-Update- Week of September 19th-

-Our class once again filled the pom-pom jar by showing expected behavior in school. We are really doing a great job of settling into routines. In Daily 5, students are practicing reading independently (reading the picture, words or retelling the story.) Their read to self stamina is 15 minutes! WOW! On Friday, the class voted and decided that we will have a Stuffed Animal day on Tuesday, Sept 20th. Students can bring one stuffed animal to school that fits into their backpack.

-BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT is this week! Please join me in our classroom on Monday, September 19th from 6:30-7pm. This event is for parents/caregivers only. We ask that you please find childcare for your kiddos! This will give us a chance to meet and go over a day in the life of a first grader.

-If you child did not complete and send back their Writing Idea paper that was sent home last week, please complete and return to school.

-This week, we will began using chromebooks/iPads in class. We will be sharing our chromebooks with a kindergarten class in our suite. During the year, we will use the chromebooks in a variety of ways for assessment purposes, listen to reading, reading on Raz Kids & Epic and practicing math skills. I am also thrilled to be able to use manipulative tools once again in class which will allow us to use the chromebooks much less than previous years. If your child would benefit from having a mouse at school, please feel free to bring send one in to use with the chromebooks.

-Seesaw- I'm still hoping to our tech department will get Seesaw set up soon. I have so many great photos of your kid's working in school that I can't wait to share with you!

-In Daily 5, we will continue to learn about Work on Words (spelling) and we will practice Read to Someone, Read to Self and Work on Writing. Students are becoming quite independent with Read to Self and Work on Writing and I will begin to work with students individually to learn their current reading levels.

-In Math, we are continuing to learn about the math materials in our classroom and practice partner games like Top It, Bunny Hop and Rolling to 50. I've been really impressed with how well the students have been playing games together. They're all great "team players!"

-We'll continue to practice uppercase letters in handwriting. We are working on proper pencil grip and starting our letters at the top.

-I forgot to send home All About Me Bag with instructions last week. I will send these home tomorrow (Monday) for each student. Students can choose 3 things to put into the bag to teach their classmates a bit about them. You can return this bag any day this week, no later than Monday, September 26th. Please only send items that will fit inside the bag. We will share items and then return them home. Thanks!

-Donations: We are currently in need of hand sanitizer. Thanks!

-Update- Week of September 5th-

-As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, September 5th and Tuesday, September 6th. We will return to school on Wednesday, September 7th.

-The students in our class worked really hard last week to settle back into school for full days of learning! We were all tired by the end of each day, as I'm sure we will be this week too. Last week, students worked hard to show expected behavior in school (raising their hands, listening to directions, helping others, cleaning up.) Each time I noticed the whole class or a student using expected behavior, I put a pom-pom in our class jar. On Friday, we filled the pom-pom jar! We will choose a class prize on Wednesday when we return to school.

- This week, we will continue to learn routines in class. We will read the book The Awful Aardvarks Go to School to learn more about the importance of rules at school. The class will brainstorm a list of rules to keep us safe at school and we will tie the rules into our core value of SPIRIT.

-One of my focuses this year will be on teaching the students about meditation and the reasons why it is helpful to practice meditation. My hope is by practicing quick, mindful exercises throughout the day, students will be ready to learn and listen. I will begin by using the book Mediation for Kids by Tejal Patel to take the class through short kid-friendly mediation practices.

-On Wednesday, we will begin our weekly practice of writing about our weekends this week, called Weekend News. This is one of my favorite weekly writing exercises as it helps me learn more about your child and family and also shows the student's writing growth throughout the year. For some students, it may be helpful to talk about what you did during the weekend on Sunday night or Monday morning to give them ideas. For other students, it may be helpful to send in a sticky note with some ideas that you child can choose from to write about on Monday morning (or Tuesday/Wednesday morning during holiday weekends.) These sticky notes will be kept in their writing folder for ideas for future writing, since most of our writing in first grade is personal narrative.

-As a class we will begin to talk about Daily 5. Daily 5 are the routines students will be engaged in while I am teaching reading. Daily 5 choices include Read to Self, Listen to Reading, Read to Someone, Work on Writing and Work on Words. Students will be taught each choice and work to be independent in the activities over the next few weeks. This week, our focus will be on Read to Self and learning the 3 ways to read a book, including Read the Words, Read the Pictures and Retell a Story.

-In Math, we will begin to learn routines and create personal number grids and number lines. We will also play math games with a partner.

-For snack and lunch, I would suggest sending your child with a separate container for snack and lunch. There was some confusion amongst students last week of what was their snack and what was their lunch. I just want to make sure they are eating the right thing at the right time. Please also work on opening snacks/lunches at home. I am always able to help open containers and bags, but I would like students to begin working on doing these jobs independently. Also, please discuss with your child in the morning whether they are bringing lunch from home or getting lunch at school so that I can get an accurate count in the morning for the cafeteria. Thank you!

-Donations: We are currently in need of Hand Sanitizer, Paper Towels and Tissues. Anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated!

-Update- Week of June 6th

• We will begin spirit days this week in our class!

1. Monday- Book & Blanket Day. please send in a beach towel or blanket with your child. We will read outside a couple of times during the day. Miss Nancy, from the J.V. Fletcher Library will also visit to teach us about the Summer Reading Program.

2. Tuesday- Frog Day. Students are welcomed to wear GREEN! We will learn about frogs, read stories with frogs and do frog activities!

3. Wednesday-Beach Day. Students are encouraged to wear colorful shirts, sun hats or sunglasses. Please NO Bathing Suit! All of our language arts, math and art activities will be about the beach.

4. Thursday- Game Day. Students are welcome to bring in a board game or card game to play with their classmates. Please make sure games are labeled with your name and that your child knows the rules of the game. No games with electronics, please!

5. Friday- Movie Day. We will watch the movie "Everyone's Hero." We will start the movie in the morning and finish after lunch. Students are welcome to bring an extra snack to eat during the afternoon showing of the movie.

*** The PTO is sponsoring a Family Fun Night at Crisafulli on Friday from 5-7pm***

-Update- Week of May 23rd-

• On Friday, we will welcome the Discovery Museum to our school for their in-school field trip exploring "sound."

• We are beginning end of year assessments to prepare for progress reports and the move to 2nd grade. This week, I will not be sending home students Weekend News reports as I will be using this as their final writing prompt of the year. We will also begin writing the 100 Power Words throughout the week. I'm finished assessing students reading levels and I've been so amazed at the incredible growth I've seen from everyone this year!

• In Math, we are finishing up our review unit. We are continuing to work on concepts the students continue to need more practice with. This week, we are also focusing on identifying and counting pennies, nickels and dimes.

• Students are doing an awesome job of taking their notes from reading non-fiction animal books and turning them into their own non-fiction books. They are enjoying illustrating pictures as well. I hope to complete these books over the next week or so.

• Looking Ahead:

*Monday, May 30th- No School, Memorial Day

*Wednesday, June 1st- Field Day

-Update- Week of May 2nd

• This Tuesday, May 3rd there is NO SCHOOL, due to Town Elections. This day was originally planned as a Full Day Professional Development Day for teachers. We recently were granted a paid-day off of school in recognition of our work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers and staff are very thankful for this act of kindness and recognition.

• In Math, we have been focusing on telling time. In first grade, the primary focus is telling time to the hour and half-hour on an analog clock. This concept can be very tricky for first graders. If you have an analog clock at home, please encourage your child to tell you the time when you notice hour and half-hour times!

• Our focus in Social Studies is Economics! Students will learn about ways to save money, how families need to make choices about how to spend their money and about wants vs. needs. At the end of this unit, students will create their own businesses in the classroom.

• We will begin a Non-Fiction research book in Writing this week. Students choose an animal they would like to learn more about. We will use books & videos from Epic Books to learn about an animal and write about their babies, habitat and diet.

• There is still time to be a Mystery Reader in our class! I recently updated the Mystery Reader Sign Up on SignUp Genius. There are new days and times! If the times on the signup do not work for you, please send me an email and we can figure out another time. As a reminder, if you do not have an approved CORI on file in the office, you can only sign up for a Google Meet Mystery Reader slot. Thanks! You can get to the signup here.

• Donations: We are currently in need of the following supplies: Individual packs (snack packs) of Goldfish Crackers, Fun Stickers, 12 or 24 packs of crayons. Thanks!

• Last Call For Field Day Volunteers:

Robinson Field Day will take place on June 1st, with a rain date of June 3rd. If you are interested in volunteering for field day, please click on the link below. Please contact Mrs. Mandile or Mr. Weston if you have any questions. May 2nd is the final day to accept volunteers.

Field Day Volunteer Sign-Up

-Update- Week of April 4th

• This Wednesday, April 6th is a 12:20pm Early Release Day. We will not be having lunch at school but we will have snack. If your child has a change in dismissal plans, please send a note in the morning.

• On Thursday, we will welcome an author and illustrator, Emilie Boon to our school. This is always a fun enrichment program brought to use through funds from PTO!

• Students filled their classroom pom-pom jar again! They voted on having a Stuffed Animal Day again. On Friday, April 8th, students are allowed to bring one stuffed animal to school. I will send another reminder later next week.

• In Math, we will continue to talk about the attributes of shapes. We will also build polygons and divide shapes into halves and forths.

• In Social Studies, we will continue to learn about families in America. Please send back your family traditions homework by Tuesday. We will use these on Thursday to discuss similarities and differences of Americans. Then, we will begin to learn about symbols of America, including the American flag.

• We've been practicing to learn the parts of a sentence in order to figure out punctuation placement in writing. The two parts of a sentence we are working on is: 1. A Who/What 2. What they are doing. We will continue to work on this skill in practice and also in authentic writing (weekend news.)

• Looking Ahead:

Friday, April 15- 12:20pm Early Release

April Vacation April 18-22. We return to school April 25th.

-Update- Week of March 14th

• This Friday, March 18th our class will visit the book fair. Students are able to bring cash, check or load funds on the Scholastic Site to be used at the book fair and/or on future Scholastic book orders. Students will also have an opportunity to write a wishlist for parents to shop during Parent/Teacher Conferences next week.

• This Thursday, March 17th is Wear Green Day. Students are invited to wear green as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

• Looking Ahead to NEXT WEEK:

Monday, March 21st- No School- Parent/Teacher Conferences 2-8pm

Tuesday, March 22nd- 2 Hour Delay- School Starts at 11:05. - Parent/Teacher Conference 8-11am

-Update- Week of February 28th

• On Monday we will say goodbye to one of our classmates that is moving and starting at new school on Tuesday. I know this may be difficult for some students to say goodbye.

• I'm really looking forward to getting back into the classroom this week. Missing a whole week of school due to illness was difficult being away from the kids. While I was out, the students worked on reviewing previously learned material in writing, math, social studies and language arts. This week, we will move on to new material!

• In Math, our focus will be on equivalent names by representing numbers in different ways: addition/subtraction facts, tallies, dice, dominos, drawings, coins. We will also begin to work on different math number stories.

• In Science, we will use instruments to create sound through vibrations. We will also use tuning forks to learn how sound travels.

• Our focus in Writing this week is on making changes, discovering who our audience is and stating reasons for these changes.

• This week, we will begin Star of the Week. Star of the Week is a fun opportunity for the class to learn about each other. This year, I will offer two choices for how students will present their Star of the Week information: a poster or a digital poster using Seesaw. This week I will be the Star of the Week so I can explain the process to the students. Each week after that, two students will be the Stars each week. I will send more detailed information about the process when your child is chosen.

• Starting next week on March 7th, students and staff will not be required to wear masks in school. They will however need to wear masks in buses and van to/from school and in the nurse's office. If your wish is for your child to continue wearing a mask in school, please send me an email. If I don't hear from you, I will assume that you are allowing your child to make a choice when they get to school. Over the course of the next week, we will discuss mask wearing in school and remind students that wearing/not wearing a mask is each individual family's choice.

• Looking Ahead:

March 9th- Wear Green Day

March 21st- No School- Parent/Teacher Conferences 2-8pm

March 22nd- 2 Hour Delay- School Starts at 11:05. - Parent/Teacher Conference 9-11am

-Update- Week of February 7th

• This Wednesday we will celebrate our 100th Day of School. Last week, I sent home an assignment for students to create a bottle with 100 objects inside. Here are the instructions again if you need them. Students can begin bringing their bottles into school on Monday and we'll share a few bottles a day!

• On Wednesday we are also having a school wide Spirit Day. “Favorites SPIRIT Day” is an opportunity for students to wear something that they love. For example, their favorite sports team, animal, color, t-shirt, etc.

• This week we will be finishing up Volume 1 of student's math journals. Students will come home with their math journals. You may notice that some pages have not been completed or were not checked by a teacher. We often create other alternatives to the math journal pages that work better for our class. Students can complete unfinished pages for FUN but are NOT expected to!

• In Science we'll create shadows with the number 100 around our classroom. This week, we will also learn about how sound is made.

• We will decorate bags for our Valentine cards this week. Students can begin to make valentines for their classmates. They're welcome to bring them into school anytime between now and Valentine's Day. Please no candy with valentines. Thank you! Here is the class list.

• Last week in Recess Club we talked about expected behaviors during indoor recess. We also practiced asking someone to play. The students mentioned that they would like new games to play with during indoor recess. If you have games at home (gently used with all pieces) and you are ready to give them away, we would love to have them! Thanks!

-Update- Week of January 24th-

• This week in Math, we will be learning about finding the "difference." This concept can be tricky for first graders. We will work on number stories such as "Mrs. Conway has 3 flowers. Mrs. Bonenfant has 5 flowers. How many more flowers does Mrs. Bonenfant have?" We will learn the difference game on Monday. This is a great game that you can play at home. At school, we play the game with pennies but you can use any object at home. I've included the directions below if you would like to play at home.

• This week we will celebrate the great kindness challenge. On Friday, the students wrote thank you notes to an adult in our building that helps us! We will also read books throughout the week that celebrate kindness to others including: Spork and Because Amelia Smiled.

• In Recess Club, we will talk about making smart guesses by looking around and using our senses to figure out how others are feeling. Making smart guesses can be difficult while wearing masks, but we will discuss how to notice emotions even when faces are covered.

• In Writing, our focus will be on writing opinions. This week, we will write about our favorite friend or cousin.

-Update- Week of January 10th-

• It snowed! Students are welcome to bring snow clothes to school to play in the snow.

In order to play in the snow, students need all of the following items:

1. Snow Pants

2. Winter Jacket

3. Gloves or Mittens

4. Snow Boots

I would suggest sending these items into school in a reusable shopping bag. The bags and items should be labeled with your child's name. Please practice with your child so they can independently put these items on at school. If you have an extra set of these items, students are welcome to leave their snow gear at school. Otherwise, we will send home each night. Please discuss with your child what you would like them to do with their snowgear.

• We are in need of EMPTY paper towel tubes. When you finish a roll, please send them into school. We will use these to create number scrolls in math.

• This Wednesday, January 12th is Kindness Day at Robinson. Students are encouraged to wear something that reminds them of kindness (a shirt with an uplifting saying/smiley faces, etc.)

• We will finish our study of Maps this week. Students will complete a book that tells about their home, school, town, state, country, continent and world.

• We will begin a new Science unit called Light and Sound. During this unit, students will learn about how lights and sounds create signals to send messages to people.

• In Math, we will complete our 2nd iReady Diagnostic Math Assessment on our chromebooks. This assessment will show growth since the beginning of the year and outline areas in math that we need to continue to work on. We will also learn new math skills this week including greater than/less than and exchanging pennies for dimes.

• Monday, January 17th is a NO School Day in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day. On January 17th we challenge your children and families to complete a service project. Please send us pictures (smiddlemiss@westfordk12.us or message the Robinson FB Page) of your children or your family completing a service project, we will add it to our Facebook page.

Here are some ideas from the AmeriCorps website:

- Make cards or pictures for nursing home residents (https://loveforourelders.org/)

- Honor a serviceman and/or woman

- Clean up a park

- Write to an elderly neighbor or local nursing home resident

- Hold a book drive

- Package care bags for homeless or families in need

- Collect old towels, stuffed animals, and blankets for an animal shelter

- Decorate lunch bags and use for snack sacks for families in need or the homeless

- Treats or letters for Emergency Personnel

- Bird feeders

- Care packages for cancer patients

- Make Kindness Matters signs for your local hospital, nursing home, local businesses, etc

-Update- Week of December 20th-

-We will enjoy 3 and a half fun filled days together this week! Thursday, December 23rd is a 12:20pm Early Release. We will have snack during our Winter Party. If you would like to send a special snack treat for your child (sorry we can't send it food for all of the class to enjoy together) that would be super! There is no school on Friday, December 24th. We will return to school on Monday, January 3rd.

-We are expecting some snow this weekend. If there is still snow on the ground on Monday, students are welcome to bring snow clothes to school to play in the snow.

In order to play in the snow students need all of the following items:

1. Snow Pants

2. Winter Jacket

3. Gloves or Mittens

4. Snow Boots

I would suggest sending these items into school in a reusable shopping bag. The bags and items should be labeled with your child's name. Please practice with your child so they can independently put these items on at school. If you have an extra set of these items, students are welcome to leave their snow gear at school. Otherwise, we will send home each night.

-There will be no spelling homework this week.

-We will continue to learn about maps. This week, we will explore the map of Massachusetts and the United States map.

-In Math, we will complete fun winter activities to extend our practice of adding three numbers, sums of 10 and number grid work.

-I hope your family enjoys some time off together over the next week! Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2022!

-Update- Week of November 29th-

-Happy Hanukkah to those families celebrating the holiday. We will welcome Sophia's mom to our class on Wednesday to teach the class about Hanukkah and to play the Dreidel Game!

-This Thursday, December 2nd is a 12:20pm Early Release. We will not have lunch at school, but we will have snack. If your child has a change of dismissal, please send me a note or email.

-In Math, we will begin Unit 4. Our focus will be on measurement, non-standard units of measurement and continuing to work on addition and subtraction facts.

*In Spelling, we are working on teaching power words in a different way starting this week. We will focus on "heart words." The heart words method, teaches students the parts of the words that are easy to remember and those parts that they need to learn "by heart." For example, in the word "give" the "e" needs to be learned by heart because the "e" is not making the "i" say its name. You can explore more about Heart Words here.

-We will finally begin our Nonfiction All About Me books this week!

-Update- Week of November 8th-

-There is no school on Thursday, November 11th in observance of Veteran's Day.

-As a reminder, conference sign-up links will become available Tuesday afternoon at 3:30, and can be found on our website at www.westfordk12.us/rs. For more information on how to sign-up as well as day-care provisions (K-2) for our delayed opening, please see here.

-In Spelling, we will begin to work on words that have an "e" at the end. We call this e King Ed. King Ed reaches over one consonant and make the vowel says it's name. For example the word hop, turns into hope with the o saying its name.

-In Math, we are working on doubles facts 2+2=4 and 6+6=12. We are also working on counting up and down on a number line. We will continue to practice math facts that equal ten and math facts up to 20 in order to make these facts more automatic.

-There is still time to be a Mystery Reader in our class. You can be a Mystery Reader in person (if you have an approved CORI) or through Google Meet. The sign up for Mystery Readers is here.

-We had a great Harvest Party. If you have not sent in your $6 donation for future classroom parties and you are able, please send it in your child's folder. Thanks.

-Update- Week of October 18th-

- As a reminder, Monday October 18th is Back to School Night for parents/caregivers. We will meet ONLINE for this session. First grade Back to School Night is from 7:00-7:30pm. Please join me on Google Meet.

-In Science, we will finish our Plants and Animals unit. On Friday, students brought their lima bean plants home planted in soil.

-We will begin our Social Studies unit, Citizenship & Leadership. In this unit, we will learn the concepts of Leaders, Roles, Rules and Responsibilities.

-This week, we will continue to work on addition and subtraction facts in Math. We are working to make these facts (within 10) automatic. Students are able to use tools to solve their work, including their fingers, counters, number lines, number grids and pictures.

-We started reading groups in our classroom. Students will come home with a book in their blue folder approximately two times a week. Please listen to your child read their book tonight, sign off that they read it on their reading log and return the book the next day. Please note books may be too hard/too easy as we do our best to figure out the correct reading levels.

-Update- Week of October 4th-

- I'm very impressed with our class! The students are doing a great job of following routines throughout the day. This week in Daily Five, I will begin to read with small groups of students while the rest of the class works independently.

-In Math, we will continue to work on adding and making combinations of 10. We will also begin to practice solving and writing subtraction number models.

-In Writing, I am expecting students to write two sentences. We begin with sketch, then write our words and finish with coloring our picture. We will work on adding more to our stories this week. Please continue to send in writing ideas on Monday mornings for students to use for Weekend News. I often hear "I don't know what I did this weekend!" Thanks!

-In Science, our focus will be on animal senses and the things that all living things need to survive.

-This week, we will start Recess Club. In Recess Club, we will talk about how to make friends, how to ask friends to play, expected behavior at home and school and other social skills. This week, we will focus on expected/unexpected behaviors at school.

-Update- Week of September 20th-

-Our class once again filled the pom-pom jar by showing expected behavior in school. We are really doing a great job of settling into routines. In Daily 5, students are practicing reading independently (reading the picture, words or retelling the story.) Their read to self stamina is 15 minutes! WOW! On Friday, the class voted using a tally chart for their prize for filling the pom-pom jar. 21 students voted for a class fish and 0 students voted for an extra recess. The class will be introduced to their bright red betta fish tomorrow and we will vote on a name for our fish.

-Last week, we began using chromebooks in class. We will be sharing our chromebooks with a kindergarten class in our suite. During the year, we will use the chromebooks in a variety of ways for assessment purposes, listen to reading, reading on Raz Kids & Epic and practicing math skills. I am also thrilled to be able to use manipulative tools once again in class which will allow us to use the chromebooks much less than last year. As mentioned in my email last week, if your child would benefit from having a mouse at school, please feel free to bring send one in. I also put notes in a couple of backpacks if students need headphones or perhaps a different pair of headphones. Please take a peek in your child's backpack. I always have extra pairs of headphones when needed.

-Please be sure to have extra masks in your child's backpack. Students often need to change masks during the day because they get wet or dirty. It may be helpful to have a ziploc bag labeled clean and one labeled dirty if your child tends to go through masks often. This will help you know which are dirty. I do also have a supply of disposable kid's masks in the classroom.

-Last week, I sent home invitations to log into Raz Kids & Seesaw at home. Raz Kids provides students with books at their level to listen, read and answer questions about. Seesaw is a platform I will use for sharing student work and photos from our classroom. I would recommend downloading the parent app on your phone or tablet to easily be notified when schoolwork or photos are added. You can use this link to sign up for Seesaw.

-In Daily 5, we will continue to learn about Work on Words (spelling) and we will learn Read to Someone. Students are becoming quite independent with Read to Self and Work on Writing and I will begin to work with students individually to learn their current reading levels.

-In Math, we will complete the iReady Math assessment. This assessment will give me a better idea of concepts we will need to work on this year as well as determine what students will qualify for regular education math services provided by our math interventionists.

-We will learn two new meditations this week including: Planting Kindness & Turn on the Sun Switch. You can ask your children about Zip Up & Sit Up and Happy Dragon Breathes.

-We'll continue to practice uppercase letters in handwriting. We are working on proper pencil grip and starting our letters at the top.

-If you would like to order books from Scholastic Book Club, you can see below.

Dear Family, You can choose to have your books shipped to your home or delivered to me with our class order.

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Class Order Due Date: 10/01/21

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/GMP2C

Shop Digital Flyers for Our Grade with Your Child: https://clubs.scholastic.com/grade1

Please share the Class Page link to extended family and friends. All orders also earn FREE Books for our class.

Thank you for your support!

-Update- Week of September 7th-

-The students in our class worked really hard last week to settle back into school for full days of learning! We were all tired by the end of the day, as I'm sure we will be this week too. Last week, students worked hard to show expected behavior in school (raising their hands, listening to directions, helping others.) Each time I noticed the whole class or a student using expected behavior, I put a pom-pom in our class jar. By the end of the day on Thursday, the whole jar was full of brightly colored pom-poms and the class earned their first prize. This week each student earned a squishy mochi animal to bring home. Prizes in the future might include an extra recess, a class fish, a dance party, bringing a stuffed animal from home, etc. The class seems to be highly motivated by our pom-pom jar!

- This week, we will continue to learn routines in class. We will read the book The Awful Aardvarks Go to School to learn more about the importance of rules at school. The class will brainstorm a list of rules to keep us safe at school and we will tie the rules into our core value of SPIRIT.

-One of my focuses this year will be on teaching the students about meditation and the reasons why it is helpful to practice meditation. My hope is by practicing quick, mindful exercises throughout the day, students will be ready to learn and listen. I will begin by using the book Mediation for Kids by Tejal Patel to take the class through short kid-friendly mediation practices.

-We will begin our weekly practice of writing about our weekends this week, called Weekend News. This is one of my favorite weekly writing exercises as it helps me learn more about your child and family and also shows the student's writing growth throughout the year. For some students, it may be helpful to talk about what you did during the weekend on Sunday night or Monday morning to give them ideas. For other students, it may be helpful to send in a sticky note with some ideas that you child can choose from to write about on Monday morning (or Tuesday morning during holiday weekends.) These sticky notes would be kept in their writing folder for ideas for future writing, since most of our writing in first grade is personal narrative.

-As a class we will begin to talk about Daily 5. Daily 5 are the routines students will be engaged in while I am teaching reading. Daily 5 choices include Read to Self, Listen to Reading, Read to Someone, Work on Writing and Work on Words. Students will be taught each choice and work to be independent in the activities over the next few weeks. This week, our focus will be on Read to Self and learning the 3 ways to read a book, including Read the Words, Read the Pictures and Retell a Story.

-In Math, we will begin to learn routines and create personal number grids and number lines. We will also play math games with a partner.

-We will begin our first unit in Science called Plants and Animal Parts. We will answer the essential question "How are plants and animals like others of the same kind?"

-If you have not, please send in a towel with your child at the start of the week for snack. Towels will go home at the end of the week to be washed and then returned Monday. Please note, I did have students keep their towels at school last week since it was a short week.

-For snack and lunch, I would suggest sending your child with a separate container for snack and lunch. There was some confusion amongst students last week of what was their snack and what was their lunch. I just want to make sure they are eating the right thing at the right time. Please also work on opening snacks/lunches at home. I am always able to help open containers and bags, but I would like students to begin working on doing these jobs independently. Also, please discuss with your child in the morning whether they are bringing lunch from home or getting lunch at school so that I can get an accurate count in the morning for the cafeteria. Thank you!