of the books that will be at the fair. Please keep in mind that their will be an additional sales tax charge. If you do not plan on coming to shop with your child, I encourage you to send in a list of the items they are allowed to purchase with the money you send.
All money spent at the Book Fair benefits the school.

Field Trip

We will be going to MOSH (Museum of Science and History http://www.themosh.org/) on Tuesday, February 24. Permission slips will be sent home on Tuesday and MUST be returned no later than Thursday, February 5. We must submit the money and final counts by this date in order to keep our reservation. All of the Loretto first grade will be visiting the museum on the 24th. The total cost of the trip will be $8.25 ($5 for admission and $3.25 for transportation).
We will leave Loretto around 9:15 and return by 2:00. We will be eating lunch at a nearby park (weather permitting), so it is important to send your child with a sack lunch on February 24. We will be allowed to have 3 chaperones accompany us on the field trip. I will collect all interested names and put them in a "hat". I will draw a name by January 30 and send paperwork home for the chaperones to complete. They will also have to have money and forms returned by February 5. The cost for chaperones to attend is just admission, $5.
Contact me with any questions or concerns and PLEASE return money and forms as soon as possible.

STAR Student

Anna was our STAR student this week.  Anna lives with her mom, dad, and older brother and sister who also go to Loretto.  Anna takes gymnastics classes and even showed us a "bridge".  She went skiing with her family for the first time over the holiday break.  Some of her favorite books are in the "Black Lagoon" series.  She brought in "The teacher from the Black Lagoon" for us to read.  For Christmas, she got a special baby doll that feels like a REAL baby (which she brought in on Friday).

Happy New Year!

Welcome Back!  I hope everyone had an enjoyable break with their children.  I'm glad to see everyone back safe and healthy.  I know I enjoyed my break, but was very excited to see the children on Monday.

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for my beautiful gift card tree.  I was very surprised and enjoyed opening every card (especially the hand-made ones).  You were all very generous in your giving and I really felt appreciated.  I love being with your kids each and every day.

You may have seen an extra hand-writing sheet attached with this week's homework.  Please use it for the practice spelling test you will give your child.  They know to write the first five numbers on the left side and then numbers 6-10 down the middle.  The handwriting has been very disappointing and this would be a great opportunity for your child to take the time to form each letter as it is supposed to be.  It's gotten so bad, I may resort to sending ABC handwriting sheets to some.  I always encourage the children to do their best work and I hope you will help me in this by reviewing weekly work coming home and discussing it with them for correctness and neatness as well.

Thanks for your support!  Looking forward to a wonderful 2009!!

STAR Student (Week of 12-15)

Grant was the STAR the week before we left for our break.  Grant lives with his mom and dad, but loves to go to his Nana and Papa's where he plays with their two dogs.  Grant is quite the reader.  One of his favorite books is "The Polar Express"... Just like Ms. Downing!  He enjoys playing with Play-doh and his trains too.