Week of September 28, 2015

Officially Fall

 

Well, it's officially Fall! It seems that we have kicked off the season with A LOT of rain! Nonetheless, we had a great week last week celebrating Johnny Appleseed and our animals. We made very yummy applesauce and very sticky caramel apples! We talked about  Johnny Appleseed's birthday and how we can be good citizens just like him in our own world today. We learned about apple orchards and we even had our animals blessed! I'd have to say it was a great week!

 

This week and the month of October seems to be pretty busy. There are a lot of upcoming events so be on the look out this week for the October Calendar in your child's binder. There are a couple of things that I want to tell you about in advance. This Tuesday is our family picnic and fun run. There is also a cross country meet and a volley ball game. It should be a lot of fun, so please come and join us!

 

Thursday, October 1st is the Fall flower pick up. So, if you ordered flowers, make sure that you pick them up this Thursday. Thursday, October 8th is a "Mix - it - up lunch". The whole school will eat together outside on the picnic tables and blankets this day. Please, do not send anything for lunch that needs to be microwaved as we do not have access outside that day. Thanks in advance for this!

 

Friday, October 9th is a half day for students and it is Grandparents/Grandfriend's Day. This will be a fun day for Grandparents to come and see a program that the students are working on as well as receive a gift and see our classroom. We will begin making gifts this week. Please make sure that you return the information sheet that I sent home last week about gifts by Friday. This will help me know how much to make. Also, it will let me know if your child will be going home with someone different that day. I will have a sign out sheet in my room to make things a little easier for check out.

 

That's all for now! It's going to be a great week! As always, let me know if there is anything I can do for you!

~Mrs. Emily

Hikes and Fall

We had a great week exploring nature, learning about wild animals, and Johnny Appleseed. We even practiced addition and introduced a little subtraction. Our nature hike was a great success! We saw animal tracks, a few critters, listened to birds, and discussed many different species of plants. I think everyone, including the adults learned a lot! Thanks Mr. Averett for leading our hike and teaching us about the nature we so often take for granted around us each day. Please check out our pictures below for a sneak peek at our hike!

 

This Friday we have a BIG day! First thing in the morning, we have the Blessing of the Animals. Please feel free to bring your pets to receive a blessing. Keep in mind that the animal(s) must be on a leash or in a cage and they have to be taken home after the service. We will meet outside for chapel that morning in the grove. Also, please send an apple to school with your child on Friday. We will be making a yummy apple treat to celebrate Johnny Appleseed and all that we have learned about apples. Also, Scholastic Book orders are due Friday. If you do not order online with the online code at the top of the book order form, please send in a check made out to Scholastic. Thank you!

 

Tuesday this week is St. George's night at the Griffin Dwarf House Chick-Fil-A if you are able to join us! The following Tuesday (September 29th) will be a great night of family fun at the school including volleyball, cross country, a fun run, and a family picnic. This will be a great time for fun and fellowship with the school and community. Don't forget Grandparent's day on October 9th, which will also be a half day for students. The following week is Fall Break!

 

Last, but certainly not least, the Doughtie's had their sweet baby last week. Little Mary Hawkins is at home with mommy and the whole family is doing well!

 

We are looking forward to a fun week! Happy Fall!



Nature and Apple Seeds

 

I hope that everyone has had a great weekend. Last week was a super week learning about animals and the food chain. We took our STAR tests and are now ready to start AR testing this week. Unfortunately our nature hike was cancelled last Friday because of the nasty weather and a very wet trail. We are rescheduling our hike for this Wednesday. We will get on the trail right after chapel and observe the nature all around us with a little help from Mr. Averett. Pictures of our hike are to come! 

 

This week will be learning about animals in the wild and how we can help protect them and their environments. We will also practice spelling with the short e sound and begin learning about Johnny Appleseed. In math we will learn addition and subtraction strategies and practice solving story problems.

 

Since we finally have AR up and running, we will begin testing this week. We will check out books on Fridays for the upcoming week. Your child should have an AR book on his/her level as well as a choice book that is something they may be interested in reading. We are requiring one AR test a week. Your child is welcome to take more, but one is required. We will go over procedures on taking the AR test Monday morning. While this is an important opportunity to practice reading comprehension, please continue to read for fun at home books on every level to continue your child's love for reading. It is essential during this important phase in their life that they not get overwhelmed with reading to test but continue to read for enjoyment, excitement, and learning. If you have any questions, please let me know. 

 

The tree trunk projects were SUPER! We loved sharing and getting to see each other's memorable moments in their little lives. We will hang these in the hallway for display, so come and take a look!  

 

Just a few updates/reminders for the calendar:

 

Friday, September 25

Blessing of the Animals

Johnny Appleseed Celebration - please send an apple with your child

 

Friday, October 9

Grandparent's Day & 1/2 Day for students

 

October 12th-16th

Fall Break

 



Fun Friday

It has truly been a great week. We've spent the week learning about working animals and the forest. Then we were able to have a visit from a seeing eye dog in training named Addison on Friday morning. The students LOVED getting the chance to see what she can do, learn about what she will learn, and have the chance to pet and love on such a sweet dog! Below are some pictures of a great exchange between working dog and some very happy first graders! As if that wasn't fun enough, we had house competitions in the afternoon. I am so proud of how each of our first graders behaved and helped lead their groups through our "challenges". What a fun day!

I hope that you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend and enjoy your Monday off. When we get back to school on Tuesday we will be working on plural nouns and learning more about animals by studying the food chain. We will also be continuing our number exploration in math. I am so impressed by everyone's hard work on homework, sight words, and math facts. You all have been working hard every night and it shows!

A couple of reminders and updates . . . Magazine and flower orders are due on Wednesday this week. Also, our tree trunk projects are due on Friday. Thanks for helping your students out with these. Let me know if you have any questions. We've had some issues getting AR up and running, but I hope to begin by the end of next week. I think that covers everything! We will see you on Tuesday!

~Mrs. Emily