Classroom News: Week of January 7th

Dear Barn Swallow Families,

I hope that you all had a wonderful break.  We have exciting news!  We will be going to see "The Little Mermaid," at Theater in the Grove on Wednesday, January 23rd at 1:00.  The cost for the play is $5 per student.  We will need to collect the money from families by Wednesday, January 16th.  Please bring the money to the classroom, not the office.  If you are unable to pay, please let me know.  If you would like to donate money toward another student's ticket that is great, too.  Thank you!



This Wednesday we will be walking to a seasonal wetland at the end of Ash Street, along the B Street Trail.  We often call this area 'The Ash Street Field.'  We will working on a service project with Metro to help restore the habitat there.  The field used to be used by farmers.  I remember taking my class there five years ago and it was a monoculture of wheat.  Now it has been planted to be a seasonal wetlands, providing additional habitat for a wide variety of creatures.  I look forward to our project there!  Please help your child to be prepared for rain and cold.  Rain boots, rain jackets, hats, and warm layers will help ensure that all students are comfortable and can focus on the project.  We have a class set of work gloves, but if your child would like to bring his or her own, that is great too.  We are not in need of volunteers for this trip, but you are more than welcome to join us!  You can email me if you are interested at: S.Reuter@fgcschool.org   Thank you!

This Friday we have an All-School Meeting.  It is also spirit day and the theme is opposite/backward day.  Participation is optional, but all students are welcome to join in.



The week before break we worked on exploring with paint.  The students wrote about experiences they've had with paint.   On Wednesday we continued experimenting with making our own paint.  The students have been able to create some interesting colors with a variety of natural materials.  In math the first graders worked on adding to make sums in the teens; and adding two or three addends to make sums of six or seven.  The first grade students organized the various combinations systematically to make sure they had discovered all the possible combinations for sums of six or seven.  Second graders continued to work on memorizing their addition equations.  They wrote their own wetland story problems and worked more with fact families.  During reading time the students continue to work in small groups.  

We are fortunate to have a group of adults that work with us regularly to provide a variety of reading assistance to our class.  Mia, our Americorps volunteer, Limor, a parent volunteer, and Vanessa, our principal, have all been helping us to provide your children with great opportunities to grow as readers.  In these small groups students are learning a variety of reading strategies and having opportunities to practice these skills.  The Barn Swallows all continue to grow as readers and regularly share their excitement about reading with each other.  On Friday students put together a flower bulb project.  We are eager to hear how your bulbs are doing at home!  Students also enjoyed a shaving cream sensory painting experience, made butter with heavy whipping cream, and popped popcorn in the air popper.  (We were inspired to make the popcorn and butter from the book 'Farmer Boy.')  

It's great to be back at school!  We had a really nice first day.

Thank you families!

Sincerely, 

Sherry