Dear Parents:
Wow! The end is here! Our project share yesterday was fantastic. I am so proud of the children! Thank you all for coming! I took pictures and will post them soon. Our first grade end-of-the-year party today was also so much fun. Mary Hind took pictures and they will also be posted soon.
Below is the link to a combined art/technology project where the children made their ocean animal in art and then worked on the animation and recording of the voice thread in the computer lab. They had a blast doing this! Enjoy!
Thank you for helping to make this an amazing year! You are the best! Have a great summer!
Susan
https://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=4559712"
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Weeks of May 20 and May 27, 2013 - Last Blog of the Year!
Dear Parents:
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| Even Dr. Bianco was amazed with the shark dissection! |
This will be the last blog I post this school year. It's long, but please read carefully. I still have a lot more pictures to add to our class shutterfly site. It will take me some time over the next few weeks. So, be sure and check out the site even after school ends. If you have pictures to share from the year, PLEASE post them as well. Thank you to those of you that have posted pictures this year! There are SO MANY wonderful pictures of your children of many terrific memories of first grade! You can easily make a wonderful photo
Our last field trip will be tomorrow - Tuesday, May 21! We will be going to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The children should wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. I am so glad that so many of you are able to join us! It will be a lot of fun! Please remember that shopping at the gift shop or buying treats
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| Carson and Keith found a treasure... a piece of mulch shaped like a shark tooth! |
Don't forget that next Monday, May 27, is Memorial Day so there will be no school that day.
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| Mrs. Peck also brought a stingray and a skate! |
This year has flown by! I can't believe there are only 8 1/2 days left! We still have so much to do! This week during Writing Workshop, the children will be finishing their All About books on their sea creatures and continuing to work on their projects. They are having a blast doing it and their creativity and problem solving skills amaze me! We will have a Project Share/Writing Celebration on Wednesday, May 29, at 2:00. I hope that you can all join us! We will be set up just like a science fair with the children posted at their
In math, we'll be taking our unit 9 math assessment tomorrow so look for that to come home this week. Over the last two weeks of school, we'll review many of the skills introduced and learned this year and take our final math assessment.
In word work/reading workshop, we'll review words with long vowels as well as all of our sight words. I will be completing my final reading assessments with each child and they will be shopping for and enjoying more "just right" books of any genre they choose.
We'll also be doing a lot of partying during these final days! We'll be having a final compliment party on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30. Friday, we'll celebrate Kaja turning 7! The partying continues next Thursday afternoon, May 30, when we will have our end of the year party beginning at 1:15. Students, again, may wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. We will rotate through the three first grade classrooms with different activities in each room. Parents are welcome to join us!
It doesn't seem possible, but the last day of school will be next Friday, May 31st. Dismissal will be at noon. Please be sure that your child brings the take-home folder and green bag to school
I want to thank each of you for sharing your precious child with me. Each and every child has touched my heart in a special way. There have been many smiles and lots of laughter. I should write a book! They have grown in so many ways and amazed me each and every day. I am often asked, "how do you do this every day?" Exhausting
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| Can't get enough of Commotion in the Ocean! |
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| Carson works on his project. |
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| Sydney concentrates on making a pufferfish for her project. |
Have a wonderful summer!
Susan
Final Volunteer Schedules:
- Thursday, May 23 - Math Game - 10:30 - Donna Main
- Friday, May 24 - Art - 9:15 - Kim Gross
- Thursday, May 30 - Math Game - 10:30 - David Richardson
- Friday, May 31 - Art - 9:15 - Mary Hind
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Week of May 13, 2013
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
There was certainly a lot of commotion last week! I can't begin to tell you how very proud I am of our children! They were absolutely amazing in Commotion in the Ocean on both Thursday and Friday! We received so many compliments! Several people have said they thought it was the best Commotion in the Ocean ever! All of the hard work certainly paid off and we had so much fun! The reception in our first grade hallway was a complete celebration under the sea! Thank you so much to Charlene Hosseini for organizing it and to all of you for the wonderful, creative, and delicious treats! You really outdid yourselves! You would think the children would have had enough singing and dancing, but at recess Friday afternoon, we took a CD player out and they sang and danced to all of the songs again on the playground! So cute! I posted pictures of the show and reception on our class shutterfly site. If anyone else has pictures to share, please do! Here are just a few of the pictures from Friday!
The show may be over, but we still have lots going on in our class!
Word Work/Reading Workshop: We continue to add words to our sight word vocabulary and will be reviewing the vast sight word vocabulary that we have learned this year (our word wall). We'll review the short vowels and work on words with the ending -le such as riddle, pickle. We will be using the many reading strategies we've learned as we read. We'll read lots of different genres. We'll read fiction, realistic fiction, and lots of nonfiction. Over the next few weeks, there will also be different activities for the children to choose from to continue practice with the many concepts and skills covered this year. Some include contractions, compound words, homophones, verbs, nouns, alphabetical order, etc. I'll also be conducting final reading assessments with each child.
Science: The day the children have been waiting for is almost here! On Thursday, we'll be dissecting sharks with Lisa Peck! It's also project time! The children are using their research to plan their project creation. They will decide on the important facts they would like to focus on to "teach" their classmates about their creature. We have talked in class about what makes a "good fact" - numbers, names, descriptions, etc. For instance, "my animal is 25 feet long" rather than "my animal is big" or "my animal lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans" rather than "my animal lives in the ocean". Over the next two weeks, they will be creating some type of graphical or physical project that also presents their research - a poster, diorama, shadow box, sculpture, etc. We have basic supplies like paints and construction paper, but any additional supplies (poster board, boxes, photos, etc.) may need to be brought from home. Please feel free to print any pictures, maps, etc. that your child can use in his/her final project. They have folders that they are keeping all of their research, pictures, etc. in. We'll plan to have a project presentation the last week of school.
Writing Workshop: Our main focus is on informational writing... writing that teaches! Our big focus for the next couple of weeks will be on writing "All About" books on the sea creature each child chose to research. In writing their All About books, the children will be incorporating many features that they have learned about nonfiction writing, such as titles, table of contents, headings, and labeled diagrams. They may also reflect and add their own thoughts about what they are writing about! They will share their All About books at a combined project share/writing celebration the last week of school.
Math: We will continue working with fractions this week and two digit adding and subtracting. We will be taking our Unit 9 assessment next week.
We celebrated Matthew's 7th birthday last week with his mom and his little brother!
Volunteers this week:
* Thursday - Math Game - cancelled due to shark dissection
* Friday- Art - 9:15 - Heidi Joswig or David Richardson
* Friday - Parent Reader - 2:15 - Charlene Hosseini
Other Important Reminders/Dates/Information:
Friday, May 17, is Splash Day during PE! Please send a towel to school with your child and be sure that he/she either brings an appropriate swimsuit to school to change into or wears the swimsuit to school under the uniform. They will need water shoes to wear as well. The children will change into spirit clothes after PE. So, if they wear the swimsuit under the uniform that morning, don't forget to please send in underwear to change into as well! And don''t forget they must have socks and tennis shoes! Please also apply sunscreen to your child before coming to school. That will save us time! You may also send a hat with your child if they don't have one at school already.
Our last field trip will be on Tuesday, May 21. We will be going to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The children should wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. I am so glad that so many of you are able to join us!
Monday, May 27, is Memorial Day. There will be no school that day.
On Thursday, May 30, we will have our end of the year party beginning at 1:15. Students again may wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. Parents are welcome to join us as always! The more the merrier!
Friday, May 31, is the last day of school. Dismissal will be at noon
Have a great week!
Susan
The show may be over, but we still have lots going on in our class!
Word Work/Reading Workshop: We continue to add words to our sight word vocabulary and will be reviewing the vast sight word vocabulary that we have learned this year (our word wall). We'll review the short vowels and work on words with the ending -le such as riddle, pickle. We will be using the many reading strategies we've learned as we read. We'll read lots of different genres. We'll read fiction, realistic fiction, and lots of nonfiction. Over the next few weeks, there will also be different activities for the children to choose from to continue practice with the many concepts and skills covered this year. Some include contractions, compound words, homophones, verbs, nouns, alphabetical order, etc. I'll also be conducting final reading assessments with each child.
Science: The day the children have been waiting for is almost here! On Thursday, we'll be dissecting sharks with Lisa Peck! It's also project time! The children are using their research to plan their project creation. They will decide on the important facts they would like to focus on to "teach" their classmates about their creature. We have talked in class about what makes a "good fact" - numbers, names, descriptions, etc. For instance, "my animal is 25 feet long" rather than "my animal is big" or "my animal lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans" rather than "my animal lives in the ocean". Over the next two weeks, they will be creating some type of graphical or physical project that also presents their research - a poster, diorama, shadow box, sculpture, etc. We have basic supplies like paints and construction paper, but any additional supplies (poster board, boxes, photos, etc.) may need to be brought from home. Please feel free to print any pictures, maps, etc. that your child can use in his/her final project. They have folders that they are keeping all of their research, pictures, etc. in. We'll plan to have a project presentation the last week of school.
Writing Workshop: Our main focus is on informational writing... writing that teaches! Our big focus for the next couple of weeks will be on writing "All About" books on the sea creature each child chose to research. In writing their All About books, the children will be incorporating many features that they have learned about nonfiction writing, such as titles, table of contents, headings, and labeled diagrams. They may also reflect and add their own thoughts about what they are writing about! They will share their All About books at a combined project share/writing celebration the last week of school.
Math: We will continue working with fractions this week and two digit adding and subtracting. We will be taking our Unit 9 assessment next week.
Volunteers this week:
* Thursday - Math Game - cancelled due to shark dissection
* Friday- Art - 9:15 - Heidi Joswig or David Richardson
* Friday - Parent Reader - 2:15 - Charlene Hosseini
Other Important Reminders/Dates/Information:
Friday, May 17, is Splash Day during PE! Please send a towel to school with your child and be sure that he/she either brings an appropriate swimsuit to school to change into or wears the swimsuit to school under the uniform. They will need water shoes to wear as well. The children will change into spirit clothes after PE. So, if they wear the swimsuit under the uniform that morning, don't forget to please send in underwear to change into as well! And don''t forget they must have socks and tennis shoes! Please also apply sunscreen to your child before coming to school. That will save us time! You may also send a hat with your child if they don't have one at school already.
Our last field trip will be on Tuesday, May 21. We will be going to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The children should wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. I am so glad that so many of you are able to join us!
Monday, May 27, is Memorial Day. There will be no school that day.
On Thursday, May 30, we will have our end of the year party beginning at 1:15. Students again may wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. Parents are welcome to join us as always! The more the merrier!
Friday, May 31, is the last day of school. Dismissal will be at noon
Have a great week!
Susan
Monday, May 6, 2013
Week of May 6, 2013
Dear Parents:
"Commotion in the Ocean" is finally here! The kids are so excited! We begin rehearsing in the theater this week for our big show on Friday! I hope that you will be able to be there! We will have a dress rehearsal on Thursday morning for the lower school students and teachers. Please have your child wear jean shorts, pants, skirts, or skorts on both Thursday and Friday this week. I will have the t-shirts they made waiting to put on them Thursday morning. They will only wear them for the dress rehearsal so they will stay clean for Friday. Please send in a full uniform to change into after the rehearsal on Thursday. We will send the t-shirts and jean bottoms home on Thursday afternoon. The children should come to school dressed in them Friday. Please don't forget!
Please no "light-up" shoes on Thursday or Friday. Thank you! :)
I want to thank you for practicing the speaking parts with your children. Please continue to practice with them all this week on volume and expression!
With all this commotion, we'll still be busing learning in our classroom! In reading and writing, we'll continue to practice all that we have learned as non-fiction readers and writers. The focus in word work this week is on words with the /oo/ sound as in book. We'll also spend some time reviewing other sounds we have learned. Our ocean word ring words this week relate to our science focus... that friendly mammal of the sea... the dolphin! We'll be learning about these amazing members of the whale family. Oh and if you would like to have a little trivia contest with your child on whales, try this website http://www.whalesongs.org Then click on "Cetacean Trivia". Be careful - your child just might win! Last week, during our study of whales, we had a special visit from one of Mrs. Owen's former first graders, Jacob Nelson, who is now in high school! His interest in the ocean began back in first grade! Jacob brought real whale baleen to share with us! It was so cool! He also brought several other specimens from the sea, including a megalodon shark tooth! We learned so much from him!
A big thank you to Lorraine Thorpe, Kim Gross, and Mary Hind for helping us with our blubber experiment during our whale study! The children were able to feel how the whale's blubber helps to keep it warm in the cold ocean waters.
Another big thank you to Donna Main and Sharon Cannella for helping us measure the length of many whales to compare their sizes and see just how GIANT these creatures are! We measured from the 14 foot beluga whale to the 100 foot blue whale!
We also loved having Lisa Peck bring sea stars and sea urchins to share with us. Here are some pictures from the sea urchin dissection!
Next Thursday, May 16, Lisa Peck will be bringing sharks for our final dissection! Let me know if you would like to join us! In math, we are beginning unit 9. This week the children will be provided with experiences to help them develop proficiency in adding and subtracting 10s. We'll practice counting forward and backward using a number grid, extending patterns on a number grid, and using the number grid to add and subtract 2-digit numbers. We'll identify values of digits in a 2-digit number and solve number-grid puzzles. We'll also practice solving addition and subtraction problems with and without manipulatives and tools.
Please make sure that your child returns their completed research (and any pictures) on their chosen ocean animal by Thursday. This week, the children will spend some time deciding and planning how they would like to construct their ocean animal projects. Please talk with your child about their plan to see if there are any special supplies he/she needs. Next week the children will begin writing "All About" books about their creature and constructing their final projects on the animal.
Last week during technology lab, the children had a ball working on animation videos with the models they created during art of their chosen ocean animal. I hope to soon have a link for you to see their videos!
Friday, May 17, is Splash Day during PE! Children will need towels, swimsuits and swim shoes. They will change into these before PE and change back into their spirit clothes after PE.
Our last field trip will be on Tuesday, May 21. We will be going to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The children should wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. I am so glad that so many of you are able to join us!
Monday, May 27, is Memorial Day. There will be no school that day.
On Thursday, May 30, we will have our end of the year party beginning at 1:15. Students again may wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. Parents are welcome to join us as always! The more the merrier!
Friday, May 31, is the last day of school. Dismissal will be at noon.
Volunteers this week:
"Commotion in the Ocean" is finally here! The kids are so excited! We begin rehearsing in the theater this week for our big show on Friday! I hope that you will be able to be there! We will have a dress rehearsal on Thursday morning for the lower school students and teachers. Please have your child wear jean shorts, pants, skirts, or skorts on both Thursday and Friday this week. I will have the t-shirts they made waiting to put on them Thursday morning. They will only wear them for the dress rehearsal so they will stay clean for Friday. Please send in a full uniform to change into after the rehearsal on Thursday. We will send the t-shirts and jean bottoms home on Thursday afternoon. The children should come to school dressed in them Friday. Please don't forget!
Please no "light-up" shoes on Thursday or Friday. Thank you! :)
I want to thank you for practicing the speaking parts with your children. Please continue to practice with them all this week on volume and expression!
With all this commotion, we'll still be busing learning in our classroom! In reading and writing, we'll continue to practice all that we have learned as non-fiction readers and writers. The focus in word work this week is on words with the /oo/ sound as in book. We'll also spend some time reviewing other sounds we have learned. Our ocean word ring words this week relate to our science focus... that friendly mammal of the sea... the dolphin! We'll be learning about these amazing members of the whale family. Oh and if you would like to have a little trivia contest with your child on whales, try this website http://www.whalesongs.org Then click on "Cetacean Trivia". Be careful - your child just might win! Last week, during our study of whales, we had a special visit from one of Mrs. Owen's former first graders, Jacob Nelson, who is now in high school! His interest in the ocean began back in first grade! Jacob brought real whale baleen to share with us! It was so cool! He also brought several other specimens from the sea, including a megalodon shark tooth! We learned so much from him!
A big thank you to Lorraine Thorpe, Kim Gross, and Mary Hind for helping us with our blubber experiment during our whale study! The children were able to feel how the whale's blubber helps to keep it warm in the cold ocean waters.
Another big thank you to Donna Main and Sharon Cannella for helping us measure the length of many whales to compare their sizes and see just how GIANT these creatures are! We measured from the 14 foot beluga whale to the 100 foot blue whale!
We also loved having Lisa Peck bring sea stars and sea urchins to share with us. Here are some pictures from the sea urchin dissection!
Next Thursday, May 16, Lisa Peck will be bringing sharks for our final dissection! Let me know if you would like to join us! In math, we are beginning unit 9. This week the children will be provided with experiences to help them develop proficiency in adding and subtracting 10s. We'll practice counting forward and backward using a number grid, extending patterns on a number grid, and using the number grid to add and subtract 2-digit numbers. We'll identify values of digits in a 2-digit number and solve number-grid puzzles. We'll also practice solving addition and subtraction problems with and without manipulatives and tools.
Please make sure that your child returns their completed research (and any pictures) on their chosen ocean animal by Thursday. This week, the children will spend some time deciding and planning how they would like to construct their ocean animal projects. Please talk with your child about their plan to see if there are any special supplies he/she needs. Next week the children will begin writing "All About" books about their creature and constructing their final projects on the animal.
Last week during technology lab, the children had a ball working on animation videos with the models they created during art of their chosen ocean animal. I hope to soon have a link for you to see their videos!
Friday, May 17, is Splash Day during PE! Children will need towels, swimsuits and swim shoes. They will change into these before PE and change back into their spirit clothes after PE.
Our last field trip will be on Tuesday, May 21. We will be going to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The children should wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. I am so glad that so many of you are able to join us!
Monday, May 27, is Memorial Day. There will be no school that day.
On Thursday, May 30, we will have our end of the year party beginning at 1:15. Students again may wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean bottoms. Parents are welcome to join us as always! The more the merrier!
Friday, May 31, is the last day of school. Dismissal will be at noon.
Volunteers this week:
- Library Check-out has ended! Thank you for helping this year!
- Thursday - Math Game - 10:30 - David Richardson
- Friday - Art - 10:30 - 11:15 - time change - any volunteers?
- Friday - Parent Reader - 2:15 - Kim Gross
Have a great week! See you Friday!
Susan
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