Hi everyone, welcome back! I hope you had a smooth week getting back into the groove of things. Please read this letter in its entirety, as it has A LOT of important information.

Next week we will be focusing on more vowel teams: Oi and Oy. Here is a little guide on how to help your kiddo on reading and spelling words with oi and oy:

These two letters work together, they make one sound — the /oi/ sound, like in coin or boy.

How to pronounce it:
The /oi/ sound starts with your mouth open like you are saying “aw,” then quickly slides to a “ee” sound. Try saying: oi! (like when you are surprised).

How to help your kiddo spell words with oi and oy:
A helpful rule we practice at school is:

• oi usually comes in the middle of a word (coin, soil, join)

• oy usually comes at the end of a word or syllable (boy, toy, enjoy)

When your kiddo is spelling:

1. Say the word slowly together.

2. Listen for the /oi/ sound.

3. Ask: “Do we hear the sound in the middle or at the end?”

4. Choose oi for the middle and oy for the end.

Practicing by reading and writing simple words like toy, coin, joy, and boil will help strengthen this new spelling pattern!

1. oil

2. boil

3. soil

4. coin

5. join

6. point

7. joint

8. joy

9. toy

10. boy

We have finished our Unit 10 math test and I will be grading those and sending them home sometime next week. Next week we will do our last math benchmark of the year! WOW!! We will also be starting Unit 11: Subtraction within 100. Be on the lookout for the family letter describing what this unit will be about.

We are finishing up our narrative writing including a problem and solution. Our next writing unit will be poetry! 

We started our Museum of Leafology in science this week. REMINDER: please make sure your kiddo has collected 2-4 plants in a sandwich bag as on Monday we will be adding them to our journal and writing observations on what we notice about the plants. Here is that letter again:

Today, your kiddo will be bringing home a plastic sandwich bag labeled with their name. For this activity, please help your child collect 2–4 plant or flower samples (no less and no more) to place inside the bag. We will be gluing these into our science journals and using them to write and discuss our observations in class.

Where can you collect plants?
You can gather samples from:

• Your own yard

• A neighborhood walk

• A park (please follow park guidelines)

• A hike or outdoor outing

Examples of good items to collect:

• Leaves (different shapes or sizes)

• Small flowers or petals

• Grass or clover

• Pine needles

• Small plant stems or plant pieces

Please avoid:

• Anything bulky or thick

• Food items (such as fruits or vegetables)

• Wet or muddy plants that may not glue well

While you’re out collecting, this is a great opportunity to talk like scientists! You might ask your child:

• What do you notice about this plant?

• How are these plants the same? How are they different?

• Which plant is bigger, smaller, smoother, or rougher?

 All plant collections are due no later than Monday, April 6.

School Day Schedule Change 4/6-4/14

Due to CMAS, our schedule has changed a bit. We will not be having a morning snack and recess due to this. However, to help accomdate and make sure the kiddos get the movement/snack they need we will be doing two snacks during this schedule change. We will eat one snack in the morning while we work and we will have that second recess in the afternoon where they can eat their second snack. Below is the adjusted schedule while CMAS takes place.

M/T/Th/F Schedule

7:35 - 7:50: Arrival

7:50 - 8:10: Morning Meeting

8:10 - 8:45: Superkids

8:45 - 9:30: Literacy Access

9:30 - 9:55: Science

9:55 - 10:40: Specials

10:40 - 11:30: Math

11:30 - 12:10: Lunch

12:10 - 12:30: Math

12:30 - 12:40: Heggerty

12:40 - 1:20: Writing

1:20 - 1:40: Snack / Recess

1:40 - 2:00: Read Aloud

2:00 - 2:25: Math Access

2:25 - 2:35: Star Student

2:35 - 2:45: Pack Up 

Wednesday Schedule

8:35 - 8:50: Arrival

9:00 - 9:30: Literacy Access

9:30 - 10:00: Superkids

10:00 - 10:30: Math

10:30 - 11:10: Specials 

11:10 - 11:30: Math 

11:30 - 12:10: Lunch

12:10 - 12:30: Math

12:30 - 12:40: Heggerty

12:40 - 1:20: Writing

1:20 - 1:40: Snack / Recess

1:40 - 2:00: Read Aloud

2:00 - 2:25: Math Access

2:25 - 2:35: Star Student

2:35 - 2:45: Pack Up

If your kiddo has a dismissal change:

Just a quick reminder to please notify me directly if your kiddo has a dismissal change for the day. Recently, several students have shared changes with me right at dismissal time, and without prior communication from home, it can be difficult to confirm plans.

To help ensure every student gets home safely and to the correct location, please send me an email or message through our usual communication method whenever there is a change to your kiddo’s normal dismissal routine.

Thank you so much for helping keep our end-of-day process safe and smooth for everyone!

Burning Tree Picnic:

At the end of the year we have a picnic in the neighborhood Burning Tree (date below); however, in order to do this we need someone who lives in Burning Tree so that we can have access to get to the bathrooms where the pool is. If you, or know someone, who lives in Burning Tree, please let us know!

Happy Spring Break!! We made it, yay!! I will keep this letter short ☺️

Spelling words coming back from Spring Break --> it will follow more r-controlled vowels (ir and ur) along with memory words:

1. bird

2. third

3. turn

4. burn

5. cold

6. know

7. does

8. laugh

9. both

10. again

We finished Unit 10 in math; however we will be doing a reteach the week we get back from Spring Break and test that week as well. As you may have seen through the exit tickets this week, this is a very tricky unit. If you are able to even go over one problem a day (or take one from an exit ticket and create a new problem out of it!) from the additional practice packet I sent home that would be awesome!!

Our When I Grow Up books have been sent out!! I am so excited to see it all put together! When we get back we will be talking in depth about characters and settings and writing a narrative piece.

In Science we will be hitting our LAST science unit!😮🫨🫣 'Museum of Leafology' - in this unit, the kiddos will observe plants through hands-on activities like outdoor nature explorations and growing their own seedlings. They will also be investigating different plant parts.

Heritage High School’s Student Government is hosting a Student vs. Staff Basketball Game on Friday, April 3rd, from 6:00pm - 8:30pm. It is a major fundraising event that is part of our Wish Week. Our goal is to grant seven wishes for kids in the Denver/Littleton area.  We would really appreciate it if you could spread the message across your school and advertise to your students about helping show up to this game. It is a $5 entry fee, with concessions, games, and school spirit. Please show up! Thank you! 

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great week! Since we are heading into Spring Break soon, I want to make sure everyone is staying healthy and well. I am doing my part making sure we are deeply cleaning at the end of each day, extra hand santizers, and making sure to wash our hands. We have all different types of illnesses that have hit our classroom hard this week - if you notice any new symptoms your child has started to present, please keep an eye on it. Please help us reduce the spread of illnesses going around - thank you, I greatly appreciate it! 

Spelling pattern next week follows R-Controlled vowels! You may know it as bossy R!

1. car

2. far

3. star

4. card

5. hard

6. born

7. corn

8. horn

9. short

10. sport

This week in Superkids we had some fun putting together cut apart sentences and determining the correct 'aw' word that completed the sentence. We worked together as a group to make a picture that matches the sentence. We learned about antonyms and we played heads up with a word where our partner had to give us the antonym of the word to make us guess! Scroll down for photos of both of this stuff!

WOW - the math tests were excellent!! They have been working REALLY hard on this unit and they are amazing mathematicians. Tests were sent home today! Next week and the week after Spring Break we will be focusing on Unit 10: Compare Using Addition and Subtraction - this can be a VERY confusing unit. Look in your kiddo's green folder for the parent letter explaining in more detail what this unit will include.

We started learning about maps and globes today! This is a fairly short unit and we should finish next week. 

We are just about done doing our When I Grow Up books! Super excited for these future published authors. 

Restaurant: Chick-fil-A

Date: Wednesday, March 18

Time: 5pm-8pm

Location: Aspen Grove

Promo Code: Mention WILDER

Ordering Options: Dine-In, Carry-Out, Drive-Thru, Curbside

Donation Percentage: 15%

Website:  www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/co/aspen-grove

📚Book Fair 📚

March 16 - 20

Family shopping allowed before starting bell each time. 

Students must be accompanied by adults before and after school. 

Monday (3/16): 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM 

Tueday  (3/17): 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Wednesday (3/18): 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM 

Thursday (3/19): 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM 

Friday (3/20): 7:30 - 12:00 PM 

We will make our wish lists on Tuesday at 9:30. During school students are only allowed to shop during their recess times; otherwise, please accompany them before or after school. 

Looking ahead:  

• Monday 3/16 - Thursday 3/19: Book Fair

• Monday 3/23 - Friday 3/27: SPRING BREAK 

• Wednesday 4/1 - Mrs. Fread's Birthday (one of our lovely paras!) 

• Thursday 4/2 - SUB in the PM 

• Friday 4/17 - NO STUDENTS - Teacher Work Day

• Monday 4/20 - NO STUDENTS

🌟Star Student: Elena🌟

Monday 3/16: Art

Tuesday 3/17: Music / Book Fair Class Preview

Wednesday 3/18: Music

Thursday 3/19: P.E.

Friday 3/20:  Spelling Test / P.E.

Have a great weekend - take it easy & stay well!! Scroll down for some Superkids photos!

Krista Barnes

Happy March!! Thank you so much for taking the time this week to come in and talk about all of the growth we have made this year. I feel very lucky to have such wonderful kiddos (and parents!) in this classroom!🥰 It was also so lovely to see some of you at the auction last Saturday - I appreciate y'all coming out to support our school!

🌼📸Spring Photos Thursday 3/12/26📸🌼

These will be our class photos!! Please come dressed nicely.

Spelling words next week following the vowel team -aw. Aw likes to go awww. Along with memory words!

1. law

2. saw

3. dawn

4. lawn

5. crawl

6. come

7. coming

8. they

9. our

10. put

Next week for math:

• Monday: Lesson 8

• Tuesday & Wednesday: Reteach 

• Thursday: Review

• Friday: Unit 9 Test

We are getting our When I Grow Up final drafts finished!! I am meeting with some kiddos as a small group to make sure everything looks great and while I am with those kiddos everyone else is working on a writing piece independently. These will be looked at briefly then sent home.

Speaking of our When I Grow Up Book - the order form that you received if you could get those back to me ASAP and no later than March 15 (next Friday) if you are wanting to purchase a book! This helps me as I have to enter in who is getting books - ordering online versus through check is also a lot easier as well! If you do order online, the company still would like a form filled out - just indicate you ordered online and write the code it gives you! Thank you!!

We are finishing up Patterns in the Sky and then we will do a lesson over Maps and Globes! 

Looking ahead:  

• Friday 3/6: NO SCHOOL 

• Tuesday 3/12: Spring Picture Day (Class Photo)

• Monday 3/16 - Thursday 3/19: Book Fair

• Monday 3/23 - Friday 3/27: SPRING BREAK 

🌟Star Student: Henry🌟

Monday 3/9: P.E.

Tuesday 3/10: P.E.

Wednesday 3/11: Art

Thursday 3/12: Art / Spring Photos (Class Photo)

Friday 3/13:  Spelling Test / Library / Math Test / Art

I have some photos from the 120th day below from one of our lovely volunteers + a few photos of us counting our bucks so we can spend them! I hope you all have the best weekend ever!

Krista Barnes

Hi everyone! Before we start the letter I am going to annoy you one more time for the 120th day! 

• 2 more room decorators needed for Thursday the 26th at 3:00 PM 

• 1 more station leader for Friday the 27th from 10:00 am - 1:15 PM (lunch 11:30-12:10)

🕵️🤫120th Day Sign Up Page🤫🕵️

We are ONE school week away from Spring Conferences. If you haven't signed up, please do so!

🌼🍎Spring Conference Sign Up🍎🌼

Spelling words next week are long vowel trickers + memory words! Long vowel trickers are V/CV words with a long vowel at the end of the FIRST syllable. **Spelling TEST will be taken on Thursday instead of Friday due to the 120th Day!**

EX: mu/sic and spi/der. 

1. paper

2. even

3. silent

4. open

5. super

6. their

7. now

8. always

9. because

10. been

Next week, we will start Unit 8: Addition within 100!! Be on the lookout for a parent letter with information about that unit!

Continue our 'When I Grow Up' writing for our published book! I will be sending home forms next week for you to order your own book if you're interested!!

We will be moving electronic day to Wednesday, March 4th.

TBD on Library on Friday - since 120th day is a lot I may ask if there is another day we can go or skip it.

Looking ahead:  

• Thursday 2/26: Volunteer Help to Set Up After School for 120th Day

• Friday 2/27: 120th Day!!

• Saturday 2/28: Wilder Auction - SIGN UP HERE

• Monday 3/2 - Thursday 3/5: Spring Conferences

• Thursday 3/5: NO students 

• Friday 3/6: NO SCHOOL 

• Tuesday 3/12: Spring Picture Day (Class Photo)

• Monday 3/16 - Thursday 3/19: Book Fair

• Monday 3/23 - Friday 3/27: SPRING BREAK 

🌟Star Student: Zane🌟

Monday 2/23: P.E.

Tuesday 2/24: P.E.

Wednesday 2/25: Smart Lab

Thursday 2/26: Smart Lab / Spelling Test

Friday 2/27:  Smart Lab / Library

We became doctors for a little bit today and did some contraction surgery! Where we took apart letters to make a contracted word! Scroll down for a few pictures. Have a wonderful weekend,

Krista Barnes

Happy Valentine's everyone!! Big shoutout to the room parents who helped create such a fun Valentine's Day Party for us yesterday. Thank you to everyone who brought something in, was able to come, and helped your kiddo get/make things for their Valentine's Day festivities. Each and everyone one of you are amazing!!💖 Pictures at the end of the letter!

🌼🍎Spring Conference Sign Up🍎🌼

Monday March 2 - Thursday March 5

• Parent teacher conferences will be held Monday, March 2nd through Thursday March 5th, 2026. 

• Conferences will be held in the classroom Monday - Wednesday evenings and on Thursday morning. 

• Please sign up for a time that is convenient for you. 

• Only one slot per kiddo can be taken. 

• When you sign up in the comments please put your first and last name along with your kiddo's name :) 

• If there are specific things you would like to talk about, please email me! 

Spelling words next week are more contractions!

1. I’m

2. he’s

3. she’s

4. it’s

5. we’re

6. you’re

7. I’ll

8. he’ll

9. she’ll

10. you’ll

We finished Unit 8 in math! We will review Tuesday and begin our test and finish it on Wednesday! We will do a review Thursday and Friday on how to make a 10 to help us add and subtract more efficiently then start Unit 9: Addition within 100 on Monday Feb. 23rd! 

🕵️🤫120th Day Sign Up Page🤫🕵️

• I need two more room decorators to come Thursday 2/26 after school to help us set up for the 120th day!

• I need one more parent to lead a station on Friday 2/27 from 10:00-1:00 PM (break for lunch). If you are able to!

Writing this week and the next couple weeks is a really fun one! We are going to become published authors and create our own class book!! We will be writing about what we want to be when we grow up! 

Yearbook Order, Photo Folder Link

Restaurant: Cencalli Taqueria

Date: Wednesday, Feb 18

Time: 3-9PM

Location: 2389 Main St., Littleton, CO 80120 (downtown Littleton)

Promo Code:  'Wilder' (let host know for dine-in and include 'Wilder' in notes when ordering online.)

Ordering Options: Dine-In (reservations encouraged!), Carry-Out

Donation Percentage: 20%

Website:  www.cencallitaqueria.com/littleton-location

Looking ahead:  

• Monday 2/16: President's Day - NO SCHOOL

• Wednesday 2/18: Restaurant Night at Cencalli Taqueria 

• Thursday 2/26: Volunteer Help to Set Up After School for 120th Day

• Friday 2/27: 120th Day!!

• Saturday 2/28: Wilder Auction - SIGN UP HERE

• Monday 3/2 - Thursday 3/5: Spring Conferences

• Thursday 3/5: NO students 

• Friday 3/6: NO SCHOOL 

• Tuesday 3/12: Spring Picture Day (Class Photo)

• Monday 3/16 - Thursday 3/19: Book Fair

• Monday 3/23 - Friday 3/27: SPRING BREAK 

🌟Star Student: Zoe🌟

Monday 2/16: NO SCHOOL 

Tuesday 2/17: Art / Begin Math Test

Wednesday 2/18: Art / Finish Math Test / Restaurant Night at Cencalli Taqueria 

Thursday 2/19: Music

Friday 2/20:  Music / Spelling Test / Library

Have a lovely long weekend. Below are photos,

Krista Barnes

Wow!! Time is flying by, I can't believe it is already February! With that being said, I want to start this weekly letter off by saying thank you so much for being patient with me! I know some of you may be waiting for a reply from me - January was a busy month and now we are prepping for conferences - I will get to you I promise!!🩷♥️ I appreciate your patience and understanding! 

Also, shoutout to those who chaperoned for our Science Musuem field trip, we had a lot of fun!!

Next week's spelling words follows the 'ay' spelling pattern where it makes a long /a/ sound. We will also have two words where we learn to drop the y, add i, then add -er or -est to the end of a word. Along with memory words! Even though it is a shorter week and Valentine's Day celebrations - we will still have our spelling test, just on Thursday!

1. say

2. may

3. play

4. happier 

5. happiest

6. down

7. too

8. work

9. many

10. first

Next week in math we will finish up, review Wednesday and since we have our Valentine's day party, we will review a little bit on the following Tuesday (2/17) and start our Unit 8 test that day then finish the test on Wednesday (2/18). 

In writing this week, we all wrote together on how to wash your hands! Next week, the kiddos get to choose their own 'How To' writing topic where I will grade them and show them to you at conferences! We are continuing our Patterns in the Sky observations in science. 

🕵️🤫120th Day Sign Up Page🤫🕵️

Feburary is going to fly by, and before you know it, the last week will be here which means the 120th day! If you have not checked out the information on this please do so. If you are able to volunteer to either help us set up Thursday, Feb. 26th or help with a station the majority of the day on Friday, Feb. 27th that would be SO awesome!! Thank you to those who have already signed up, it means a lot!!🥰

💕Valentine's Day Party!💕

Thursday, February 12th 1:45-2:30 PM 

Please know, we pass out Valentine's in the morning so that it is out of the way for the party🤪

• Please have your kiddo's bag or box done and brought in that morning! 

• Again, if you are giving our Valentines, please make sure it is just signed FROM your kiddo - not addressed to any specific names to the other kids in class. Having it just signed from themselves helps us pass it out in a circle which makes it more efficient. 

• If you would like to join the party from 1:45-2:30 please do!!

🌼🍎Spring Conference Sign Up🍎🌼

Friday, February 13th at 12:00 PM

👀Be on the look out!!👀

Conferences can only be scheduled during conference week🥰

Looking ahead:  

• Thursday 2/12: Valentines Day Party

• Friday 2/13: Teacher Work Day - NO SCHOOL FOR KIDDOS

• Monday 2/16: President's Day - NO SCHOOL

• Thursday 2/26: Volunteer Help to Set Up After School for 120th Day

• Friday 2/27: 120th Day!!

• Saturday 2/28: Wilder Auction 

🌟Star Student: Vivian🌟

Monday 2/9: P.E.

Tuesday 2/10: P.E. 

Wednesday 2/11: Art

Thursday 2/12: Art / Spelling Test / Valentine's Day Party!!

Friday 2/13:  NO SCHOOL - Teacher Work Day! 

Have a great weekend,

Krista Barnes

Hi everyone!

Please read this letter in full as it has important information regarding our 120th day + reminders on our field trip (info) and Valentine's Day (info). Also, info on our yearbook cover contest - we are in need of entries!!

Spelling pattern next week follows y as a vowel. Y sometimes likes to act like a vowel and make a long vowel i or e sound!

1. by

2. fly

3. cry

4. try

5. belly

6. jelly

7. smelly

8. bunny

9. funny

10. sunny

We started unit 8 this week! A parent letter went home yesterday explaining all that we will cover in Meanings of Subtraction. 

Next week we will learn how to write an explanatory (how to) paper! 

We have been learning about why the sun moves across the sky and that it follows a pattern! Next week we will continue our observations on patterns in the sky. 

We also got to make Valentine's Day cards for Meals on Wheels! Scroll down for photos!

🕵️🤫120th Day Sign Up Page🤫🕵️

This is top secret!! The kiddos do not know what is happening on the 120th day until the night before!!

Come join us to celebrate the 120th Day of School and participate in our 120th Day Mystery! FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27th! 

Volunteers needed to help set up: Thursday February 26th! 

Please take a look at the information outlined with each slot. I will need a few volunteers to help me with set up the Thursday before (February 26th) and volunteers for the day of the event (February 27th). 

If you sign up for the day of the event, please make sure you can stay for the whole time outlined (we do eat lunch in that time frame and you are welcome to eat with your student or leave at that time but we will need you back after lunch! Lunch is 11:30 - 12:10)

If you have any questions please let me know! 

Reminders:

• Field trip this upcoming week! Thursday February 5th. Please make sure your kiddo brings a sack lunch!!! I sent out an email on if your kiddo needed a sack lunch from school; unfortunately that order has already been made - so please make sure your kiddo comes to school with a packed lunch that day!

  • • Lunch in a paper/plastic bag is preferred, that way they can just throw everything away. However, you can bring it in a regular lunch box as well.

    • If you are not chaperoning, but meeting us there and joining your kiddo: "personal vehicle parking is available on the North sides of the building. If arriving by personal vehicle please park on the North side of the Museum and then walk around the West side of the Museum to the South School Entrance."

    • Please note if you are joining us, we have a paid entry to a show that you will need to go hangout in the museum as we watch and meet back up with your group after the show!

  • Valentine's Day Party: reminder that our Valentine's Day party will be on Thursday February 12th. 

    • • • We ask that if your kiddo is bringing a valentine, that they only sign it from themselves. This helps make the flow of passing out cards quicker and easier.

        • Please make your own box or bag by the Valentine's Day party - we will be passing out Valentine's during the school day before the party on that day. 

  • Electronic Day: the kiddos have filled up their jar again!!

    • • • They voted on electronic day. This will happen on Thursday, February 26th.

        • Your kiddo is allowed to bring one electronic of their choosing to school. They will be responsible for their device.

        • If your kiddo does not bring an electronic - no worries! They will get to use their school laptop! 

Hi everyone!

We still need 2 more volunteers for our field trip to The Denver Science Museum on Thursday Febuarary 5th from 9:05 am - 2:00 pm. If you would like or can chaperone please read the details on the sign up genius and sign up! Thank you so much your help - it means a lot!! Thank you to those who have already signed up!

Science Museum Chaperone Sign Up

Our spelling words next week are over contractions!! Contractions are two shortened words combined! An apostrophe takes place of the missing letter or letters!

1. isn’t 

2. didn’t

3. hasn’t

4. hadn’t

5. aren’t

6. wasn’t

7. weren’t

8. haven’t

9. couldn’t

10. wouldn’t

In math we will review for our second math benchmark! In writing we will go back to personal narratives. We will do the first one together and the second one independently! 

We are starting our new science unit next week called Patterns in the Sky! Where we will be learning about why our sun rises and sets, observe what we notice in the sky and how they change, and so much more! 

There is a Yearbook Cover Contest! On Wednesday, I sent home a paper with all of the details on it. It is also attached to the email with this weekly letter!

Friday January 23rd: Toy Day! Before break, the kiddos filled up their reward jar! They voted on having a toy day! Students can bring one favorite toy as their choice. Please make sure the toy is school appropriate. No guns / weapons. This toy will remain in their backpack until the end of the day. If they choose to bring a stuffy as their favorite toy, they can have that out on their desk. As always, please discuss with your kiddo the importance of their responsibility with bringing items from home to school. Thank you!

Looking ahead:  

• Monday 1/19: MLK Day - NO SCHOOL

• Wednesday 1/21: Restaurant Night at View House - Details in Email 

• Tuesday 1/27: Afternoon SUB - 1st Grade Compact Day

• Tuesday 2/3: Sub all day - Mrs. Barnes Giving Assessments

• Thursday 2/5: Field Trip to the Science Museum 

• Thursday 2/12: Valentines Day Party

• Friday 2/13: Teacher Work Day - NO SCHOOL FOR KIDDOS

• Monday 2/16: President's Day - NO SCHOOL

• Saturday 2/28: Wilder Auction 

🌟Star Student: Noa🌟

Monday 1/19: NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Tuesday 1/20: Art

Wednesday 1/21: Art

Thursday 1/22: Art

Friday 1/23:  Spelling Test / Library / Art / Toy Day

Have a great long weekend,

Krista Barnes

Happy New Year everyone!! Welcome back - I hope you had an easy transition and a great week getting back into the swing of things! 

Next week we will be going over vowel teams ue, ie, ee, and ea along with memory words. Remember, in a vowel team, the first vowel is usually long and the second one is silent! Here are the spelling words:

1. blue

2. tie

3. heat

4. keep

5. would

6. could

7. some

8. one

9. new

10. were

We started Unit 7: Meanings of Addition and you should have received a parent letter going into detail about this unit in your kiddo's green folder on Tuesday. We will finish up on Tuesday, review Wednesday, and test Thursday. 

This week in writing, we wrote together our opinion about winter! Next week, students will state their opinion on if they think driving would be fun or not and give three reasons to support their opinion. This opinion piece will be done on their own. 

In social studies we have been going over expectations again and we have chosen a word to embrace this year! Next week we will finish our writing piece over the word we are embracing so we can hang it out in the hallway and learn about Martin Luther King Jr.! 

• Grades were posted on Thursday. To view them, they are in Infinite Campus. 

• We will be going to the science museum on Thursday, February 5th. I will need 5 chaperones. If you would like to volunteer please sign up below. As always, if you do not want to chaperone / or there are no more chaperone spots available and you'd like to join us on a field trip the answer is always yes!! We love the company! You will just have to pay for your own ticket and meet us at the location. Please read the information on the sign up genius to ensure you aware of the full detail.

Science Museum Chaperone Sign Up

Looking ahead:  

• Monday 1/19: MLK Day - NO SCHOOL

• Wednesday 1/21: Restaurant Night at View House - Details in Email 

• Tuesday 2/3: Sub all day - 1st Grade Compact Day 

• Thursday 2/5: Field Trip to the Science Museum 

• Friday 2/13: Teacher Work Day - NO SCHOOL FOR KIDDOS

• Monday 2/16: President's Day - NO SCHOOL

• Saturday 2/28: Wilder Auction 

🌟Star Student: Lou🌟

Monday 1/12: Smart Lab

Tuesday 1/13: Music

Wednesday 1/14: Music

Thursday 1/15: P.E. / Math Test

Friday 1/16:  Spelling Test / Library / P.E.

Have a lovely weekend,

Krista Barnes

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, enjoyed our first snow, and had a great first week getting back into the groove of everything!! 

Next week's spelling words follow e + ed/ing ending + memory words. We will be talking about how the silent e is no longer needed once we add an ending, because the ending begins with a vowel. This helps keep the word spelled correctly while the base word still keeps its original sound. The silent e usually works as a signal that the vowel in the middle of the word should say its long sound (like the a in make). When we add an ending that starts with a vowel (like -ed or -ing), that ending now helps connect the sounds smoothly. Because the vowel ending already does the “job” of helping the word flow, we don’t need the silent e anymore so we drop it. This keeps the vowel sound in the base word the same and prevents odd spellings like makeing or hopeing. 

1. baking

2. baked

3. smiling

4. smiled

5. oh

6. any

7. day

8. good

9. very

10. want

We started Unit 6 this week in math where we are talking about shapes and solids. Going home today is a family letter explaining more about this unit! 

We also started our Holidays Around the World unit! We have already traveled to Jordan to talk about Eid al-Fitr and we finished traveling to India today to celebrate Diwali! Next week we will get to travel to China (Mrs. Hoeckelberg's room) to celebrate Chinese New Year and to Israel (Mrs. Lira's room) to celebrate Hanukkah! 

In writing this week and next week, we are conducting our own individual research on something that interests us and writing about it. We will share it to each other as a class, then I will keep it to show you during Spring conferences! 

Updates:

• My name is officially changed so that means my email has! It is now kbarnes@lps.k12.co.us! 

• We have iReady math next week. If you know your kiddo is going to be absent either planned or unplanned, please shoot me an email as we have specific dates we have to have them done by and this is helpful. Thank you!

• We have spirit week right before Winter Break! Here are the details (I will also attach to the email).

  • Monday 12/15: Beach Day

  • Tuesday 12/16: Hat Day

  • Wednesday 12/17: Sports Day

  • Thursday 12/18: Holiday / Ugly Sweater (Also, Reindeer Day in our classroom) 

  • Friday 12/19: PJ Day!! (Also, Grinch Day in our classroom) 

A Message from PTO 

Contribute by December 10th!

Holiday Gift Card Drive

Sponsored by Wilder PTO

It is time for The Wilder Holiday Gift Card Drive! This wonderful program allows

us the opportunity to provide holiday gifts and food to children in need. This year

we will include a $150 gift card to Walmart (for toys, clothing, gifts, and holiday

meal). Your donations support students and families at Wilder and Little Raven

Elementary. We hope to provide gift cards to over 50 families this year! There

are two ways to participate:

1.) We are accepting donations via Venmo again this year. You may send

your contribution for any amount to either of the following:

Devon Reinert Venmo - @Devon-Reinert (last digits-2893)

Liz Pisani Venmo - @lizpisani (last digits-7911)

OR

2.) If your family would like to participate by purchasing a gift card to

Walmart for the amount you choose, they can be dropped off to the

Wilder Office (call 303-347-4750). (Please note GC amount when

dropping off)

Questions? Please contact : 

Devon Reinert - dreinert@lps.k12.co.us 

Liz Pisani - 

elizabethpisani@yahoo.com 

Looking ahead:  

• Monday 12/8 - Tuesday 12/9: iReady Math

• Tuesday 12/16: Restaurant Night at Grande Station from 9:00am-9:00pm (Please make reservations!) 

• Monday 12/22 - Friday 1/2: Winter Break ❄️🕎🎄

• Monday 1/5: NO KIDDOS - Teacher Work Day

• Friday 1/9 at 2:45 PM: Grades Posted in Infinite Campus Parent Portals for Families to View

🌟Star Student: Lou🌟

Monday 12/8: / iReady Math

Tuesday 12/9:  / iReady Math

Wednesday 12/10:  / Finish iReady Math

Thursday 12/11: 

Friday 12/12: Spelling Test / Library / 

Have a lovely weekend,

Krista Barnes

November 21, 2025

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful week! Thank you to all the chaperones and parents who came to the zoo with us!! It turned out to be such a beautiful day! Scroll down for a few photos!

Next week's spelling words we start looking at 'magic e', 'mommy e', 'silent e', etc. (whatever you may call it!) With e at the end of the word, it is silent but turns the short vowel to a long vowel. We will be practicing reading a CVC word with the short vowel and what happens when we add an e. EX: bit --> bite, mad --> made, kit --> kite. Plus memory words! 

1. game

2. same

3. ride

4. side

5. said

6. only

7. you

8. out

9. of

10. here

This week in math we learned how to subtract using near doubles, doubles, adding, and fact families! Next week we will finish our unit! We will find an unknown number in a subtraction equation and determine if subtraction equations are set up next to each other are true. We will test on Thursday. 

Lots of notes this week!

• We will be having lunch bunch with Mrs. Reinert on Monday 11/17! 

• The book fair starts next week! We will be going Monday morning to make our wishlists. After that, you may go with your student before or after school. I do let kids go during the school day it just depends on if they have finished their work and if there is free time to go!

• We started addressing grandparent letters today! Thank you to those who came to help, it means a lot to us!! As I am writing this, I still have some kiddos that still need to address envelopes. I plan to do this after they get back from specials so check your child's folder! The plan is that everyone takes theirs home today - if not be on the look out for it next week!

  • Please mail your letter out before Thanksgiving. This ensures enough time to read it before Winter Break and during our Holidays Around the World unit!

  • As stated on the form, we are only putting two grandparent letters in a envelope. If you have more than one person you would like to send it to I am sending home one additional copy that you can make your own copy and mail it out on your own. 

• It's that time of year!! I have noticed a lot of kiddos complain about their hands hurting and they are pretty dry. Please know you are more than welcome to send your kiddo with non-scented lotion to have in their backpacks to help with this. This helps lessen traffic to the nurse. Thank you!!

• The kiddos filled up their reward jar!! On Friday 11/21 they have earned a stuffy, movie, and PJ day. Kiddos can wear their PJs if they would like (slippers fine as long as they have extra shoes to change into) and they can bring a stuffy!! Next time they fill up their reward jar, they get to suggest things and vote on what they would like to earn!

BRING 1 CHOPPED AND PEELED APPLE ON FRIDAY 11/21!!

• Each year first grade makes apple sauce the day before Thanksgiving break! In order to make this happen, I need each kiddo to bring in 1-2 chopped and peeled apples on 11/21. One apple per kiddo should be enough; however, if you can/want to do two just in case thank you! I typically have 23+ kiddos in the class and we only have 21 now! 

Looking ahead:  

• Tuesday 11/18: Sub All Day - Mrs. Barnes Compact Day w/ 1st Grade Team

• Monday 11/24 - Friday 11/28: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break🦃

• Monday 12/1 - Tuesday 11/2: iReady Reading

• Monday 12/8 - Tuesday 12/9: iReady Math

• Monday 12/22 - Friday 12/2: Winter Break ❄️🕎🎄

🌟Star Student: None🌟

Monday 11/17: Art / Lunch Bunch w/ Mrs. Reinert / Book Fair Wishlist 

Tuesday 11/18: Music / Sub All Day

Wednesday 11/19: Music

Thursday 11/20: P.E. / Math Test

Friday 11/21: Spelling Test / P.E. / Bring in 1-2 chopped/peeled apple(s)! / Reward: PJ, stuffy, movie day!

5 more school days until Thanksgiving Break (but who's counting??🤪♥️) Hope you all have an awesome weekend! Scroll down for photos! I took a few videos from the performance since I was so close - but have yet to figure out how to upload them!! 

Krista Barnes

Happy November and go Broncos!! 

Yesterday, the kiddos had their first rehearsal for our Veteran's Day Performance that will be happening this upcoming Tuesday 11/11! They practiced today and they will practice again on Monday and perform in front of the school at 2:00 PM Tuesday and then will come back to the school at 6:00 PM to perform for families!

Here are your spelling words for next week! They are open syllables - CV (consonant vowel) words that end in a long vowel!

1. Go

2. No

3. So

4. Be

5. He

6. Me

7. She

8. We

9. Hi

10. Flu

In writing we are learning to write letters. To prepare for our upcoming Holidays and Traditions Around the World unit in December, we wrote letters today to their grandparents asking them to write back and tell about their holiday traditions when they were little. For more information on this project, read the letter I sent home to you today in your kiddo's green folder. I also included a link to the letter here. I also have a link to a Google Form for you to complete with your child's grandparents name and address. There is more detail in the form explaining what we are doing / how we will do it! At school, I'll use this information to have the kids address the envelopes. I'll send the addressed envelope and letter home for you to mail. Thank you for your help with this fun letter writing activity!  

Click here to see the letter I sent home in your child's blue folder regarding our Grandparent letters.  

Click here to complete the Google Form for their Grandparent name and address.

To help address envelops, and create a smooth process, parent volunteers are needed to help with this process! I would have you help in the pod on Wednesday 11/12 from 12:20-1:15. The goal is to finish that day, however if we don't, I will need volunteers on Friday, 11/14 from 12:20-1:00 PM. If you would like to come and help, please email me🥰

In math, we have been counting on and back on a number line to subtract and today we learned how to make a 10 to help us subtract more efficiently!

👻Happy Halloween!!👻 Thank you to everyone who helped make today so special for all the kiddos!! They had a blast!! Big shoutout to our wonderful room parents  who made the classroom so cool and fun!! Thank you to those who also volunteered to help at a station, we appreciate it. We cannot do it without y'all!💖 Also, thank you for all the birthday wishes and gifts. I feel super loved🥰

Thank you to everyone who signed up to be chaperones for our zoo field trip!!! Y'all are awesome!! If you would like to join we'd love to have you (the more the merrier)! You would just have to pay for your own ticket(s) and meet us there! Date: Thursday, November 13th. 

Next week's spelling words follow the same pattern as this previous week plus memory words. Rule: If a word ends in one consonant (or the last three letters are CVC) AND one vowel and the vowel is short - double the consonant before adding the ending. If it doesn't follow one of those rules, just add the ending! 

1. flipping

2. flipped

3. stepping

4. stepped

5. there

6. from

7. be

8. to

9. we

10. or

Each week during Superkids, we follow the same routine just with different spelling patterns each week to help us read! Mondays we learn our new spelling pattern(s) and practice, Tuesday we do 'Musical Words' where we get a word that goes with our spelling pattern (or memory word) and walk around the room to music. When the music stops, we find the nearest classmate and we have to 1) Read our word to our partner, 2) Put our word in a sentence, and 3) Challenge ourselves by putting our word to our chest and trying to spell it without looking! If we finish all three of those things and the music hasn't started back up again, we challenge ourselves by trying to spell our partner's word. After we have done that for a couple of rounds, we go back to our tables, read our word to our table, swap words, and put our new word in a sentence! We also do memory word race on Tuesdays too!! Wednesdays we read a Superkids story and answer comprehension questions, Thursdays we do more spelling pattern review and practice before Friday, where we take our spelling test and read a Super-Duper or Super-Smart that day!! 

Be on the lookout next week for the family letter that goes into great detail about Unit 5: Subtraction within 20: Facts and Strategies. 

In writing we have been learning about correspondence writing!! We have been working on a fun letter in our classroom! Mrs. Barnes pulled sticks for us to give us a secret classmate. We are currently writing a letter describing what we look like and things we like to do to give hints to this secret classmate. When we are done writing this letter, Mrs. Barnes will hand out the letter to the classmate where they will read the letter to the class and try to guess who wrote their letter!🤫💕

Ask your kiddo what they know about shadows and light!! We are still investigating the mysterious big shadow in the town of Rjukan! Yesterday during science, we took a little detour break to have some fun and 'traveled' to California to have a virtual field trip to Disneyland!! We got to see all the characters and Halloween decorations, The Dapper Dans, see the different types of Halloween churros, and watch a little Halloween show over the castle!! See below for a fun picture! 

Hi everyone! I hope y'all had a nice long weekend!! 

Spelling words next week will be to add -ed or -ing at the end of a word and also be able to know when you should double a consonant before adding those endings. If a word has one vowel, then one consonant at the end, and the vowel is short, we double the consonant before adding -ed or -ing. You can also think if the last three letters are CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) you will double it before adding the ending. EX: hug --> hugging. Hug is a CVC word, it has one vowel that is short and ends in one consonant so you would double the g. For look --> looked. Look is a CVVC word, the last three letters are not CVC it is VVC, so you would not double the k. We will have a spelling test next week!

1. helping

2. helped

3. asking

4. asked

5. hugging

6. hugged

7. shopping

8. shopped

9. grinning

10. grinned

We will be practicing how to do this all next week. 

We took our unit 4 math test today - I will hand those back out sometime next week! So be on the lookout in their green folders. Next week we will be reviewing for our first benchmark! 

In science we are investigating shadows. Understanding that a shadow is created by an object blocking a light source and light can only travel in a straight line! We will continue to investigate shadows to figure out how to bring light to the town of Rjukan! 

PLEASE CHECK GREEN FOLDERS EVERYDAY!

I do not send out emails on things being sent home, unless it is something important. I have noticed green folders being really full. Please take the time each day to look through your kiddo's green folder and empty them. Thank you!

ZOO FIELD TRIP SIGN UP

**only 5 chaperones**

• Yes, if all slots are filled up, and you would like to come - yes! The more the merrier. You would just have to pay for your own ticket and meet us there☺️

Halloween Day + Party Info:

We will be having a costume parade at 1:15. Please send your kiddo with their costume in a bag!! This helps track their clothes - send your kiddo to school with regular clothes!!! We will change into our costumes before the parade! Please be mindful of your kiddo's costume, we do not allow any fake/pretend weapons to school. Masks are fine, however they will not be allowed to wear it until the parade. We will be having our Halloween party from 1:45-2:30 PM. You are welcomed to come join us!!💖👻

Looking ahead:  

• Friday 10/31: Costume Parade + Halloween Party + Mrs. Barnes birthday!!🎃🎉

• Tuesday 11/11: Veteran's Day Performance: 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM

• Thursday 11/13: Zoo Field Trip

• Tuesday 11/18: Sub All Day - Mrs. Barnes Compact Day w/ 1st Grade Team

• Monday 11/24-Friday 11/28: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break🦃

🌟Star Student: Elliot🌟

Monday 10/27: Music

Tuesday 10/28: Music

Wednesday 10/29: P.E.

Thursday 10/30: P.E.

Friday 10/31: Spelling Test / Library / Costume Parade / Halloween Party / Mrs. Barnes Birthday!

Have a great weekend,

Krista Barnes

Happy Wednesday & long weekend to you!

It has been lovely getting to meet with all of you to talk about your kiddo! I look forward to meeting with more of you tomorrow!!

Next week's spelling words follow the -ed spelling pattern again; however, this time it will make a /d/ or /t/ sounds. Kiddos will need to be able to know that when they hear /d/ or /t/ that it is actually ed! We will also be going over more memory words! 

1. yelled

2. smelled

3. jumped

4. bumped

5. look

6. your

7. the

8. was

9. are

10. for

Next week we will be reviewing in math! Today, you should have received our Unit 4 workbook pages (optional) if you would like some extra practice over this long weekend! We will either test Thursday or Friday! 

Next week in writing, students will be working on narrative writing again; however, this time they will need to be more descriptive by adding adjectives and verbs. The topic will be to write about, 'A Day Spent Outside.'

In science we have started a unit called Shadow Town. The unit focuses on the town of Rjukan, Norway, which spends half the year with no direct sunlight. Over the course of the module, students explore light, shadows, transparency, and reflection.  

October 3, 2025

Wow! Where has the time gone?! I can't believe we are heading into October next week!👻🎃

Before we dive into a little brief snippet of our week, this is a reminder that I will be sending out an email for our Fall Conference sign up genius tomorrow at noon - so set a reminder or an alarm as it is first come!! 

Spelling words for next week follow digraph /ng/ which makes a /ŋ/ sound!

1. King

2. Sing 

3. Thing

4. Hang

5. Bang

6. Sang 

7. Long

8. Song

9. Rung

10. Sung

Here are a couple of videos: 

• Little Learner - 'ng' Words

• Smile and Learn - Phonics for Kids - The NG Sound

• English4abc - Digraphs/Final Sound/ng 

• Kids Vs. Life - ng | Fun Phonics

Superkids we continue to dive into digraphs to map out, blend, decode, and encode words! We have also been reading stories from our Superkids books and answering comprehension questions! 

In math we finished unit 3! We took our test on Tuesday. I will be holding onto these tests and will be showing them at fall conferences. On Wednesday, I also sent home the unit 3 worksheets if you wanted more practice at home! Another thing that went home this week was the family letter explaining what we will be doing in Unit 4! We started Unit 4 today and we will be doing unit 4 the whole month of October! Unit 4 is addition within 20 where we will learn tons of facts and strategies to add! 

This class loves to write! Whenever we get together to write they are such hard workers!! We just finished our informational writing - kiddos got to go on their laptop, browse on Pebble Go, and choose an animal they would like to write about. It has been fun seeing what they choose! I will be collecting and keeping this writing piece along with their opinion writing (starting next week) to show at conferences. Next week we will dive into opinion writing! We will be writing an opinion piece together about recess next week, then the following week I will choose a topic for them to write independently on. That piece will be the piece I share with you at conferences. 

10/3: Fun Run Next Friday!

Next Friday is our Fun Run! I am pre-writing this letter so you may have had a t-shirt come home today, if not definitely next week and I will send an email out! Our fun run happens during our specials - 1:05-1:50 PM. 

If you would like to volunteer - I could use 2-3 people to come and help me pin numbers onto the kiddos shirts and take them off after! I believe I would probably have you come in around 12:40 to start pinning some shirts and getting them ready. If you would like to come in and help please shoot me an email! 

August/September's Student of the Month!

Each month I choose a student who exemplifies that word for the month. Please see below for August & September's Student of the Month!

Wilder PTO's Direct Giving Campaign: 

Wilder PTO's Direct Giving goal this year is $55,000 with 100% participation. No gift is too small (or too large). Direct Giving funds support Wilder students, teachers, and staff and help make Wilder Elementary so special.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE or type: https://events.handbid.com/auctions/wilder-direct-giving-2025-2026

• Direct Giving-Branded envelops if you would like to donate will also be going home in your kiddo's green folder today! 

Looking ahead:  

• Friday 9/26: No School for Kiddos - Teacher Planning Day

• Friday 10/3: Fun Run - 1:05-1:50 | 2-3 Volunteers Needed | See above for details. 

• Monday 10/13 - Thursday 10/16: Fall Conferences

• Thursday 10/16: No school for Kiddos - AM Fall Conferences

• Friday 10/17: NO SCHOOL 

• Monday 10/20: No school for Kiddos - Teacher Work Day 

• Friday 10/24: Fall Picture RETAKE

🌟Star Student: Bo🌟

Monday 9/29: Art

Tuesday 9/30: Music

Wednesday 10/1: Music

Thursday 10/2: P.E.

Friday 10/3: P.E. / Library / Spelling Test / Fun Run 

August 22, 2025