Mrs. Snook’s 1st Grade News

Week of November 27th

Dear Parents,

                                                                             

How quickly these past five days have gone by and, hopefully, each of you have spent some special time with your families....I know that I have!!!  WELCOME BACK!

With just four weeks of school left before winter break, there will be lots going on in the classroom and all around the school.  In Math, we continue to work on adding and subtracting bigger numbers and making this an automatic process.  Timed tests are still being given each week and Mrs. Harrison and I are looking for improvement....less use of counting on fingers and more of your child knowing the answers automatically.  Some strategies that we teach them are adding doubles, doubles plus one, doubles minus one, and the use of fact families that brings in the subtraction component.  Please continue to work on fact families such as if your child knows that 8 + 5 =13 and 5 + 8 =13, then he/she should know that 13 - 5 =8 and 13 - 8 =5.  Keep practicing at home as we see improvement on Fridays when the two classes get together to play "Around the World".

Phonics continues work on the long vowels and the "magic e" rules as in make, bike, hope, etc.  We will introduce the /j/ sound spelled as gi or ge as in giant and cage as well as the /s/ sound spelled as ci or ce as in twice and center.  We will also continue on contractions with will...I'll, he'll, she'll and the contraction I'm. In Mountain Language, I will be introducing 5 more skills making a total of 15 questions each student will answer.  Look for the new sheet coming home this week with the additional 5 skills on the back.

In Science, we will begin talking more about winter weather and at what temperature water freezes.  They are always interested in this because of the possibility of snow happening over the next few months!!  This will help to introduce a thermometer and how it is read.  Give them some practice on your outdoor thermometer on any of these cold mornings in the next few weeks.

Mrs. Harrison and  I will reevaluate reading groups and make adjustments where necessary.  This gives your child the opportunity to read with different groups during a grading period and be challenged in what they are doing. Please continue to read at least 10 minutes or more each night and record it on your November Reading Logs that will be due on Thursday, November 30th.

This week we have library on Monday, the 27th, but I'm not sure the new system will be in place for the students to check books out....we will see.  On Tuesday, the 28th, we have laptops in the classroom and also guidance class with Mrs. Glenn.

Here are some important dates for the month of December:

Friday, December 1st - Parents Munch and Learn 9:30 am and School Spirit Day/wear GM shirts.

Wednesday, December 6th - Early Release Day at 12:20pm.

Thursday, December 7th -Reflections Reception @ 6:00 and PTA @ 6:30.

Thursday, December 14th - Chick-Fil A Night @ 6:00pm.

Friday, December 15th - Relay for Life Bake Sale.

Wednesday, December 20th - Class Holiday Parties/time TBA.

Friday, December 22 to Sunday,January 7th - Winter Holidays

Monday, January 8th, 2007 - first day back!!!

Here's hoping your week is a delightful one!

Sincerely,  Peggy Snook

Week of November 20th

Dear Parents,                        

With this week being so short, there WILL NOT be a homework sheet or any homework given on Monday night.  The children are very excited for the upcoming holiday, so, my wish for everyone is to enjoy themselves, travel well (if you are traveling), eat lots of homecooking, and return home and to school safely next Monday!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!      Peggy Snook

Week of November 13th

Dear Parents,          

This week has been a busy one for us.  We have celebrated 100% PTA participation with Cobb County Fire Department coming out to show us their new truck, delicious donuts, and a puppet show enjoyed by all.  We have also been practicing our Thanksgiving songs, poems, and writing about what we are all thankful for during this time of year.  This coming Wednesday, the 15th, will be a special day for all of us....Grandparents Day/Parents/Special Friend.  We have made turkey hats to wear during our performance.  They are ALL excited about performing for you!!  Don't forget that the "Family Turkey Project" is due this Monday, the 13th, if you haven't already turned it in.

Items for this week.....Reading Night is Monday, November 13th @ 6 pm in the Media Center.  Also, the Relay for Life Bake Sale is Friday, the 17th.  A note was sent home last week to tell you about it and I will send a reminder this week, too.  Please send items in on Thursday, the 16th. A BIG THANKS to Mary Fisher and Lynne Mayer for volunteering to come in Friday morning @ 7:15 -8:00am to sell these items for the bake sale..

In Math, we are finishing the chapter on geometry and fractions.....a chapter test will be given on  Thursday.  Laptops are scheduled for Tuesday in our classroom.  We will be practicing flashcards on this website:  www.mathfactcafe.com as it is a wonderful way to review the facts.  I have been doing both the 1st grade and 2nd grade flashcards and you may choose either addition or subtraction.  It is a self checking site that many of them have already done here in the classroom.

In Phonics, we continue to review blends and endings.....epecially how to make certain words ending in x, ss, ch, and sh plural.  Also, be aware of "ing" and "ed" words as your child reads to/with you.  We are just beginning to talk about present and past verbs (action words).  The reading groups that we have had for 2 weeks will remain the same until after Thanksgiving holidays.  At that time, Mrs. Harrison and I will re-evaluate the groups as we have them now and make group changes where necessary.  A big Congratulations is due to Anna Moseley for top reader in October's Reading Log stickers; second place goes to Hauke Dell in a close count for his reading log. Way to Go!!!!

The staff has just been informed that ALL library books will have to be turned in to the Media Center by November 20th as a NEW circulation systems will be put in place once we return from Thanksgiving holidays.  Please keep this in mind and get all books returned by the 20th...Thanks!

Once again, we look forward to seeing you and your visitors on Wednesday @ 11:20 in our classroom.  We will leave promptly at 11:45 for lunch in the cafeteria.  Photographers will be available to take pictures after lunch, if you so wish to do at a $10.00 charge, I believe. On Tuesday and Thursday, there will be sack lunches served, so, please don't plan on eating with your child either of those days.

Have a great week!!!    Peggy Snook

Week of November 6th

Dear Parents,

Can you believe that November is here!!  I can't....that means that Thanksgiving and Winter Holidays are just around the corner.  Mentioning Thanksgiving....on Wednesday, November 15th, we will be inviting Grandparents/special friend/parents, etc. to a special Thanksgiving lunch in the cafeteria from 11:45 to 12:20.  Please join us, if you can.  Photo opportunities will be available for that day, too.  Mrs. Harrison and I will have a short Thanksgiving presentation before lunch that day. It will probably be about 11:20 - 11:25, but we will let you know the exact time later.

As you will see on the homework sheet on Monday, our class has a very special treat coming up on Thursday, November 9th.  We are one of four classes that has 100% PTA membership!!! As a reward, we will have donuts, a puppet show, and the Fire Department come out to share the gear and the truck from 9:00 - 10:00.  WAY TO GO PARENTS!!!! Also, on the homework sheet you will see that there is a family Thanksgiving project to "Dress the Turkey" and turn it in by the following Monday, November 13th or before, if you finish it.  Hopefully, it will be a lot of fun for the entire family!!!   Enjoy!!

In Math we will continue our chapter on Geometry and Fractions.  On Friday, I introduced things that were SYMMETRICAL....we went through the entire alphabet and found the letters, both capital and lowercase letters, that were symmetrical.  We also talked about shapes that were symmetrical, like the square and rectangle.  This week we will also begin discovering halves, fourths and thirds for fractional parts (1/2, 1/4, and 1/3 only).  Keep this in mind as you go about your daily activities with your child and point out things that show these fractions.

Reading groups continue to do well.  It is always a pleasure to see one of your children decode a word by letters or combinations of letters sounds that we have just studied.  For example, two vowels come together as in "pail", usually the first one says its name and the second is silent; or the "magice e/silent e" rule as in make, helps them not only figure out how to say the word, but to also know how to spell it in their writing.  Work on those rules in your nightly reading with your child and see if they help them figure out what the word is. We will also begin studying about the First Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and comparing life then and now.  Several songs will be learned about the Pilgrims and Indians.   I was very pleased in Spelling this past week in the sentence writing that I gave them.  Most remembered to capitalize the first word in a sentence and put some sort of punctuation mark at the end.  I will vary the dictation sentences each week, so, please review the master list of spelling words I gave you at conference time.....thanks!

Spider writing is on display in the hall from last week.  We first made a web graph with the facts that we knew and wanted to write about in our paragraph.  From that, each child put together the informational writing piece you can see outside our room.  They did a good job!

In Social Studies, we are continuing to practice using north, south, east and west on a map of the United States.  We are also locating the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. A reminder that Media Center story and check out time will be this Thursday.  Your child may bring back a library book any time during the week and go to the Media Center sometime during that day for a new one. 

Tuesday, November 7th is a Student Holiday for Cobb County.  Teachers will be in training and informational sessions all around the county.  Most of us from Garrison Mill will spend the morning at Kell High School in 3 separate classes and then return to school for the afternoon on technology software we will be getting.  Hopefully, this can be a day to get started on your "Dressing the Turkey" project.  Be creative and use all different kinds of "stuff" to make your turkey interesting.  Have fun and turn them in by next Monday, the 13th, if not before.

Here's hoping that your week is a good one!    Peggy Snook