Pumpkin Math and Science

As part of our October Social Studies we have been reading about pumpkins. I like to try and integrate subjects as much as possible. So, on Wednesday this week we did "Pumpkin Math and Science". Each student received their own little book with the title "Pumpkin Math and Science". We did some math and science activities with pumpkins. Each child was able to keep their little pumpkin to take home and finish so of the activities with their families. It was a fun activity for our class! I hope your child has shared what they learned about their pumpkin. We counted how many lines on the pumpkin and used a string to estimate the measurement around the center of the pumpkin. Thanks to Bubba's Produce in East Garland for the cute little pumpkins again this year! :)

Classroom News October 10th

Dear Parents and Students,
How are you? I am glad I have been able to meet with almost everyone this week for parent teacher conferences. Thank you for taking time to meet with me. If I missed you, please contact me to reschedule an appointment.
Last Friday we had our welcome back assembly that the PTA was in charge of. It was a very fun assembly. We were introduced to the theme “TEAM Garland”. We learned that TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. We also learned that each Friday this year will be school spirit day. The class that has the most students wearing Garland Bear t-shirts each Friday gets to have Grizz in their class for the next week. Grizz is our school mascot. So, I encourage everyone to wear their school shirts on Fridays this year.
On Tuesday we finished up chapter 2 in Math. We will begin to learn more strategies for addition and subtraction. Please help your child by practicing their basic add and subtract facts at home.
Thursday we were able to have the NED show come to our school for an assembly. I hope your child told you about this. Book Orders were also due on Thursday. Thank you for participation with book orders for October. I have placed this order and hope to receive the books back in a week and a half or so.
As we start into the cold and flu season I am going to start having the students wipe down their tables each Friday. I have a couple of containers of Clorox wipes. If anyone would be willing to donate more Clorox wipes to our class, I would be thankful. I’m sure this is an item we will go through quickly in an effort to keep our room clean and germ free. We are stocked up on tissues at this point, so thank you for your donations at the first of the year.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I appreciate all you do and love teaching your child. We have such an awesome class this year! Thanks for all you do,

Mrs. Shaffer

Classroom News September 29- October 3

October 3, 2008
Dear Parents and Students,
How are you? I am ready for the weather to cool off next week. It has still been quite warm in our classroom this week. I am proud to say that our class did a great job singing at the welcome back assembly today. We joined with the other first grade classes to sing a song we've learned about being friends.
This week we started something new with spelling sorts in our class. I hope you received your note and sort that your child should be working on. Each Monday I will send home a new sort. I am hoping this will better reach some of the individual needs in our classroom.
Next week will be a busy week for us. We will be taking the Unit 1 reading block assessments in our class. This is something new we are doing this year. We will be doing different sections of testing each day. Please help your child to get plenty of rest each night. Also, please make sure they have breakfast. I am excited to see how well everyone will do.
We are also starting reading groups and centers. We will do this on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Our reading group time is 8:15-9:15. Please make sure that your child is here and on time to begin groups each day. I am also thankful for our volunteers that will be helping us each day during centers .
Next week we have parent teacher conferences. I am excited to get to meet with each of you and discuss your child’s progress. This year we are starting a new grading program. I hope you can be patient with me, as we are still working out the bugs with the new system. The new grading is based off of a rubric with scores of 0-4. Please make your best effort to be on time to your appointment.
On Monday Officer Bourne will be visiting our class to do DARE. We will learn about how to keep our bodies healthy and safe. We will have 4 30 minute sessions where Officer Bourne will come and talk with our class.
Book orders are also due on Thursday October 9th. Next Thursday is our day for Bookmobile. The Bookmobile only comes to our school every other week. Please help your child remember their book to exchange for a new one.
Thanks for all you do! I appreciate supportive parents and such wonderful students. Please contact me at school with any questions or concerns.
Thanks,
Mrs. Shaffer