Another Dolphin Turns Seven!!!

Readers from the UNH Hockey Team

Dolphin Digest--Monday, December 2, 2013

     It is hard to believe that the holiday season is here! These three weeks will fly by as the excitement intensifies. We will be studying various holiday customs that exist throughout the world...learning traditions through books, poems, and projects. We will begin learning about Hanukkah this week.

Next week, we will pack our "Holidays Around the World" suitcases and learn about traditions in the Netherlands(St. Nicholas Day), Germany, Mexico, and India. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of your child's paper cut-out in costume on Friday, December 6.

     In lieu of exchanging gifts between one another in our class, we have each child bring in a wrapped "classroom gift" which they will unwrap and present to the class. It shouldn't be expensive. We will brainstorm a "wish list" to send home to you next week. Also, if you are thinking about "teacher gifts", 

please consider sending in non-perishable food to replenish NH food banks or making a donation to St. Vincent de Paul which is in charge of food distribution. The Stratham Teachers Association will be collecting food items here at school for the month. The annual STA Book Fair will be happening through Thursday morning here in our library.

     As we focus on family traditions and celebrate holidays this month, we will read the book,Night Tree by Eve Bunting. As a follow-up to this story, the students will hike on the trails next to the playground and decorate trees for the animals. Refreshments will be served after the hike. All families are welcome to join us. This activity will take place on Thursday, December 19, and is in lieu of a holiday party (more info to follow).

     As always, if you have any questions or concerns about any of this information, please do not hesitate to call or email.

     Enjoy the holiday season with your child!!

     Deb

UPCOMING EVENTS

STA Book Fair--Dec. 2-5

Around the World Doll--Due Friday, Dec.6

Early Release--Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 12:50PM

Classroom present--Due Wednesday, Dec. 18

Holiday Hike/Party--Thursday, Dec. 19

Holiday Break--December 21-January 1--Back to school on Thursday, Jan. 2

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Dolphin Thanksgiving

November Birthdays

Dolphin Digest

     First of all, thank you for taking the time to meet with me for parent/teacher conferences. I appreciate your support and I enjoyed the opportunity to converse with you about your child. In Friday's folder, you should have received a copy of the report card and a copy of the conference notes. The report reflects your child's attendance and the skills that will be evaluated in February. Please sign the envelope and return it ASAP. The paperwork is yours to keep.

     This week, we will introduce the final short vowel "e". We have a new spelling list and homework this week. We will continue with our discussions of our books' characters in Reader's Workshop. In Social Studies, we are learning all about the First Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and Native Americans. The children have been amazed by the conditions that the Pilgrims had to deal with as they made the journey on the Mayflower to New Plymouth. We are planning to have a "shared " snack like the Pilgrims and Native Americans on Tuesday, November 26. I am asking each child to bring in "19" healthy items to share. Examples: carrot sticks, celery sticks, raisins, grapes, pretzels (please send package in so ingredients can be checked).
     Happy Thanksgiving!
     Deb

Important Dates to Remember   

• No School:  Wednesday, Nov. 27-Friday, November 29 (Thanksgiving Break)
• Preview/Buy at Scholastic Book Fair-Monday, December 2 at 2:10 PM

Fire Safety Friday

We were lucky to have both firefighters from Stratham and Durham come and speak to us about fire safety on Friday. Be sure to discuss a meeting spot for your family with your child in case there was ever a fire. Also, it is a good time to check the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Sparky was a big hit!

Happy Birthday, Clara!

Happy Birthday to Two Special Little Ladies Born on Halloween!

Fall Festival

     We all enjoyed our Fall Festival. Big thanks to Jaclyn's mom, Edison's mom, Charlotte's mom, and Kira's mom for helping run our centers. Also, a special thank you to Alex's mom for the festive holiday refreshments!

The Dolphin Digest--October 28, 2013

     This week will be an exciting one as we await our Fall Festival on Wednesday and Halloween trick or treating Wednesday night. Our little friends are more than a little bit excited!

     We are getting together with our Starfish friends to enjoy Halloween activities for the morning of October 30. We will be rotating through six different stations. The stations include festive art projects, card making, face painting, and games. Thank you to the parents who volunteered to help. We will look forward to seeing you at 8:45. Also, a big thank you to Mrs. Girard for organizing the refreshments for the afternoon.

     We will move to "H" pals or "digraphs" in phonics this week. This is when an "h" sits next to another letter and they make one sound together (wh, sh, th, ch, ph). In Reader's Workshop, we have been using various reading "tools" or strategies to figure out "tricky words". We also continue to strengthen our retelling skills. This week, we will begin our study of "characters" in our books. We will also be starting Unit 3 in math where the focus is exploring number patterns and identifying odd and even numbers. In science, we will move from insects to our 8 legged friends...arachnids. 

     Thank you for your support. We appreciate the volunteering that is happening in our classroom and the support you are providing your child at home. Thank you for confirming your conference time with me. I am looking forward to meeting with each family in the next few weeks!

     Happy Halloween!

     Deb Fennessy

UPCOMING EVENTS

Early Release Days:  November 7 & November  13 (Parent Conferences) 

                                 Dismissal time--12:50PM

No School:  November 8 Teacher Workshop

                   November 11 Veterans' Day

                   November 27, 28, 29  Thanksgiving Break

Field Trip:  November 13 to Portsmouth Music Hall

                 We are sorry that we are unable to take chaperones on this trip.

THANK YOU

Our thanks to Mrs. Eugenio, Mrs. Rosenbleeth, Mr. Anderson, and Mrs. Copp for volunteering in our classroom last week.

IXL MATH PRACTICE...

SPATIAL SENSE

1. L.1LEFT, MIDDLE, AND RIGHT
   
   

   DATA AND GRAPHS

   1. M.1RECORD DATA WITH TALLY CHARTS, PICTURE GRAPHS, TABLES
   2. M.2INTERPRET DATA IN TALLY CHARTS, PICTURE GRAPHS, TABLES
      
      

      ADDITION

      1. B.1ADDITION WITH PICTURES - SUMS TO 10

Dolphin Digest

Last week, the excitement ran high as we discovered the "mystery project" was a scarecrow, and we had the opportunity to craft our unique creatures! We named them and are writing stories about them as they proudly stand outside our classroom. Under Ms. Winglass' guidance, we learned about the four main phases of the moon. We had the opportunity to physically demonstrate the phases, as well as document them on our iPads. 

This week, we will move to short "o" in phonics. We will continue with number models (equations) and solving word problems in math.

Our Fall Festival activities will be occurring the morning of Wednesday, October 30, in place of a Halloween party.We do not dress up in costumes in first grade. That is a special activity reserved for our kindergartners. We will have light refreshments after lunch keeping allergies and healthy choices in mind. If you would like to send something in please email our Room Mother, Lynn Girard. Also, if you can help with the center activities for the morning, please send me a note or email. Thanks in advance for your help. It is always a fun morning.

In your folders today, you should find a scheduled conference time for us to get together and share your child's progress. Please check it out and sign and return ASAP.

Our thanks to Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Gaynor, Mr. Schroeter, and Mrs. McNeff for helping in our classroom last week.

Thanks for your attention,

Deb

A Few of Our Scarecrows

Dolphin Digest

We were very busy in the Dolphin classroom last week. Our trip to Coppal Farm was fun. We learned some facts about salamanders as well as enjoyed meeting horses, chickens, and sheep in the barn. Our thanks to the parents who helped chaperone the trip!       

We continue to expand our knowledge of insects by reading nonfiction books and singing the "Cricket Rap" and "I'm an Insect". In Reader's Workshop, we have been learning strategies to better understand our books. This week, we will focus on "retelling" a story by using five fingers and words such as first, then, next, after that, and finally.  We have been practicing telling time to the hour. Ask your child if he/she remembers the difference between the length of the minute and hour hands. Also, what is an analog clock?

Friday was the perfect time to integrate science and social studies with the sailing of our homemade Columbus boats. Through prediction and observation, we learned what materials "float" in water.

This week, we will use our knowledge to predict whether other selected items will "sink" or "float".

We welcomed our first parents into our classroom last week, and we look forward to welcoming others soon. Thank you Mrs. Mulcahy and Mrs. McNeff!

Remember to send in your child's Moon Journal and Circle Notebook on Tuesday.

Thank you for your attention and support of your children!

Deb

Columbus boats

Coppal Farm Field Trip