Play Day

Play Day for first graders will be Monday, May 2. The festivities will start around 9:00. In the past, the activities have lasted until 10:30 or 11:00. I like to have students eat lunch in the room afterward so we don't have to rush off to the lunch room (plus it's just more fun!). Please remember the following things on that Monday:

1. Your child should wear their class t-shirt

2. Your child should bring their lunch from home if possible

3. Put sunscreen on your child before leaving home

4. Hats are optional

Parents are welcome to attend! Please be sure to check into the office before meeting us out on the back field.

Character Students

The March character trait was Honesty. Our character student for that month was Chase. I can always count on Chase. He is especially reliable when it comes to completing his work. I can count on Chase to stick with his assignment before moving on to the next activity. Where some first graders might try to sneak incomplete work past the teacher, Chase sees it through to the end.

The April character trait is Self-Control. Our character student for this month is Ainsley. She has been very dedicated to her work in recent months. I can depend on Ainsley to get right to an assignment when directions are given and set a great example for the remainder of the class. She is also an excellent listener during whole group lessons and she is eager to participate.

Homework: Week of April 26

It's a four-day school week for the kids this week. I've decided this would be a good week to take the week off of spelling homework. The children will still be expected to complete the reading sheet and some math practice.

Please continue to have them read nightly. They have really grown in their independence and we need to work on that reading stamina. In 2nd grade, they are expected to read silently for 30 minutes each day. Try 15 minutes each night and work your way to 20 minutes by the end of the year.

We'll be back to our usual homework schedule the following week.

FCAT buddies

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Theresa Rogers, Lynn Greisman, Sherry Estes, Lynne Hulbert and Jessica Glenn!

We had plenty of goodies to provide to our 3rd grade FCAT buddies.

Mints were given to them at the beginning of the week. There was enough that they received them all week long.

They also got smiley face pencils, gold medals, Starbursts, cookies, and doughnut holes.

We enjoyed some popsicles with them today to celebrate the end of their testing!

Thank you for all of your help!

Butterfly Festival

10th ANNUAL JOSEPH A. STRASSER BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL

Tree Hill Nature Center

Come to the 10th Annual Butterfly Festival at the Tree Hill Nature Center.

April 30, 2011 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Special Festival Admission Pricing
Adults - $5
Seniors/Military/Students - $4
Children (4-17) - $3
Under 2 - FREE

Visit their website for more information and to print a coupon for $1 off children's admission. I believe the butterfly release is scheduled for 3:00.

I thought it would be a fun follow-up to what we've been studying in class. Our weekly reading story is about butterflies. I've extended this into our science time so we can learn even more information and also learn about other animal life cycles. See if your child can name the four different phases of the butterfly life cycle!

Poetry

April is national poetry month. We will be learning about poetry throughout the month of April. Last week the students created their own acrostic poem using their name. This week, the children are working on haikus. This type of poem uses a syllable pattern on each line of 5, 7, 5. Ask your child what kind of poem they are working on!

Sunshine Math Contest (UPDATE)

The tie breaker for the contest was held on Monday of this week. Eden went up against two other students and came out the winner! All three students will be recognized at a PTA meeting in May as first place winners, but Eden will go on to represent the Loretto first grade at the district level. Congratulations Eden!!

Sunshine Math Contest

Each child was given the opportunity to participate in the Sunshine Math Contest. The questions came from previous papers the children had already completed. The results came out yesterday, that our own EDEN, tied for first place in the first grade. She will participate in a tie-breaker to see which first grader will go on to represent Loretto at the county level. Congratulations Eden!!

Spring Pictures

Spring pictures go home on Friday. The deadline date to order “Spring Pictures” is 4/22/11. Parents are encouraged to place on-line orders, but they can also send in their money for the entire package at $45.00 or parts of the package. You must return any pictures they do not want to purchase.

Pictures

I just added some pictures to the album "Spring". I plan on taking a few more throughout the months of April and May and continue to add to the album, so check our pictures page out every so often.