Our Winter Party is Thursday at 10 AM in our classroom. Thanks to Teresa Bowerman, Angela Milliman, Marc Hernandez, Stacy Dollar and Debbie Stack for planning such a great party. I am looking forward to it.

We have a Spirit Assembly tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9:30.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break! Remember that Friday is an early release day. The students will be released at 12:20.

Pizza Lunch

We have finished another comliment chain and the kids have chosen to have a pizza lunch in our classroom on Friday. Please send in $2 by Friday. Thanks!

Holiday Traditions

Do you celebrate another holiday besides Christmas during this time of year? If so, please let me know. Also, if you’d like to come in and teach a lesson on your tradition, let me know and we can schedule a time for you next week.

Winter Party

For our winter party, we will be celebrating the holidays around the world and would like food from around the world as well. If you would like to send in a dish, please email Teresa Bowerman at teresa@bowermans.com.

Our class has the opportunity to be a part this Holiday Season of a very special place in Mexico.  There is a shelter there, called Casa Hogar Pan de Vida that houses over 45 children without parents, with parents in prison, or from off the streets of Mexico.  There is a barrel in the 2^nd grade hall marked Pan de Vida that you can put items such as school supplies or 48 shopping bags outside the fifth grade classrooms…. each bag is being filled with “almost new” or new toys and clothes for each child at the shelter. If you are cleaning out your closets, at home, feel free to bring your unwanted items to school. The bags will be delivered on December 17th weekend.

Thank you so very much for helping to make a difference in the lives of so many needy children.

Please let me know if you’d like more information about the shelter or you can visit the website at www.pdvmex.org.

IMPORTANT DATES:

No popcorn Thursday. Popcorn day will be Friday instead.

Friday 12/11: Show Choir 2:00

Wednesday, 12/16: Spirit Assembly 9:30

Thursday, 12/17: Winter Party 10:00

Friday, 12/18: Early Release 12:20

Special Persons’ Day

A huge thank you to those of you who contributed to our Special Persons’ Day festivities. The kids were so excited to perform their plays, and they did a wonderful job! Pictures to come soon.

Math Facts

Please continue to practice addition and subtraction facts with your child on a regular basis. We are currently practicing doubles facts, which need to be MEMORIZED. They are: 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, 6+6, 7+7, 8+8, and 9+9. We will soon begin learning  “neighbors” or doubles +1 (Ex: 4+5, 4+4 is 8, add one more and you get 9) so it is really important that they know the doubles facts. Thanks for your help.

Field Trip

A letter went home today regarding our field trip next Tuesday, 12/8, to Zach Scott Theatre. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Ms. Kuoy

Ms. Kuoy has done a wonderful job with the kids, and we would like to celebrate with her on her last day- this Friday, 12/4. At 2:30, we will have a cookies and punch celebration in our classroom. If you have some free time, please feel free to stop by and wish her well. If you would like to give a book or books to her class book basket, please send it to school with your child. I would like the books by Wednesday or Thursday, but of course we can add any last minute additions. Thank you!!

Have a great week!

Monday is Special Persons’ Day. That morning we will make homemade butter and pumpkin pie to serve at our celebration. Special Persons’ Day will take place in our classroom at 2 PM. Please practice the Thanksgiving Reader’s Theatre with your child in preparation for their performance Monday. Their part schould be highlighted. If your child did not bring this home, please let me know. The script should stay in their red folder as we will be practicing it during the week. Thank you! We hope to see you all there!

Book Orders: Nov/Dec book orders are due Tuesday, Nov. 24th. Remember that you can now place your orders online. Get those stocking stuffers now!

Spelling List: The weekly spelling list can be found under the Spelling link. This includes all 20 words for the week, but your child is only responsible for their 6 words. Let me know if you a have any questions.

Reminder: No school November 25-27. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving for your family!

Math Strategies

You may have heard about some new math fact strategies from your child. Mrs. Bechtol, our math intervention specialist, has been teaching our class strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems using the Making Math Real program. She has taught the “click and show” strategy for addition and the “bump and point” strategy for subtraction. This week I will send some information home regarding all of the strategies that we are practicing in class.

Spelling Tests

We will begin formal spelling assessments this week. Please look for your child’s list of 6 words in their folder on Monday. We will pre-test on Monday to determine the words that are appropriate for your child. The post-test will be on Friday. We will practice our words in class during the week, however it is helpful for you to practice them at home as well. Check your child’s daily folder for the list of words and a detailed letter regarding spelling.

Austin Children’s Musuem Field Trip

Last Thursday I sent home a letter regarding the field trip/sleep over at the Austin Children’s Museum. I am happy to answer any additional questions you might have about this event.

Special Visitor’s Day

Special Person’s Day is Monday, November 23rd, at 2:00 in our classroom. This is a time for you and other special people (grandparents, relatives, any special person) to visit our class and celebrate with the students. The students will be performing Thanksgiving poems and songs, as well as preparing pumpkin pies and homemade butter for our guests. I hope to see you there!

Next Friday, November 20th, I will be utilizing the “free day” that we are given when we have a student teacher. I am able to take a day off, and Ms. Kuoy will be my substitute teacher. I’ve decided to take off this day in celebration of my birthday- the big 3-0…

Important dates to remember:

Wednesday, 11/11 – Spirit Assembly, 9:30 AM

Monday, 11/23 – Special Persons’ Day, 2:00

11/25-11-27 – Thanksgiving holiday

Next week Miss Kuoy will begin her “total teach.” This means she will be planning and teaching all subjects for the next two weeks. Volunteers will continue normally during this time.

This week I will begin sending home sight word homework. It will most likely come home Wednesday night. This week I will send home 5 Star Sentences. A five star sentence follows these rules: 1) Starts with a capital letter 2) Uses correct puntuation 3) Sight Words are spelled correctly 4) Spaces between words 5) Does the sentence make sense?

Thanks! Have a great week!

Conference Days/Early Release: Wednesday through Friday are early release days for the students. They will be released at 12:20 and will not have lunch prior to leaving. We will not have popcorn for snack on Thursday. Please be sure to send a snack with your child on that day.

Reading Groups: Due to half-day schedules, we will not have reading groups Wed-Fri. Please read something that you have at home each night. Thank you!

Sight Word SPELLING: Thank you for working with your child on our weekly sight words. They are doing a great job reading the words. We still need lots of practice on spelling the words. While we work on this quite a bit at school, please be sure to practice this often at home. Check out the Sight Words link for a list of our 1st grade sight words. I also list each week’s sight words in the curriculum link.

Fall Party: Our Fall Party is planned for Friday, 10/30, at 11 AM. We hope to see you there!

Have a great week!

Parent conferences will be held October 28-30. I have scheduled times for some of you. For those of you who have not scheduled a time, I am sending home a schedule with a list of available times. Please select three times that will work for you (indicating your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices) and I will schedule a time for you. Thanks! This form is coming home Tuesday, so please be on the lookout! **Report cards will be given at conferences.**

Please remember to send in a clean glass jar by Friday. If you can remove the label that would be VERY helpful. 

Falcon Frolics is Friday at 10:30 on the upper playground. Please feel free to join us!

You may have noticed an Everyday Math login card in your child’s daily folder. This is so that your child can log in to the EM Online Games website from home. It is a great website that has many of the games that we play in class. Go to the FTE website, 1st grade links and Everyday Math online games. Enjoy!