Classroom News!

Weekly Schedule

Mondays: P.E.

-Wear comfortable running shoes and loose clothing.

Tuesdays: Out and About

-Wear comfortable walking shoes that can get wet and muddy.

-Bring enough layers and appropriate clothing to be outdoors for two or more hours, even in the rain!

Wednesdays: Art

Thursdays: Garden, Computer Lab, or Library

-Wear comfortable walking shoes that can get wet and muddy.

Fridays: Art

Every Day:

Please be sure that your child brings the following each day to school:

-A healthy lunch

-A full water bottle

-A rain jacket (Students go out for recess and have Out and Abouts on rainy days!)

-Comfortable walking shoes that can get wet (no flip flops or slip ons)

-Clothes that can get dirty

-Sunscreen

-Sunhat

-Extra set of clothes kept in the back pack

Dates to Remember

-Math Class Begins: Tuesday, September 14th

First graders will go to Ms. Karen, Second graders are with Ms. Rachel, and third graders are with Ms. Sherry.

Please be sure to also refer to teachers' math blogs for information on math class.

-Picture Day: Monday, September 20th

Please send your picture form to school with your child on the 20th. If your child wants an id card for $1, please write that on the form.

-School Open House: Wednesday, September 22nd, 5:00-6:30

Come visit the school and see what our students have been up to in these first weeks of school!

-Camp Tilikum Canoe Trip: Tuesday, September 28th, all day

If you are interested in volunteering on this day, we would love to have you! We will have at least three students in a canoe at a time, with one parent volunteer. If we have 6 parent volunteers, the class can go canoeing all at one time for a longer period of time! Please let me know if you are interested in joining us for this water adventure!

-Pizza Wednesday Begins: Wednesday, September 29th

If you are interested in participating in this fundraiser, please visit the school website link above for more information on how to order.

-Teacher In-Service (No School): Friday, October 8th

-Student Conferences (No School): Thursday, October 28th and Friday, October 29th.

Our First Days Together

The Barn Swallow class has had a great beginning to the school year! We have been spending a lot of time getting to know each other, building class culture and community, and learning the procedures and the routines of the classroom. We have learned a few new games, for example, the Freeze Game, Cooseki and Pebble Pebble. We've learned the songs Make New Friends, Do Your Ears Hang Low, and Whadalee-Atcha. Students practiced the 'Hand Shake Hello' greeting where we practice giving a firm, but gentle hand shake, with eye contact.

I have read a few good stories to the class, Stephanie's Ponytail and The Three Wishes, which inspired students to draw or write three wishes that they would make if a 'tree fairy' appeared in front of us, granting wishes. Students practiced being presenters and good audience members as almost every student took a turn presenting their favorite wish that they would make. Ask your child about 'sound waves' during a presentation! Students have worked on water color paintings of their favorite summer memory and then wrote a sentence about it using neat italic handwriting. They also had a great time acting out their memory, having the rest of the class guess what is was. We've had time to read books and pictures independently and soon our literacy block will be running smoothly!

We also had a math dilemma where we were having a hard time figuring out how all 21 of us could fit on the carpet in a circle. We measured the carpet in feet and then measured how much space one student needed when he or she sat cross legged (1 and a half feet). Then students made a 'map' of the carpet on graph paper and tried to figure out how to make room for everyone on the carpet. We have tape on the rug now, which marks all 21 places to sit on the carpet!

Students used magnifying loupes in the garden and had fantastic close-up views of plants and insects. The loupes are amazing and we will be sure to have them out at our Open House night for everyone to experiment with. We also visited the garden to see how many different living creatures we could find. The list was long!

This Week

We will continue to build our class community this week and begin to form our classroom rules as a class. I am going to begin introducing the main parts of our literacy structure, which allows students to work productively and independently while I meet with reading and writing strategy groups, as well as confer with students one-on-one. Math by grade begins on Tuesday for a short, half hour session. We will have math on Mondays through Thursday every day after the morning recess. Students will also meet their P.E., art, and Out and About teachers this week. Please refer to the weekly schedule above to ensure that your child is prepared for each day at school. We will also have our first Out and About on Tuesday to the garden across the street where we will pick and sample fresh vegetables! We may be lucky enough to go again on Thursday. I hope that all students will come to school every day prepared for the weather. We often go outside in the rain and rain jackets and waterproof shoes are necessary every day. Students should also bring a full water bottle each day to ensure that they are comfortable and hydrated. Sun hats also do a wonders in keeping cool and are encouraged! Students will also be having lunch on Fridays this year, rather than a 'big snack'.

Snack

Students have a morning snack before their first recess and in the past we have had a snack schedule where families would take turns bringing healthy snacks every day for a week (Monday through Thursday). On average, families bring the class snack 2 times during the entire year. We currently do not have any food allergies. Good snack choices are foods that are substantial, low in waste/wrappers, and ready to eat. The students and I will not have time to cut apples or peel oranges, for example, because we will be busy working on literacy goals and will be reading up a storm! Because food is a part of our curriculum, fresh and seasonal snacks are always exciting. In the near future I might have an option where families send $20 before their snack week and I would buy the snacks for the class. I also might be getting a small refrigerator in the classroom, if I can fit it in, which would allow for more interesting snacks! The snack schedule will be sent out by the end of this week.

Thank you Barn Swallow families. I'm really looking forward to our year together.

We have a GREAT class!

Please email me with any questions, ideas, or thoughts at: S.Reuter@fgcschool.org

I look forward to hearing from you!