Monday, October 17, 2011

Week of October 17, 2011












Dear Parents:

This morning Sharon Hauser from the SPCA brought her dog Rusty to Town Meeting to help us remind everyone about the first grade service learning project to help the SPCA. Then she gave a special presentation to the first graders and introduced them to Rusty. She adopted Rusty from the SPCA about 9 years ago. She read a very sweet book called, Before You Were Mine, that brought tears to my eyes.
The children were able to pet Rusty and watch him follow her commands of sit, shake, and lie down! Please continue to send in any of the items on the SPCA wishlist. We will be collecting through the month of October. Then, on Thursday, November 3, we will take a field trip to the SPCA and take the items with us. Don't forget that you are welcome to join us! We will be eating lunch there. If your child is bringing a lunch from home, it must be completely disposable. School lunches will also be completely disposable.

http://www.spcatampabay.org/page.aspx?pid-396

As you have probably heard from your child, Lucas is moving to Kentucky. We are going to miss him so much but are excited for his new adventure living where his grandparents are! On Thursday, we gave him a little send-off by reading a book we made for him and having popsicles and cake (thank you Natalie Ames)!

Exciting News! This Friday, our class will join the rest of the school at the grand opening of the new athletic center! All parents are welcome! It begins at 1:45.

Finally, I want to let you know that I will not be at school on Thursday or Friday of this week as I will be going to Jacksonville for my son's wedding on Saturday! The children will be in the very capable hands of Patty Mercer as our substitute. I will be back at school next Monday.

Now a look at what is happening in our class this week:

Reading and Language Arts: We are working on words with short vowel /u/ and reviewing words with the digraph /th/. This week's wall words are live, does, grow, many, be, and food. We will also work with initial blends with r, as in truck. We will continue to work on nouns, concentrating on nouns that name animals or things. During Reading Workshop we will talk about how as smart readers we set ourselves up for a strong read by taking book walks and thinking about the words we expect to find in the book. We will also learn how patterns help us anticipate what will come next and how to expect certain words because we know the pattern. In handwriting, we are continuing to work with lowercase letters.

Writing Workshop: We are working on storytelling with our partners and the roles each partner plays, spelling our "no excuse" words in a snap, and focusing on the most important part of our stories.

Math: Last week we needed a little more time with adding and subtracting on the number line and so we stepped back. This week we will begin telling time to the half hour and introducing a new routine called Frames and Arrows.

Science: This afternoon we will be having a special visit with Dr. Brad Peckler to learn about keeping our body safe and healthy. We will also be talking more about our blood and circulation and learning about our skin this week.

Things to Remember:

Picture Retakes are tomorrow! If you would like your child's picture retaken, please send in the picture package with your child tomorrow. Personally, I thought their pictures were all fabulous!

Friday, October 28 - Fall Festival - There will be a sign-out sheet posted for parents to sign your children out when you leave.

Thursday, November 3 - Field Trip to the SPCA

Friday, November 11 - Poetry in the Park - Mark your calendars! Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy a wonderful morning of poetry!

Volunteers This Week:
  • Tuesday - Art - Debbie Boensch (12:05)
  • Wednesday - Math Game - Susannah Malison (1:00)
  • Thursday - Library Checkout - Mai Nguyen and Kimberly Burke (12:00)
  • Friday - Parent Reader - Susannah Malison (2:20)
Have a wonderful week!
Susan

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