Our First Week!

Jacob making his school bus schedules reminder.

We all made it!  It was a LONG week for all of us, but we filled our days with crafts, great stories, familiar silly songs, learning routines and learning about each other.  Here's a recap of each of our days:

Monday:  We drew self portraits, practiced writing, and started sharing our ME bags to learn about each other.  We read "The Night Before First Grade" and journaled what each of us did to get ready for school again.  We put supplies away, learned where things are located in our room and learned recess rules.  It's a BUSY place outside with so many kids on the playground at once… much different than kindergarten!  Lunch was the highlight of the day.  We had a special lunch orientation with Mrs. Perri.  We ended the day with a fun all-school assembly, where the focus was learning about our all-school HOOT program.  I'll talk about this at Parent Night next week.

Tuesday:  We continued ME bags, began doing surveys (These are so fun!), and declared it our OWL day.  We completed our OWL Rules book, made an OWL craft for our helper tree and read some interesting facts about OWLS.  We began learning about emergency procedures, and it was also our first Gym and Music day.  The 1-3 kids got an excellent report from both teachers!

Wednesday:  Wednesday was all about Character Counts.  We learned about the 6 pillars:  Caring, Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Citizenship and Fairness.  We watched a movie all about character with some of OUR favorite characters, like Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic Schoolbus.  Then we had our first Art day with Mr. de Marco!

Thursday:  We continued talking about character with the "Super Hero" idea in mind!  We have a really cute craft and writing project hanging in the hall waiting for you to see on Parent Night.  We had a great afternoon learning from Pete the Cat and his Rockin New School Shoes!  He took us on a Scavenger Hunt around the school.  We learned about using our "Quick Words" reference book for writing when we sequenced the story "Pete the Cat I Love my White Shoes."  We ended the day doing a mystery sort of our own shoes.

Friday:  Today we finished our Super Heroes of Character writing and craft and had our first math day!  We made "secret folders" which we will use for all our testing situations.  We practiced number and math things on white boards, and ended the day with Gym and Music again.

Are you tired reading about our week?  I'm glad the children get a long fun weekend with you, but I will be very anxious to see them again on Tuesday.  For now, enjoy some pictures from our first week!

Henry, Tucker and Wyatt enjoying Buddy Reading.

Drew, Annalyse & Audrey working hard at the Yellow Table.

New Friends:  Ayako, Kate & Elina.

Olivia, Bradley, Helena & Matthew working hard at the Purple Table!

COZY Super Silent Read to Self Time!  Right after lunch… when we are really tired!

SURVEYS!  Learning about new friends.

More Surveys

More Surveying

And still more surveying!

Indoor Recess… bummer we had icky weather this week!  But we still had fun!

Learning the right way to Buddy Read… EEKK… Elbow Elbow Knee Knee.

Welcome to First Grade!

About summer…..

I’m so excited for our first day!  We will take pictures, discuss class, school and playground rules, choose classroom helper jobs, have a special lunch orientation just for first graders and have an assembly!  The next few weeks will be filled exploring literacy and “Daily 5”, learning math routines, and beginning our weather science unit…. all while adjusting to the new, tiring full days of school!  I promise to take it slow, give the kids lots of movement breaks and playtime, sing songs, read fun stories and LAUGH with them.  

I hope you can join me for Parent Night on Wednesday, September 3^rd to discuss curriculum and procedures in more detail.

Here are few notes on some important things in our 1-3 class…

Please have your child to school at 8:50.  The kids line up in the BACK of the building by the commons doors on the blacktop.  You will see 1-3 painted on the blacktop.  I'll be out there early helping you!  Those commons doors will be where your child exits the building at 3:35. This week I will have the children tell me when they see you after school before I release them.  I suggest choosing a meeting place… a tree or the bike racks, etc…. where they know to wait for you.  Later in the year, many children become comfortable walking to the pick-up car line on their own, and there are several adult supervisors there to ensure safety, but for the beginning of the year, I suggest meeting them.  After this week, they will exit the building without me.

Our special classes are at the end of the day, and the schedule is as follows:

o   P.E.:  Tuesday & Friday (sneakers are required on these days)

o   Music:  Tuesday & Friday

o   Art:  Wednesday

     ~    While we do take precautions, paint and markers can wind up on clothing.    Please keep this in mind when getting dressed on Wednesdays!

o   LMC:  Monday

We will have recess every day, weather permitting.  As the weather changes, please send appropriate attire to wear outside.  If the temperature is below 60 degrees, children are required to wear a jacket. 

We will have a healthy snack time each morning.  While this is optional, I highly recommend packing a snack, as our lunch hour is not until 12:10.  Fresh fruit and vegetables in their own skin are the only snacks permitted (i.e. apples, but not applesauce).  No dips or snack packs.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Lunchtime can be confusing in the beginning of the year.  Please know that for the first week I will stay with the children at lunch until each child is settled.

Information about the menu and payment can be located on the district webpage under Departments… Food Services.  Here is the link:  

http://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=0706131933590172

I will send home a copy of the menu on the first day.  Our school has several lunch options.  To help your child, each morning please have your child know whether he or she is:

1.     going home for lunch

2.     eating a packed lunch from home

3.     ordering a hot lunch OR

4.     ordering a cold lunch (yogurt, grain, and sides – this is called Zipline)

*If you are picking your child up for lunch, you must send a note or email to let me know.  Your child will meet you at the front door of the school.  Students should be picked up at 12:10 and returned by 1:05 so they can get to class by 1:10.

Please know that your child is in good hands. I will guide them with a loving touch as we become accustomed to a full day of school and learn daily routines and procedures. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me:

knordman@sd25.org

I look forward to working together with you this year…. Thanks for sharing your child with me!