Mrs. Snook’s 1st Grade News

Week of May 21st

Dear Parents,

Hard to believe that this is my last Blog to you this year!!  This last one will be short and remind you of several things happening this final week of school. Tuesday, May 22nd, will be our final lesson with the laptops in our room from 8:00 to 9:00.  Later that day we will have an ice cream social from 12:00 -            12:40 provided by Mary Fisher and Teisha Moseley....students are sending in the toppings for the sundaes we will make.  On Thursday, the 24th, we will celebrate the summer birthdays in our class.                                          

Remember that the FINAL Reading  Log for May is due on Mon., the 21st.   I have the winners of the April stickers---there were ties in all three places.  Tied for 1st Place with 47 stickers each are Aleksandra Lezaj and Hunter Peterson; tied for 2nd place with 43 stickers each are Anna Moseley and Hauke Dell; and tied for 3rd place with 42 stickers each are Milan Pavlovic and Nathan Fritz.  Congratulations to each of you!!!!  Many others had stickers in the 20's and 30's.  Keep up the good reading during the summer!

This past week had two days of exciting fun.  On Tuesday, the 15th, we welcomed our parents in for ice tea/lemonade and a snack while each of them had an opportunity to sit down with his/her child.  I had writing samples from the first day of school in August through April.  Thank your very much for taking the time out of your daily schedule to attend the Author's Tea! It was amazing to see the growth in each child during that period of time!!  I will be sending home your child's May writings this week.  On Wednesday, the 16th we had Field Day for K - 2 grades.  The rains held off until 2:30 and we were able to get in all stations....what a fun-filled day we had planned by Coach Bare and Mrs. Bass!!

This week I will bring in paper bags from the grocery store with your child's name on it.  These will be sent home either Wed. or Thurs. with remaining papers, composition books, math journal, phonics and math workbooks, etc. *** FRIDAY, THE 25TH, WILL BE NO BOOK BAGS OR PAPERS OF ANY KIND SENT TO SCHOOL OR BROUGHT HOME FROM SCHOOL. ***  All pencil boxes, crayons, glue sticks, etc. will be sent home by Thursday.   Thank you in advance for understanding this decision.  Bus drivers, particularly, do not want the scattering of old papers, spirals, composition books out of the windows of their bus, so, nothing of this nature will come in with them on Friday.  If they need a pencil or paper for something, I will provide them.

One last compliment treat for the class will be on Wednesday, the 23rd. and that will be a GAME DAY.  They may bring in box games, electronic games, board games, etc.  Let's have fun on that day!

What else can I say about this class---they are smart, inquisitive, artistic, playful, fun, dramatic, full of joy, and best of all, they were my class for nine months!!!  I will miss each one of them over the summer, but they will return in August as 2nd graders ready to begin another school year.  Please encourage them to come back and visit me when they can.  Don't forget that I'd love to have them read to my class next year, okay?  Thank you for being the great, supportive parents that you have been this year!

Have a great week!                   

Sincerely,   Peggy Snook

Week of May 14th

Dear Parents,

Once again, thanks to each of you for making Teacher Appreciation week so special!!!  The cards, notes, flowers, gifts, hanging basket, and gift cards were all appreciated and will continue to be enjoyed for a while to come.

The balloon lift-off that was scheduled for this coming Friday, the 18th, has been canceled.  Family Night scheduled that same day is still a "go" for that evening.  As a reminder, other dates for this  week are:  Tuesday, May 15th from 8:30 - 9:00 in our room/Author's-Writer's Tea;  Wednesday, May 16th - Field Day for K - 2. Please wear your 1st grade class t-shirt and plan on sending in a 2nd set of clothing in your child's bookbag on Wednesday, as some of the stations involve water. If your child needs to wear sunscreen, please make sure you put some on them before coming to school that morning.  Also, on Friday, the 18th, the class has earned a compliment treat and the vote was for a Pajama Day - look for more information on my weekly sheet sent home on Monday.

Curriculum News:

We are winding down on our study of Mexico.  There are several pieces of work in the hall  - a web on Mexico that our class did on the laptops this past Tuesday, a flag of Mexico, and a brightly colored parrot with streamer tail-feathers---this week we will do a compare and contrast of the United States and Mexico to see how our countries are similar and different.

In Math, we are finishing up Chapter 12 on 2 digit addition and subtraction without regrouping.  Extension activities are showing how to regroup in addition with 2 digits - we have even looked at some multiplication, for those that can try it.  We will also be taking a chapter test and finishing up the last week of school with an IMI (Individual Math Inventory) covering the last three chapters in the book.

Phonics has us reviewing the "bossy r" in words such as car, dirt, and horn, the "oi" and "oy" spelling in words such as foil and boy, and words ending in "e" and what happens when "ing" is added as in face = facing, etc.  We will also continue doing Mt. Language which covers a multitude of skills - subjects, verbs, syllables, compound words, contractions, rhyming words, blends, and digraphs.

Reading groups are finishing activities with their last book.  Daily reading such as Weekly Readers, shared reading, AR books, etc. will continue even into the last week of school.  I will be sending home later this week a suggested list of authors that your child may enjoy over the summer - of course, Barbara Park of Junie B. Jones fame and Jan Brett of Hedgie the hedgehog, will be on this list. Book Reports were presented this past week and are in the hall for your viewing.  I was pleased with the work each child put into his/her report.

This week we will also be starting our "Memory Books" for 1st grade.  I haven't shown them the book yet, but I believe they will be excited with all that is in it.  Again, the pictures I've taken throughout the year will be available for them to cut and use in their books.  Should be fun!!!

Gear up for a busy couple of weeks in finishing this school year.  It's hard to believe that almost 9 months have passed by and you willl soon have second graders for next year!  This year I have seen so much growth in your children and I sincerely hope you will keep them reading during the summer.  Mt. View Library should have a Summer Reading Program for young children. 

Have a great week......Peggy Snook          

Thank you, Thank you!!!!

Dear Parents,

                                       

This note deserves a separate blog to thank Mary Fisher and Tiesha Moseley for the wonderful geranium hanging basket  and all the other parents that sent in the gift cards sticking out in card holders!!!  I'll be using the Starbucks card this afternoon!  The other cards include Borders, Publix, Brusters, Hallmark Gift Shop, Chicago's (one of my favorite restaurants), and Bath & Body Works!!!!  Thank you one and all for a great year and for remembering me this week with adorable cards from my students, flowers brought in on Wednesday, and other gifts that have come in during this week.

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to each of you moms!!

Sincerely,    Peggy Snook

Week of May 7th

Dear Parents,

WOW!!!  It's hard to believe that we have only 15 more days of school!  The end of the year is upon us all and there is one special project that we will work on the last 2 weeks of school.  It is a Memory Book full of pages for each student to fill out and draw pictures to go with them.  All the pictures that I have taken since the beginning of the year will be available to the students to cut up and use in their memory book....they love that part!!!  I certainly feel that we have had a very successful year and that all of us (teacher and parents alike) have seen the growth in your child.  We will continue to work hard these remaining few days of school and I do want to express my appreciation again to all of you for your great support during the school year.  Our room parents have done an excellent job monthly of bringing in unique and crafty ideas to fit the month's theme......THANK YOU!!!

With sports and other activities being in full swing, I will not be giving regular homework starting next week, the 14th.  Please continue to read nightly as the final May Reading Log will be due on Friday, May 18th, to give me time to make the Reading Achievement Awards.

DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR:

Monday, May 7th  - Book reports due on your fiction or non-fiction mammal book you chose along with a picture of your animal drawn with background/may use crayons, colored pencils, or markers.

Tuesday, May 8th:  Laptops in the classroom 8:00 - 9:00 and our last High Touch, High Tech on Weather from 11:50 - 1:20.  We will swap specials time with kindergarten from 1:25 - 2:10 just for Monday and Tuesday.

Thursday, May 10th - All student library books are due in to the Media Center.

Tuesday, May 15th - Author's/Writer's Tea in the classroom from 8:30 - 9:00 where you will be able to read with your child the writings and stories that they have written during this entire year....wait until you see the GROWTH!!

Wednesday, May 16th - Field Day for K-2.

Friday, May 18th - All May Reading Logs are due, Celebration Day with balloon lift off at 1:15pm and Family Night.

Tuesday, May 22nd - End of Year Ice Cream Social/12:00 - 12:40pm.  You may be asked to send in your favorite toppings.....Mrs. Fisher will let me know.

Friday, May 25th - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL and 5th grade Walk of Honor.

Curriculum News:

Math:  Chapter 12 is our final math chapter in our book.  We will be working on adding 2 digit numbers to 2 digit numbers without regrouping.  Extension activities will be showing the class how to regroup in addition with 2 digits + 2 digits.  We will continue to work on strategies using doubles to help them.  I also will continue giving timed math tests in addition to those who have not reached 50/50.  Those that have will be taking a subtraction timed test starting this week.

Reading:  My groups are still finishing up activities associated with their last book.  After this I have a reading comprehension passage to work on strategies to help them locate the answers if they don't know them immediately.

Social Studies/Science - we will continue our study of Mexico, our neighbors to the south.  We are learning about the Mexican people, their culture, the language spoken, typography of the country, history, festivals (Cinco de Mayo, etc.), counting 1 - 10 in Spanish, the Mexican flag, location in the northern hemisphere, and a film on their culture.

Phonics:  It is a continuation of reviewing all that we have learned during this year---newest and perhaps the most difficult are:  CVC pattern to double the consonant before adding a suffix - stop = stopping/stopped; making words plural that end in y that changes to i +es as in story = stories, babies, ladies, etc., and making words plural that end in x, ch, sh, and ss as in boxes, churches, bushes, and glasses.

That's about all for this week....hope that our good weather continues for all the baseball and soccer matches!

Sincerely,  Peggy Snook