Friday, February 27, 2009

It's Conference Time!

I know it's hard to believe, but conference time has rolled around once again. Conferences will take place on March 11th and 12th, followed by a day off on March 13th. Today I sent home Conference papers with your child's current conference time. Please sign and return the form asap, and know that although I will do my very best to accomodate your needs, your first choice may already be taken.

I also have to tell you that I've begun giving assessments in reading, and I am so proud of how well the kids are doing. They have really improved so much! I can definitely see the growth in the first grade words list. Thanks to all of you who have been practicing at home. It really does make a difference in learning them, and in their reading. It's also evident in their assessments that they are really beginning to use reading strategies when comprehending their reading. This is such an important time to really work on reading strategies. If they can begin to use them now, it will be second nature as they make the transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." I'm in the process of developing a document for parents to have on reading strategies that can help with reading comprehension. We've really been working on some of these strategies in class, and I love seeing them use when they are reading at their own level. Keep up all of the hard work at home, and please make sure you are reading with your kids. For some ideas, check out Reading is Fundamental.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

100th Day of School!

It's quite the accomplishment! My first graders have successfully made it to the 100th day of school, and we had a great time celebrating today. Our entire day was dedicated to the number 100.We started the morning making pictures with our 100 collections. These turned out so cute, and the kids really enjoyed being able to use all 100 things.Later we made 100 Day necklaces. The kids had to show ten groups of ten using Fruitloops, and did a fantastic job counting out 100 pieces. Most kids were able to finish, but some may have come home almost-done. We did have a bit of a struggle with not eating the cereal, but it all worked out in the end.We had a great time, and really worked together. We also did a lot of work today with dimes and counting by tens. We learned that they are each worth ten cents, and that ten dimes are worth one hundred cents. This is a really helpful and easy activity to practice at home. Take any opportunity you can to count coins with the kids, and review all they learned about dimes.At the end of the day the kids each got to take home a $100 bill. In reading group, many of us wrote about what we would buy if we had $100 to spend. You'd be amazed at some of the things that the kids would buy if they had the chance. It was a great 100th day of school!



Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Mc Teachers Night


Thanks to everyone who came to McTeachers Night last week. If I didn't see you, that's because I was in the back making french fries. Oh what fun! Because of all of the great support, our PTC was able to earn $550 from McDonalds and $50 in raffle tickets. I consider that a huge success! This has enabled PTC to purchase a flat screen tv that will live in the entry way at school. It will run movies, slideshows, announcements, and technology projects from our teachers and students. It's not up yet, but make sure to look for it at conferences. You may just see a familiar face or two... Thanks again!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Don't Forget:

  • Thursday is our 100th day of school. Don't forget about our 100 thing collections. They need to be brought to school by tomorrow, Wednesday February 25th.
  • Monday March 2nd we are having our Dr. Seuss' Birthday Celebration. All are invited, and pizza and desert will be provided. Please return the RSVP sheet, or call the office for more information.
  • Please send in Pennies for our Pennie Drive. This is the last week to donate to the American Cancer Society.
  • The Box Top Competition continues. Please don't forget to send in your Box Tops. We collect them all year, but the competition end at the end of the month. Thanks for all of your help!

Welcome to Our Blog!


Welcome to Mrs. Scott's Fabulous First Graders! I'm going to try something new this year, as part of my effort to use more technology in my teaching. This will follow our class for the rest of the year, and will be a great tool for parent communication. I will be posting updates about our class and what we are learning. I will also be including any information that I'd like parents to have, so please be sure to subscribe. As budgets get tighter, I will be trying to limit the amount of paper I send home. Please be patient with me as far as the blog goes. I'm learning as I go. Have a great day, and talk to you soon!