Thursday, October 31, 2013

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!








Monday, October 28, 2013

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.





Monday, October 21, 2013

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






Sunday, October 13, 2013

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




Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Field Trip Reminder

If you are chaperoning for our corn maze trip tomorrow, please either follow the bus from school at 8:45 or meet us there at 9:15.  We plan to leave the corn maze at 11:00 to head back to school. Everyone who has time tonight, please help your child learn a few facts about New Hampshire salamanders to help navigate us through the corn maze tomorrow.  We learned a few facts at school yesterday. Please remember to pack your child a snack and drink and dress accordingly for the weather.
Reminder: Picture Day is on Thursday, October 10.

Lunch Menu for October

In an effort to save money on the cost of paper, the lunch menu for the month will now be posted on the school website. For your convenience, click on the link below.  Have a great day!

http://sms.sau16.org/content/October_2013.pdf



Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Dolphin Digest

Happy October! First of all, I want to thank you so very much for coming to our Curriculum Night last Thursday. Your children were so very pleased to find and read your notes.  This month promises to be a very busy and exciting one! We look forward to welcoming all of you who kindly volunteered to come and help in our classroom. We will send out a Parent Volunteer Calendar ASAP. I apologize for the confusion regarding the Fall Field Day. I was told it was October 4, but in reality it is Day 4 which happens to be Thursday, October 3. If you were someone who volunteered to help, please report to the gym at 1:00PM. The activities will run from 1:30-2:30.
Many thanks!

Last week we...


  • discussed what makes a good reading spot
  • learned about anchor charts
  • chose "just right" books
  • made our family trees
  • practiced using number grids in math
  • personalized our writing folders

 This week we will...
  • move to short "i" words in phonics
  • begin our study of insects
  • observe and record the phases of the moon in our journals
  • explore complements of 10 by playing math games
  • practice math skills with IXL on our mini ipads 
  • learn how to partner read in Reader's Workshop
Upcoming Events
October 3       Fall Field Day 1:30-2:30

October 9       Coppal House Farm Corn Maze 8:45-11:30

October 10    Picture Day