Music Concert

Kindergarten - Second Grade

Music Concert

This Friday, December 7, 2012

1:30 PM

at the High School Auditorium

All Family & Friends are invited!

Students are encouraged to wear appropriate pajamas as their concert attire.

All students will return to the school on the bus to finish their school day.

Fundraiser Pick-up

Just a reminder that pick-up of all fundraiser items will be on Thursday, December 13, from 3:00-5:30 PM. Items will be located in the lobby. All items must be picked up on Thursday as we do not have space to store them at school.

Thank you for making our fundraiser a success!

October Newsletter

 First Grade News

October 2011

Winter Weather

Wow!  Our weather will be starting to take a turn.  We are asking that you please send your child in the appropriate clothing for the weather.  Winter coat, mittens/gloves, hats, and scarves are appropriate.  Recess gets very cold with the wind and cold temperature.  We have had some very cold children this week so please help them get their winter gear ready for the season.  It might be a good idea to have their snow pants and boots ready and waiting as well.  Please label all items with your child’s name, thanks! 

Staying Healthy

We are taking measures here at school to keep our classrooms as clean as possible.  Everyone uses sanitizer multiple times daily and we clean table tops regularly.  We will continue to need hand sanitizer and/or disinfecting wipes to help with this task.  This is one way we can try to get ahead of germs.  Any help is appreciated.

Reading

We are making progress with our reading strategies so far this year.  When your child wants to read at home, please remember to ask them some questions about the story; for example, “Who was in the story? Where did it take place?  What was the problem?  How did the main character solve the problem?”  These types of questions will help your child think about the story rather than just reading words.

Coming Soon in Math

We have been doing well in our new Envisions Math program.  It has been very exciting to watch the kids progress through the topics.  At conferences you should receive a letter that tells you how to log on to Envisions Math Website.  When you log-in you, click on “assignments” and you will find some games that we have assigned for the students to start playing!  ENJOY!

Snack

Please help your child remember that we have school snacks provided on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Students are asked to bring their own snack on Monday.   All snacks brought from home need to be nutritious!

Kindergarten Words

We have many first graders that are still struggling with kindergarten words.  We have attached a copy of the kindergarten words that can be cut out and practiced as flash cards at home.  We suggest you write the 25 kindergarten words on index cards and turn them into a game of Memory or Go Fish.

Upcoming Dates

October 19-21 ~ Conferences

October 28      ~ 10:30-11:00 Fall Party

(NO COSTUMES)

September Newsletter

Full Swing

We have 21 students with 11 boys and 10 girls. We are trying to master our classroom routines and rules.  One part of our routine is learning our schedule, which I have attached for you.  The other part is learning the rules of our classroom.  We are learning how to get the teachers attention, how to sit quietly when I am teaching, and what our room should sound like and look like when we are working at our desks.  This takes a lot of practice and many reminders but we are all hoping that it will become more automatic soon.

Clip chart

First Grade is using a clip chart system to help students check themselves throughout the day.  They each have a clothes pin clipped to a colored chart.  Each child starts on green everyday.   If a child displays good behavior they will be asked to “clip up” (example: following directions consistently).  They will then move their clip up the chart.  In the same aspect, if their behavior isn’t where it needs to be they will be asked to “clip down”.  In which they will move their clip down the chart.  Starting at the top of the chart and moving down is:

Outstanding – pink,

Great Job – purple,

Good Job – blue,

Green – Ready to Learn,

Yellow – Slow Down,

Orange – Think About It,

Red – Parent Contact

This is a great system for students to correct their behavior if needed.  We will also be sending home a nightly record sheet in their Take Home Folder.  Your child will fill in the color they ended the day on.  You will then sign the sheet and they are to return it the next day in their Take Home Folder.  

Good Behavior

We are adding marbles to a jar for our good behavior in our classroom.  When it’s filled in the whole class will receive a special treat.  Hopefully by the time you are reading this we will have it all filled in.  Ask your child how many marbles the class received each day.  They will be excited to share the details with you!

Hard Work 

First Grade is hard work and it shows on the students.  I have been noticing a lot of tired kids in the beginning days of school.  Please make sure your child gets an adequate amount of sleep each night.  This helps keep them focused throughout the day and helps them stay happy.   We also ask that you continue getting your child to school on time so they can start their day nice and relaxed.

Weather Change

It’s hard to believe but there is a chill in the air already.  Please make sure your child has the appropriate attire for the weather.  Jackets are nice because they can be taken off if kids get too hot. 

At Home Work

Please keep working on these skills with your child regularly:

     Number recognition

     Alphabet recognition/sounds

     Counting to 30

     Read to them

     Listen to them read to you

Off and Running

It has been a good start to the year so far.  We are having a great time getting to know each of our first graders.  We are looking forward to a very productive year and are excited to talk with you in a few weeks.  We will continue to send monthly newsletters to keep you posted on news in First Grade!

Donations

We will always be in need of hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes if anyone would like to donate items.

~Mrs. Sienknecht, Mrs. Nunn & Mrs. Pepper

Newsletter April 2011

FIRST GRADE NEWS: April 2011

Curriculum Update

In reading we are still working hard on our sight families.  I’ve attached a list of sight words that the students have been learning throughout the year – please make sure your child practices these as well as his/her DOLCH words, spelling words, and homework words! 

In math we’re working on addition facts to 18.  We will be working very hard the rest of the year on addition facts to prepare for 2^nd grade.  Any help with this at home would be great. You can make flashcards at home or look online for math fact activities.  Some websites we recommend:

www.factmonster.com

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/index.html

http://www.thegreatmartinicompany.com/

In science we’ve begun our insect unit.  Before Spring Break each student had their own mealworm they took care of.  We watched as the mealworms moved through their stages of life to become adult beetles.  We’ve also just received caterpillars in our room!  We will watch them grow in hopes that they will soon start to build their chrysalis.  Your student will keep you informed as the changes happen.  This is a very exciting time for our first graders in science.

First Grade BLOG & Math Website

Please be sure to check out our First Grade Blog at: http://fisherfirstgrade.blogspot.com/

We have many things posted for you and your child to view and practice.

Also remember to access our Math website at: https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com

Use your user name and password given to you at the beginning of the year.

Thanks!

END OF THE YEAR

As we near the end of the year we ask that you please make sure your child (ren) are getting a good night sleep and having a good breakfast each morning.  Everyone has such a better day when they are well rested and properly nourished.  If you are reading this, please bring it back to your teacher for a treat!  This also is the time when the end of the year testing begins.  We certainly try not to save every test for the last few weeks of school.  We like to spread them out as to get the best performance from our students.  Your help with this is much appreciated. 

 

February Newsletter

Envisions Math
I have assigned some new math games on the Envisions website. Please check out http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com with your child and have them log themselves in. Every child’s username is his/her first and last name (all lower case, no spaces) and all passwords are 123456.

BOX TOPS CHALLENGE
As most of you already know we have been working on our building challenge with our Box Tops. We ask that you continue collecting and bringing those Box Tops in to add to our classroom total. The students are having a great time with this activity. You can even ask for help from aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas with this challenge, the more people involved the better.

Dolch Practice
I am sending home two lists of DOLCH words (sight words). Please take a few minutes each night to run through a few words on the lists. There are columns on the sheets so please feel free to mark a word off when your child knows the word, and practice some of the harder words. It is important for children to learn these words by sight, because very few of them can be “sounded out”. Our goal is to have each word read correctly in 2 seconds.

Book in a Bag Reminder
Remember we are sending a book home with your child every Monday. They are to return their book in the bag on the following Monday so you have the weekend to read it as well. Encourage your child to read the book as many times as they can during the week. Parents are to write the number of times the book was read and sign the sheet inside your child’s book bag.

Valentine’s Day
Wow! Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and you are probably getting cards ready to go. I want you to know ahead of time that we will be making our Valentine’s Bags here at school. I’ve found that it works much better than having everyone bring one. We encourage the kids to be creative in their own way to make their bags and the kids have a blast making them here at schoolJ. I will have the things they need here at school for the project. You will get to see their bags when they get home with all of their “goodies” in them. (If you have begun or finished a Valentine box that is fine. Have your child bring it to school and they will get to use it as well as the bag we will decorate in class.) As for the Valentine’s cards, it is much easier on your children if you don’t write a specific name on the envelope (on the “To:” line). This way the children can just walk by everyone’s bag and drop in a card and not look for one particular bag. You can only imagine what this looks like with 24 children trying to find certain bags.

UPCOMING DATES
February 14 ~ Valentine Parties
February 15 ~ K-2 Music Program @ 1:30 (HS Auditorium)
February 21 ~ No School (or snow make up day)
March 1-4 ~ Conferences

Thank You ~
Mrs. Nunn, Mrs. Pepper, and Mrs. Sienknecht

Fisher Punch Cards are Back!

Each student has received a "Pawsitive Punch Card." During the month of February, every time students get "caught" doing something positive, they will receive a punch. Filled cards will also be displayed in our hallway. At Fisher, we want to focus on the positive things kids are doing to encourage them to continue on with positive behavior! You can talk to your child about how receiving a punch makes them feel and what their plan is to keep doing positive things! :)

Colors to wear for ITBS Week Feburary 7th to the 11th

STRIVE TO DO YOUR BEST,

WHILE WEARING THE COLORS OF ITBS!

Encourage your student to show his/her ITBS pride

by wearing the following colors next week:

Monday:  GREEN – Go!	Responsibility…Do your best!
Tuesday:  RED – I Care!	Caring…I care about how I do on the test!
Wednesday:  YELLOW – Respect!	Respect test-takers by being quiet in the hallway.
Thursday:  ORANGE – Stay PAWsitive!	“Orange you glad we’re about done?”
Friday: BLUE – We’re through!	It’s over, and we trust you did your best!