Mrs. Snook’s 1st Grade News

Week of October 22nd

Dear Parents,   

This entire week of October 22 - 26 is dedicated to Red Ribbon Week.  A general newsletter was sent home last Thursday explaining all the activities that will be happening this week --- "Say NO to Drugs".  Monday will be "Sock it to Drugs Day" and your child may wear their sillies socks.  Also, a Drug K-9 dog from the Cobb Co. Police Dept. will be at our school for an assembly.  Tuesday is "Team up against Drugs" and your child may wear his/her favorite team/spirit shirt.  On Wednesday, "Give Drugs the Slip Day" your child may wear slippers to school---ah.....comfy feet for a day!  Thursday is "Wear Red Day" and on Friday your child may wear a Halloween shirt to school or one that has orange or black on it.  This is an excellent week to talk to your children about regular safety rules as well as any Halloween safety rules that may apply.

Bats or Spiders reports came home last Thursday in your child's folder.  We have been studying about both of these in class, so, your child should already know some interesting facts.  The final reports will be due by this Friday, October 26th.    Many of our writing, reading, and science skills will be taught through this unit on Spiders and Bats.

            

Here are some important dates to put on your calendar for the remainder of October:

Thursday, Oct. 25th is Game Day treat for my class earning enough compliments to spell the word "compliment".  If your child would like to bring in a board game (no electronic games this time) on this day, I will give them some time during Thursday to play and share their games with others.

Also on Thursday, we have a Performing Arts program at 9:20 with Arthur Atmsa---The Science Magician.  It is also Back Yard Burger Night..

Friday, Oct. 26th - Pep Rally for perfect attendances students at 8:15am.

Saturday, Oct. 27th is School Campus Clean-up day.

Tuesday, Oct 30th - Square One Art is due.  Also, Hearing and Vision tests for 1st/4th graders.

Reminder from the from office:   If your child arrives after 7:55 am, you must sign him/her in at the PTA desk in the lobby.   Also, NO transportation changes or dismissal changes after 1:45 pm.

Curriculum news this week:

Reading - Each group has a different story whether it is on Fall, fall activities (pumpkin patch, candy corn, harvest, scarecrows, etc.), or spiders.  Through these fun-filled activities, I will be teaching new vocabulary, comprehension, sight words, writing, sentences completions (correct word choice), and capital letters/punctuation marks for a complete sentence.  We continue to work on nouns, adjectives, and verbs as we do these skills.  Adjectives (describing words) seem to be the easier one for most of the class....nouns (person, place,or thing) and verbs (action words---run, talk, yell, write---seem to be coming more slowly.   Please point these types of words out in homework or nightly reading as a reinforcement at home.  Also, some children are feeling comfortable to try an AR test....that's greats!  I will not require this now (taking an AR test), but there is a time down the road that I will want every child doing AR tests.  I will certainly let you know when that it....probably after the first of the year. I will try to print out individual sheets on how well your child is doing on AR to send home....if their scores are 3/5 or 6/10 or below, then the book they have chosen is too difficult for independent reading.  I want each child to be successful and happy about his/her AR experience.  Don't forget to record your nightly reading at home on the Oct. Reading Log....it will be the end of the month before we know it!!

Math - We will be starting a new chapter working on Subtraction strategies and continuing to take a time test weekly.  Right now I have included facts 0 - 12 (addition) working on 30 problems at 3 minutes and then doing a different 30 problems for 2 1/2 minutes; therefore hoping to increase their speed at answering the problems.  Your children need the challenge to be quick at knowing the facts rather than counting them on their fingers.  Practice at home --- always helps!  We will continue to talk about place value at calendar time as well as money and the value of a penny, nickel, dime and quarter.                                       

Phonics -  This past week we reviewed the letter "w", bossy r words such as car, flower, dirt, horn, and hurt and also reviewed all short vowel sounds using the "key" words of apple, egg, igloo, octopus, and umbrella to help each one remember how it sounds.  This week we will work on the digraphs "sh" as in ship, "th" as in think/with, "ch" as in church and it being spelled with a "tch" as in patch.  We will also work on plurals different from just adding an "s"---those requiring an "es" as in box, dish, lunch, and glass.  Lots of good rules that I hope to see incorporated in their daily writing.

Writing - Not all of your children's writing comes home to you.  I keep a portfolio on each child's writing to look at growth throughout the year.  You will get all of their writing at an Author's Tea in May.  We write in our "cubbie" journal each week about our weekend activities.  We have also written about High Touch, High Tech on magnets to tell me what they learned that day.  One of our first grade standards is to work on the writing process of capital letters, punctuation, and learning to edit their own work - catch their own mistakes.  Rereading is so important for them....please encourage this at home when they have written homework.

Science -  We are learning new information daily on both spiders and bats.  I look forward to getting your child's report by this Friday, the 26th, and sharing with the class new information that your child has found.  How did you like the spider graphs that I sent home that we did in computer lab?    They loved this new program called Kidspiration where they can write as well as choose a picture to go along with their writing.   Look for more fall activities generated in our computer lab....thanks to Shari Eggart each Tuesday morning assisting Mrs. Schulman and myself in the lab.

Report Cards come home Monday, the 22nd, in your child's daily folder.  Please review the grading explanations I gave in my Blog dated Oct. 8th.  If you still have any questions or concerns, please email me or write me a note.   Please sign the white card inside the envelope, you keep the report card copy, and return to me the envelope with the card inside.

Here's hoping that the weather is good this week, but does provide us with some much needed rain for our yards and plants...have a great week.

Sincerely,    Peggy Snook

Week of October 8th

Dear Parents,         

Can you believe that it is October?!!!  I can't....that means we have been in school for 8 weeks!!   The first grading period for nine weeks will end on Oct. 12th and report cards will come home on Monday, Oct. 22nd.  For those of you with no older children here at Garrison Mill or you are NEW to this school, the report card will look very different from kindergarten.  The grading systems for grades 1 - 3 uses "E" for excellent, "G" for good, "S" for satisfactory, and "N" for Needs Improvement (read the criteria for each on the report card).  Grades are given in the major subject areas (Reading - Above, On, Below, English, Spelling, and Math) as well as handwriting, behavior, Science, Social Studies, work/study habits, and Health.  As for specials---Art, P.E. and Music---grades are "O" for outstanding, "S" for satisfactory, and "N" for needs improvement.  Please contact me after receiving the first report card if you have any questions.  There is only one conference period scheduled for the 2007-2008 school year and that will be in January, '08.  I will contact you if I feel that a conference is needed before then and please do the same if you feel we need to talk.

What GREAT fun we had on Thursday with our first Pajama Day!  The class earned this for their "Compliment Treat" by receiving compliments from other teachers.  It was certainly a comfortable day for many of us with our house shoes and robes!!  Keep up the good work, class, and we'll be having another special day before you know it.

Upcoming Date to Remember: 

Tuesday, Oct. 9th is our first High Touch High Tech presentation on Magnets. Please don't forget to send in your child's lunch if that is what you told me last week.  Others will receive a sack lunch from the cafeteria.

Tuesday, Oct. 16th will be School Pictures along with Texas Roadhouse Dinner Night.

Wednesday, Oct. 17th will be another Early Release Day with children being dismissed at 12:20 and the last day for BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION. 

Monday, Oct. 22nd through Friday, Oct. 26 will be Red Ribbon Week.  Also, on the 22nd, the first report card will be sent home.  Please sign card inside the brown envelope and return both.  You keep the report card copy.

Thursday, Oct. 25th at 5pm will be BackYard Burger Spirit Night.

Tuesday, Oct. 30th - Square One Art orders are due. More information will be coming.

Wednesday, Oct. 31st will be Parent Centers from 9:30 - 10:20   HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! No costume wearing in 1st grade.

I have talked to my class about AR reading points and shown them how to know that a library book is an AR book.  Several of the children have already started taking AR tests in the Media Center on their own.  The biggest and most difficult thing for 1st graders is taking the AR test all by themselves.  I have put a chart in the hall to record the AR points earned....each sticker represents 2 AR points. I am not requiring this now, but I would like for more to try it.

September Reading Logs were turned in and here are the results for the Reading Achievement Awards:  Shelly Chummar - 1st place with 54 stickers;  Jamie Cwalina - 2nd place with 53 stickers, and a tie for 3rd place with 48 stickers each - Brenden Daniels and Bryce Daniels.  Each sticker on his/her apple represented 10 minutes of reading at night.  Congratulations to everyone and I hope to see some more minutes spent reading with your child at night --- it truly will make a difference.

Curriculum News:          

Reading groups continue to go well.  New Literacy Centers have been introduced and started for October.  Each reading group has a special pumpkin project that has been sent home or will be sent home this week.  Parent assistances may be necessary with your child; if not, just guide and direct them and turn in on the due date.....thanks!

Math - We will be taking Chapter 3 test early this week.  The main emphasis was counting on, using a number line, and using doubles as strategies to help in addition.  Also, in Chapter 3, we worked on Problem Solving strategies such as underlining the question being asked--"How many pumpkins in all?"-- and then, circling the important information in the problems.  Key words for your child to know are--in all, all together, how many left, difference, sum--all of these will help your child determine whether they need to add or subtraction in their problem solving.

Phonics - we continue to work on letters and letter combinations that help your child decode and spell words.  Last week we worked with the short "u" sound, "ar" as in car (bossy "r"), "k" spelled ck in words such as back, and the "z" sound.  This coming week we will work on the "l" sound, short "e" as in egg and also short "e" spelled with ea as in head, and the sound of "y" as in yellow.  Continue to have your child use these words to help make the vowel sounds---a=apple, e=egg, i= igloo, o=octopus, and u=umbrella.  Remember to point out blends in their nightly reading as well as digraphs--ch, sh, th, and wh.

Social Studies - map skills in our Literacy Centers have your child using the compass rose and the four major directions-north, south, east, and west.  Using a U.S. map, they must name and write the 5 states that border/touch Georgia.  In addition to that, they must name the ocean that touches the coast of Georgia.  We also will be studying Christopher Columbus this week with his birthday being Friday, October 12th.   In Literacy Centers I have a "free exploration" center where they can feel the "repel" and "attract" properties of the magnets.  They love the hands on activities.  Later this month we will study spiders and bats....more information to come later.

Science - this week will be our first in house field trip with High Tech High Tech.  It will be a 90 minute presentation on Magnets (part of our Georgia Standards) and their properties.

Writing - we continue working on how to correctly make certain letters --- this week will be z, l, u, y, and e.  Also, we are working on our fall writing to be displayed in the hall.  Check it out later this week.

WHAT A GREAT FALL FESTIVAL WE HAD ON FRIDAY!!  Thanks to all of you who attended and enjoyed the fun....it was GREAT!

Have a great week and let's hope the daytime weather begins to cool off.

Sincerely,    Peggy Snook