Family Newsletter and Happy Summer!

 Dear Families,

I cannot believe this is the last newsletter I am writing to you all this school year.  We have been through a lot together!  What a year…. Thank you for sharing your amazing children with me.  They showed resilience, perseverance and kindness throughout this very strange school year.  They adapted to our new classroom structures and routines quickly, and they did so with patience and understanding.

Thank you for supporting our learning at home throughout this year as well.  I could not have done this without your help and support.

I wish you all a wonderful summer.  I will see you in the fall again.

Here is an art slideshow from Ms. Sharp to brighten your afternoon with your child’s favorite artwork from this school year:

Art Slides from Ms. Sharp

Warmly,

Maria

Pictures from our week together

 Celebrating our year-long collaboration with Ms. Patti around words and vocabulary:

Celebrating outside with our second grade pen pals and making volcanoes:

Celebrating our Arctic habitats and research writing:

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• It was hot earlier this week but certainly cooled off!!  The students did an amazing job staying calm and focused during our busy week at school.  We focused a little extra on showing empathy and kindness to everyone around us as we noticed that we all experience discomfort in different ways.  I am so proud of these kids!

• We also filled the classroom buzzy jar again.  This time, the students voted for an immediate reward so we cleaned up from reader’s workshop and started free choice/explore time.  The students played games, drew pictures and helped decorate our classroom for our Arctic Habitat celebration.  

Reading:

• We started cleaning out our book boxes this week.  The students returned guided reading books (books we have used in our small groups) and they practiced putting back choice books to our classroom library.

• The students also started cleaning out the crates.  This week, I am sure you noticed many extras inside your child’s backpack (spelling packets, trick word booklets, pictures and other assorted activities your child worked on at school).  Today, your child also packed up their scrapbooks, animal research and habitat creations.

• Here is a great summer reading opportunity from Phoenix Bookstore, if your family is interested.  Thank you Mrs. Clopton for sharing!

Writing:

• We continued writing some poetry this week.  The students listened to the poem “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein and made a bookmark reflecting some of their favorite parts/words from this poem.

• We also had our end-of-the-year celebration with Ms. Patti.  She came in for an afternoon of celebrating our collaboration this year around vocabulary and words.  The students have a beautiful Word Wizard Certificate inside their scrapbooks for you to see.

First Grade Math:

• First grade mathematicians used playdough this week to learn more about 3D shapes and their respective attributes.  It was so fun exploring together and creating these shapes.  Here is  the playdough recipe if you wish to try it at home too.

News and Reminders:

• Our last day of school is Tuesday, June 15th.  This is a half day for students with dismissal at 11:30.

• I hope you all received the placement email I sent out earlier this week with a copied letter from the school.  The school apologizes for the glitches for why it did not go out sooner.  Thank you for your patience and understanding. All students in my class will be transitioning together as a whole class to Justine Benoit for second grade.  Mrs. Benoit and I plan to continue to work closely together as a cohort around science and team-building activities and projects (like we did this year).  I will teach second grade Fundations.  All other classes will be taught by Mrs. Benoit for the second graders.

• Here's a link to this week's Bell.

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• The students filled the Bee Hive again for being safe, kind and responsible.  This time, our entire school celebrated by running laps around the school in the morning!  It is one of our all-time favorite celebrations.  So fun!

• We reviewed and practiced the different strategies we can use when we encounter particularly challenging tasks or problems at school.  With so many end-of-the-year assessments in our classes, it is very beneficial to review perseverance, growth mindset and optimism.  We practiced taking mindful breaks in the middle of our assessments as a way to work through challenging sections.  Since the whole class practiced these calming techniques together, everyone felt empowered.  We also talked about how we all complete tasks at different speeds.  Some of us finish quickly, while others take more time.  

Reading and Writing:

• The students participated in our iReady end-of-the-year assessments this week.  This is an online diagnostic tool that assesses phonological awareness, phonics, word study and comprehension.  The students also read books with me individually using our Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System   This latter assessment measures fluency, accuracy and comprehension.  The students did an outstanding job showing a growth mindset and practicing stamina through all of this.  I am so proud of them.  They have all made tremendous progress in all domains of reading.  Thank you for supporting their literacy at home.  Please celebrate their hard work at home too!

• We had the opportunity to get together with our penpals from Mrs. Benoit’s class this week and “go shopping” for books.  The organization “Families as Partners” donated money so the school could purchase four (!) new books for each student at Allen Brook!  Thank you so much for this generosity, Families as Partners! The students browsed our brand new books with their penpals and read them together.  These books will come home next Friday along with your child’s scrapbook, writing and animal habitat creations.

• Here is a link to the School Librarian’s recommended summer reading list for different ages.

First Grade Math:

• First grade mathematicians are learning more about 3-dimensional shapes in this month’s Number Corner calendar.  Each day, we reveal a new shape which is represented by a real-life object.  We have noticed that peanut butter jars, markers, and some of our water bottles look like cylinders!  Encourage your child to find real-life examples of rectangular prisms, spheres, cubes and cones at home too!

• First grade mathematicians also continued to deepen their understanding of adding a one-digit number to another two-digit number.  The students worked on their whiteboards to practice new efficient strategies. They are doing a great job listening actively to each other and having an open mind!

News and Reminders:

• We will celebrate our unit on animal habitats and nonfiction writing next Friday.  Due to Covid restrictions, we cannot invite families to this special event.  This year, we have invited other school staff, teachers and the principal to visit our rooms.  If your child wishes to dress up for this party, he/she certainly can.  Please keep in mind that we have a regular school day, with outdoor recess.  We also cannot accommodate change of clothing during the day.  Thanks for your understanding.

• We will not have any more homework this school-year.  If your child wishes to send in some late assignments and homework sheets, please do so as soon as possible.  Otherwise, please keep it at home.  Unfinished homework can also stay at home--perhaps your child will do it some time this summer?

• Here's a link to this week's Bell

Have a great weekend,

Maria