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:

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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