Sunshine Math

Sunshine Math is an optional enrichment program sponsored by the Loretto PTA.  All students are encouraged to participate. 
Each week a pink sheet will be attached to your child's homework.  There will be approximately 10 math questions for your child to attempt.  Each problem is assigned stars based on the difficulty of the problem.  An easier problem may only be worth one star, while a more difficult, multi-step problem will be worth 4 stars.
The key word here is ATTEMPT.  This is not for a grade.  It's to encourage your child to think outside the box.  Many of these topics are not covered in class.  The sheets are meant to challenge the students who are up for it.  If your child can only complete three out of the ten problems, that is totally fine!  I'm encouraging the children to give it their best effort.  They will be rewarded with a party at the end of the year just for TRYING the paper. 
This paper is to be done with limited parental help.  It will not benefit your child for you to tell them how to do the problem nor should you feel obligated to teach your child new concepts.  Tell them to try their best!
Our parent volunteer, Glenda Dean, will be reviewing many of the problems with the children after the sheets are complete.  She will also be keeping track of the number of stars they earn. 

Boosterthon Fun Run

The pledges are rolling in!  The kids are earning prizes daily due to all of the money they are collecting.  It's exciting to have them get individually recognized for the pledges they've collected so far.  You should just see their beaming faces.
If you haven't gotten any pledges yet it's not too late.  Not only do the students earn individual prizes, but our class has been working it's way to meet class goals.  When we met the $10 mark, the class earned themselves extra recess time.  Today we found out that we hit the $20 mark, so they earned themselves a SILLY SOCK DAY!  We will have Silly Sock day next Tuesday, October 4.
The fun run will take place on Wednesday, October 5.  All of the students will be participating whether they collected pledges or not.  Each student will get a Boosterthon shirt to run in.  Please dress them in the appropriate shoes that day.  Our run will be from 8:45-9:45.  Parents are encouraged to attend.
Hope to see you all out there!

Boosterthon Fun Run

The Boosterthon Fun Run kicked off today with a thrilling pep rally and I am super excited about this year's program. Our team name is Cushnir's Dragonflies!  The Boosterthon Fun Run program involves all students in a fun, team building, fitness event while helping our school raise much-needed funds. The central focus of this year's character program is TEAMWORK. Whether it's a sports team, a family, or a class, we're all on teams. The island inspired EPIC ADVENTURE theme and The Boosterthon Team will take students on a fun-filled journey teaching them the importance of teamwork and how to be a great team.


Through the Boosterthon, I receive 10% of what our class raises to help go towards supplies for our classroom. On top of that, our entire school is raising support to go toward classrooms enhancements and technology at our school. My goal for our class is to raise $70/lap or up to $2,000!



Here's how you can help:

1) LOG-ON to your student's website at www.FunRun.com using your student's pledge pack and access code. Log on each night to watch the Epic Adventure action videos, get information and enter pledge information.

2) GET PLEDGES by connecting your student with 10 sponsors. This year there's an ONLINE PLEDGE PAY system. Be sure to capture and record the e-mail address of each sponsor, as they will have an easy opportunity to pay for your student's pledge by credit card.

3) COME TO THE BOOSTERTHON FUN RUN NEXT WEEK! Remember, students will be running 25-35 laps and we would love to have lots of support for our team!

For Fun Run times and a video message, go to http://boosterthoninfo.com/loretto/



Thank you for supporting our classroom and our school!

I'll see you next week at the Boosterthon Fun Run!

Progress Reports

Progress Reports went home on Friday.  They were printed on bright orange paper.  Please review, sign, and return at your earliest convenience.  If you would like to schedule a conference to discuss your child's grades, feel free to do so at any time throughout the year.

Lunch Change

Loretto has acquired a new teacher.  As a result, our lunch time was bumped from 11:05 to 11:15.  Early release days our lunch will be at 10:35.  Please make a note of this if you plan on eating with your child at any point.

Open House

Open House is on Thursday, September 15.  It will begin at 6:00 with a meeting led by Mr. Begley in the cafeteria.  Around 6:30, families will be invited to visit classrooms.
Looking forward to seeing everyone then!

Super Six

This is a term created by the county. Each month DCPS would like individual schools to focus on a particular reading strategy. In first grade, I will teach and practice one strategy per week that pertains to the curriculum. I plan on incorporating the monthly district-wide strategies as well. You can also practice these throughout the month at home when you read with your child.


This months strategy is MAKING CONNECTIONS. After reading a book together ask your child what it reminded them of:
A text-to-self connection would be something that happened to them. This is the most common response for a first grader.
A text-to-text connection is when it reminds them of another book.
A text-to-world connection is when it reminds them of something they heard about or saw on TV or in a movie.

We will be writing about books and making connections throughout the year. Getting your child to verbally explain their connection is the first step. Later, I will require them to write about their connections.

Accelerated Reader (AR)

You may have noticed some new numbers on the front of your child's folder.  This is their AR password.  I will be sending home a letter on Friday explaining the AR program here at school.  Basically, students take comprehension tests with 5-10 questions about a book they have read.  Students can earn points to later be used at our PTA-run AR store.  They also have the opportunity to be entered into a weekly drawing to earn a free book every time they do well on a test.  The more tests you take, the more points and chances in the drawing.  I have two student helpers that will be assisting with tests in the morning.  By the end of the year, students will take tests independently. 

If you still have questions about this program, please read the letter in your child's folder on Friday and let me know!

Scholastic Book Club

Order forms went home this week for our first Scholastic Book Club.  You can safely place all orders online following the directions on the attached bright green paper.  This would be the preferred method of handling orders.  If you do not feel comfortable doing this, I would be happy to accept your order with a check and I will input the order myself. 

All orders are due THIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16.  For each order placed online, we earn one free book for our classroom!  I've been working at building our listening center library, so every order counts!

Please let me know if you have any questions about placing orders.

Library Check-out

Library check-out will be once a week.  Our check-out will take place on Thursdays immediately after lunch.  In order for your child to get a book, they must return the one previously checked out.  All students will get to check out a book tomorrow when we go for the first time.  Feel free to return the book at any time, but keep in mind that they will not receive a new book until Thursday's assigned check-out.

Math Bulletin Board

First Grade is in charge of the math bulletin board in the main hallway for the month of September.  We are working on combinations of numbers.  The students participated in an activity called "peas and carrots".  In my class, they were told they could have 9 vegetables on their plates.  Some are peas and some are carrots.  They got to choose a combination that would total 9.  I had to choose one plate to send up to the main hallway.  Congratulations to Avery!  She did a wonderful job adding pictures, numbers, AND words to tell what was happening on her plate.  The rest of the plates can be seen in the classroom.  I hope you will plan on coming to Open House to check out all of the other neat things the kids are working on!

Reading Log

I have fielded several questions about the children's reading log, so I just want to clarify:

• For the first nine-weeks of school I will accept books that you read TO your child as well as books that THEY are reading independently.  In another week or two we will start library check-out and I will also supplement with a "just-right" bag of books.
• I will send a note home about the AR program when I am ready to initiate in the classroom.  Ignore "AR" level and "AR" score on the right-hand side.
• Students get a star on the chart for every 5 books read.  They get a treasure box for every 10 books.