Character student

Our character trait for the month of November was patriotism. Chase is our character student of the month! Children learned that we say the Pledge of allegiance to show respect and honor towards our country. Chase is very mindful of this when it comes time to saying the Pledge every morning. He recites the pledge clearly with his hand over his heart. Then, when it's time for a moment of silence, Chase is always one to stand quietly the entire time. He sets a wonderful example for other students and understands the importance of these actions. Great job Chase!

STAR Student

This week I began something called STAR student. Each week, a different child will have the opportunity to share about various aspects of their life. Different days will require them to share different things. Your child's week would go something like this:

Monday- share about your family/pets
Tuesday- share your favorite hobby (or a sport you participate in)
Wednesday- share something unique
Thursday- share your favorite book
Friday- share your favorite toy

Students will be encouraged to share whatever they would like pertaining to that topic. I encourage you to send in pictures and props to go along with their talks. They will have approximately 10 minutes to talk to the other children and answer questions at the end of each day.
The STAR for the upcoming week will be revealed on the preceding Friday. A note will be sent home detailing the expectations for being STAR student.

In addition to getting to share about themselves, students will also take home a small back pack containing various items including a STAR student bear and journal. Students will be expected to take good care of our bear and make at least one journal entry. They will not be limited on the number of pages they can use, so the more they have to say, the better!

I was the STAR last week to model for the students. I'm sure they can share some stats on my family, hobbies, and what I liked to do as a first grader! Our STAR for the upcoming week will be Emma.

Site of the Week

It's been a while since I posted a site of the week, but this one came across my path and I thought some of you might be interested in having a little guidance in picking out books while the kids are away from school for two weeks.

The Florida Department of Education has put out a list of 2010 recommended holiday reading books. Just click on the link. Books are sorted by grade level.

'Tis the Season

Thank you to every family that was able to contribute to Loretto's canned food drive. I don't know what the turn out was school-wide, but our box was full!
Please don't forget about our student council toy drive sponsored by the Salvation Army. If you're out and about this weekend, please pick up something small to contribute to our nearly empty stockings. Refer to the article published earlier this month for more details.

Scholastic Book Club

I will be sending order forms for books on Monday. This will be the last order placed before the winter holidays. Books make great gifts for your children as well as family and friends.

If you would like me to be secretive about delivery of the books, please send me a note and I can arrange for you to pick them up OR I will place them in a large envelope to send with your child.

Orders are due Friday, December 3.

I encourage your to place your order online because we earn free books for the classroom. You can send the paper order form as well with a check for any of the four book clubs.

Leveled book list

Your child has the opportunity to take home a "just right" bag of books every week. Please remember these are changed out on Fridays. I know our weeks have been a little off due to various holidays, but it's quite difficult to change out the books periodically as they come. It's much easier if there is one change out every week.

In this bag of books, your child's individual level is written down. Under the tab "useful links" here on our blog, there is a link for a leveled book list. Please utilize the public library system while we are out of school for the upcoming holidays. There are some great books mentioned on this list and it would be worthwhile to have the book on your child's level so you know what to expect when it comes to independent reading.

AR store

We will be going to the AR store on Monday, December 6. Our time is scheduled for 8:45. If you are able to come and help the kids spend their points, please let me know.

Loretto School Spirit

Order forms for Loretto shirts and sweatshirts go home this week.

Loretto school shirts are on sale for $8!
Sweatshirts cost $18.
Orders are due by Tuesday, November 23rd.

Save the Date

Our holiday party will be held on Thursday, December 16. The party will be from about 9:00-11:00. We will need lots of volunteers to help at the different stations, so if you're able to make it, it would be greatly appreciated. I will be sending a formal e-vite invitation with a list of materials we need. If you would like to bring more than one item, please let me know so I can assign you multiple items. Thanks!!

Calendar Correction

Monday, November 29 we will have art instead of computers.

Full steam ahead!

I have updated the reading, writing, and math tabs at the top of the page to keep you up to date on what we are working on.

We are starting new units in math and writing as well as continuing our work in reading.

In math, we are taking a break from addition and subtraction to explore the world of patterns. Please look over the school-home connect for ideas on how to practice patterns at home.

For writing, we wrapped up our narrative genre. We will revisit narrative at the end of the year. We have moved on to persuasive writing. Students will be required to give an opinion about something and reasons to support their opinion. Please make time to discuss topics that your child can easily relay reasons why they feel a particular way about that topic. Examples include, "Why I should have a new pet" or "Why this is my favorite book".

Stockings

Our student council is sponsoring a toy drive in partnership with the Salvation Army. We have two stockings in our room that need to be filled by December 3. They are for a boy and girl around the age of your first grader (5-7 years old).

Donations should be able to fit in the stocking, although they will make a separate collection of larger toys and gifts.

Suggestions:

• bouncy balls
• water toys
• match box cars
• dolls
• bubbles
• hair accessories
• coloring books, crayons, markers
• small games

Do NOT:

• wrap gifts
• send used items

Most Improved

Every nine weeks, when report cards go home, I have the opportunity to pick a student who has made great improvements. Kylee is our most improved student this nine weeks. She has really excelled in all of her studies. I think her biggest improvement has been being able to stay on top of completing all of her work. She works hard and puts her best effort in everything she does. Great job Kylee!

Week of November 8

We will take a week off from our typical reading series next week due to a shortened school week. We will be doing an author study on Marc Brown. He is the author of the Arthur series. We will be reading a lot of his books, discussing and writing about them as well as doing some fun activities to go along with them. We will also not have spelling or reading homework next week. I will send home some math work, and there will be the typical Sunshine Math paper.

I'm hoping you are practicing the sight words in the back of your child's folder. This week we completed Theme 3-week 1. We are taking next week off and will resume the following week with Theme 3- week 2 high-frequency words.

Character Student

October's character trait was Cooperation. Our character student this month is Zack. He exemplifies this trait in many ways. Zack is always extremely cooperative when an adult asks him to do something. He's very good at following directions. He is a leader in getting others to cooperate. I notice when students are on the playground, Zack is trying to organize a game and make sure everyone is playing and feels included. Recently, Zack helped another student without me having to ask. It takes a stand out student to cooperate with others without having to be told. Congratulations Zack... keep up the good work!

Field Trip

We will be going on our first field trip, Wednesday, November 17.

We will be going to the JCA to watch a play about the first Thanksgiving. We will be gone from approximately 9:30-12:30. Lunch will be eaten at the play, so please be sure to pack your child a lunch on this day. The cost for students is still be determined.

I am allowed to bring 2 chaperone's along. This will be done using a lottery type system. When permission forms go home, please mark the box to show you are interested. I will then "draw names from a hat" to pick the two chaperone's. Chaperone's must pay $7 at the door.

Keep on the look-out for the permission form. The sooner you can return it, the better!

Charlotte's Web Day

Please view our e-vite for our Charlotte's Web Day this coming Friday, October 29.

If you are able to attend, please RSVP.

There are a lot of items needed to make this special day happen. Please sign up for something on the invitation if you're able!

Click the picture to access the invitation:

Book-it!

The Pizza-Hut corporation is offering their annual Book-it! program to elementary students.
Every month, the children have the opportunity to earn a certificate for a personal pan pizza from pizza hut. They also get to put a sticker on our Book-It! reading chart. I have set the children's goal at 20 books for the first few months of the program. I may raise the goal as I see fit.

The program runs from October through March. I have told the children if they meet their reading goal every month for the six months of the program, I will reward them with a small reading success party.

As parents, all you have to do is:

1. encourage your child to read nightly


2. read with your child


3. make sure books are written in their reading log

For more information visit their website: https://www.bookitprogram.com/

Thanksgiving Food Drive

The Thanksgiving food drive will be held this year from November 1st-19th.

Students are to bring in non-perishable items between Nov. 1-19. PTA volunteers will come to classrooms on Friday, November 19th to collect the food students have brought in.

As we are all aware, there is a lot of need right now. The food drive is a good way for our students and families to reach out to those in need.

Thanks for your help!

Journals

Reading Response Journals went home in children's folders today. If your child did not receive theirs, they will get it on Tuesday in their folder.
You will be able to see how we are learning to write about stories we've read. At the present time, children should be able to name a story and tell why they liked it. They should also be able to write about a favorite part. This includes telling WHY it's their favorite part.
There are several blank pages in these journals that we didn't use. It would be a great idea for you to use those pages every once in a while, to have your child write about a story you've read with them or even one they've read independently.

Homework

Week of October 18

You will see the usual homework packet in your child's folder this week: spelling, math, reading, and Sunshine Math. I apologize for a few children's homework not being sent home until today (Tuesday).

I recently purchased math books with the homework already in them. Unfortunately, on the back of each practice page is another review page. This week, I have crossed out the back side of each sheet. Your child is to only complete the side that says "practice page" in the upper right corner. I foresee math homework looking like this for the remainder of the year.

Just a reminder that Sunshine Math is an enrichment program offered at Loretto. It is OPTIONAL, but highly encouraged that your child attempt it.

Week of October 26

Since there is no school on Monday, October 25, we are looking at a shortened school week. I will be doing homework slightly different. You will see a note attached to your child's homework next week explaining the reviewed spelling pattern and some various ways to practice it at home. You will see the usual math homework, but no reading homework.

Site of the week

I asked the kids for their input for suggestions to list as our site of the week. I got plenty of suggestions here are a few:

MATH

www.ictgames.com has a lot of great games to play.

Two that we used this week to go with our lessons on doubles were:

Dinosaur Dentist and Robin Doubles

SPELLING

From time to time for centers, groups of students will use this site:

Spelling City

You can click "Find List" at the top of the screen to search for a particular spelling pattern that your child is working on. You can search by list name (i.e.: "short u") OR you can search by teacher. If you enter "Cushnir", my name will appear. I have inputted a few spelling patterns, but it is a work in progress still. There are plenty of lists available to test or play games.

Books in a Bag

Every child went home today with some "Books in a bag". These will be sent home every Friday as long as your child remembers to return them. A lot of my books would be very difficult to replace, so PLEASE make sure to have them returned. If the books need to be kept for an additional week, I have no problem with that, I just don't want them to be misplaced.

In their "Books in a bag", there is a light green slip of paper that will be replaced every nine-weeks. At this point, all 1st graders should be around a level C. I have listed your child's reading level on this slip so you have an idea of what we're working towards.

Just to reiterate, I am hopeful that these bags will be changed out weekly to add to the books they get from the library on Tuesdays. I appreciate your cooperation in advance for keeping track of these books.

Scholastic Book Clubs

Order forms went home today for Scholastic Book Clubs. There are a few different catalogs you can order from. Orders can be submitted online (directions are on the attached bright green form) or you can write ONE check for any of the books you would like for your child. I will probably have one more order placed before the holidays, but if you're anything like me, it's never too early to start thinking about holiday gifts!

Orders are due Friday, October 22. Please let me know if you have questions.

Red Ribbon Week

In an effort to get children to "SAY NO TO DRUGS!" Loretto will be hosting themed days during red ribbon week. This will take place October 26-29. They are as follows:

Monday- Teacher Planning Day

Tuesday- Walk Against Drugs... wear Loretto or class shirt

Wednesday- "I'm a Jean-ius"... students and faculty wear jeans to show they're drug free.

Thursday- Heroes are drug free... wear red, white, and blue

Friday- Sock it to drugs... wear crazy or mixed up socks.

Character student

The character trait for the month of September was respect for life, liberty, and authority. Drew is our character student of the month! Drew is always so respectful to other adults around school and is sure to say "Yes ma'am" or "No sir". He's always very conscientious of how he responds to adults. Like most of his classmates, Drew shows respect to our country when he stands to say the pledge every morning and is silent during the moment of silence. I'm so proud of Drew for his model behavior.

Site of the week

Houghton Mifflin Pacing Guide

This is a site for you, the parent, to use! It lists each week and the corresponding skill, strategy, phonics, and high-frequency words we will be working on.

We are currently starting Theme 2-week 1.

Feel free to look ahead and practice high-frequency words early or discuss a particular skill while you are reading a story together. I will continue to list what we're working on under the tabs on our blog page.

Fire Safety Week

The week of October 4 is nation fire safety week. We will be discussing fire safety during our usual social studies/ science time. We will discuss various topics including what is safe and unsafe around the home as well as a fire escape plan. Please take some time to further discuss fire safety with your own children and what your plan of action is in the event of a fire.

STAR Test and AR

Children took the STAR test on Friday, September 24. I have sent home their score report in folders today. It is on a white piece of paper. It has a diagram to show where they are at compared to other first grade peers. It also lists their independent reading level. Students should be about a 1.2-1.3 at this time of year. If your child's paper says "PP", this stands for "Pre-primer". This means, on the test, they scored below a first grade level.

This test is something I take into CONSIDERATION when determining books they should be reading. They will now be assigned a certain color to get from the library. Once they have taken and passed at least 6 AR tests, I will re-evaluate whether they need to move up a color. They books they are going to bring home from the library should be more on their level and thus you should try to have your child read them independently.

I have also included (in your child's folder) a yellow paper detailing the AR program. Please let me know if you have questions about this. I have 5th grade volunteers as well as some parents who will be administering the quizzes.

Site of the week

It was so great seeing everyone at Open House! I was glad you got a chance to see our Smart Board in action. We have been accessing so many great websites on it and practicing them together. One site was a lot of fun this week and will be used at a computer station center next week. Here's the site:

http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeylo.html

We played "Tina's World Bug Trails". We practiced following 3-step directions which correlated with our skill of the week, SEQUENCING. There are a lot of other fun things to practice on that page. The activities get more difficult as you work your way to the top.

Class T-shirts

You will have the opportunity to purchase a class T-shirt for your child. We wear these shirts periodically throughout the year during special events, field trips, and play day. Shirts are extremely reasonable at $4 each. I will have a sample shirt to show at Open House. Please be on the look out for an order form in your child's folder.

Sites of the week

I think there was a problem with last weeks links. I have reposted that article with new links.
Here's another two websites to try out!

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/picturematch/

http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/phonics/index.htm

Accelerated Reader (AR)

A Renaissance Home-Connect Letter went home with your child on Friday. This is part of our AR program. I will be sending home a more detailed letter about AR next week after the students have had the chance to take the STAR test in the computer lab. This test allows me to get a better idea of what level of books your child should be checking out from the library.

After a child reads their library book and it is written in their reading log, they can take a 5-10 question quiz on the computer to assess their comprehension of the story. I (or a parent volunteer) will write their score in the "AR SCORE" column on their reading log. This will help you to know how they did. You can also follow the directions on the Home-Connect letter to get e-mail updates on their progress.

If a child gets an 80% or better, they get to fill out a little slip of paper that goes into a school-wide drawing at the end of the week. If their name is drawn, they get it announced on our morning news show. We've already had one (congrats Charlotte!).

In addition to that incentive, our wonderful PTA holds an AR store three times per year where the children can spend the points they earn for doing well on tests to buy little toys.

If you still have additional questions about this program, please let me know after the letter goes home next week.

Public Library Cards

Every year, the public library sends library card applications home to first graders. Every child in our room received an application last week. They make it really convenient for your child to have their own library card. All you have to do is fill out the application and send it back to school. I will make sure our media specialist gets it and he sends it to the library. Your child's new card will come back to school and I will send it home. If you're interested, fill out the application and send it back!

Scholastic Book Club

Today in your child's folder you will see a stapled packet of order forms for our first Scholastic book club order. The top sheet is a peach/salmon color and has all of the directions about how to order. Ultimately, there are two ways you can submit your order:

1. Place your order securely online by going to www.Scholastic.com/bookclubs
You'll have to create your own user name and password which can be used for future orders. Be sure to enter our unique order code listed on the colored sheet. This will change every time.

2. Send in ONE check for books you would like to purchase from any of the club flyer's.
Please write your child's name on each order form, mark the books you would like to purchase, and total the individual orders.

Parent ordering online is a lot easier for me since the money exchange is being handled through the website. It also allows for fewer ordering errors. As an extra incentive, Scholastic will give me a free book pick for each parent order done online!!

Orders are due FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17. All books purchased earn points for our room, allowing me to order needed books and supplies. Let me know if you have any questions.

Homework

Although it is a four-day school week I am going to incorporate spelling homework. I will include a detailed letter on how I choose the spelling patterns for your child. I use a program called "Words Their Way" which allows me to individualize spelling lists for groups of students.

It can be a little confusing at first, so feel free to ask questions.

My suggestions for completing homework:

1 section each of math and spelling per night. There is typically four sections total for the week. Be sure to practice a spelling test on Thursday night so your child is ready for their test on Friday!

Homework is not meant to be completed in one sitting. It is to be practiced each and every night.

Sites of the week

We've been using internet sites on the Smart Board during our skills block to review beginning letter sounds and practice rhyming words. Here are two sites the children have enjoyed:

Beginning Consonant Practice:
http://professorgarfield.org/phonics/fishing/fishing.html

http://www.funfonix.com/games/intromenu.php (3 games to choose from)

Rhyming:
http://www.quia.com/mc/65870.html

I would love to try and post new sites every few weeks. I hope you will be able to utilize them at home. They offer great additional practice... and they're FUN!

Mark Your Calendars

We will be having "Johnny Appleseed Day" on Friday, October 1 in honor of his birthday on September 26. More details will be coming your way in an e-vite invitation. We will probably do most of our activities in the morning, so if you're interested in coming, block off from about 9:00-11:00. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Homework

Next week, your child will receive their first homework sheets. We will only be doing math next week. There will be a half-sheet of purple paper attached to the math homework explaining what needs to be completed. There is a total of four sheets that need to be completed and turned in by Friday, September 3. I will not collect homework before Friday. The following week (week of September 7), you will see more math homework, reading, and new spelling homework with a complete letter detailing how spelling works in my room.
As always, continue to read nightly with your child and write down books in his/her reading log.

Math Home-School Connection

Our new math program, Envisions, has provided families with a "Home-School Connection" for every new theme. We began Theme 1: Understanding Addition this week. Friday, I sent home a folded paper that informs families what we are doing in class while we study the topic. The Envisions program has a total of 16 topics which vary in length. Please be sure to review the new math words with your child as well as complete to supplemental activities to ensure your child has a full grasp on what we've been doing in class. There is a game on the back side which can be played multiple times for a fun way to practice and review addition.
This sheet should remain at home. It is not necessary to turn into me.

August Character Student

Our August character trait was responsibility. This month's character student is Eden. She has been a great helper in the classroom, cafeteria, and during resources. I can depend on Eden to follow directions and help her classmates out. I'm super excited to have Eden as part of our class this year! Congratulations to Eden!

Traffic Pattern Monday 30 and Tuesday 31

Parents/Guardians,

With good news sometimes comes bad (or should I say inconvenient) news: The district has agreed to install an additional 50 parking spaces (that’s the good news). The inconvenient news is that it takes two days to do so. That means that the traffic flow in the morning and the afternoon will be interrupted by construction. Specifically, when entering the drive-through (on the east side of the campus) both lanes will immediately become one lane for a short distance (we are adding three or four new spaces in that location). Then when you exit the campus, there will only be one lane to exit (we are adding about 10 new spaces on the right side).

Hopefully when that is completed, they will immediately begin paving the dirt area near the back field and then they are going to pave half of the area behind the two story building. Our goal is to always help the traffic and make the traffic flow better.

So, please be patient with the construction as well as the interrupted flow of traffic. Again, sorry for the inconvenience.

Christopher E. Begley
Principal - Loretto Elementary

Message from the Cafeteria

Beginning Monday, all students must have money with them unless they are on free lunch or have money in their accounts. Each student is allowed a $1.50 credit to his/her account. After that credit has been used, the child must bring money or he/she will be given a cheese sandwich and juice. For all students whose parents have completed a free/reduced application, the child must pay $1.50 daily until the application is processed. Children who were free or reduced last year will have the same status for the first 30 days or until a new application is processed. After the 30 days if a new application is not processed, the child goes back to a paid status. If parents want to continue receiving assistance, they must complete a new application for each new school year.

Lunch

There's been a minor change in our lunch time. Originally you were told 11:00, but it has been changed to 11:05. Our Early Release lunch time will remain the same, 10:25.

Summer Reading Log

I hope you were writing down all of the great books you read this summer. Make sure to send your child's summer reading log to me as soon as possible. All of the books the children read will go towards our end of the year school-wide reading goal. In addition to that, every child who read at least 20 books gets to go to a back to school reading party to reward them for their hard work this summer. If you could send in the reading logs sometime the first week of school, that would ensure your child doesn't miss out on the party!

Destination Success

Looking for a great way to have your child practice what they learned over the year? Try Destination Success! Use the link on the right and the following log-in information:

Username: first name + last name + 030 (i.e.: johnsmith030)

Password: 2 digit birth month + 2 digit birth date (i.e.: 0503)