Weekly Letter October 7th

It is finally starting to feel like Fall with the arrival of some cooler weather! Our class had a great week last week as we discussed some of the very important people in their lives, including YOU, during our unit on Families! Below are the topics we will be covering this week.

Reading and Writing: I am very excited to learn about your family! The comprehension skill during this unit will focus on how to compare and contrast. During Reading Workshop, the students will learn how to compare and contrast as we talk about how families are alike and how families are different. This is an important skill that the students will be able to use in all area of studies. They will be introduced to a Venn Diagram, and learn how to complete this type of organizer. We will be discussing activities that families can do together. This will then lead our focus on how families celebrate. The students will identify special days that some families celebrate and explain their importance. Please discuss with your child all the wonderful holidays or special events that your family celebrates! *Please send in family photo ASAP! Thank You!

**Book Baggies need to come back to school each day since I read with some students each day using the books in their bags. Thank you!

Phonics/Spelling/Grammar/Vocabulary: This week the phonics skill follows the short u vowel pattern. I have attached a copy of the spelling and sight words for the week; please review these words with your child each night. The grammar point of the week will focus on sentence structure. The students are still reviewing what is needed when writing a sentence. We need to make sure we have a capital letter at the beginning of our sentence and the proper punctuation mark at the end. This is important to remember when writing with your child at home!

Math: This week we will continue chapter 2. Students have been learning all about doubles facts. Doubles facts are addition equations that have the same addends. For example, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, etc. These facts should be memorized since they will help us with adding “near doubles” facts in the middle of the week. For example, if we know 2+2=4, then 2+3 is one more than 4, which is 5. Please take some time each night to review some doubles facts! J

Religion: This week we will be finishing chapter 2. There will be a chapter 2 assessment on Friday. Books will go home on Wednesday. Please focus on these topics: Blessed Trinity, Sign of the Cross, Prayer

Announcements & Reminders:

• Please send in family photo ASAP.
• A Look Ahead… On Halloween the children are permitted to dress up for the holiday in a bathroom friendly costume. Any type of weapon or mask is NOT permitted. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. There will be a school wide parade around the DWCA community! All families are welcome to stop by school and take pictures during the parade – more information will be provided in the next 2 weeks.

Spelling Words: bump, bus, cut, jump, must, nut, rug, run, sun, up

Sight Words: all, look, is, her

Weekly Letter September 30th

Happy Fall! Believe it or not October is here and we will be starting a thematic unit on Families this week. We have spent the last month establishing routines for Reading and Writing Workshop! This week we are going to put our skills to the test! I think we are ready to start our first thematic unit of the year.

Reading & Writing:

During Reading Workshop this week, we will continue to rotate through our four centers. I am almost done with reading assessments! It is great to see the improvements your children have made since leaving kindergarten J During reading workshop this week students will be book shopping. Students will get a chance to bring 5 books home in a baggie. The books in their baggie should consist of 3 books that are on their reading level and 2 books that are free choice. These baggies should come back to school each day and students will be able to switch out books once a week. Your child may come home with their book baggie on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday this week. It all depends on when their group book shops.

During writing workshop this week students will be focusing on their immediate families! We will discuss how many people are in our immediate family and what it means to be a family. Please send in ONE picture of your immediate family by Friday, October 4^th.

Phonics/Spelling/Grammar:

This week our phonics skill is the short e sound. Please review these words with your child each night. Please remember to have your child write the date at the top of each spelling homework page. Thank you!

Math:

This week the students will be taking a chapter 1 test on Tuesday. Review sheets went home on Friday. Starting on Wednesday, we will begin chapter 2. In this chapter students will use the “count on” strategy to help them add 1, 2, or 3 to a number. For example, when solving, 7+2- I circle the greater addend and count on 2 more. We will also explore the idea of doubles facts such as 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, etc.

Religion:

This week we will be continuing with Chapter 2 about the Blessed Trinity. The students will learn that the Sign of the Cross is a prayer to the Blessed Trinity and that it shows us that we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Please practice the Sign of the Cross with your child!

Announcements & Reminders

• Friday, October 4^th is a noon dismissal
• Immediate family photos due by Friday
• Tests only need to be signed and returned when you see a stamp or sticker from me. If you see no stamp or sticker that says, “please sign and return”, you may keep the test at home.

Behavior Chart – As you may be aware, our class has been using the “Color chart” as the behavior system for our classroom. I always use the month of September as a trial run for myself and students. Since it is October, students now understand the rules and expectations for the classroom. Beginning this week, the students will be coloring in a calendar each day indicating what color they ended the day on.  This calendar will be in their homework folder and should remain there all month.  You will be asked to sign the calendar each night.  Below is the order of the colors on the behavior chart and what they mean:

Pink – Outstanding

Purple – Great Job

Blue – Good Choices

Green – Ready to Learn

Yellow – Slow Down

Orange – Consequence

Red – Contact Family 

If your child ends the day on yellow, orange, or red, please ask them what happened and how they can make the better choice.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Weekly Letter September 23rd

I cannot believe we are almost finished with the month of September! This week will be a busy week filled with learning and thinking! The students are beginning to feel more comfortable following class routines independently. Our class is really starting to develop some nice friendships, helping build a community of learners. We look ahead to this week and all of the new and exciting things we will be learning.

Reading & Writing:

During Reading Workshop this week, students will continue to practice working independently in their center groups. Students have been working hard on transitioning from one activity to another and how they can setup and clean up properly. I have been slowly doing reading assessments with individual children. I hope to have them all tested by the end of the week. I will keep you updated!

Phonics/Spelling/Grammar:

This week our phonics skill is the “short o” vowel pattern. Please review spelling and sight words with your child each night.

Math:

We have our chapter one test on Tuesday, October 1st. During this week we will continue to practice addition and subtraction strategies. Students are becoming more familiar with the vocabulary of this chapter and understanding when they should add or subtract. For example, if they see the phrases, “how many more?” or “how many fewer?”, they should subtract. When they see the phrase “how many in all?”, they should add. I will send home some review material at the end of the week to help your child prepare more for our assessment.

Religion:

Tomorrow, we have a chapter one test. Please return religion books, so that we can start chapter 2 on Wednesday. Chapter 2: “We Believe in the Blessed Trinity” will have children learn that Jesus is God’s greatest gift to us. We will explore the concept of the Blessed Trinity and practice the Sign of the Cross. Please practice at home as well J

Announcements & Reminders:

• Chapter 1 Math Test- Tuesday, October 1st.
• Picture Day forms are going home today. Class pictures on Monday (30^th) and individual pictures on Tuesday (1^st). Students should be in uniform on Monday. If you are purchasing a picture package, students may dress up for individual.
• if you have not done so already, please send in a folder for Spanish class and a recess bag. The recess bag should be a zip lock bag filled with materials that your child could do in the event of indoor recess. Activities may include, Uno cards, playing cards, coloring books, activity books. These bags will be sent home occasionally to be replenished.

Weekly Letter September 16th

Can you believe that we are already starting the second full week of school?! The first week was fantastic and it can only get better as the year progresses. The students have been working very hard to follow the routines and rules of the classroom and they are starting to get comfortable in their new classroom! I am very excited to get started this week with some new and exciting topics.

Reading:

            During the month of September, the students will be working on strategies that will help them become better readers. We are still focusing on the importance of reading workshop and how all the components come together to form engaging and meaningful instruction. The process of reading workshop takes time and practice, but we are taking it day by day. Students will be talking about just right books, book shopping and strategies for reading independently this week.

            Also during this first month of school we will be reading books about friendship and appropriate behavior as we explore the work of Kevin Henkes. Henkes’ books help explore real life conflicts and emotions experienced by his characters in a child-friendly approach. Last week we met Wemberly fromWemberly Worried, and this week the students will meet Lilly from Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. The students will discover some great ways to solve some of the problems the character’s experience in the stories. The use of these books and characters will help build a friendly classroom community needed for a successful school year!

Phonics/ Spelling:

Last week your child was sent home with a Spelling Notebook. Please make sure the spelling notebook comes back to school each day. This week the phonics skill will focus on the short I vowel pattern. There will be a new homework sheet in the green folder. Please review the spelling words and sight words each night with your child. The more practice your child gets using phonics patterns, the more confident they will be when it comes to reading and writing!

Math:

Last week we started our first chapter in our Envisions book that focused on the concept of addition and subtraction. This week we will be continuing with subtraction and focusing on the words compare, fewer, and difference. Students will use cubes and pictures to compare two groups of numbers to find out which group has fewer or more. If there are any problems completing math homework please let me know!

Religion:

            This week we will be continuing chapter one in our religion textbook. We are exploring all the wonderful things that God created. We learned that God created the world and all people. Students even created a picture in class of something beautiful that God created. Please discuss these ideas at home with your child. Take a walk around the neighborhood looking at all of the beautiful things around us! 

*There will be a religion assessment on Tuesday, September 24. Books will go home on Friday. The questions that students will be asked to answer are…

1. Draw a picture of something God created
2. Draw a picture and write a sentence about how you can take care of God’s world. 

Reminders:

• Scholastic Online Class Code: NHWTP– Orders due by Monday, September 23^rd. Orders can be made by check and sent into school or made online using the above code.
• If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time!