Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

This is a short letter this week.  Ms. Shelby was our guest teacher as I was administering some end-of-the-year reading assessments.  We will continue with our online reading assessments on Tuesday.  Please make sure your child’s chromebook is fully charged.  Thank you!

Here is our week in review:

Reading:

• The students continued to build their reading stamina this week by setting individualized reading goals for each class.  They are reading for longer periods of time every day.  I hope you see this at home as well.  They are also selecting “just right books”, which helps build stamina because as a reader you are actively engaged and understand what is read.  

• Here is a message from Cara Clopton regarding Summer Reading Clubs:
  Virtual 12 week Capstone camp https://www.capstonepub.com/camp (Starts May 31st with choice boards and ebooks)

 

• Scholastic Summer Reading Promise challenge  https://www.scholastic.com/site/summer/home.html 

 

• Pizza Hut Book it! https://www.bookitprogram.com/about

 

• Barnes and Noble Gr. 1-6 free book giveaway: https://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our-stores-communities/summer-reading-program/ (click on '2021Summer Reading Journal')

Writing:

• Ms. Shelby taught several lessons on poetry writing this week too.  The students continued working on their understanding of onomatopoeia.  They also created a guessing poem, using sound words and other adjectives as clues in their poetry.  They did a terrific job!

First Grade Math:

• First grade mathematicians learned about non-standard measurements this week.  While they all explored measuring with rulers and yard-sticks during our animal report writing unit, they are now exploring how we can measure objects using non-standard measurements, such as popsicle sticks, toothpicks and unifix cubes.  This week, we practiced measuring our desks and other objects around the classroom with no overlaps and no gaps!

• First grade mathematicians also learned how to subtract while anchoring back to ten as an efficient strategy.  For example, if we solve the equation 14-8, it is more efficient to decompose 8 into 4 and 4, thus subtracting back to 10 first.  This helps us do mental math and it also helps us be more precise as mathematicians.

• Lastly, all first graders participated in the end-of-the-year math assessments district-wide.

News and Reminders:

• There is no school on Monday, May 31st due to Memorial Day.

• We will need fully charged chromebooks next week as well for our reading assessments.  We will start on Monday.  Please send in your child’s chromebook fully charged.  If you have headphones too, please include those as well.  Thank you!

• Our last Essential Arts Rotation starts on 6/1.  We will have Art on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Music on Thursdays and Fridays.

• All ABS Library books were due today.  If your child forgot to return them this week, please return them as soon as possible next week.  Thank you.

• Report cards will come home on the last day of school.  They will be in your child’s backpack.

• Here's a link to this week's Bell

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Pictures from our week at school

 Playing math games together:

Playing outside and discovering wild-life:

Friday Workshops:

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• We learned about different problem-solving strategies this week.  We reviewed how we can calm ourselves down by taking a deep breath, naming the feeling and choosing a strategy to get into “the green zone” again.  “The green zone” is what we call a calm and content state of mind.  We are available to learn and listen to others when we “are in the green zone”.  

• The students also learned new strategies for starting and sustaining fair play.  Turn-taking, sharing and collaboration are some of our favorite strategies for fair play.

• We practiced these skills and strategies in our Friday Workshops with our penpals from Mrs. Benoit’s class.  We used sidewalk chalk and drew pictures and kind messages to each other around our school.  They certainly beautified our school.  

Reading:

• This week, first grade readers practiced setting daily reading goals.  They were encouraged to sustain independent reading for a longer period of time while reading “just right” books to stay engaged and active.  We used post-it notes to keep track of the book (or chapters) read.  After each class, we privately reflected on our goals and performance.  We discovered that doing your best and having a growth mindset while reading make reading more enjoyable.  We also learn more!  Here is a visual of what we practiced this week:

• 
  

Writing:

• This week, first grade poets created more poems representing onomatopoeia; words imitating sounds.  We wrote collaboratively and brainstormed poems about Spring.  The students also drew pictures to match their words.  They were placed inside their scrapbooks for future re-readings and celebrations.   These scrapbooks will come home the last week of school.  

First Grade Math:

• First grade mathematicians continued to deepen their understanding of addition and subtraction.  This week, we primarily focused on adding a one-digit number to a two-digit number.  The students explored many strategies to solve problems, such as 46+8.  They learned that an efficient strategy is to think about the next decuple first (in this case 50) and then look at the addend (8) and break 8 into 4 and 4 first.  The students are getting more and more confident doing this every day. 

• We also explored geometric shapes this week.  We played games in class to practice the different attributes of both 2 and 3 dimensional shapes.  One favorite game  is “Shape Up”.  Ask your child to explain how we play it.

Animal Habitats:

• This week, the students finished working on their Arctic animal habitats.  They created their respective animals using salt dough.When the salt dough had dried completely, they painted their animals.  We will share these dioramas, along with the animal resorts, with teachers and friends at ABS.  Due to our Covid-restrictions, we cannot invite families to come and celebrate with us.  Each child will bring these dioramas home shortly.  The animal reports will be added to your child’s scrapbook, which will come home the last week of school.

News and Reminders:

• All library books are due on May 28th at ABS.

• Here's a link to this week's School Bell

• All chromebooks and charging cords are due back on June 10th.

• Ms. Shelby will be our guest teacher next Tuesday and Thursday when I will administer the end-of-the-year reading assessments for all students.  Thank you Ms. Shelby for helping us out!  The students are excited to see her again.

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Pictures from our week at school

 

Creating our animal habitat dioramas:

Growing grass in class and cutting it:

Poetry partner reading:

Balloon Tennis as a classroom buzzy celebration:

Using magnetic ten/twenty frames to learn about addition and subtraction while also discovering properties of magnets:

Arbor Day Celebration online at ABS:

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week, the students learned different strategies for managing their emotions.  We reviewed that we all experience a range of emotions, from happy and calm feelings to very strong feelings that make us feel uncomfortable.  

• We listened to a Calming Song, which helped us remember the importance of finding individualized calming down strategies.  Some of us like to do positive self-talk, while others prefer to take deep belly breaths or count to 10.

• The students filled our classroom buzzy jar again for being safe, kind and responsible learners while at ABS.  We celebrated with Balloon Tennis this time.  The students made their tennis rackets out of paper plates and forks.  We played outside for a while but the winds were too strong and took our balloons away.  We had to move indoors.  Your child got his/her own balloon to take home for possible balloon tennis games with family.  Have fun!

Reading:

• We continued to explore both fiction and non-fiction books in reader’s workshop this week.

• We also had the opportunity to read with our partners and explore poetry together.  During this time, the students take turns reading.  We call that “popcorn read”.  Ask your child to popcorn read with you at home too!

• We continued working on making our reading reflect the plot and the characters, while showing proper intonation and phrasing.  Reading out loud helps us pay close attention to the punctuation and word choice!

Writing:

• First grade authors learned more about poetry this week.  We focused upon onomatopoeia, writing words that imitate and reflect sounds we hear.  We had so much fun adding these sound words to our poems this week.  Ask your child to share some sound words we discovered!  They are very creative!
  
  

Animal Habitats and Reports:

• This week, the students applied their understanding of the Arctic when they started to create their animal habitat dioramas.  They were encouraged to show their animals’ habitat in a variety of ways, using a variety of materials.  We started out by painting cardboard boxes.  Then, we added cotton balls, bubble wrap and paper crafts to show ice, snow, ice bergs, trees and water.  The students did a great job showing their understanding while also sharing paint, pipe cleaners, beads and glue.  What an outstanding group of kids!

• The students will create the animal they studied using salt dough next week.  Here is a sneak peak of their habitat dioramas:

• 

First Grade Math:

• First grade mathematicians continued their work on subtraction this week.  They deepened their understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction.  We discovered that many times, we actually prefer to use addition to solve subtraction problems!  For example, if we are solving 9-3, it is more efficient to think about the number bond 3+6, to solve 9-3, than it is to count back from 9.  This week, we used game markers and a cup to “act out” the subtraction equations.  This was also the math assignment from our remote learning day on Wednesday.  

• We also continued our Number Corner work on geometry, learning about attributes to define half-circles, quarter-circles, rectangles and squares.  We also learned about polygons, hexagons and triangles.

• Arbor Day:
  We celebrated Arbor day together as a school today, Friday May14th.  We participated in online activities around the official planting of a new tree.  We also created crafts using scraps in our classrooms and we shared the Rain Song we did with the second graders in Mrs. Benoit’s class.

• We have grown grass in individualized cups in our classroom for the last couple of weeks as we’re learning about soil, water and the importance of our sun.  Our grass is finally growing tall and strong.  Today, some students decided it was time to cut it.  Since we planted this grass in small cups showing a photograph of their face, it looks like the grass is their hair.  Hence, we called it “giving ourselves a grass/hair cut”.  We had so much fun exploring different looks.  Enjoy the pictures:

Technology:
Please see the following message from our IT Desk: 

As the end of the school year approaches, we want to alert families that ALL K-8 school-provided devices - Chromebooks or iPads and their respective charging cords - need to be returned to school by June 10th. Most of these devices, which pre-COVID were always in the buildings, have been going back and forth between school and home, and in some cases, remaining at home, for more than a year. Our industrious IT staff needs to access each and every device to check on the status and condition and provide any needed repairs. Please return all devices, along with the charging cord, to your child’s classroom teacher(s) by June 10th.

If your child will be participating in a summer school-based program that requires a Chromebook, one will be provided to them at that time. Other possible device needs for the summer will be determined soon and a check-out system will be in place. Watch for future communications!

Thank you for your help and understanding.

News and Reminders:

• We have PE on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Please make sure your child comes to school prepared for outdoor PE classes.  Sneakers, rain boots, jackets or sweatshirts are still needed for our early morning sessions as the wind is still chilly and the ground is still wet.

• All library books are due back on May 28th.

• I will start some end-of-the-year reading and math assessments next week and the week following next.  Ms. Shelby will be our guest teacher for two of those days.

• Here's a link to this we
  

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Pictures from our week at school

  Our classroom Vocabulary Tree:

Morning Explore Time: Using magnets to create 3D shapes

Playing math partner games together:

Using three 10 frames to show 30 (which helps us "see" 30 as three groups of ten)

Learning about geometry together in math class:

Partner Reading Time:

Workshops outside with our second grade friends: Making Rain Activity and Pen Pal letter sharing