Jauary 31 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 31, 2014

Review of our week:

         We did a lot of fun activities for the 100^th day of school.  I will try and put them on the blog.  I feel like we are playing catch up from when I was gone.  We are finishing up our nest chapter in math and will have a test on Monday.  I am sending home a few pages for homework.  It would be a good review for your child to do them this weekend.  In writing we are finishing up our snowman stories.

Homework:

         After your child reads their take home book to you, have them retell you the story and ask them some questions.  Today we cut out some comprehension cards.  I would like your child to keep them in their take home bag and use them after they have read a story. This will really help with their comprehension.  I can’t stress enough to you, how important it is that your child is reading every night. It’s just like anything else, you have to practice to get better. I am very happy with the progress we have been making this year in reading. Thank you for taking the time to read with your child. 

I have attached a couple of math homework sheets and a comprehension sheet.  I really need you to sit down and do this with your child.

Book Orders:

         I am sending out the February book orders, so if you want books for Valentines they will be back. If you would like to order books they are due back by Tuesday, February 4th.  I will be doing it that morning.  If you have any questions just let me know.  If still have the other coupon from last month, you can go ahead and use the other one this month.

Lions Kite Flight for Reading & Sight:

         The Lion’s Club sponsors this reading program every year.  All your child has to do is their reading homework and keep track of the minutes.  For First grade they need to read 60 minutes a week, which is less than what their homework requires.  They need to keep track of their minutes on the sheet I am sending home and then on April 26 go to Cedar Middle School and turn their reading record in.  Your child will receive a kit and a chance to win some other cool prizes.  The Lion’s Club actually donates money to our school for every child who participates.  This is a really easy fundraiser for our school.  I really encourage you to help your child do this.   

Valentine’s Day:

         We will be exchanging Valentines in our class.  If your child would like to bring Valentine cards please make sure there is enough for each child in the class.  I have attached a list of all the students in our class to the email.  If you would like to send your child’s Valentines early I will just keep them in my office.  If you have any questions please let me know.

Fluency Passages:

         I finally got this put together.  I have included a fluency passage for your child to read each night for 1 minute.  The record sheet will be due back by Friday, with the other homework.  I have included instructions on the record sheet.  I had some that did not meet the Dibels benchmark go for reading nonsense words.  If your child didn’t meet that goal I am sending home a nonsense word page as well.  Thanks for all of your support.  Learning to read fluently is really an important skill. 

FYI’s:

* Keep saving your Box Tops.       

* Thanks for everything you do. I really want to thank all of you who come in and read in the mornings and those of you who do things at home. Thanks again for everything. 

* If your child is interested in doing the Spelling Bee, they need to be practicing.  I sent home the list of words in the fall.  You can also download them from the PTA website.  I will be giving the test during the week of February 10-13.

* If you would like to do a Family Fun Day, please look at the dates that are available and let me know which one you would like. 

Upcoming Events:

·      Friday, February 7 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 7 – Celebrate Josh’s Birthday

·      Friday, February 14 – Valentine’s Party (1:00)

·      Friday, February 14 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 17 – No School (President’s Day)

·      Friday, February 21 – Family Fun Day (Thorley Family)

·      Friday, February 28 – Spelling Bee 2:00

·      March 3-7 – SEP Week (School gets out at 2:30.)

·      Monday March 3 – Celebrate Addy’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 7 – Celebrate Denym’s Birthday

·      Monday, March 10 – Spring Pictures

·      Friday, March 14 – Celebrate William’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 14 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 14 – End of 3^rd Quarter

·      Monday, March 17 – Art’s Night @ 6:30

·      Wednesday, March 19 – Celebrate Izi’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 21 – Family Fun Day

·      Wednesday, March 26 – Celebrate Ashlyn’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 28 – Family Fun Day

·      Wednesday, April 2 – Celebrate Matthew’s Birthday

·      Wednesday, April 2 – Kindergarten Registration

·      Friday, April 4 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, April 7 – Celebrate Shelby’s Birthday

·      Friday, April 11 – Family Fun Day

·      April 16-18 – No School (Easter Break)

·      Friday, April 25 – Family Fun Day

January 17 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 17,2013

Review of our week:

         This week I have spent some time assessing and doing some reviewing where we needed it. I wanted to assess a few more things, so I will send progress reports on Tuesday. In Math we started our next chapter.  I was very happy with the math test we took. We have been working on nouns, verbs and adjectives, so we can write a snowman story.

We will also have our store next week.  I have some students who have earned more than $2 to spend.  I had some who had less than $.10.  When they turn their reading records, homework and take home books in, I keep track and give them money every week.  If your child didn’t earn very much this last quarter, please help them earn more for next quarter.  I think this is a very good life lesson.  When you work hard and do your work, you will receive rewards for it.

Homework:

         The most important homework your child should be doing everyday is reading for 20 minutes every night.  We are getting close to the end of the month, so please make sure your child is doing their reading and filling in their mittens.  I am sending home some worksheets; they are due back by Friday.  

         After your child has finished reading their book, I would like you to have them tell you what happened in the book and also ask them some questions to clarify.  Most of them are getting to the point where they can decode very well, now we need to start working on comprehension.  I am sending home another comprehension worksheet with a story and a few questions.  Please sit down with your child and help them with this.  You need to sign it and return it by Friday.

         I am going to send some a paper each week with some different ideas for your child to practice their spelling words

Progress Reports:

         I will send home progress reports next week. I hope that you all have a chance to look over them.  Please look at how many days your child has missed or has been late this quarter.  They are missing a lot of things when they are gone or late.  Also, there might be things I didn’t have a chance to assess with your child because they were gone.  If you check out our blog you can see which students had 100% attendance this last quarter. If you have any questions please let me know.  I need you to look over your child’s progress report, sign the bottom and return it on Monday. 

DIBELS:

         We just did our mid-year Dibels assessment.  I am including your child’s scores with their progress report.  I wanted to explain a few things.  The nonsense word fluency is the same as what I explained during SEP’s in October.  The benchmark has just gone up.  This time they did oral reading fluency.  Each child had 3 different stories to read for 1 minute each.  They counted how many words they read correctly which is the first score.  Then there is an accuracy percentage.  So, if your child read 23 words and had an accuracy percentage of 92% your child was able to read 23 words a minute and there were just a couple they either got wrong or skipped.  If the percentage is lower, your child has more words they were not able to read or they are skipping.  I know this is kind of confusing, please let me know if you have any questions about your child’s scores.  We have made a lot of progress from the beginning of the year.

Math Tutor:

         I just wanted to remind everybody about the Math Tutor they have after school.  If any of you are interested in it, let me know and we can come up with a plan that will work for your child.

100^th Day of School:

We are going to have a 100^th day snack.  Other years we have had a snack of 100 things.  I saw a fun thing where they took doughnuts at a pretzel stick to make the number 100.  I decided to do that this year.  If would be willing to send a box or a small package of the small doughnuts, I would appreciate it. Each child would need 2, so we would need around 50 doughnuts. We also need a package of stick pretzels.  Will you please let me know if you would be willing to send some, so I will know how many extras I will need to buy?  Thank you.  The 100^th day is on Monday, January 27.

FYI’s:

* Keep saving your Box Tops. 

* Thanks for everything you have done. I really want to                      thank all of you who come in and read in the mornings.

Upcoming Events:

·      Friday, January 24 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, January 27 – South Family Movie Night

·      Tuesday, January 28 – Celebrate MaCray’s ½ Birthday

·      Friday, January 31 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 7 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 7 – Celebrate Josh’s Birthday

·      Friday, February 14 – Valentine’s Party

·      Friday, February 14 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 17 – No School (President’s Day)

·      Friday, February 21 – Family Fun Day (Thorley Family)

·      Friday, February 28 – Spelling Bee 2:00

·      March 3-7 – SEP Week (School gets out at 2:30.)

·      Monday March 3 – Celebrate Addy’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 7 – Celebrate Denym’s Birthday

·      Monday, March 10 – Spring Pictures

·      Friday, March 14 – Celebrate William’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 14 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 14 – End of 3^rd Quarter

·      Monday, March 17 – Art’s Night @ 6:30

·      Wednesday, March 19 – Celebrate Izi’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 21 – Family Fun Day

·      Wednesday, March 26 – Celebrate Ashlyn’s Birthday

·      Friday, March 28 – Family Fun Day

        

January 10 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 10, 2014

Review of our week:

         In math this week we finished up our chapter on Math strategies.  We will take our math test on Monday.  I will send home subtraction flashcards, so your child can practice their math facts at home.   Our next chapter will be on subtraction. Your child really needs to know these math facts. We wrote some New Year Resolutions.  We will be starting a unit on the seasons. 

Spelling:

         The spelling words I am sending will be for the next 2 weeks because it is a short week next.  We will practice our new words and review of the words on our word wall.

Homework:

         I will be starting some comprehension papers.  The stories will be easy for your child to read.  I would really like you to take the time to work on the comprehension strategy with your child.  It needs to be signed saying that you did it with your child.  There are times when they come back with the wrong answers, so I know the parent didn’t help them with it.  I would really like you to take the time to do it with your child.  They can count it for part of their reading homework.

         There are also several math papers, so your child can review some concepts before our test on Monday.  They will also have a chapter review in their folders you can review with them.

         I cannot stress how important it is to make sure your child is doing their reading homework.

End of 2^nd Quarter:

         It is already the end of the 2^nd Quarter.  I didn’t do progress reports the 1^st Quarter since had just had SEP’s.  I will be doing some assessing next week and get those out at the end of the week.  I will also include a paper with the homework and reading records your child has turned in.

Book Orders:

         I am sending home the January Book Orders.  If you would like to order books, please return your order by Thursday, January 16.  You can also order online.  I have included some coupons.  If you have a $10 order, there is a coupon for a free $5 book.  I have also included papers for those students who have had a birthday the last month or will have one in the next couple of months.  Please fill this paper out and return it to me.

Field Trip:

         We are going on a Field Trip on Friday, January 17.  We are going to concert at the Heritage Center.  I am sending home the permission slip. Please make sure they are here on time that day and that they have a good coat and walking shoes.  We are trying to get a bus, but we might have to walk back. 

F.Y.I’s

         If you would like to do a Family Fun Day, please look at the dates and let me know if there is one that would work for you.  I take pictures and put them in your child’s portfolio.

         For this time of year your child needs to be on a F-G reading level to be on track for being on grade level for the end of the year.  That means their take home books would be E-F.

         Miss Taylor is having a toy day in PE next week.  She would like each child to bring a small toy to play with while she does testing.  It needs to fit in your child’s backpack.

Spelling Bee:

         The Spelling Bee is coming up next month.  If your child is interested in doing this, you can go to the PTA website and print a copy of the words.  I think we sent a copy in the fall.  There are some really good spellers in our class.  It would be a good experience.  The words are very challenging.  It is something they would have to study for.

Upcoming Events:

·      Monday, January 20 – No School (MLK)

·      Friday, January 24 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, January 27 – South Family Movie Night

·      Tuesday, January 28 – Celebrate MaCray’s ½ Birthday

·      Friday, January 31 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 7 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 7 – Celebrate Josh’s Birthday

·      Friday, February 14 – Valentine’s Party

·      Friday, February 14 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 17 – No School (President’s Day)

·      Friday, February 21 – Family Fun Day (Thorley Family)

·      Friday, February 28 – Spelling Bee 2:00