http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/ en-us Copyright 2012 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:02:09 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS January 30 - February 3, 2012 Thank you for such a wonderful turnout for Mass and Open House yesterday. It was great to watch your children show off all the work they've been doing. Thank you for your attendance. Our afternoons will be filled with exciting activities next week: Mon. St. Rita Band, Tues. Movie and partner read, Wed. Game Day -PLEASE BRING A GAME FROM HOME TO PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, Thurs. Jessie White Tumblers, and Fri. performance by Katie Quick! It will be very exciting. NOTES AND REMINDERS Conor Haggerty did a great job as our star of the week. Our next star of the week is: Meghan Carlin . Please bring your pictures on Monday. Please continue with the 2 reading activities going on: 6 hours to earn a ticket to Great America and the school wide competition for the next month to see which grade can read the most! You can use the books read for both activities. It is very important to return the tally sheet every Friday so the pages can be counted towards our total. I'll send the sheet home again to be used for the next week. UPCOMING EVENTS We will celebrate the 100th day of school on Feb. 8. It's a big accomplishment for us and we will be doing a variety of activities to celebrate. The children may come to school dressed like they are 100 years old! I will have many different stations set up in the room for the children to work on "100" things. I'm sending home a sheet of construction paper for the children to show what 100 looks like. Please see the directions attached to the paper. The 100 paper will be due by Feb. 6. We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Feb. 14. Children may bring valentine cards to share with the class. PLEASE do not address each valentine envelope. Children should sign their name on the cards and leave the envelope blank. They will distribute them to everyone's "mailbag". You can send a small treat to share with the class. HOMEWORK Please read "The Rolling Rice Cake" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "The Rat and The Cat" on Wed. and Thurs. night. The phonics skills for this week are the introduction to long/i/ and middle consonants such as the t in pretty. Sight test, spelling test and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. NEW SIGHT WORDS: pretty soon your be friend NEW SPELLING WORDS: time like five ride nice white rabbit never your friend MATH: We are back to the addition and subtraction facts in Math in this chapter. This week we will cover fact families: for example: 3+2=5, 2+3=5, 5-3=2, 5-2=3. Please keep practicing the math facts every night. I encourage you to keep reviewing all the sight words we've covered and quiz on the previous spelling words. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week! Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_30_-_february.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_30_-_february.html Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:02:09 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS January 23 -27, 2012 We are busy preparing our room for some very important guests ~ you, all the moms and dads and even grandmas and grandpas too! You are invited to attend our Catholic Schools Week Mass and Open House on Sunday, Jan 29. Please circle this day on your calendar. Can you believe the 100th day of school will be in early February? NOTES AND REMINDERS Our next "star" of the week will be: Conor. Please bring your pictures to school on Monday, Jan. 23. UPCOMING EVENTS We want to wish George a Happy Birthday on Monday, January 23!! HOMEWORK Please read "Rose and Grandma Make the Sun Shine" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "Our Family Get-Together" on Wed. and Thurs. night. The phonics skills for this week are long /o/ and the sh and wh sound at the beginning of words. Please encourage your child to find long /o/ and long/a/ words in the stories and in reading materials all around the house. Sight test , spelling test, and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. NEW SIGHT WORDS: father has going thank very NEW SPELLING WORDS: shop what hope those rode stone joke home has very In Math, we started chapter 6 which is back to math facts. I sent home the latest list of facts to be practiced. Please keep practicing all the math facts every night. SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THINGS YOU CAN WORK ON AT HOME: I encourage you to keep reviewing all the sight words we've covered. I have noticed that the short vowel words that the class was doing great with are foreign objects to them, now that we've started long vowel sounds. PLEASE CONTINUE TO GO OVER ALL THE SHORT VOWEL SPELLING AND SIGHT WORDS. Another good idea is to have the children put their sight words and/or spelling words in sentences either orally to you or in writing. Try putting a group of words into alphabetical order too. You can also ask your children to divide our words into nouns and verbs. Information about the reading contest sheet that came home on Monday: We are having a schoolwide reading competition to see what grade can read the most pages in a 4 week span. We are paired with 4th grade. Please keep track of the pages read each night either by your child or books you read to them. Tally the number for me and send the sheet back to school on Friday. I have to have the sheet each Friday for the pages to count. Mrs. Funk will then post how many pages have been read and the winning grade will be announced on Feb. 25. Let me know if you have any questions. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_23_-_27_2012.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_23_-_27_2012.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:41:30 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS January 16 -20, 2012 I think most of the students are back in the swing of school after the Christmas holiday. It has been helpful that the weather feels more like spring than winter. I'm sure that is about to change. Bring on the SNOW!!! NOTES AND REMINDERS Lily did a great job as star of the week. We will wait until the week of Jan. 23 for the next star of the week. Please be sure to empty the home folders nightly. Thanks UPCOMING EVENTS Martin Luther King holiday will be Monday, Jan 16 ~ no school that day. I will send home the January Book Report form. It will be due on Jan. 27. Please remember to send in a baby picture under 1 year old and a Baptism picture if you have one by Jan. 17. Thanks for your help. Continue to read and record your time to earn a ticket for Six Flags. 6 hours of reading must be completed. Mathletics is still underway. If your child hasn't been on lately, please encourage them to do some problems. I will be asking the children to earn a designated amount of points per week now that we are becoming more familiar with the program. HOMEWORK Please read "The Same as You" on Tues. night. Read "Cherry Pies and Lullabies" on Wed. and Thurs. night. The phonics skill for this week will be long vowel /a/ and the ch and th sound as in chair and this. Sight test, spelling test and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. Please practice the 10 spelling words and new sight words. Look for long /a/ words in the stories. NEW SIGHT WORDS: every made mother of was NEW SPELLING WORDS: tap tape cap cape mad made of was check then We will complete chapter 5 on geometry and fractions and begin chapter 6 in Math this week which will cover addition and subtraction facts to 12 and doubles facts ( 4+4=8). I plan to send the next list of subtraction facts to be added to the flashcard bag. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week! Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_16_-_20_2012.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_16_-_20_2012.html Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:21:25 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS January 9-13, 2012 Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope you had a great holiday. Thank you again for all the wonderful gifts you gave me. You were so very generous. I'm ready to begin the second half of the school year. Let's make it great. NOTES AND REMINDERS Shaylee did a great job as our last star of the week for 2011. The first star of the week for 2012 is Lily . Pictures and starring me paper is due on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012. We will begin to work on some projects in preparation for Catholic Schools Week. I will need a baby picture of your child - no larger than 4x6 and less than 1 year old... (anywhere between 1 month and the first birthday will be great.) I also will need a picture from their Baptism if you can find one. Please send them both by Jan. 17. Please put their name on the back of both pictures. Catholic Schools Week will be Jan.29 - Feb. 3, 2012. It begins with a family liturgy on Sunday at 10:00 with Open House to follow. We will have a Christmas "show and tell" this week. Children from 1-10 can bring ONE show and tell on Tuesday. Children from 11-20 can bring theirs on Wednesday. This is completely optional. We are beginning our first author study this month. Jan Brett will be our first author. We will hear many books written and illustrated by her, do some activities, and vote on our favorite book written by her. I mentioned to the class to look online with your supervision and see if they find any information on Jan Brett. UPCOMING EVENTS Wednesday, Jan 11 is "special lunch" so check your calendars to see if you ordered. We will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday, Jan 16, so there will be no school that day. HOMEWORK We are ready to begin our next reading book level 1.4 We will also begin to work on all the long vowel sounds during these next 6 weeks. Wait until you see how their sight vocabulary grows after we complete the lessons on the long vowel sounds! There will be some changes in regards to the spelling words. There will now be 10 spelling words each week! Please read "The Red Stone Game" on Mon. and Tues. Read "Gingerbread Man" on Wed. and Thurs. The phonics skills for the week will be long vowel/a/ and -ed ending (helped). The sight test, spelling test and workbook pages that are used for assessment will be given on Friday, Jan 13. We will continue to work on fractions in math. Please continue to drill with the flash cards. NEW SIGHT WORDS: after as call laugh something NEW SPELLING WORDS 10 FROM NOW ON ! ate gave make bake late take as after helped wanted As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_9_-_13_2012.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2012/01/week_of_january_9_-_13_2012.html Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:39:45 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Dec. 19-21, 2011 This will be my last newsletter for 2011. I will send the next newsletter on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 listing the homework for the week of Jan 9-13, 2012. We have been busy reviewing all the short vowels and blends this week. Santa's elves have also been busy with some Christmas projects. We will "light" the fourth advent candle on Monday and then the children can take them home and display them in your house. We had a fun day last Friday hearing the story The Polar Express and drinkiing hot chocolate. NOTES AND REMINDERS Shaylee did a great job as our star of the week. She is our last "star" of 2011. Our first star of the week for 2012 will be picked the week we come back to school after Christmas. Their week will begin Jan. 9. UPCOMING EVENTS We will attend the annual PreSchool play on Monday, Dec.19 and the Kindergarten play on Tuesday, Dec. 20. We will have a small Christmas party in the classroom on Wednesday morning, Dec. 21, before the prayer service. Wednesday, Dec. 21 is early dismissal at 11:30 and the beginning of our Christmas Holiday. Classes resume on Jan. 5, 2012. HOMEWORK Please read "I Can Read" on Mon. night. Read "Lilly Reads" on Tues. night. We will continue the stories for this week when we return after school. The phonics skills to be covered this week are all short vowel sounds and contractions (can not = can't). I won't give the usual tests on Friday, Jan 6, that week because of the long break between the stories. NEW SIGHT WORDS: again please read say word NEW SPELLING WORDS: clap trip drop sled spot drum In Math we will continue with geometry and fractions. PLEASE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE FLASH CARDS. SUBTRACTION FACTS SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE BAG. I feel so blessed to be teaching your children this year. They are a wonderful group of girls and boys. You should be so proud of them. They are a special gift from God. I love walking into my classroom every morning knowing I will see their smiling faces. I wish all of you, and your families, a Blessed Christmas and Joyful New Year. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/12/week_of_dec_19_-_21_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/12/week_of_dec_19_-_21_2011.html Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:00:46 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Dec. 12-16, 2011 We will "light" the third advent candle on Monday on our Advent wreaths. The children are looking at the real candles every time we go into church. NOTES AND REMINDERS Samantha did a great job as our star of the week. Our new "star" will be: Shaylee. Please bring your pictures on Monday, December 12. UPCOMING EVENTS We will attend the annual Kindergarten play on Tuesday, Dec. 20. HOMEWORK Please read "Fox and Bear" on Mon. and Tues. Read "Fox and Bear Look at the Moon" on Wed. and Thurs. We will be reviewing all short vowel sounds and final consonant blends this week. The sight test, spelling test and workbook pages that are used for assessment will be given on Friday, Dec. 9. This will be our 4th week where I haven't read the test to the class. The children seem to be doing very well on their own. I'm so proud of them. Anyone who needs help on the test just raises their hand and I offer assistance. NEW SIGHT WORDS: came know there out she NEW SPELLING WORDS: and hand just must fast best We are beginning chapter 5 in Math on geometry and fractions on Monday. Please continue to practice the flash cards. I have added new goals or gold bars in Mathletics so the children can work on some advanced addition and subtraction over Christmas break. Please help them memorize the facts to 8 in addition. I would expect 100% mastery by now. You can pull out subtraction facts from your flash card boxes. Let's start with the facts from 5 down. Once they seem to know these quickly go ahead and pull the facts from 10 down. They really need to master these, so maybe you can monitor what they are doing on mathletics and not have them jump ahead if they're not ready. Thanks for all the time you spend listening to your children read. I hope you can see the great improvements in their reading since the beginning of the year. Please ask your children to retell stories they read to you in their own words. This helps comprehension and retention of facts. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/12/week_of_december_12_-_16_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/12/week_of_december_12_-_16_2011.html Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:24:03 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Dec. 5 - 9, 2011 Christmas is in the air. The children seem to get more excited each day. We will "light" our second advent candle on Monday. NOTES AND REMINDERS Our new "star" of the week is: Samantha. Please bring your pictures on Monday, Dec. 5. I'm not sending a December book report because the month is so busy and short. I told the children they should just continue to read some books at home. Look for a "ticket" on papers with sentences. This shows you what I'm looking for when the students use words in sentences. The object is to try and get 4 stars right now. The goals/objectives will change in a few more weeks and the number of stars to earn will change too. UPCOMING EVENTS Our Field Trip to the Beverly Arts Center was great. The kids loved the play and were so excited to participate with the elves and Mrs. Claus. Thanks to our chaperone, Mrs. C. who went along with us. We want to wish Mickey a Happy Birthday on Wednesday, December 7!!! Special lunch is on Wednesday, Dec. 7. The all school mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception will be on Dec. 8 at 10:00 HOMEWORK Please read "Trucks" on Mon. and Tues. Read "Communities" on Wed. and Thurs. The phonics skills for the week will be short vowel/u/ and initial soft /c/ and /g/ words: city, gem. The sight test, spelling test and workbook pages that are used for assessment will be given on Friday. NEW SIGHT WORDS: us bring hold carry our NEW SPELLING WORDS: us bus but cut rug hug We will be concluding chapter 4 in Math on addition and subtraction using a number line. Please continue to practice the flash cards daily at home. Mathletics will be updated tomorrow . If your child can't go any further it's because I have to assign new goals. The teachers received training last Wed. on how to do this. Our Religion discussion will continue to be about the season of Advent. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/12/week_of_december_5_-_9_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/12/week_of_december_5_-_9_2011.html Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:57:09 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Nov. 28 - December 2, 2011 It was a pleasure meeting all of you last week at Parent Teacher Conferences. Your children are wonderful and really working hard. We are in the season of Advent. The children are anxiously awaiting the birth of Jesus. We have made an Advent wreath that hangs on their lockers. We "lit" the first candle today and will "light" their advent candles every Monday on their lockers. NOTES AND REMINDERS Marty did a great job as our last star of the week. Our new "star" of the week won't happen until the week of Dec. 5. Marty will draw the name this Thursday. The Reading tests that I give on Friday were given as an independent test for the last two weeks. I'm not going to read the whole test to the class. I will help any children needing help during the test. So far I'm very pleased with the accuracy of their reading of the questions. UPCOMING EVENTS There is no school on Friday, Dec. 2 due to a faculty retreat. Our Field Trip to Beverly Arts Center is on Monday, Dec. 5. Dec 6. is the feast day of St. Nicholas. HOMEWORK Please read "My Buddy Stan" on Mon. night. Read "Biscuit" on Tues. and Wed. night. The phonics skills to be covered this week are short /u/ and words beginning with the s blend (ex. slip).The spelling test, sight test and workbook pages that I use to assess will be given on Thursday (no school on Friday). In Math we will continue with the number line with subtraction, subtracting with 0 and completing the chapter. NEW SIGHT WORDS: jump more sleep time with NEW SPELLING WORDS: fun run up cup stuff puff Flash cards should always be in the school bag because we will use them during class time. Please practice the cards each night. It is very important to memorize these facts during the first grade year. I'm going to send the flash card boxes back home that you sent to school in August. The boxes are so different that it's hard for me to pull out the facts we are learning. I will continue to write the facts that I want the children to practice and you can pull the cards or make them with index cards. I still want the cards in their backpacks everyday. Thanks so much for your help with this. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/11/week_of_november_28_-_december.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/11/week_of_november_28_-_december.html Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:42:17 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Nov. 14 - 18, 2011 First trimester is completed. The class has adjusted quite well to being first graders and spending the whole day in school. Our work so far has been concentrating on review of kindergarten work/ beginning first grade work. We work together on most activities. The children will begin to work more independently during the second trimester. I won't send a newsletter on Friday, Nov. 18 due to the short week before Thanksgiving. The next letter will be sent home on Monday, Nov. 28. NOTES AND REMINDERS Ryan did a great job as our star of the week. Our new "star" of the week is: Marty. Please bring your pictures on Monday, Nov. 14. I sent home the November Book Report on Wednesday. It will be due Nov. 18. Please help your child to select a book that they can read to you. It cannot be a story from our reader. School pictures went home. Please return pictures and/or money by Nov. 21. We are going on a field trip Dec. 5. Permission slip will be coming home. UPCOMING EVENTS Report cards will be going home on Friday, November 18, 2011. We will meet for parent-teacher conferences on Nov. 21. Your time slot will be sent home next week. If you can't make your assigned time, please let me know and we will make other arrangements. Dismissal on Monday and Tuesday Nov. 21, and 22 is at 11:30. Conferences begin at 12:00 on Monday, Nov.21. There is no school on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. HOMEWORK Please read "Yes We Want Some Too" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "Cat Traps" on Wed. and Thurs. night . The phonics skills for this week are short /e/ and r and l blends: trip, slip. The spelling test, sight test and workbook pages that I use to assess will be given on Friday. NEW SIGHT WORDS: for good some too want NEW SPELLING WORDS: met pet let get ten yes In math, we will add with 5, and continue using the number line for addition and subtraction. Mathletics was presented today to all first graders. It will be a wonderful tool to use at home on the computer. We will spend some time at school in the computer lab using it but it is meant to be a home activity. I will monitor the progress and keep a chart in the room with the total points earned. We will continue to learn about different saints this month. As always, contact me with any questions. I would like to wish all of you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm blessed to have my family home with me at Thanksgiving and to also be a part of your families this year while I'm teaching your children. We really are so blessed and have much to be thankful for. Have a good week and a good holiday! Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/11/week_of_november_14_-_18_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/11/week_of_november_14_-_18_2011.html Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:45:41 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Nov. 7 - 11, 2011 We will be discussing the meaning of Thanksgiving. We'll talk about the Pilgrims and Native Americans as well as what we are thankful for. The Thankful turkeys are due on Nov. 8. A big "thank you" to Mrs. Condon, Mrs. Giglio, and Mrs. Urchell for helping out with our fun Halloween party! NOTES AND REMINDERS George did a great job as our star of the week. Our new "star" of the week is: Ryan is our new "star" of the week. Please bring your pictures on Monday, Nov. 7. UPCOMING EVENTS Friday, Nov. 11 will mark the end of the first trimester of school. I honestly don't know where the time has gone. Report cards will be going home on Nov. 18 with Parent-Teacher conferences on Nov. 21. Your time slot will be sent home next week. I will be asking the class to recite their home address and phone number. I do this a few times during the year. Any help you can give to help memorize this important information will be appreciated. HOMEWORK We will begin the new 1.3 reader Monday, Nov. 7. The book socks can be put right on the 1.3 reader. Please read "The Big Mess" on Monday and Tuesday night. Read "The Little Red Hen" on Wednesday and Thursday night. The phonics skills to be covered this week are short /e/ and double final consonants like ball and call. The sight test, spelling test, and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. NEW SIGHT WORDS: help now said so who NEW SPELLING WORDS: red bed fed tell well mess The Reading tests that I give on Friday will be given as an independent test from now on. I'm not going to read the whole test to the class. I will help any children needing help during the test. I will evaluate how the class responds to the test given in this manner and make any necessary adjustments for the following week. Look for the test to be in the home folder on Monday. Please continue to practice all the sight words and spelling words from 1.1 and 1.2. Complete sight test on all 1.2 words this week. In Math we will begin Chapter 4 which will cover counting on from one number to the next, turn around facts: (3+2=5, 2+3=5), and using the number line to solve addition and subtraction problems. Flash cards should always be in the school bag because we will use them during class time. Please practice the cards each night. It is very important to memorize these facts during the first grade year. Please feel free to move on with the facts if your child is progressing We will continue to learn about different saints this month. Our bulletin board in the hallway reflects all of your little "first grade" saints and the good works they do for all of us. It is beautiful. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/11/week_of_november_7_-_11_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/11/week_of_november_7_-_11_2011.html Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:36:11 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS Oct. 31 - Nov. 4, 2011 We have 2 weeks of school left until the end of the first trimester. I can't believe how these first weeks of school have flown by. Your children seem to be adjusting nicely to life in first grade. Thank you for all the practice you do at home with sight and spelling words, reading, and math facts. It really shows in their daily work. We have turned the corner from kindergarten review to actual first grade curriculum these past few weeks. Thanks to all of you who were so very generous with the candy and prizes you sent for the Halloween party. NOTES AND REMINDERS Now that we are in sweat shirt weather for gym, please be sure to label ALL GYM CLOTHES - SWEATSHIRTS, PANTS AND SHORTS. The October book reports turned out beautifully. They have been hanging in our room. I will send a November book report form home next week. UPCOMING EVENTS We want to wish Maura a Happy Birthday on Monday, Oct. 31!! All First graders will be creating a "Thankful" turkey to decorate the hall for the month of November. The explanation sheet and turkey parts and feathers will come home on Tuesday, Nov.1 and the turkey should be completed and returned by Nov. 8. Please don't go to any great expense to decorate your turkey - use what you can find around the house. The school will attend mass on Tuesday, Nov.1 in honor of All Saints Day. Special lunch is on Wednesday, Nov. 2. HOMEWORK Monday through Thursday the children will be bringing home the reader. Please read the phonics story "A Big Job" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "Sweet Potato Pie" on Wed., and Thurs. night. The phonics skills we will cover this week are short/o/ and the -s and -ing endings. These are the last two stories in Level 1.2. There are some excellent review pages at the end of the book. Feel free to go over the sentences and Pictionary words found between pages 202 and 222. Sight test, spelling test, and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. We will have a whole 1.2 sight test the week of Nov. 7. I will send the list home this week to study. NEW SIGHT WORDS: by eat sing stop them NEW SPELLING WORDS: hot not got mop hop top In math, we will continue with addition and subtraction facts, choosing the correct math operation to solve word problems and complete chapter 3. In school, I gave everyone a bag with 12 bottle tops. We use those right now to aid in the computation of the facts. The Rosary books will be coming home this week. Ask your child about the Joyful Mysteries. They really enjoyed learning about them and saying the rosary in our classroom. Thanks again for sending all the beautiful rosaries. We will be learning about many Saints during the month of November. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_31_-_november.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_31_-_november.html Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:08:20 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS October 24 - 28, 2011 The Halloween Celebration will be on Monday, Oct. 31. All of our ghouls and goblins are getting very excited. Our Room Mom will be helping with the Halloween Party. Can't wait! Our first trimester ends on Nov.11 so only 3 more full weeks of school. Report cards will go home on Nov.18 and Parent -Teacher conferences are being scheduled now for Monday, Nov. 21. The letter about conferences went home on Wednesday. Please return your conference slips as soon as possible. NOTES AND REMINDERS Thanks for your help with the flash cards. I know it was a little confusing because the flash card boxes were not all the same. I will add new facts to their bags in a little while. UPCOMING EVENTS The October book report is due on Friday. Oct. 28. Dress with a touch of pink will be on Friday, Oct. 28. This is for breast cancer awareness month. HOMEWORK Monday through Thursday the children will be bringing home the reader. Please read the phonics story "Jog, Frog, Jog" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "Tadpole to Frog" on Wed. and Thurs. night. The new sound will be short/o/ and "s" plurals (cats, dogs). Sight test, spelling test, and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. In math, we will begin subtraction facts, seeing subtraction in vertical form and choosing the correct math operation to solve word problems. In school, I will give everyone a bag with 12 manipulatives. We will use those right now to aid in the computation of the facts. The flash card bags should be traveling to and from home and school. Please encourage your child to start memorizing these facts. I will teach how to use the number line when we begin the next chapter. We will continue with the study of the rosary. The rosaries that have been brought to school are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them with us. The children love seeing all the different beads, and colors and sizes of rosaries. NEW SIGHT WORDS: does he into this water NEW SPELLING WORDS: job jobs dog dogs log logs As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_24_-_28_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_24_-_28_2011.html Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:33:22 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS October 17 - 21, 2011 We had a good week at school talking about Christopher Columbus, fire safety, and beginning to learn about the rosary. We will try to use the iPads on a regular basis as well. The app for printing will be very helpful as I'm trying to teach the correct technique to make the letters and numbers correctly. NOTES AND REMINDERS: I would like to ask you to please work on tying shoelaces at home. The children can ask for my help but this skill should be learned by all first graders. I will gladly help tie shoes but I usually say that by the New Year (2012) everyone should be able to tie their own shoes. Thanks with your help on this! Please send a magazine to school with lots of pictures that the children can cut out. We will be using them for future projects. UPCOMING EVENTS We want to wish Marty a Happy Birthday on Friday, October 21, 2011!! The October book report is due on Friday. Oct. 28. HOMEWORK Monday through Thursday the children will be bringing home the reader. Please read the phonics story "Fish Mix" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "How Many Fish" on Wed. and Thurs. night. We will continue our work on short/i/ and final /x/ sound. Sight test, spelling test, and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. NEW SIGHT WORDS: how many on they why NEW SPELLING WORDS: fix mix six in him did In Math we will begin chapter 3 which covers beginning addition and subtraction concepts. The flash cards that you sent to school on the first day will be coming home in sections. I will divide the box into the facts that I want the children to memorize. Some of the boxes don't contain all the facts that the children will need to know so I will send a list of those facts and some blank index cards that you can use to make the missing facts. The bags of flash cards will go home every night to be practiced but they need to return to school in the backpack everyday. I partner the children to practice during the day. Please encourage your child to start memorizing these facts. We will continue to study the rosary. The children can bring a rosary from home to show the class. As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_17_-_21_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_17_-_21_2011.html Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:49:00 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS October 10 - 14, 2011 What an apple month we had in September! I hope you had a chance to look over the Apple Books that came home on Tuesday. Now we're heading towards Halloween. (even though it's still 3 weeks away). We will have a classroom party. All the information about that will be sent home later. NOTES AND REMINDERS Wednesday, Oct.12 is the first magazine drive turn in date. Friday, Oct. 14 is the return day for the baby bottles filled with change. Thank you very much for supporting these important fund raisers. UPCOMING EVENTS I am sending the first Book Report form home this week. The children should choose a book that they can read to you. Children should complete the report in pencil. The report is due by Oct. 28. It can be turned in whenever it is finished. We will begin to study the Rosary next week in Religion. I will teach the Joyful Mysteries. The children are welcome to bring a rosary to show the class if they would like to share. Next week is also Fire Prevention Week. We will discuss fire safety in social studies as well as the travels of Christopher Columbus. HOMEWORK Tuesday through Thursday the children will be bringing home the reader. Please read the phonics story "What Did I See?" on Tues. night. Read "I Went Walking" on Wed. and Thurs. night. The phonics skills for this week will be short/i/ and the final /ck/ sound. I would like to remind you about making flash cards for all the sight words. It really helps to take a few minutes each day and flip through those. We say the words everyday as a whole class, but when I ask some children individually to say the words they are still getting stuck on some of the words. Sight test, spelling test, and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. I have been giving 3 sentence dictation using the spelling words each week. The children can look for the words in the classroom to spell them correctly. I'm also looking for uppercase letter on the first word and a punctuation mark at the end of the sentence. So far they are doing quite well! NEW SIGHT WORDS: did me saw walk went NEW SPELLING WORDS: hit it sit kick pick sick In Math we will begin chapter 3 which covers beginning addition and subtraction concepts. I will be sending home the math flashcards that you sent to school in Sept. The ones that I pull from everyone's box are the facts that need to be mastered now. On Thursday the class was given the opportunity to try the new iPads purchased for classroom use last summer. THE KIDS LOVED THEM! We had a great time trying some printing apps. We also experimented on a Math Bingo app.I hope to use them in the classroom at least once a week. Ask your child how they liked using the iPads. PLEASE SEND A MAGAZINE TO SCHOOL THAT THE CHILDREN CAN USE TO CUT OUT PICTURES. EVERY CHILD SHOULD HAVE ONE. IT WILL BE BETTER IF IT'S A MAGAZINE WITH LOTS OF PICTURES. THANKS! As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_10_-_14_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_10_-_14_2011.html Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:14:10 -0600 WEEKLY NEWS FROM ROOM 114 THIS WEEKS NEWS October 3 - 7, 2011 We did have fun this week with all the different apple activities. We have a few to finish up next week so make sure you look through the Apple Book that contains all the apple activities we did. Be sure to have them read the story "A Little Apple Seed" to you. The book will come home next week. I am sending the October Scholastic Book order home today for anyone interested in ordering some books. The order will be due on Thursday, Oct. 6. Halloween is already on the children's minds. We will have a classroom Halloween party. The students can dress up for the day. More info will follow at a later date. NOTES AND REMINDERS UPCOMING EVENTS The Hot Lunch program starts on Monday, Oct. 3. The first special lunch of the year is on Wed. Oct. 5. There is no school for the students on Monday, Oct. 10 in honor of Columbus Day. The ETC after school program begins on Monday, Oct. 3. Please check to see if you signed your child up for any of the programs. HOMEWORK Please read the phonics story "Look at That" on Mon. and Tues. night. Read "Can You Find It?" on Wed. and Thurs. night. Skills to be covered this week will be short /a/ and final consonant sounds. I told the class that we are living, breathing, and dreaming short /a/ for these 2 weeks. I'm expecting them to master that sound to perfection!! Sight test, spelling test and workbook pages used for assessment will be given on Friday. We will begin to study the Rosary in October. I will teach the Joyful Mysteries and how to say a Rosary. I will let the students bring a rosary to share when we begin our unit. I'll let you know when they can bring in a rosary. In Math, we will begin chapter 2 which covers the different ways to make combinations of numbers 4 - 10. This is in preparation for addition and subtraction facts. We will begin flash card practice soon. NEW SIGHT WORDS: find play make all are NEW SPELLING WORDS: fan can am sad bad had As always, contact me with any questions. Have a good week. Mrs. Dillon http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_3_-_7_2011.html http://blog.sjfschool.net/dillon/2011/10/week_of_october_3_-_7_2011.html Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:54:22 -0600