Gabriel's Gazette

May

• Guess what......

No more homework for this year!

• Don't forget to plan to come to our Writing Celebration on Monday, May 12th. We will begin around 8:10. It will last about 30 minutes because we are going to watch the kindergarten performance at 8:45.

The children have worked very hard for weeks to make something special for you. This is a great time to celebrate the great gains your child has made in 1st grade!

• I hope you plan to attend Mrs. Wilson's retirement party on Thursday, May 8th. Come celebrate her wonderful career of loving and giving to children. Plan to come between 5:00 - 6:00.

• Volunteer Brunch the morning of May 9th.
• Career Day May 9th.
• Our field day is May 14th.

This month will go fast! Only a few more days of 1st grade. I have so enjoyed your children. They are all sweet, smart, and very unique. Thank you for all you have done to support me throughout the year. You have been a great group of parents to work with.

Garage Sale

If you need to schedule a large item pick-up to be donated to the Foundation Garage Sale,

Please call Patti Lavender:  770-552-1162

We are planning to schedule pick-ups for Sunday afternoon, April 27^th, but we may be able to make other arrangements.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

• 

• While I'm Glad we've replenished some of our ground water I sure will be glad when this odd weather is gone! The class has done a great job of understanding there are just those days that we cannot get outside to run off a little energy.
• Now that the weather is getting nicer I'd like to remind you about the school dress code policy. No thin strapped or tank top type shirts. No flip flops on any days. Shorts and skirts should be long enough that the child's fingertips touch the hem when standing straight.
• One more thing I'd like to add to this... socks are always helpful when we are outside. They just seem to help cushion all that stuff that slips into the shoes. :)
•                                                                                                                                                             
• Miss Colasurdo had the nicest birthday thanks to all of you! Thank you for sending in so many wonderful items. She was overjoyed with everything. She will be with us through the 28th. The kids will be sad to see her go - as will I - but I know you join me in wishing her the very best in her teaching career.

• I know you all know the CRCT is next week. I feel the students will do very well. Please make sure they get GREAT sleep next week and bring a healthy snack. We don't have a lot of time for snack so don't send too much. Our testing dates are Wednesday, April 23rd through Friday, April 25th. All students need to arrive on time to start the testing each day. We will have Walk Fit every day between the 23rd and the 29th. This is a great way to wake up those sleepy brains so I hope all children will be able to attend. Thanks for all of your help through these testing days.
• No homework will be sent the wekk of testing!

Mrs. Jones had some surgery this week and I am sad to say that she probably will not be returning this year. We have so loved having her as a part of our class each day. We wish her a speedy recovery. We'll make cards and send them on to her!

What's all the buzz about????

Make plans to join your child on Monday, May 12th for our annual Author's Tea. This is the day you get to come and celebrate your child's writing success. This will last about 1/2 hour and will probably start around 8:15 or 8:30. The first grade team needs to work out a few scheduling things for that day but watch for more information. This will take place in the classroom and I hope every child has a parent, grandparent or friend to come sit with him/her for this celebration. (2 parents are welcome to attend)

Just a few reminders for dates you may need to post:

• April 23 - 25 -- CRCT Testing
• Thursday, May 1st - 6:30pm - PTA first grade to perform
• Friday, May 2nd - Mexico Centers from 12:30 - 1:30ish
• Saturday, May 3rd - School Wide Garage Sale - come for the fun and bargins!
• Friday, May 9th - Career Day, Parent Volunteer Brunch @ 8:30am
• Monday, May 12th - Author's Tea -look for more info
• Wednesday, May 14th - K-2 Field Day
• Friday, May 23rd - Last Day of School

GME Foundation

Garrison Mill has recently established a Foundation whose purpose is to provide resources above and beyond what the County and the Garrison Mill PTA is able to provide.  Please visit their web page to find out more about who they are, what they do, and help support their first fundraising event.  You can visit them at:  GME Foundation.

March Information

                                                                                                                 March 2008 

•  
• 
• As you know our class has a wonderful student teacher. Miss Colasurdo has assumed much of the teaching in the class at this point in her Student Teaching experience. She is doing a terrific job and the class works well with her.

• This month we will focus on the following content areas:

•   Reading: Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index skills

              Fact from Fiction, Reading Comprehension

• Writing: Continued practice with Capitalization, Punctuation, 
•               Main Idea and Details to write a paragraph
• Math - Telling time to the hour and half hour, fractions, more addition and subtraction practice, double digit addition.
• Science - Weather

             

         

• Congratulations to Michael, Sarah, Brady, Amber, Maddy,Trevor  & Erica for reading enough to earn Six Flags Tickets!

Exciting things this month include:

• School Wide Reading Day on March 3rd - wear your pajamas and bring a favorite book
• Spring Book Fair - March 3rd - 7th in the Media Center
• Math Curriculum Night on Thursday, March 6th @ 6:30 - come with your child and play some of our fun math games in our classroom!
• Texas Roadhouse Night - March 11th
• Bingo Night - March 14th @ 6:00
• Happy Birthday to Michael on March 18th
• Report Cards on the 20th

I hope you are finding the CRCT prep materials that have been coming home each week helpful.

We all hope March is a lamb month not a lion month!

CRCT Answer Key Link

Download crct_answer_key.doc

• Groundhog Fun

We had tons of fun working with our Science standards for light and shadows while learning about groundhogs. We used a T graph to chart our predictions as to whether Gen. Lee would see his shadow or not. We are all hoping that Spring "does" come early!

• Grammar and Writing can be fun!

It is fun to write when we understand some basic grammar rules. This is our writing focus this month. While learning basic rules we will apply them when we write. We are writing sentences, paragraphs, poems and many other things this month.

• Social Studies = Presidents both past and present.

While we focus on Washington and Lincoln for President's Day we are learning about many of our American President's.

• Valentine's Day will find us exchanging cards and other fun items. We will have our Valentine Centers on the 14th as well. Please look for a Name List on pink paper sent in the folders on Tuesday 2-5.

• Things to remember!

Send a picture of your house in by Monday, 2-11-08

Send Valentine's in on either the 13th or 14th - Please send 1 for each child. If sending candy - it will all be sent home to enjoy.

No School for the children on the 18th and 19th

Class Pictures on the 26th

Talent Show on the 29th - Wow it's LEAP YEAR!

• Wishing you a month filled with love!

 

                                     Welcome Back 2008!

                                                               

The calendar below lists a few important class dates and early release dates for Conferences. Please make sure you have  plans for your child on January 22, 23, 24, 25, 28. School will be released 2 hours early on these 5 days for Parent-Teacher conferences. I will use the "go home as usual" plan unless I receive a note from you.

                     Download jan_calendar.doc

                                                                        

I recently emailed a form for you to request a time for your Parent - Teacher conference. The GM teachers will be meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8th to start scheduling conferences.

I have included the form if you would like to fill it out and return it in your child's folder on the 8th. Or you can send me a note with 3 choices of days/times convenient for you.

                  

Download 2008_conferences.doc

We will be welcoming Ms.Colasurdo back with us this semester. She will be completing her KSU degree with us. We will be happy to see her!

This is the time of year that we really start to pick up the learning pace. It will be more important than ever that you have your child read to you every night. The Media Center will allow you as parents to come in and check out books under your name. This allows for more reading material for you to use at home.

We will also start to work harder on our addition timed tests. This is a school wide goal. I will send a form home to you each time I give a test. I will give you the first of these forms at our conference. Keep using those flash cards at home!

Our behavior :) system will also be changing. You'll notice this on Tuesday when the folder comes home. I have included information for the new system on the calendar. This change supports "picking up the pace" in the classroom. For the most part the class behavior is always good. We need to focus more on attending to work, work completion and the quality of the work turned in. 

    I'm looking forward to a new semester full of learning, fun and adventure!

            Happy New Year to All!

December News

It has come to my attention that my last posting somehow or another did not get posted - oh dear!

Everything that I had to post on this blog I've included on the homework sheets because I know what a crazy time of year it is for all of us.

 

I want to thank you for your donations of flour, sugar and chocolate chips. We had fun making something that I think you will be able to enjoy as a family.

The new :) system seems to be helping everywhere but the lunchroom. We have had several days that haven't been our usual shining days. I'll hope this changes with the new year!

Just a reminder that our Winter Party is Wednesday the 19th at 12:30. You are welcome to come help your child with his/her activities. If you are planning on eating lunch before the party please call the school if possible and ask for the cafeteria to place your order - especially if you want a salad. 770-642-5600

                                       

                                            Remember the children do not return to school until Tuesday, January 8th.

I would like to wish all of you a safe and wonderful Holiday Season.

The month of Thanks!

Homework for the week of November 5th.

                                     - Return feather for our class turkey by Friday!

Grandparents and/or Special Friends Lunch:

Our day for this fabulous lunch is Thursday, November 15th at 11:45. Lunch will last for about 30 - 40 minutes. Please meet us just outside the classroom (no earlier than 11:40) to walk down to lunch with us. You can also meet us at the cafeteria at 11:45. Grandparents and/or Special Friends are then invited to come back to our class after lunch for about 15 - 20 minutes for dessert and fun! Pictures in the media center will also be available as well as viewing the Book Fair. What a great time to get a little Holiday Shopping done!

Please plan to arrive a little early for lunch due to heavy parking needs.

Homework for the week of November 12th will be another little project. This project will touch some of our 1st grade Social Studies Standards concerning map skills along with a Math Standards review for the days of the week. Look for this to come home on Monday the 12th and due by Friday the 16th. 

Remember we do not have school Wednesday - Friday the week of Thanksgiving.

Please watch for some Bake Sale events going on during November to benefit our Garrison Mill Relay for Life Team. This is a great opportunity to help support cancer research.

You have all been so supportive this year and I am thankful for such a great group of parents. However...your children have you beat on my list of what I am most thankful for. This little group of children is so sweet and wonderful. Their learning is really taking off and they just want to do more and more each day. It is so nice to come to work each day and be greeted by eager children. I thank you for sharing your precious children with me and allowing me to be a part of their life.