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News for November 29, 2007

Language Arts-this week we enjoyed reading The Lion and the Mouse. This fable taught a lesson that even small things have great strengths. We also read the fable Tortoise and the Hare, where the children learned "never to give up!" Next week we will read My Best Friend. Key Words will be best, glad, room, how, table, knows, thinks, fork and window.

Math-This week we've started our chapter on graphs and tables. In this chapter the children will be able to sort and classify objects by comparing and classifying. We will make and interpret concrete graphs, tally tables, picture graphs and bar graphs.

Super Parents- Thanks you to Jill Harris for being my helper parent. And we look forward to Friday when Catherine Phillips will be our story parent.

We still need 2-3 bags of miniature marshmallows for our winterland mural. We also need brown grocery bags for our holiday party. When you go shopping, if you could pick up a few bags that would be great!

F.Y.I.

12/4/07-Polar Express and Pajama Day!

12/5 0r 12/7-Magnet Makers in school field trip.

12/20/07-Holiday Party

12/22/07-1/7/08-Winter Break

Magnets

Science-We have begun our study of magnets. We're discussing what magnets are, where they can be found and how people use magnets. On Friday we will be having magnet centers, so we can investigate and experiment with different types of magnets. Vocabulary words for this unit are magnet, attract, strength, poles, repel, magnetic force and magnetize. Please ask your children what they found out about magnets.

Next Wednesday and Friday, we will be having High Touch/High Tech here for our
Science study of magnets. They will be presenting Magnet Makers. They always do an excellent job of presenting and engaging the children in their programs.

Polar Express and Pajama Day

Next Tuesday the 4th of December, we will be lucky to have a guest reader from our school.  Jessica Appleyard, our Administrative Assistant will read Polar Express, while we relax and wear our comfortable pajamas.

Here are some guidelines about Pajama Day. Please be sure that your child is dressed warmly. We will be going out to recess, so they need to have shoes to change into if they choose to wear their slippers to school. They can also wear their pajamas over their clothes if their pajamas are not warm enough. Please call or email me if you have any questions.

News for November 14, 2007

Language Arts-This week we read Any Kind of Dog. The children really enjoyed reading about the boy who wants a dog for a pet.  We worked on summarizing and retelling the story. Our word family this week was the -am family.There will not be any story next week because of the short week. When we return after Thanksgiving, we'll read Lion and the Mouse.  This story is a retelling of the well-known fable in which a little mouse saves a big lion.

Math-We're working on Chapter 6 this week. We are using  strategies in addition and subtraction that we learned earlier in our Math Book.  We will finish this chapter this week.

Thanksgiving Feast-On Monday the 19th, the children will have their Thanksgiving Feast in the cafeteria. The children should come dressed up in their holiday best. We will have a wonderful lunch, eat by candlelight and hear beautiful music. The children can bring a change of clothes for PE if they like. This is a children's only feast.

Super Parents- We look forward to Noela Scarano coming and reading to us on Friday.

After Thanksgiving, our class will need some bags of  marshmallows (not miniature) to make a winter wonderland mural. If you can donate a bag, I'd appreciate it.

F.Y.I:

There will be no newsletter/blog next week because of the short week.

Please remember that there will be no school from November 21st-25th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I wish all of you a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving! We all have a lot to be thankful for!

Make a Difference Awards

Our Alligators continue to make a difference in our clsssroom. Last week's winner of the award was Karen and this week's winner is Andrew. They both earned the award by being helpful to others and being good class citizens. Keep up the good work!

News for 11/8/07

I hope all of you had a wonderful 4 day weekend. The teachers had some great meetings, including a refresher class in CPR.

This week the children are having their first in-school "field trip". The weather unit is hands on and a great review. The materials and experiments are numerous. Please ask them what they learned and what experiments they enjoyed during the High Touch/High Tech visit.

Ask your child about the Reptile man and his varied friends.  He is quite an amazing naturalist and has a wonderful quiet way with large groups of children (and large reptiles).

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we will be learning some seasonal poems and making some keepsakes for your home.

Thank you to Ronise Crumpler for being my helper parent. We look forward to Diana Winter  coming to read  to us on Friday.

Dates to Remember:

11/13-Pizza Night

11/21-11/25-Thanksgiving Holiday Break

SmartBoard Information from Our Foundation

1st Grade Parents,

Thanks to each and every family for your support of the Sope Creek Foundation.  As parents, we all count ourselves fortunate to be part of the Sope Creek community and are grateful for the wonderful educational benefits Sope Creek provides our children.

The Foundation is excited about the possibility of adding innovative learning to each and every classroom this year with SmartBoards.  The cost of putting the boards in every class is $100,000 - our goal.  However to make this a reality for every Sope Creek student, we need 100% participation from every Sope Creek family.  No gift is too small.

The boards will be installed in the grades with the highest participation.  Currently, 1st grade has only 16% participation.  For those who have already given, we thank you! 

Won't YOU consider a tax deductible contribution to the SmartKids Campaign?

Yo Burstein and Lane Holt

Co-Presidents,  Sope Creek Foundation