It's November!

Dear Family,


November has arrived and there is a new crispness in the air! The weather is getting cooler, so we ask that you please send your child to school with warmer clothing. We do go outside most days, and your child will be much more comfortable and will have lots more fun when dressed for the weather. We also want to ask parents to please make sure that there is an extra change of clothes stashed in your son or daughter's backpack (including socks and underwear) as accidents do sometimes happen!


We have been working hard in grade one and your children are certainly making a great deal of progress. Thanks so much to all parents who are focusing on practicing sight words at home - it is certainly making a difference in your child's reading skills. Over the next few weeks we will be testing your child's reading level and sight words, and you may see a change in the level of books your child is taking home for nightly reading. Please let us know if your child is having any difficulty with the books he or she is taking home to read with you. Once a week your child will take home an extra book that we did in class for guided reading; this book may be slightly more difficult but we have read it together in class.


In math, we have finished the unit on patterning and we are working on identifying and quantifying numbers to 20, and the concepts of more and less.  A new math game will go home later this month to practice some of these skills.


We have been covering the concepts of responsibility, good choices, friendship, and feelings in health, and have integrated most of this work into our literacy block. We will start a unit in mid-November called "All About Bears", which will be integrated into our literacy block, but will cover some of the concepts in our science curriculum.


We look forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's progress at parent-teacher interviews next week.


Mrs. Connolly and Mrs. Newson

November Dates

Nov. 8th - Parent Teacher interviews (evening)
Nov. 9th - Parent Teacher interviews (no school)
Nov. 8th-10th - Scholastic Book Fair in the Library
Nov. 8th-9th - Bake Sale in the lobby
Nov. 8th  -Remembrance Day ceremony at school
Nov. 10th - Provincial PD Day (no school)
Nov. 11th - Remembrance Day (no school)
Nov. 24th - Report cards go home
Nov. 25th - School PD Day (no school)

October Update From Grade 1

Dear Family,

The month of September has flown by!  It is hard to believe that we have been at school for almost a month.

We have been busy in the classroom learning routines and establishing classroom behaviours, expectations and responsibilities. We have also been reviewing our letters and developing some early reading skills. The children have settled in our routine nicely and are very eager to learn all of the new things we have been exploring.

As you know, we now have smaller groups during our morning literacy block. Mrs. Newson and I will be working on reading and writing skills, and integrating our social studies, health and science curriculum into our literacy block. At home, you can support us by reading the weekly poem with your child and by practicing sight words each night. Tomorrow, your child will bring home a book that he or she will read to you. Your child will bring home a new book each weeknight to read. The book should be easy and enjoyable, but your child will still need you support.

In math, we have been working on a unit on patterning, which will be finished early next week.  In our next unit, we will be exploring numbers to 20.  Next week I will send home a math game that the children have already played in class. This game can be kept at home and your child can play it with a friend, sibling or with you for some extra review. Occasionally I will send home a sight word or math game to add some variety to homework, and you can keep these games at home to play at you convenience.

Here are some October dates to remember:

Monday, October 11 – Thanksgiving (no school)

Monday, October 17 – rescheduled field trip to Arlington Orchard

Thursday, October 20 and Friday, October 21 – PEITF Convention – no school for students

Monday, October 31 – Halloween stations – students can come dressed in their Halloween costumes (no masks or face paint, please)

Thanks for all of your support over this first month of school. Remember, I will still be responsible for math instruction, lunch forms, book orders, and all correspondence regarding drop off or pick up after school, and I will be continuing to check agendas for notes for all of the students in Mrs. Newson’s morning class regarding these matters.

Your partner in education,

Tina Connolly

tnconnolly@edu.pe.ca

888-8492

Welcome!

Welcome to my class blog for the 2011 - 2012 school year. Check back soon for an update!

Hello everyone! Welcome to Grade 1B's class blog. Keep checking in for updates about things happening in our class.