Happy New Year!! This year is off to a great start. Thanks again for all the beautiful Christmas gifts. Mrs. Hoffman and I are enjoying them all. Thanks also for the nice class gift from Salon Allure. My son and I are enjoying our new haircuts. Mrs. Hoffman really enjoyed having dinner with her family at Bonefish.
This month in math we will be working on place value, addition and subtraction. We will begin using the first grade Saxon Math next month. Then, our math homework sheets will be the back side of the math class work for the day. This month we are discussing winter, Arctic/Antarctica animals and Martin Luther King, Jr. The children are doing so well with reading. Please continue to read at home with your child. This week on Friday, our students will be taking the STAR reading test. From that point on, the AR books they get should be within their indicated reading level zone. The zone will be indicated on a sticker on the AR bag. Please note that in order to be a successful first grader at Britt David, I have found that by the end of the year, each child’s zone should be at least 1.7-2.7. Also, at this point the student should be reading the AR books by themselves. You should read it TO them the first time and discuss it, but repeated reading should be done by THE CHILD. Of course, you will be listening and offering assistance as needed. We will begin this month (with the assistance of the reading buddies) working toward having the students read and take their AR tests by themselves.
The new ILS program should be available very soon. I will be sending you more information as I get it. By the end of this grading period the children should have completed levels 1-12 in Text Type with their hands covered. Also, please be sure to work on the IXL math program some at home. This is really a great program.
I will be scheduling conferences with each parent next month. This will be an opportunity for us to get together and discuss your child’s progress. Look for more information on this next month.
Many of the children are in need of individual supplies, such as: crayons, markers, glue, etc. I will be sending home a list of the things your child needs. We have enough snacks to last the rest of this month. If you would like to send more in February, that would be great. Also, we could always use craft supplies such as construction paper, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, crepe paper, etc.
Please help your child remember to do the following: turn in his/her homework and folder each day, bring his/her AR book to school (in bag) on Mondays, and bring his/her little book to school (in small orange bag) on Fridays. As we move closer to first grade, we really need the students to become more responsible. We will move the student’s clothes pins to yellow for failing to do one of the above mentioned things.
Important days to remember:
Jan 26 (Thurs.) Stevi B’s Night
Feb. 9 (Thurs.) Progress Reports
Feb. 14 (Tues.) Early Release Day/ Valentine’s Party
Feb. 17 (Fri.) Winter break – no school
Feb. 20 (Mon.) Presidents Day – no school