Happy February!

     February promises to be a very busy month filled with celebrations. First of all, the much anticipated  "Day 100" will be happening on Wednesday, February 5, providing there are no more snow days. Please be sure to read the memo with the poster in order for you to know what is expected from your child to fully enjoy the day. The poster can come in any day this week, but the 100 piece snack needs to come in Wednesday morning.

     In phonics, we will be continuing with glued letters at the end of words and our patterns this week are -ink, -ank, -onk, -unk. In math, we will be focusing on number problems and basic facts. In social studies, we will begin our study of Asia concentrating mostly on China, Japan, and Korea. We have a wonderful opportunity to become pen pals and hopefully skype with a first grade class in Korea as Ms. Winglass' friend is interning there for a year. Chinese New Year began last Friday, January 31, and it is the year of the "horse". We will also learn about two very important presidents this month: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

     February would not be complete without celebrating Valentine's Day on Friday, February 14.

We will make valentine mailboxes from the half-gallon containers that are coming in. If you have not sent yours in yet, please do so ASAP. I have sent a class list in your child's folder so that no one will be forgotten. Please do not send cards into school before Monday, Feb. 10.

Thanks for your attention!

Deb

Our first birthday in 2014!

Dolphin Digest-Tuesday, January 21, 2014

     I hope everyone enjoyed the three day weekend. We are almost finished with assessments for the report cards. I will be getting them out to you on Friday, January 31. Your children were very interested in reading and learning about Dr.Martin Luther King last week and keeping his "dream alive".

     This week in phonics, we will continue with silent "e" practice. Ask your child what determines a silent "e" word? In math, we have been exploring two dimensional shapes and determining the number of sides and vertices in each shape. We will continue to focus on number "facts" to 20.

We are introducing "text features" in nonfiction books to help us understand and predict what we will learn in our books. Persuasive letter writing is our goal in Writer's Workshop. Your children have started writing letters to me in the hopes of persuading me to change something in the classroom. Next, they will be writing letters to Mr. Fosher/Mrs. Ruel in hopes of convincing them to make a change at SMS. Every week, they write letters to our "Star Student" as well. We will also begin to learn to revise and edit our writing. 

     Have a good week!

     Deb

Dolphin Digest--January 13, 2014

     Last week, we all got back into the "groove" of school and tried our best to remember our student behavior and responsibilities.

     This week, we will focus on silent "e". Silent "e" is at the end of a word and makes no sound. It does something very important...it reaches over the consonant before it, and tells the vowel to say its name. In social studies, we will begin reading and talking about Martin Luther King Jr. and his importance to our country. Developing fact power and good fact habits will be our goal this week in math. We will continue to explore features of nonfiction books. I will continue with assessments for the report cards that come home to you on January 31.

     Please remember to send in $4.00 for your child's "Star Student" t-shirt if you haven't done so. We are excited to have a new student...Avery MacDonald. 

     Thanks for your attention,

     Deb

UPCOMING EVENTS:  No school; Monday, January 20 {MLK Jr. Day}

                                    Early Release; Wednesday, January 29

                                    Report cards home; Friday, January 31

Happy New Year!

Dear Dolphin Families,

     Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an enjoyable vacation. With the start of 2014 and the second half of our school year, we will begin to increase our expectations for your child's behavior and responsibility to complete assigned tasks. This week, we will be continuing with "s" blends in phonics.

In Reader's Workshop, our focus will be reading "nonfiction" books and persuasive letter writing will be practiced in Writer's Workshop. In math, we have been building numbers with base ten blocks and identifying and comparing values using the terms "greater than","less than", and "equals". In the coming weeks, developing "fact power" starting with "doubles" will be our focus.

     Beginning next week and for the following eighteen weeks, one student will be chosen to be our "Star Student". Each child will decorate and share a poster about himself/herself and receive a special t-shirt. I am asking each student to send in $4.00 to cover the cost of the t-shirts.

     We will be dealing with snowy, cold weather this month, so please remember to dress your child in boots, snow pants, mittens, jackets, and headgear. It is a good idea to have a change of clothing/socks in your child's backpack in the event that his/her clothing gets wet. Also, please remember to send in shoes/extra sneakers. Little feet get very hot and uncomfortable in boots all day.

We have indoor recess in the mornings, but we do go out for lunch recess. 

     In the next few weeks, I will be assessing each child to measure his/her progress. The second marking period ends in three weeks, and you will be receiving a written report from me around the beginning of February.

     Thanks again for all the wonderful classroom gifts and supplies, the generous donation to the NH Food Bank, as well as the gifts for our child in need. We are very appreciative of your support.

      Best wishes for 2014!

      Deb

Our Holiday Hike

Thank You for the Wonderful Christmas Gifts for Our Boy in Need!