Hope everyone enjoyed their extra day this weekend...it always goes by way too fast for me!

READING
The letter this week is "b" as in 'bat."
The word wall words are: black, by, little, does and first. Make sure your child can read all the word wall words up to this point within three seconds. We will be having a daily reading grade on these at the end of the week.
LANGUAGE
We will continue talking about rule 14, but last week students were introduced to rule 17 ~ Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. This was not planned, but it seemed to come up alot last week in some of our books and activities so I went ahead and introduced it. I love how kids are just as flexible as we teachers need them to be and always ready to learn something new, even when it wasn't planned. :)
MATH
We will finish up Ch. 12 this week and take our test. Look for the review sheet to come home the night before. Last Thursday the students were taken to preview the Math Store where they can spend their Blount Bucks they earn through passing levels on Math Facts In A Flash, making "A's" and "B's" on their tests and report cards, etc. I encourage the children to practice their Math Facts In A Flash at home and test each day. They are not limited to how many times they can take them each day so hopefully the Math Store will put a "pep in their step" to help them memorize their facts. We are getting a letter ready to send home with all the information you need to know about the Math Store!

OTHER REMINDERS

The Community Spirit project for the Kindergarten and First Graders this year is the Montgomery Humane Society. A representative from the Humane Society will be here tomorrow for a presentation to kick off our project. Students in all grades are welcomed to donate to this project. We will begin collecting Tuesday February 21 thru March 2. A list of needed items can be found on Blount PTA’s website (www.blountpta.org). Thanks so much for helping out with our Community Spirit project.

No Nancy Italian Ice this week due to President's Day!

Muffins For Mom ~ Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 7:15-8:00 (last names A-L)

Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 7:15-8:00 (last names M-Z)

Spirit Night @ Burger King ~ Tuesday, Feb. 21

Let's Pretend Hospital ~ Monday, Feb. 27 (permission slip on it's way)

Spirit Night @ Nancy's Italian Ice ~ Wednesday, Feb. 29

Read Across America Week ~ Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!!

Monday ~ We will complete a decoration for our class door.

Tuesday ~ DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) for thirty minutes.

Wednesday ~ We would love for a volunteer(s) to come and read a Dr. Seuss book at anytime during the week, not just on Wednesday. If you are interested just send me an e-mail or note.

Thursday ~ Silly Hat Day ~ Students may wear a silly hat in honor of Dr. Seuss

Friday ~ Character Parade @ 9:30. Parents are welcome to join us in the cafeteria as we walk across the stage "strutting our stuff." Your child will need a sign with the character name and book!

Have a super short rest of the week! As always, e-mail me with any questions!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Remember, our Valentine's Party is Tuesday from 1:30-2:15. Thanks to everyone who has sent in items to make our Ice Cream Sundaes a hit! Items can still be brought in Tuesday morning. Please do not forget to send your Valentine's with your child and remember, we have a new friend, Emmanuel. Hope you can make it to our fun afternoon. Check out procedures will be the same as it was for our Christmas party.

READING

Our letter this week will be "o" as in "otter." We will read nonfiction books and learn lots of fun facts about otters. Word wall words are not, on, well, they, and before. We are moving right along in our reading groups, I am so very impressed with how well everyone is reading!

LANGUAGE

Last week students were introduced to Rule 14 ~ Some words tell what is happening or already happened. (Verbs) We will of course continue to review ALL previous rules.

MATH

We have had many interruptions that have not allowed us to consistency start and finish a math chapter, so we will get right back on track this week. We will begin Ch. 12, Number Patterns. Students will learn how to skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's. A review sheet will come home the night before the test.

Has your child been practicing their Math Facts In A Flash at home? Well, now it is time for them to get paid! Our annual Math Store is ready to open and Blount Bucks are ready to be passed out! Children will earn Blount Bucks for levels passed as well as other activities. For example, making an "A" on a math test. As soon as our first grade team has come up with fair and appropriate goals, we will send a letter home explaining all the ways they can earn their Blount Bucks. We have a preview day Thursday, which will allow the children to see potential items they may purchase with their Blount Bucks as well as get them even more excited and motivated to reach the goals to earn Blount Bucks. A letter from PTA will come home tomorrow briefly explaining the Math Store and a letter from the First Grade Teachers will soon follow explaining our goals for the students. Sorry, kinda wordy, but clarification is on it's way.

OTHER BLOUNT NEWS

We will rotate to computer tomorrow for the next three weeks.

Monday, Feb. 13 - Nancy's Italian Ice - money must be sent before the 8:10 bell.

Tuesday, Feb. 14 - Valentine's Party from 1:30-2:15

Thursday, Feb. 16 - Progress Reports

Monday, Feb. 20 - Presiden't Day (No School!)

Tuesday, Feb. 21 - Humane Speaker to kick off our First Grade Spirit Project

Monday, Feb. 27 - Field Trip to Let's Pretend Hospital - Permission slips will be sent home in the next week or so. Due to limited space at the facility, parents will not be allowed to attend, but we will take lots of pictures for the yearbook!

Have a happy week!

A New Nine Weeks!

The third nine weeks will begin on tomorrow! Your child will bring home a new behavioral log as well as a new reading log ~ that means everyone starts off with a 100 for conduct ~ woohoo!!!

DIBELS testing will also start tomorrow, which means the library will be closed for most of the day. When it opens each afternoon, I will do my best to send each student that is ready for new library books. Do not be alarmed if your child brings home the same library book or no library book! The first grade classes will DIBEL on tomorrow and will be assessed in Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). They will be given one minute to read three unfamiliar passages. The total number of words read correctly will give them their score. (the highest and lowest scores are tossed and the middle score will determine their ORF) First grade benchmark is 40 words per minute. The results for this will be sent home in their Report Cards this Thursday, Jan. 26th.

On Wednesday, I will be pulled from my class as I am on the DIBELS team so your child will be put into another first grade class through lunch. This is a familiar routine for them and they will go to the same class as before so NO WORRIES!!!

Do not forget to send in your Scholastic Book Order if you did not order online. I will be submitting the order no later than this Tuesday.

READING

The letter for this week is "e" as in "engine" and "Ed."

Word Wall Words are: make, when, red, do, take, into, ten, went, to

LANGUAGE

We will continue as always reviewing rules 1-13, while introducing rule 14 ~ Some words tell what is happening or already happened. (verbs or action words)

MATH

Are you using Math Facts In A Flash at home? This is a great way to help your child memorize their math facts, which makes their math later on so much easier when they do not have to stop and count on their fingers or draw tally marks.

We will continue through Ch. 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. Remember, look for the review sheet to come home the night before the test. Also, please make sure you are reinforcing the lessons being taught by referring to their yellow Math Homework Chart.

OTHER REMINDERS:

Monday, Jan. 23 ~ Scholastic Book Orders Due, Class DIBELS,

Nancy's Italian Ice 1.00

Thursday, Jan. 26 ~ Report Cards

Friday, Jan. 27 ~ Box Tops Due

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!

The second nine weeks and first semester will end this Friday, January 20th.

Where has the time gone? We have had such a GREAT first semester and I look forward to an even better second semester.

I am sending signed papers home on tomorrow, which are the last set of grades that will be coming home before report cards. Please make sure you are keeping track of your child's grades through STI. You can get your login information from the office if you have not already done so.

This Friday I will be sending home your child's Writing Portfolio, which consists of all their writing jobs from the first semester. These writing jobs are completed independently during reading centers. Please keep them in a safe place so when you get the next one you will be able to see the growth and difference. You will be AMAZED!!!

READING

Read Well Unit 18, "wh" as in "whale." We will spend this week talking and learning about whales and dolphins. We will continue reading nonfiction books as they make the connection that nonfiction books teach us new things that are real. The word wall words for the week are what and we.

LANGUAGE

We will continue talking about adjectives. I have some fun activities that I think will help the students understand that adjectives are describing words; which are different from nouns and verbs.

MATH

We will begin Ch. 11, Comparing and Ordering Numbers. The students will be introduced to the terms and symbols for: less than, greater than, and equal to. Remember to look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test.

OTHER REMINDERS

Class Library Time: Tuesday, January 17

Nancy's Italian Ice: Monday, January 23

Scholastic Book Orders Due: Monday, January 23

CLASS DIBELS: Monday, January 23

Report Cards: Thursday, January 26

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I sure hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed their nice, long break. The Thomas house stayed very busy. After Christmas, we celebrated Connor's first birthday!!! We spent several days sleeping in and staying in our pj's...only a glimpse of what our summer will be like. :) I was so excited to see everyone on Wednesday and get back into somewhat of a routine. Hopefully this full week will get us right where we need to be!

READING

We will focus on the letter blend "ar" as in "shark" and star." This will be a favorite among my class. Our word wall words this week will be are and ask.

LANGUAGE

Last week I introduced rule 13 ~ Some words describe. (adjectives) We will spend another full week talking about this because it seems to be a very difficult concept to grasp.

MATH

We have started Ch 10, Identifying Tens and Ones. Look for a review sheet to come home the night before the test.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND IMPORTANT DATES

Monday, Jan. 9 ~ Nancy's Italian Ice for $1.00

Tuesday, Jan. 10 ~ Library Day

Monday, Jan. 16 ~ MLK Holiday ~ No School!

Thursday, Jan. 26 ~ Report Cards

Merry, Merry Christmas from the Thomas' and a Happy Happy New Year!

We will be traveling to Iowa and playing in the snow for Christmas.
When we return, we will be celebrating Connor's 1st birthday...my, oh, my how time flies!!!
I hope everyone has safe travels and enjoys spending time with friends and family and remembering what Christmas is all about! :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you first graders at Blount! We collected 69 pajamas!!!

Our Polar Express party was a hit! The children enjoyed the movie while munching away on homemade sugar cookies and sipped on chocolate milk through a candy cane straw!!!

What a busy week in Room 121....until next year!!!

READING

Our letter this week is "k" as in "kangaroo." We will spend some time talking about kangaroos and koalas and comparing them. Our word wall words are couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't, and think.

LANGUAGE

We will focus on rule 11 ~ Some words take the place of names. (pronouns)

MATH

We will finish this week with Ch. 9, Tables and Graphs, and test Thursday. Look for a review sheet to come home Wednesday night.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

There are crafts to be made so we will spend this week on more fun topics to conclude our holiday season. (Santa, Elves, North Pole, etc.)

IMPORTANT REMINDERS AND DATES
Tuesday, December 13 ~ Spirit Night at Jason's Deli

Thursday, December 15 ~ Holiday Party from 1:30-2:15

Monday, December 19- Tuesday, January 3 ~ Winter Holidays!

Wednesday, January 4 ~ Students Return

*Please think about picking up some supplies for your child over the holiday break. Most of the children are out of glue sticks, crayons and pencils!