Wednesday May 28, 2014

***********Everyone, I need to ask you to please check your SCIENCE textbooks. I believe mine may have gone home with one of the students. There is no number on the teacher text but you can tell it belongs to me because it is without any writing inside.

If you do find it, PLEASE bring it to school TOMORROW.

Thank you for your help,
See you tomorrow munchkins

Tuesday May 27, 2014

Good afternoon,

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO OUR LOVELY LITTLE KAITLYN AND EDEN! And a big THANK YOU to their mommies for bringing in treats for everyone to share.

I sent everyone home with a yellow sheet of paper from Wilsoni's mother. Some parents have suggested creating a contact list with the other parents in Grade 1. Feel free to fill in the information and return it asap.

Please note! My email address is written incorrectly on the paper.
The CORRECT email address is: ashleydawn.fisher@gmail.com
=)

Please remember that tomorrow is graduation and all students must come in their PROPER SCHOOL UNIFORM. They may bring their P.E. clothes to change into afterwards.

See you then!

Monday May 26, 2014

First and foremost I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all the parents and siblings who came out for our little class party this afternoon. I feel so grateful to have met all of you and been graced with your support this year. You have all had an important part in making this year what it was. =)

• Tomorrow afternoon, beginning after afternoon break at 2:45, we will be celebrating Eden and Kaitlyn's birthdays. Feel free to join us!

• You are cordially invited to the K2 and Grade 5 Graduation and Whole School Recognition this Wednesday May 28 beginning at 10:00am. A gentle reminder that all students MUST wear their proper school uniforms on Wednesday 05/28. They are welcome to change into their P.E. clothes afterwards if they like.

END OF YEAR CLASS PARTY

Hi everyone,

I noticed I wrote 1:30pm for the time of the class party but it will actually be from 2:30-3:30pm! If you want to bring in any toys, food, games, etc, you are more than welcome. Also if you want to take children home at 3:30 instead of waiting until 4 that is fine as well.

Hope to see you all this afternoon!

Friday May 23, 2014

Hi all,

We had a most lovely end of year Mass today. Thank you to all parents who were able to make it out and a big THANK YOU to our students who were very well behaved again.

We continue to send things home as we clear out the classroom. Today students will be bringing all of their art work from the year home.

Any students who still have hardcover textbooks or library books, please be sure to bring them back on Monday. Thank you.

Monday May 26 at 1:30pm we will be having an end of year class party. All are welcome! =)

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I will see you all on Monday morning!

Thursday May 22, 2014

Hi all,

Our Grade One students were absolutely wonderful during an extra long Mass rehearsal this morning. I was beyond impressed with them. Way to go!

Tomorrow we will have our Closing Mass ceremony beginning at 8:30am. Students must wear their proper school uniforms and may bring their P.E. uniforms to change into if they wish. Parents are welcome to join us for our last Mass of the school year.

Exams and report cards will be sent home at the end of next week.

Admin should also be sending home a last newsletter with a schedule for the last week of school tomorrow, or Monday at the latest.

Enjoy your evening everyone and i'll see all you wonderful super kids tomorrow.

Wednesday May 21, 2014

Hi everyone,

What a busy day we had. Exams are officially finished! Congratulations Grade 1, you have completed ALL of your exams for first grade. Thank you for your hard work and patience. I hope everyone gets a good rest tonight and comes to school tomorrow refreshed and with big smiles.

Tomorrow we will have Mass Rehearsal from 8:30-9:30 am. Mass will be on Friday May 23 at 8:30 am. All are welcome.

Tuesday May 20, 2014

Good afternoon all,

• Our Grade One's did a great job on their second day of exams. Tomorrow students will have their Science, Social Studies, and Music exams. 

•  Any soft cover, consumable textbooks may be left at home. Hardcover texts need to be brought back to school tomorrow as we will begin the process of checking them and returning them to the library.

•  Any students taking part in the Iowa testing will have their tests tomorrow.

• Just a reminder that tomorrow is a full school day so students will be dismissed at 4:00pm.

See everyone tomorrow! Get a good rest tonight =)

Monday May 19, 2014

Good afternoon everyone,

Our first two exams were a success! Tomorrow we will have our Reading and Phonics exams. Please come prepared with healthy snacks, pencils, erasers, and a book to look at after you finish writing.

It was SO GOOD to see all of you today. I am happy everyone is feeling healthy again. Get a good rest tonight and i'll see you all tomorrow.

Thursday May 15, 2014 EXAM UPDATE

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all getting some rest and feeling healthy and strong.

I have updated the Exam Review Posts for all 6 of the major subject exams. The reviews now include text and page numbers to help guide you through review and practice.

Happy studying and please contact the school if you need ANY HELP. I am happy to go over any difficult concepts with you.

Looking very forward to seeing all you soon =)

4th Quarter Exam Review for Science

4th Quarter Exam Review for Science
Unit 5 Environments

• Students must understand the difference between the five environments we learned about this year (ocean, arctic and alpine tundras, desert, prairies, rain forest) (Science text pages 176-181)
•  know the correct sequence of steps for the scientific process 

           1. question 2. research 3. hypothesis 4. experiment 5. conclusion

• Understand the basic concept of a food chain. 1. The grass uses the sun to make food.--> 2. The cricket east the grass. --> 3. The toad eats the cricket. (Science text page 182-183)
• Understand the meaning of the following vocabulary words:                                    Environment, Shelter, Food chain, Desert, Arctic Tundra, Alpine Tundra, Ocean, Rain Forest, Prairie   

4th Quarter Exam Review for LANGUAGE AND SPELLING

4th Quarter Exam Review in Language and Spelling (Monday May 19)

• Write names and titles correctly. Example: ms fisher = Ms. Fisher (English text page 221)
• Pronoun-verb agreement. Example: Kaitlyn and Jeffery (play/plays) play UNO together. (English text page 123)
• Words that mean the same (synonyms). Change the underlined words, using the list of words given. 
  Rewrite the sentence on the line. Example: I was glad to see my friend. I was happy to see my friend. (English text page 77-78)                                    
• (English text page 100-102) Students will need to write a short personal narrative. Personal narratives are real stories about your life. They will need to answer the questions, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN.                  

• WHO: Who is in your story? For example, My mother, father, and I.                                    WHERE, WHEN: Last summer it was very hot so my family and I went to the beach for one week.                                                                                                                                   WHAT:

First, I felt too hot to play outside and so I was very bored. 

Then, I asked my mother if we could go swimming and she thought it was a good idea. Last, we drove for an hour to the beach and I played in the sand and went swimming. I felt very happy and cool.

• Most marks for this exam will come from the personal narrative. Feel free to practice your narratives at home. What I am looking for is that students can tell a story in the correct sequence of events and do their best to write in full sentences with capital letters and proper end marks.

4th Quarter Exam Review for Reading and Phonics

4th Quarter Exam Review in Reading (Tuesday May 20)

• Whistle for Willie (Journeys hardcover text page 76)
• A Butterfly Grows (Journeys hardcover text page 110)
• The New Friend (Journeys hardcover text page 140)
• These are the 3 stories that will be tested. Students should be able read excerpts from the stories and answer questions, know the vocabulary words well enough to fill in the blanks with them, and know the sequence of events for each story.

4th Quarter Exam Review in Phonics (Tuesday May 20)

• (English big textpage 179) choose the correct adjective for each sentence (bigger/biggest)         Remember, if you are comparing 2 people or things, you use the -er adjective. More than 2 people or things and you use -est.                                                                                                      Example: She is cuter than her sister.            He is the tallest boy in the class.
• *We used our English text and worksheets to learn about synonyms but students may do page 229 in their PHONICS text to practice for the exam) choose the word from a list that has a similar meaning (synonyms) Example, small and tiny
• *We used our English text and whole class activities to learn about ANTONYMS/OPPOSITES but students may use pages 231-232 in their PHONICS text to practice) 
• choose the word from a list that is the opposite. Example, small and big
• *Good review pages to practice words that sound the same but mean something different are on page 235 of the big English text) 
•  choose the correct word to finish a sentence from a list that sound the same. Example, I use my eyes to ________________. (sea, see)
• Match words that sound the same but have different meanings     (two, too)                                            

4th Quarter Exam Review for Social Studies and Math

4th Quarter Exam Review in Social Studies (Wednesday May 21)
Unit 4 All About People 
***STUDENTS WILL NEED A RULER FOR THIS EXAM

• students must understand the meaning of the following words: culture, celebration, needs, custom, role (Social Studies text page 130-131)
• students must be able to look at a map and use a map scale to measure the difference between two points (Social Studies text page 152-153)
• be able to offer suggestions for how to solve problems (Social Studies text page 136-137)
• understand what a holiday is, and be able to explain a holiday you celebrate with your own family and how you celebrate this particular holiday (Social Studies text page 154-157)
• use a calendar to answer questions (Social Studies text page 158-159)
• understand the difference between needs and wants and be able to give examples of each (Social Studies page 138-141)

4th Quarter Exam Review in Math (Monday May 19)

• be able to put position words into sentences (in front of, behind, between, to the left of, to the right of, inside of, under, above) (Big Math text page 207)
• be able to count the number of equal parts in a shape (Math text page 237)
• be able to color a fraction of a shape. For example, color 1/2 of a circle. (Math text page 245)
• understand the terms, more likely, equally likely, less likely (Math text page 247)
• regroup, for example 60 is 6 tens and 0 one (Math text page 277)

Tuesday May 13, 2014

Hi everyone,

It's been a hectic couple of days. As you all know by now, the school has closed Grade 1 for the week because of two confirmed cases of the entirovirus and many other students who are experiencing symptoms as well as myself. This means that all minor subject exams (Chinese, Computer, PE, and Health) will all be cancelled. Students will do their Music exams on Tuesday as it is only a performance exam, not a written exam.

As for major subject exams, these were supposed to take place on Friday May 16-Tuesday May 20. Since students will not be at school on Friday 05/16 students will follow the following revised schedule:

Monday May 19 (students dismissed at 12pm without lunch)
Language and Spelling
Math

Tuesday May 20 (students dismissed at 12pm without lunch)
Reading 
Phonics

Wednesday May 21 (regular school day)
Science
Social Studies

***Some lovely parents had talked with me about holding a class party on Friday May 16. May I suggest rescheduling that until the following Friday May 23. Hopefully by then we will all be together and healthy again =)

Friday May 9, 2014

Hi everyone,

We had a busy and productive week at school.  Thank you for your hard work Grade 1!

• I am starting to send students home with their art supplies. They do not need to bring them back to school.

• Next Monday May 12 will be our last spelling test of the school year!

• Homework: Social Studies page 48 Time Line

 Important Exam Information

Fourth quarter exams will run from Friday May 16-Tuesday May 20.  Students will write 2 major subject exams each day. This will give them more time to write each test should they need it. Keeping in mind that some students won't need the extra time, I encourage them to bring in books to read once they finish writing exams. 

Friday May 16 (exams will take place in the morning and students will have regular classes the rest of the day)

Language and Spelling

Math

____________________________________________________

Monday May 19 (half day, no lunch served, students dismissed 
at 12pm)

Reading

Phonics

____________________________________________________

Tuesday May 20 (half day, no lunch served, students dismissed at 12pm)

Science

Social Studies

 

Today in Social Studies we learned about time lines. After I introduced the lesson, we worked together to make a time line of a regular school day in Grade 1. =)

Thursday May 8, 2014

Hi everyone,

What a busy day we had. Lots of reading this morning and we continued regrouping numbers in Math in the afternoon. We also had  a library period in the afternoon so students have some new books to enjoy.We had a great discussion about time and change during Social Studies class.

REMINDERS:

• On Thursdays students must come to school in their REGULAR SCHOOL UNIFORM and change into their P.E. uniform. 

• On Thursdays students also need to remember to bring their library books to return so they can take out new ones.  

•  Uniform pants and a long sleeve shirt were left in class today. If you notice your child came home without all their regular uniform, please remind them to take it from the stage tomorrow morning and pack it into their school bag.

• Minor subject exams will take place during regularly scheduled classes next week.

• Major subject exams will take place Friday May 16, Monday May 19, and Tuesday May 20. Friday 05/16 will be a regular school day so students will write 2 exams in the morning and then have regular classes in the afternoon. Monday 05/19 and Tuesday 05/20 will be half days with students being dismissed at 12:00 pm. Please note that lunch will not be served.

•  I will be posting an exam schedule along with content for review at the beginning of next week. Please note students will need a ruler for their Social Studies exam.

For homework, students need to complete the following sentences on the sheet of paper sent home in their communication books. 

1. Yesterday I...
2. Today I...
3. Tomorrow I will...
4. Tell 1 way you have changed this year.

Example:
1. Yesterday I rode my bicycle.
2. Today I talked about time and change with my Grade 1 students.
3. Tomorrow I will have dinner with my friends.
4. My hair is longer than the beginning of the year.

Wednesday May 7, 2014

Homework Journeys Page 119

Tuesday May 6, 2014

Hello everyone,

Some students still need to get their personal narratives signed. Please make sure to do that, along with any corrections, and return them no later than tomorrow.

Math Homework: Page 63
**Please try to do this by yourself. It is a new unit and I want to see how much students understood from today`s introduction. 

Monday May 5, 2014

Good morning everyone,

I'm sorry for not posting last weeks spelling words. The internet at school hasn't been working well and so my access to the blog has been sporadic. Everyone did a great job on the test though! We continue to practice each weeks words daily.Please sign the spelling tests and return them tomorrow.

Here are the words for next week:

Sure 

Watch

Color

Face

Wood

Main

Remain

Enough 

Students had to write a personal narrative over the weekend for their homework. Some students were eager to share their stories with the class. =)

I have marked all of their work and returned it with some feedback. Please take a look and sign them and return them to school tomorrow. Students who need to redo or fix their work need to do that tonight and hand it in tomorrow. Remember to write in full sentences and add as many details and adjectives as you can.

 

Our Kindness Stars are Grace and Benson. Grace has been doing a great job taking responsibility and working to keep our classroom clean and organized. Benson has been looking out for his classmates and helping them whenever he can. Way to go! Keep up the good work!

Friday May 2, 2014

Grade 1 Music Final Examination May 14
No written test. Students will be tested in Recorder performance:

Old McDonald
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Row Row Row Your Boat
Mulberry Bush

Thanks for a great week everyone. Today we spent the morning working on personal narratives and learning how to use a dictionary. For Christian Living class we watched a movie about the story of Jesus together with the Grade 5 class.

For homework students have to complete a Personal Narrative Graphic Organizer. If they don't know how to spell a word they want to use I encourage them to try looking it up in the dictionary. The boxes called Sensory Details are for students to add details and adjectives about their story.

Have a GREAT weekend!