Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  It feels like winter returned again, with much cooler temperatures.  Please remember to send your child to school this week with warm clothing.  Thank you!

Our Learning:
Reading:  In reading, the students are becoming more familiar with the various text features of non-fiction books.  In our guided reading groups, we are systematically exploring these features and discussing their various purposes.  We have also started to use old Scholastic new magazines that I have saved from past years.  These magazines are laminated so many students can read them over and over again.  Each magazine has a reading response.  The students choose from a wide variety of responses, but they have to respond in writing to each magazine.  We love this new reading station in our classroom.  Please visit our classroom to see, or ask your child to explain more.  If you have old non-fiction magazines for children at home, such as National Geographic for Kids, My Big Backyard, etc, and you would like to donate them to our classroom, we would gladly accept them.  Later this week, the children will work in stations finding non-fiction features in magazines and create a scrapbook for future reference.  Thank you for supporting our learning.

Writing:  We are wrapping up our "All About" writing pieces this week and hope to meet with our editing partners next week so we can publish.  We will have a small publishing celebration next Wednesday with our Reading Buddies in Ms. Davison's Kindergarten class.  After February break, we will start our rainforest research writing.  More information will follow.

Science: Although our team-wide science workshops ended on sound and light, our class will continue with some additional explorations on sound.  This upcoming week, for example, the children will be encouraged to act like scientists and try to identify "Mystery Sounds" hidden inside brown paper bags.

Technology: We are busy integrating technology in our classroom as a way to enhance learning opportunities and communicate learning and understanding.  First grade mathematicians are using an app called "SeeSaw". It is in essence a blogging tool, a visual platform that allows the students to share their understanding through videos, pictures and drawings.  We are slowly building an online presence and will share these accounts later this week.  The whole class is also using KidBlog as mentioned earlier.  Since this is also a new tool, we will share this link with you later this week so all children have work represented.  Thank you for your patience.  We hope you will log in and start blogging with your child.  Stay tuned for future updates.  Thank you.

Math: First grade mathematicians are in the midst of learning about number sense through thew number line, and chunking numbers.  They are also learning about multiple addends and expanded notation.

News and Reminders:

• We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Monday, February 15th.  The children should have brought home a class list in their Friday folders if they wish to hand out Valentine's to their friends. If your child wishes to do so, please make sure every child receives a treat/card.  We will also have a small afternoon Valentine's Day party in our classroom.  If you wish to donate treats, etc, please email me.  Thank you for your generosity.  We would like juice, plates, napkins, cookies, muffins and fruits.  Thank you!
• February break is 2/22-2/26.  School resumes on 3/1 as we have an in-service day on 2/29.