So long September!

It is hard to believe this is the last week in September! Room 123 has been an extremely busy place this past month.  Thank you so much for your support of all that goes on in our school and in our classroom.  Take a look at what is going on this week.

READING

Our whole group sound will be /d/ as in dinosaur.  We will spend time learning  new facts about some of our favorite dinosaurs.  This is a review week for word wall words.  Your child should be able to read all of the word wall words to date without hesitation.  Remember word wall words should not be sounded out but memorized and read without any hesitation.  We will have unannounced word wall checks three times during the nine weeks.  All groups should have at least 2  homework story pages by now.  Do not remove homework stories, the children will need these for partner reading.  Practice these as often as possible as part of the 20 minutes of reading. Old homework stories should also be read, research shows repeated readings is one of the best ways to improve fluency and increase comprehension.  Homework stories should be read  fluently (at smooth rate) and accurately (no mistakes while reading the passage).

Many of the children have been taking AR tests! Please continue to send in a note letting me know when your child is ready to take a test.

MATH

We will continue in Chapter 5 and test at the end of the week.  Just look for the review sheet, it does not have to be returned.  We will also continue with our number sense activities.  This week I will introduce Math Fact in a Flash to the children. Math Facts in a Flash is a computer program that quizzes the children on their math facts(beginning with addition) and times them at the same time. Please watch for a detailed letter to come home explaining Math Facts in a Flash.  I hope you read your Home Connect letter that gave you your child’s user name and password to use so you may view and receive by email each time your child takes an AR test or Math Facts Test.  If you are unsure how to do this please contact me and I will help you! I really encourage the children to practice their Math Fact at home because it will help them to memorize their facts instead of counting on their fingers.

LANGUAGE

I am introducing our next grammar rule tomorrow, specific places begin with a capital letter.  Once a rule is introduced we will continue to practice it in sentences.

A Few Reminders

• Nancy’s Italian Ice will be served EVERY Monday beginning tomorrow. YAY!! That will be so much easier to remember!!  Please send in $1 labeled Ice if you want your child wants one.  Flavor choices are Cool Blue and Birthday Cake.

• If your child is absent, please send me an email letting me know.  We are required to document that we’ve made contact with you if your child is out.  An email will really be helpful so that I don’t have to make a phone call during our busy day.  THANKS!

• Our Just Give campaign has been extended to November 1.  Also if you haven’t joined the PTA please do so.  The children will be looking for the 100% to go up by our class name in the lunchroom when everyone has joined.  Membership is $10.

• Our Fall Festival is scheduled for October.  This is a really fun event.  Wristbands can be preordered until October 13th, t-shirts can be ordered until October 1.  These t-shirts can be worn as Spirit wear on Friday.

Have a wonderful week and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you for sharing your greatest blessings with me!

Hugs!

Yummy! Yummy! Applesauce!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the cooler temperatures.  Room 123 was smelling yummy on Friday! We made applesauce and the children loved it!! So.much.fun!!!! This week promises to be just as busy as last week! Take a look!

Language

We will continue to work on grammar rules: capital letters at the beginning of the sentence, and periods at the end. Our new rule is the names of people and pets always begin with capital letters.     

Reading

Our whole group reading is /a/ as in apple.  We will continue doing lots of apple related things this week.  We will also learn about John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) the “father” of apples.

Please refer to the Word Wall Sheet in the take home folder for this week’s words.

We had a good week of learning our reading work station rotations and the children really seemed to enjoy it.  Everyone has a job whether it’s with me in my group or independently around the room.  This will be our routine for reading each day.

Please continue to send me a note if your child is ready to take an AR test. 

Math

In math we will finish up Chapter 2 and test on it Thursday.  Look for the review sheet to come home Wednesday.  Along with working through the math book we will also work with games and manipulatives  to help build their number sense.  I found this definition of number sense that I thought you may find helpful.

“Number sense refers to a person's general understanding of number and operations along with the ability to use this understanding in flexible ways to make mathematical judgments and to develop useful strategies for solving complex problems.”

I will introduce different games using dominos, dice, decks of cards and other manipulatives.  We will use these activities in groups and then they will be added to our math work stations for future use by the children during math work stations.

Science / Social Studies

We will continue working on our Apples unit and Johnny Appleseed

Reminders

New Policy on Absences

If your child is absent, please call the office at 244-0078 to let the secretary know of the absence or, send me an email letting me know of the absence.  If your phone number is  local you will still get the computer generated phone call alerting you about your child's absence.   If I don’t hear from you I will have to call you during the day asking about the absence.  Our day is quite full and finding that time to make a phone call is going to be difficult. This is a new policy from Montgomery Public Schools.  Thank you for helping me out with this new policy.

Nancy’s Italian Ice will be back Monday SEPTEMBER 26.  Your child will need $1 to purchase a Little Owl.  They are YUMMY!!!

Spirit night at Burger King on September 20th.

Box Tops due September 30th

Room 123 is an amazing place to be each day! I feel so very blessed to work with these precious children.  We are off to a wonderful start! Thank you parents for all your help and encouragement as we begin the exciting journey of First Grade! Please contact me if you have any questions about anything.  I am here to help!

Big Hugs!!

Weekly News

I hope you were all able to enjoy this amazing weather this weekend! We are going to have a super busy week filled with lots of fun and learning in Room 123!

READING

We will begin our small groups and I will also explain the Reading Stations to the children. We will most likely spend Monday and Tuesday practicing our rotations and making sure everyone knows where to go and what to do while I am working with small groups.  Please look for a Read Well homework story to come home on Wednesday. 

Several children have been asking me about taking Accelerated Reader tests.  I normally do not start letting the children take AR tests until the second nine weeks.  However, if your child would like to take AR tests then I will allow them to start this nine weeks.  This is not at all required right now.  Later on in the year I will require that the children take a certain number of tests per week depending on their reading level.  For those who would like to go ahead and begin taking tests please make sure your child can read the book independently.   They should read the book three times, for one of the readings I would encourage you to read the book to them. When they are ready if you would simply write me a quick note saying they are ready to take a test on their book.  Right now I will be assisting the children as they take tests, so they may not take it the day they bring me the note.  After they take their test I will let them go to the library and check out another book.  Our class library day is every Tuesday.  So everyone can get a new book each Tuesday regardless as to if they have taken an AR test or not.  I will be sending home STAR Reading Reports tomorrow that the children took on the computer last week.   These reports will tell you exactly what level books will help your child become a better reader.  If you have any questions about AR, the STAR Reading Reports, or Read Well please do not hesitate to ask me!

Our focus sound for this week is Mm as in monkey.  Our word wall words this week are me, our, pretty, going, ate.

During our DOL we will continue to focus on capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and a period at the end of a sentence that tells us something.

MATH

We will continue to work on addition in Chapter 1.  Please look at your child’s homework page in their take home notebook as to what lesson we complete each day.  Remember that the night before our math test I will send home the review page out of their math workbook.  That will be a reminder to you that our test is the next day.  The homework review page does not have to be returned, it is simply for review in preparation for the test.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

We will continue our APPLE unit, please send in an apple on Wednesday. 

IN OTHER NEWS

This week we will rotate our specialists.  Our class will now go to Coach Rader for PE for the next three weeks.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our first day to purchase Nancy's Italian Ice as a refreshing sweet treat.  A variety of flavors will be sold for $1.00.  Italian ice will be sold every other Monday. This is a school fundraiser not a PTA fundraiser. 

Thank you to everyone who ordered Scholastic Books, they should be here by the beginning of next week.

IMPORTANT DATES:
August 22-October 7:  PTA membership drive

September 12: Nancy’s Italian Ice $1.00 for sale during school.

September 13:  Spirit Night at Jason's Deli

September 20:  Spirit Night at Burger King on Chantilly

September 26: Nancy’s Italian Ice $1.00 for sale during school.

September 28:  Spirit Night at Nancy's Italian Ice 

Can’t wait to see all my sweet firsties in the morning! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Hugs!

First Grade Happenings!

In reading this week, we are learning Ee as in "emu" and ee as in “bee.”  Our word wall words for the week are:  see, down, find, good, please. We will continue to work on procedures and routines this week in preparation for next week when we will begin our Literacy Center Rotations. We will also be learning many things about readers and how to select just right books.

In Language we will continue to practice Grammar Rules 1 and 2.  A sentence is a complete thought.  A sentence begins with a capital letter.  A sentence that tells something ends with a period.  We will continue to practice our DOL (daily oral language) sentences each day.  Last Friday I did take their DOL for a grade.  Many children forgot to put capital letters and periods on their work.  I am going to review it with them tomorrow and give them the opportunity to correct their mistakes.  I will not do this every week so please be sure and review the DOL that comes home in their take home notebooks each day.  If you  have any questions feel free to talk to me.

In Math we will begin Chapter 1 Addition Concepts.  We will begin by learning how to write the appropriate numbers and mathematical symbols related to addition stories, pictures, and sentences.  We will use a variety of manipulatives as we create problems. stories and addition sentences.

Science and Social Studies will be combined for an “Apple” unit the rest of the month of September.  We will learn all about how apples grow and what happens to the apple orchard during each of the four seasons. We will also learn all about Johnny Appleseed.  I will send a note home next week asking each child to bring in an apple and we will use our own special recipe to make homemade applesauce! While our applesauce is cooking we will discuss our five senses. Yummy!

Did you hear all about our surprise visitor on Friday? Zero the Hero dropped by Room 123!!  He plans to make an appearance every ten days of school.  Unfortunately, we were at lunch when he stopped by our classroom.  He left a special treat in the shape of a zero for all of us to enjoy.  Zero the Hero is an excellent way to help us learn to count by 10s.

Tuesday is our Back to School Bash! First grade will not have Open House since we had our small group meetings last week.  However please do come and enjoy the  inflatables, face painting, and many vendors that will be there.  It all begins at 5:00! The Volunteer Round Up and PTA Budget Approval will meet in the lunchroom at 7:00.  At the bash, go ahead and sign up for the PTA and get your wristbands for the Fall Festival.  The fall festival is a favorite with the children!  Our PTA does an outstanding job of supporting our school.  They are always in need of volunteers so please join them!

This is a short week so only send in $2.00 for snack and $2.00 for juice this week.  Please send the correct amount for snack/juice.  I am unable to make change.

You may join us for lunch any time.  You do not need to make reservations.  Be sure to sign in and wait for us at the office.  Our lunch time is 11:00-11:30.  

Scholastic Book Order Forms will be sent home tomorrow.  Book Orders are completely voluntary! If you would like to order from this months selection please place your order online or send it in to me by this Friday, September 9th. 

Have a wonderful week and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!!

Hugs to all my new firsties!!

Shaving Cream Fun on Friday!!

Wacky Watermelons!!

Week 1 of First Grade = AMAZING!

We have had an amazing first week of school!! The children have done an excellent job listening and following directions.  They have adjusted so well to our schedule and I know we are going to have a super year!! It has been a joy to get to know each sweet little personality!

Look at our sweet class!!

Now for the “silly” picture !

I hope you received the letter telling about our small group conferences that we will be having on Tuesday and Thursday of this week.  The First Grade Team feels that this is the best way to explain to you how we do things in our classroom, what the  expectations are , and give you a glimpse of what our day is like.  We will also cover in detail the curriculum your children will be learning.  This is an informal meeting that I hope will answer questions you may have or at least clarify some things for you.  We do hope you can attend one of the meetings.  There is no need to come to both, they will cover the same things.  On Tuesday we will meet in Room 123 at 4:00.  We will begin on time and we will finish on time. Please remember that this meeting time is for parents only. On Thursday we will meet at 5:30 in Room 123.  If for some reason your schedule does not allow you to attend either one of the meetings, please let me know so we can work something out where I can share with you the important things that need to happen for your sweet little firstie to have the best. school. year. ever!!!!

This week we will continue to practice staying on our schedule.  However tomorrow our class will be somewhat off our schedule.  I am a member of the DIBELS Testing Team.   Three times a year I am pulled from my  classroom to do some testing on the children at Blount. While it breaks my heart to share my precious babies with the other first grade teachers, I will divide them up and they will spend part of their day in another first grade class while I am testing.  HOWEVER…..rest assured my First Grade Team is the.bomb.  They are wonderful in every sense of the word. I can promise you your little angel baby will be well taken care of! We will basically begin our typical Monday on Tuesday with the exception that I will be taking up all mail Monday morning. (notes, money – LABELED & what it is for). Remember that if your child’s transportation in the afternoon changes I must have a written note from a parent! Thank you for your help and understanding as we try and keep everyone safe!

READING

We are still in the process at looking at our Reading Data and placing children in the appropriate groups for Reading. This week we will model what our Reading stations should look and sound like. We will go through several “pretend” groups. 

MATH

Our math each day starts with calendar math. There are so many skill and concepts that are taught from this 20-30 daily lesson. I spent several day last week modeling what the children would be doing in their Calendar Math notebook. They will receive their own notebook to record the data after Labor Day.  We will also be talking about Beginning Number Concepts. 

LANGUAGE

Last week the children simply copied sentences,letters, or words that I called our and then printed on the board. We learned that a sentence is a complete thought, all sentences begin with a capital letter, and all telling sentences end in a period. Monday the children will begin editing my sentences. I will leave off the capital letter at the beginning and they will have to copy the sentence correctly. DOL (daily oral language)  is written on a sheet of lined first grade paper. We will usually have two sentences and the word wall words for the week. Please check this page each day when it comes home. They will make corrections but I will not allow them to erase their mistakes so you can see what they need help with. We will do this each morning.  On Friday we do the exact same thing we have been doing all week except it doesn’t come home.  We keep Friday’s for a daily grade in Language.

Word Wall Words

Start practicing word wall words each week. If your child already knows how to read the words for the week make sure they can spell them too. We will practice them each day during reading and DOL. Some days they may simply copy the words. Other days they may have to unscramble them or put them in alphabetical order.

Science/Social Studies

We will cover science and social studies in class. I am really excited about all the things we are going to cover this year in Science and Social Studies.  We already have several guest speakers lined up to come and talk to us.  If you know of anyone or if you yourself have a job that would interest the children and you would be will to share it with us, please let us know and we can look into the possibility of having some of our very own AVIATOR moms and dads share with us!!

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Reminders

• Please make sure all learning supplies are sent to school by Tuesday.
• Scrapbook pages are due Wednesday! Can’t wait to see them!!!!
• Please join the PTA! We want our class to have 100% membership!!
• If at all possible, donate to Just Give. You can send two separate payments.
• Don't forget to check my blog for updates.
• HAVE A GREAT WEEK :)

I would like to thank everyone who has joined the PTA and participated in the Just Give program! I know it is sometimes hard to come up with extra money right now, but it is so important to support our school!  I am very thankful to be part of the Blount Family! We are truly blessed!!

A few words from our AH-MAZING PTA!!!!!!!

Spirit Nights

This year we have scheduled Spirit Nights at four area restaurants. Each spirit night will occur on the same night each month. PTA receives 10 to 15 percent of all sales. The schedule is as follows: Applebee's (1st Weds), Jason's Deli (2nd Tues), Burger King - Chantilly Pkwy (3rd Tues) and Nancy's Italian Ice (4th Weds) of every month throughout the school year. (I sure hope to see some of my sweet firsties at these yummy events!!)

Just Give
If it's successful we will not have any fundraisers for the rest of the year. We've asked for $65/student...which is a small price to pay for the great education the students are receiving at Blount Elementary. Detailed information may be found on the PTA web site at www.blountpta.org.

Back to School Bash, Open House and PTA Budget Approval

We have had a lot of feedback from parents about consolidating the number of nights we ask them to come up to school during the first month of school. So we have combined our usual Volunteer Round Up with Open House Night to achieve this goal. We are also going to host a Back to School Bash as a way to publicize the Fall Festival and get our parents excited. Here are some details:

-from 5-7 p.m. we will have two inflatables for the kids to enjoy

-from 5-8 p.m. we will have food vendors on hand where parents, teachers and staff can buy treats and dinner. So far we have Jim & Nicks, the Great American Cookie Co. and Nancy’s Italian Ice scheduled to come.

-at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria we will have a QUICK PTA Budget Approval Vote. It WILL NOT be an all-out PTA meeting; it will JUST be a budget vote. We are not going to do the attendance contest at this gathering like we did at last year’s PTA meetings because it is NOT a full meeting.

Fall Festival

October 20 (rain date October 27) at Thompson Park (adjacent from Blount Elementary) from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wristbands are being pre-sold for $10 for students and $1 for parents. The price at the gate will be $15 for students and $2 for adults. Also available is the Fall Festival T-Shirt - youth sizes in fall orange are $10 and adult sizes (S-XL) in chocolate brown are also $10. T-shirt orders MUST be turned into the office by close of business on Oct.1. We will not be able to accept an order after that time. If you have any questions about Fall Festival, Back to School Bash and/or Just Give please feel free to contact Jeannine at fundraising@blountpta.org (Visit our Facebook page - Blount Fall Festival)

WOW! Blount PTA is the.very.best. I am so proud to work at a school where everyone cares and works together to make EVERY event we do the best! Thank you PTA! Your Blount Teachers LOVE you!

Welcome to a new school year!

I am so excited and cannot wait to see all my sweet new little firsties in the morning! I have everything ready and waiting…..books, crayons, pencil pouches, cubbies, notebooks and most of all LOTS of fun learning!!  We are going to have an amazing year full of learning, love, and fun!

You may walk your little one to the room on the first day, take a few pictures and say your goodbyes.  I promise I will take wonderful care of your sweet baby. Tuesday you will need to drop off your child at the front of the school.  There will be plenty of teachers on hand to make sure everyone gets to their classroom.  Students may enter the classroom between 7:50 and 8:10.  Teachers are on duty in the lunchroom for children who are dropped off early between 7:30 and 7:50.  If your child arrives before 7:50 they must report to the lunchroom and then will be dismissed at 7:50 to come to the classroom.  Children my not be dropped of before 7:30 in the morning.

Your child will be bringing home their Take Home Notebook Monday.  There is a note in the front explaining the purpose of this notebook.  If you walk your child to the class, there will be a manila envelope on their desk for you to take home.  There is a checklist of forms that need to be signed and returned inside the envelope.  Please return the completed forms in the envelope as soon as possible.  There is a monthly newsletter from the PTA that contains news, reminders and the month’s menu for breakfast and lunch.   Our lunch time is 11:05 – 11:30.  You may sign in at the office and we’ll pick you up on the way.  Please give us two weeks to establish procedures and expectations before joining us for lunch.

During these first few weeks of school we will spend a lot of time learning the expectations of the school and our classroom. I’ll be very explicit in teaching procedures and routines so that every child knows the expectations and the consequences for misbehavior in our classroom.  You’ll have information on First Grade’s Behavior Management in their Take Home Folder that your child brings home tomorrow. (We will discuss this further in our Small Group Meetings scheduled for the last week of August.  Information will come home this week about Small Group Meetings.)

We have our Specialists time (my planning period) each day from 1:25 – 2:00.  This is a three week rotation between P.E., Art/Music and Computer Lab.  Our first rotation is Computer Lab.  After 3 weeks in the computer lab we will go to PE for three weeks, and then we will go to Art/Music for the last 3 weeks of the nine week grading period.  When the children do not go to PE I will take them outside for PE.

We will have Small Group Meetings the last week of August, more info to come on that.  This takes the place of Open House for First Grade.  I will discuss our curriculum, grading, behavior management and lots of other stuff that you’ll be interested in knowing. The first grade teachers feel that meeting in a small group setting allows for more one on one conversation and gives you the opportunity to ask questions as they arise.

One last thing, please be patient with carpool for probably the first two weeks of school.  We do have a good plan in place but it will take some time for everyone to get used to the flow. Please place a sign in your car on the driver’s side with your child’s first and last name.  Your child’s name will be called on the intercom and given a number that corresponds to a numbered cone along the side walk.  If your new to Blount, don’t worry, your child will be directed down the hall, out the front door and to the appropriate cone to await your arrival!  I’ll also give your child a slip of paper with the  number for the first week or so in case they forget it before they get outside.  Bus riders will get a similar reminder as they leave to board the bus.  Bus riders enter and leave the building at the doors to the back parking lot.  Car riders leave through the main doors at the front.  Remember, teachers are on duty each day to direct and monitor the students.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.  My school email is amy.wright@mps.k12.al.us.com MPS usually sends all personal emails to my SPAM folder.  I will check it daily, however if I have not responded to your email within 1 day please resend it.  I try to be prompt at responding to your emails.

I want to say thank you to each of you for entrusting me with your greatest treasure! I hope your new little “firstie” comes home happy, excited and with a desire to love learning! We are going to have an amazing year in Room 123! See you on Monday!!

Lots of Hugs!