Week of October 13th

What are we learning about?

We are continuing to focus on animal survival in science, which we incorporated into this fun fall fox portrait. I just love them - don't they look like each student drew a picture of themselves as a fox? Can you spy all the things animals need to survive in each picture? (air, water, food, to not get eaten)

Math 

We have just begun Unit 2, which will introduce teen numbers, adding three numbers, finding a ten to add and subtract, and how to use doubles/near doubles to solve equations. The Lesson 6 parent letter went home today. 

Reading & Writing

Our overarching question is, "How do books change lives around the world?" and we've met many characters whose lives were changed by books. This week we'll think about this question: how do books change my life?  We read a familiar book this morning, Green Eggs and Ham, and students completed a story map to help them remember the characters, setting, problem, and resolution of the book. More work and reflections on the big question/theme to come! 

Foundational Skills (Phonics)

This is so important even if your first grader is already a reader - because it will help them become a better writer and speller.  We are wrapping up the third unit which introduced the digraphs sh, ch, wh, th, and ck. We're also learning trick words (words that can't be sounded out) and have added quite a few to our classroom word wall recently, including for, or, we, she, as, has, is, of, into. 

Geodes

Students are practicing their new phonics skills in books from a collection called Geodes. You'll see in a week or so when they bring their copies home. They are decodable books that are engaging and fun! They even go with our theme from our reading and writing curriculum. We've met Anansi the Spider, heard the Story in the Cave, and read a magical stack of books so far. 

Questions to Ask Your First Grader

• Who is your morning circle partner this week? How did you find each other this morning?

• What is a teen number? (A group of ten and some ones!)

• Retell the story about Cal called That Book Woman. How did books change Cal's life?

Thanks for reading. Until next time!

Mrs. J

jjendrzejek@pps.net or Parent Square

Week of October 7th

How is it already into October? My family went to the pumpkin patch over the weekend so we have fully embraced fall and the wonderful chaos that comes with it! My son is turning 5 this coming weekend, so we're busy busy busy at my house. We've been busy in the classroom, too!

What are we learning about?

Social Emotional Learning: The Zones of Regulation

Over the last few weeks we have been learning all about the Zones of Regulation, a way students can identify and describe how they are feeling. Please have your child teach you all about them! Last week we wrapped up a "Green Zone Toolbox" project where students selected tools or strategies to get them back into the Green Zone, AKA Ready to Learn. The goal is that they will use this toolbox at home! We have a big one here in the classroom in our break space.  

Math: We are wrapping up Unit 1 and today we worked on a review of all the skills introduced. Students will take the assessment over two days (digitally through the iReady platform) and I'm excited to see them show all they know!  So, you won't see a weekly parent sheet this week, and you won't see daily work come home. Next week, we're on to Unit 2!

FYI: Student Teacher Miss Olivia will be in the classroom with us every Tuesday starting tomorrow! Woohoo! 

Book Fair Info 

This year the Book Fair will not be open before or after school. Our class's one shopping time is Monday, Oct. 13 from 2:00 - 2:25. We will visit the Book Fair as a class, and students are able to shop for books then with an eWallet (see below). If you are able to come with us, that would be AMAZING! It makes the most sense to me to have parents shop with their students. If you have set up an eWallet with your child, please send me a message so I know they are able to buy books. Please make a plan with your child so they know how much money they have to spend or how many books they can purchase. (I'm trying to avoid confusion and disappointed kids.) You could also choose to attend the Book Fair with your child at one of the following events:

 Special Events

 Champions Hour – Wednesday, Oct. 15, 3–4 pm
We’re partnering with the Champions afters chool program so participating students can shop the Book Fair with their group during this time.

 Evening Shopping + PTA Costume Exchange – Wednesday, Oct. 15, 6–7 pm
Bring the whole family for a fun evening! Browse the Book Fair while checking out the PTA Costume Exchange — it’s a great chance to trade costumes and get ready for Halloween.

 VIP Hours – Friday, Oct. 17, 7:52–11 am
Students can bring their Very Important Person — a parent, grandparent, or special adult — to visit the Book Fair together after their classroom shopping time.

 Set Up a Student eWallet

Make shopping easy and cash-free!
Families can create a Student eWallet for a safe, convenient way to pay.
Create an eWallet here
(Perfect for grandparents or friends who want to contribute, too!)

 Donate to Our Book Fair

We believe every student should be able to go home with a new book!
Support our “Capitol Hill – Donation” eWallet — all funds go directly toward helping students in need across all grade levels.
Donate to the Book Fair

Questions to Ask Your First Grader

• Who came to visit the first grade classes today? 

• What animal did you draw getting air, food, water, and not getting eaten? 

• What is one way to be a good partner during morning circle time?

• What or who made you giggle at school recently?

• What do you wish you had more of at school? Less of?

Thanks for reading. Until next time!

Mrs. J

jjendrzejek@pps.net or ParentSquare

Math: This is the last lesson (week) in Unit 1. We have been learning about adding to subtract, counting on, and number partners for 10. So many strategies and tools for students to keep in their math tool belt! Students are now familiar with ten frames, number paths, and number bonds. This week we'll sum it all up (get it?) with a week of solving story problems. We use white boards almost every day for our math talks at the beginning of the lesson to warm up our brains and our voices as we explain our thinking to each other - one of the most important things about being a mathematician. Three rotations for math time include Math With Mrs. J, where we do our small group games and daily workbook page, and iReady MyPath and Learning Games on the computers. 

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) We've been adding to our Green Zone Toolbox -- tools that help us get back to the Green Zone (calm and ready to learn). Ask your first grader which one(s) they like to try.

Phonics:  Trick words is, his, of, and, the, a. Tapping out words with a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern. Have your first grader demonstrate how to use their fingers to tap these words: mat, pig, men, box, sun

Questions to Ask Your First Grader

• What is your end of the day job this week? What job are you looking forward to doing that haven't done yet?

• Who is your morning circle partner this week? What did you learn about them this morning?

• What makes you laugh in Room 105?

• Name one tortoise structure and what it helps the tortoise do. (beaky mouth = eat leaves, long neck = reach for leaves, big shell = protection/defense from predators, etc)

Thanks for reading. Until next time! 

Please reach out with any questions or concerns via Jjendrzejek@pps.net or ParentSquare.

Mrs. J

Buddies:  We met our 4th grade buddies this week! For our first meet up, students traded letters about themselves and chatted to get to know each other. Each early release day we'll get together to do various activities and build meaningful cross-grade relationships. It's one of the best things we'll do all year!

Apple Art Project: One student asked me, "Mrs. J, why don't we do any more fun art projects like we did the first week of school?"  So here you go. (How could I say no?) We explored a new art tool: the paint stick. Like an oil pastel but without the mess, they feel like drawing with butter. The colors are so smooth and vibrant! Students were tasked with making four quadrants on their apple, each with a different pattern using 2-3 colors. Love how they turned out!

Questions to Ask Your First Grader

• What is Mix and Munch? Who did you sit by last Friday?

• What did the book Don't Hug Dug teach you?

• What was your end of the day classroom job last week? What job are you looking forward to doing?

• What or who makes you smile in Room 105? 

• Who was your morning circle parter last week? This week? What do they do to show they are listening to you? 

• What is something kind or nice you did recently at school? 

Thank you for supporting your first grader in this first month of school. It's a big transition from summer back into the school routine with a new grade and teacher and class. Whew! We did it!

Thanks for reading. Until next time! Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns via ParentSquare message or email (jjendrzejek@pps.net). 

Mrs. J

Week of September 15th

Thanks so much for coming to Back to School Night. I enjoyed seeing you all and loved to see how much the students have ownership over their classroom already. They were so excited to show you around!  

Here is the information from the back of the scavenger hunt and I've added extra notes in italics. 

Here is some information about the classroom and year ahead, in no particular order.

Homework:

In first grade, the only required homework is to read 20 minutes nightly. This includes reading to self, reading with someone, or listening to a story. The goal is to foster a love of reading! Occasionally, your child may bring home class work to be finished. I will make a note on the paper, or communicate with you directly if that is the case.  Weekly math family letters have some practice problems on the back, and they are optional. 

Field Trips and Residencies:

Ms. Casey and I are in the process of planning our field trips for the year. Tentatively, we will see a play downtown and go to OMSI.  In previous years we have also enjoyed residencies here at school with SCRAP, a theater company, and a glass artist.  If you’d like to chaperone a future field trip or help with a residency, please be sure you have passed the PPS Volunteer Background Check.

Family Reading Mornings:

Once a month, usually the last Friday of the month, you are invited to join your first grader in the classroom for 25 minutes of reading together. Younger siblings are welcome! If you are unable to attend, you can send someone else in your place (friend, family member, neighbor), and I also invite other special guests from our school staff to join. You do not need a background check for this event. Please sign in at the office as a visitor before coming down to the classroom. Come to any or all of the events!

8:00 - 8:25 on the following Fridays: September 26, October 24, November 21, December 19, January 30, February 27, March 20, April 24, May 29. 

Classroom Volunteers:

I am still determining our needs for the year. Stay tuned! If you are interested in volunteering, please be sure your PPS Volunteer Background Check is up to date. 

Ways to Help:

• Please help your child learn to tie shoes.

• Please make sure your child can put on and take off their winter coat independently. 

• Thank you for checking your child’s home-school envelope each day and keeping any papers at home. 

Here's the photos from the "photo booth" on Thursday. I'll also send a copy directly to you this week. 

Week of September 8th

We're happily off and running in Room 105! It's been a wonderful first two weeks of school (minus the heat). Thank you for supporting your student as they enter the world of first grade!

Upcoming Events and Action Items

• Back to School Night is this Thursday, 9/11, from 5:30 - 6:30. Your child will show you around the classroom and you'll get to complete a fun scavenger hunt together. See you then!

Update 

Presenting the 2025 - 2026 class of First Graders in Room 105! Here's their first day of first grade pictures.

We're starting to settle into this year's routine. Here's a quick overview, aka A Day in the Life of a First Grader in Room 105:

8:00 Morning Bins (toys/activities that rotate biweekly or so) are a great soft start to each day and give opportunities for social interaction, creativity, and teamwork with table mates. Last week Jenga was a big hit. 

8:10 Morning Circle - we greet each student, review the schedule, thank yesterday's Helping Hands and choose two new ones, and do a quick activity. It's a great time for learning social skills like taking turns in conversations, how to disagree politely, and getting to know each other.

8:30 "Adventures in Reading and Writing" - This is our language arts time to focus on reading comprehension, grammar, and writing. Our first module is called "A World of Books" and we'll answer the overarching question, how can books change our lives? Tomas and the Library Lady is our first focus book. 

9:15 Recess!

9:30 WIN Time (What I Need) - this is a focused intervention time. Our Reading Interventionist pulls students to give extra reading instruction, and I also work with small groups of students in both reading and math. (This will start in the coming weeks as I get more information from fall benchmark assessments.) Students use the Chromebooks during this time, using a variety of digital tools such as RazKids, Epic, Scholastic News, and the FUNhub (phonics).

10:00 Foundational reading skills - phonemic awareness and phonics. We'll play with words, learn new sound spellings, do dictation on whiteboards, build words with magnet boards, and more. The last few weeks we've been reviewing the alphabet and the correct way to write each letter using the sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line.

10:40 - 11:20 Recess then lunch

11:25 More foundational reading skills time. Stay tuned for how this time evolves in the coming weeks. Read to Self is off to a good start for now!

11:45 Math mini lesson -- we gather together on the rug and turn on our mathematical brains to do a warm up followed by a mini lesson on the week's focus skill. We often use whiteboards to show our thinking, and sometimes have a "gallery walk" to look at others' thinking. This time is all about sharing our thinking or how we solved a problem. 

12:05 PE, Art, Library, or Music

12:50 A quick snack so we're ready to tackle math. 

1:00 Math rotations - We have three rounds of math rotations that include an activity with Mrs. J, and time on iReady MyPath and iReady Learning Games (both on the chromebook). More on this later, but it's going so smoothly right now! 

1:45 Science or Health (alternating units) or Fun Friday!

2:15 Pack up then Closing Circle - students get to reflect on their day and say goodbye to each other. 

2:30 Dismissal - whew! Another great day!

Questions to Ask Your First Grader

How does the goodbye song go? ("First grade is over, now it's time to go. We'll put on our backpacks and stand in a row. I wave at you, you wave at me. We give a little clap. We'll see you all tomorrow when we all come back!")

Who was your partner for morning circle last week? How do you "turn and talk" to your partner?

What is Fun Friday? Did you have any fun?

What makes you smile in Room 105? 

Thank you for reading. If you missed my introduction page with information about me and the classroom, you can find it here. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out via email or ParentSquare message. Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday evening for Back to School Night! 

Mrs. J

jjendrzejek@pps.net or ParentSquare