Ticks

Here is a resource shared by Ms. Fisher for regular tick checks.  I just wanted to share as we're spending a lot of time outdoors at school.

Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

It was great to see you all for our parent-teacher conferences.  Thanks for taking the time to come in and thank you all for your continued support.  It truly takes a village.  These kids are amazing and we're creating a very strong learning community together, built on trust, friendship and perseverance. 

Reading and Writing:
We started our new author study last week.  We will read many books by the author and illustrator Mo Willems in the next few weeks.  We will use his books as mentor texts in both reading and writing.  We started by exploring the setting in his books.  The students discovered that the Piggie and Gerald books lack setting, so we created our own setting.  Look at some of this work!  Can you figure out the setting from these pictures?

Next week, we will explore how Mo Willems is using dialogue in his books.  As writers, we will try some of his ideas and use speech bubbles in our own stories.  We will also look at character traits and study the character Pigeon together.

Science:
We did a lot of science last week.  First, we learned more about leaves with Mystery Science and Ms. Fisher's class.  We went outside and collected leaves.  We partnered up and used our science thinking to describe our leaves.  Here are some pictures:

We also continued our work on light and sound.  We follow the NGSS science standards at ABS.  Throughout all of our science units, the students are encouraged to derive understanding through experimentation, scientific inquiries and data collection by adhering to reason and data.  We watched a short video about rainbows and learned about light.  We sorted different materials in groups based on their respective attributes.  The students learned that materials can be opaque, transparent or translucent.

Math:
First grade mathematicians continued working on partners to 10 and 10 and some more.  We also continued math problem-solving, using representations, labels and equations to show our understanding.  The students learned new domino games as well.  As the students are becoming more familiar with their math facts, we are encouraging them to count on as they figure out their calculations.  For example, it is more efficient to count on from 5 if you are adding 5+3 than starting at zero and counting five and then another three.

Flynn Theater:
We had a wonderful trip to the Flynn.  We saw "The Magic Flute".  It was performed by a theater company from South Africa, with incredible singing and dancing.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. 
Best,

Maria

Nature Notes: Snow on Mount Mansfield

There was snow on Mount Mansfield this morning.  Winter is coming.....
I hope you had a chance to get outside today and enjoy the fall sunshine.

Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
What a gorgeous weekend so far!  I hope you and your family had lots of outdoor time.  Vermont certainly is beautiful in the fall.

Next week, I am starting parent-teacher conferences.  I look forward to seeing you again and share about your child's day at ABS.  Your child is welcome to attend.  If you prefer to meet with me alone, that is fine too.  If you did not yet sign up, please contact me so we can find a time/date for you.  Thank you!

Reading:
The students continued receiving instruction in reading in our "Book Clubs", our guided reading groups.  They have done an outstanding job getting used to our rotations between groups and increasing their own independent reading stamina during these classes.  Last week, the students also received their sight word booklets.  These booklets contain high frequency words, many of which cannot be "sounded out", so it is imperative that the students learn to recognize these words automatically to improve reading fluency, comprehension and confidence.  We will integrate these words into our reading instruction at school.  I have also linked them on the wiki, if you would like to print them for additional practice at home.  They are linked here for your convenience (scroll down to Trick Words) but you can access them anytime on the wiki under "Word Study".

Writing:
The students continued adding details to their words and pictures in our writer's workshop.  These classes typically begin with a brief mini-lesson, highlighting a particular objective for the day.  It is followed by independent writing practice so the students can apply this new learning.  During this time, I also confer with students in small groups, or individually.  We usually end the class with a few students sharing.  This sharing demonstrates the application of the new skills taught. The students love to share their writing!
Our focus last week was also on developing confidence to write the words down even though the spelling might be wrong.  Young learners sometimes "get stuck" as writers if they are not sure how to spell a particular word.  They can be hard on themselves and simply stop writing.  We are learning that it is important to have a "growth mindset" in writing.  As writers, we try something and we always do our best.  It is okay if it is not perfect, but it is not okay not to try!  The students are doing a terrific job trying!  They love writing their ideas down independently.

Math:
First grade mathematicians continued work on subitizing as well as partners to 5 and ten last week.  They also learned many new games for practicing and learning about ten and some more.  We are exploring the differences between -teen numbers and -ty numbers (ie thirteen is ten and three more, while thirty is three groups of ten).
The students also continued math story problem solving.  The students are presented with a scenario that they have to solve using models, mathematical representations and equations.  They also learn how to clearly, and efficiently label their drawings and systematically showing each step.

Upcoming Events and Reminders:

• Student Picture Re-take date is October 16th.  Please let me know if your child needs to retake his/her pictures.
• Harmony House is going to the Flynn Theater on October 25th.  The bus leaves around 9am and will be back around 11:30-12.
• There is no school for students on October 18th due to conferences.

Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
It is getting colder and colder every day, it seems like.  Please do not forget to send your child to school with appropriate outdoor gear as we go outside every day.  Thank you.

Reading:
Last week, the students continued to receive individualized instruction in our guided reading groups.  We are all learning how to follow the expectations of sustained quiet reading and focus on engagement, making sense of the words and stories while choosing "just right books".  We also discussed the importance of having a quiet and cozy spot to read; not just at school, but also at home.  I shared several special spots I have in my own house and a very special spot my son Ryan just created for reading.  Ask your child to tell you what he did!  In our classroom, we take turns using "Big Joe", a silly name for a larger, comfy chair in our newly created reading nook in the back of our classroom.  Come by to take a look.  Perhaps your child will share some of the ideas we came up with for creating a comfy reading spot in our classroom so you can do this at home too.
A quiet, comfy reading spot is, of course, not complete without a stuffed animal that is always ready to listen to a good story.  The students also received this and these stuffed animals now accompany them in reading, if desired.

Writing:
The students started writing their small moment stories last week.  This is a larger writing unit which we will explore for the next few weeks.  In this unit, the students will learn to find stories in the everyday, small moments, that happen all the time.  They will also learn to stretch these stories out over several pages, adding details to both the words and the pictures.  Last week, the students listened to the mentor text, "Sheila Rae the Brave" by Kevin Henkes.  We discussed how the main character was brave.  We made personal connections to the character and the students shared a time they themselves showed bravery.  After sharing our stories verbally, the students started writing them down on paper. 

GUM:
Once a week, we have GUM on the schedule.  GUM stands for Grammar, Usage and Mechanics.  During this 20 minute block, the students practice penmanship, hand-writing and learn about language conventions and grammar.  I would like to offer the students sugar-free gum during this time.  Please let me know if you do not give permission for this.  Thank you!

Mindfulness:
We practice mindfulness every day in our classroom.  Through a variety of activities, the students learn about emotional self-regulation and strategies to calm down. So far, the students have learned different breathing techniques, such as the snake breath, and they have also learned some yoga.  Ask your child to explain the rag doll.  Every day, I read the book "Stella Diaz has something to say" as part of our Global Read Aloud, and the children practice mindful mandala coloring.  I hope you can encourage your child to use some of these strategies at home too in times of emotional upsets and challenges.  Stay tuned.  I hope to share new mindfulness techniques as I introduce them in the classroom.

Reminders and Upcoming Events:

• If you have not signed up for parent-teacher conferences yet, please do so.  I look forward to sharing about your child's day at school!
• Harmony House will go to the Flynn Theater on 10/25.  The bus leaves at 9am and we will return around 11:30 or 12.
• There is no school on Wednesday 10/9 due to Yom Kippur.
• There is no school on Friday, 10/18 due to parent-teacher conferences.