Week of December 14-18

Reminders:

Next week we only have school on Monday and Tuesday. 

We will be walking down to the Christmas Trees on Tuesday, December 15th.

Our Holiday Celebration will be held on Tuesday, December 22nd. 

We will be walking up to Pine Rock on Monday, December 21st.

This Week:

Math: We are looking to complete Topic 5: Addition Facts to 20 before the winter break. 

Reading: Students continue to work in small groups on individualized reading activities. We continue to work as a class on parts of  a story. 

Writing: We will be writing a descriptive piece on our Gingerbread House creation. 

Spelling: We will be having our spelling test on Friday, please continue to practice your spelling words!

Science: We are still working on sink and float! This week the students will be creating something that floats using straws. 

We have Health this week. 

Sink or Float

Week of December 7-11

Reminders:

If you are interested in helping out with our holiday celebration, please send back in the sheet!

This Week:

Math: We have started working on Topic 5: Addition Facts to 20.

Reading: Students that work in my groups continue to read their chapter books, and will begin working in a literature circle groups, where they complete jobs to share with their groups.

Writing: This week we are focusing on the parts of a story, characters, setting, and authors message.

Spelling: Watch out for new words going home today! We will also be working on dictionary skills.

Science: We have started a new unit on sink or float. The kids will be very excited about the hands on experiments that will be happening this week!

Welcome Back!

I hope your Thanksgiving break was enjoyable and relaxing!

Reminders:

PTO Book Fair is this week! The fair will be open during Parent Lunch on Wednesday, that evening at the PTO meeting, and during Movie Night on Friday.

Parent Lunch is Wednesday at 12:20.
PTO meeting Wednesday night at 7:00.
Movie Night is Friday at 6:30.

This Week:

We will be creating a Holiday Book Craft to hang on our tree at the Town Hall Festival of Trees. We will also be taking a walk down to see them next week.

Math: We will be wrapping up topic 4 on Addition and Subtraction Facts to 12 and completing a benchmark test for topics 1-4 this week.

Reading: Students continue to work in small groups reading books on their level. Students that work with me continue working on reading fluency and reading with expression. We have been talking a lot about listening while others are reading so that we can better understand our reading.

Writing: Our new author of the month is Jan Brett and we will be doing a lot of writing projects that relate to her stories. Our writing will focus on expressing what we read.

Spelling: We will be practicing our spelling words in a variety of ways this week.

Social Studies: We have completed our learning on Pilgrims and will be using this time to work on our decorations for the tree.

Thanksgiving Week

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is such a short week of school! I hope that you all have a very enjoyable Thanksgiving and if you have to travel, you get there safe!

Week of November 16-20

Reminders:

We only have school on Monday and Tuesday of next week!
Report cards went home on Friday.

This Week:

Math: We are continuing to work on Topic 4: Addition and Subtraction Facts to 12. We are looking to complete this topic before Thanksgiving Break.

Reading: Students continue to work in small groups on what they need. Ask your student about the book they are reading.

Writing: We are working on a persuasive writing assignment about Thanksgiving. Be on the look out for the completed project next week!

Spelling: Please be sure to continue practicing both the spelling words and the sight words at home! Our test will be this Friday.

Social Studies: We are learning all about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags. Be on the look out for a book we are writing about what we have learned!

Week of November 9-13

Reminders:

We have no school Wednesday, November 11, 2015 to observe Veterans Day.
Conferences are this week! Email me if you forgot your time or need to reschedule.

This Week:

Math: We continue to work on Topic 4: Addition and Subtraction Facts to 12.

Reading: Students are working in small groups focusing on their reading needs. Groups that work in my room will begin working on independent reading centers that focus on connecting reading with writing.

Spelling: Students have new spelling words this week! We are focusing on ten words again this week. We will practice them during the two weeks at school, but students should still be practicing them at home.

Social Studies: This week we are taking a break from learning about the Pilgrims to discuss the importance of Veterans Day.

Having fun on the monkey bars during morning recess!

Last Friday we took a hike up the trail by school. It was such a beautiful day!

Week of November 2nd-6th

I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Halloween! Here are a few photos from our festivities on Friday. A HUGE thank you to the parents that helped put on costumes and donated their time in the morning! We couldn't have done it without you!

Separating the seeds from the "gunk" inside our pumpkins!  

We loved getting our hands messy with pumpkin insides! Thanks to Ms. Connor's dad for picking all these pumpkins for us!

 I think Chucky is telling us about how gross the pumpkin feels on our hands here!

Check out all of our costumes! Don't we look great?

Group photo! I spy a snake and a soccer player, what else do you see?

Mrs. Stoneking wanted to get a whole school picture after our parade around town. 

*Photo Credit to Mrs. O'Reilly (THANK YOU!!)

Reminders:

Conferences start next week! If you cannot remember what time you signed up for, or have to change it, please send me an email (sconnor@kearsarge.org) to reschedule.

Pats Peak WYSA program sign-ups went home last week, be sure to sign-up before the deadline!

This Week:

Math: We are beginning Topic 4 on Addition and Subtraction Facts to 12. We are once again splitting up into four groups to work on what we need. 

Reading: Students have started new books in their reading groups. My group is working on reading with expression and non-fiction books. We also are working on parts of a sentence and creating "silly sentences".

Writing: We have been working on writing paragraphs about things we love. This week we will finish our paragraphs and begin publishing them to an app on the iPads. 

Spelling: We have been practicing our spelling words here at school, but please remember to study at home too! Our spelling test will be this Friday.

Read Aloud: November brings us a new Author of the Month! We will be reading books by Laura Numeroff. 

Social Studies: We will be starting a unit on Pilgrims and Thanksgiving this week. We have completed our school community unit, ask us some questions about members of our school community!

Week of October 26-30

Happy Halloween!

Please be sure to let us know if you would not like your child to participate in one of our Halloween center activities.

If you are available to come in Friday around 1:15 to help put on costumes, that would be greatly appreciated!

The Halloween Parade starts at 2:00 on Friday!

This Week in First Grade:

Math: We continue our math groups, focusing on five and ten relationships. We should be finishing up our third topic this week!

Reading: Reading centers are going great! Children working in my group are finishing their fist books and beginning to work on shorter more challenging reads.

Writing: We are working on writing well rounded paragraphs, that explain the reasons behind our statements.

Spelling: This week students will have ten words to practice. We will be working on spelling activities throughout the next two weeks to help students get more practice with their words. Please be studying them at home too!

Social Studies: Mr. Stultz is leading us on a great adventure about our school community!

Interviews!

Today we interviewed two of Simonds School's community members. Ask us what we learned from them!

Week of October 19-23

Happy Monday!

Reminders:

The Halloween Parade is Friday, October 30th at 2:00 PM.
PTO Movie Night is Friday at 6:30. They will be playing Hocus Pocus!

This Week in First Grade:

Math: We have completed Topic 2 and will be beginning our third topic on Understanding Five and Ten Relationships. We will be splitting up our classes into smaller work groups during our math time.

Reading: We continue to work in small groups doing centers and reading lessons. The students who stay in my class are working on sentence structure, addition and subtraction games, and reading short books. If your student brings a book home, please be sure that they return it the following day, we have to share.

Writing: Our How-To books are coming to an end. We will begin discussing formatting of our writing and using proper grammar and parts of speech.

Spelling: We begin discussing digraphs and how we read and spell words that have the ch, th, sh, wh, and ck sounds. Please be studying the list of words that are sent home.

Read Aloud: We are still reading stories by Mo Willems.

Social Studies: Mr. Stultz has been sharing about school communities with us. We will take a short break from communities during the next week to discuss Halloween.

Insects Galore!

Week of October 13th-16th

Welcome Back!

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend and had a chance to enjoy the Fall Foliage Festival!

This Week:

Math: We will be taking our Topic 2: Understanding Subtraction Test this week!

Reading: Reading centers are in full swing! All students are working on different skills, be sure to ask your child about their group.

Writing: We will be working on a new How- To about the seasons. We have completed and published our How-To's from the last two weeks. Students should be very proud of their work!

Spelling/ Fundations: We continue to work on tapping out to spell and to read sentences. For extra practice have your child tap to read at home.

Author of the Month: This month we will be focusing on books by Mo Willems.

Reminders:

Scholastic Book Orders are due on Friday, October 16th!
Sight words should be studied each night!

Week of October 5-9

Happy Four Day Week!

We do not have school this Friday (Oct. 9) or Monday (Oct. 12). 

There is a PTO meeting Wednesday, October 7th at 7:00.

This Week:

Math: We continue to work on Understanding Subtraction. We will be completing Topic 2 at the beginning of next week. 

Reading: We have officially started our reading groups and centers. Please be on the look out for reading group books coming home. Students will be asked to practice reading them at home. 

Writing: We have written and published our first How-To Book using an app on the iPads. I will be printing and binding the books this week for students to enjoy at home. 

Fundations: We have been working on tapping out the sounds in words to help us spell and read. 

Science: We have created our own insect this week. We will be putting them out on display in the hallway, but they will come home shortly!

Week of September 28- October 2

Happy Almost October!

Reminders:

Please return sight word cards each Monday.
No School October 9th or 12th.

This Week in First Grade:

Math: This week we will be focusing on Topic 2: Understanding Subtraction. We will also begin introducing Math Centers. These centers will allow for enrichment and extra practice for those who need it. 

Reading: All three first grades will be mixed up into reading groups this week. We will also be working on taking facts from non-fiction reading to choose an opinion. 

Writing: This week we begin working on How-To writing. Students will enjoy a How-To story and then will choose a topic and publish a piece of writing using an app on the iPads. 

Spelling/ Handwriting: A new spelling list will go home this week, we will also be practicing our words in class. Every student has the word Kearsarge on their spelling list, we need to use it to sign in to our computer accounts. Please help your child learn to spell it. 

Science: Insects Galore! We are diving deep into our science unit on insects this week. Keep an eye out for insect work coming home!

Week of September 21-25

Happy Second Full Week!

Scholastic orders were sent home today, happy reading! The next packet for ordering will go home on October 5th, but you can order online at anytime and I will submit the order on October 9th.

Reminders:

Math League is September 30th.
No School October 9th or 12th.

This Week in First Grade:

Math: Today we finished up our first Math Topic on Understanding Addition. Tomorrow we will take the Topic 1 Test. On Wednesday we will start in with Topic 2 on Understanding Subtraction.

Reading: We will begin working in small reading groups based on what each child needs. The children will be mixed up from all three first grades.

Writing: We continue to work on opinion writing, this week focusing on if we would rather eat apple pie or pumpkin pie. The children are working on typing up their stories. You can look at their work by logging into their Google Drives. Their sign in name is first.last@kearsarge.org and the password is krsd(lunch number). I can get you your child's lunch number if you need it.

Spelling/ Handwriting: Don't forget to practice spelling words this week! Our test will be on Friday and a new list will go out next Monday. This week we will be working on writing and sounding out the letters p, j, v, w, z, qu, y, and x.

Science: We are finishing up our Apple Unit by test tasting apples today and making star prints tomorrow. Starting on Wednesday we will begin learning about insects.

We will have Health again this Friday.

OPEN HOUSE

Don't forget we have Open House on Wednesday at 6:00 PM! See you here!

Week of September 14-18

Welcome to our first FULL week of school! 

Now that things have settled down a bit, you can look for this blog post each Monday. I will be sure to keep it up to date with events and information for the upcoming week. You may also see posts of fun events here at school periodically!

This week in first grade:

Math: We are working on our first unit called Understanding Addition. This week we are focusing on using manipulatives to form patterns that will help us quickly recognize the total amount. We will also be working on writing our numbers.

Reading: We will begin our DRA's this week and will be getting into our reading groups and working in small groups on what we need the most.

Writing: This week we will start our unit on opinion writing. Students will read an opinion story, create their own opinion on the topic of ice cream, and write reason sentences.  When they have completed the first topic they will have created a paragraph, and will type it.

Spelling/Handwriting: We are working on our letters i, r, o, g, d, and s this week. We will also be assessing student spelling and creating lists for them to take home.

Read Aloud: This month we are focusing on Eric Carle's books and will be doing many activities based on them.

Science: We are learning about apples for two weeks. Please be checking folders for a permission slip about apple tasting. Students are learning a lot of new things about apples, be sure to ask them about it!

We had Health for the first time on Friday, the children really loved it, and will have it every other Friday.

Welcome Packet

Hi All,

I apologize for the confusion on the welcome packets, and will be sure to solve it tomorrow. If you could just send back in any packets that do not belong to your child tomorrow morning, they will return with the correct one. 

Happy first day, and hopefully last day of confusion! 

Welcome to First Grade!

Welcome First Graders! 

I am very excited to start this new year with you, and hope you are excited too! This blog is where I will keep important dates, reminders, and fun news from our classroom. It is also where you can find out about what we will be learning each week. 

A few important dates to start off the school year: 

August 31st: Open House 2-3
September 1st: Pancake Breakfast and first day of school! (Starts at 8:15)
September 4th: No School
September 7th: No School
September 11th: First Scholastic Book Order due (online or sent in)

*Also do not forget to send back in all the important paper work that went home the first day!*

Below you will find links and copies of all the letters I have sent home so far this year. I am looking forward to a great year with all of you. Please feel free to contact me at any time! My email is sconnor@kearsarge.org

This is the link to the Welcome Packet I sent home on the first day of school:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1scg32WkEdVlYVJ2k_Kwr4tl30zXTnPibNvgwjCQVExA/edit?usp=sharing

Summer Letter:

Dear First Grader,

I hope you have enjoyed your summer break, and have many things to share when we get back to school! We have so much to learn together this year, starting with learning about each other. Please bring one item (picture, ticket, small trinket) that describes your favorite part of summer vacation to share with us on the first day of school.

Our classroom has moved from where you went for Step-up Day. We are now in the room next to Mrs. Marsh’s room and across from the Arts room. I am very excited about our new room and am working hard to get it all set up. If you would like to see it before school starts, you are invited to stop in during the Open House on Monday, August 31st at 2:00 PM. Mrs. Gunian, Mr. Stultz and I will all be there putting the finishing touches on our rooms and getting ready for the school year.

I cannot wait to see you and your family at the first day of school Pancake Breakfast. We will begin serving breakfast at 8:15 am. Also, don’t forget that we do not have school on Friday, September 4th or Monday, September 7th. On the first day of school I will send home more information about important days to remember, but if you or your parents have any questions before school starts I am available through email at sconnor@ kearsarge.org.

Scholastic Letter:

Dear Parents,

The first Scholastic Reading Club catalogue has arrived! I would like to offer you the chance to order your child's books online. Go to www.scholastic.com/readingclub  to order. At checkout you must enter the class code M8JZD. Online, you have access to many more titles, as well as, different grade levels. If you feel more comfortable sending your orders in to me, please feel free to. This order is due (online or in class) by Friday, September 11, 2015.