The Week of December 15th

This week our dog friends will be visiting us on Monday.  I'm sure they will be dressed in their Holiday Best!  On Tuesday and Wednesday we will be preparing for the concert.  We are planning a Polar Express Day later in the week.  A note will come home about it.

This week we will have a word wall test on our words so far.  We will now be adding 8 new words a week to our list instead of the six .  We will continue to work on fact families and related facts in math and try and squeeze in  a subtraction test to 9.

The latest word wall words are: been, never, own, brown, off, very, know and out

Our spelling words are: chin, chop, much, chip, rich, chick, out. never, off, very  Bonus Words are: wreath, candle, Santa Claus

The Week of December 8th

This week we will be extra busy with holiday happenings.  On Monday we will be visiting the Holiday Shop held in the library.  You can visit it too on Wednesday night if you would like to do some shopping of your own!  Also on Monday students will have gym instead of family life so remember to have your child wear sneakers.

On Wednesday the students will be performing in the Winter Concert.  The program starts at 6:00.  Students should report to our classroom no earlier than 5:30.  After the show has ended you can pick up your child back in our classroom.

Please return the bottom portion of your progress report signed.

This weeks word wall words are: blue, little, water, cold, live, where, far, their

Spelling Words are: that, then, this, them, with, bath, cold, little, water, live  Bonus Words are: reindeer, holiday and candy cane.

The Week of December 1

December is here!  This is a short and very busy month.  This week our social studies theme will be homes around the world.  We will also be practicing for the winter concert which will be next Wednesday ( Dec. 10th) Our dog friends will be visiting us on Tuesday.  In math we will continue with subtraction strategies.

Our spelling words for the week are: sun, but, fun, bus, run,must, small, put, give and take.  Bonus words are: shelter, cottage and December.

The Week of November 24th

This is a short week so again, there will be no spelling words this week.  We will have a subtraction test and word wall test on Tuesday.  The complete word wall list was sent home on Friday. Wear sneakers on Monday.  We will have gym instead of family life.

This week we will be learning about the first Thanksgiving.  Remember that Wednesday is a half day and there will be no after care.  Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

The Week of November 17th

I can't believe November is flying by so quickly!!! 

This week we will be finishing Unit 3 in our Go Math Books.  Unit 4 will cover subtraction strategies.  We will continue learning about families and we will read a biography of Dr. Seuss.

Our Word Wall Words for the week are: after, read, was, draw, pictures and write

Our Spelling Words are: yes, let, red, ten, bed, sled, get, was, read, after  Bonus Words are:
Thanksgiving, turkey and Mayflower.

The Week of November 10th

It was so nice meeting and talking with you this past week.  Remember if you have any questions or concerns during the year just let me know.

This week a new friend, Hunter, will be joining our class.  We are excited about his arrival.

During the week we will we will be discussing Veteran's Day and learning about symbols of our country.  We will continue learning different addition strategies and having a quiz on facts up to 11.

On Wednesday we will have a CAP presentation about assault prevention.  Our dog friends will be visiting us that day too.

This week's spelling words are: on, got, fox, pop, not, hop, today, now, our, her.  Bonus words are: brother, sister and mother

The Week of November 3rd

Reminder:  Parent Teacher Conferences are this week.  Pleasr arrive on time.  Each conference is 15 minutes.  If needed we can set up another time to meet.

The family posters are wonderful.  Stop by and take a look.

Tuesday is Spirit Day is Tuesday.  Wear Red, White and Blue or school colors.

We will not have spelling words this week.  The word wall words for the next two weeks are: now, our, her, she, today and would.

The Week of October 27th

This will be a busy last week of October.  We are looking forward to our dog friends visiting us on Wednesday.  We are wondering what costumes the dogs will be wearing!!! On Thursday we will have an assembly featuring the Harlem Wizards Basketball Team.  On Friday it is Halloween.  Remember to check the guidelines for costumes and please do not send in candy.

We are continuing to add to our word wall.  It is important to practice reading the new and old word wall words each week.  This week's word wall words are: animal, how, of, some, make and why

Our spelling words are: grin, drill, in, sit, will, six, dig, big, of, why  Bonus Words are: family, animal and November

Reminder:  Family Posters are due on Wednesday.

The Week of October 20th

This week is Red Ribbon Week.  In first grade we focus on making healthy choices.  On Monday, if possible, have your child wear red.  Bandanas will be handed out that can be worn all week.  The students will be able to see an Air Stunts Show at 2:00.  On Tuesday students can wear tie dye or love beads. On Wednesday students will be wearing red, white and blue to honor the troops.  On Friday we will partner up with an older clar to design hearts.

As you are preparing for Halloween and purchasing a costume, please take time to look over the Halloween guidelines for costumes in school. There will be a parade at 2:00 and then we will have a small celebration in our classroom.

This week I will start sending home a list of new words that have been added to our word wall. Students should be able to read these words by sight.  We will have our first word wall test on Friday.
The word wall words added this week are: away, said, every, call, hear and come.

Spelling words for this week are:  am, had, bad, cat, can, ran, come, said, call, man. Bonus words are: Halloween, treat and ghost

The Week of October 13th

Reminder:  No school on Monday for students


Picture retakes are on the 14th.  You must bring back your original picture to get a retake.

This week our dog friends will be visiting us on Wednesday.  The class has eagerly waited their return!

We will  be finishing up our second chapter in our Go Math books and our first book from our Journeys series.  After this week I will be sending home a list of the new word wall words each week along with the weekly spelling list.  We will be studying some more fall creatures  and begin to talk about fire safety.

Spelling words for the week are: up, bug, mud, nut, hug, tub, full, pull, hold, good
Bonus words are: pumpkin, October and candy

The Week of October 6

What a busy week is coming up!  On Monday students and staff will be wearing teal for Ovarian Cancer Awareness.  Monday evening is a fundraiser for the student council at Friendly's Restaurant.  On Tuesday it is Spirit Day and we will be attending the book fair. The 8th is Walk to School Day and on the 9th there will be a Family Fun Night and along with night hours for the Book Fair. The entire week is Respect Week.  Students will have various lessons involving respect.

Progress Reports went home on Friday.  Please send back the bottom portion signed.  Our conferences will be in the beginning of November.

Reminder: we have now started attending the library each week.  Please return your book on Friday so that your child can take out another book.

Spelling words for this week are: yet, web, pen, wet, hen, leg, my, here, all, me  Bonus Words are spider, Columbus, and friend

The Week of September 29th

This will be our first week of spelling words.  Students will have a test each Friday on the ten words that they get on Monday.  There will also be 3 Bonus words each week.  On Mondays and Thursdays we will have spelling homework.  On Monday students will write words three times each and on Thursdays they will write 5 sentences that contain spelling words.

Our therapy dogs will be visiting for the first time on Wednesday.  Each student will get a chance to read to one of the dogs.  We will be writing welcome letters on Monday.

We will be finishing up our unit on bears and begin learning about squirrels, trees and nocturnal animals.

The spelling words for this week are: log, dot, tip, hot, ox, lot, man, dad, if, him.  Bonus words are: bear, autumn and forest

The Week of September 23rd

Autumn is right around the corner!  We have had some chilly mornings.  We try and go out each day around 12:30.  It would be helpful to make sure your child has a light jacket or sweatshirt in case it's still cool at that time.

This week we will have our pictures taken on Tuesday.  Please send in your photo form for the photographer to collect.  If you haven't sent in the school forms from the OCS website please remember to do this too.  I have a few permission slips still out for reading to our therapy dogs.  They will be here Oct. 1 so in order for your child to participate, I need to have your permission.

On Tuesday we will take an addition quiz for facts up to 5.  We will also take the unit 1 test from our Go Math Books.

Thank you so much for making sure your child returns his/her homework each day.  Remember to send back the reading book each day too with the signed log so we have enough books for our reading groups.

Thank you to those who ordered Scholastic Books.  I receive bonus points with which I purchase things for our class.  I'm sending home our second order on Monday.  If you would like to order please return the form with payment on Friday.

The Week of September 15th

It was so nice meeting many of you last week.  Thank you for filling out the ROCK Dog permission slips.  If you haven't sent it in yet please do so.  The dogs are scheduled to visit on October 1st. Thank you for also making sure your child's homework was complete and returned. 

The week we have been learning about addition number sentences.  We have been finding the missing sums and also the missing addends.  We will continue working on that this week.

This week we will start bringing home a book most nights.  Please make sure the book is returned each day.  Students will need them for their reading group.  We will also be starting our Journeys whole group reading.

Students will begin a unit on bears this week.  We will learn about the black bears that live in Oxford and also about out types of bears and where they live.

On Friday we will have an assembly call the Brain Show.  There will be a Family Fun Night at 6:30.

The Week of September 8th

We have had a wonderful first week of school.  This week the class will start getting homework each night.  The goal during the first few weeks of homework is to develop responsibility.  Please help your child to remember to send back their completed assignments each day.

Tuesday night is our Back to School Night.  I am looking forward to meeting you.  This gives you a chance to get an overview of first grade and to look over the materials that your child will be using this year.

We will be starting 2 new series this year.  Our math program is Go Math and our whole group reading program is Journeys.  We will begin both this week.

Tuesday is Spirit Day.  Students should wear Oxford shirts or  school colors if possible.

A reminder that our school collects Box Tops, Tyson and Campbell's Soup Labels.  Our PTA can trade these in for cash or merchandise for the school. 

The Week of September 2nd

Welcome to First Grade!  I am thrilled to be your child's teacher this year.  This week we will concentrate on getting to know each other and learning classroom routines.  Check for the forms that are needed to be returned by clicking on the backpack on the school's web page. Remember that our Back to School Night is September 9th. 

The Week of June 16th

3 days to go!  Field Day will be on Monday.  Your child can order lunch or have them bring it in their backpacks.

It has truly been a pleasure working with your children this year.  I will miss them.  Have a Wonderful Summer!

The Week of June 9th

Here we are at the last full week of first grade!  Our week starts off with "Lights Out Day" which is a way to show how to reduce the use of electricity.  Our dog friends will be visiting that day too. (They were unable to visit last week) They will be surprised with all the generous gifts and treats that were sent in.

As of now, Tuesday is the Duck Race and Wednesday will be a laser light show.  On Friday we will have field day and the Luau Lunch. I will be sending home a note about field day during the week.

 We will not have any more homework!!  Please continue to send in the folder each day and check it each night.

The Week of June 2nd

This week we will be saying "Goodbye" to our therapy dogs.  We are so thankful to have had Mr. anad Mrs. Edkins visit us every two weeks with their dogs Feather, Bailey, Dolly and Harley.  We will miss them. 

This is Ocean Week at school.  We will be visiting with different classes to share what we have been learning.  We have several assemblies this week including an Ocean Week assembly on Friday.

This week we will be taking several end of the year tests.  One is a final spelling test on 20 words that first graders make mistakes on.  This final list is:  always, any, because, friend, once, other, people, school, want, what, when, went, said, know, does, been, would, was, again and please.

The Week of May 26th

This week we will be finishing up our math books and our reading books.  It will also be our last week of regular spelling words.  Next week we will have a list of 20 review words that students often make mistakes in.  We will be having our final word wall test soon.  Watch for the list to come home.

We have been studying about different tide pool animals and writing about them.  We will include in a a book that each child is working on about the tide pools.  As the weather gets nicer it is still important that your child continues to read and practice math facts each day.  Summer is a long time and if these skills aren't practiced there will be loss over the summer.

I'm looking forward to seeing the tide pool projects.  They will be displayed in the hall.

Spelling Words for this week are: cannot, outside, grandma, something,popcorn, tiptoe, school, always, boy, toy  Bonus: second grade, graduation, vacation.

The Week of May 19th

This week the class will be having gym instead of family health on Monday.  On Tuesday we will be going to the book fair.  It's a buy one get one free event.  Load up on books for summer reading!!!
On Wednesday our dog friends will be visiting.  Also on Wednesday is the Spring Concert. The show starts at 6:00.

On Monday I'll be sending home news about a science project about the rocky seashore and tide pools.  Look it over and get back to me with any questions you might have.

Spelling words for this week are: pretty, happy, little, kitten, puppy, better, took, almost, about, round
Bonus: Memorial Day, soldier and America

Week of May 12th

This week we will continue our study of the Rocky Seashore.  We are busy doing research on different plants and animals that live in this habitat.  Watch for a note to come home about a project.
Please returned the signed bottom part of the progress reports that came home on Friday.

Spelling Words for this week are: paper, seven, pull,goes, how, now, town, brown, down, clown, Bonus Words are: sea anemone, oyster and regenerate

Week of May 5th

This week we will be starting a science unit on the Rocky Seashore.  We will be learning all about the creatures that live in this environment and what adaptations they have had to make to survive.
In math we are working on our final unit which is a review of the whole year.  On Wednesday we will have our dog friends visiting us again.

I will be out on Friday the 9th and Monday the 12th but will be checking my e-mail.

Word Wall Words for the next two weeks are: each, once, other, under, which, along, goes, great, idea and pull

Spelling words are: her, turn, girl, first, hurt, bird, once, which, slower, slowest  Bonus: seahorse, octopus and hermit crab

Week of April 29th

May will be arriving this week and we will be entering our last full month of first grade.  It hardly seems possible that in a few short works I will be saying goodbye to your children.  This week we will be having a wordwall test and addition test up to 18 on Tuesday.  We will be finishing our insect unit and begin learning about Tide Pool environments.

Our spelling words for the week are: born, for, fork, or, short, torn, cold, would, walked and sleeping
Bonus Words are: Atlantic, seashore and ocean

The Week of April 21st

Hopefully everyone enjoyed their time off.  This week we will continue to study insects.  We will be taking the Unit 5 Reading Test and begining Unit 6--our final unit!  In math we will be comparing fraction sizes and review double digit addition.  Our dog friends will visit on Thursday.  Thursday is also bring your child to work day.


Watch for a complete word wall list to come home.  We will be having a test one day next week.
Word Wall words for the next two weeks are:  much, shall, these, wish, work, before, cold, full, off, would

Spelling words are: far, car, yard, dark, star, start, work, these, sadly, softly  Bonus words are:
fire fly, exoskeleton and compound eyes

The Week of April 14th

We finished off the end of this week with our trip to The State Theatre.  The children truly enjoyed the Henry and Mudge play.  I could tell they were in awe of the beautiful building. 

This week we will be finishing up Unit 5 of our reading program ...only one more unit to go!
We will have an addition test to 16 and continue to work on 100's puzzles.
We will also continue our insect unit and writing nonfiction pieces.
On Thursday we will be having a character education assembly.  Remember there is no school on Friday and next Monday.

Our spelling words for the week are: new, grew, drew, clue, true, glue, give, put, fixes and washes.
Bonus words are: head, thorax and abdomen (3 parts of an insect!)

The Week of April 7th

This week we are looking forward to our trip to the State Theatre.  We will be seeing Henry and Mudge.  To prepare we will be reading a variety of Henry and Mudge stories this week.  On Friday we will be leaving school around 9:30 and returning around 12:30.  Please make sure your child has had a breakfast that will hold them over until lunch.  We cannot have snack on the bus or in the theatre.

Our dog friends are visiting us on Wednesday.  We are predicting that they will be dressed in their Easter finest!

Word Wall Words for the next two weeks are:  animals, even, heard, most, their, because, better, give, people and put

Spelling Words are: baby, funny, many, guy, why, fly, even, without, most and nobody  Bonus Words are:  dinosaur, caterpillar, jelly beans

The Week of March 31

Ahh April....I hope it brings some spring weather!  This week we will be finishing our unit oon weather and beginning a unit on insects.  We will also be finishing up our fraction unit.

Our recycled castles look great!  They will be displayed in the hallway for one more week and then on Friday, students will get an opportunity to play with them!  Students will be able to bring in little figures and animals to use with the castles.

Please return the signed permission slips for our trip and the signed report card envelopes.

Spelling words for this week are: lie, pie, tie, night, light, right, been, found, cat's, dog's, Bonus Words are: grasshopper, colony, recycle

The Week of March 24th

We are now in our final marking period of first grade!  How the year is flying by.  This week we will continue our study of weather, we will continue counting money and studying long vowel teams.
We will work on writing a fairy tale to go along  with our castles.

This week our castles are due.  They will be on display in front of the first grade rooms. If the castle includes little figures please cover them with plastic wrap otherwise they may get lost.

This week we will be having a word wall test on Thursday.  New words for the next two weeks are:
around, her, new, old, show, been, first, found, start, and together.

Spelling words this week are: grow, growing, float, floating, show, showing, around, old, coat, yellow.  Our Bonus words are: April, insect and quarter.

The Week of March 17th

This week we will be starting a new unit on weather.  Students will learn about different types of storms and the water cycle.  We will continue to work on counting coins and will begin to understand fractions. 

This week is Down Syndrome Awareness Week.  Each day there are different activities planned.

Has your child come home singing a song about the 50 States?  We are filling up a map of the United States with different state quarters. Everytime we get a new state we sing the song "The Fifty States that Rhyme" It is sung to the tune of the Turkey in the Straw. Once the map is filled we will donate the money to a charity.

As spelling patterns get harder please continue to study the words each week.  This week's words are:
say, play, may, way, wait, rain, when from, don't, I'm
Bonus words are: rainbow, thunder, umbrella

The Week of March 10

This week we will start off  with a motivational assembly called NED. This goes along with our character education program.  Our dog friends will be visiting on Wednesday.

We will be finishing up fairy tales and next week we will start learning about weather. In math we will continue learning about geometric shapes and polygons and in reading we are starting a new unit.

Continue reading each night and practicing word wall words and spelling words. 

Word wall words for the next two weeks are: buy, only, or, right, think, don't, from, hear, live, when

Spelling words are: ask, asked, call, called, clean, cleaned, teach, neat, think, only.  Bonus words are: tornado, hurricane and cloudy

The Week of March 3rd

Will spring ever come?  Hopefully we will have a full week of school!  This week we will learn about Dr. Seuss, continue with fairy tales, continue with telling time to five minute intervals and continue writing books in a series.

We will be finishing up Unit 6 in math and Unit 4 in our Scott Foresman reading series.  We will also have a quiz on adding to 16.  It would be helpful to practice math facts at home for fluency.  In first grade students should be able to add and subtract with facts up to 20.

Spelling words for this week are: any, kind, anything, inside, seen, free, green, tree, she and he  Bonus Words are:  Dr. Seuss, author, weather

The Week of February 24th

Well we finally made it to 100 Days!  The class was busy last week learning about George Washington, fairy tales, centimeters and dental health!  This week we will continue with fairy tales, introduce counting by quarters and discuss the Olympics.  Our dog friends will be visiting us on Wednesday--hopefully the weather will cooperate!

Word wall words for the next two weeks are: four, funny, long, watch, were, about, any, ask, kind and over

Spelling words for this week are: fish, long, such, that, them, with, four, were, cute, use  Bonus words are: palace, magic and March

The Week of February 17th

We will start the week off on Tuesday with the spelling and word wall tests that we missed on Thursday and Friday. We won't forget Valentine's Day.  We'll exchange cards on Tuesday too.

Hopefully the rest of the week will be "normal." We will continue with our fairy tale unit and learn about George Washington.  We will return to measuring and money counting. We will also be concentrating on fiction writing for the next few weeks.

Our spelling words for this week are: like, ride, nice, white, time, hive, your, friend, never, rabbit.
Bonus: castle, prince, princess.

The Week of February 10th

Let's hope we can get a full week in this week!  We will be starting one of my favorite units--fairy tales!  During this month we will share many fairy tales--familiar and unfamiliar.  We will compare and contrast different versions and see what's common in most of them.

Friday is Valentine's Day.  Students may exchange Valentine's.  Please don't send ones in with candy attached.  Please send in your hundred day projects.  We will be displaying them on our bulletin boards.

Word Wall words for the next two weeks are:  father, going, has, thank, very, be, friend, pretty, soon and your (watch for notification of a word wall test)

Spelling Words for this week are: rode, hope, joke, those, home, stone, has, very, shop and what
Bonus Words: president, Lincoln, Washington

The Week of February 3rd

It's February!  We are now at the half way mark of first grade.  The year is certainly flying by!
Report cards will be distributed this week.  Watch for them to come home.

I will be sending home our unit 3 reading test and unit 5 math test.  This week we will be finishing up polar animals and starting a unit on fairy tales.  In writing we will be finishing opinion writing this week.  I will be sending home many writing pieces this week that students have been working on during this marking period.

Spelling words for the week are:  tap, tape, cap, cape, mad, made, of , was, check, them
Bonus words are:  Valentine, heart, hundred

Jan 22nd and the Week of Jan 27th

Since this week is so short we will not have spelling words this week.  I have combined some of the words into the week of Jan 27th's list.  Here is the list for the week of January 27th:  ate, gave, make, bake, late, take, please, red, after, helped, wanted, February, groundhog and fairy tale.

The Week of Jauary 20th

This week we will be finishing up Unit 5 of our math series and Unit 3 of our reading series.  This means we are about half way through first grade!  Watch for unit tests in both and a mid-year test in math.   Continue having your child read each night, practice word wall words and spelling words. 

Speaking of spelling...our spelling bee winners were Vincent and Kayleigh. 

Tricky Tray notes went home on Friday.  Our classroom basket will be a kitchen theme.  Mrs. Moyer will be in charge of it.  Send in items and I will make sure she gets them.

Spelling words for the week are: clap, sled, trip, spot, drop, drum, please, can't, it's, read
Bonus Words are: favorite, January and chocolate

The Week of January 13th

We'll hopefully be back to a normal week!  There is a lot happening this week.  On Monday first grade will have their own spelling bee--later on in the week we will attend the OCS spelling bee.  Our winners will be honored at that time.  On Tuesday we will attend a presentation on the Lenni Lenape Tribe.  On Wednesday our dog friends will be visiting us again.

Continue studying word wall words each week.  Our words for the next two weeks are: came, know, out, she, there, word, say, read, again, and please.  Next week we will have a test on all the word wall words so far.

Spelling words for this week are: fast, just, hand, out, sent, best, must, and, came, next.  Bonus words are: polar bear, iceberg, freeze