WOW! I can't believe week three is almost over. Your students are thriving in Room 407, and we are establishing good routines for learning. But, boy are they tired! It's good that we have a three day weekend coming up. Please see the following classroom information. SHUTTERFLY SITE Our Room Parents and Photographer Parents have graciously offered to create and manage a Shutterfly Site for our classroom! They will post information, sign ups, and post pictures and slideshows from throughout the year. But, we need your permission before we begin. Please go to the GOOGLE FORM to give permission and to give your contact information so you will receive an invitation. Thank you! SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUBS Class Code - GN9G8 Order Due Date - August 25th (With back to school, I'm a little behind this month. I will submit it Friday night....) Support Your Child’s Reading Success! Choose books with your child from the ONLINE FLYERS at: scholastic.com/bookclubs To order online, connect to our class using our Class Code: GN9G8 Go to our Scholastic Book Club Page for more information. STAGGERED SCHEDULE Here is our staggered start list. I am so excited that we finally worked it and it is a relatively even split. Wow! Thank you for your flexibility. This schedule will begin on Tuesday, September 4th.
If you find that your child’s start time is proving to be tricky for your family, please feel free to talk with me about it and we will it work out. Thank you! Early Start Students: Drop off will remain the same as it has been. The campus is open at 8:00 a.m. Students hang up backpacks, take out lunch boxes and can play on the playground until the bell rings. I will meet them at the playground to walk them to class. Pick up will be slightly different. Students will now be dismissed one gate over - the gate between the computer lab and office. For the first week of stagger I will walk them out for dismissal to make sure everyone is good with this slight change. After the first week the students will walk down the hallway and to the gate on their own (well, with all the other first graders going that way too!). Late Start Students: Drop Off: Students can be dropped off at the gate between the computer lab and office. Last year there was a supervisor at the gate that will open it a little before 9:00 to let the students onto campus. Students will walk to class, hang up their backpacks, put lunches into the wagon and sit down on the 'line' by our backpacks (we will practice this). I will open the classroom door at 9:00 for them to come inside and start their day. Pick Up: Students will be dismissed at 2:50. Because this is our staggered reading time together, I tend to teach right up until the bell. We will gather our things and I will walk them to the gate right here between Kindergarten and First grade for dismissal (same gate we've been dismissing at this year). Wednesdays will remain the same for both groups. School starts at 9:15 and I will meet the class out on the playground. I'll dismiss them at 2:50 and walk them to the gate between Kindergarten and First Grade to be picked up. CLASSROOM VOLUNTEERS Thank you in advance for your willingness to help make this the BEST YEAR EVER! AM and PM Parent Helpers (up to 8): Help with centers during staggered times (8:15-9:00 and 2:05-2:50) Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This position can be shared and we can work out a schedule once we have established the early birdies and the later gators. Thursdays (8:15-9:00) - Soo Rhee (beginning September 13th) Thursdays (2:05-2:50) - Mary Cloyd (beginning September 13th) Room Parent and Assistant: Help the teacher with planning classroom events, field trips and parties Soo Rhee, Jenny Cloyd, and Kelly Brooks (Thanks for stepping up! You are rock stars). Fun Run Liaison: Attend informational meeting, gather volunteers, send out email reminders, and organize and help on the day of the Fun Run Karthikeyan Jothi (Thank you so much! We will find a few other parents to help on the actual Fun Run Day. Parents, if you are willing to help that day, can you please email me and I will forward it to Karthikeyan). Yearbook/Shutterfly Photographer: Take pictures of classmates at parties and fundraisers for the yearbook, and organize Shutterfly Website so parents can share pictures Gururaj Desai (I believe that our room parents have already started working on this. Please coordinate with them) Artwise Parents (2-3 needed): Teach and/or assist with monthly lessons using the lessons provided (Parents can work together or alternate teaching) Erin Arena (Lead) Anna Sophie Loewenberg, Deepta Rao, and Kelly Mokashi Recycling (2-3 needed): Email reminders, collect recycling with other WG parents once a month, and occasionally take recycling to the Recycling Center (parents alternate and take turns). First grade collectively uses the money earned to pay for Scholastic News. Please see the RECYCLING PDF FLYER for more information. We still need a few volunteers for this! WG Garden: Help maintain the WG garden Science Helper: Volunteer will join our class in the Science Lab once a week and assist Mrs. Erikson on Mondays from 12:15-1:00. Deepta Rao At Home Helpers Stephanie Kamali and Deepta Rao Center Helpers: Volunteers will join our class once a month to help run special themed centers. Computer Lab was scheduled at the time I had listed on the BTS signups. Let's talk and come up with a time that works for everyone. Deepta Rao, Kelly Mokashi, and Shobana Srinivasan INTRODUCING OUR CLASS MASCOTS...TWO MORE COOL CATS! I am happy to announce the arrival of two new cool cats! Rasheed the cub asked if he could join our class to learn more about phonics, reading and writing alongside my first graders! Of course I said yes! His little brother, Rocky, is tagging along because he loves adventure and would like to be a part of our STAR STUDENT fun (see below). STAR STUDENT FUN ON FRIDAYS I will pull a stick and randomly choose a student to be the STAR STUDENT the following week. On that day, the student will take home Rocky along with a Pete the Cat book and a Writing Journal. While the student has Rocky, they will complete a minimum of two journal entries. ON TUESDAYS Students will present their ALL ABOUT ME POSTER (which they are completing this week at home). ON WEDNESDAYS The Star Student will bring back Rocky and read their journal entries to the class. **Throughout the entire week, they will have a few extra special privileges in the classroom. ***THIS WILL BEGIN A WEEK FROM TOMORROW!!! SCHOOL COUNSELOR VISIT Mrs. Martinez visited Room 407 on Tuesday and taught an engaging lesson about self control with BUBBLES! Please see this letter explaining the lesson: PARENT LETTER FROM MRS. MARTINEZ. She also wanted to highlight that The Parent Project and Loving Solutions classes start next week! To learn more about our WG programs, please visit her WEBSITE. OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Take care, and enjoy your weekend!
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Dear parents,
We had another fantastic week in Room 407! I am the luckiest teacher at Walnut Grove :). I am currently working to create two balanced literacy groups for the staggered schedule, and plan to send you confirmation of your child's schedule on Monday. I've discovered that there was some confusion on the sign-ups. Some people thought adding a * meant that you DO have flexibility and others thought it meant that you DO NOT have flexibility and would be happy with either schedule. In an effort to clear up the confusion, I have created a new Google Form to confirm your preference. ALL PARENTS: Please complete this GOOGLE FORM to confirm your preference. My goal is to create two groups of 12 students. Thank you! Sincerely, Mrs. Cox ***A blog update will be posted on Monday with the staggered schedule and more! Back to School!Thank you for coming to Back to School Night! I enjoyed meeting everyone and sharing our first grade program with you. If you were unable to attend, please click the Back to School slideshow presentation link for important classroom information. Also, please complete the following list of THINGS TO DO:
Upcoming Dates8/22 PTA General Association Meeting 8/24 - Back to School Family Social 9/3- Labor Day.-No School 9/4- STAGGERED READING STARTS!!! 9/12- Fall Picture Day 9/14- Recycling 9/28 Fun Run (fundraiser) ***You must be cleared to volunteer. Please see the blurb about volunteering below. Curriculum UpdateMath Last week we had fun talking about data, graphing, and number sense! This week, we will begin Module 1, Topic A of Eureka Math: Sums and Differences to 10. "In this first module of Grade 1, students make significant progress towards fluency with addition and subtraction of numbers to 10 (1.OA.6) as they are presented with opportunities intended to advance them from counting all to counting on which leads many students then to decomposing and composing addends and total amounts. In Kindergarten, students have achieved fluency with addition and subtraction facts to 5. This means they can decompose 5 into 4 and 1, 3 and 2, and 5 and 0. They can do this without counting all. They perceive the 3 and 2 embedded within the 5." Please click on the G1, M1, Topic A Parent Newsletter to find helpful information and tips. The Lafayette Parish School System has made a fantastic effort to explain Eureka Math in a comprehensible way for parents. I will periodically link their newsletters to our classroom blog, and I highly recommend for you to take advantage of this resource. Language Arts Last week our writing and reading was focused on community building and getting to know each other. We will continue to do that throughout the year! Next week, we will add the workshop model and will begin the new reading and writing units of study. In reading, we will work on building good habits and partnerships. In writing, we will launch the small moment unit and students will work on building writing stamina and writing stories about their own lives. I will send home weekly folders on Fridays that will include books and a homework log AFTER we begin the staggered schedule. However, I encourage you to immediately begin establishing a nightly routine that includes reading. You can read with your child, or they can read to you using books from your own home. I encourage you to talk to your child about their reading! Having rich discussions about the story elements (characters, setting, plot, etc) will help your child have deeper understanding and strengthen their comprehension skills. Here is a link to some Book Talk Questions that will help guide a meaningful conversation with your child. Please click and sign up for BTS Assessment Timeslot SignUp Genius Form Thank you for those who have already signed up for a BTS assessment time slot. If you have not, please do so ASAP! My goal is to assess all my students by August 24th, and having that one on one time is extremely valuable. Volunteering Thank you for signing up to volunteer in Room 407! I am compiling the list and will be sharing it with you shortly. CLEARANCE FORMS You must be cleared before volunteering! It takes a few weeks, so please submit form as soon as possible. We have many fun volunteering opportunities coming up in the next few months and we need your help! Please go online to https://goo.gl/L63FV6 and complete the Volunteer Clearance Form. Volunteer Clearance donations can be turned in to the Front Office. $6.00 is the suggested donation. Thank you for helping the children and staff at Walnut Grove Elementary!! Highlights from WG/PTASAVE THE DATE Friday, August 24th for our Back to School Family Social Head over to WG from 6:00pm-8:00pm for a fun night of catching up with school friends, mingling with other families and hearing the laughter of all of our Roadrunners as they run around and play! Namaste Pizza and Mustache Mike's Italian Ice will both be there to sell some delicious food and treats, and water will be provided. Feel free to bring a blanket and hang out on the grass for awhile! More details to follow! WG GARDEN We need your help in the garden! Here is the link for the WG Garden Help Sign Up doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_uy0VX2gZvVQAZARZAje7Vkr9gINad0SArXoT6XwvTI/edit?usp=sharing QUICK LINKS Lunch Menus Volunteer Clearance Form Walnut Grove Elementary School Drop Off/Pick Up Procedures Please feel free to comment and ask questions! Chances are if you have a question, someone else is having the same wondering. I appreciate feedback, and want to be notified if you see errors or find a broken link. Contrarily, if you appreciate something specific please comment so I can continue to provide clear communication.
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AuthorJennifer Cox Archives
May 2019
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