Pika is on my finger and Teddy is by his mirror.
Extra Special News!
Pika and Teddy are here! Pika has been our class bird for the last three years. She is a very tame and polite female cockatiel and loves to be held! Teddy is a visiting parakeet and is a very spunky and quirky male. The birds get to be out of their cage all day long while we have class. They are being very well behaved! We are hoping to be reading to Pika soon, as she loves when people hold and talk to her. She is the perfect reading partner!
-Camp Tilikum Canoe Trip This Tuesday!
Tuesday, September 28th, from 9:00-2:15
Great news! We have enough adult volunteers for the entire class to be on the water at the same time! We will have at least three students in a canoe at a time, with one adult volunteer in each canoe. I will send a check off list of 'things to bring' and put it in your child's Home Bag this afternoon. Thanks for helping your child be prepared for a great adventure!
-Pizza Wednesday Weekly Fundraiser Begins
Wednesday, September 29th
As mentioned in the FGCS news, pizza orders are due today. If you are interested in participating in this fundraiser, please visit the school website link above for more information on how to order. Orders are due today, Monday.
FGCS Spirit Day and All School Meeting:
Friday, October 1st
Our school has regular All School Meetings in the Grove Room at Central School during the school day. This Friday, students are asked to show their 'school spirit' by wearing 'Crazy Clothes'. This theme was chosen by one of our FGCS classes. Your child can wear crazy clothes that allow him or her to be safe. Have fun choosing what to wear Barn Swallows!
-Teacher In-Service (No School):
Friday, October 8th
-Student Conferences (No School):
Thursday, October 28th and Friday, October 29th.
Sign up information is soon to come!
Veteran's Day (No School)
Thursday, November 11th
Thanksgiving Break (No School)
Wednesday, November 24th through Friday, November 26th
Last Week's Classroom News
Community & Classroom Procedures
Students continued to take turns sharing something that is special to them during our morning meetings. Alyssa D., Hunter, Apollo, Siobhan, and Connor shared something special with the class during our morning meetings. We learned a new greeting called the 'Braid Greeting' where we make two circles and as we greet each other, we end up making a 'human braid'! We also learned the song 'Michael Finnegan'.
Literacy: Reading and Writing
Students continued to do their reading assessments and I introduced our literacy structure, which is called Daily 5. The five literacy activities being: read to self, read to someone, work on writing, word work (spelling), and listen to reading. Students this week are learning how to 'Read to Self' independently. When students learn how to be prepared and independent readers, I will be able to meet with small reading groups and confer with individual students. We also brainstormed 'How to Choose a Spot' in the classroom so that everyone can do their best.
I gave the students a spelling inventory test to find out where they are at on the spelling continuum. This will allow me to match students up with spelling words that are just right. The spelling program that we currently use is called 'Words Their Way'. It focuses on patterns of vowels and consonants within words. Once students understand their pattern, they are able to apply this knowledge to the spelling of other words.
I also introduced our writing structure, which will allow for students to write independently while I work on writing strategies with small groups and confer individually with students. The writing structure will eventually revolve around students creating personal goals under one of the following categories: conventions (punctuation), spelling (phonetic and conventional), ideas and content, word choice, and organization.
Out and About
The boat floating at Gale's Creek was a success! All boats floated and we learned about the current. It pushed the boats back against the bank. Some students attempted to create an 'equal and opposite force' by paddling sticks to make an opposite current. This helped the boats go a little farther away from the bank. There was also a lot of excitement when we had a few visitors, crayfish! Students took turns observing the crayfish in the shallow water near the bank. I wonder what creatures we'll see in the water during our canoe trip?! We ended our boat floating trip with a quick, fresh, and healthy snack-we picked blackberries!
Home Bags
We have been doing a good job of remembering to bring Home Bags back and forth to school! On Thursday we had 18 out of 20 and on Friday we had 16 out of 20. The class is hoping to get 20 out of 20 many days in a row!
Level 1 hopes that the Home Bag will mostly serve as a communication tool that connects home and school. When important letters come home they can often get lost in young hands, accidentally left behind, or scrunched in backpacks to never be found again. (Not all students have backpacks.) The Home Bag will be used to tote these letters home. I also want to send finished student work home regularly, and again, the Home Bag will help you know when there is finished work to be collected (and protected!) In late October students will set their personal academic goals during our student conferences. Student goals become a part of each child's PLP (Personalized Learning Plan). If families prefer, I will send 'just right' work home after goal setting conferences, that will help support students' personal goals. Once in a while, math teachers will send home a math game that allows for extra practice at home. (Please communicate with your child's teacher if you prefer to not have additional math practice sent home.)
The Home Bag is for:
- Letters and notes from school
- Finished work to take home
- Work that supports student goals
- Work that students want to take home and continue
This is new for all of level one and we are looking forward to your feedback!
Snack
For snack last week we had grapes & pretzels, pitas, hummus, & carrot sticks, sliced cheese & whole grain crackers, and bananas. The students enjoyed all of these snacks very much! Thank you! The snack schedule is included in the classroom blog. Look at the top of the page on the far right and you should see the link to the snack schedule page.
This Week's Classroom News
Community & Classroom Procedures
This week the following students will be sharing during our morning meetings:
- Monday: Emma
- Tuesday: Lola
- Wednesday: Gage
- Thursday: Ramsey
- Friday: Emilee
- Next Monday: Alivia
Literacy: Reading and Writing
We will continue to do reading assessments this week. I have been able to read one on one with students, as the class is learning how to 'Read to Self' independently for longer periods of time. Students were also able to choose their own places to work today and followed the chart that they brainstormed. We will continue to practice 'Read to Self' and choosing a spot for independent work this week. Students are doing a great job with reflecting upon what worked well and how to fix something that didn't work well. Again, the five literacy activities of Daily 5 are: read to self, read to someone, work on writing, word work (spelling), and listen to reading.
The spelling inventory test that students took last week has given me some great information on where to begin with our spelling program for each student. Word work (spelling) will soon become a part of our regular literacy block. If you would like your child's spelling words sent home in the 'Home Bag', once we begin word work, please email me.
This week we will continue to build upon our writing structure. Students have been building their writing stamina and working for longer periods of time. The writing block will be broken up with writing strategy lessons and student sharing.
The writing block structure will eventually revolve around students creating personal goals under one of the following categories: conventions (punctuation), spelling (phonetic and conventional), ideas and content, word choice, and organization. While students are writing independently, I will begin meeting with small writing strategy groups and conferring one on one with students about their writing. The work that we do will support the students' individual goals. Once students reach their goal, we will choose another one in a different category to work on.
Out and About
As you already know, we are going canoeing for our Out and About this week! I will take as many pictures as I can and share them on the blog.
We were hoping to go to B Street Farm on Thursday and make pizzas and salsa. Our student forms are not all in yet, so we won't be allowed to go as a class. If you have your form, please be sure to get it in. The food at the farm is ready for us to harvest and the kids are anxious to see their food forest from last year!
I might be able to take the students to the new garden on Thursday, but would need an additional adult to go with us. Would you like to join us? We would love to have you! Email me at S.Reuter@fgcschool.org if you are interested in coming to the garden on Thursday afternoon between 12:30 and 3:00.
Home Bags
We have been doing a good job of remembering to bring Home Bags back and forth to school! On Thursday we had 18 out of 20 and on Friday we had 16 out of 20. On Monday we had 15 out of 20. The class is hoping to get 20 out of 20 many days in a row!
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