April 18, 2008

Dear Families:

It was fun coming back to school on Monday because the students seem so eager to learn and happy to see their friends! We have stayed busy with reading and writing about feelings. We drew pictures that show feelings, and wrote about our reactions to feelings. In math, we discovered that if you toss six beans that are colored green on one side and white on the other, the combination that appears most often is 3 green and 3 white (probability). We also used pattern blocks to practice symmetry. Next week, we will begin a new math unit on subtraction. In science, we painted our clay beads, and changed our modeling clay pictures from spring scenes to dogs! We also looked at different kinds of sand paper. Mrs. Stead finished reading the chapter book entitled The Littles Go Exploring by John Peterson. A favorite activity remains reading with our buddies on Friday.

For the Read-A-Thon, you can record 100 minutes of reading at school this week. To celebrate the end of the Read-A-Thon, next Friday, April 25th, students will be invited to bring pajamas to school to change for the afternoon. More information will be coming about how first graders will celebrate this special day.

 Our VIP next week is Evan. Book order forms are included in today's folder. If you choose to order, please send in the order form and check by next Friday, April 25th.

Thanks for your continued support. Have a fun weekend, and keep reading!

Mrs. Stead

February 1, 2008

Dear Families;

My compliments to this group of kids who handled the cancellations and delays in school this week with vim and vigor! Partner pictures were finished and shared. We are in the middle of a lab in math on colors of cereal. Using fruity Cheerios, we used small samples to determine which color (red, yellow, purple, orange, green) appears most often. We have collected the data. Next week we will graph the data, and analyze it. We continue writing paragraphs about our families.

Next Monday Feburary 4, first graders will be participating in the pacer run in PE. They will be running inside the gym. It is important that they wear good shoes for running (or bring some to change into if they don't wear running shoes to school that day).

Some students have already brought their "homemade" musical instruments to school for the concert in late February. There is still time to have your child bring something from home that can make a sound.

Thanks to those of you who have sent in money for Junior Programs and for the composition book (journal). If you haven't sent these in yet, please do so soon. Thanks!

On Thursday, February 14th, our class will celebrate Valentine's Day. Students can choose whether or not to participate in a valentine exchange. If your child wants to participate, they must bring a valentine for every student in our class. If buying valentines is a problem for your family, please ask for construction paper to use to make valentines at home. We currently have 22 students. A class list is printed on the back for your convenience.

Have a great weekend, and keep reading!

Mrs. Stead

December 18, 2007

Dear Families:

We have had busy days recently. Last week I gave the children a challenge to memorize a poem. Every student was able to recite the poem with friends in front of the class without looking at the words! You might want to ask them to recite it for you at home. It's called "I had a Little Frog". We also spent time creating cards for our reading buddies and families, along with decorating a bag for our clay project.

The next homework packet will be coming home on Monday, January 7th. Until then, we would appreciate you continuing to read often with your child; practicing math facts, practice counting by 10s, 5s and 2s; and playing strategy games. I have attached three sheets of basic addition facts. As a special project, students could cut them out and write the answer lightly in pencil on the back. These can be used as flash cards.

In January, students will each have a scheduled time to be our "Start of the Week", also known as VIP (very important person). This is a chance for us to get to know each student better. Privileges for VIP include being the line leader, having lunch with the teacher, and sharing each day of their week. Students are encouraged to bring photographs, awards, certificates, etc., to decorate the "Start of the Week" wall. The schedule is printed on the back of this letter. Please let me know if your assigned date will not work for your child.

I feel very fortunate to be working at McKenny. I am truly enjoying this group of first graders. Thanks for all your welcoming and support. I hope you and your family have an enjoyable winter break, and I look forward to seeing you again on January 2nd.

Mrs. Stead

November 30, 2007

Dear Families:

Our week has been filled with learning activities that have the students excited! We began this week by using a Venn diagram to compare the book and the movie entitled Ralph S. Mouse. This book is part of the Mouse and the Motorcycle series. In Science, we are continuing our study of rocks. We looked at rocks, categorized them by characteristics, and then found out that these rocks came from volcanoes. They are called basalt, tuff, and scoria. I have invited students to share three special rocks from home. If your child hasn't brought in rocks yet, please encourage them.

Each month, students will be selected by their teacher for showing characteristics of certain Life Skills. These students are asked to stand to be recognized at an assembly, and their written award is displayed in the hallway by the office. For October, our class recognized Ciara for showing initiative; Lily for showing friendship; and Chun Yi for showing effort. In the month of November, we honored Ashley for showing patience; John for showing initiative; Reagan for showing common sense; and Natalie for showing perseverance. Students awards will be sent home after they are displayed. Every student will have an opportunity to be honored once this school year.

Parent volunteers are needed for Tuesday morning, December 4th. Our class is working on a special clay project. We will be working on this project from 9:15-11:30, however you would not need to commit to the entire time. No previous experience is necessary. Sorry for the short notice!

Next Friday, December 7th, is an early release day. Students will be going home at 12:52.

Thanks for all your continued support on homework and reading practice. These students are making good progress!

Have a warm weekend, and keep reading!

Mrs. Stead

November 16, 2007

Dear Families:

This has been an interesting week. Students and teachers alike agree that yesterday was a crazy day at school for different reasons. The most unusual event was the fire drill that happened about 1:15. Students did a great job of lining up and quietly walking out of the building to our meeting place. They were troopers to stand outside in the rain for a few minutes while we waited for the firemen to let us know it was safe to go back into the building. Our science activity of exploring rocks was cut short, but we will get back to it again tomorrow. These students showed flexibility and cooperation!

Mrs. Stead finished reading aloud the chapter book entitled, Ralph S. Mouse, written by Beverly Cleary. We are now working on a story map. We are drawing pictures and writing a few words about what happened at the beginning, middle and ending of the story. In addition, we are drawing a picture of the problem and solution. These are key elements to a story like this. Next we will watch a video of this book, and make comparisons: what is the same in the story and video, and what is different.

Progress reports are included in today's folder. There are several important points to consider when looking at your child's report with them. First, students are graded against a state standard, determined by the Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI). For this time in the school year, a student's goal is to receive a "3". This means that they are on target to meet the end of the year's state standards (expectations). It is highly unusual for a student to receive a "4" at this time of the year. If you or your child have any questions or do not understand a grading mark, please contact me so I can explain. The best way to reach me is through email at steadm@osd.wednet.edu. You can also leave a voice mail at 596-8481. I hope you will use this opportunity to celebrate your child's successes, and to set goals for helping meet areas that may need more effort.

Remember, last Tuesday's homework assignment extends into next week. Please return the homework on Tuesday, November 20th. The spelling test will be given on Tuesday, as well. On Monday, November 26th, homework and spelling tests will be back on schedule.

There will not be a newsletter next week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful to be at McKenny, working with your children and watching them grow! I'm thankful, too, for all the support you give your child and me in so many ways! Enjoy the four-day weekend.

Mrs. Stead

November 9, 2007 News from Mrs. Stead's classroom

This has been an eventful week! Many thanks to the twelve adults (parents and grandparents) who took time to share our field trip to the Tacoma Art Museum on Tuesday. Students were inspired by the quilts and their designs. They made a paper quilt piece which is hanging in the main hallway between the office and Pod C. They are also making paper quilt pieces that will soon decorate the wall outside our classroom.

Thursday we enjoyed a Veterans' Day Concert performed by the Washington Middle School band. Students listened and sang along with many patriotic songs. Remember, there will be no school on Monday in honor of Veterans' Day. On Friday, we had our first chance to read with our fourth grade buddies. This is a wonderful chance to practice our reading, and to listen to the fluent fourth graders when they read.

Last week's spelling test is included in today's folder. Next week, the test should be going home in the folder on Tuesday, with the new homework assignment.

Thanks to those of you who have donated crackers for our snack-time this month. Students are hungry and enjoy the snack break in the afternoon.

There are new Scholastic book order forms enclosed in today's folder. I'm sending the forms bot both October and November. Ordering is optional. If you do choose to order, one check to Scholastic for books on either or both forms is fine. Through these book orders, our class receives free books for the classroom!

Here's more information from the Reading Tree house website (www.aability.com) on phonemic awareness:

Reading requires some visual skill - but a whole lot of language. Children need an adequate language foundation to begin the job of learning to read. They need ever-growing language to read at higher levels as they get older. Readers use language skills to 'sound out a word'. Readers need to name letter-sounds quickly, remember the series of sounds, and blend them together into a word. Naming sounds, remembering sounds, and blending sounds are language skills.

Parents need to talk and read with their children in order to help grow their language. Read aloud to children who are already reading - it helps their language to grow.

Have a great three-day weekend, and keep reading!

Mrs. Stead