The Week of January 14

Upcoming Events

Bird Feeder Workshop
Please send in supplies this week!! 


Winter Sports 

January 23,  30 and February 6

Early Release Day/Teacher In-Service @ 11:30
Feb. 1


M.L.K. Day 



In our class we made a kindness wall with our Big Buddies from Ms. Vargo's class to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. Students learned about his message of solving problems peacefully as we read Martin's Big Words by  Doreen Rappaport.  They wrote special notes for each other and put them on our wall! Be sure to check in out in our room!
Winter Sports

We are so excited to  begin our 2019 Winter Sports Program! We are all looking forward to getting outside and enjoying some of the snow.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate from now on! Please make sure that your child is prepared for their winter activity. I just wanted to remind you of a couple of things you should pack for your child.

Winter Sports Checklist

·         Warm clothes: snow pants, boots, hats, mittens and neck warmers.

·         Have your child dressed in comfortable clothes: sweatpants, sweatshirts and warm socks. 

·         A backpack to keep all of your things together.

·         A change of clothes. You never know when you will need them!

·         Non-perishable lunch, snacks and drinks.

·         Any equipment you are providing such as snowboards, boots, skis, goggles, helmets, skates, snow shoes etc.

Students will arrive at school as usual. Skiers and snowboarders will be leaving the school at around 8:30. Skaters, snow shoe kids and cross country skiers will be leaving a little bit later. All kids will be back at W.E.S. in time to catch the bus home. Also, please remember to pick up your child’s equipment in the afternoon or the following morning. Please notify Debbie at the front desk if you are planning on transporting your child either way.

All School Community Meeting


Here are some of our students presenting prizes to the winners of their "best banana" contest! It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of the whole school!

Math

In math, we began work on subtraction! Students used unifix cube towers to compare amounts and find the difference between the two. We wrote equations to match our work. On Friday, we reviewed the number rack and played "number rack detectives". Students were given a target sum i.e. 7, 0r 9 and then gave each other hints about how they made that amount on their number racks... it was lots of fun! 

Pen Pals

The first and second graders are really excited to begin writing to our pen-pals! On Wednesday we received our first letters from our buddies in Eden. We will be writing back and forth to Mrs. Day's class from Eden Central School. We will be visiting pen-pals throughout the year and we will be doing some fun outdoor activities with them! 


Science

This week we began working on our engineering task for our science unit. Students have been learning about animal biodiversity. We have studied frogs, the many species found around the world, and their similarities and differences. 

On Friday, we learned about modeling. Modeling is one of the most important science practice standards from the Next Generation Science Standards. We practiced by drawing models of the pencil sharpener in our classroom. We drew what we could see happening and what we couldn't see in an effort to explain how the sharpener worked.  Later in the week, we modeled our own bird feeders! Taking care to draw out the structure and function of each part. 

The Week of January 7th

Upcoming Events

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

No School January 21, 2019

Winter Sports 

January 23,  30 and February 6

Morning Meeting Share Topic

During morning meeting we are going to share things that we are an EXPERT on. Students are welcome to bring things that they can teach about! 

Readers' Workshop

In reading we began a new unit of study on reading fluency. We worked on rereading our texts, scooping words into longer phrases, talking like our characters and  matching our voice to the mood of the book or character. We also worked in our small reading groups this week. The first and second graders were excited to work together and read some interesting books! Next week, I will conference with each student and continue giving them tips on ways to make their reading better.

Writers' Workshop 

The first and second graders  built up their background knowledge on informational texts. We reviewed text features found in informational books. Our class made a reference chart with examples. We also did a fun scavenger hunt where students read through interesting and engaging informational texts hunting for text features! We used our document camera named ELMO to share our findings. 

Math 

In math we worked on equivalent names. Students worked with unifix cubes to make trains of 6, 7, 9 and 10. We wrote equations to match our trains. Then students practiced making equivalent equations such as 6=4+2 or 7=3+4. Then we practiced with equations such as 2+4=3+3!! It really challenged students to use the equal sign in a different way. 

         = 4+6

4+6=10

10=4+6

WIN WORKSHOP

As a whole class we are working on being respectful during our Related Arts classes (Art, P.E., Guidance, Library and Music). This has been a continued challenge. At the start of the new year, we reviewed respectful behavior as showing others that we care and that what they are doing is important. We modeled and practiced our P.A.W.S. rules and what they should look like during Related Arts classes. 

I have been working closely with the other teachers to monitor, provide feedback and coaching to students who are struggling in his area, and for those who have been successful. On Monday we will break into groups for W.I.N. workshop where students who need it will get the reteaching and practice they need. 

The week of January 2

Upcoming Events

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
No School January 21, 2019


Winter Sports 
January 23,  30 and February 6

Morning Meeting Share Topic
During morning meeting we are going to share things that we are an EXPERT on. Students are welcome to bring things that they can teach about! 

This week was a short week, but we all enjoyed being back together here at school! 
The first and second graders reviewed our P.A.W.S rules and set some goals for the upcoming weeks. 

Readers' Workshop 

This week in reading, students worked with their new reading partners and reviewed strategies for decoding hard words. Students worked on crashing parts of multi-syllabic words together to figure out hard words. We pretended our books were like an obstacle course, and we didn't let those hard words get in our way! 

Next week we will begin our new unit of study on reading fluency. Please remember to read each night with your child. Students can read from their book bags, or if you have a selection of "just right" books at home, please feel free to read from your library. Scientists know that rereading books aloud and adjusting rate and intonation help develop reading skills. 


Math
In math, we worked on developing our number sense about numbers from 0-100. We played two really fun games. We played 50 or Bust and Number in my Pocket. Students had to use their knowledge of tens, ones, place value and greater than, less than to guess the number hidden in my pocket! 

Writers' Workshop
Students took a writing pre-assessment on Thursday which will help me to see what writing skills they are strong in, and which they will need to work on. Our next unit will be on informational writing.  

Science

In science, we began a new project! Students worked together to group animals by their characteristics. We had to use our prior knowledge about animals to sort "challenge animals" who may not have the typical characteristics, such as a hippo, pangolin, and tarantula. We are continuing to practice working interdependently.

Winter Sports

We are so excited to  begin our 2019 Winter Sports Program! We are all looking forward to getting outside and enjoying some of the snow.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate from now on! Please make sure that your child is prepared for their winter activity. I just wanted to remind you of a couple of things you should pack for your child.

Winter Sports Checklist

·         Warm clothes: snow pants, boots, hats, mittens and neck warmers.

·         Have your child dressed in comfortable clothes: sweatpants, sweatshirts and warm socks. 

·         A backpack to keep all of your things together.

·         A change of clothes. You never know when you will need them!

·         Non-perishable lunch, snacks and drinks.

·         Any equipment you are providing such as snowboards, boots, skis, goggles, helmets, skates, snow shoes etc.

Students will arrive at school as usual. Skiers and snowboarders will be leaving the school at around 8:30. Skaters, snow shoe kids and cross country skiers will be leaving a little bit later. All kids will be back at W.E.S. in time to catch the bus home. Also, please remember to pick up your child’s equipment in the afternoon or the following morning. Please notify Debbie at the front desk if you are planning on transporting your child either way.