‘Twas the night before school started,
when all through the town,
The parents were cheering.
It was a riotous sound!
By eight, kids were washed
And tucked into bed…
when memories of homework
Filled them with dread.
New pencils, new folders, new notebooks, too!
New teachers, new friends…
Their anxiety grew!
The parents just giggled when
They learned of this fright
And shouted upstairs -
“Go to bed! It’s a school night!”
Really? Four more days! I can hardly believe it but I have been reminded daily by all the excited voices in my classroom that SUMMER if finally here!!! Bitter sweet…
HOW TO SURVIVE THE LAST WEEK OF FIRST GRADE:
On Monday, we will have our Honor’s Program in the lunchroom from 9:00-9:30. Students need to wear their usual Blount attire and every child will receive a certificate. Please go straight to the lunchroom when you arrive so that you can get good seats. It will fill up quickly! Afterwards, you may have a few moments to take pictures but we will need to exit pretty quickly as second grade’s program will begin shortly after ours. Please send your child with their book bag to school on Monday so that I can send everything home with them. They will not need their book bags the remainder of the week. :)
On Wednesday, I will be out all day traveling with my family to Mobile to watch my nephew graduate Kindergarten. Stacey Dickinson will be our sub. The kids love her!!! I will return to give hugs and say good bye to the children on Thursday.
On Thursday, report cards will be issued at dismissal, not a minute earlier! If you know that your child will be absent or checking out early on Thursday, please send a self addressed and stamped envelope for their report card to be mailed. Otherwise, you may pick it up in the office on Friday or during our summer hours. {you will need to check the website for those exact hours}
Finally, a GREAT BIG THANKS for a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week! I was overwhelmed by all the cards, candy, Diet Cokes, flowers and gifts. A GREAT BIG THANKS to Brooke Nyberg for coming on Friday to take the kids to lunch and entertaining them for a whole hour while I enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the library with all my friends that Andi Graydon put together. We are truly blessed at Blount Elementary with a wonderful group of students, parents, and PTA that show continued support of education!!!
This week is an important week for the school as our 3-5 grade students will be taking standardized tests. We will not be testing but we will be supporting the older grades. Our job is to be very quiet in the school. Our schedule will be frozen each day until testing is over, which means we will not be allowed to have volunteers or visitors. Please DO NOT join us for lunch on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of this week. Please try your very best to be on time each day so that the testing can begin promptly! Thank you for supporting our school in having a smooth testing week.
In Reading, we will focus on the letter “x” as in “fox.” We will also spend this week talking about plants, plant life cycle and all the things that plants need to survive.
Word Wall Words: while, place, under, always, father
In Language, we are still talking about rule 15 ~ Synonyms are words that have similar meanings.
In Math, we are reviewing Place Value. I will not give a test on this, just daily grades will be given. If your child’s math workbook has come home you are free to go back and work on pages that were left or you can toss! Same goes with their workbook that was sent home at the beginning of the year for homework practice.
Please send in your money for Water Day by Wednesday, May 8. The cost to help cover this fun day is $15.00 Water Day is scheduled for Wednesday, May 15 from 11:00-2:00. We will eat lunch that day before Water Day begins. Children may still purchase lunch from the lunchroom on that day. We will need popsicles on that day to help cool us off so please let me know if you are interested in donating some.
Friday, May 10th will be the last day to check out books from our library. However, I encourage you to take your child to a public library and continue checking out books as I will continue encouraging the children to take AR tests during the remaining weeks of school. You may even have books at home that are AR and the children are welcome to bring them to school and test on. Click on the Accelerated Reader Book Find to see what books can be tested on.
The lunchroom is no longer accepting checks so please only send cash to replenish accounts.
The last day of school for students will be Thursday, May 23rd. Report Cards will be handed out at the end of the day {3:10} and no sooner. If you know that your child will not be there to receive their report card you may send in an envelope already addressed with a stamp and the office will mail them the next day ~ OR ~ you may come by the office during summer hours to pick them up.
5/6 ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice $1.00
5/10 ~ Last day to check out books
5/15 ~ Water Day 12:00-2:00
5/16 ~ Signed Papers
5/17 ~ Teacher Luncheon 11:30-12:30
5/20 ~ First Grade Honor’s Day 9-9:30
5/23 ~ Last day of school
Please contact me with any questions of concerns! Have a great week ~ Kristin :)
Field Day was a blast! Coach Grant did a fabulous job organizing our event. We had new games, which the children loved and plenty of smiling volunteers. Thanks parents and specialists for making this day one to remember!!! Enjoy the pictures. :)
In Reading, we will focus on the letter “j” as in “jaguar.”
Word Wall Words are: went, mother, goes, around, though
In Language, we will begin Rule 15 ~ Synonyms are words that have similar meanings. Some examples include: big/large/gigantic/huge small/little/tiny happy/glad/excited
In Math, we have finished with our GO MATH series. I will be sending home their consumable workbooks for you to keep or toss! We will spend the rest of May reviewing addition and subtraction facts, word problems and graphing.
The Book Fair will continue through Thursday of this week. Please remember that any money your child brings to school needs to be in an envelope labeled. Students who bring money may shop the Book Fair from 12:30-1:00 unless accompanied by an adult.
I will be out of the class on Wednesday, traveling to Tuscaloosa to help pack my sister up for the summer. Mrs. Allen {Mr. Darby’s intern} will be taking care of the children.
Important Dates/Reminders:
4/29 ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice $1.00
5/2 ~ Signed Papers
5/15 ~ First Grade Water Day {look for a note soon}
5/20 ~ First Grade Honor’s Day {9-9:30}
5/23 ~ Last day for students
Doughnuts for Dads will be Tuesday for last names A-L and Wednesday for last names M-Z. It will begin each morning at 7:30 in the lunchroom. The doughnuts are free compliments of the awesome Blount PTA. Hope you make plans to attend!
Our field trip to the Davis Theater to see Click Clack Moo is Wednesday. Please allow your child to wear their “First Grade Rocks” t-shirt on Wednesday. We will leave school at 9:00 and return approximately around 11:45. We will eat lunch as soon as we return to school. I will send an email to the chaperones detailing the procedures for our field trip. This will be a fun day!!!
In Reading, we will focus on the letter “v” as in “volcano.” We will also incorporate some fun farm learning to help get us ready for our play. As we are getting closer to the mid-nine weeks I strongly encourage you to continue reading homework stories as part of their twenty minutes of reading each night. I hope you have seen the tremendous changes I have in recognition and fluency.
Word Wall Words are right, back, came, away, and our.
In Language, we will continue talking about rule 14 ~ Antonyms are words with opposite meanings.
In Math, we will finish up with Ch 12 this week and test. Look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test.
Important Reminders/Events:
4/15 ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice $1.00
4/16 and 4/17 ~ Doughnuts for Dads
4/17 ~ Field trip to Davis Theater
4/18 ~ Progress Reports
4/22 ~ Purple Shirt Day in honor of Military Child Day
Please contact me with any questions or concerns!
Last week, we brainstormed our favorite things to do in the Spring. Some of our answers included flying a kite, taking a walk, taking our dog for a walk, picking flowers for our mom and sister, eating ice cream, playing golf, playing soccer, playing baseball. Oh, the answers were endless. I have such a smart group of first graders!
In Reading, we will focus on the letter “p” as in “pig.” We will learn all about pigs and how they roll around in the mud to stay cool! Sounds like something my little one would love to do! Please remember to read homework stories as well as any additional practice reading passages you have that go along with Read Well. I know our schedules have us living at the ballpark, but please find time to read to your little one and have them read to you! :)
Word Wall Words: best, never, begin, does, again
In Language, we will focus on a new rule. Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. I hope you were able to look over our new DOL that came home each day last week. Also, on Friday I modeled how the daily grade will look each week and allowed them to take it home to share with you. This will continue to be the format for the remainder of the year.
In Math, we are halfway through Ch 12. In this chapter, we are talking about 2-D shapes and their characteristics (number of sides and vertices). Be sure to look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test.
Classroom Needs: paper towels
Upcoming Reminders/Events:
4/8 ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice and PTA meeting @ 6:00 pm
4/9 ~ Library with Mrs. Morris
4/16 and 4/17 ~ Doughnuts for Dads at 7:30 am
4/17 ~ Fieldtrip to Davis Theater
4/18 ~ Signed Paper and Progress Reports
4/22 ~ Wear a purple shirt in honor of Military Child Day
Please contact me with any questions or concerns and have a great week! Kristin
