Reading and Sight Words
Please make sure you are reading with your child nightly and practicing sight words. I have seen so many sight word check off sheets the past few weeks and it makes me SUCH a happy teacher!! :) The more sight words the kiddos know, the more fluent their reading will be. 

I have started sending home reading envelopes. If you haven't gotten yours yet, it will be coming Thursday or Friday. I have them spaced out, so I can make sure I am reading with every kid every week. If you have a Monday envelope, please make sure to return the envelope and book each Monday. I will read with the student, and they will get a new book for the week.

Scholastic Book Orders

I send one book order home per month from Scholastic. This is a great resource that will help us both out! You and your student get new books on their level to practice reading and I receive points from those orders to put towards new books for our classroom. The more book orders the better! 

Headphones

If you haven't sent in headphones/ear buds for your kiddo, please do so ASAP so we can get everyone on computers to read during Daily 5 (Reading Centers). You can go to the Dollar Tree and find a variety of headphones and earbuds to fit the best needs of your child.

 

Reading

We are still reading The Wizard of Oz! The kiddos ask every day if we are going to get to read more to find out what happens. We just met The Great and Terrible Oz. We have identified key details and practiced retelling what we have read. The students are also practicing identifying the characters, setting and events. 

Writing

I love how creative the students are getting with their writing. We are wrapping up writing narratives about our lives. The students will be completing their "September Writing" and writing assessment this week. 

Language Arts

I have introduced adjectives to the kiddos and they were getting really excited about it today. We made an anchor chart about different adjectives before they made a Funny Farm. I saw fluffy pigs, purple horses, and skinny cows! They are doing a great job. We will continue to review this as we move on. Students will take a noun and adjective assessment when we come back from the break.

Math

We have continued with +/- 1, 2, and 3! Students have played multiple games to help them understand what it means to add and subtract 1, 2, and 3. They are getting really quick with this. This will help then later when we start doing larger math equations.  You will start seeing small slips of paper coming home. These are the students fluency tests. They are only given 1 minute to complete these problems. If your student does not pass their test, it is okay! Please practice at home to help your student to become more fluent with their math facts. 

Sept. 25 - 29 - Fall Break - NO SCHOOL! 

Oct. 9 - 13 - Conferences. Early Release @ 1:30 pm

Oct. 27 - All Pro Dad's

Oct. 29 - Change your clocks back 1 hour!

Reading and Sight Words
Please make sure you are reading with your child nightly and practicing sight words. I sent the first list of sight words and the letter to explain the program on Friday Sept. 1st. If your child did not get a list, they will have it by Wednesday, Sept. 6th. The quicker your child learns these words, the more fluent they will be able to read.

Bee Binders
Thank you to those parents who have been signing the Bee Binder every night! Our Bee Binder is a way for parents, teachers, and students to stay organized and informed. in the Bee Binder you will find homework, daily behavior, notes from the teacher, important forms, and your child's work. It is a lot & its all important. If you haven't already, please look through & sign your child's Bee Binder each night. Please remove items from the Bee Binder on a regular basis. Thank you for your support.

Homework
Homework will go home on Monday and is due back on Friday. It will be checked for completion only. Each day students have something to complete but you have the flexibility of a whole week to complete it in case your child is involved in sports or extracurricular activities. If you ever need a weekend to complete the activities, just let me know and your child can turn it in on Monday. We do give a grade for homework on the Report Card.  

Transportation
It is important that I know how your child is going home each and every day. If there is a change as to how your child will be going home, please write a note on a separate piece of paper and put in their Bee Binder. 

Snack
We will have snack time each day. Please send in a small, healthy snack (please no candy). I also ask that it is something they can eat quickly and does not require a spoon. Sometimes we will eat while we work or on the front carpet during a reading lesson. We also have a water fountain they can use frequently during the day, so please no juice. (Water bottles are fine) 

Frozen Friday
Every Friday we will have Frozen Friday. You may send in $1.00 each Friday for your child to have an ice cream or you can prepay for the year by sending in $30.00.

Attendance
At Hiram Elementary attendance is key; be on time, stay all day, every day. School begins at 8:00 am. (Students are tardy after this time)

If your child is absent it is important that you send in a note on a separate sheet of paper so that it can be sent to the office. (Please do not write the excuse in the Bee Binder.) You have limited parent excuses for absences to be mindful of when you use these.

Lunch Money & Extras
Please talk with your child and let them know if you have put additional money on their lunch accounts for extras. (cookies, brownies, chips, etc...) If you do not want your child buying extras, please let them know they are not allowed or write a note to the cafeteria staff for them to make a note on their lunch accounts. 

I need your help! 
We are working on many skills in first grade; such as listening, following directions, raising our hands, waiting out turn, and using appropriate voices. These are all great classroom rules but some things the students need to work on at home that are just as important are; coughing/sneezing into their elbow, using tissues to clean their noses, ALWAYS washing our hands when leaving the restroom, and tying their own shoes. Please encourage your student to work on learning these skills as they will greatly benefit from them as they progress through school.

Headphones

If you haven't sent in headphones/ear buds for your kiddo, please do so ASAP so we can get everyone on computers to read during Daily 5 (Reading Centers). You can go to the Dollar Tree and find a variety of headphones and earbuds to fit the best needs of your child.

 

Reading

Last week we began reading The Wizard of Oz and the kiddos are LOVING it! We only read a few pages a day, and stop to discuss what is happening. We have identified key details and practiced retelling what we have read. The students are also practicing identifying the characters, setting and events. 

Writing

We have done a GREAT job of writing so far this year. We are still focusing on writing narratives about different things that have happened in our lives. We are making sure to add the extra details to our pictures and that our characters have clothing on that matches the story. (Dorothy for example, should be wearing a blue and white dress if we were writing about the Wizard of Oz.)

Language Arts

We will continue to review what nouns are, the different between common and proper nouns and begin discussing singular and plural nouns. The kiddos are doing a great job with this already! The main clue I tell them to look for is the capital letter at the beginning of the word makes it a proper noun. When you are in the car, a restaurants, or even at home ask your child to categorize different nouns. For example, Mom-person, Target-place, elephant-animal, cup-thing. Wal-Mart - Proper Noun. Ms. Greenoe - Proper noun. girl - common noun. store - common noun.

Math

We are in full force with math!! This week we will be introducing +1/-1, +2/-2. Students will be able to find a number on the 120 chart or a number line and tell me what 1 less, 1 more, 2 less and 2 more are. This will help their number sense when we start dealing with larger numbers. 

Please continue working on addition and subtraction strategies at home. 

Sept. 8 - Picture Money Due

Sept. 11 - Picture Day Make Ups

Sept. 12 - PTA Night Pollo Tropical @ 5 - 8 pm

Sept. 13 - Early Release @ 1:30 pm

Sept. 22 - All Pro Dads Meeting

Sparkles PTA Night @ 4 - 8 pm

Sept. 25 - 29 - Fall Break - NO SCHOOL!