January 25 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 25, 2013

Review of our week:

         In math this week we have been working on adding 3 numbers and turn around facts.  We are working on some really fun snowman stories.  We have also been learning about maps. We had fun at the play.  It was so much fun to see Brooklyn in it.  We also had our store today for the end of the quarter.

100^th Day of School:

         Monday, January 28 is the 100^th day of school.  We will be doing some really fun things to celebrate.  I need every student to bring a collection of 100 things.  I would like you to sit down with your child and come up with something they can bring.  BE CREATIVE!!!  We will be counting them and using them or different activities, so make sure it is something your child can sort and count.

Homework:

         I will be sending a math and a comprehension worksheet home every week for homework.  This week I did a mapping page also.  The math page has 2 sides.  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.

Spelling Bee:

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

Upcoming Events:      

·      Friday, February 1 – Celebrate Rae’s Birthday

·      Friday, February 1 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 8 – Family Fun Day

·      Thursday, February 14 – Valentine’s Party

·      Friday, February 15 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 18 – No School (President’s Day)

·      Friday, February 22 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 25 – Spelling Bee 2:00

·      Friday, March 1 – Celebrate Amanda’s Birthday

·      March 4-8 – SEP Week (School gets out at 2:30)

·      Friday, March 8 – Celebrate Tyler’s Birthday

·      Monday, March 11 – Spring Pictures

·      Friday, March 15 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 15 – End of 3^rd Quarter

·      Monday, March 18 – Celebrate Rachel’s Birthday

·      Wednesday, March 20 – Kindergarten Registration

·      Friday, March 22 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 22 – Science Fair

·      March 27-29 – No School (Spring Break)

        

          

        

January 18 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 18, 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 worked on adding 3 numbers, 1 more and 1 less. We have been working on nouns, verbs and adjectives, so we can write a snowman story.  We will start a unit on maps next week.

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 $.20.  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.

Progress Reports:

         I am sending home 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.  If you check out our blog you can see which students had 100% attendance this last quarter. On time we have only worked on telling time to the hour at this point.  I have some students who still need to work on counting.  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.

100^th Day of School:

         Monday, January 28^th is the 100^th day of school.  We will be doing some really fun things to celebrate.  I need every student to bring a collection of 100 things.  They can find them now and keep them in their backpacks, so they don’t forget for that Monday. I would like you to sit down with your child and come up with something they can bring.  BE CREATIVE!!!  We will be counting them and using them or different activities, so make sure it is something your child can sort and count.  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.

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.  I no longer have a parent reading on Mondays.  If you would be interested in coming in and reading with the class, just let me know.  If another day works better, let me know.

* Tristan moved last week. He still lives in Cedar, but not in our boundaries.  His mom gave me their phone numbers if any of your child would like it to keep in touch with Tristan, please let me know.  He was really sad about leaving his friends in our class.       

* If your child has not turned in their permission slip or their $1, please send it on Tuesday.  Thanks

Upcoming Events:

·      Monday, January 21 – No School (MLK)

* Thursday, January 24 – Field Trip (Annie Play)

·      Friday, January 25 – Celebrate Katie’s ½ Birthday

·      Friday, January 25 – Family Fun Day (Pratt Family) 

·      Friday, February 1 – Celebrate Rae’s Birthday

·      Friday, February 1 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 8 – Family Fun Day

·      Thursday, February 14 – Valentine’s Party

·      Friday, February 15 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 18 – No School (President’s Day)

·      Friday, February 22 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 25 – Spelling Bee 2:00

·      Friday, March 1 – Celebrate Amanda’s Birthday

·      March 4-8 – SEP Week (School gets out at 2:30)

·      Friday, March 8 – Celebrate Tyler’s Birthday

·      Monday, March 11 – Spring Pictures

·      Friday, March 15 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 15 – End of 3^rd Quarter

·      Monday, March 18 – Celebrate Rachel’s Birthday

·      Wednesday, March 20 – Kindergarten Registration

·      Friday, March 22 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 22 – Science Fair

·      March 27-29 – No School (Spring Break)

        

January 11 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

January 11, 2012

Review of our week:

         We have been reviewing and getting back into our routine.  In math we have been reviewing addition, subtraction and time.  I will send copy of subtraction flash cards home next week. Please work with your child on these math facts. Your child needs to know their math facts up to 20.

         In reading I have been doing a lot of assessing, trying to get every child on their appropriate reading level.  It is so important your child is reading for 20 minutes EVERY night.

Homework:

         I am sending home a math worksheet as well as a comprehension worksheet.  The story in the comprehension worksheet should be easy for your child to read, I really want you to work with them the comprehension strategy it teaches.         

         I know it was hard to do the reading homework in the month of December, thank you for those of you who took the time to read with your child.  There are still some who never turned in their reading records.  I would like those returned with your signature every week even if they are not all filled in.  I really need to know how much your child is reading.

         I am also sending home a paper with a packet of hot chocolate.  I would like you to help your child make it, let  them drink it and then they need to fill out the paper with it.  They need to use their 5 senses and come up with 3 adjectives to describe the hot chocolate for each of the senses.  So, they will need to come up with 3 adjectives that describes how it looks and so on.  I have told them how to do this.

Book Orders:

         I am sending home the January Book Orders.  If you would like to order books, please return your order by Thursday, January 17.  You can also order online.  The code for our class is L9GWX.

Field Trip:

         We are going on a Field Trip on Thursday, January 24.  We are going to watch the play Annie.  I am sending home the permission slip.  If you can, I need every child to bring $1 to pay for their ticket.  Please make sure they are here on time that day and that they have a good coat and walking shoes.

Parents:

         From now on, when you come to the school for anything you will need to check in at the office and get a pass.  If you don’t have your pass, I am suppose to ask you to go back to the office and check in.  So, please do it on your way in.  You don’t have to if you are just dropping your child off.

F.Y.I’s:

* Remember to save your Box Tops and send them with your child.

* Next Friday in P.E. they are having a toy day. They can bring a toy that fits in their backpack.

* Now that the holidays are over, if you are interested in doing a Family Fun Day, please let me know.  I have included the available dates for the next couple of months.

* The Spelling Bee is in February.  If your child is interested, they need to be practicing those words.

*The science fair will be coming up in March.  I will be sending home more information when it gets closer. 

* It is the end of the quarter today.  I will be sending home progress reports next week.  With the progress report I will be sending home a paper showing you what homework and reading records your child as turned in for this quarter and last quarter.

* The office has asked us to ask you to make arrangements with your child of how they are going to get home before they come to school.  I know sometimes things change and that’s ok, but if you know before hand, please let them know.

* I have several students who are coming late.  I really need you to make sure they are here on time.

* Remember, that if your child is not going to be at school, you need to call and excuse them.  If the office has not heard from you by 10:00, they will be calling. It would really help Mrs. Smith out if you could call and let her know.

Upcoming Events:

·      Monday, January 21 – No School (MLK)

* Thursday, January 24 – Field Trip (Annie Play)

·      Friday, January 25 – Celebrate Katie’s ½ Birthday

·      Friday, January 25 – Family Fun Day (Pratt Family) 

·      Friday, February 1 – Celebrate Rae’s Birthday

·      Friday, February 1 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, February 8 – Family Fun Day

·      Thursday, February 14 – Valentine’s Party

·      Friday, February 15 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 18 – No School (President’s Day)

·      Friday, February 22 – Family Fun Day

·      Monday, February 25 – Spelling Bee 2:00

·      Friday, March 1 – Celebrate Amanda’s Birthday

·      March 4-8 – SEP Week (School gets out at 2:30)

·      Friday, March 8 – Celebrate Tyler’s Birthday

·      Monday, March 11 – Spring Pictures

·      Friday, March 15 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 15 – End of 3^rd Quarter

·      Monday, March 18 – Celebrate Rachel’s Birthday

·      Wednesday, March 20 – Kindergarten Registration

·      Friday, March 22 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, March 22 – Science Fair

·      March 27-29 – No School (Spring Break)

Deceember 7 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

December 7, 2012

Review of our week:

         We have been doing some fun Christmas things.  We are still working on addition and subtraction and time to the hour and graphing.  We have been reading some fun Christmas stories with comprehension questions in reading.    For writing we wrote letters to Santa, filled out an application to be one of Santa’s elves and wrote about what we would do if we were one of Santa’s helpers.

Homework:

         I know this time of year is very busy.  Remember to have your child keep reading.  Please encourage your child to fill out a tree right after they are finished reading, so you don’t have to try and remember at the end of the week how many days they read. Over the break please take the time to review the words we have had so far with your child.  Some are still having a hard time reading some of them. We will not have spelling words when we come back.  I want to take that week to really review our words.

         I am sending home a math worksheet for homework.  It is due back by next Friday.

* I only have 1 mom coming in to help with the Gingerbread Houses.  If you would like to come we could use the help.  Also, if you would like to donate something, please have it here by Thursday the 13^th. 

     

        

Upcoming Events:

·      Friday, December 14 – Family Fun Day (Bryan Family)

·      Friday, December 14 – Make Gingerbread Houses

·      Thursday,December 20 – Celebrate Kassidie’s Birthday

·      Friday, December 21 – Christmas Party 1:00

·      Monday, January 7 – School Starts Again

·      Monday, January 7 – Reading Records Due

·      Tuesday, January 8 – Celebrate Jenzie’s Birthday

·      Friday, January 11 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, January 11 – End of 2^nd Quarter

·      Monday, January 21 – No School (MLK)

·      Friday, January 25 – Celebrate Katie’s ½ Birthday

·      Friday, January 25 – Family Fun Day (Pratt Family)

        

        

November 29 Newsletter

Mrs. Bali’s First Grade News

November 27, 2012

Review of our week:

         This week in Math we have been working on addition, subtraction, time and graphing. We made chains, counting by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. I have been able to move many students over the last couple of weeks in my reading groups.  I can really tell those students who are doing their reading every night.  If your child has lost their take home book, please take sometime and help them find it.  If you can’t find it, you can send $5 and they will get a new one.   

Homework:

         I know this time of year is very busy. Please encourage your child to fill out a tree right after they are finished reading, so you don’t have to try and remember at the end of the week how many days they read.

         There are a few students who are not bringing their take home books back every day.  This is a great resource and some are not taking advantage of it.  Please make sure your child reads their book every night and brings it back, so they can get a new one the next day. 

         If there is a day you would like to come in and do your Family Fun Day, please let me know.

FYI’S

* When it starts getting cold, please make sure your child is wearing a coat to school.  We will be going out to recess unless it is snowing.  When it snows, only the students who have snow boots on can be out in the snow, otherwise they have to stay where it has been plowed. 

* If you have not emailed me your family tradition and recipe, please do so as soon as possible.

* I only have 1 mom coming in to help with the Gingerbread Houses.  If you would like to come we could use the help.  Also, if you would like to donate something, please have it here by Thursday the 13^th. 

     

Upcoming Events:

·      Friday, December 7 – Celebrate McKinley’s Birthday

·      Friday, December 7 – Family Fun Day (Holmgren Family)

·      Friday, December 14 – Family Fun Day (Bryan Family)

·      Friday, December 14 – Make Gingerbread Houses

·      Thursday,December 20 – Celebrate Kassidie’s Birthday

·      Friday, December 21 – Christmas Party 1:00

·      Monday, January 7 – School Starts Again

·      Monday, January 7 – Reading Records Due

·      Tuesday, January 8 – Celebrate Jenzie’s Birthday

·      Friday, January 11 – Family Fun Day

·      Friday, January 11 – End of 2^nd Quarter

·      Monday, January 21 – No School (MLK)

·      Friday, January 25 – Celebrate Katie’s ½ Birthday

·      Friday, January 25 – Family Fun Day (Pratt Family)