January 29 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 29, 2015

Review of our week:

         We did a lot of fun activities for the 100^th day of school.  I feel like we are playing catch up from when I was gone.  We are working on our place value chapter.  In writing we are still working 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. 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. 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.  If you would like to order books, they are due by Thursday, February 5.  If your child has not turned in their paper for a birthday book from me, you can still do that.  If you have any questions just let me know.  I have attached a coupon.

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 70 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 25 go to Cedar Middle School and turn their reading record in.  Your child will receive a kite 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 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 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 on February 12.

* 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:

* Tuesday, February 3 – Celebrate Lana’s Birthday

         * Friday, February 6 – Celebrate Brooklynn’s ½ Birthday

         * Friday, February 6 – Family Fun Day

         * Thursday, February 12 – Spelling Test for Spelling Bee

         * Friday, February 13 – Valentine’s Party

         * Monday, February 16 – No School (President’s Day)

         * Friday, February 20 – South Spelling Bee (2:00)

      * February 23-27 – Green Ribbon Week

         * Friday, February 27 – Family Fun Day

         * March 2-6 – SEP Week (School gets out at 2:30)

         * Friday, March 6 – Celebrate Abbey’s Birthday

         * Tuesday, March 10 – Spring Pictures

         * Friday, March 13 – End of 3^rd Quarter

         * Friday, March 13 – Family Fun Day

         * Monday, March 16 – Celebrate Anna C’s Birthday

         * Friday, March 20 – Celebrate Caleb’s Birthday

         * Friday, March 20 – Family Fun Day

         * Thursday, March 26 – Celebrate Logan’s Birthday

      * Friday, March 27 – Family Fun Day

      * April 1-3 – No School (Spring Break)

     

January 22 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 22, 2015

Review of our week:

         In math this week we started our next chapter and have looking for counting patterns while counting by 1’s and 10’s. We are working on some really fun snowman stories.  We have also been learning about the different seasons.  It has kind of been a crazy week with my son being sick.  Thanks for being patient and understanding.

100^th Day of School:

         Wednesday is the 100^th day of school.  Instead of last week.  Sorry about that.

Homework:

         I will be sending a math, fluency and a comprehension worksheet home every week for homework. I have some students who are not doing their homework.  I would like you to make sure your child is doing them correct. On the comprehension sheet please read the note at the top to the parents explaining what concept your child should be working on.

         I wanted to explain the fluency homework a little bit better.  We just did our Winter DIBEL assessment.  I put your child’s scores on their progress report.  Each child should have been able to read 23 WPM on a mid first grade level text.  At the end of the year it needs to 47 WPM.  I am including a note that explains exactly what you need to do.  I have noticed that a lot  of the class was able the entire passage on the first read.  I will be sending home higher passages.  I might be sending some that look different, but you do the same thing on them.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Stuffed Animal:

         At this time in the year, some students get tired of doing Read To Self in Daily 5, so I have some stuffed animals that they can read with.  If your child would like to bring a stuffed animal to keep in class and share until the end of the year, that would be great.  Please do not send one that is special to them. I will send them home at the end of the year or your child can leave it, if they no longer want it.

Spelling Bee:

         If your child is interested in participating, please make sure they are practicing.

Upcoming Events:      

* Friday, January 30 – Family Fun Day

         * Tuesday, February 3 – Celebrate Lana’s Birthday

         * Friday, February 6 – Celebrate Brooklynn’s ½ Birthday

         * Friday, February 6 – Family Fun Day

         * Friday, February 13 – Valentine’s Party

         * Monday, February 16 – No School (President’s Day)

         * Friday, February 20 – Family Fun Day

         * Friday, February 27 – Family Fun Day

         * Friday, March 6 – Celebrate Abbey’s Birthday

      * Friday, March 6 – Family Fun Day

      * Tuesday, March 10 – Spring Pictures

      * Friday, March 13 – End of 3^rd Quarter

      * Friday, March 13 – Family Fun Day

      * Monday, March 16 – Celebrate Anna C’s Birthday

      * Friday, March 20 – Celebrate Caleb’s Birthday

      * Friday, March 20 – Family Fun Day

January 16 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 16, 2015

Review of our week:

         This week I have spent some time assessing and doing some reviewing where we needed it. 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.

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 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.

DIBELS:

         We just did our mid-year Dibels assessment.  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.

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 54 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 Wednesday , January 21.

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 19 – No School (MLK Day)

      * Tuesday, January 20 – Celebrate Rykker’s Birthday

      * Friday, January 23 – Family Fun Day

      * Friday, January 30 – Family Fun Day

      * Tuesday, February 3 – Celebrate Lana’s Birthday

      * Friday, February 6 – Celebrate Brooklynn’s ½ Birthday

      * Friday, February 6 – Family Fun Day

      * Friday, February 13 – Valentine’s Party

      * Monday, February 16 – No School (President’s Day)

      * Friday, February 20 – Family Fun Day

      * Friday, February 27 – Family Fun Day

        

January 9 Mewsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 9, 2015

Review of our week:

         In math this week we are finishing up our chapter on Related Facts (Fact Families).  We will take our math test next week.  I will send home subtraction flashcards, so your child can practice their math facts at home. Your child really needs to know these math facts. We wrote some New Year Resolutions.  We will be starting a unit on the seasons. 

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. 

         I am also sending home a fluency passage.  We will be doing the DIBELS next week.  One of the assessments is Oral Reading Fluency.  The goal is 20 WPM.  When they are reading the passage, it can also count for their reading homework.

         I have packets of books on each reading level.  If you would be interested in some extra books for your child to read on their reading level, please let me know.

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

        

End of 2^nd Quarter:

         It is already the end of the 2^nd Quarter. 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 15.  You can also order online. I have included papers for those students who will have a birthday in the next couple of months.  Please fill this paper out and return it to me.

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       For this time of year your child needs to be on a F-G instructional 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, I am sending home the list of words for them to practice and the rules.

Upcoming Events:

* Friday, January 9 – End of 2^nd Quarter

         * Friday, January 9 – Family Fun Day

         * Tuesday, January 13 – Celebrate Elea’s ½ Birthday

      * Thursday, January 15 – Celebrate Karver’s ½ Birthday

      * Friday, January 19 – No School (MLK Day)

      * Tuesday, January 20 – Celebrate Rykker’s Birthday

      * Friday, January 23 – Family Fun Day

      * Friday, January 30 – Family Fun Day

      * Tuesday, February 3 – Celebrate Lana’s Birthday

      * Friday, February 6 – Celebrate Brooklynn’s ½ Birthday

      * Friday, February 6 – Family Fun Day

      * Friday, February 13 – Valentine’s Party

      * Monday, February 16 – No School (President’s Day)

      * Friday, February 20 – Family Fun Day

      * Friday, February 27 – Family Fun Day