Dear Families,
Here is our week in review:
Social-Emotional Learning:
We focused on our Weekly Six Mindfulness Activities this week. They are:
1.Mood: Checking in with the students about their feelings
2.Morning Breath: practicing our breathing exercises
3.Mindfulness: finding calm moments every day
4.Growth Mindset: Practicing this throughout the day even when it gets hard
5.Good Will: Show kindness and help others
6.Gratitude: Find ways to be thankful and say thank you.
The students were encouraged to find small moments throughout the days to be kind and show and engage in an act of kindness. We discovered that we can show kindness in a variety of ways. We can smile and say polite words, such as thank you and please. We can ask someone if they need help or want to play, and we can wear our masks properly. It is easy being kind and being kind to others fills up your heart with happiness! It is our superpower!
The students also learned a new breathing technique to find mindfulness and calmness throughout the day. It is called “Open Heart”. Ask your child to explain. We love this breathing exercise because we can easily do it at our own desks.
We continued our work on being attentive listeners and how we can be assertive and ask for assistance and help in polite and respectful ways.
Reading:
We continued reading together in our small guided reading groups. All students are working on various reading strategies to tackle unfamiliar and challenging words. Please encourage this practice at home too every day when the students read from their classroom books, on raz kids or from their library choices.
Next week, we will not send home any homework over vacation. We do, however, encourage the students to read every day. I will send home a reading bingo for your child to complete. Your child can also, of course, finish any unfinished work online or on SeeSaw, if you wish.
Here is a recommended list of graphic novels for kids, shared by our fabulous school librarian. Have fun reading at home!
Writing:
The students participated in a district-wide writing assessment and finished their “All About” books. They also continued their individual goals on building writing stamina. I am so proud of their positive attitudes and love of writing!
The students also used a rubric to self-reflect on their own writing. They were encouraged to check their own writing to make sure it reflected all the components of “All About” writing. They checked for titles, headings, detailed pictures/labels, chapters that relate to their respective topics, and a glossary. They did a fantastic job!
First Grade Math:
First grade mathematicians participated in an end-of-the-unit assessment covering number bonds, parts of numbers to 10 and concepts like greater than, less than and equal to. In our next unit, first grade mathematicians will continue building a deeper understanding of number relations, numbers to 20 and subtraction. We will also continue our work on data collections.
First grade mathematicians are also exploring subtraction problems in our story problems. They are encouraged to show their thinking in drawings, equations and words. An example of a problem we’re working on now could be something like “Rose has 9 apple slices. She gives 3 of them to Ally. How many does she have left?
Science:
Mrs. Benoit and I are aware that it has been particularly challenging to observe the moon in the sky in the last couple of weeks. We have had overcast weather for a long time. This is why we send the Moon Journals home for several weeks. Let’s see if the weather changes slightly in the next few weeks so your child can look at the moon, draw its current phases and write a sentence or two in the Moon Journal. These journals are not due back until late January. I hope we will get some clear skies before then! If not; well, then we need to adjust the assignment! Stay tuned (and let’s hope Mother Nature cooperates)
We had Friday workshops exploring constellations today. Your child created his/her own constellations using papers and flashlights.We also used different colored papers to see the effects on the light. Ask your child to explain more about what we learned about light.
Technology:
We continued Hour of Code this week with the help of Ms. Scott. Your child took home his/her own login information in the Home Folder if he/she wishes to continue coding at home.
News and Reminders:
We will celebrate our last day before the holiday break with a pajama day and special workshops. Please make sure your child does not bring slippers, stuffed animals, and blankets to school. We will still have a regular day with outdoor recess, so please plan accordingly. If your child prefers to wear comfy sweatpants, tights or athletic wear, that is fine too. We do not want families to worry about getting new pajamas for school.
Please consider ordering shirts from ABS to proudly display our logo “Be Safe, be Kind, be Responsible”. We have a new design this year, created by students at our school. Here is the order form and here is a picture of what the new logo looks like.
Thank you for helping your child come to morning meetings online no earlier than 8:20!! They all did an outstanding job this week. I was the first one on. Some children also shared they looked at the clock at the bottom of the chromebook and one child was reading a book about telling time while waiting for the meeting to start. Thank you!
Don’t forget that we have PE on Mondays and Tuesdays for the next few weeks. The students will go outside. Thank you for sending your child to school with warm winter gear! The students also have outdoor recess every day. Layers are best as it gets warm in the classroom sometimes. Don’t forget snowpants, hats and mittens/gloves!
We have seen an increase in loud voices, physical play/closeness and leaving desks in the classroom. Please talk to your child about the importance of staying socially distant at school. We are so lucky to be able to have in-person learning at ABS! Let’s all make sure we can follow the guidelines a little longer. This will soon pass and we can get back to a “normal” school environment again. Thank you!
Here is the link to this week’s Bell.
December 23rd-January 1st-No School (Winter Break)
January 18th-No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
Have a great weekend,
Maria
No comments:
Post a Comment