Classroom Updates

9/24/18

Computer Lab started today! We finally have all of our tech agreements turned in, which allows for students to access and use the devices here on campus. We took our first ever visit to Sedgwick's computer lab to learn how to use the desktop computers. We logged on, accessed the internet via Google Chrome, and learned how to use Raz Kids while at school. The kids had a great time learning some basics and trying out Raz Kids. If you have not yet sent a pair of headphones to school with your child, now is a great time to do so. Each week we visit the computer lab, headphones will be used with the desktop computers.

Raz Kids is our new online reading skills and comprehension program. If you've been wondering what I was talking about during the paragraph about computer lab, here is your answer! In first grade, we use Raz Kids as a digital method for building reading skills and comprehension. Information about the program, and your child's log-in and password information was sent home in Thursday folders last week.

Music For Minors also began today! It was a busy morning, but we stopped over to room 11 for our first music class in addition to the first visit to the computer lab. We met Mrs. Poulos (pronounced Pole-iss), who will be our Music for Minors docent this year. The kids learned the music room norms and sang some silly songs with our new teacher. They had a blast!

Homework for the month of September is due on Thursday, 9/27, this week. Since this is the first month to be completed, please help your child gather their September homework materials to turn in by Thursday. The cover sheet should be signed by the student and an adult at home, and returned with any must-do and may-do work that was completed. Though homework is more for the student and the family to help develop a healthy and productive homework routine each week, it is also a great connection between school and home. I will review your child's work and return it to you next week in Thursday folders. October homework will be sent home in Thursday folders this week.

Parent Teacher Conferences begin next week! Starting on October 4th, we will be on a minimum day schedule, meaning the school day ends at 1:40 pm each day. Conferences run through October 12th, which, sadly, will also be my last day with students before Mrs. Oliphant takes over. I sincerely look forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's growth and continuing goals for this school year.

9/12/18

Many important items are included in tomorrow's Thursday folders. Please look through the paperwork carefully. In addition to checked classwork, inside you will find:

A field trip permission slip for our walking field trip to the Creekside Park Farmer's Market. Please sign the form to indicate permission, as well as whether or not you would like to accompany us on the trip. Any parent chaperones must have a cleared TB test and Fingerprinting paperwork on file in the office.

Parent-Teacher Conferences note and scheduled time form Please review the time and indicate if you are able to attend. Detach the bottom portion of the form to return to school, and keep the top portion as a reminder. I also recommend adding this date and time to your calendar for planning purposes. If you need to reschedule your conference time, please indicate on your conference form and send me an email at mclaughlin_erin@cusdk8.org. Unfortunately, I will be unavailable to meet with you for a conference after October 12th.

Here are more upcoming Important Dates for you to note:

September 21: No School, Staff Learning Day

September 26: PTA Ice Cream Social 5:30 - 7:00 pm

September 27: September Homework Due.

September 28 1st Grade Field Trip to Creekside Park Farmer's Market

October 4-12: Parent/Teacher Conferences. Minimum Day Schedule with dismissal at 1:40 pm each day.

October 10: PTA Meeting, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

October 12: Mrs. McLaughlin's projected last day with students

October 15: No School, Staff Learning Day

October 16: Mrs. Oliphant's first projected day with students

October 19: Famliy Movie Night, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

My Projected Last Day in the classroom is October 12th. The new baby is due three weeks later, and my doctors have already advised me to rest at home due to my high risk status. I felt it was important to stay through conferences so that we had a chance to talk in person about your child's progress as a first grader during these first 8 weeks of school. I have really enjoyed helping them build community in the classroom, along with learning our norms and procedures in these early weeks. We are building amazing skills to grow as life long learners!

Mrs. Vi Oliphant will be taking over the class starting on October 16th. As I mentioned at Back to School Night, she is a veteran retired primary teacher from the CUSD. Her experience surpasses more than 30 years working with young children. I fully trust her abilities to nurture your child's growth during my leave. She also took care of my students during maternity leave for my daughter two years ago, and last year taught a group of K/1 students for a close friend on maternity leave. She is absolutely wonderful, and you will just love her!

Other Important Information:

Oral Presentations are due on Monday September 17th: Your child should come to school prepared to share their family tree next Monday. Please review the homework packet along with the Oral Presentation rubric for more information about the expectations. In brief, students should memorize 3 or more sentences to share about their family. Students should have a visual aide (picture, poster) to help them show and tell about their family. Students should work on making eye contact with the audience while speaking with a loud, clear voice, and a calm, still body. Sharing will be done on a volunteer basis throughout the week of Sept. 17-20. I did model a speech and oral presentation expectations for students on Tuesday this week, so your child should understand what they need to do. Please do not make any artwork for your child. This is their project!

Safety Reminder: Please help your child choose appropriate footwear for our PE days on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays each week. Athletic shoes meant for running and sports are the best choice, as your child will be actively participating in exercise and sports each week. Please, no sandals or boots on these days. In addition, HEELY brand shoes and other wheeled shoes are not allowed on campus, per CUSD policy. They pose a serious safety risk for kids during outdoor playtime, and interfere with your child's ability to participate in PE activities.

All regular/weekly parent volunteer positions have now been filled. If you were not contacted about a weekly helper position, I thank you for offering your help! There were so many parents interested in getting involved, and just not enough positions to be filled. Please consider volunteering your time to one of the remaining areas in which we still need help in room 15:

1-2 Project Cornerstone Parent Volunteers: This is a twice a month commitment (once for training, once for teaching the lesson). Please see the attached letter from our school's Project Cornerstone coordinator for more info. Prior experience is not required, and guidance will be offered during the monthly training sessions. Two parents can work together during a lesson, or even trade off months and teach solo.

Room 15 Coordinating Parent(s): This position is very time flexible and can be done as a team with more than one parent. I am looking for a go-to parent or parents who can help with coordinating class celebrations and important cultural holiday activities (Halloween party, Valentine's Day party, Diwali/Indian Culture lesson, Lunar New Year lesson, etc) If you love party planning, this may be the right fit for you! Other families from room 15 would contact you regarding the above mentioned events, and you and the teacher would briefly meet before an event to discuss timing, materials, and logistics to ensure a smooth process.

Moon Festival Volunteers: I would love to spend an hour or two in the classroom teaching students about the upcoming Moon Festival, which starts on September 24th. If you celebrate the moon festival in your family and would like to share a craft, snack, or some of your family traditions with the students in Room 15, we would love to have you come visit us and share your knowledge!

If any of the above volunteer positions sound of interest to you, please contact me via email.

Curricular Information:

Math: We have completed Chapter 1, Addition Concepts. You will find your child's Chapter 1 math booklet in their Thursday folder today. Please read the attached note, which provides information about the chapter. Your child's math booklet does not need to be returned back to school. It is yours to keep at home as a resource for math practice and review.

Writing: Writer's Workshop is in full swing! The students have begun their first unit, Small Moments, which focuses on writing personal narratives with lots of details about a very specific short amount of time in their own lives. For example, losing a tooth, or falling while riding a bike one day is a small moment. The kids are working their way through the writing process and are drafting their first story now. In coming weeks, we will practice how to go back and add more details to our work, as well as how to "publish" a story. In this room, everyone is a writer!

Reading, Spelling and Phonics: Daily 5 is actively invading our language arts filled mornings. We practice word work with our spelling words each week, focusing on the phonics sounds and "marking up" the words to note long or short vowels and letters that make funny sounds. Please continue to encourage your child to practice his/her spelling words each week, as we do have a quiz each Friday. We learned how to choose a good fit book and fill our book boxes with reading material. We are building our reading stamina during read to self time as well. Our class has a goal of being able to focus and read quietly for 20 minutes. So far, we have made it up to 12:18. Not bad for only 6 days of practice! Next, we will learn the best ways to read with someone.

Social Studies: A new unit on Goods and Services will begin next week. The students will learn about the difference between a good and a service, along with the difference between something that is a want, and something that is a need. This will help us to prepare for our upcoming field trip to the farmer's market on the 28th.

Science: Our unit on solids and liquids will begin soon! Stay tuned for more info. We will likely start after our short social studies unit on goods and services concludes.

Kimochis: Kids are focusing on those friendly faces. Each morning, our students of the week say a good morning greeting to the class, focusing on eye contact and a friendly face. We are also learning about how to be a great classroom citizen. We have talked about how we can help clean up a mess or push in a chair, even if it is not ours. That shows we care about others, and our classroom!

PE: Each day in PE, the children warm up with a one lap run around the field. Then, students learn and practice a new skill with our weekly PE equipment. Last week, we worked with frisbees, learning how to properly throw them. Children worked in pairs and even tried catching the frisbees their friends threw to them. This week, we are using whiffle balls and scoops to practice more throwing and catching skills. The kids are having fun and building confidence with their athletic ability.

Growth Mindset: Today in class, the room 15 kids joined up with their friends from room 14 to learn about the power of a growth mindset. We discussed that persistence when trying hard things, and recognizing and fixing our mistakes helps our brain to grow the most. We can all learn to embrace the mistake, knowing that it will lead us to become smarter and build our perseverance.

8/27/18

Today marks the end of our 8th day of school! We are keeping busy each day, learning new routines, focusing on positive behaviors with positive outcomes, and showing kindness in and out of the classroom. Before I dive into what we've covered so far in the curriculum, here are few things I mentioned at Back to School Night, along with a link to the presentation:

My email: mclaughlin_erin@cusdk8.org This is the best way to contact me. On work days, I do my best to respond within 24 hours. If you receive emails from me, but your spouse does not and would like to, this means I do not have an updated email. Please contact me so I can add the email to my list.

Our classroom website: http://bit.ly/Room15McL This is an excellent resource for questions you may have regarding what is happening in the classroom, our schedule and special classes, links to important websites, and so much more. Please take a few minutes to browse it when you have a chance.

I am still working to add important information and downloadable links to our class website, along with an updated weekly schedule. As I mentioned at Back to School Night, google rolled out a new platform a couple days before school started, and some of the formatting did not transfer well, so I am fixing some of the errors and changing things as needed. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Back to School Night: Everyone should have received a copy of the materials from the event, whether you were able to attend or not. Below is a link to the powerpoint presentation you viewed if you were in attendance.

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Back to School Night Presentation.pdf

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And now for what we have been working so hard on in these first couple of weeks:

Social Emotional Curriculum: During our first couple of Kimochis lessons, we met Bug, a shy guy who is afraid to try new things. He learns that by putting his Brave in front of his Shy and Scared, he is able to conquer his fears and enjoy new experiences. The students talked about their feelings related to starting first grade, and the changes they have noticed so far- what makes it different from Kindergarten. We also completed many collaborative art projects as a class, including our Classroom Norms poster, Dolphin Doctrine poster, Kind Classroom poster, and Dolphin Duo pair artwork. Working together is an essential skill in this classroom and in our common core curriculum. The theme of teamwork and collaboration will carry throughout the school year.

Math: We started chapter 1 in math last week. Students are learning how to use math tools like linker cubes and counting chips to model a math number sentence. We are talking about how to solve a problem, and sharing in a whole group setting. Students are also practicing different strategies for how to solve (and show how they solve) a math number sentence in a variety of ways. At this point in the year, math is taught whole group, with step by step modeled guidance throughout each lesson. As I mentioned at back to school night, this year in math introduces the type of math skills all people carry with them and use on a daily basis.

Reading and Writing: The students have learned how to navigate our classroom library, and "check out" a book for reading. They are working on forming opinions about stories and have written, verbally shared, and drawn about their favorite parts during a read aloud story. This week we will officially begin writer's and reader's workshop, which will be an exciting new venture for the students. Reading will focus on creating good reading habits, and writing will focus on personal narratives. Look for more details about these in upcoming classroom updates!

Phonics: So far this year we have reviewed our long vowel sounds. The students worked together to brainstorm lists of words that have long vowel sounds in them, then we charted them and marked the vowel sounds in a whole group setting. This week with the start of homework, we are focusing on Short -a sounds in the classroom. You can support your child's growth with phonics and spelling by practicing the words at home each week using the attached spelling menu.

Social Studies: Look for more details about these in upcoming classroom updates! We have started our unit on citizenship and communities. The students learned what each word means, and how it relates to them. Look to Thursday folders in the coming weeks for more social studies materials to be sent home.

PE: Our first unit in PE covers games and activities your children can participate in during their recess and lunchtime each day. One very notable transition from Kindergarden is the new outdoor play area, and the hundreds of children, big and small, that come with it. This can be overwhelming for many students. Teachers rotated classes to get to know each first grade class better, and the children are in the midst of learning norms for the games and equipment, like, play structures, tetherball, wall ball, 4 sqaure, soccer, basketball, field activities, and so much more! Our goal was to provide knowledge about choices, along with safe play practices students can use when playing outdoors.

This update can be found on the classroom website, along with all upcoming updates this school year. The link to the classroom website can always be found in my email signature below.

I look forward to a wonderful experience with your children this fall!

ARCHIVED ROOM 15 CLASSROOM UPDATES FROM 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR:

4/10/18

We have been busy, busy, busy in recent weeks! As third trimester hits full swing, here are some things that have been happening in the classroom lately:

Important Upcoming Dates to Remember:

April 16-20 - Spring Break, No School

Monday, April 23rd - Oral Presentation Materials are Due. Check your child's homework packet for topic information, or here to review a digital copy.

Thursday, April 26th - April Homework is Due. May's Homework packet will also go home in Thursday folders this day, and will be our last monthly homework of the year. Hooray!

Language Arts:

Students have been hard at work crafting their opinion writing pieces. Recently, we wrote about our favorite item in a collection, as well as reviewed a place or thing we think is wonderful. Currently, students are wrapping up their work with writing book reviews. As we write, students have shared their draft work with peers to add details, make suggestions, and make corrections.

During reading time, students are focusing on independent reading of "good fit" books, and reading for enjoyment. While participating in read-alouds, students ask questions about the texts, make predictions called inferences, and continue to share about favorite parts and characters. As the year winds down, we will also circle back to areas previously covered earlier this year, like parts of a story and making connections.

We are continuing our study of the parts of speech as a part of both regular classroom ELA time, and ELD time. So far, we have focused on nouns, pronouns, verbs, verb tense, adjectives, contractions, and now, conjunctions. Students are working to use words correctly in both speech and writing.

Math:

We just recently completed chapter 9 of our math curriculum, which covered the topic of nonstandard measurement. As you may have seen on Seesaw, the students used everyday items to measure the length, width, and height of classroom objects. Kids showed teamwork by pairing up to measure big things with paper clips and linker cubes, and Mr. Jackson even came to sit in on a lesson! He was very impressed with collaboration demonstrated by the students of room 15.

We have now moved on to chapter 10, which focuses on interpreting data using graphs. The children are creating and reading picture graphs, bar graphs, and tally charts. Our final units of study in math cover geometry; Chapters 11 and 12 will focus on 2D and 3D shapes.

Science:

Spring has sprung in Room 15! Our science unit this trimester covers plants and animals. In past weeks, the children grew their own individual lawns, even "mowing" them with scissors after they grew past the sprout phase. We learned the life cycle of a plant, parts of a plant, what plants need to live, how to plant a seed, and how seeds travel. By now, your child is a regular green thumb!

We have now moved on to study earthworms and red worms. The kids have focused on how worms help the earth, parts of a worm's body, and what worms need to survive. We will wrap up our Plants and Animals science unit at the end of this week. Don't worry, the worms will not be heading home with your kids like the plants did!

Kimochis:

Our most recent classroom meetings have revolved around teamwork, and viewing our class as a whole. Each member of Room 15 plays a very important role in our daily success. I have emphasized the importance of thinking bigger than oneself, and that everyone matters. Together we are continuing to build our classroom community through positive words and actions, remembering that our choices affect those around us.

Parent Volunteers Needed:

I could use a hand or two to assist with our Earth Day project on Monday, April 23rd. Students will be cutting all of those plastic bottles that you donated, but getting each bottle started is always a challenge. If you are handy with a pair of scissors and would like to assist us at the beginning of the school day, please reply to this email.

As always, this information, and past classroom updates can be located on our classroom website at https://sites.google.com/a/cusdk8.org/mclaughlin/home

Have a lovely spring break!

3/1/2018

Please take a few minutes to review this important classroom update:

Thursday folders are full of drafts of your child's informational writing. Our published copies of books are still at school at this time. Those will be sent home in a few weeks, once I have recorded grades for report cards.

A Field Trip is coming up this month! In addition, there is a permission slip and note about our upcoming field trip on March 23rd. Please note the important information about lunch on that day. We will eat our lunch early, during morning snack time at 11:00, before departing from school. When we come back from the play, we will eat a late snack. If you would like to order a sack lunch from school in leiu of hot lunch (since we won't be on campus during our regular lunch time), please mark the box on the field trip permission slip, otherwise, plan to have your child bring a lunch from home on that day.

February Homework was due today, and March homework can be found in your child's Thursday folder. Please let me know if you have any questions about the homework. The optional Leprechaun trap project mentioned in the homework packet will be sent home next week.

In Math, we have wrapped up chapter 7 before the break, and have started chapter 8. In this complex chapter, students are learning many strategies for how to regroup single and double digit numbers. Please encourage and work with your child to practice their basic addition and subtraction facts with numbers up to 20 at home, as this will support their work in the classroom.

In Reading, students are continuing their practice of read to self and read with someone, in addition to making connections to self, text to text, and text to world. Next week, we begin our focus on the concept of main ideas and details with nonfiction texts.

During Writer's Workshop time, we have finished publishing our expert topic books. Students will share their writing with the other first and third grade students of community 2 on Friday afternoon. We will begin our new unit of Opinion writing on Monday of next week. If your child has not yet brought in their collection, please help them choose some items for their labeled ziplock bag, and return them to school by Monday, March 5th at the latest. If you are confused about what I am talking about, please refer to the collections letter attached to this email, which was sent home on Tuesday of this week.

Just before the break, we finished our Science unit on Weather. The kids learned about who predicts the weather, and how they do it. We learned about various weather tools, and lots and lots of weather vocabulary. We charted the daily temperature in class, and also checked the weather in places all over the world!

We have started a short Social Studies unit about American symbols. You may have seen some of the social studies "newspapers" come home in your child's backpack recently. We are learning about landmarks, symbols, and monuments, among other things, and why they are important to our country.

Report Cards will go home on Friday, March 16th. Your child's progress during the second trimester of school will be noted on this report. These are grade level benchmark scores for where your child should be at this point in the year, not how your child compares to the end of the year common core standards.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are an important part of every school year. At the beginning of the year, our October conference is meant to get to know one another and form a partnership for supporting your child throughout the year. In addition, we get to discuss social and academic progress. Sedgwick only offers teachers time to prepare for one conference per year. However, I would like to extend an offer to briefly meet with you before or after school in the coming weeks if you would like to chat about your child. Each conference will be for only 10 minutes. As I mentioned, I will be rearranging my schedule to meet with with you out of my usual after school preparation time, so I am unable to accommodate additional time. If you are interested in having a conference, please sign up using the link below:

Parent-Teacher Conference Sign Up

Read Across America Day is on Friday! It is also Dr. Seuss' birthday! We will be celebrating in our classroom with many of you for breakfast and a book from 9:15 to 10:00 am. Make sure to check out all the new artwork around our room while you're here! In addition, we will have Read Across First Grade taking place right here in room 15 and the surrounding first grade rooms with all first grade students concentrating on reading, reading, reading! Later in the day, more reading will happen during our writer's workshop celebration.

1/22/18

The next few weeks of school are quite busy before our February break. There are several important due dates coming up that I would like to remind you about:

Thursday, January 25th: 100th Day Project is Due (See Helpful Information tab for details)

Thursday, January 25th: Nonfiction Mentor Text is Due for our upcoming writer's workshop unit (See Helpful Information tab for details)

Thursday, February 1st: January Homework is Due.

In addition, there are some exciting events taking place next month in February:

Wednesday, February 14th, 2:15 - 3:00pm: Class Valentine's Day Party

Mark your calendars! You are all invited to join in the celebration of love and kindness in Room 15! Similar to our Halloween party, families are welcome to attend. If you would like to donate any snacks, treats, or supplies to ensure a fun and successful Valentine's Day party, please sign up using the clickable link below. A sign-up sheet will also be posted on our classroom window next week if that is more convenient for you.

Valentine's Day Party Sign-Up

Thursday, February 15th, 2:15 - 3:00 pm: Lunar New Year Celebration

Though we will be a day early in our celebration, I would like to recognize the Lunar New Year in our classroom, since many students at Sedgwick celebrate this important holiday. If you are interested in coming to the classroom to lead or facilitate a new year themed activity, craft, power point, etc, I would love to have your help! Please contact me directly via email if you are willing to share your knowledge and expertise about the Lunar New Year. I am happy to support you with the gathering of materials you may need for any art projects.

Friday, February 16th: Levi's Stadium Field Trip

Field Trip forms were sent home in your child's backpack today. Please read them carefully, sign, and return both forms. Levi's Stadium has strict permission requirements, and the form from them must be completed and signed properly for your child to gain entrance onto the field. Improperly signed forms will result in your child missing the field trip and sitting on the bus.

This will be an all-day field trip. I am looking for FOUR parent volunteers interested in coming with us to the field trip on 2/16/18. Please respond via email if you are interested in chaperoning this field trip and have your TB and fingerprint clearance. Children and adults will need to bring a disposable lunch (no reusable containers or lunch bags) on this day.

Monday, February 19th - 23rd: Mid-Winter Break

There is no school this week. Enjoy the extra time with your families!

1/12/18

With the beginning of a new year, there is often growth and change. Your child has now been a first grade student for 89 days. As of Monday, we will officially be halfway through the school year! The boys and girls of room 15 are now approaching the time when they are closer to becoming a second grader, rather than still being a first grade student. With this passage of time, it is now important to also shift our thinking, and begin to focus on how we can work together to prepare our children to be great second grade students. Legible penmanship, precise math modeling, sight word knowledge, proper sentence mechanics like capitals at the beginning and periods at the end, and addition/subtraction fact fluency are all important basic skills that will enable your child to be successful when completing first grade and entering second grade. Becoming experts on how to tie shoes, zip up and unzip jackets and backpacks, put on and take off sweaters are all excellent skills to possess as well.

Ways you can help at home:

• Practice tying shoes! Coach your child to become a shoe-tying expert at home!
• Enable independence by allowing your child to pack and unpack their own back pack.
• Encourage your child to choose their own clothes and dress themselves independently, including those tricky snaps and buttons on some types of pants.
• Practice spelling words in the car or on the walk to and from school. This is also a great time to work on numeracy skills up to the number 20.
• When working on homework, hold your child accountable for writing carefully and neatly. Legible handwriting will always be a useful skill to have, no matter how much we transition to typing on technology devices.

Here are some of the things we have been working on in class these past couple of weeks:

Writer's Workshop: Last week we began a new unit during writing time. The students self-selected their own mentor text animal book, and we have begun to research the animals by reading the books. Students are learning how to take facts from the book, and turn them into their own sentences during writing time, without copying an author's work from the book. These will become short chapter books when published. If you missed the note that went home last week regarding this unit of writing, here it is below:

In Writer’s Workshop, we are writing our Animal Research book. We are including real life photographs in our research reports. Please, find two or three color photographs of your child’s animal. Please do not bring in drawings or cartoon pictures. In class, we have discussed the importance of using real photographs to study animals. Some photo sources may include the Internet or wildlife magazines. We will be gluing the photos on a regular piece of paper in class, so please bring photos no larger than a 4x6. These Photographs will not be returned, and will become a part of your child’s published Animal Research book. Please bring in the photos by Thursday, January 18.

Reading: Students are still working to build their reading stamina by trying their best to focus on the task of reading independently without distractions, getting up, or talking with friends. As a class, we have read for 16 minutes and 40 seconds without any interruptions. Our goal is to make it to 20 minutes by the February break. During Listen to Reading time, we have been studying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's life, and how he worked for civil rights and equality among all people. This has helped us build our skills with making Text to World connections when reading. We have also been reading several other books together, including a series by Vera B. Williams about a little girl named Rosa and her family. The titles of the books in the series are: A Chair for My Mother, Something Special for Me, and Music, Music, Everywhere. While reading these titles, we worked on the concepts of Text to Text connections. We have also been reading some books for enjoyment, by author Louis Sachar. His Wayside School series is both hilarious and thought provoking. Please ask your child what he/she can tell you about what we have been reading together!

Math: After the break we started chapter 6 in math. This chapter focuses on place value. Students are learning skills to count, model, and write numbers up to 120. We are using base ten blocks as modeling tools in the classroom, and really concentrating on how to draw a neat and easy to understand math picture. Students are also learning how to use a 100's or 120's chart to help them count up and back more efficiently. Our assessment for chapter 6 will take place at the end of next week.

Science: Our unit on Weather has just begun. We started the unit together by listing some things we already know about the weather, as well as some questions we have about weather. The kids are enthusiastic about this subject! We have read some books together, and learned about what a meteorologist does. Today, we focused on one important weather tool - the thermometer. Next week we will continue our study and learn about more tools and types of weather.

Kimochis: Lately we have been discussing our feelings about the new year, and how we feel about growing up and getting ready to be second graders. It is quite the mixed bag of emotions in this classroom!

11/30/17

Report cards are being sent home tomorrow, Friday, December 1! Please check your child's backpack for this important information regarding their progress during our first trimester of school. Please, keep in mind these grades are benchmark levels that reflect your child's ability level in relation to where they are expected to be at this point in the year, not where they are in regards to an end of the year standard. Attached to this email is a PDF document which explains the grading system and which standards are covered. After reviewing the report card, please sign and return back to school only the envelope.

Homework: November homework was due today, 11/30. Please sign the front page of the homework packet with your child, and help your first grader return any assignments that you would like to have me review. December homework was included in this week's Dolphin folder. Please let me know if you have any questions about the must do and may do assignments.

Spelling practice at home is expected as a part of the monthly homework assignments. With such a rigorous schedule here at school, there is limited time for us to review the weekly words in our classroom. Please take time to encourage your child to use the spelling menu and practice his/her words each week, along with emphasizing the importance of using their spelling pattern knowledge when sounding out unfamiliar words.

Writing Celebration: Parents, YOU ARE INVITED! If your schedule allows, please join us in the classroom at 2:30 pm on Thursday, December 14th for our Shared Teaching Book writing celebration. The children are currently drafting ideas for a partner How-To book. They are learning teamwork and collaboration skills, along with practicing new writing strategies. We would love to showcase our hard work to all of you before we head out for the winter break.

Math: We have just wrapped up chapter 4, our second focus on subtraction. The children learned more strategies for how to subtract numbers up to 20. Chapter booklets will be sent home next week in your child's Thursday folder. Any incomplete pages can be practiced as a review of concepts taught in class. A great way to help your child is by asking him/her to verbally explain the process for how they solved a math problem, or have them draw a model of their math number sentence.

Language Arts: We recently completed our first informational writing unit, How-To Books. First, kids brainstormed things they could do, make, or build. Then, they planned and wrote the steps needed to complete the task. We learned how to create diagrams, which is really just a fancy way to say picture with labels. The diagrams helped to show each step of the process carefully. After choosing one of our many How-To Books to publish, students then shared them with Mrs. Akimoto's kindergarten class. It was so neat to see them reading to the younger students, all of whom were very impressed with Room 15's writing talents! Students are learning about parts of a story, and we have recently been working on a Goldilocks and the Three Bears comparison, making text-to-text connections. We had read several different versions of the story, and are finding the similarities and differences.

Social Studies: In social studies, we recently completed our unit of study called "Me on the Map". Students learned their place in our world, starting with their home address, then moving to city, county, state, country, hemisphere, and finally, planet. We created a beautiful construction paper book to show our knowledge. If you haven't checked SeeSaw lately, your child has sent you a video to show you his/her book. Next week, we will begin our study of Holidays Around the World.

Science: We have just started our study of Animal Habitats during science. First, we will take a look at different animal diets, including herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore. Then, we will study different locations and animals in various habitats around the world. The children are so excited to be learning about wild animals and their homes!

Technology and Personal Headphones: We are in full swing with using SeeSaw regularly in the classroom. Make sure to check periodically for new updates on our in-class projects, assignments, and activities!

As we move toward using the computer lab more frequently after the new year, I request that your child please bring in a set of headphones or earbuds to use during computer lab or class technology lessons. Please label the headset with your child's name, and send to school in a labeled gallon sized ziploc bag. These headphones will allow your child to work independently on reading, math and typing skills while at school. Headphones will be returned back to you at home at the end of the school year.

Scholastic News: Today is the last day to order books for this month's round of Scholastic book orders. New picture and chapter books make great holiday gifts and encourage your child to keep reading at home! Scholastic also has excellent deals each month, with book prices as low as $1.00 each. Consider picking up a few new books for your child to enjoy over the December break! Our class code is HN3ZT. You can access Scholastic Book Orders here: Scholastic.com

Playground Safety: There has been an increase in the number of student injuries during recess and PE time lately. If you have time, please have a discussion with your child about playground rules and norms. Your child should be able to share these with you without prompting, but in case he/she needs some help, here are a few of the more important ones:

• Take turns and share equipment
• WALK on the blacktop
• Take a knee when the bell rings
• Return all equipment that has been borrowed during recess time
• Follow rules for sports and games
• No Tag.
• Rough play and play fighting are not allowed
• Hands are for high-fives, not scratching and hitting
• Slides are for sliding down, not climbing up
• Low bars are for hanging upside down, high bars are for hanging with hand
• Apologize if you make a mistake and hurt someone else

Supplementary Academic Resources: CUSD has funded several wonderful programs for students to use to increase their fluency in language arts and math skills. Moby Max and Raz Kids are fantastic online resources that students love to use! I encourage you to set times with your child each week to work on both Moby Max and Raz Kids to help improve and solidify their core curricular skill set. Links for both websites can always be located on our class website under the tab Helpful Information. If you have misplaced your child's log-in credentials for either website, please contact me via email and I can forward you a new copy.

Schoolwide Fundraisers:

Gift​ ​of​ ​Hope - PTA is sponsoring a family’s wish list for the holidays via West Valley Community Services. See www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409094FADA62BA57-gift to view the itemsand sign up. Items must be purchased and delivered to the office by 12/6.

1,2,3,4​ ​We​ ​Declare​ ​a​ ​Penny​ ​War! We need your spare coins! Ask family members and neighbors if they can spare any change for the cause. Here’s how it works: each grade (K-5) will have their own jug for collecting money. Gain​ points​ by adding pennies​ ​and​ ​bills​ to your grade’s jug. Lower​ other grades’ totals by adding silver coins to their jugs. Jugs will be located outside the office from 11/27 to 12/8. This is a fun way to collect money for a good cause! There will be two winners (just for fun): most points, and most money.

Smencils​ ​Are​ ​Back!​ ​Smencils work the same as any regular pencil but they smell awesome! This year we will be selling holiday Smencils, scented gel pens and gel crayons. All items are $1 or $2. If you or your child wish to purchase Smencil products, they will be on sale to students during lunchtimes in the GLC the week of 4-8 December. There will also be opportunities to purchase after school on Tuesday 5th December, and Friday 8th December. 100% of the profits will be donated to WVCS.

10/26/17

October Homework was due today. Please help your child to collect any materials needed to turn in and have them bring their things to school tomorrow, if he or she has not yet turned in their work.

November Homework went home today in Thursday Folders. Along with all other handouts and returned work, please review the homework Must-Do's and May-Do's with your child so our (the teacher's and the parent's) expectations for this coming month are clearly communicated.

The Turkey in Disguise Project will be in lieu of this month's regular oral presentation. You child will share their project with the class the week of November 13th -17th. I have included directions, a template, and two choices for writing paper. Encourage your child to make a plan on their own to disguise their turkey. You can assist your child with brainstorming ideas for a disguise- the possibilities are endless! When you child has completed the craft portion, they can then write about their disguised turkey. There is a planning template to use for writing down ideas before writing on the final page. Choose one type of paper to use as a final draft. This written portion is what can be glued to the black background page with the turkey and then presented to the class.

In Math, we are wrapping up chapter 3, addition strategies. We have used the past couple of days to review chapter content, and will take the chapter 3 test on Monday next week. Chapter 3 booklets will be sent home tomorrow so that children have the weekend to review material with you over the weekend before the test. This is an optional task, of course. Booklets will remain at home for children to review and continue to practice their addition skills.

Writer's Workshop has transitioned from narrative small moment stories and onto informational writing. The children are now working to write detailed How-To books about things they know and can do well. It is amazing to see what they can all do on their own! Our informational writing of How-To books will come to end in mid-November.

Our Halloween Parade and Party is this coming Tuesday! Please join us for our school's Halloween parade on the blacktop adjacent to the playground area. The parade will be begin at 9:15 am, with our class's Halloween party to follow. All family members are welcome to join us in the classroom. The party will end just before morning recess begins, so that families have time to help students change out of costumes.

10/17/17

Oral Presentation Reminder

Oral presentations are due next Monday, October 22nd. Please help your child prepare a prop and speech on the topic A Holiday you celebrate in Winter/Fall. When practicing and preparing, keep in mind that your child should have eye contact with the audience, a still body, and a loud enough voice to be heard. I strongly suggest that your child not use note cards or notes on the back of their prop. They tend to focus more on reading, rather than the above graded areas mentioned. I suggest practicing key points only and using organization words like, First, Next, Then, Last, etc. Remember, audience behavior and attentiveness is also a graded portion on the rubric.

Homework is due on October 26th

Please help your child organize and return and relevant work, along with the signed cover sheet from this month's homework packet. It is due by Friday, October 26th.

Picture Day Thursday

Individual picture day is this Thursday, October 19^th. Purchase forms went home in Thursday Folders last week. Purchase envelopes must be turned in by Thursday morning. All checks must be made payable to Bud White.

Field Trip Friday

Friday, October 20^th is our field trip to the Cupertino Farmer’s Market! Please help your child to prepare the morning of. Eat a large healthy breakfast. He will not have a scheduled snack/recess. Although, students may purchase a healthy snack at the market, which they can eat immediately if they choose to. Be sure to wear walking shoes and a jacket (pending on the weather). Also, remember you may send your child with an optional dollar, if they would like them to purchase a healthy snack at the market.

Conference Forms

Thank you to all families for taking the time out of your busy schedules to meet about your child’s goals this school year. You will receive a copy of your conference forms in the Dolphin Folder next Thursday, October 19^th. Please sign the form, then return it to school. You will receive a copy of the form, and I will keep the original here at school for your child's records.

Writer’s Workshop

This week room 15 has completed the Writer’s Workshop unit on Personal Narrative writing. Students have written many stories over the past several weeks. All rough drafts will be sent home in your child's Thursday folder this week. On the note, I suggested that students may continue to work on their rough drafts and turn them into published work. I have attached a document called, WW- Personal Narrative – Anchor Charts. Please note the file was VERY large, you must click the link and download the file. Students will know how to use the anchor charts to support their writing. Students should attempt to follow the writing process as listed in the document.

This past Friday morning, we celebrated our work with a Publishing Party with the first graders from rooms 9 and 4. Student’s published work will remain in the classroom for all to read and enjoy until the winter break in December.

Kimochis

In your Thursday Dolphin folders I sent home a comprehensive explanation of the Kimochi’s social emotional program. The program focuses on building vocabulary to empower children to express themselves accurately. The children will learn tools to communicate and problem solve effectively.

Walk A Thon – Cancelled

The PTA has shared that the Walk-a-Thon, originally scheduled for Friday, October 27^th has been canceled. I am unsure why, or if/when it will be rescheduled. I will inform you with more information as it is shared with the teachers.

Math

Math Mathematical Practice

As discussed with many of you during conferences, these are the 8 areas that support the comprehension and application of mathematical concepts taught. Students receive grades in these 8 mathematical practices on math tests and in their trimester report cards.

Mathematical Concepts to Practice

This week we have begun chapter 3 where we revisit addition. Students will learn specific strategies to assist them with solving addition sentences more quickly and efficiently. Also, there is a document under Helpful Handouts, called Math Terms for Families. This document outlines all math terms and strategies taught thus far, and will be taught this school year.

-counting on

This is a strategy where student begin with the greater addend in the number sentence. Ex. 7+3. Student can say 7 out loud, then count on with their finger, 8, 9, 10 (3 more). The last number they say is the answer. A similar strategy can be used on paper. Students circle the greater addend and draw dots to represent the counting on.

-doubles facts

This is a strategy where your child must memorize all doubles facts. 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, 6+6, 7+7, 8+8, 9+9. 10+10. I STRONGLY suggest that you make flash cards at home to practice with your child. Once your child is consistently successful at automatically answering the double facts, try it the opposite way. Show the sum (answer), and ask them to tell you the double fact it belongs to. For example, I see the sum is 14, then I should say “7+7”. It is VERY important for your child’s success in understanding this chapter that they master this as soon as possible. Next week we will begin the strategy, doubles plus one, and doubles minus one. It is essential that children have an automatic recognition of doubles facts in order to solve the doubles plus one. For example 6+7. If I know 6+6 is 12, I add one more, and I know the answer is 13, because 7 is one more than 6. Or, 6+5 I know 6+6 is 12, so one minus 6 is 5, so the answer is 11, one less than 12. This is also one way student can explain their mathematical thinking.

Raz-Kids reading level

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to read with each student in room 4 to identify their current reading level. It is my intention to have each student’s Raz-Kids reading level match their current “right fit” reading level. This Wednesday I will log in to Raz-Kids and manually move each student’s reading level. Warning, this means that it will eliminate any reading progress your child has made on the level they were previously at. Please note that not every child’s level will change. I will only change the level if their level does not reflect their current “right fit” reading level.

Halloween Party Treats Sign Up

A note regarding our upcoming Halloween festivities was sent home in Thursday folders last week. All parents are invited to join us for the Halloween parade and classroom party to follow. Included in the letter was a link to sign up to bring treats or supplies for the party. If you have not yet signed up, but would like to contribute, here is the link: Room 15 Halloween Party Sign-Up

9/27/17

Your child's September homework is due tomorrow, Thursday, September 28th. Please sign the front page of the homework packet, and return with any completed spelling activities you would like for me to review.

October homework will be sent home tomorrow in your child's Thursday folder. Please note, oral presentations for the month of October are due (this includes preparing a speech and creating visual aids) on October 22nd, and children will share their speeches during the week of October 22-26.

The children requested that we hang up our family tree posters from September. They will be displayed in hallway of community 2, near our classroom. If you would like your child's poster to be sent home instead, please let me know.

9/21/17