Weekly Letter for October 25-29

October 25, 2010

Dear Parents,

                 

Our spelling words this week are: but, just, much, us, and must.  Look for your child’s word sort each Monday.  Your child should study these words in addition to the regular spelling words listed above.  They should be prepared to spell five of their word sort words on Friday as part of the spelling test, for a total of ten spelling words.

In math, we are focusing on Geometry and number combinations.  In Science we have been studying water and how temperature can change it’s form.  Your child will learn the physical properties of water, ice, and steam this week!

Please remember to keep track of your reading minutes on the monthly homework log.  For each day your child reads 20 minutes, they receive a star.  Five stars equal one ticket.  If your child also reads on the weekend, they can receive an additional ticket, for a maximum of two tickets per week.  These tickets are entered into a Ken Garff Reading drawing for a chance to win a bike! Keep reading!

Picture make-up day is Wednesday, October 27 for those who want retakes or who are new students.  Our school wide fundraiser, selling cookie dough, begins this week!  Orders will be delivered November 19. If you have gently used clothing you would like to donate for the clothing drive, please send these items to school with your child.

Our poem for fluency this week:

 

Down in my garden last spring

I planted a seed, a tiny wee thing.

It’s grown into a pumpkin big and bright

For 5 ghosts to hide behind on Halloween night!

We have been reading and making some fun Halloween stories in class, like “Big Pumpkin.”  Look for these coming home and have your child tell you the story!

Our annual Halloween Parade will begin at 9:30 on Friday, October 29^th.  Please send your child to school in their Halloween costume.  You may paint your child’s face, but please remember that masks may only be worn during the parade if they have full visibility.  NO toy weapons allowed.  Parents are invited to watch the school-wide parade in the gym.  Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Petty’s classroom parties will be from 1:00-2:00.  Mrs. Christensen and Mrs. Clark’s classroom parties will be from 2:00-3:15. 

Thanks for all you do!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Petty, Mrs. Christensen, and Mrs. Johnson

Weekly Letter for September 27-October 1

Dear Parents,

     Fall is here. It is hard to believe how fast the days are flying by. It seems like we just started. It is amazing to witness the learning that has already taken place.

     Thank you for helping your child be successful by helping them with their homework and reading nightly. It establishes a good habit.

     In literacy, we are starting a new unit called “What Makes Things Move.” Our comprehension strategy is to create images while reading and to identify the characters in stories.

     We will be focusing on the -op and -ot word families.  Our spelling words this week are: not, got, come, about, and do. These will be in addition to the spelling words that your child is practicing individually.

     In math, we are continuing our work on how many in all as well as different combinations of the same number.

     Last week we celebrated Johnny Appleseed’s birthday. It was a very fun day. Have your child tell you what they know about apples and also about Johnny Appleseed.

     Don’t forget to schedule your appointments for Parent Teacher conferences. This can be done through the online scheduler. Instructions for doing this were sent home last week. Conferences will be held on October 6th and 7th.

     Our fluency poem this week is:

Higglety, Piggelty 

 Higglety, Pigglety, pop! 

The dog has eaten the mop. 

The pig’s in a hurry. 

The cat’s in a flurry. 

 Higgelty, piggelty, pop!

Thank you for everything you do for your child.  We love having them in our classes. They make coming to work every day a joy.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Petty, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Clark, and Mrs. Christensen

Weekly Letter for September 20-24

September 20, 2010

Dear Parents,                                               

Our spelling words this week are: long, box, on, dog, and boy.  Please practice these spelling words in addition to word sorts each night so your child will be successful on their spelling test this Friday!

This week we are continuing to talk about “Schools Long Ago and Today.”  Some new vocabulary words your child will learn this week include society, present, schedule, today, yesterday, and education.  Be sure to ask your child what’s alike and what’s different in schools today!

In Math, we will continue practicing combining numbers and developing strategies for accurately counting a set of objects by ones.  We are also introducing combining two numbers in story problems.  It is fun to realize that we can make personal connections to math story problems every day!

We are working on rhyming words in our phonics and poetry lessons.  We would like each student to find two small objects at home that rhyme.  Please send these objects/toys to school in a small lunch sack (example: car and star.)  We will return the objects once your child has shared in class.  Make sure that your child knows the rhyming words.

Orchard Elementary is so proud to be a Leader in Me School.  This week we are focusing on the second habit, Begin With the End in Mind.  When we plan ahead and set goals, we are successful and happy.

Harmons, the grocery store, has partnered with Orchard Elementary and has a program called “Teach to Taste.”  They will be visiting our classroom once a month to teach a food based lesson.  We are excited to have them come this week and teach us about washing up before eating and tasting food.  We will also be celebrating Johnny Appleseed’s birthday on Friday!

Please remember that Monday, September 27 is a Minimal Day.  Track 1 has school from 8:00-12:30 and Track 2 has school from 9:15-1:45.  Don’t forget to have your child read at least 20 minutes every night to help us reach our Road to Success Goals! Thank you for your support!  We love teaching your children!

Our poem for fluency practice this week is, “Once Upon a Time.”

Once upon a time there was a frog.

Frog had a friend who was a hog.

Hog had a friend who was an ox.

Ox had a friend who was a fox.

Frog liked to hop out of the bog.

Hog liked to plop down in the fog.

Ox liked to sit in a shady spot.

Fox liked to jog and trot a lot.

When it got hot they would hop, hop, hop

Into the pond with a plop, plop, plop!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Christensen, Mrs. Johnson, and Mrs. Petty

Orchardfirstgradekids.blogspot.com

Weekly letter for September 13-17th

Dear Parents,

            We have been together as a class for 14 days now and we are really enjoying getting to know your children.  In the first few weeks of first grade there is a lot of learning taking place even though the schoolwork and homework at this point may seem very simple to some of your children. Much of what we are doing right now is assessing skills and teaching classroom routines. In the next few weeks the spelling and reading will become more diversified to meet your child’s needs.

            The last couple of weeks we have been talking about what it means to be proactive and what proactive people do. When your child makes good choices at home without being asked, help them to know that you see them as a proactive person too. We really appreciate the families who reinforce their student’s education on the home front.

            We are studying the word families “ap” and “ag” this week. The first five spelling words are taken from the first grade high frequency list, they are: am, all, was, that, and have. The next five spelling words will be taken from your child’s word sort that is coming home with them today.

            Don’t forget that school pictures will be taken on Tuesday the fourteenth.  Whether you want to buy school pictures or not, get your child shined up for Tuesday, because their picture will still go in the class photo. We usually get called down for pictures right after school starts so try to be on time that day.

            We are sending September’s book order home this week.  This is a great way to increase your home library for your young readers at a good price. If you would like to place an order please have it back to us by Friday, September 17^th. Please do not send any cash and make your check out to Scholastic.

            Our poem for fluency practice this week is “Rags”. See how many “ag” words you can find.

        Rags

I have a dog

And his name is Rags.

He eats so much

That his tummy sags.

His ears flip-flop,

And his tail wig-wags,

And when he walks,

He goes zigzag.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Petty, and Mrs. Christensen

Remember this letter is also available on line at:  orchardfirstgradekids.blogspot.com

Letter for September 7th-10th.

September 7,2010
Dear Parents,

We hope you all enjoyed your long weekend. We are looking forward to another great week with your children.

Last week we did a spelling assessment on the children to find their spelling level. The children in our classes are on different levels. This week your child will be bringing home a sheet of spelling words. These are the words that will be tested on Friday. We will select five words from their sort and test them on those. We will be looking to see if they got the pattern correct for each word. When these words are sent home they should be cut apart and sorted into the right groups and practiced nightly. We will have already done this in class, so it should be a familiar task to your child. In addition to these words we will have five high frequency words that they will need to practice. This week’s high frequency words are: has, sat, the, to and two.

Thank you for helping your child be responsible to get their homework finished nightly and helping them return their folder daily. It starts a good habit while they are young.

We have started our lessons on The Seven Habits of Happy Kids. This week we are focusing on being proactive. To be proactive means to be responsible, take initiative, choose our actions, attitudes ,and moods. It also means we don’t blame others for our wrong choices and we do the right things without being asked, even when no one is looking.

Check out our First Grade Blog, Orchardfirstgradekids.blogspot.com. We will be posting important and fun information on it through the year.

Our fluency poem this week is:

Our Classroom Pledge
I will try to do my best.
I will also try to share my things.
I will help my friends
And say nice words.
I will make the most of this day.
I am READY to learn.

Thank you for all you do for your children.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Petty and Mrs. Christensen