Friday, September 29, 2017
Ice Cream Social & Lunch With the Teacher Pics
9.29.17
Hello First Grade Friends and Families!
I can't believe September is already at it's end! I'm ready for some fall weather!
Our class has been doing such a great job. This is a great group of kiddos and I feel so LUCKY to be their teacher. We receive compliments all the time about how well behaved we are in the hallway. It makes my heart swell with pride. I've told our class several times that they might be the best hallway walkers I've ever had in my 16 years of teaching.
Happy Birthday to Maggie this week! Thank you for sharing the yummy "school safe" cupcakes with us! For those of you who don't know about these, they're peanut free, flour free, and I believe dairy free so they're totally safe to serve at school. (I didn't pay close enough attention but they might even be gluten free.) I ate one and they tasted pretty good considering all the stuff they don't have in them! 😋 You can find them at Schnucks, Dierbergs, and I think I've seen them at Shop 'N Save, too. Thanks so much to Maggie and her parents for sharing treats with us and for making sure they were safe for all to share!
I was SO HAPPY with the results of our first math test this week! I was very proud of the hard work that my Firsties put into our first chapter. We have 19 students in our class and we had 15 A's!!!!! WOW!!!!! Let's keep it up for Chapter 2!!!!
Reading test scores are getting better as we are getting used to taking them. If you're wondering what you can do to help your child with reading at home here are some suggestions:
*Read with them every night (then record the books on the reading log in their folder)
*Ask your child questions about what they read
*Ask them to retell the story in their own words
*Review High Frequency Words often
*Practice Spelling Words often
*Point out Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives in stories
*Talk about multiple meaning words and how they can be used (ex. bat-- an animal that flies, sports equipment used to hit a ball in a baseball game)
*Talk about Antonyms (opposites) and Synonyms (words that have similar meanings) when you see them in print
*Review letter names and sounds
*Review worksheets and workbook pages that come home. Discuss mistakes with them
*Pay close attention to the "Week at a Glance" sheet in their take home folder. This has all the skills listed that we will work on that week in Reading
Thank you so much to all of the families who took the time to do the Sight Word Speed Drill with their first grader this past week. I really enjoyed looking at their times and how they improved throughout the week! This is AWESOME! Shout out to Landen and his family for getting their whole crew involved. They had both his sister and mom participate in the speed read as well and they recorded their times, too. What a great way to make reading FUN for the WHOLE FAMILY!
Next week we have parent teacher conferences scheduled after school on Tuesday, October 3 and all day Thursday, October 5. Please let me know if something happens and you cannot make your scheduled conference time. I didn't receive all of the conference confirmation notes back so if you are unaware of what time you are scheduled please let me know and I can send home another note. You can also call the office and they will have a copy of my conference schedule by Monday.
NO SCHOOL-- Thursday, October 5- Parent teacher conferences
Friday, October 6- Teacher Conference Day
Monday, October 9- Columbus Day
Due to the short weeks coming up we will stretch out Lesson 5 in reading over the course of the next two weeks. Therefore, our reading test and spelling test on Lesson 5 will be on Friday, October 13.
Specials Schedule:
10/2 Computer
10/3 PE
10/4 Art
10/10 Music
10/11 Library
10/12 Computer
10/13 PE
A note came home yesterday regarding body safety presentations which will take place on October 12. You only need to send the note back if you do not wish for your child to take part in the presentation.
That's enough info for your brains on this lovely Friday evening! Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Enjoy your family time!
Hugs and High Fives,
Ms. Bleich
I can't believe September is already at it's end! I'm ready for some fall weather!
Our class has been doing such a great job. This is a great group of kiddos and I feel so LUCKY to be their teacher. We receive compliments all the time about how well behaved we are in the hallway. It makes my heart swell with pride. I've told our class several times that they might be the best hallway walkers I've ever had in my 16 years of teaching.
Happy Birthday to Maggie this week! Thank you for sharing the yummy "school safe" cupcakes with us! For those of you who don't know about these, they're peanut free, flour free, and I believe dairy free so they're totally safe to serve at school. (I didn't pay close enough attention but they might even be gluten free.) I ate one and they tasted pretty good considering all the stuff they don't have in them! 😋 You can find them at Schnucks, Dierbergs, and I think I've seen them at Shop 'N Save, too. Thanks so much to Maggie and her parents for sharing treats with us and for making sure they were safe for all to share!
I was SO HAPPY with the results of our first math test this week! I was very proud of the hard work that my Firsties put into our first chapter. We have 19 students in our class and we had 15 A's!!!!! WOW!!!!! Let's keep it up for Chapter 2!!!!
Reading test scores are getting better as we are getting used to taking them. If you're wondering what you can do to help your child with reading at home here are some suggestions:
*Read with them every night (then record the books on the reading log in their folder)
*Ask your child questions about what they read
*Ask them to retell the story in their own words
*Review High Frequency Words often
*Practice Spelling Words often
*Point out Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives in stories
*Talk about multiple meaning words and how they can be used (ex. bat-- an animal that flies, sports equipment used to hit a ball in a baseball game)
*Talk about Antonyms (opposites) and Synonyms (words that have similar meanings) when you see them in print
*Review letter names and sounds
*Review worksheets and workbook pages that come home. Discuss mistakes with them
*Pay close attention to the "Week at a Glance" sheet in their take home folder. This has all the skills listed that we will work on that week in Reading
Thank you so much to all of the families who took the time to do the Sight Word Speed Drill with their first grader this past week. I really enjoyed looking at their times and how they improved throughout the week! This is AWESOME! Shout out to Landen and his family for getting their whole crew involved. They had both his sister and mom participate in the speed read as well and they recorded their times, too. What a great way to make reading FUN for the WHOLE FAMILY!
Next week we have parent teacher conferences scheduled after school on Tuesday, October 3 and all day Thursday, October 5. Please let me know if something happens and you cannot make your scheduled conference time. I didn't receive all of the conference confirmation notes back so if you are unaware of what time you are scheduled please let me know and I can send home another note. You can also call the office and they will have a copy of my conference schedule by Monday.
NO SCHOOL-- Thursday, October 5- Parent teacher conferences
Friday, October 6- Teacher Conference Day
Monday, October 9- Columbus Day
Due to the short weeks coming up we will stretch out Lesson 5 in reading over the course of the next two weeks. Therefore, our reading test and spelling test on Lesson 5 will be on Friday, October 13.
Specials Schedule:
10/2 Computer
10/3 PE
10/4 Art
10/10 Music
10/11 Library
10/12 Computer
10/13 PE
A note came home yesterday regarding body safety presentations which will take place on October 12. You only need to send the note back if you do not wish for your child to take part in the presentation.
That's enough info for your brains on this lovely Friday evening! Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Enjoy your family time!
Hugs and High Fives,
Ms. Bleich
Friday, September 15, 2017
9.15.17
Hello First Grade Friends and Families! 👋
We finished Lesson 2-- The Storm, in Reading this week. Next week we start Lesson 3-- Curious George at School. There is a new spelling list and a new "Week at a Glance" page in your child's folder. Please practice spelling as often as needed with your child. You know them best! Spelling tests and Reading Tests are always on Fridays, unless we don't have school or I let you know otherwise. Refer to the Week at a Glance sheet to see what skills we will work on all week! Remember, anytime your child brings home their Reading book, please listen to them read their reading story for the week. (You can read it to them, you can take turns reading, the whole family can read together, etc.)
Today we took our Reading test using the ActiVotes. These are hand held remote control devices which are synced with our Promethean Board. The students LOVED using them and it makes the test feel much more fun than using a paper and pencil. Some other advantages to using the ActiVotes is that after each question I get immediate feedback on how many students answered correctly and incorrectly (don't worry, it doesn't say "who"-- just the percentages of right vs. wrong). I'm able to immediately address any confusion and we can talk about why one answer choice might be better than another. When we are able to do this immediately after answering a question, it makes the knowledge "stick" in their brains a little easier! The downfall is that you don't get to see the paper copy of the test. This is why we did it on paper last week though, so you could see the format of the Reading tests. They are all formatted like that and they're all multiple choice-- for now!
In math we are still working on addition to 10. Please help your child correct mistakes on their math papers in order to help them understand where they went wrong. I do that with them here as often as I can, but unfortunately, time doesn't always allow it! I will be sending home Math homework on Monday, so be on the lookout 👀 for that in your child's folder. It will be a worksheet stamped with "homework" and it should be completed and returned to school the next day. It is best to read the directions to your child, read any word problems on the page, have them complete it on their own, then check it and go over any mistakes with them. They can then make their corrections and put the page back in their folder (right side) to bring to school the next day.
We wrapped up our unit on Bees this week in Science. Next week we will start learning about apples and how they grow.
Specials Next Week:
Mon- Computer
Tues- PE
Wed- Art
Thurs- Music
Fri- Library
Reminders:
Early dismissal at 2pm on Wednesday, September 20. Please plan transportation accordingly. All regular buses will run, but they will bring your child home an hour earlier.
Reading Logs- due Monday, Sept. 18 (at least 4 books)
Math Homework- due Tuesday, Sept. 19
Reading Test- Friday, Sept. 22
Spelling Test- Friday, Sept. 22
Enjoy the warm weather this weekend!
Hugs and High Fives!✋
Ms. Bleich 😊
We finished Lesson 2-- The Storm, in Reading this week. Next week we start Lesson 3-- Curious George at School. There is a new spelling list and a new "Week at a Glance" page in your child's folder. Please practice spelling as often as needed with your child. You know them best! Spelling tests and Reading Tests are always on Fridays, unless we don't have school or I let you know otherwise. Refer to the Week at a Glance sheet to see what skills we will work on all week! Remember, anytime your child brings home their Reading book, please listen to them read their reading story for the week. (You can read it to them, you can take turns reading, the whole family can read together, etc.)
Today we took our Reading test using the ActiVotes. These are hand held remote control devices which are synced with our Promethean Board. The students LOVED using them and it makes the test feel much more fun than using a paper and pencil. Some other advantages to using the ActiVotes is that after each question I get immediate feedback on how many students answered correctly and incorrectly (don't worry, it doesn't say "who"-- just the percentages of right vs. wrong). I'm able to immediately address any confusion and we can talk about why one answer choice might be better than another. When we are able to do this immediately after answering a question, it makes the knowledge "stick" in their brains a little easier! The downfall is that you don't get to see the paper copy of the test. This is why we did it on paper last week though, so you could see the format of the Reading tests. They are all formatted like that and they're all multiple choice-- for now!
In math we are still working on addition to 10. Please help your child correct mistakes on their math papers in order to help them understand where they went wrong. I do that with them here as often as I can, but unfortunately, time doesn't always allow it! I will be sending home Math homework on Monday, so be on the lookout 👀 for that in your child's folder. It will be a worksheet stamped with "homework" and it should be completed and returned to school the next day. It is best to read the directions to your child, read any word problems on the page, have them complete it on their own, then check it and go over any mistakes with them. They can then make their corrections and put the page back in their folder (right side) to bring to school the next day.
We wrapped up our unit on Bees this week in Science. Next week we will start learning about apples and how they grow.
Specials Next Week:
Mon- Computer
Tues- PE
Wed- Art
Thurs- Music
Fri- Library
Reminders:
Early dismissal at 2pm on Wednesday, September 20. Please plan transportation accordingly. All regular buses will run, but they will bring your child home an hour earlier.
Reading Logs- due Monday, Sept. 18 (at least 4 books)
Math Homework- due Tuesday, Sept. 19
Reading Test- Friday, Sept. 22
Spelling Test- Friday, Sept. 22
Enjoy the warm weather this weekend!
Hugs and High Fives!✋
Ms. Bleich 😊
Friday, September 8, 2017
9.8.17
Hello First Grade Friends and Families! I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather we are having!
Yankee Candle Fundraiser packets went home today. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards more technology for our school. This is one of the ways we are able to have Chromebooks in our classroom. The top two sellers in each grade will be able to enjoy lunch a Chick-Fil-A lunch with the principals at school. These candles make great Christmas gifts without having to shop in the crazy stores over the holidays! If you do not wish to participate in the fundraiser, you may throw your packet away.
Happy Birthday to Karlmella who we celebrated this week. Thank you for sharing birthday treats with our class! The students said they were yummy! 😋
Congratulations to Maliya and Noah who both earned Star Student Awards this week! Great job! 👍
Next week's spelling list is in your child's folder in the spelling page protector. I forgot to write the text date on the list, but the test will be on Friday, September 15. (Spelling tests are almost always on Fridays, by the way.) The new words are if, is, him, rip, fit, pin
I'm so excited to grade the first test that we took today! As I was walking around the room while giving the test I was very pleased with what I saw!!!
Reading Story next week: The Storm
Check out "This Week at a Glance" insert in your child's take home folder for the skills we will be working on next week. Our reading test will be on Friday. I will grade today's reading tests over the weekend and send them home for you to see on Monday.
Specials:
Mon- Computer
Tues- PE
Wed- Art
Thurs- Music
Fri- Library
This week in Social Studies we talked about what it means to be a good citizen. Next week we will start learning about Bees in Science.
Monday is Patriot Day. If you think about it, you might want to dress your children in Red, White, and Blue to show your patriotism. That's up to you!
Wednesday, September 20-- Early Dismissal 2pm and Hat Day-- donate $1 for Red Cross Hurricane Relief and wear a hat to school
Have a great weekend! Enjoy your time with your little Firsties!
Hugs and High Fives!
Ms. Bleich
Yankee Candle Fundraiser packets went home today. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards more technology for our school. This is one of the ways we are able to have Chromebooks in our classroom. The top two sellers in each grade will be able to enjoy lunch a Chick-Fil-A lunch with the principals at school. These candles make great Christmas gifts without having to shop in the crazy stores over the holidays! If you do not wish to participate in the fundraiser, you may throw your packet away.
Happy Birthday to Karlmella who we celebrated this week. Thank you for sharing birthday treats with our class! The students said they were yummy! 😋
Congratulations to Maliya and Noah who both earned Star Student Awards this week! Great job! 👍
Next week's spelling list is in your child's folder in the spelling page protector. I forgot to write the text date on the list, but the test will be on Friday, September 15. (Spelling tests are almost always on Fridays, by the way.) The new words are if, is, him, rip, fit, pin
I'm so excited to grade the first test that we took today! As I was walking around the room while giving the test I was very pleased with what I saw!!!
Reading Story next week: The Storm
Check out "This Week at a Glance" insert in your child's take home folder for the skills we will be working on next week. Our reading test will be on Friday. I will grade today's reading tests over the weekend and send them home for you to see on Monday.
Specials:
Mon- Computer
Tues- PE
Wed- Art
Thurs- Music
Fri- Library
This week in Social Studies we talked about what it means to be a good citizen. Next week we will start learning about Bees in Science.
Monday is Patriot Day. If you think about it, you might want to dress your children in Red, White, and Blue to show your patriotism. That's up to you!
Wednesday, September 20-- Early Dismissal 2pm and Hat Day-- donate $1 for Red Cross Hurricane Relief and wear a hat to school
Have a great weekend! Enjoy your time with your little Firsties!
Hugs and High Fives!
Ms. Bleich
Monday, September 4, 2017
spelling and other important info
We are well under way in First Grade and I LOVE this class!!!!
Here are a few important reminders:
Reading Logs are Due on Mondays. Please have your child read at least 4 books throughout the week. Please record the books they have read on their Reading Log and keep in in the page protector in their take home folder.
Please check Take Home Folders every night. Papers on the left side may be left at home. Papers on the right side should be completed and send back to school the following day. Look at your child's behavior calendar to see how their day went. If they get a yellow or pink there will be a brief description of what they clipped down for written on the back.
Check out the page protectors in the Take Home Folder often! We keep important information in there and some of it changes weekly.
Please practice reading the list of Kindergarten sight words (in Take Home Folder) until your child can read them with ease. We will test on these this week and next week.
First Spelling Test-- Friday, September 8. Lesson 1 Words: am, at, sat, man, dad, mat
I will also dictate a sentence which they will write. The sentence will contain spelling words from the current week (and later on- words from previous weeks). The sentences are a "surprise". This is a great way for first graders to show their retention of their spelling word knowledge. Spelling Words 1-6 are worth 1 point each. Each word in the sentence is worth 1 point. Using a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and punctuation at the end is also worth 1 point each. I will help out with sentences and give reminders a lot in the first grading period.
Be on the look out later in the week for your child's reading book to home. I will send home a note with it explaining what to do.
I won't be at school on Tuesday, but Mrs. Winn, my FAVORITE substitute teacher, will be here. She is a veteran teacher so your kids are in GREAT care! She will do everything just as I normally do.
Specials:
Tuesday-- PE
Wednesday-- Art
Thursday-- Music
Friday-- Library
Please feel free to email me with questions or concerns! tricia.bleich@wssd115.org
Hugs and High Fives!
Ms. Bleich
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