Busy, Busy, Busy!

We are busy as bees in first grade! I know you would love to be a "bug on the wall" of our classroom, so enjoy some snapshots of our last two weeks!

Do you know that the wingspan of the American Bald Eagle is as tall as an NBA player? How many feathers does the bald eagle have?Ask your first grader! Our America unit finds us learning about many symbols, famous Americans, and important places in our great country.

Russ, Hailey, Jonathan, and Sarah are painting Bald Eagles that they made.

Lauren E. was a student reader on Friday.

Lauren W. and Nico are hard at work during Writer's Workshop.

We recently completed an exciting unit on the solar system. The children were so disappointed when they took their "pocket books" home because it meant that our unit was over! They worked hard, but it was a fun and exciting learning experience! One of the activities found us acting as research scientists as each child chose a planet to research and complete a report on. They were so excited to report on the many interesting things they learned about the planets.





February was also Dental Health Month. Dr. Sandy Worman Epstein visited out class to help us learn about the importance of keeping our teeth clean and healthy.

Shannon and Molly learn the proper way to floss!

During February, upper division students visited our class along with a Red Cross teacher to help us learn health and safety tips. Here we are practicing what to do to help prevent hypothermia. Hugging is so good for us in many ways!

Using the "magic light" to check our handwashing skills! Ewwww!

Our class had a blast in a theater workshop with more upper division students recently. One of the many activities was the "Mirror game".



The next two weeks before Spring Break will prove to be just as fun and busy!

News to know for this week (March 1 - 5):

The parent workshop, Kids Today, originally scheduled for March 3 has been canceled.

First grade won the contest for the most tickets bought for the Big Event! So, Thursday will be a very special day for us! First graders do not have to wear uniforms on Thursday. They may wear jeans/pants/shorts and a favorite shirt. It does not have to be spirit wear. At lunch, we will be having a pizza party ! Then we will have ice cream sundaes at 1:30. Thank you to all who helped First Grade to win this special day!

Oldie Goldie Book Fair is Friday, March 5. It's a great way for your child to increase their library for just a few dollars! If you still have books to donate, please send them in by Tuesday!

Parent Volunteers for this week:

• Tuesday - Art - Radha Moorthy Clink (12:05)
• Thursday - Library Check-out - Kerry Kriseman (2:05)
• Friday - Math Game - Stephanie Bottoni (9:00)
• Friday - Parent Reader - Derek Hess (2:20)
  

We present at Town Meeting on Monday! Join us if you can!

We celebrated two birthdays this past week! Happy Birthday to Hannah and Nico!

Oldie Goldie Book Extravaganza

Our annual Lower Division Oldie Goldie Book Extravaganza takes place March 5! This gives you the chance for some spring cleaning of your bookshelves. Please bring any books that you or your child no longer want and put them in the box right outside our classroom door. Share your treasure of books with others! Books will be priced between ten cents and one dollar. So for just a dollar or two, your child can take home a bag full of wonderful books on March 5!

Parent/Teacher Conferences Schedule:

Monday, February 22

• 2:45-3:15 Sandy Epstein
  

Tuesday, February 23

• 2:45-3:15 Perry & Erin Ross
  

Wednesday, February 24th (no school for students on February 24th)

• 7:30-8:00 Rick & Kerry Kriseman
• 8:00-8:30 Frank & Sheila Currie
• 8:30-9:00 Matt & Jill Emerson
• 9:00-9:30 Jodie Gayoso
  
• 9:30-10:00 Mike & Gina White
  
• 10:00-10:30 Fai MacDougald
• 10:30-11:00 Sharon Cannella
• 11:00-11:30 Gwendolyn Baran
  
• Lunch
• 12:30-1:00 Radha Moorthy-Clink
• 1:00-1:30 Darby Jung
  
• 1:30-2:00 Twila Davis
• 2:00-2:30
  
• 2:30-3:00 Stephanie Bottoni

Thursday, February 25

• 7:30 a.m. Anne & Derek Hess

Friday, February 26

• 10:00-10:30 Natalie Ames

Volunteers for the Week of 2/22 - 26:

• Tuesday - Art - Jill Emerson (12:05)
• Thursday - Library Check-out - Fai MacDougald (2:05)
• Friday - Math Game - Jodie Gayoso (9:00)
• Friday - Parent Reader - Michael White (2:20)
  

Reading Festival

Our first annual Reading Festival was a huge success! We kicked off the week with a visit from author/illustrator Michael Patrick O'Neill. He shared several of his published books on ocean life. This was of particular interest to us in light of our upcoming Ocean unit! It was so interesting to hear how he is able to get up close and personal to take all of the beautiful photographs for his books. A favorite day of the week was our "Character Day". The children chose and read a book, completed a book report, and came to school dressed as a favorite character from the book. They then presented their book report orally to the class.



Another highlight of the week was a 30 minute period where the entire lower school stopped everything at the same time to read. We call it DEAR - Drop Everything and Read! Many of the children exclaimed that this was a favorite part of the week!



After school on Thursday afternoon, several reading workshops were offered for the children to participate in. Below Shannon performs as the sun in the Aesop Fable, "The Wind and the Sun".

During Writer's Workshop, the children work on designing a cover for a new book they are writing. More information to come on this exciting project!

It was such a fun week!

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back! I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. President's Day helps to kick off our new unit on the study of America!

I have posted many new pictures to this blog to update you on several special days that we have had in the last couple of weeks. They are precious! Please be sure to check them all out! Just click the various labeled posts on the Blog Archive to the right of the blog. Be sure to go back to posts you have not read such as those labeled "100 Days of School" and "Math Explorations". I had begun the posts but had trouble getting the pictures to download so I was just able to publish them today. Unfortunately, they show up in the date order of when I began the posts. Therefore, some are showing up in January. You will need to click on "January" to see such posts as "100 Days of School" and "Math Explorations".

Other important news:

Spirit Day is tomorrow!

The Oldie Goldie Book Sale will take place on Friday, March 5 in the Lower Division Breezeway. You may bring in books to donate and place them in the collection boxes which will be at school tomorrow (February 16).

Field Day will take place on Friday, March 12.

This week's parent volunteers:

• Tuesday - Art - Fai MacDougald (12:05)
• Thursday - Library Check-out - Anne Dowling (2:05)
• Friday - Math Game - Sheila Currie (9:00)
• Friday - Parent Reader - Erin Ross (2:20)
  

Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is always the favorite day of the year! We decorated heart-shaped cookies! M-m-m-m!

We say good-bye to our visitor, Jed, from England!

The best part of the party was opening and reading our valentine cards!

Then we had fun playing Valentine Bingo!

Smiles all around!

At the end of the day, Samuel was a student reader.

Grandparents/Special Friends Day!

Before my camera died, I was able to take a few pictures of some of our special visitors. Enjoy!

Change for Morning Drop-Off

Change for Morning Drop-Off

Dear Parents,

Throughout the year, our morning car line has worked smoothly. From 7:30-8:10 AM a team of eager patrols and teachers open doors and help children out of their cars for a steady stream of car drivers moving up to the carport, dropping off their children, and driving forward with very little wait time. I am aware that, for a number of families, the recent closing of the Progress Energy Field has disrupted their morning drop-off routine. Many of those who accessed the field for parking and walked their children over to the school have now joined the car line; however, we have also noticed that a number of drivers are parking in the front of the school or leaving their children off in front of the Lower Division front gates, causing a very unsafe situation.

The safety of our students is our first priority; therefore, at this time we ask that all of our Shorecrest families and friends use the car line drop-off in the morning and avoid parking in front of the Lower Division. We care about the safety of all our community members, and because there is no supervision, it is in everyone’s best interest to use the car line. We understand that it may be an inconvenience, but it is worth the extra time if it prevents an unnecessary accident from occurring.

Starting Tuesday, February 16, the gates at the 1st Street entrances will not be opened. I regret this change, but the safety of children is our priority. Drivers will need to use the car line. For families with morning time constraints, we encourage you to drop your child off between 7:30 and 7:45 AM. Morning care will be available. If you wish to walk your children to class, please park in one of the lots on either side of the Administration Building.

Thank you for your support and understanding. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Dawn Weinman, Mike Murphy or me.

Sincerely,

Lisa Bianco
Head of Lower Division

Cash for Trash!

TERRACYCLING: (Cash For Trash)
Shorecrest is collecting items which will be reused to make new items. SPA receives $.02 for each item collected. Please help us collect the following trash! It will turn into cash for Shorecrest! Look for TerraBins being placed around the school.

• EXPO markers
• Sharpie products
• Papermate products
• Mars Candy wrappers: Snickers, m&ms, Twix, Dove, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Skittles, Starburst
• Wrigley Gum packaging: Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Extra, Doublemint, Orbit, 5, Big League Chew bubblegum, Hubba Bubba
• Lays bags: Lays chips, Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos
• Drink pouches: Capri Sun
• Kashi products; all packaging
• Aveeno products: all plastic bottles
• Scotch Tape: dispensers & cores