In your child’s take home notebook you will find the Spelling List for Unit 1.  There are six weeks in each unit.  You will find it in a page protector.  Make sure to leave it in their notebook for the full six weeks.  Each week focuses on words that have specific sounds that the students are learning for the week in their story.  Week 1 focuses on the short /a/ sound and the /ck/ ending sound.  We will have a spelling test each Friday that will count towards their Reading grade.  Please make sure your child can spell these words for the test.  At the end of the unit {in six weeks} I will add the new Spelling List and we will begin the process all over again.  :)

You will also notice a homework reading sheet that has sentences on the front and isolated words on the back.  Please have your child read these sentences to you and the words each night.  This will be very important as it will reinforce the sounds for the week and help them with fluency.  The words are decodable and your child should be able to use the appropriate skills to decode them.  :)  Each week a new homework sheet will be added for practice. 

We have completed our first nine weeks of school!  What a great group of smart kiddos!  They are soaking up everything like little sponges.  I hope they are filling your ears with new and exciting things!  :)

The students are now allowed and encouraged to check out two books instead of one.  So get ready to READ READ READ there two library books.  They also will be allowed to test on both books as long as you feel confident they are comprehending each story separately. 

Thursday is a big day!  Report Cards will come home and it’s our exciting Fall Festival that PTA has worked very hard to put together.  It is such a fun time for friends and family!  I hope you make plans to attend. 

Have a great week and contact me with any questions or concerns!  Kristin :)

Fall is Finally Here!

Sorry for the delay, but enjoy all of the first graders in room 121!

Nancy’s Italian Ice is every Monday for $1.00 {keep labeling with a name}

Library is every Tuesday from 2:00-2:30 {keep those library books coming everyday}

Fall Picture Day is Tuesday, October 8.  Your child may dress out of uniform but must still adhere to the MPS dress code {no open toe sandals, flip flops, clogs, no spaghetti strap shirts or dresses and all clothing must be the appropriate length}

Thursday, Oct. 10 is the deadline to get “early bird wristbands” for the Fall Festival.  Wristbands are $10 for children ages 3 and up and $1 for adults.  Children 2 and under are FREE!  If you miss the deadline, please still make plans to attend.  Prices at the gate will be $15 for children and $2 for adults. 

Reading ~ This week is a Review week.  We will review all our word wall words for the past six weeks along with all of the stories we have read.  Students will take a cumulative test of all material they have been exposed to up to this point in the school year. 

Language ~ We will review nouns, verbs, adjectives, statements, questions and complete sentences.  We will also review our Daily Fix It sentences each morning as part of our DOL.

Math ~ We will continue through Ch.2, Subtraction Concepts.  Don’t forget that a review sheet will come home the night before the test and it will also be noted in their homework page located in their take home notebook.  Please continue reviewing math facts and doubles.  We are beginning to make the connection that addition and subtraction facts are related. 

Other Important Dates:

10/10 ~ Teacher Treat Day and Signed Papers

10/11 ~ End of the First Nine Weeks

10/14 ~ Columbus Day/No School!

10/17 ~ Fall Festival 4:30-7:30 and Report Cards

10/21 ~ Spirit Night at Texas Roadhouse

10/24 ~ Signed Papers

10/25 ~ Box Top Collection

11/2 ~ Spirit Night at East Chase Cookie Company

11/7 ~ Fieldtrip to Pumpkin Patch and Signed Papers/Progress Reports

*We are planning to arrive at Dream Field Farms Pumpkin Patch between 9:30-9:45 and leave around 1:00.  The cost will be around $20.00.  This will include entry to the pumpkin patch, lunch, and the bus.  Lunch will be hot dogs, chips, fruit roll up and juice.  This is a great fieldtrip to attend with your child because this is the ONLY fieldtrip that will be open to ALL parents.  Our remaining scheduled fieldtrips will be limited on who can attend.  The cost for parents will be $5 plus lunch if you choose to eat there.  Parents will meet us at the pumpkin patch and also pay at the gate when they arrive.  Another letter will be sent home with the exact amount for students in the next couple of weeks!  So go ahead and mark your calendar.  The other two scheduled fieldtrips will be on Jan. 30 and Feb. 21.  We will be attending plays! 

Thanks so much for all you do for our school!  Please contact me with any questions or concerns.  We are already learning so much!!!

kristin.thomas@mps.k12.al.us

Week of September 16-20

A HUGE THANKS TO PTA FOR PROVIDING US WITH AN UNEXPECTED APPRECIATION LUNCH FROM CHAPPY’S.  WE LOVE OUR PTA AND COULD NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT IT!!!

I have a lot of housekeeping to go over so please make sure to read everything carefully!

We have some changes in our day to accommodate our new first grade teacher.  Our specialist is now everyday from 12:30-1:00.  The children are going to Mr. Darby for Art. 

Monday ~ Nancy’s Italian Ice {please make sure to send your child’s money in a baggie or envelope with their name and what it is for.  Thanks so much! :)

Tuesday is our library day from 2:00-2:30 so your child should be bringing a new library book home.  Also, library books should be brought to school each day as the children are always given multiple times throughout the day to look over it.  I will be sending a note home with information pertaining to Accelerated Reader along with a log the students will keep in their take home notebook so be on the look out for that this week. 

Please make sure your child knows their lunch number.  Numbers were sent home the first week of school.  Please let me know if you do not have one for your child so I can resend it.  Lunch numbers are also used to take Accelerated Reader {AR} tests and Math Facts In A Flash.

Are you wondering what I did with your child’s “All About Me” project.  I have placed them in a notebook that will start going home with each child this week.  Please look over it with your child the night it comes home and return it the very next day.  I hope you enjoy getting to know all your child’s first grade friends!  :)

Signed papers were sent home last Thursday.  The grading scale can be found in the Blount handbook but I always write the numerical and letter grade at the top of each papers.

Thanks for being patient with us as we transition to a smaller class and learn our new reading program.  I will try my  best to answer any and all questions pertaining to the new reading program.  I must say this has been the most challenging start to a new school year in my nine years of teaching. 

READING ~ Oops!  I forgot to send home the “Family Times” newsletter about this weeks Reading story.  I will REMEMBER to send it home tomorrow, promise!  Reading tests are given every Friday morning during Reading.  These tests cannot be studied at home except for knowing their high frequency words.  Every other skill on the test is taught in class.  A quick “good luck” and a dose of some “SMART” breakfast is just what they will need to confidently pass each test!  :)

WORD WALL WORDS ~ {are that they have too}  Please make sure your child can recall these words within a minimum of 3 seconds.  They will be assessed on knowing these words each nine weeks as a daily Reading grade.  I will place a “word wall list” for the entire year in your child’s take home notebook on tomorrow.  Please DO NOT REMOVE this.  It will need to stay in their notebook all year as a reference.  The first word wall check will be given on Friday, September 20.  The students will simply look at a list of these words and recall them to me.  They will receive a (+) for words read correctly and a (-) for words read incorrectly.  They will only be responsible for knowing the words wall words up to that date.  Hope this makes sense!

AMAZING WORDS ~ Students are introduced to amazing words each day.  Students will not be assessed on these words.  The purpose is for the words to increase oral vocabulary.  By the end of the year your child will have been exposed to… drum roll… 281 amazing words!!!  This weeks words are amusing, neighbor, trouble, porch, introduce, corner, deliver,  and squirrel.

LANGUAGE ~ Students have been introduced to several new language skills so far.  They have learned about nouns {words that name people, places, things, animals} verbs {action words} and ABC order.  This week we will continue to focus on simple sentences {capital letter at the beginning and period or question mark at the end} 

DAILY ORAL LANGUAGE {DOL}  ~ Part of your child’s morning work is copying and editing sentences.  Each day your child is introduced to a “daily fix-it” sentence that they are given the opportunity to fix and write correctly.  This sentence should come home everyday for you to look over and praise or re-visit.  Each Friday, the students will be expected to fix each of the sentences for a daily language grade.  Remember, the sentences should not be unfamiliar to them since we have practiced them together in class.  Here is an example of a  sentence for this week:     Incorrect ~ Dot gat the doll        Correct ~ Dot got the doll.

MATH ~ Ch. 3 continues with Addition Strategies.  We will learn to count on, doubles, and doubles plus one.  Please check their yellow Math Practice page in their take home notebook to know what lesson to reinforce each night at home.  A review sheet will continue to come home the night before the test.  I cannot express to you how important it is for your child to memorize their addition facts.  MPS has provided us with goals per nine weeks that students are encouraged to reach.  For the first nine weeks students will be encouraged to know their addition facts 0 through 5.  We will begin practicing this daily as well as using Math Facts In A Flash {computer based program associated with AR} to help us learn our basic facts.  Please practice these at home on flashcards!  What a difference this will make down the road!!! 

Important Dates:

9/17 ~ Spirit Night at Chappy’s

9/27 ~ Box Top Collection Day

10/2 ~ All $$$ for Discount Cards is due!

10/8 ~ Fall Picture Day

10/14 ~ No School! {teacher professional development day}

10/17 ~ Blount Fall Festival

Enjoy your week and contact me with any questions or concerns.   Kristin :)

Happy September!!!

I hope everyone’s football team played well this weekend! 

Lunch is everyday from 11:10-11:35.  You may wait for us by the front office!

Please make sure to label ALL money with your child’s name and what it is for.  Place it in their zipper pouch of their take home notebook.

I hope you are checking your child’s take home notebook daily and taking out all papers on the “keep at home” side.  Please make this a habit!!!

Signed papers will come home Thursday in a manila envelope.  Please review the papers, sign the envelope, and return the papers with the envelope the next day.  Do not keep the papers.  We keep these on file at school!

We finally have library books!  What a great way to start fluency as you read the story each night.  Please make sure your child is bringing their book back everyday.  There are several times throughout the day children are encouraged to look at it.  We are hoping to STAR test this week, which will allow me to assign reading levels for each child.  Once this takes place your child will be able to start checking out the appropriate books!  :)

Reading ~ Each Friday, a paper called “Family Times” will be sent home to inform you about each weekly reading story and skills.  On the back you will find optional homework to reinforce what is being taught at school.  We will read different genres this year and will focus on Realistic Fiction until mid October. 

High Frequency Words ~ Each week students will be responsible for learning basic sight words.  This week the words are:  like, one, the,  we.  Students will be assessed on recalling these words every other week so please make sure they can recall each word within three seconds.  I encourage you to put these on flashcards and review each night.  If your child can already read the words then practice spelling them! 

Amazing Words ~ Each week students will also learn amazing words.  These are not words students will be expected to read or spell, but what a way to challenge them!!!  These words will be used to increase oral vocabulary.  This weeks words are:  adult, depend, gallery, scurry, childhood, portrait, entertain.

Language ~ Nouns are words that name people, places, things, and animals.  Students are learning how to sort nouns, identify nouns, and write them correctly in sentences.  Students are writing sentences daily as they learn that each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark.  Are your children bringing home correctly written sentences?  I hope so!  This means they are paying attention in class and taking pride in their work. 

Math~ We are still working through Ch.1, Addition.  Test will probably be next week.  Please look for a review sheet to come home the night before a test.  I hope you are taking advantage of the workbook that was sent home last week.  Remember, this homework does not need to come back to me and please keep up with the workbook.  I do not have extra!!!

Important Dates

9/10 ~ PTA meeting

9/17 ~ Spirit Night at Chappy’s

9/27~ Box Tops Due

10/3 ~ Teacher Treat Day

10/8 ~ Fall Pictures

10/14 ~ Columbus Day/NO SCHOOL!

10/17 ~ Fall Festival/Report Cards

Please contact me through email with any questions or concerns!

Have a great week ~ Kristin :)

‘Twas the Night Before School Started

‘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!”

Water Day Fun!

Good Bye Sweet First Graders!

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!!!