Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

I am very excited for this upcoming week!  We are actually ahead in our reading program so we are taking this week OFF from the Reach program.  Each student will be working on leveled readers at their own reading level for comprehension.  We will be incorporating reading/comprehension skills they need to focus on based on MAP winter scores and enrichment opportunities they are ready for to help them get to the next level.  These skills will vary depending on where your child falls with their test data.  Each child will receive leveled homework so they may not have the same exact homework as their peers.  I know the students will really enjoy reading groups this week and the activities planned!

 

In math, we have started money!  Please know that ALL students should be able to identify EVERY coin AND their values.  They should also be able to count small amounts of change.  We are focusing on bills: $1, $5, $10, $20.  We will also focus on comparing amounts of money and real world money problems.  Again, homework will be different for the class depending on where they are at with their money skills.  Please check your child's planner from Friday.  If your child is struggling with identification of coins and values, there should be a note from me!

 

We are DONE with fast facts fluency.  You will receive a letter from me on Monday which will let you know which facts your child has mastered.  We will be doing make up testing for tests not passed for the next two Fridays.  We plan to have our "Mastery Mix" trail mix party before we leave for break.  After we come back from break, we will continue computation practice using other skills such as regrouping and other skills they need to continue practicing.

 

We will also start time and fractions during math intervention time.  Please remember, students should have learned how to tell time to the hour and half hour in first grade.  Please review with your child while we review in class and build upon those skills!

 

I just wanted to give a shout out and say WAY TO GO to all the students that worked hard on their animal projects!  They were AWESOME!  I received many compliments from teachers and students on Friday!  I am so bummed I missed Multi Cultural Night but I heard it was a blast!  I LOVED all the presentations we did in class and I got to see all their hard work!

 

***Important Reminders***

I think spring fever has started to kick in...  I had a talk with students about procedures and expectations last week.  Please review and talk to your child about what's expected in the classroom.  We have not had problems in the past but some behaviors are starting to show and I want to make sure we nip them in the bud!  I know this is a crazy time of year and many teachers feel the students may have some cabin fever since we have had a LOT of indoor recess.  We have been trying to do more brain breaks in class with Go Noodle and take stretch breaks.  I have also encouraged the students to play outside on the weekends if the weather is nice!  Just some important rules to review with your child:

 

*Listen when a peer or teacher is speaking and be respectful.

*Talking is allowed during centers but must be kept appropriate and on topic.

*There are certain times during the day when talking is fine but when it's time to do certain independent work, students should focus on their work and not talk to others.

 

I know that I hold the students to very high expectations but it's because I know what they are capable of.  Our class receives many compliments from other teachers and administration for their growth in academics and for their behavior and I don't want that to change.  We have an awesome group of students and they have done a fantastic job this year!  I'm sure we will all be back on track this week! :)

 

Have a fantastic rest of the weekend and have a great week!