Weekly Update

Dear Families,
It is so exciting to write our first weekly update this academic school year.  We had another fabulous day today.  I hope your child was happy to tell you about all the things we did together today.  Hopefully, you heard about our morning Bingo game, our first math class and out special surprise share by Dani, our St. Michael's intern.  Dani shared pictures and stories about her trip to Alaska this summer.  She showed us pictures of a black bear, a bald eagle and a giant sea star!  Ask your child to tell you more.
The students had a great day in their first math class today.  As you know, I teach 1st grade math so all first graders stayed with me.  2nd graders transitioned to new classrooms; some to Ms. Crowley's class, and some to Ms. Benoit's class.  Today, we played some name games to get to know each other, and we familiarized ourselves with Number Corner and the expectations in math work places.  Please do not forget to visit our math blog for more information about the Bridges program, printables and unit letters as the weeks progress.  The link is in this blog's sidebar.  (Pictures and updates will shortly be posted on the math blog as well).  Please do not forget to access the Bridges web-site as well on our Family Resource page as well.  I have linked it here as well.

Today, your child took home his/her Thursday folder for the first time this academic year.  I hope you and your child opened it together.  Inside were many important papers for you.  As mentioned earlier, I printed the letter from Mrs. Tatlock for you in case you did not receive my email last night.  I also placed a letter to all parents about valuable learning activities for home.  The letter provides ideas for how to engage in discussions and thinking activities around what we do here at school.  It is, of course, voluntary, but I hope this might spark some more connections between the classroom and the home.  Additionally, the Thursday folder contained a letter regarding peanut allergies in our classroom.  As many students use the same lunch box for both snack and lunch, it is important to make sure that all snacks are peanut free as we cannot have nuts in the classroom.  Thank you.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Lastly, the students continued working on their self-portraits today.  They are amazing.  Ask your child to explain how crayons and sharpies make a "splash" on paper and really make the picture "pop out".  It is one of our favorite ways to draw as the digital images of these pictures emphasize the creativity and individuality behind each picture.  The self-portraits will be uploaded into the computer and used as our students' avatars online.  More information  will follow.

Enjoy your child tonight.  I hope you have an opportunity to go outside again and play.  The weather is so beautiful. 
Regards,
Maria McCormack

Reading and writing together

Today, we also had time to read and write together in our classroom.  We started talking about how we choose just right books.  We explored our classroom library and placed our first books inside our book boxes.  In the next few weeks, we will discuss what good readers do every day, so please visit our blog often for updates on our learning.
Tomorrow, Thursday, we will visit the library for the first time together.  We will go once a week, always on Thursdays.  Your child can take out two book and keep them home for the week.  We will return our books next Thursday.
In writing, we worked on our summer vacation pieces.  The students had so may amazing experiences to share about their summers.  In the next few weeks, we will explore the writing process, and we will, of course, share our learning with you here and in many other ways as well.

Ms. Dunphy, our team TA

Ms. Dunphy, our fabulous team TA, talked to all of the Harmony students about lunch expectations today in the Kiva.  We learned about healthy and safe eating habits at school, and we also talked about talking to our friends with quiet voices in the cafeteria.  We learned that we have a peanut free table in the cafeteria.  As we are a peanut free classroom, I want to remind all parents about the importance of packing peanut free snacks and/or treats for birthday celebrations.  Thank you.

Morning scavenger hunt

Today, we started our first day of  school together with a scavenger hunt.  We searched for our locker numbers, friends' cubbies, and shared birthdays.  We also had the opportunity to share about, and write about, our summer vacation.  We cannot wait to share these with you.

Our new word wall

Here is a small picture of our new word wall in our class.  I am so excited to have this visual up for all the students this year.  So far, we have all the sight words from 1st grade up, and as the school year progresses, we will add the 2nd grade sight words.

Our book boxes

Our students will be using book boxes in our classroom.  The book box allows the students to keep a collection of books, some of which are based upon free choice readings, and some which are assigned books for our guided reading groups.

Reading nook

Here is a picture of our reading nook in our classroom.  We love to read.  We also read at our desks, in our kiva, and with pillows around our classroom.