First Grade Newsletter September 2014 The First Grade Team have been busy with lots of friendship, family and all about me games and activities. We were excited to welcome your children on the first day of school and get to know all about their summer vacations. We have been busy planning activities that will build community in the classroom in addition to activities such as apple tasting and learning about our senses, learning about farming and agriculture, and of course we will be talking about the changing seasons. We have been sharing a "ME BAG". The children will be introduced to the "Me Bag" that will be circulating throughout the year (however the theme will change). The bag will allow each child to share three things about themselves. These things can include a picture of their family/pet/special place, a crayon that shows their favorite color, a red nose because they love going to the circus... if it fits in the bag they can bring it and share with the class. Please keep all expensive and breakable objects at home. Children will receive a direction sheet on the day that they receive the bag. Please be sure to have your child bring the bag in on their assigned day as other children are depending on having your child returning the "Me Bag". We are looking forward to a year full of exciting activities and fun events. Daily Schedule Monday-Thursday 2:30-2:50 -Attendance and Snack. Our snacks consist of a fruit or vegetable and a grain. Our friuts and veggies concsit of apples, oranges, celery, watermelon, cucumbers, bananas, baby carrots... Grains consist of club crackers, ritz, goldfish, bread, pretzels, graham crackers, saltines, cheez-its... 2:50-3:15 - DEAR and Homework. 3:15-4:10 - Outside. We may be in the front or back playground. Please see the sign out to learn if we are on the front or back playground. 4:20-4:30 - Meeting 4:30-5:30 - Activity Time. We will have 4 different activites that children can choose. One of the activites is choice. 5:10 - 2nd Snack 5:30-5:45 - Clean-up, quiet reading and pickup. Friday 1:40-2:30 - Outside 2:30-2:50 - Snack 2:55-3:15 - Reading Buddies. We gather with our Kindergarten friends and read to one another. We will incorportate drawing, book reviews and story writing as the year progresses. 3:15-4:20 - Outside time 4:30-5:30 - Activity Time 5:10 - 2nd Snack 5:30-5:45 - Clean up, quiet reading and pickup Important notes... Please remember to sign out your child each day. It is essential that we have your signature and time documented. Please email or phone us asap should your child be absent or have a change in schedule. Please send in an extra change of clothes for your child. At 5:45 all students that have not been picked up will be brought to the front lobby for pick up. A late fee of $1.00 per minute anytime after 5:45 will be collected at pick up. Your child’s day is important to us. Please communicate any questions, comments, or concerns so we can make your child’s afternoon a positive expereince. No School Thursday, September 25th. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with yoru child! Warmly, The Grade 1 Team Diana and Ellie
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 SEPTEMBER 2014
Heath Extended Day 4-7 News! Welcome Back Families! We hope you all had a fun, relaxing, wonderful summer! We are so excited for another year at HEDP and look forward to working with you and your 4-7 child. Welcome back 5th, 6th, and 7th grade families who we have been so lucky to work with over the past few years, and a huge welcome to our incoming 4th grade families! Teachers have been busy planning a fun filled year with many new ideas and activities that will keep your child’s afternoon exciting. Your child will play an important part in the planning of the 4-7 cirriculum, as we will be collaborating with each of them to hear about their goals, ideas, interests, expectations and needs. In the 4-7 classroom, we believe in the importance of teamwork and community to create a “family” atmosphere. Many of the activities in 4-7 are built on a theme of team building to help enhance and foster friendships. Teachers This year’s 4-7 teaching team will be Malaina Rudd, Kevin Doherety, Jared Mael, and Emily Therriault! Malaina begins her 8th year at HEDP as a 4-7 teacher. Kevin begins his 4th year at HEDP as a 4-7 teacher. Jared begins his 6th year at HEDP and is excited to be working with the older HEDP students as he did in the past. Emily begins her 1st year at HEDP and will be working on Monday and Wednesday afternoons in 4-7. Malaina and Kevin will run the 5th-7th Trippin Out program on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Daily Schedule Mondays-Thursdays 2:30-2:40: Arrival and Attendance: Students will walk directly to extended day and check-in with an extended day teacher. Please be sure to email or call or email HEDP at your as early as possible if there is a change in your child’s schedule for the day. 2:40-3:40: Homework and Snack: Students will be given an hour of structured homework/reading time each afternoon and help will be provided as needed. 1 Snack will be provided each afternoon. 3:40-4:00: Meeting and Daily Challenge: A quick meeting to go over any news and announcements will be held after homework time. We will also go over the daily challenge and announce the winner(s) of the daily challenge. Daily Challenges Monday: Counting Jar Guess how many? Great for estimation and math skills Tuesday: Unscramble Unscramble the letters to make a word. Great for spelling! Children can use the dictionary to help them. Wednesday: Triva Take a guess! Great for learning something new or remembering something you already know. Thursday: Brain Strain Riddles, puzzels, logic, etc. 4:00-5:30: Outside play/Gym/Activities: Depending on the weather, theme and interests of the students a wide variety of activities will held during this time. Activities will include but are not limited to- sports, cooking, arts and crafts, sewing, board games, computers and trivia. 5:30-5:45: Cooperative Games: The last fifteen minutes will be dedicated to cooperative group games to wind down the day. Fridays 1:40-1:50: Arrival and Attendance 1:50-2:30: Friday Books and Attendance: Friday books include magazines, comic books and more! If you have any old magazines that your child already read and are looking to get rid of them, we would be happy to take them off your hands! 2:30-2:50: Meeting and Friday Share: Students can use this time as they please to share something special with the class during a structured time. In the past, we had lots of students share fun facts or write and share stories with the class! 5 minute group challenge students get five minutes to figure out a challenge as an entire group. Great for team building, team work, communication, and the building of community in the classroom 2:50-5:30: Outside play/Gym/Activities 5:30-5:45: Cooperative Games Ongoing Activities to happen throughout the year... 4-7 “family” dinner Back by popular demand! We began having a monthly “family dinner” last year and have received such positive feedback about it from students. If there is one thing that students wanted to do again this year, this is it! Each month the 4-7 students and the 4-7 teachers will have a “family dinner.” Students will be a part of the whole dinner experience- coming up with the menu, preparing the meal, setting the table, passing the food that will be served family style, clearing the table, and washing the dishes. Students will learn about good manners and etiquette while at the table and learn about food preparation and following recipes. This is be a great opportunity for the group to work together as a team and then sit down together as a “4-7 family” and socialize and reflect over a nice meal together. The day of the week that we will have our 4-7 “family” dinner will change each month to ensure each student is part of this wonderful learning opportunity. This is just one of the many ways 4-7 will work to build community in the classroom, develop and strengthen friendships, practice team-work and learn important life skills. Students will be assigned a task for each family dinner and work in a group to complete each task. Students will see how everyone’s help and completetion of tasks contribute to make a family dinner possible. Student Shout-Outs Did someone do something that was kind? Did a student witness kindness in the classroom even if it wasn’t specifically towards them? Starting in September and continuing throughout the school year, student shout outs will be posted on the 4-7 stairway wall. If a student would like to give a shout out to another student in the classroom for doing something that demonstrated thought, consideration, kindness, care, positivity towards him/her, someone else in the classroom, or the classroom as a whole, he/she can write the shout out on designated shout out cards and put it in the shout out bin. Teachers will read any shout out that have been given during our daily meeting time and then add them to the shout out wall. Please take a moment and read all the nice things the 4-7 students are doing for each other as they are posted. We also find it just as important for students to take these moments to not only do kind things, but, also be able to recognize when kind things are happening! Encouraging students to show kindness and recognize kindness is another way 4-7 teachers will incorporate the building of community in the classroom. One Kind Word Can Change Someone’s Entire Day! Student Goals During the first few weeks of school, 4-7 teachers will be interviewing your child to learn more about what his/her goal is for the school year. Based on the goals that the students give, we will create a curriculm to help your child accomplish his/her goal. Birthday Bashes Each month we will recognice and celebrate students’ birthdays with a special treat and a class “Happy Birthday” song.. Students whose birthdays fall within the month will collaborate with each other to choose the special treat for their birthday month.. News, Notes and Reminders -Please sign your child out daily in the upstairs extended day 4-7 room and check in with a teacher each afternoon at pick up. -Notices, field trip permission slips, etc. will be at the signout station with your child’s name on it. Please be on the lookout for these papers as they become available. -Please call or email before school dismissal if there is a change in your child’s schedule. It is important that we know if your child will be absent from HEDP or if someone different is picking your child up. -At 5:45 all students that have not been picked up will be brought to the front lobby for pick up. A late fee of $1.00 per minute anytime after 5:45 will be collected at pick up. -Your child’s day is important to us. Please communicate any questions, comments, or concerns so we can make your child’s afternoon a positive expereince. No School Thursday, September 25th. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and your child. We look forward to a wonderful school year and strive to make your child’s afternoon exciting, rewarding, and enjoyable! Malaina, Kevin, Jared, and Emily Hello Pre-K families. We are so excited to start working with your amazing children! We have a lot of fun and exciting things planned for this year. We are starting with all about me books and then learning about our families! Then we are moving into a unit about autumn. At the end of each month we will have a birthday bash for those who had a birthday that month. if you want you could prepare a snack for the birthday bash of your childs birthday. Please remember to bring in a picture of your families for us to share! Also please bring a pillow case to hold their rest mats. They are more than welcome to bring a blanket or stuffed animal, whatever makes them feel comfortable for rest time. We look forward to working with your family! Angelica & Mackenzie Welcome Back!
Welcome back for another fabulous year in extended day! We are so excited to work with and get to know your children! We have a lot of fun and exciting things planned. For the first month we will be getting use to our class. We will be getting to know each other, the rules of the class, where things are located in the classroom, and our daily schedule. After we learn about each other we will be learning about our families. Please remember to bring in a picture of your child and your family to share with the class and a set of spare clothes. We will be taking part in reading buddies on Fridays. Our first grade extended day friends will pair with our kindergarten extended day and read with them as well as ask them questions about the story. It will be a great learning experience for both classes! This is our first and only printed newsletter- all of the others will be emailed to you. Thank you, Angelica, Mackenzie & Christiane Our Daily Schedule: 2:30-2:35 Arrival 2:35-2:45 Attendance/meeting 2:45-3:10 snack/bathrooms (get ready for outside) 3:15-4:15 Outdoors 4:15-4:30 Read aloud 4:30-5:05 Choice time with activity 5:05-5:15 Clean-up 5:15-5:30 2nd Snack 5:30-5:45 Quiet rug choices |
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