A BOOK IS A MAGIC CARPET
*Thursday, May 16th 6:30 pm showtime (Students arrive at 6:15) Our First grade performance is just around the corner and the students are busily practicing the songs and lines! Students are to wear black bottoms and a white top (this will be covered by their book cover so it may have writing or graphics). We will make there rest of their costumes at school.
WHEELCHAIR FOUNDATION Thank you to Mrs. Riley and Mrs. Olebe for heading this cause and to our students for supporting it! Our class collected over a $65. for the foundation (almost enough for one half of a wheelchair!) and I know my own children enjoyed doing chores around the house to help out, too. NEXT WEEK My husband was awarded a trip to the Dominican Republic, and it is an opportunity of a lifetime that we can't pass up. I will be absent all next week and Mrs. Walsh will be teaching in my place. She is a former Walnut Grove first grade teacher and we are so lucky to have her. I am sorry that I will miss teacher appreciation week :(. The good news is that my students show their appreciation EVERYDAY and I know how much they care about our classroom. I am the luckiest teacher in the world! Mrs. Walsh is amazing and I have no doubt our students will have a fantastic week! HOMEWORK Next week will be our last week of formal homework including take home readers, the checkoff, and sight words. I can't believe it! Here are the things that are going home today and tomorrow: THURSDAY 1. A SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER FORM - DUE MAY 4th at NOON I have to submit it EARLY so I can buy classroom books for our library and so you will be able to receive your orders before school gets out. BTW-you can order from the forms but can also do a search and find books from other forms. In other words, you can order any book at Scholastic through me. 2. Your fragile Mother's Day gift I have given my students the option to bring it home on Friday in case they rode their bike or have an after school activity that makes it hard to carry. FRIDAY 1. Their LAST library book and classroom books will go home tomorrow. 2. Student will also bring home a fluency and comprehension packet that they can choose to do for their reading homework between now and in the end of the year. They can keep the extra pages and use it over the summer if you want them to. It is a great way to practice fluency and comprehension. 3. On Friday, I will also send home the cover letter and permission slip for the Pen-pal Picnic field trip. Please complete the information, fill out the permission slip, and return it as soon as possible. TAKE HOME READERS Over the next few weeks, please take some time looking for books that belong to me, our classroom, and our library so they can be returned and organized. My books are my treasures, and I am fortunate to have an extensive library of rich literature. I love being able to share my books with my students, and I appreciate how they have taken care of them this year. Speaking of...if you have any books to donate to the classroom for my future students to read, please let me know! I am looking for all levels of books; including readers from Kindergarten level to Henry and Mudge, nonfiction easy readers, and well loved picture books to replace my worn out copies (Berenstain Bears, Mo Williams, etc). END OF THE YEAR FUN! We have MANY fun projects and events coming up and WE NEED YOUR HELP to make it memorable. Please see the following link to sign up for the items that are needed for all of our end of the year activities: Sign Up 1. THE FIRST GRADE MUSICAL (THURSDAY, MAY 16th - 6:30pm) 2. THE PENPAL PICNIC (TUESDAY, MAY 21st - Early Birdie Schedule) 3. OUR END OF THE YEAR CLASS PARTY (WEDNESDAY, MAY 29th - 1:55pm) 4. FIELD DAY FUN (FRIDAY, MAY 31st - MINIMUM DAY - 8:15am-12:30pm) Please don't be shy, and sign up for as many things as you want to. Thank you so much for all that you have done this year. I appreciate your support more than you know! Sign Up Warmly, Jen Cox PS-If anyone wants to donate tissues or wipes, I would be so grateful :) !
0 Comments
Good afternoon! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather as we march into May. We have A LOT OF Important information below, so please take a few moments to take it all in. I encourage you to go to the Sign Up and take a look at donations needed for the upcoming month.
END OF THE YEAR FUN! We have MANY fun projects and events coming up and WE NEED YOUR HELP to make it memorable. Please see the following link to sign up for the items that are needed for all of our end of the year activities: Sign Up 1. THE FIRST GRADE MUSICAL (THURSDAY, MAY 16th - 6:30pm) 2. THE PENPAL PICNIC (TUESDAY, MAY 21st - Early Birdie Schedule) 3. OUR END OF THE YEAR CLASS PARTY (WEDNESDAY, MAY 29th - 1:55pm) 4. FIELD DAY FUN (FRIDAY, MAY 31st - MINIMUM DAY - 8:15am-12:30pm) Please don't be shy, and sign up for as many things as you want to. Thank you so much for all that you have done this year. I appreciate your support more than you know! Sign Up THIS WEEK Homework: I sent home the HW workbook that goes with Module 4 and there are a lot of good practice pages in it. Please encourage your student to do a few pages each day. NEXT WEEK My husband was awarded a trip to the Dominican Republic, and it is an opportunity of a lifetime that we can't pass up. I will be absent all next week and Mrs. Walsh will be teaching in my place. She is a former Walnut Grove first grade teacher and we are so lucky to have her. I am sorry that I will miss teacher appreciation week :(. The good news is that my students show their appreciation EVERYDAY and I know how much they care about our classroom. I am the luckiest teacher in the world! Mrs. Walsh is amazing and I have no doubt our students will have a fantastic week! Homework: Next week will be our last week of formal homework including take home readers, the checkoff, and sight words. I can't believe it! On Friday, I will also send home the cover letter and permission slip for the Pen-pal Picnic field trip. Please complete the information, fill out the permission slip, and return it as soon as possible. TAKE HOME READERS Over the next few weeks, please take some time looking for books that belong to me, our classroom, and our library so they can be returned and organized. My books are my treasures, and I am fortunate to have an extensive library of rich literature. I love being able to share my books with my students, and I appreciate how they have taken care of them this year. Speaking of...if you have any books to donate to the classroom for my future students to read, please let me know! I am looking for all levels of books; including readers from Kindergarten level to Henry and Mudge, nonfiction easy readers, and well loved picture books to replace my worn out copies (Berenstain Bears, Mo Williams, etc). Warmly, Jen Cox PS-If anyone wants to donate tissues or wipes, I would be so grateful :) ! UPCOMING DATES 4/17- Opinion Homework/Collection Due (see note below) 4/19- Holiday, No School 4/25- Scholastic Book Orders Due 4/26- Last day to turn in donations for wheelchairs (see below) 5/16- A Book is a Magic Carpet Performance, MPR, 6:30 Pm 5/17- Minimum Day 5/27- Memorial Day, No School 5/31- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, Minimum Day OPINION HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Dear Families, This spring trimester first graders will be studying opinion writing. As part of this curriculum we are asking for every student to bring in a “collection” of five items. Your child’s homework:
Thank you for helping us launch this fun writing unit! Mrs. Cox Wheel Chair Foundation www.wheelchairfoundation.org/ Our school is raising money for the Wheelchair Foundation to help buy wheelchairs for the millions of people in our world who are immobile and are in need of a wheelchair. Each wheelchair costs $150. Last year, Walnut Grove raised enough money to buy 18 wheelchairs! This year, our class has already collected 20 dollars towards this cause. Students brainstormed ways to collect coins: Helping around the house/doing chores, selling something in the neighborhood, garage sale, asking for donations, etc. Please see the Wheel Chair Foundation Parent Letter for more information. Good afternoon!
REMINDERS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
WOW! Last week we had a such a wonderful week full of fun and STEM projects. My students worked collaboratively and I am so proud of how they negotiated their ideas. The traps turned out great! Thank you for sending in items for them to use. It was well worth the time and effort. Thank you for the kind emails about report cards. I have to say that I absolutely enjoyed writing them and reflecting on all of students' growth. I can't believe the year is 2/3 of the way over! I am so proud of their hard work and am already thinking about how much I am going to miss this special group of kiddos. Sincerely, Jennifer Cox Celebrate Reading! Read Across America Week February 25th-March 1st WG Book Fair: Monday through Friday in the MPR Monday, February 25th- “Fox in Socks” Wear fun socks to school. Tuesday, February 26th- “Green Eggs and Ham” Wear the color green to school. Wednesday, February 27th- “Wacky Wednesday” Let’s get silly! Wear your clothes backwards, inside out or mismatched. Parents and students are invited to join us for……Donuts for Everyone from 8:15-9:00 AM Thursday, February 28th- “The Cat in the Hat” Wear your favorite hat to school. Friday, March 1st- “Sleep Book” Wear your Pajamas or comfy clothes to school and get ready for a day of READING!!! Bring a small stuffed animal to read to along with a favorite book to share with your partners. Slippers are ok to bring, but please wear shoes to school. OTHER IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE 3/8 Report Cards Go Home /11 to 3/13 18th Annual Science Fair 3/20 Science Extravaganza Field Trip All first graders will be on early bird schedule Arrival time 8:15AM, Dismissal time 1:55 PM. 3/21 PTA Meeting MPR, 7 PM 3/28 OPEN HOUSE 6 to 7 PM SCIENCE EXTRAVAGANZA We have been invited to join the Science Extravaganza at Amador Valley on Wednesday, March 20th! To make our scheduled time, we will need to leave Walnut Grove at 8:20AM and walk to Amador Valley High School. All first graders will be on early bird schedule: Arrival time 8:15AM, Dismissal time 1:55 PM. We need 5 chaperones per class to walk with us to Amador with groups. Please email me if you are available to join us! When it gets closer, we’ll send home more information and field trip permission slips. OPTIONAL: SPELLING WORDS TO PRACTICE THIS WEEK LONG A PATTERNS: spray, pay, stay, way, trail, mail, paint, rainSnap Words to practice: live, work, brown, year
YEARBOOKS Buy your book today through our vendor by visiting www.yearbookordercenter.com and entering in our school code: 19535. If you are unsure if you've purchased one, this link also gives you the ability to check any previous orders you may have placed. I have included this bit of information because I personally was sure I ordered one at registration, but it turns out I did not. I recommend checking! THANK YOU Thank you for all of your help with the Valentine’s Day party and for the wonderful treats! Our room parents outdid themselves with fun activities, cookie decorating and photo booth fun! Please check out our Shutterfly Site to see fun pictures! While you are there, can you please add any pictures that you have taken throughout the year? I am wanting to create a slideshow on Shutterfly with the many faces of my adorable students :). ***If anyone has pictures from the year to share, please upload them on Shutterfly! Please click on the link above! I would love to add your pictures to a slideshow and use them in a nonfiction book that we are writing ALL ABOUT WALNUT GROVE. Thank you. UPCOMING DATES 2/11- Holiday, No School 2/14- Valentine's Day Party 2/15- Minimum Day 2/18- President's Day, No School 2/27-Donuts at the Grove (before school) 3/15- No School 3/20- Science Extravaganza (tentatively scheduled-chaperones needed) 3/28- Open House 4/1-4/5- Spring Break, No School 4/19- Holiday, No School 5/16- A Book is a Magic Carpet Performance, MPR, 6:30 Pm (tentatively scheduled) 5/17- Minimum Day 5/27- Memorial Day, No School 5/31- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, Minimum Day HOMEWORK Valentine’s Day Celebration Homework CLICK ON TITLE TO DOWNLOAD HARDCOPY WITH STUDENT NAMES On Thursday, February 14th we will be celebrating all of the friendships we have made in class by having a Valentine’s card exchange! For homework, please decorate a small box (shoe boxes or cereal boxes work great) or a small bag, to use as a mailbox in class. Please make sure your mailbox has your name in large print and/or your picture on it so your friends will be able to tell it’s yours. Be sure that your mailbox has an opening that is big enough for cards and small treats to be easily placed inside and taken out. ☺ On Valentine’s Day, (Thursday, February 14th), please bring your mailbox and enough Valentine cards for each friend in class. We have 24 friends in class, including you! Please write “to” and “from” on each card. This is a great way to learn and practice the spelling of all your classmates’ names. Your friends will love getting a card from you. Have fun and be creative! XOXO, Mrs. Cox READ Read for 20 minutes a night or 80 minutes a week SPELLING/OPTIONAL (This week's spelling words are attached to the HW Checkoff sheet): Take a pretest with an adult and practice the words that you misspell using one or more of the following choices:
MATH Practice math for 5-10 minutes a night or 30 minutes a week We have completed lessons 1-18 in our Eureka program. Feel free to work on the homework that is connected to those lessons. Also, we are working on memorizing math facts to 20! Continue to practice math facts by playing games, using websites, flashcards, etc. We have moved onto subtraction math facts. However, if your child does not know addition facts, I recommend that you spend time practicing those before you dive into subtraction. To download math fact games and practice, please click on the math_practice_09-10-2.pdf . It is a document I created with my former second grade team. It's full of games that you can play with dice and cards to reinforce math facts. SNAPSHOTS FROM ROOM 407 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL
All of our first grade students celebrated the 100th day of school last Friday with fun STEM building, 100th day art, exercises in 100 seconds, and writing about when we are 100 years old. We are 100 days smarter in first grade! BEARS THAT CARE Please read message below from a Walnut Grove student... It is time once again for our Bears That Care Toy Drive!!! My brother Colin (Harvest Park), sister Jaedyn (Walnut Grove) and I, Taryn (Amador) started Bears that Care six years ago to collect stuffed animals, small toys, and books for children who are involved with child protective services court system. Thanks to your amazing efforts and support, as well as the generosity of the entire Walnut Grove community, last year we collected more than 2962 toys! Because of Walnut Grove, every child coming to court in Alameda County this past year was able to receive a toy and a book. These toys have brought so much joy to the children and families that have received them. Children’s tears turn to smiles, and the court is seen as a less scary place to be. The Bears that Care Toy Drive will be January 28th through February 1st. We are asking for children who want to participate to go through their closets and look for toys they no longer play with that they would like to donate. The toys should be in excellent (like new) condition. For children donating toys with batteries, we are asking that they replace the batteries so that the toy will be in good working condition (many of the families served don’t have the financial means to replace the batteries). No toy is too small and all are appreciated. SCIENCE FAIR Our 20th annual Science Fair digital version pamphlets are here! A paper copy went home last Friday. I encourage you to go to the website for additional information: https://www.wgsciencefair.com/. REMINDER: The 6 Flags Read to Succeed forms due on February 2nd!! UPCOMING DATES
Friday, January 25th -- Recycling Day Friday, January 25th -- Official 100th Day at School Friday, January 25th -- Our School-Wide Flag Salute and 3 R's Assembly Monday, January 28th -- Abilities Awareness Week Monday, February 11th -- No School - Lincoln's Birthday Thursday, February 14th -- Valentine Party (more information to come) Friday, February 15th -- Minimum Day Monday, February 18th -- No School ~ President's Day Wednesday, February 27th -- Donuts at the Grove (served near the MPR)! - Students, bring an adult and enjoy a donut before the start of our school day! :) March 15th- No School March 28th- Open House HOMEWORK READ Read for 20 minutes a night or 80 minutes a week SPELLING/OPTIONAL (This week's spelling words are attached to the HW Checkoff sheet): Take a pretest with an adult and practice the words that you misspell using one or more of the following choices:
MATH Practice math for 5-10 minutes a night or 30 minutes a week We have completed lessons 1-18 in our Eureka program. Feel free to work on the homework that is connected to those lessons. Also, we are working on memorizing math facts to 20! Continue to practice math facts by playing games, using websites, flashcards, etc. We have moved onto subtraction math facts. However, if your child does not know their addition facts, I recommend that you spend time practicing those before you dive into subtraction. I have had a few parents request pages to help reinforce math facts. I will send home a few next week with all students. If you will not use them, please send them back and I will reuse them next year! Thank you. To download math fact games and practice, please click on the math_practice_09-10-2.pdf . It is a document I created with my former second grade team. It's full of games that you can play with dice and cards to reinforce math facts. THANK YOU! Dear students, Thank you so much for thinking of me! I can't tell you how much I loved the thoughtful cards, candies, and generous gift cards. It made me feel extremely appreciated! I missed seeing your smiling faces and am so glad to be back in the swing of things this week! Sincerely, Mrs. Cox ***Please check your child's backpack this weekend! You will find a lot of student work, spelling words, homework, and Scholastic Book Order Forms*** UPCOMING DATES 1/21- Martin Luther Kin Jr. Day, No School 1/25- Scholastic Book Orders Due! See Scholastic Book Order Instructions 1/24- 100th Day! 2/11- Holiday, No School 2/15- Minimum Day 2/18- President's Day, No School 3/15- No School 4/1-4/5- Spring Break, No School 4/19- Holiday, No School 5/16- A Book is a Magic Carpet Performance, MPR, 6:30 Pm (tentatively scheduled) 5/17- Minimum Day 5/27- Memorial Day, No School 5/31- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, Minimum Day HOMEWORK READ Read for 20 minutes a night or 80 minutes a week MATH Practice math for 5-10 minutes a night We have completed lessons 1-11 in our Eureka program. Feel free to work on the homework that is connected to those lessons. Also, we are working on memorizing math facts to 20! Continue to practice math facts by playing games, using websites, flashcards, etc. To download math fact games and practice, please click on the math_practice_09-10-2.pdf . It is a document I created with my former second grade team. It's full of games that you can play with dice and cards to reinforce math facts. Sight Words and Spelling Pattern: o_e - Long /0/, Silent e 1. how 2. find 3. under 4. those 5. close 6. home 7. spoke 8. over 9. bone 10. hole 11. rode OPTIONAL: Take a pretest with an adult and practice the words that you misspell using one or more of the following choices:
SNAPSHOTS FROM ROOM 407 UPCOMING DATES12/3-12/7-Multicultural/Diversity Week
******Please Don't Forget! School Hours will be from 8:15-1:55pm ****** Mary Poppins Jr. Play at Amador Theater, 9:30 Am -Funded From the parent field trip donations On Thursday, December 20th we will be walking to the Amador High School Theater to see “Mary Poppins, Jr”. We will be leaving school at 8:45 a.m. and returning in time for lunch. This will be an early start day for all first graders. We will be walking rain or shine. Please make sure your child wears good walking shoes and appropriate clothing for the weather that day. Permission slips and more information will go home on Friday. Please let me know if you would like to chaperone and walk with us to Amador! If more than five parents would like to chaperone then we will have a lottery to choose parent helpers. Thanks for your understanding. Today you will receive the field trip forms. Please complete and return the field trip form by Friday, December 7th. 12/21- TK-8 MINIMUM DAY ****** Mark your calendars! School Hours will be from 8:15-12:30pm ****** 12/21- Pajama Party and Book Exchange (have your child pick and wrap a gently used book that they have enjoyed to trade with a friend-more information to come next week) 12/24-1/4- Winter Break, No School 1/21- Martin Luther Kin Jr. Day, No School 2/11- Holiday, No School 2/15- Minimum Day 2/18- President's Day, No School 3/15- No School 4/1-4/5- Spring Break, No School 4/19- Holiday, No School 5/16- A Book is a Magic Carpet Performance, MPR, 6:30 Pm (tentatively scheduled) 5/17- Minimum Day 5/27- Memorial Day, No School 5/31- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, Minimum Day Four Seasons, Lesson Taught By Our Wonderful Art Parents DEAR CLASS,Although I had a wonderful week off, it is so good to be back with my favorite first graders! They are such a sweet group of kiddos and I am so grateful to have them! hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and restful week off from school! It has been fun hearing about all of your adventures. It sounds like my students did a great job with their "homework" and worked hard filling buckets with kindness. Thank your for taking time out of your schedules to conference with me. It has been such a joy teaching your children and I have enjoyed reflecting and sharing our progress with you. I appreciate your flexibility as we have had to reschedule many meetings due to the school closure. While our fall conferences are almost over, know that I am always happy to meet with you if something comes up later in the year. Please check your child's backpacks when your child goes home today. Here are the things that will be going home:
I have included the second trimester focus, and standards for you to review below. The school year is in full motion and I love how my enthusiastic learners are ready to take on anything! In word study we continue to work on the case of the silent e and Rasheed and Rocky are teaching us how to SPELL sight words and decodable words.. We are also working on words that include digraphs, consonant blends, and a few word endings (-ed, s, ing, etc). Please have your child continue practicing SPELLING the sight words that go home. My students are also enjoying reading and writing non-fiction and are excited to be done with the math module one. Module two focuses on MORE addition and subtraction, but we will spice things up with place value and harder equations. Warmly, Jennifer Cox FIRST GRADE, TRIMESTER 2 |
AuthorJennifer Cox Archives
May 2019
Categories |