Dear Families,
It was great to be back with the students again. From their stories, it seemed like everyone had a restful vacation filled with a variety of activities (and, unfortunately, also some illness). Thank you for keeping your children home when they are sick, run a fever or do not feel well. As a community, we can work together to keep each other healthier. Happy New Year and Welcome back to school!
Here is our week in review:
Social-Emotional Learning:
This week, we reviewed our schoolwide expectations and practiced being safe, kind and responsible. The students are amazing; they filled the classroom buzzy jar twice this week! The first time, we had a surprise “snowball fight/avalanche”, using paper snowballs and fleece snowballs that we played with. This celebration was particularly special since the students said they really miss not having snow outside (Fingers crossed that we will get some snow this weekend). The second classroom buzzy celebration was also a surprise. We had a dance party with special disco balls and lights. The students are amazing dancers too!
This week, the students learned how to show empathy, patience and understanding in situations when accidents happen. Our Second Step puppets Snail and Puppy joined the class to act out different scenarios to help the students navigate the conflicting emotions that can be present in these situations. The students had opportunities to share their thinking, reflect on body language cues and ask questions. They also practiced different responses to the scenarios. They learned that checking in with each other and being honest and telling a peer that something was an accident can go a long way in repairing the harm that occurred.
We had a restorative circle with Ms. Nicole this week too. This week, we learned more about the things we can control in our lives, such as how we talk, the words we use, and how can can choose to have safe bodies in the hallways. The students shared about things they can control at home too. They did great!
You Can:
You can support your child’s emerging empathy and emotional intelligence by engaging in authentic conversations when conflicts arise at home, in the car, or at an after-school location between your child and a peer/sibling. Young children thrive when their voices are heard and listened to. Having the chance to verbalize the hurt, the surprise or the frustration felt helps young children navigate their emotional responses. It is equally important that our young learners hear and learn to understand that there might be another perspective to the same situation. What happened could have been an accident, thus making the other person feel equally sad or upset. One scenario we practiced in class was about two children playing at recess and one accidentally dribbling a ball in a puddle of mud which splashed water all over the other child.
Reading:
This week, the students participated in small group reading, independent reading, and partner reading. They received a new reading menu too, which we will work on for two weeks before sending it home. The reading menu provides multiple choices for the students to choose from when they engage in independent reading. They can practice trick words/heart words, read both choice and “just right” books, read online or read with a partner. The students check off their choices so they can reflect on their learning choices at the end of the week.
Our mid-year reading assessments will start next week in the classroom.
You can:
You can support your child’s reading progress by encouraging your child to read every day at home. At this point in the school year, we hope your child is showing enthusiasm and interest in reading books to you as well. We hope you keep the small texts/decodable books we send home in a special place even if there is no time for your child to read them that week. Keep these texts/books as resources for another week and try again.
Writing:
This week, first grade authors started writing their new year’s wishes. They wrote about their hopes for the world and for themselves for the new year. Their ideas are wonderfully creative and insightful. Some students hope for a kinder world, with more play and happiness, while others hope for snow and candy for everyone. Some students hope to get a pet, while others hope to finish a video game.
You Can:
You can support your child’s writing at home by encouraging your child to write about a wide variety of topics. Wish-lists, thank you cards, letters and shopping lists are great ways to include your child in the family while also practicing grammar, sentence structure and letter formation. These first graders love to write. We often see a small group of children write their amazing books and stories during our morning choice time and even during our mindfulness block! I am so happy to see that they have made such a special connection with writing. They also love to share their writing, so please make sure that you listen carefully and intently to their stories. After all, they worked hard on putting words down on paper instead of just telling you!
Math:
This week, first grade mathematicians reviewed our math habits of mind and interactions. They practiced private think time, active listening and how to best use their words and drawings to share their mathematical explanations. We practiced our math class routines; with group work, independent work and whole class number talks. As always, we ended our math classes with a brief sharing circle, a time when the students celebrate each others’ resilience, perseverance and growth mindsets in math.
This week, we started a new mini-unit on telling time. In first grade, the students will learn how to tell time to the hour and the half hour using both an analog and a digital clock.
You can:
You can support your child’s emerging understanding of telling time by including concepts of time in your conversations at home. Telling time can be challenging for young learners. It is tricky for young children to learn how to “read” an analog clock when most clocks at home are digital. It is also tricky for children to learn how to tell time because they have not developed a true “sense of time” yet. To them, a minute can feel like an hour, while an hour can feel like a minute depending upon the situation (granted, grown-ups can feel this too!). The social language makes it hard for children too. Adults often say “I’ll be there in 2 seconds” but it might take 10 minutes. We all do this. Consider helping your child to learn how to tell time accurately by using precise language instead, referencing a clock. Point out the actual time. Instead of saying “soon” or “later”, point to the clock and say the time. Tell your child you will play the game, do what is being asked, or have dinner in 15 minutes when the long hand/short hand is on...Being very precise will help your child develop an understanding of time.
Technology:
This week, Ms. Scott joined our class to teach us about coding. The students worked in small groups using BeeBots, small plastic robotic bees that they programmed to move along various paths. Ask your child to explain.
News and Reminders:
In an effort to help facilitate playdates and student get-togethers outside of school, the link to our classroom contact list was emailed to you in this week's news letter. I hope your family can connect with others from our classroom.
Please see this letter from Ms. Filion, our school principal regarding our school policy concerning smartwatches/electronics:
Dear ABS Families and Caretakers,
We wanted to reach out and share with you that we have seen an increase in the amount of students who are coming in wearing smartwatches. While we understand that these can be fun for kids to have, we are noticing that they are becoming more of a distraction to the magical learning that is happening in the classrooms. Per the policy in our handbook on electronics, we are asking that you refrain from having your student(s) wearing these at school to better meet the focused learning needs of our students and to reduce social and emotional distractions that they often cause.
To increase focus and decrease distractions during the school day, the expectations are:
● Students will not wear a smartwatch (or have other personal devices) with them during the
school day.
● If a student is observed to have their smartwatch/ device with them or using it during the school day, he/she will be asked to give it to their teacher for the remainder of the day.
● Prior to dismissal, students will retrieve their device to take home and a friendly reminder will be sent home to discourage them from coming to school again.
Thank you, in advance, for understanding that student learning is at the center of this decision.
Be well,
Angela Filion
ABS Principal
Have a great weekend,
Maria
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