Week of January 23rd

This is going to be a fast and crazy week with our unexpected day off yesterday. Our Snow Make-Up day will be on Monday, February 20th. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Friday I will be sending home a sheet of fact triangles as math homework. You will be getting more of these sheets periodically as the year goes on. These do not need to be returned to school, we have sets of them that we use in the classroom. The fact triangles that are for you to cut out and keep at home so that students can practice with them. I typically suggest that you keep them in an envelope or plastic baggie. It's a great activity to do during commercials if you are watching tv, or quickly before or after dinner, etc.

This is how they work...
Fact Triangles are a type of flashcard. You cover up one corner with your finger and then have your child use the remaining numbers on the triangle to tell you which number you are covering. This allows you to use the fact triangles for both addition and subtraction practice. Please let me know if you have any questions about using your child's fact triangles.

Important Dates This Week:
Early Dismissal on Wednesday
Homework: 6.2 on Wednesday, 6.3 on Thursday, 6.4 on Friday (fact triangles)
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: No Spanish this week due to the early dismissal

Week of January 16th

This week we start "What's My Rule" in math with rule machines. This is a difficult concept and lots of students have trouble with it. I am going to send home a copy of a blank rule machine with every student. We will use these at school as well.

In order to use the rule machine sheet multiple times you may want to use a sticky note to write the rule on so that you don't have to write and erase the rule each time. Students will also need some type of counters (cheerios, crackers, pennies, etc) so they can actually act out what the rule machine is doing to each number that goes in. If you have any questions about this, or need any further assistance please let me know. It's somewhat difficult to explain until you've seen the sheet, but hopefully your child will know the basics of what to do from our math time in class.

Important Dates for this Week:
Homework: 5.12 on Tuesday, and 5.13 on Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of January 9th

This week we are working hard on routines and getting back to our usual method of operation. In order to re-train students to follow directions and be responsible, etc, I am giving some "automatic timeouts." This means that students will not get 3 reminders, but will get an automatic timeout if they do not follow certain procedures or directions. I always tell them if something will be an automatic timeout, so they all have one reminder from the start. With that said, some students are getting more timeouts than usual. If your child comes home with a dentention or responsibility slip, it is most likely due to not following directions or procedures, and they probably received some automatic timeouts. Please note that getting more timeouts than usual this week will not mean that we have to talk or have a meeting. Just know that we are working on the routines and encourage your child to listen carefully, follow directions and be responsible. I think that most students will be back to the usual routine and procedures by the end of the week. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your help in encouraging positive behaviors at school.

Important Dates for this Week:
Early Dismissal on Wednesday
Homework: 5.10 on Monday and 5.11 on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: No Spanish this week due to the early dismissal

Week of January 3rd

Welcome back to everyone. I hope you all had a nice holiday break. We will resume spelling and homework this week. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Important Dates for this Week:
Homework: 5.7 on Tuesday, and 5.9 on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of December 19th

This is the last week before our winter break. Many kids are very excited about the upcoming holiday. Any encouragement and reminders for good behavior at school that you can give your child before they leave in the morning would be great. Thank you for your help :)

Reminder that we have no school starting Friday, December 23rd through Monday, January 2nd for our winter break. School starts again on Tuesday, January 3rd.

Due to the short week and wanting to be able to do some fun holiday activities, we will not be doing our regular reading curriculum, therefore there will be no spelling test this week.

Our Winter Celebration Party is on Thursday at 2:45. Parents are welcome to come if you would like. If you do decide to come, please let me know.

Important Dates for this Week:
Homework:5.5 on Monday and 5.6 on Tuesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday

Week of December 12th

Reminder about sending money to school with students. If a child brings money to school it should be used for the school store, popcorn, book orders, or lunch accounts. Students should not bring money to school for any other reason.

We have been having problems with students buying things for friends or giving their money to other students. We have a rule that any money brought to school needs to stay in student backpacks and lockers and that it is not to be given away for any reason. If you send money to school with your child please make sure that they know exactly what it is to be used for. Also, please remind them that any change or unused money needs to stay in their backpack so it can go home and is not to be given away.

Thank you for your help with reminding students of this rule.

Important Dates for this Week:
Homework:5.1 on Tuesday, 5.2 on Wednesday, and 5.3 on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Monday and Thursday

Week of December 5th

A note about items bought at the school store. We have many fun items sold at the school store. Novelty pencils, erasers and grippers are the most popular items purchased by first graders. Many of these items are toys that also function as an eraser or pencil sharpener. We have a lot of students in our class who play with these things instead of using them for the intended purposes and I often have to take them away. These items are also being lost or misplaced and students think that they have been stolen. In order to keep the June Box from filling up quickly, and to keep students from getting upset when items are lost, I am going to stop letting students bring items from the school store into the classroom. Anything that is purchased at the school store will need to be put into backpacks and taken home to be used there. The only exception will be when a student truly needs to replace something from their school supplies. I have talked to our class about this new rule. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your support as we implement this new rule in our classroom.

Important Dates for this Week:
Early Dismissal on Wednesday
Homework:4.10 on Monday and 4.11 on Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: No Spanish this week due to the early dismissal