Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
Our ABS Curriculum Night was a huge success!  Thank you those parents who could attend.  For those of you who were unable to attend, please do not worry.  I will share all the relevant information in our newsletters.  We understand it is tricky to make evening arrangements due to work schedules etc. Below is a summary of the information in yesterday's meeting with links to online resources:

Reading:
Your child brought home his/her first reading log in today's Friday folder.  Your child is encouraged to read for at least 10-20 minutes every night.  It is okay for you to read to your child as well.  Reading should be a special time together to enjoy literature; not a power-struggle or stressful time to do homework.  We encourage families to read at least 5 times a week; more would be great, but it is not required.  The homework log comes back next Friday, along with the Friday folder and your child's books/book bag. 
Your child packs his/her own books inside the book bag.  He/she will not take home our guided reading books used in instructional reading settings here at school.  If you notice that your child prefers to read other books at home, or library books you got earlier in the week, that is great too.  Your child does not have to read the books packed from the classroom.  Instead, we hope families will have a conversation about the choices your child made and think about how the child can make better choices in the future so reading becomes more enjoyable.  In other words, if your child already reads books from home, he/she does not have to pack books from school.  Please let me know, and your child will not be asked to pack books in the morning on Fridays.

Math:
We do not send home math homework at ABS.  Instead, we encourage families to stay on top of newsletters to see what skills and concepts are being covered in class.  We also encourage families to play board-games at home.  We encourage families to bring math into their everyday lives to discuss patterns and groupings of objects in everyday life. 
For additional materials and supports, I have created a math link on the school web-site for kids to use.  It is linked directly on my site on the Harmony web-site but can also be accessed here.  These games are internet based and sometimes links are cancelled or moved.  I do my best to keep all links current but I also ask parents to carefully supervise their children as they are online playing and learning.  Thank you.
In first grade math we will also send home hard-copies of games to reinforce skills and concepts around holiday time.  These games are for your child to keep at home.  We hope your child will play these games many times.

Writing:
Your child is currently participating in a launching unit in writing class.  The students are learning about what tools we use, what writing looks like and sounds like.  Your child is also exploring different kinds of writing.  So far, we have explored letter writing, recipes, stories and next week, we will learn about how to make and write small books.  This year, your child will also learn about personal narratives, small moment writing, report writing opinion writing and some poetry.
Embedded in all these units are expectations around grammar. English language conventions and the mechanics of the language.

Science:
Your child is currently exploring the scientific method and the habits of mind involved in science.  Your child is practicing using his/her senses, making careful observation, collecting data, making predictions and asking thoughtful and relevant questions.  We started exploring some of these concepts using pumpkins.  We will continue next week.  The students will also participate in their first engineering challenge involving building a small bridge that can hold a book as weight!

Global Goals: Ending Hunger and the Can Drive:
The students of ABS voted and they would like to build a SCHOOL BUS out of cans.  We are asking parents to kindly bring in cans with yellow and black on their labels to our classroom so we can start contributing to this worthy cause.  Thank you in advance for your generosity.

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I hope you have a great weekend,
Maria