Halloween Scenes

We started the day opening Boo Grams.

 

Then we had our October Pep Rally. 

Congratulations to CC, VP, and SO.

 

Then we watched the Kindergarteners on parade.

 

Ready for the parade

 

 

A Halloween birthday celebration

 

 

Lining up outside the Pumpkin Patch Theater

 

 

 A hippie gives her ticket to a mermaid

 

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle works at the box office

 

 

A cute witch sells punch from a caldron

 

 

Pumpkin Patch Popcorn goes perfectly with our movie

Fruity Chewy Gooies 

Reading A-Z Website

Every student is now registered on the Reading A-Z (RAZ is the nickname) site.  Today your child is bringing home a card with the login information.  The card is in the zippered pocket of their backpacks.  You many want to post it near your home computer or hang on a bulletin board. 

Sight Words

Many students will have new sight words will be sent home by the end of the week.  It's a good idea to mix the new cards in with the old words.  Practice makes perfect!

Mystery Reader

QK was so excited when her mom came in to share some fall stories!

Peek at the Week of October 28-November 1

Eeek!  It's Halloween Week!  We will do many reading and writing projects using Halloween as our theme for the week.  It should be fun!

Peter Pan Field Trip
Last Tuesday a letter was sent home about our April 28th field trip to see Peter Pan.  Please send in $10 (or a check made out to "Ox Ridge Activity Acct") by this Wednesday.  Thank you to the families who have already sent this in.

Halloween
This Thursday is Halloween.  Your child can wear their Halloween costume to school or can wear black and orange. If your child wants to wear his/her costume please remind them of the following guidelines:  no mask, weapons, or other items that could be a distraction.

Movie Party
Halloween afternoon we will pretend that our classroom is a movie theater.  We will vote on a Halloween theme movie to enjoy at the end of the day.  Thank you for the following families for sponsoring our movie party!
popcorn:  Tanimoto Family
drinks: Kennedy Family
fruit snacks:  Faherty Family

October Pep Rally
We will have our second Pep Rally for the year.  Two or three students will be recognized as our Students of the Month.  It is great way to acknowledge students' who are following the Kids Code and are good examples for their classmates.  

Monthly Minutes
This Friday the October calendar with the at-home minutes recorded.  A new calendar will be sent home on Friday for November.

Homework and Specials
Monday 10/28
A Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 10/29
B Day: art and music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Black Cats and Bats

Wednesday 10/30
C Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Picking Pumpkins Graph

Thursday 10/31
D Day:  library
1.  Last night to fill in your October Monthly Minutes--put it in your folder before you go out Trick or Treating
2.  Enjoy your Halloween night!

Friday 11/1
E Day:  Spanish
1.  Read over the weekend
2.  Fill in your new calendar for November

Have a great week!

Highlights of the Week October 25

* SD-  Miss Dineen hung up a new owl decoration.
* NF-  We went into the gym and did some experiments.
* PG-  We started How To writing.
* TH-  We talked about tricky words in reading workshop.
* WK-  In gym we practiced throwing a football.
* CK-  We watched How To videos. The videos helped us learn how to do things.  
* QK-  We are going to make our own How To videos at home.
* MM-  We moved our rugs.
* AM-  In Spanish we colored skull pictures for Day of the Dead.
* SM-  We got new books from the library.
* SO-  We put post-its in our just right to show which words were tricky for us.
* VP-  In gym we played Dodgeball.
* ER-  We used sticky notes for tricky words.
* BS- In music we learned new songs.
* ST-  We did our spelling tests today.
* WB-  We found chunks in big words.  This helps us to figure out tricky words.  Miss Dineen called it "chunky monkey".
* SB-  We played Capture the Football in gym.
* TB-  We went to the nurse to have our eyes and ears checked.
* AB-  We had a new captain this week.
* CKC-  This is our 8th Highlights of the Week blog posting.
* CHC- We did a weaving project in art.
  

STEM Program

We had a great time at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program.

Math

We have been working on making combinations that equal a specific number. Today we used cubes to make towers.

Mystery Reader

CK was happy to have her mom, brother and sister as our latest mystery readers. 

Peek at the Week October 21-25

STEM Moving Museum
Our class will be attending this in-school enrichment activity Tuesday afternoon. 

Hearing and Vision Screening
Our school nurse will be doing screenings on our class this Wednesday.

Halloween
Halloween is next week and it's the talk of the town!  First graders can wear costumes to school on Halloween day.  We will watch the Kindergarteners parade through the school next week.

Math Workshop
We have been exploring the concept of number combinations.  We have used cubes and other items to "act out" number stories.  Showing the answer using pictures, words, and numbers has also been a focus. 

Reading Workshop
We continue to be 'Word Detectives' by learning and using the following strategies:
-look at the picture
-look at the first letter
-does this make sense?  (*This is a BIG one!)
-reread to get a "running start"
-look for a chunk

Writing Workshop
Last week we were introduced to the concept of a "How To" book.  We discussed that a How To book is written to teach the reader how to do something.  We will be using special vocabulary like first, next, then, last. 

Monthly Minutes
The October Monthly Minute will be due next Friday, November 1st.  There will be a small prize for students!


Homework and Specials
Monday 10/21
B Day:  Art and Music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 10/22
C Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Linda Witch (short i)

Wednesday 10/23
D Day:  Library
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Math:  Plentiful Pumpkins (skip counting)

Thursday 10/24
E Day:  Spanish
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes
3.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 10/25
F Day Music
1.  Read over the weekend
2.  Fill in your Monthly Minutes

Have a great week!

Highlights of the Week October 18

*(CHC)  We celebrated SM's birthday yesterday.
*(SD)  We learned about pumpkins.
*(NF) When the substitute came we played an animal game.
*(PG) In Reading Workshop we used I think... I noticed... I wonder... to help us talk and write about books.
*(TH) We started How To books.
*(WK)  We didn't have Spanish this week.
*(CK)  We had a scientist visit and do experiments on Wednesday.
*(QK)  Today we will have a Mystery Reader.
*(PK)  We have gym today.
*(MM)  We had library this week.
*(SO)  We started the fifth Clementine book this week.
*(VP)  This week was crazy because we had no school on Monday.  We had 2 birthdays.  We had 3 specials.
*(ER)  We got more homework stars!
*(BS)  In gym we are playing Cookie Monster.
*(ST)  We are having a spelling test today.
*(WB)  We drew a picture of the pumpkin life cycle.
*(SB)  We have a birthday party today before the Mystery Reader.
*(TB)  We finished our Small Moment stories.  We are beginning How To books.
*(AB)  We played on the back playground this week.
*(CKC) I brought Hootie back today.

Peek at the Week of October 14-18

There is no school for students on Monday, October 14th which is Columbus Day.

Writing Workshop
We published our small moment stories last week!  They turned out to be really great!  The stories will be hung on the hallway bulletin board soon.  So the next time you are in the building, stop by and take a look!

This week we will start a nonfiction unit of study.  This will be the chance to share all of our knowledge on many topics.  There will be two types of writing in this unit.  The first is a How To book and then we will write All About_____ Chapter books.  It is a great way to showcase our expertise on many different topics.


Reading Workshop
We wrapped up our first unit which was called "Readers Build Good Habits".  Last week we started our second unit called "Word Detectives:  Using All You Know to Solve Words".  We are learning about what to do when you come across a tricky word.  Tricky words can be words that you don't know how to read/say OR a word that you can say, but you may not know what it means.  The strategies in this unit are very important for all first graders, but also in future reading.


Reading Homework
I think we have the book routine down pat.  I have been reminding everyone to fill out their Monthly Minutes at home each night.  These calendars will be turned in on Friday, November 1st.  A new calendar will be send home for November. 

Science/Social Studies
We learned about Christopher Columbus by reading some books, a Scholastic News report, and also saw a video clip about his life and voyages.  We also added some poems to our poetry collection.

This Wednesday we will have a special in-class presentation by a scientist from High Tech High Touch.  We will be learning about force and movement...a bit of first grade physics.


Homework and Specials
Monday 10/14
No School
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in Monthly Minutes

Tuesday 10/15
D Day:  Library
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in Monthly Minutes
3.  Fall Word Work

Wednesday 10/16
E Day:  Spanish
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in Monthly Minutes
3.  Math:  Columbus Story Problem

Thursday 10/17
F Day:  Music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fill in Monthly Minutes
3.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 10/18
A Day: Gym
1.  Read over the weekend
2.  Fill in Monthly Minutes

Have a great week!

Highlights of the Week October 11

*CKC-  There was a sub for the Spanish teacher this week.
*CHC- We had Sophie B's birthday this week.
*SD- We talked about "fake" reading.  Fake reading is when you aren't actually reading and thinking about the book, you are just flipping pages.
*NF- We have a sub for gym today.
*PG- We published our Small Moment stories.
*TH-  We talked about speed reading.  Speed reading is when you say the words in the book too fast.  Your brain can't understand the story.
*WK-  We are going to have a spelling test right after we finish the Highlights.
*CK-  We are having CB's birthday today.
*PK-  We copied over our stories.  Our sloppy copies are now fancy schmancy.
*MM-  We have 4 people absent today.
*SO-  We used thought bubbles and speaking bubbles in reading workshop and in social thinking.
*VP-  In overtime athletics we played dodgeball.
*ER-  We got a new rug for our classroom.  It's cozy and comfy.
*ST-  We
*WB-  We have 4 gold homework stars on the board!
*SB-  We did Spaghetti and Meatballs in Writing Workshop.  Spaghetti spacing is leaving a tiny space between letters. Meatball spacing is leaving a bigger space between words.
*TB-  We had our first Game Day.  We played board games.
*AB-  We played instruments in music.

Game Day

We had a great time playing games with some class moms and a little brother too!

Peek at the Week of October 7-11

Game Day
We are having our first Game Day this Thursday at 2:30.  We have 5 parents coming in to run the games:  Mansourian, Krotee, Long, Kahn, and Bell.  Game Day is a time to play some good old-fashioned board games.  The parent volunteers can bring in a favorite game to share or else play one of the games I have in the classroom.

Reading Homework
The at-home reading books have been going back and forth from school to home without any major problems.  Thank you for reminding your child to take good care of the books so that they will remain in good shape for future students.

Parent WorkshopsThere are many parent informational meetings planned for throughout the school year.  Please make a note of the dates and times.  All workshops are offered in the morning and in the evenings to accommodate a variety of schedules.

Overview of the K-5 Curriculum (Hindley)
October 15 @ 7:00pm
October 16 @ 9:30am

Math (Holmes)
November 20 @ 9:30am
December 11@ 7:00pm

Reading and Writing Connection (Royle)
January 8 @ 9:30am
January 29 @ 7:00pm

Technology to Support Learning (Ox Ridge)
March 26 @ 9:30am
April 2 @ 7:00pm


Homework and Specials
Monday 10/7
E Day: Spanish
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 10/8
F Day:  Music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math:  Animal Graph

Wednesday 10/9
A Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Blue Writing Journals

Thursday 10/10
B Day:  art and music
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Review for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 10/11
C Day:  gym
Remember to read and list your minutes on your October calendars!

Have a great week!

Caramel Apples

Each child made a caramel apple to bring home to share with their families. It was a sticky project, but we hope it will be a yummy treat!

Apple Joke of the Day

Why was the apple tree so sad?

Because he kept getting PICKED on!

Highlights of the Week October 4

• (CKC)  We will have an apple party today.
• (CHC)  We practiced a little bit of soccer in gym.
• (SD)  It is the first week of October.
• (NF)  We have a spelling test today.
• (PG)  We switched seats for the new month.  We call it "bumping".
• (TH)  We earned our first gold star for homework.
• (WK)  We played Sit in gym.
• (CK)  We have 2 stars for homework.
• (QK)  We made caramel apples this morning. 
• (PK)  We started bringing home just right books to read every night at home.
• (MM)  We played Elimination in gym.
• (AM)  We read a book about Johnny Appleseed.
• (SM)  We had our first pep rally of the year!
• (SO)  In Writing Workshop we picked out our favorite story.  We stuck a heart on the best one.  That is the story we will publish!
• (VP)  In gym we played a mini-soccer game.
• (ER)  We learned that tall tales are stories that have some true parts, but they also have some stretched out parts.
• (BS)  In art we are learning how to weave.
• (ST)  Today the purple table did book shopping.
• (WB)  Today is the first spelling test in October.
• (SB)  In Writing Workshop we used red pens to edit our small moment stories.
• (TB)  We used blue pens in Writing Workshop to make our stories better.  This is called revising.
• (AB)  We started a joke bucket in our classroom.  Anyone can write a joke and leave it in the bucket.

Johnny Appleseed Coloring Page

While we were researching all about Johnny Appleseed, we found a website that had a cool coloring page.  Many kids wanted to try it at home.

September Pep Rally

Congratulations to WB and NF. They were the September Students of the month. They were given their certificates at our first Pep Rally.