Spring Carnival

Parents,

Our basket theme for the carnival is Cooking, Baking, and Candy Oh My.  If you have any items to donate, please send them in with your child.  We are also collecting family recipes you are willing to share.  Let me know if you did not receive a recipe card and we'll make sure you get one.   

Thanks for your help!

Mrs. Russell

Jackson Spring Carnival

Friday May 15^th

5:30-7:30

Unlimited Games with wristband ($2 pre purchase and $3 at event)

Great Classroom Raffle Baskets (tickets $1 each or 6 for $5)

$5 for food (pizza and sides) should you choose to eat there

FREE Kona Ice treats for all

FREE face paint available

 

Classroom Baskets

Please donate as you are able to ANY basket.  Do you have an item that would be fun to add to a basket other than your child’s classroom basket?  Please feel free to do so!

CLASS Program       Patterson/Eiles       Pets

Preschool                 Wertz & Male          Butterflies, Bugs and Bird Watching

Kindergarten           Reid                            Outdoor Fun

Kindergarten           Schalk                        Gardening

1^st Grade                   DeWitt                       Books and Literature

1^st Grade                   Russell                       Cooking and Baking and Candy Oh My!

2^nd Grade                  Meyers                      Camping

2^nd Grade                  Richard                      Barbecue & Picnic

3^rd Grade                  Bergert                      Movies

3^rd Grade                  Humes                       Man Cave

4^th Grade                  Betts                           Sports

4^th Grade                  A. Fritz                       Fiesta

5^th Grade                  M. Fritz                     Science

5^th Grade                  Garwood                  Summertime

5^th Grade                  Nelson                       Indoor Games & Puzzles

Hello!

Hello everyone!  It's been awhile, I know!  Sorry about that.  I have a lot to share with you today.  First of all, thank you so much for the plants and "lilies" I received at the Valentine's party.  I've gotten lots of comments on them.  A big thank you also goes out to all those responsible for the fun-filled party.  Everyone had a great time!  Sadly, that was the last party of the year . . . or was it?  ;)


I hope you enjoyed the student-led conferences.  The students were so excited to share their accomplishments with you.  If you haven't already done so, please make sure you fill out the survey from Ms. Daye-Williams.  It will help us to make changes to the format if needed. 


Our principal was generous enough to buy Raz-Kids for the lower elementary.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this computer program, let me give you a little information about it.  Raz-Kids is a reading program that lets kids work independently on their reading skills.  The students listen to a story, read it through again on their own, and then answer comprehension questions.  As soon as the student passes the comprehension quiz with a certain percentage, the program allows the student to move to the next book.  You can access this program from the Jackson website if you would like to work on this at home.  Feel free to email me with any questions.


We finished our unit on continents and are working on map skills now.  Your child should have brought home a Flat Stanley project to help us with our map skills.  Please send it back to school as soon as you can.  Our plan is to put up a large map in the hallway and have the kids pin up their Flat Stanley to show were he went on his trip with your family or friends.  If you haven't seen Flat Stanley come home, let me know and I will send another one. 


Our classroom garden is looking good.  We planted lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cilantro, parsley, chives, and oregano.  This spring the plants will be transplanted in the Jackson garden.  The kids are really excited to watch the plants grow. 


First grade has started a "learning block" from 9:10-9:30 every morning.  We have grouped the first graders based on skills they need to work on in reading and math and will be providing activities to either extend or reteach those skills. Second grade is just around the corner and we want to make sure your child is well prepared.  Let me know if you have any questions about learning block and I will be happy to explain in more detail. 


Friday is Spring Picture Day.  You do not need to send any money and you will not be getting an order form.  All students will get their picture taken and a packet will be sent home later.  You can keep any or all the pictures in the packet and just pay for the ones you want.  If you do not wish to purchase any, simply send the entire packet back to school. 


Here are some dates to remember:


Sat., March 14 - PTA Family Fun Event - Roller skating
Tues., March 17 - K-1 Music program
Tues., March 17 - Star Lab @ 10:30
Wed., March 18 - Early Dismissal
Fri., March 20 - Becky Smith will be teaching first graders about computer coding


I hope you have a chance to get out and enjoy this great weather.


Sincerely,


Mrs. Russell

TGIF!

What a great day!  We finally got to go outside for recess!  The students did such a nice job playing in the snow that they got an extra 10 minutes of recess time.  Next week, if there is still some snow, we will try to go sledding one day.  If your child is not comfortable with this activity, they certainly don't have to participate.  If they want to sled, they must have their boots, snow pants, gloves, and a hat.  We have sleds here at Jackson, so no need to bring your own. 


Spring conferences are right around the corner.  I sent home a note today with the entry code so you can get online and sign up.  This time, the conferences are student led.  Your child will be doing most of the talking about their progress and goals they have for the rest of the year.  I will be sending out a letter with more details about these conferences next week. 


Topics for next week:
Math -- Using <>=
            Putting 3 numbers in order
            1 more, 1 less, 10 more, 10 less
Reading -- Using our prior knowledge to understand a story
Social Studies -- Learning about the continents
Writing -- Working on brainstorming writing ideas
               Using a T-chart to organize our ideas
               Writing a paragraph
Vocabulary Words -- romp, fad, gather, household, entertain, creative


Special events -- Police Pal on Thursday and Valentine's party on Friday


Have a great weekend!

Next Week's Agenda

Good afternoon!  We were so happy to see the sun today.  How about you?  Hopefully Punxsutawney Phil will predict an early spring.  Here is what we have planned for next week.


In math, we are learning how to write two digit numbers in expanded form.  We will be on course to take our Topic 8 test next week too.  In Topic 9 we will be working on  finding one more, one less, ten more, and ten less and comparing numbers using >, <, and =.


We are going to start a unit on continents next week during social studies.  And in reading we will be using our prior knowledge to understand a story. 


Wednesday, Feb. 4th is an early dismissal day.  That means the students will be leaving at 1:30! It is also the 100th day of school.  First grade is joining forces with kindergarten to celebrate this monumental day. 


Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!

Days in school:  92      Days until summer break:  88


Whew. . . what a week!  First grade has been busy assessing our skills in reading, math, and writing.  We still have Topic 7 test in math to take on Monday, but the big stuff is D-O-N-E done!  Now that testing is over, our conference window will be opening up soon.  Be watching for more details!


As you may have heard from your child, we had a switch-a-roo in our room.  We are now doing reading in the morning and math in the afternoon.  The kids seem to like it better and so do I. 


Looking ahead, here are some things on our schedule:

• Tuesday, Jan. 27th -- Mrs. Scott will be here to do an ACE lesson with the class.  ACE is part of the gifted program.  Mrs. Scott will do a whole group activity using some high order thinking skills.  The kids always enjoy her visits. 
• Wednesday, Jan. 28th -- Early Dismissal (1:30 pm)
• Next week, we will start Topic 8 in math.  Topic 8 focuses on place value (tens and ones)

Have a great weekend! 

Important Info for You!

Homework:  We do not have traditional homework in first grade.  Some schools do, but it was our decision to go homework free this year (well almost homework free). From time to time we will post some activities you can do with your child that will help with their math and reading. Once in awhile, we will have the students write HOMEWORK on their math foldable.  Our goal is for you to work with your child on the problems in the foldable and review the lesson of the day.  We also do not have spelling words to study. Earlier in the year we sent home some "rainbow" words (sight words) for your child to work on at home. Sight words do not follow any spelling pattern usually, so we just work on recognizing them so when we see them in our book we can read them. Reading with your child every night for at least 20 minutes will help with your child's reading skills. As always, please feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Welcome!

Hello Parents!  I am excited to share my new blog with you .  In the spirit of going paperless, I will be publishing our newsletters here along with any fun things we've done in class.  Please give me some feedback as to how I can make this better.  I am a newbie blogger and learning as I go, so go easy on me!!  

Thanks for your patience!

Mrs. Russell