RBE Reading Week

Friday, February 22, 2019
Reading Week is quickly approaching! Yay! It will be March 4-8. It is going to be such a fun week. Here's a few details for you about the week.



Dress up Days

 Monday, 3/4 - Hat Day: Wear a hat to school today. 
Tuesday, 3/5 - Book Character Day: Dress as your favorite character from a book. 
Wednesday, 3/6 - Scrabble Day: Make a shirt with a scrabble letter or a sign to hang around your neck. You and your friends can get together and spell words. (If you do not do this at home, we will make signs for their neck at school.)
Thursday, 3/7 - Crazy Sock Day: Wear crazy socks to school today.  
Friday, 3/8 - Oh the Places You Will Go: Wear a shirt for one of your future schools like Gentry, Rock Bridge High School or your favorite college. 

 **There is a flyer going home today with all of the information above. 

Mystery Readers

I am looking for parents, grandparents, family friends, aunts, uncles, older siblings, etc. who would like to come in and read to our class during reading week next week. This will be a fun addition to the week.  I can provide a book for you or you can bring one of your favorites to read. We want to keep this a surprise to students until our mystery reader comes in. This will build suspense with our students. Please click here to find out more information and/or to sign up. If you need to pick a time that is not listed, please email me and we will make other arrangements. 

Other Fun Happenings During Reading Week

  • Reading with the Stars will take place on March 8th in the media center. We have a series of  local STARS lined up to read to our students.
  • Classroom activities centered around our love of reading 
  • Watch twitter for fun updates.  
  • and SO much  more.


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Valentine's Day Party

Thursday, February 07, 2019

Everything You Need to Know About
Valentine’s Day in First Grade!


1.  We will take care of making Valentine Holders at school.  You do not need to send in a valentine box!

2.  On Thursday, February 14th, we will exchange valentines with our friends in this classroom before our party.  This will allow more time to celebrate during our party. If your child would like to make cards, I have included a list of names of all students in our class.  Your child can also just put their own name on each card and we will label them at school.  Cards can be handmade or store-bought.  Please send valentines to school (whenever they are ready) in a Ziploc bag as they will not be passed out until February 14. 
*If you need me to help your child label, make, or purchase cards – please let me know!
3. Our classroom party will be Thursday, Feb. 14 at 1:45-2:30 pm.  If you are able to come early to help set up, please be at school at 1:20! Everyone is welcome to attend.  We hope to see you there!

If you are able to donate an item to our classroom party, please see the sign up genius here. https://bit.ly/2Dgi2YD Thank you for helping make our Valentine's Day Party a success! 

Our Class List for  Valentines 

Carter
Channing
Soham
Brodie
Iris
Owen C.
Jacob
Arriah
Gentry
Isaac
Abel
Easton
Khylee
Oliver
Ruby
Macy
Bryson
Owen W.
Ari
Emery
Evan
Ms. Holt
Mrs. Berk





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Read to Succeed

Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Read to Succeed is an exciting program that encourages students in grades K through 6 to read for fun. Students who complete six hours of recreational reading earn a free ticket to Six Flags that can be used during the summer of 2019! This is a fun way to get your students motivated to read! 

I sent home a yellow reading log with program rules in Friday Folders 2 weeks ago. If you did not receive one or need another one, please let me know. I have extras. Please turn in this log with a minimum of 6 hours of reading by February 28, 2019. Six Flags tickets will be printed and given to students shortly after that date! Please let me know if you have any questions
Congratulations to Owen Wessel! He is the first student to complete his 6 hours of reading to receive his free Six Flags ticket! Way to go Owen!!!
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Homework Refresher

Friday, January 04, 2019
Here is a quick refresher on homework expectations in first grade! Homework should take no longer than 20-30 minutes/night at the most! Your student has been working hard all day at school! 




  • Reading: Your child is expected to read each night for fifteen minutes. Most of this time should be them practicing reading. They should start out by reading their book bag books and then can move to library books or books from home.   It is also helpful for students to listen to fluent readers so you are welcome to read to them during part of this time too. Each day that your student reads, they can color in a star on their star reading chart. This is coming home today in Friday Folders on a yellow sheet of paper. Please return this on the last day of the month. 

Book bags (Ziploc bags) will start coming home next week (1/7). I have completed mid year benchmark assessments so we are ready to start reading groups back up. These books are on their specific level and are books that they read with me during reading groups. These books  need to be returned each day so I can switch them out as needed and so your student can practice reading them during the school day too!

  • Math: On Monday of most weeks,  a packet of  3-4 worksheets will come home in your students folder. These worksheets are optional and are extra practice. By looking over these worksheets, you will become familiar with the topics we are covering during our  math lessons. These packets do not need to be returned. 

  • Homework Choice Board: This is coming home today in Friday folders today. These choice boards are not meant to be daunting or overwhelming. Rather, they are intended to build fine and gross motor skills, creativity, and imaginative skills. As students complete an activity, they may color that square in, and will be sharing their calendar with the class at the end of the month. Please return this to school on the last day of the month. 

Friday Folders are coming home tonight with a few important papers. They do not have the red behavior/comment card in it this week since we had a two-day week. This week, we have been reteaching expectations and enjoying hearing about each other's winter break! Those cards will continue next week! Please return the Friday Folders on Monday. 

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You're Invited

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

You're Invited

What: First Grade Fall Party 
When: October 26, 2018 1:45-2:30 
(If you are setting up, you will probably want to arrive around 1:20)
Where: Rock Bridge Elementary in Room 15

Come join us as we celebrate with a Fall Party. All parents and families are welcome to celebrate this fun afternoon with your student.  (The more, the merrier! :) ) 

The planning is in full swing and we need your help to make this party a success. If you are interested and able to donate to our fall party, please sign up at the following link. 



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Updates and Reminders

Friday, October 05, 2018

Chicken BBQ - October 13 4:00-8:00 

We are one week away from the Chicken BBQ! This is such a fun event for all! Events include a Chicken BBQ meal with pie (YUM!!!), carnival games, a silent auction, country store and more! I will be at this event and hope to see everyone there! This is such a wonderful event as all of the proceeds go straight back into our classrooms and students! 

We are still needing lots of volunteers and donations for this event. Here is a link to volunteer to help at the BBQ. There are times available to help the day of the BBQ and the days leading up. Please visit this link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/rbechicken . If you are able to donate pies, we still need about 100 more. These can be homemade or bought from the store. Visit this link if you are interested in bringing a pie! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/pielist .

Thank you to everyone who sent in money for the gift card that our class will put into the auction! 


Fall Party Survey

I sent out an email about this. I've only had 9 people respond so far. :( Please fill this out as soon as you can (It should take less than one minute!) so we can start planning our Fall Party! Here is the link. 



Photos

Like I mentioned at Curriculum Chat, I have made a Google Photos albums of some pictures I've taken so far. If you want to share pictures with your family members or friends, please download them and send those to them instead of sharing the entire link. You can find these pictures under the "Our Classroom" tab at the top of click on the link here. Please let me know if you have trouble viewing these albums. 

Birthdays

I've made a list of our classroom birthdays. We celebrate birthdays in our classroom but some students have been wanting a list so they can make a picture or make a card for students on their birthday. You will find that list here or under the "Our Classroom" tab.


Newsletter

This week's newsletter went home in Friday Folders. You can see an electronic version here.

(Non)Homework and Take Home Folder

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Families,


Each day your student works incredibly hard to become a better reader, writer, and mathematician. They explore, write, build, sing, create and socialize – it is a long day. When students arrive home, we do not want families burdened with hours of extra work. Extra-curricular activities and family time are important. Additionally, students need the opportunity to explore, play, and be little!

Research shows that developing fine and gross motor skills, building imaginative thinking skills, and fostering a sense of creativity are critically important skills for young learners. Additionally, these ‘non-academic’ skills build a strong foundation for the learning that happens inside our classroom. 


  • Therefore, this year we will be using an alternative to the traditional homework packet - an experience and play-based homework choice board. Each month you will receive a choice board. These choice boards are not meant to be daunting or overwhelming. Rather, they are intended to build fine and gross motor skills, creativity, and imaginative skills. As students complete an activity, they may color that square in, and we will be sharing their calendar with the class at the end of the month. Please return it at the end of each month no matter how many choices you have completed!  
  • In addition to the attached choice board, we ask that you continue reading at home with your student each evening. Reading each day is important for the development of your child.On the back of your choice board you will find a reading log. Each night your child will bring home a book (starting in October) that their teacher has given them. Please return this book to school each day.  Color in a star each day your child reads. 
  • A math packet will come home each Monday. This is a packet of worksheets of skills that your child has already learned. This is just extra practice for your student and good communication to you as to what we are working on in class. It does not need to be turned in to me.

All of these things will come home in a Take Home Folder. This will be in your child's backpack every night. Please get in the habit of checking it nightly as you will find homework, completed work, new books and notes from the teacher or school in it. It should come back to school EACH DAY! 
I appreciate your support as we explore a new avenue for monthly homework. All of these activities should take no longer than 30 minutes per day and most days much less!  I look forward to hearing your feedback and hearing about your experience with these choice boards.

Happy Learning!

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