The Week of September 17

Upcoming Events
Classroom Share Days Begin 9/24

Please look in your child's home-folder and plan ahead for your child's share. Please do not send toys to school. Encourage your child to bring books, photos, craft projects and/or things from nature. Share day items will be kept in your child's backpack or on our special share shelf in the classroom. Thank you for helping your child at home!

Waterville Elementary School Open House
Sept. 26
6:00-7:00

Picture Day
October 1
Please send your child's envelope to school on picture day

October 18-19 No School/Teacher In-service

Parent/Teacher Conferences
October 22-24

LNMUSD Early Release Day @ 11:30 
October 25

******Scholastic Book Order Due Date Change******
Please submit your Scholastic book order by September 25th!!!
 Thank you!

Grandparent's Day
We had a great Grandparent's Day celebration on Friday! Thank you to all the families who attended. Students did a great job singing Grandma's Feather Bed and You are My Sunshine. The first and second graders made special "hello, goodbye window" pictures based on the book The Hello, Goodbye Window written by Norton Juster which showcased a special memory they have of their grandparents.  

 

Math

In math this week we worked more with our number racks, practiced counting by 1s and 10s and played a fun game that helped us identify coins and their attributes. We reviewed and practiced the greater than, less than and equal symbols too.

Readers' Workshop

Readers' workshop has been busy and fun! The first and second graders are building good reading habits, and have really worked on building up their reading stamina. Each day we set a reading goal for ourselves, and keep track of how many books we read. Students are also learning to read with a partner. On Friday, we read the poem Make New Friends . We learned how to scoop several words together while reading instead of pointing to each word. This strategy helps with building reading fluency and comprehension. 

Writers' Workshop
In writing we are continuing to read lots and lots of mentor texts. This week we read Ralph Writes a Story , and The Scary Slide.  These books helped us know what to do when we begin writing our own stories. We began gathering ideas for our small moments stories which are personal narratives, but the author zooms in on one special moment. Children generated ideas for their own stories and noticed the beginning, middle and end in each book. 

Habits of Mind
This week we focused on the second Habit of Mind: Managing Impulsivity. Students played Red Light, Green Light and practiced stopping, thinking and making a choice. In class we have a traffic light picture which reminds us what to do when we are feeling impulsive. It can be hard to manage your impulses when you are excited. We will continue to practice this throughout the year. 

Happy Forest Celebration- Gum Day

Gum  Day 

Tomorrow

 9-18-18

Hooray! The first and second graders have earned a celebration! We have been working on lining up quietly, following meeting rules and following directions! On Tuesday, September  18th, we will have Gum Day! I will have plenty of gum to choose from, but feel free to send your child a pack of their own gum if you want to! 

-Mrs. Marcelino

The Week of September 10

Upcoming Events

Grandparents' Day Celebration and Luncheon

Sept. 21 @ 11:00

W.E.S. Open House

Sept. 26  from 6:00-7:00

Bullying Presentation by Mr. Lee @ 6:00 in the gym

New School Phone Number

521-5550

Mrs. Marcelino's Classroom Ex. 5579

Readers' Workshop

This week in reading we continued to practice the routine for readers' workshop. Students got their own reading bags and began to pick out books! We learned to take a sneak peek, do something more when we finish a book, and read with a partner. We are also learning to read to ourselves. This week we read for 7 minutes without any interruptions!! We have been reading Ollie the Stomper and practicing all of our great reading habits! 

Math

In math, we built our own number racks! We practiced moving the beads around on the top and bottom rows to show different values. We solved some fun number story problems using our number racks too! We learned a new station called flip and write, which helps with number recognition and number writing skills.

Spelling

This was our first week working in our spelling groups. Students are reviewing handwriting skills and some beginning spelling skills such as letter sounds and blends. 

Writers' Workshop

The first and second graders really like writers' workshop already! On Wednesday, we worked on our pre-assessment for our upcoming unit on small moments stories. We wrote about our favorite activity  in our favorite season. Later in the week, we had free write time and read lots and lots of mentor texts which are helping us get to know how narrative stories should go! 

Lock Down Drill Practice

On Thursday we practiced a lock-down drill in our classroom. We began by reading the book I'm not Scared... I'm prepared! by Julia Cook. It was a gentle and light way to talk about a topic that often scares students. We learned to play Sheep, Shepard and Wolf, a game which teaches to kids to listen and follow directions during important times. We will have a school wide drill in the coming months. Please don't hesitate to call me here at school if you have any questions or concerns. 

The Week of September 4

Upcoming Events
Grandparents' Day Celebration and Luncheon
Sept. 21 @ 11:00

W.E.S. Open House
Sept. 26  from 6:00-7:00

P.A.W.S Rules
This week we worked on our understanding of our P.A.W.S rules. We worked on a whole class definition of the word respect: to feel important and cared for. Students brainstormed ideas of how to show respect for themselves, others and our world. We also talked a lot about putting your best foot forward- trying your best to make the world a better place. Our class made and decorated special buckets. Students wrote each other notes to point out when a classmate had done something kind for them, and placed the note in that person's bucket. We call this "filling our buckets".






Happy Forest Celebration
We have already earned a classroom celebration! The first and second graders worked hard to become experts at a few of our classroom expectations: lining up quietly and safely, following meeting rules and stopping when they hear the quiet signal! On Tuesday, we had EXTRA FREE CHOICE TIME!!!

Growth Mindset
Students made a growth mindset reminder board in our classroom with our favorite sayings! Students chose their favorites to add to the board. We will use this board throughout our year to remind ourselves of what to do when, and if we get into "The Dip".

Big Buddies

On Thursday afternoons we visit with our Big Buddies from Mrs. Vargo's 4-5 classroom. This week, we worked on getting to know each other by making monster glyphs! Be sure to check these out when you come to Open House in  few weeks! 

Readers' Workshop 

Our first unit of study will be on Habits of a Good Reader. This week, we practiced choosing books and taking a sneak peek at what's inside! We picked special reading spots in the room and practiced what it looks like and sounds like during read to yourself. Please send a small pillow to school with your child. We will keep these in our cubbies and use them throughout the day, especially during readers' workshop. 

Math 

This week in math we really worked on getting to know our Number Corner activities. Students are learning to listen to their classmates thoughts carefully, and show if they agree or disagree with others. We did some really fun popsicle projects which helped us count by twos and notice and identify patterns. The first graders also really have enjoyed working at our new math stations! 

Our First Week Together August 27-30

Upcoming Events

All School Community Meetings

Friday mornings from 7:50-8:10

Grandparents' Day Celebration
Sept. 21 time will be set soon! 

Please join us for our annual Grandparent’s Day Celebration! Our school will perform a special song for our audience, and then we sit down for a delicious feast! If you don’t have a grandparent who can attend, parents and family members are always welcome! Families are welcome to stay for recess until 12:00.

After school Program Begins

Stephanie Castongauy the after school coordinator will be sending home an informational packet soon!  

Sept. 24th 

Here is a picture of our whole crew...Silly faces are pretty funny!

First Week News

We have had such a great first week of school together!! Students are doing a great job learning our classroom expectations and have enjoyed getting to know each other.  Students are learning the routines of our classroom and apply their past knowledge each day. We spent some time outdoors this week getting to know the new playground equipment and playing fun games together, but because of the hot weather I definitely kept them in more!

  All students have done a great job bringing their home-folders back each day. Thank you to all of the parents who have also made an effort to get their children here by 7:45… it really helps start their day off on the right foot! Remember, Ms. Stephanie serves breakfast only until 7:45. If you arrive later than 7:45 you will need to sign your child in at the front office and Ms. Debbie will walk your child to class.

PAWS RULES

P ut your best foot forward

A lways respect yourself, others and the environment

W ork together to solve problems

S afety at all times

 This week we spent time reviewing our PAWS rules and learning the classroom expectations. We have read several books about Wise Bear our class mascot. He has helped us to be safe, and share ways to work together to solve problems. We have spent a lot of our time learning how to use our classroom tools and getting to know our classroom routine. 

GoNoodle

We use GoNoodle throughout the day to give our brains a break. GoNoodle is a website that offers a wide variety of movement activities ranging from guided dance to yoga. We do different activities that help us get focused, energized or to help us get the wiggles out. GoNoodle is free and totally awesome! Feel free to check in out at

https://app.gonoodle.com .

 Math

Next week we will begin  math instruction. The first graders will stay in our classroom for math, the second graders will go to Ms. Thomas' class, and the third graders go to the library with Mr. Hutchins. I will update what the first graders are doing in math each week, please contact Ms. Thomas or Mr. Hutchins with questions about second and third grade math.

Growth Mindset and Persistence 

We spent lots of time learning about building a growth mindset and how to work through "The Dip". We watched our favorite monster Mojo and his friend Katie as they worked through "The Dip", the time when the initial excitement of a new task wears off, and you begin the hard work... In class we made lots and lots of different puzzles, and practiced different sayings and things to do when we get stuck in "The Dip". On Thursday, we got a special package. It was wrapped with so many layers of wrapping paper, we almost gave up... but we kept working and trying and finally when we reached the inside we were happy for all of our hard work, because inside were LOLLY POPS for everyone!! Ask your child about their favorite sayings to help them when they get into "The Dip".