Week of March 19th

Aren't the weeks just flying by? This week, we made a point of enjoying the sunshine a little bit by going outside during Choice Time for a couple of days. We had a great time running around and hope the warm weather is here to stay.

Our week started off great with Cory's discovery table on Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. So interesting!

In math we are continuing to learn about geometry and had a lot of fun finding a lot of different ways to make cubes and pyramids out of polydron pieces. Thursday and Friday we colored in grids of 9 squares each with different colors and designs and brainstormed ways we could sort them. We realized that there are so many different ways we could sort them into groups, we couldn't even name them all!

In literacy, we have been discussing opinions and thinking about details that we like in our favorite books. The class has been writing lots of letters about their favorite books so you may see some addressed to you in the next couple of weeks!

I have been having such a great time subbing for Mrs. Nakhleh and it has been an excellent experience for me. I feel so lucky to have been placed with such a great class and am looking forward to my solo weeks.

Have a great weekend,
Ali

Chaperones Needed

We will need some parent chaperones to go to Shelburne Farms with the class on May 10th. We will be learning about farming. If you are interested please let me know. Please remember to chaperone you need to have filed the appropriate paperwork. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank-you,
Nanyc

Hands on Nature

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Week of March 12th

This week we had Hands On Nature. The students learned about twigs. There was a puppet show. They played a game of I-Spy with a partner to show the importance of really examining things closely. Then they got to examine real twigs so as to understand their functions, including terminal buds, lenticils, leaf scars, lateral buds, bud scale scars,ring of lines marking how much it grew in a year. They then dressed up Haley as a twig and explained the parts again. Each child had the opportunity to make a twig with a pretzel and jelly beans. They chose between lateral and alternating buds to make their twigs. Hands on Nature then concluded with "Be A Tree Fantasy" where each child pretended to be little trees in the forest through the seasons. I'd like to thank Lynn Wilkinson, Cecelia Halliburton, and Lisa Warne for teaching this lesson.

In math we are continuing with our geometry unit. We worked on using pattern blocks to make various shapes and experimenting with different ways of making these shapes alternating various pattern blocks and coming up with three different ways to make the shape. A few students want to take one of the shapes and see how many different possibilities there are to make this one shape using hexagons, trapezoids, rhombuses and/or triangles. Stay tuned to see what happens. We also learned a couple of new games. One was "Last Shape in Wins" and the other was "Pattern Block Find and Fill". Ask your child about these games.

In writing we completed the On Demand Task and have started a new unit on Opinion Writing. This week we focused on talking through books that we really like and why and then finding evidence in the story to show why we really like the story. The students worked with a partner to share their thinking. Next week we will take what we have done orally and put it into writing. We will use a letter format to share these opinions. The class is off to a great start.

Next week I will be out of the classroom for 3 days. I will be attending a conference in Philadelphia on Differentiated Instruction. Ali will be subbing for me during these days. It will be nice for the class to have someone they are familiar with and great practice for her solo weeks ahead.

Unified Arts Conferences

K-5 Unified Arts Teachers, as well as 6-8 World language teachers will be available in their classrooms, on Monday, April 16th, from 3-5PM for Parent Conferences. Please feel free to schedule a conference, or simply stop in. We look forward to seeing you.

Dr. Suess

SCS was welcomed back from vacation on Tuesday with a Read Around America Celebration. We celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss with a K-5 assembly, a school wide 7 minute "Drop Everything and Read" time, guest readers throughout the day and a bunch of Dr. Seuss activities. Sue Schaefer, Patty Spagnolo, Nancy Colbourn and Allegra Miller were all guest readers in our classroom. This was a terrific way to get back into the swing of things at school. Check out their pictures below.

Firefly First Grade completed our CSSU Science Inquiry Assessment this week. This assessment required students to sort rocks into 2-4 categories, name the categories, give the sort a title and then write a letter to Echo about how they thought these rocks should be sorted. Everyone did a fantastic job with this and had fun in the process.
Next week we will be completing the CSSU Spring On-Demand Writing Prompt. This prompt will require students to write about why baby animals have to stay with their mothers. Then we will begin a unit on Opinion writing where we read Mentor texts and respond to what characters do or how they feel.

Next week will be the final week for this Social Studies/Science rotation. Our new units will begin the week of March 19th. Mrs. Nakhleh will be teaching "Changes in the Earth and Sky". I will be teaching "Physical Geography".

A reminder that report cards went home today in Friday folders. If you have any questions or concerns about them please feel free to contact me. Conferences are being held in April and will be centered around your child and the work they have done during the 2nd trimester. Please check the wikki schedule on the Firefly webpage to confirm your time. If you have not signed up yet, please do so sometime in the near future. I would like to have students to attend these conferences with their families.

Have a great weekend,
Nancy