Let's Catch Up

Before Spring Break, there was so much going on, I wanted to make sure I caught our families up.

First, we had the 120th Day, where our students dressed up and participated in activities, all surrounding the 120th Day. Why 120? The first grade standard is to read and write numbers to 120. While we realize that dressing up as a 120 year old is quite challenging, the students really enjoyed themselves and had a great time with activities like the 120th snack, a portrait of themselves as an old person, Rockin' their way to 120.

During March, our Science unit focused on animal structures and functions. Our Science activities in the classroom focused on researching a specific animal, it's structures and the functions of these structures. We also examined through books and various websites the similarities and differences between plants and their seedlings and animals and their babies. To coincide with the unit, we also traveled to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where students examined the animals first hand for what we had been experiencing in our Science unit.

As we come back from Spring Break, we are on the downhill slide for the school year, with only 9 weeks left. Your students will be working hard and pushing toward making that stride into second grade. In class, we will be doing more differentiated groups in reading and writing, addressing specific needs your child may have in these areas.

In Social Studies, we will be traveling to different classrooms over the next 6 weeks to learn about different United States Symbols. For the first week, we are focusing on the United States Flag, what it means and why it was designed the way it was.

Math will find us working on two-digit addition and subtraction. And in Language Arts, please don't forget to look at the Language Arts tab here on the blog.

Also, as a quick reminder, our campus is furthering the lockdown process by locking the end of the hallway buildings to make sure students and staff stay as safe as possible. If you are here to volunteer, please make sure you come to the outside classroom door and I will let you in.   Furthermore, please make sure you stop in the office for a volunteer badge. This needs to be in sight for me to let you in the door. Thank you for your help in assuring our students and staff remain safe.

I look forward to making this time memorable with your kiddos. Have a fantastic week.

CLASS SUPPLIES NEEDED:
* 13 -  1 1/2  inch Clear Cover Heavy Duty Binders
* Clorox Wipes

A few dates to remember:

May 24 - Open House from 6pm - 7pm
May 28 - NO SCHOOL Memorial Day Observance
May 31 - NO MINIMUM DAY
June 6 - NO MINIMUM DAY
June 7 - Minimum Day - Dismissal at 1pm
June 8 - Minimum Day - Dismissal at 1pm

Lots of Fun In the Coming Days!

 On Friday, March 2, we will be celebrating Dr. Suess Day in our classroom. We will be rotating with two other classrooms and doing activities related to Dr. Suess books. We will also be having Dress Up Days celebrating Dr. Suess throughout the week. The dress up days are as follows:

Monday: 2/26 - Suess Time - Stop and and enjoy unbelievable Suess stories

Tuesday: 2/27: Cat In the Hat (wear a hat)

Wednesday: 2/28: Wacky Wednesday (wear wacky socks)

Thursday: 3/1: I can Read with My Eyes Shut (Read my shirt day)

Friday: 3/2: Cat in the Hat Comes Back: Wear Stripes

Hip! Hip! Hooray! It’s The 120th Day!

On Wednesday, March 7th , we will be celebrating the 120th
day of school. As part of our math program, we will be participating
in many fun-filled activities that involve counting, learning place
value, and many different way to make 120.

In order for your child to develop a better understanding of how each 120 is made, we are asking each child to do a special activity. This will be an at-home activity and parental assistance is encouraged. Please share in your child’s excitement and reinforce learning by completing the following activity: Have your child count 120 of the same items (i.e. marshmallows, cereal, pennies, Legos, M&M’s, buttons, etc.). The 120 items they choose should be able to fit in a sandwich-size zip lock baggie. Then, each child should count the 120 items by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. Finally, your child should bring the items (in the zip lock baggie) to school by Wednesday, March 7th.

For this special day, all first graders (and their teachers) will be dressing up like
old people. Discuss with your child what they would like their outfit to look like, then
help him/her create an outfit to wear to school. We will be taking lots of photos…
so don’t forget your wrinkles and gray hair!

There will be a variety of activities we are taking part in during the day. I will be sending home a link to a Sign-Up Genius next Friday to ask for donations of specific items for the activities. Please send this item in no later than Friday, March 2nd.

Field Trip:San Diego Wild Animal Park

On Friday, March 16 the first grade students will be taking a field trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Please check your email because I have sent information on chaperoning and regarding your students participation in the event. Please make sure that you fill out all three permission slips and send them back to school with your student.

Have a great weekend!! 

February has brought about an exciting time in first grade. First, some of your students may have come home and mentioned that we have Mrs. Mason in our classroom. Mrs. Mason has joined us for the remainder of the year as a student teacher from Grand Canyon University. Under my guidance, she will be learning her way through the classroom, so that someday soon, she may be able to have her own classroom. Please help me in welcoming Mrs. Mason to our classroom.

Today, we took our Unit 4 math test and our Unit 4, Week 5 Language Arts tests. That will take us into Unit 5, Week 1 for Language Arts next week and Unit 5 math next week. Next week in Science we will also begin our Heredity Unit.

Our annual school carnival is on Saturday, March 3. Our fabulous room mothers have put together a Sign Up Genius for items for our Health and Wellness Basket and for our volunteer times. Please, go to this link: Sign Up Genius. Please make sure that if you have signed up to donate something that you get those items in, since they have to be turned in by the end of next week.


Dates to Remember:

March 7 - the 120th Day of School (More information to follow)
March 16 - 1st Grade Field Trip (More information to follow)
March 26 - April 6 - Spring Break

As January comes to a close, we have some exciting things happening in Room 21. Last week, I began a Donors Choose project for our class to get two more Chromebooks. I'm happy to say that our project was funded and we should be receiving the Chromebooks on Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Any other donations you give at this point, will be put towards the next class project I am creating. Thank you to all of you who donated or even just shared the link. Without your help this wouldn't have been possible.

Next week, we are collecting Soup Cans for the "Souper Bowl" as a school fundraiser. All classes are collecting cans of soup to give to a food bank. Students may bring in cans of soup throughout the week for the event.

Friday, February 2 students are encouraged to wear a sports jersey of their choice to celebrate the Super Bowl. Any sports jersey is fine and if they do not have a sports jersey, students may wear their Tony Tobin Spirit Wear.

Our Spring Carnival is slated for Saturday, March 3. Our wonderful room mom's have put together a Sign Up Genius of needs for the Carnival that you should have received via email. If you did not receive it, please click on this link, Spring Carnival Sign Ups and it should take your straight to the Sign Up Genius for the event. All of your donations and help are greatly appreciated.

Upcoming dates:

February 14 - Valentine's Day (you will find this information on this week's homework sheet)
March 7 - 120th Day of School (more information coming in the following weeks)

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Welcome Back!

Happy 2018! I hope everyone enjoyed a restful break! First, I would like to say thank you for all of the amazing gifts I received for the holiday. I am going to or have already enjoyed them very much. I

felt so loved by my students and families in room 21.

This week we are beginning reading groups again. The first set of groups will be bringing home books today. By tomorrow, everyone should be bringing a book home, even if it's the same one. Please make sure that your child brings their book bag with their book everyday to school. Practice makes perfect and we want to keep moving those reading levels up!

With flu season upon us, there a few things we need to do to keep everyone healthy at school. If your child has a fever, please make sure that they stay home. Also, in order to return to school they have to be fever free for 24 hours. If your child is complaining of
not feeling well in the morning, please keep them home. I will be sure to get them caught up on their work when they return. Staying well and healthy is the may concern for everyone.

There is a new drop off /pick up procedure for your students in the morning. Please see the following information from the office, just in case you didn't see it yesterday via email:

 This is to keep our students safe. Please read the details below in order to be prepared.

​​Arrival​

1. ​​​Student access to campus will be through ONE gate, just beyond the office, closest to the 1st grade wing. Only students may enter through this gate. The Kindergarten gate will be open for Kindergarten students only (no adults).
2.  Adults must enter through the office and sign in, if they wish to access campus, separate from their student. Adults only, will enter through the office.
3. Students who have previously entered through the bus gate may continue to do so. No adults will be permitted through this gate.
4. Students with special needs who were previously dropped off at classrooms by parents may continue this practice. Parents should sign in, with student, in the office, and proceed to classroom. Some students are met by aides outside of the gate. This will continue as well. Please contact your child's teacher with any potential concerns.

​​Dismissal

1. Teachers will walk classes to the gates to dismiss, nearest their grade level hallways. Adults will not be permitted to enter the gates at dismissal. Adults needing to access campus may do so through the office.

​​After School Programs

1. ​​​All gates will be closed while students are participating in these programs. Students exiting after school programs will exit through the front office, along with the after school program personnel. Parents will not meet students inside the school.

​​Friday Flag

1. ​​​Parents and visitors will enter and exit the school through the front office.Students will enter school through the gate.
2. Students and parents can "reunite" on campus after entering separately.

​​Running Club

1. ​​Gate will open at 8:30 am to allow students to enter and will close immediately. If students are late, they must wait until the entrance gate opens at 8:40. 
2. If parents wish to join their students at running club, they must sign in through the office.

Thank you for your commitment to keeping our students safe!

I look forward to jumping into some new things for the remainder of the school year. Our students will be working hard and learning a lot. As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Have a fabulous week!

Happy December!

Happy December! It's hard to believe that 2017 is almost to a close. This month we have a lot of fun things going on Room 21. I truly love this time of year, I just wish the weather matched the holiday mood!

                                                      Reading Groups:
This week was the last week for reading groups until we come back from Winter Break. Over the next three weeks, I will be assessing your child in Language Arts. So, during the time, we will not be doing reading groups. Please continue to read with your child at home during this time because they will only get better with practice.

Language Arts:
Today your child took the Unit 2, Week 5 Assessment in Wonders. I am so happy with the results and their hardwork shows in their scores. They are getting so good with the technology and I'm happy to see the results.

Science:
The month of December in Science we will be studying the Spinning Sky. Next week we will start looking at shadows and how they move. This is an exciting unit and I look forward to exploring it with your students.

Math:
Next week, we will continue on graphing. Please make sure to do the Unit 3 Study Guide with your student because on Thursday, December 7, we will be doing the first part of the Unit 3 assessment.

Important Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, December 19 - Ice Skating at Galway Downs for TTES
Wednesday, December 20 - IS NOT A  MINIMUM DAY
Friday, December 22 - MINIMUM DAY - DISMISSAL AT 1:00PM

I hope you have a minute to enjoy the holiday season. Have a fantastic weekend!

And The Fun Never Stops

Dr. Pesh Visits 1st Grade
Dr. Pesh, the father of Chloe Pesh in our class, visited first grade and did a wonderful presentation on dental hygiene and other interesting facts related to our teeth. Our children walked away with a little pouch of goodies that included a toothbrush, toothpaste and some floss. In addition, Dr. Pesh is offering a candy buy back program in his office. All of the candy brought to Dr. Pesh's office after Halloween will be donated to the troops. If you would like more information on this program, you may visit the and candy buy back link Thank you Dr. Pesh for an amazing presentation for our kiddos!

PE Equipment
Last Friday, during flag ceremony, KB Home donated a bucket list of PE equipment in response to a donation letter the first grade team sent to them. From various balls to jump ropes, hula hoops and the list goes on, we can't thank KB Home enough for their generous donation. Thank you for making sure we have the proper equipment to teach PE to our students.

Jog-A-Thon

The Jog-a-thon today was amazing. Mrs. Kronenfeld's Blazing Monstar Runners were a hit! I wouldlike to thank our fabulous parent volunteers for their support at the Jog-a-thon today. From squirting down our kiddos with water, to making sure they had water to drink our volunteers did a wonderful job of keeping an eye to make sure our students stayed hydrated and safe. I would like to also thank our fabulous room moms, Mrs. Glennon, Mrs. Narlock, and Mrs. Gray for getting things organized, getting our banner done, wristbands for our kiddos. Then. afterwards, they came in and tallied the laps for our class and cut the banner up, so that each child could take home the monster they made. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!

It's not too late to get those pledges in. Pledges will be accepted up to two weeks after the Jog-a-thon

today. All money will go back to Tony Tobin for our kiddos!

Homework and Blog Update
I had several parents who were having issues printing out the homework. Instead of posting the homework and attachments as images, I have included the link to each thing you need for homework on the homework page. Please click on the link and you should be able to print it from there. Please let me know if you have any issues.

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday morning, smiling!

Red Ribbon Week Is Here

This week we will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week. Today, we participated in a kick-off event with the DEA coming for an assembly. After the assembly, we were able to tour the different vehicles and meet the police dogs, who work for our community. In honor of Red Ribbon Week, we will have dress up days that will culminate at the end of week with our Jog-a-Thon. Here is a list of the dress up days for Red Ribbon Week:

1. Monday - Wear a red ribbon
2. Tuesday - Crazy Socks
3. Wednesday -Sports Day
4. Thursday - Wear Red
5. Friday - Jog-a-thon/Spirit Wear

Our wonderful room parents have been working hard for our Jog-a-thon. You should have received a Sign Up Genius from our room parents with items that will be needed and volunteer opportunities. Please check your email for this important information. We are the...are you ready for it...THE

BLAZING MONSTAR RUNNERS! Please make sure your child either wears their spirit wear for Jog-a-thon or the Tony Tobin colors. All monies raised from the Jog-a-thon will go straight back to our school for programs and other wonderful opportunities for our students. Please help raise money for this awesome event.


Items Needed for Class:

Next week we will be doing a fun Halloween activity. We are looking for bottles of Glitter Glue like this:

Please have your students bring the bottles to class. All colors are perfect.

Social Studies:

This week we are starting Our World. We will be labeling maps and talking about the continents, oceans and our planet.

Language Arts:

We are starting Unit 2, Week 1 for Language Arts. Please check out the specifics on the page labeled "Language Arts" on our website.

Math:

We are continuing with subtraction. Continue working with your students at home on explaining their answers as they do them in homework.

Enjoy your weekend!

October Fun

It seems as if the weeks are flying by at a rapid pace. This month has a lot of fun in store for the students in room 21.

Next week, we have the Book Fair. We will be visiting during our library time on Friday, October 13 from 2:35 - 3:20. If you would like to visit earlier, please do so because sometimes by the time we get to the end of the week, some things are gone.

Our room parents sent out an email earlier in the week. If you did not receive the email, please let them know and email them at firstgradecommunication@hotmail.com You may email them at this address anytime you have questions. I will also add to the contact page, here on the website.

Jog-a-thon:
The school Jog-a-thon is Friday, October 27. Please, please think about gathering funds for this great

event. A 100% of the proceeds go right back to our school for field trips and other programs and events for our kiddos.

Other Important Information:

• We are asking parents to provide headphones in a ziploc baggy, labeled with your child's name for them to use during Chromebook time or computer time. These will be stored in a secure place for only your child to use. 
• We just received our log-on for the McGraw-Hill Connected account. At parent teacher conferences you will be receiving a login card for you to keep at home, so that you may access your child's account at home. Please note: we have been practicing taking our unit tests on the Connected website. The practice tests will not be included in your child's grade at the end of the semester. These are just practice tests to get your child used to logging on and taking unit tests online.
• If you did not sign up parent teacher conferences, please contact me and I will let you know what times are available.

Have a fantastic weekend and I will see everyone on Monday morning!

Welcome to Fall!

 These are the weeks I love the most. When we have fallen into a routine and our classroom seems to run smoothly in these early days of fall. Now, if the weather could just follow suit to those fallish feelings, then all would be good.

We have been hard at work, here in Room 21.

Language Arts
For a Language Arts update, don't forget to check out the weekly poster under the tab Language Arts, here on the blog. This week we are changing our comprehension skill to asking and answering questions about the story or pictures within the story. We are going to be working on non-fiction text and our phonics skill will be short o. Our writing focus still remains on informational writing. As a class, we explore a topic sentence, then on our own it's time to make sure we use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end. The goal is to have four sentences in our writing, extracting information from the text.

Math
In Math, story problems about joining and coming up with equations to match the story problems have been the focus. We will have the rest of the Unit 1 test on Thursday, October 5. A study guide is attached in the homework.

Science
Next week we will begin our exploration of light in our sound and light unit. Thank you to all of you
who donated supplies for our class. There is still time to donate...check out last week's blog for a list of items needed. Monday would be a great day to send those in.

Mobymax
Your students received logins for Mobymax. Anytime you are using www.mobymax.com/signin/mrsk21 It will take you to our login page for our class. The students have simplified logins and your student has chosen two pictures for their login. Please use those to login.

Mobymax, please use this link

Next week, we will be using our connect-ed logins for Language Arts. Please bear with me as it is a timely process to get the logins created, have the students login at school and then provide you with the links. We are getting their slowly.

BYOD
If your child is participating in BYOD, please have your student bring their devices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These will be the days we will be utilizing them.

Have a fantastic weekend!

And the Beat Goes On...

SCIENCE MATERIALS NEEDED
As we begin going from sound to light next week, there are some materials we are in need of in order to conduct experiments in the classroom. Here is the list of needs:

1. Shoe boxes
2. Flashlights - Please send these in labeled with a name, so that we can return them when we are done).
3. Small handheld mirrors - Please send these in labeled with a name, so that we can return them when we are done.
4. Tinted/Foggy Cups - (12 of them)

All of the help you can give is greatly appreciated.

BYOD:
We are going to begin BYOD next week in the classroom. Our days to Bring Your Own Device will be on Tuesdays and Fridays. If you have not filled out a BYOD for your student, please do not send

a device. The BYOD form must be filled out in order for your student to bring their device.

BOOK ORDERS:
Please place any book orders by Friday, October 6 via our website under the tab marked Scholastic Book Orders. If you have any questions, please let me know.

LANGUAGE ARTS:
Please check out the Language Arts page on our website for the Unit 1, Week 3 unit update. It will tell you the phonics skill we are working on and comprehension skill.

ROOM PARENT INFORMATION:
Two wonderful mothers, Mrs. Glennon and Mrs. Gray, have offered to co-room parent for our room this year. They need a roster for the class ASAP, which means I will be providing them with names and emails, so they can communicate with you directly regarding all the fun happenings for the classroom. IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR EMAIL INCLUDED IN THE ROSTER, PLEASE EMAIL ME BY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 TO LET ME KNOW.

PTA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE:
This is the last week to get those PTA Memberships in. Please know that the money from PTA goes toward wonderful programs like the Family Movie and BMX Nights, field trips, and many other others to support our students.

IMPORTANT DATES:
September 25-29 - Because Nice Matters Week (Please check the weekly homework on the homework page for dress up day information).
October 2 - Sign Up Genius Opens For Parent Teacher Conference Week
October 16-20 - Parent Teacher Conference Week (MINIMUM DAYS ALL WEEK)

September 18-22

Language Arts:

 This week in Language Arts we will be focusing on short i for our phonics skills. Our comprehension strategy will still be focusing on visualizing while read because good readers use words and illustrations to pictures in their minds in order to understand what they are reading better. We are also working on picking key details out of a text using the illustrations and the words.

Math:
In Math, we are focusing on making various numbers using the terms part, part, whole. As a reminder our Unit 1 #1-8 math test will be on Friday. Please make sure to go over the study guide with your student at home. You will be able to find that under the homework tab on our website.

Science:
We are continuing our light and sound unit. On Monday and Tuesday will be studying sound by

hearing different pitches and trying to figure out what make the different pitches. We will complete that part on Tuesday by making a Kazoo, which your student should come home with.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Homework starts this week. You can find it under the homework tab on our website. Please note: your child will not be turning in their homework on Friday. Instead, they will be asked to explain one of the problems they solved for the week. Please make sure they are prepared to do this, as this will reflect on their homework grade. There is no need to print out the weekly homework cover sheet or the Math Assessment sheet. Sometimes in class, I will have them do the math on a white board or just a sheet of paper. That way it saves on paper and the ink to print it out.

Reading Groups are also beginning this week. Your student will be coming home with a book bag on Monday or Tuesday depending on when I meet with their group. Please make sure their book bag gets returned to school each day, otherwise, they will not be able take another book home until it is returned.

Word Clubs: On Tuesday your child will be coming home with their words clubs list. I am hoping to

have Word Clubs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, however, it depends on volunteers. Please remember that Words Clubs are completely volunteer ran. Our wonderful volunteers sometimes get sick and have other commitments, so if your child doesn't come home with a Word Club list every Tuesday and Thursday, please know they will get it the following time we have Word Clubs.

We look forward to making this a great week!

Room 21 Weekly Update

Language Arts
Our new Unit, Week 1 for Language Arts is up and on the Language Arts page of our website.

This week in comprehension we are working on using text and illustrations to find the key details in a story. Our comprehension strategy is to visualize (good readers use words and illustrations to visualize) or make pictures in our mind to help us understand text.

Math:
We are still plugging away through Unit 1. Unit 1 focuses on parts/wholes and how to make different numbers. Our Unit 1 test will be on Thursday, September 21. A study guide will go home in next week's homework packet.

Science:
We are beginning to work on our Sound unit. This week we are taking a "Sound Walk" to listen for sounds we might hear when we walk around our school. We will also be working on building a Kazoo in class and figuring out what helps make the noise that the Kazoo will make when we blow into it.

Parent Reading Afternoon:
Please join us on Wednesday at 1:30pm in Room 16 for Parent Reading Meeting. I will be sending home a reading packet today via email for you to bring with you to the meeting. This is a great meeting for our first grade parents because we will go over strategies you can utilize at home to help your child become a great reader.

                                                      Picture Day

Picture Day is this Thursday, September 14. No money is due or packet the day of pictures.

NO SCHOOL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15. 

Let's Get Connected!

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

I have been going back and forth with the idea of having my class bring their own devices. While I know some parents have heard of 3-5 grade doing and now some 2nd grade teachers, I think it truly is

important to have a device for each child. We are in the age where digital literacy is truly important and it doesn't necessarily just encompass your child knowing how to use a device like an iPad or a phone. They need to learn keyboarding skills, be able to collaborate with others through things like Google Docs, be creative (remixing media or creating their own) and be safe and respectful when exercising these digital literacies.

I have already thought about storage for the devices when we are not in the room, to keep them safe. I already have rules and procedures in place, as well, for when the students are using the devices. Please watch the video below provided by our district regarding the BYOD program:

BYOD Video

If you would like your child to participate in BYOD - please note, phones are not included in the BYOD. Phones are still able to access content that goes around our firewalls, they are not necessarily hooked up to our internet provider, and it's not easy to search for information via a phone because it is so small. If your child has a laptop, Chromebook, or iPad with a keyboard, these devices will be supported.

I am sending home the BYOD agreement this week in your child's Wednesday envelope. If your child has a device and they would like to participate, fill out the BYOD and send it back to school. I will let you know when your child can start bringing in their device. They are not allowed it to bring it in, until the BYOD is filled out and returned. Should you have any questions about the BYOD, please feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to answer your questions!

PRODIGY

In your child's Wednesday envelope a paper went home for Prodigy. Prodigy is a math based program, where I enter "assignments" based on what we are studying and the game focuses on those skills for a specific amount of time. I was able to get a little more than half of the class logged on and connected to our class. On the paper sent home was your student's username and password. Please stress that this important and they should not give it to anyone else. I will be logging the rest of the class on starting Monday and then everyone should be connected and ready to go.

CLASS DOJO
If you have not connected to Class Dojo yet, please do so. For those of you, who have not connected, I will be sending a reminder email through Dojo on Monday.

PTA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
Don't forget to take the time to sign up to become a member of the PTA. Our PTA helps fund wonderful things like our field trips, Chromebooks for our classrooms, Chromebook carts, Family Fun Nights and the list goes on. Remember our BMX Night will be held this Wednesday, September 6. 

DATES TO REMEMBER:
BMX Night - Wednesday, September 6
1st grade Parent Reading Meeting - Wednesday, September 13 at 1:30pm (More info coming)
Picture Day - Thursday, September 14

I hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the short week!

Back To School and The First Full Week

Table 4 building their building

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
It was wonderful to meet all of you at Back To School Night. I am very excited about what they year has in store for us and how much we will watch your children grow this year. For those of you who were unable to make it to Back To School Night, you can catch the entire presentation here, minus seeing me, but you can hear my voice, explaining everything. Also, your child came home with the math book for homework and the handouts from Back To School Night, so take a look at those.

STEM FRIDAY 
This week our class began STEM Fridays. Each Friday, the students will partake in a stem activity

Table 1 Building

depending on what we are studying for that period of time. This week the STEM activity was more about learning to work as a team, listening to our teammates, and providing a reason (defending their answer) as to why it should be done a certain way versus another way. Within each table group, students will have a role, although this time it was just about getting to know your table mates. Each table group was asked to build the tallest building. The kids did great and we had a lot of fun, all while learning. They came up with wonderful reasons why one structure may be more sound than another, how balance was important, and why they chose to construct the building the way they did.

Table 2

PTA DRIVE
Please remember to turn in your PTA memberships! PTA provides many wonderful programs and supports the classroom in many ways.

LANGUAGE ARTS
The 105 First Grade Wonders Words may be found on our blog, here under the Language Arts page. The full list is available, as is the divided list, where the words are broken up into lists of 10.

CLASSROOM NEEDS
I have appreciated all of the classroom supplies. Here is a wishlist of supplies:

Table 3

Amazon Gift Cards
Best Buy Gift Cards
Bright Paper
Cardstock Paper
Pool Noodles
Small Stickers

While I am in the process of writing grants for technology for my classroom and PE equipment for our grade level, my goal is to have enough devices in the classroom for a class set. Best Buy and Amazon gift cards will go towards buying devices for the classroom. We also found some wonderful PE games we can play with pool noodles.


DATES TO REMEMBER 
Wednesday, August 30 - PTA BMX Night
Wednesday, September 13 at 1:30pm - Parent Reading Meeting for First Grade Parents
More information to follow for Parent Reading Meeting.

I am still looking for the following help:

• Room parent
• Meet the Master Parent - Once a month art project with the class

I wish everyone a great week and stay cool!

Welcome to Mrs. Kronenfeld's

First Class!

Welcome to my class! I am so excited to meet you on Wednesday, August 14. Parents, please remember this is a modified day for all students, so dismissal will be at 1pm. Here are just a few things to look forward to in our class this year:

Blog Posts/Website Updates 
 Each week, you will be able to access a blog post via our blog/website. At the beginning, these blog posts will be from me. As the year progresses and students learn about blogging, each student will have the opportunity to blog an update for the week. Be on the look out for some exciting and fun activities we will be doing in the class.

Class Communications
Each week, you will be able to access your student's homework and any assignment links via the blog/website. This will serve as a primary communication tool between student/teacher/parents. Each week, your student can log into their Connect-ED account and be able to do any activities/games or read books associated with what we are working on weekly in the classroom. These are wonderful resources to keep your student interested in learning to read. 

Also, if you look to the side and see the pages, there is a page with helpful links for reading and I am working on getting the Math accounts up and going. There is also a page to order books from Scholastic, just simply using our class code. 


Of course, we have much more to look forward to, this is just a preview of the fun stuff to come. I look forward to having a fun and exciting year and making first grade a success for all of my students. See you on Wednesday!

Cheers, 
Mrs. Kronenfeld