January 11, 2008

This week we will continue to focus on characters, setting, problem and solutions in our stories.  We will create characters to use in retelling the story. Students will be encouraged to use the words beginning, middle, and end or first, next, then, and last.   Have your child retell the stories that we have read in class each night. Although the concept of the story is the same, the animals change, as well as, their sequence in the stories.  Ask comprehension questions to help them form their thoughts into sentences.  This activity carries over into good writing skills. In math, continue to practice doubles facts such as
2 + 2, 3 + 3, and so on.  Practice simple addition and subtraction facts to 12. We are starting to talk more about money. Have your child identify the coins when you use them, such as: penny, nickel, dime, & quarter.

Please continue working on addition/subtraction facts to 10. 

Just a reminder The Fall Carnival and Field Day are this Friday, Nov. 2.   

Housekeeping - Please make sure that your child has pencils and an eraser at school. Also, please put their name in coats, sweatshirts, and anything that can be removed from their body. 

Spelling words:  shut, jump, stump, thump, just, rust, for, this, down, over

No school on Friday tomorrow the 26^th. Have a good weekend. 

Tuesday:
Read the book in the folder.
1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s. Continue working on 5’s. Try writing the spelling words in a sentence. Remember to use a capital letter to begin the sentence and punctuation at the end of the sentence.
(ALSO: Remind your child that we do NOT put a capital letter on the spelling words in #’s 1-10)

Wednesday:
Read the book in the folder.
Study for the Spelling Test. I would like to give it on Thursday this week because I will be out of the classroom on Friday morning.
Review addition facts for
1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s. Continue working on 5’s.

Thursday:
Read the book in the folder.
Review addition facts for
1’s, 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s. Continue working on 5’s 

Friday:
No Homework/ Have a great weekend!!!

                    Spelling Words:
 hip, lip, rip, tip, trip, ship, but, who, no, looks
                    Addition Facts:
5 + 0 = 5     5 + 5 = 10     5 + 10 = 15
5 + 1 = 6     5 + 6 = 11 
5 + 2 = 7     5 + 7 = 12
5 + 3 = 8     5 + 8 = 13   
5 + 4 = 9     5 + 9 = 14   

(The other addition facts can be found at the bottom of this page.)

We dissected an owl pellet this week and found many interesting things. Make sure and ask your child about it. I am sure most of you have already heard though.

This week we are studying…
Bats

Language Arts:  Books about nocturnal animals

Math: We will be focusing on number concepts and 10 frames. They will also learn how to check
subtraction by using addition.

Science:  We will be discussing different types of bats. Thursday, we will be looking at the eyes of some nocturnal animals.

Social Studies: We will be talking about Christopher Columbus. Monday, the 8th, is the National Holiday, and we will learn about him on Monday. His birthday is actually Oct 12th, Friday.

This week is also FIRE PREVENTION WEEK. We will be discussing safety and fire plans. You may even have to write your fire plan down for your child to bring to school.

This Week’s Word Wall: ship, went, come, go
WORD WALL: These are words the students should know by sight. Here are the words that are on the word wall now:
a, an, at, and, as, are, bat, but,
be, can, cat, car, dot, fat, fan,
go, got, hat, hot, hop, is, it, in,
lock, look, like, mat, mop, man, name,
not, of, on, pat, pot, pop, plan, rat,
ran, sat, see, stop, the, that, than, to,
tan, top, van

UPCOMING EVENTS IN OCTOBER:
October 15th: Picture Retakes
October 19th: Donuts with Dad
October 25th: PTO Treat day
October 25th: Fundraiser-Papa John’s-Pizza Night
October 26th: No School/Teacher In-Service
October 28th: Sunday, Daylight Savings Time
                   Peek at the Week
                 October 1 - 5, 2007
               
                 HW/Reminder Calendar
     (I do not check their homework in Spelling.)
The only thing I require is the paper signed for their reading book nightly. The spelling and math review is only to help the students. If you don’t get to it one night, don’t stress over it. I am only suggesting things to do to increase their chances at success.
 
Monday: 
Read the book in the folder.(Some students have flashcards to look over nightly too.)
Review addition facts for
1’s and 2’s and begin working on 3’s and 4’s. (I am seeing a huge difference since some of you have been practicing.) I had 100% on over 1/2 of the class on the Math test Friday.
Write spelling words one time each in spiral notebook.(Spelling Test looked awesome too!)

Tuesday:
Read the book in the folder.
Review addition facts for
1’s and 2’s and continue 3’s and 4’s
Try writing the spelling words in alphabetical order.
(ABC order) 

Wednesday:
Read the book in the folder.
Practice dictation sentences for the Spelling Test.
Review addition facts for
1’s and 2’s and continue 3’s and 4’s

Thursday:
Read the book in the folder.
Study for the Spelling test
Review addition facts for
1’s and 2’s and continue with 3’s and 4’s 

Friday:
No Homework/ Have a great weekend!!!

                    Spelling Words:
     than, ran, man, van, go, we, to, a, tan, can
                    Addition Facts:
3 + 0 = 3    3 + 5 = 8     4 + 0 = 4    4 + 5 = 9
3 + 1 = 4    3 + 6 = 9     4 + 1 = 5    4 + 6 = 10 
3 + 2 = 5    3 + 7 = 10    4 + 2 = 6    4 + 7 = 11
3 + 3 = 6    3 + 8 = 11    4 + 3 = 7    4 + 8 = 12
3 + 4 = 7    3 + 9 = 12    4 + 4 = 8    4 + 9 = 13
This week we are studying…
Owls

Language Arts:  Books about nocturnal animals

Math: Subtraction problems using different items to subtract, such as: dominos, beans, cubes, etc.
Practice addition facts for 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, & 4’s.

Science:  We will be discussing five different types of owls. Thursday, we will be dissecting an owl pellet. Students will be able to describe exactly what happens to a creature that an owl eats.

Social Studies: We will be discussing maps and map keys.

WORD WALL: These are words the students should know by sight. Here are the words that are on the word wall now:
a, an, at, and, as, are, bat, but, be, can, cat, car, dot, fat, fan, go, got, hat, hot, hop, is, it, in, lock, look, like, mat, mop, man, name, not, of, on, pat, pot, pop, plan, rat, ran, sat, see, stop, the, that, than, to, tan, top, van
UPCOMING EVENTS IN OCTOBER:
October 1st: Fundraiser money due
October 4th: PTO Meeting 6:00pm
October 15th: Picture Retakes
October 19th: Donuts with Dad
October 25th: PTO Treat day
October 25th: Fundraiser-Papa John’s-Pizza Night
October 26th: No School/Teacher In-Service
October 28th: Sunday, Daylight Savings Time

                  Peek at the Week
               September 24 - 28, 2007
         ***Remember: NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY*******

                 HW/Reminder Calendar
Monday: 
Read the book in the folder.
Practice addition facts for
1’s and 2’s
Write spelling words one time each in spiral notebook.

Tuesday:
Read the book in the folder.
Practice addition facts for
1’s and 2’s
Try writing the spelling words in alphabetical order.
(ABC order) 

Wednesday:
Read the book in the folder.
Study for Spelling Test.
Practice addition facts for
1’s and 2’s

Thursday:
Read the book in the folder.
Spelling test
Practice addition facts for
1’s and 2’s 

Friday:
No School

                    Spelling Words:
     sat, mat, cat, hat, bat, that, I, see, on, the
                    Addition Facts:
1 + 0 = 1    1 + 5 = 6     2 + 0 = 2    2 + 5 = 7
1 + 1 = 2    1 + 6 = 7     2 + 1 = 3    2 + 6 = 8 
1 + 2 = 3    1 + 7 = 8     2 + 2 = 4    2 + 7 = 9
1 + 3 = 4    1 + 8 = 9     2 + 3 = 5    2 + 8 = 10
1 + 4 = 5    1 + 9 = 10    2 + 4 = 6    2 + 9 = 11
This week we are studying…
Fall/Seasons

Language Arts:  Fall and Seasonal Books

Math: Addition problems using different items to add, such as: dominos, beans, cubes, etc.
Practice addition facts for 1’s and 2’s.

Science:  Changes in weather due to seasons. We will be looking at leaves as they change colors. We will sort, classify, and graph them.
We are now in Week 4. September 17-21, 2007
I can not believe it is going by so fast.

This week’s science lesson will be about living and non-living things. I have sent home a note asking the children to bring a living and nonliving thing to class tomorrow. I am sorry I didn’t get it to you on Friday, but the person who makes the copies didn’t get them back to me until the children were gone. If you can not send either of these things, do not worry about it. 

We will continue to work with beginning addition facts; writing math sentences, learning the vocabulary words: sum, plus, equals, addition, and addition sentence and working with manipulatives.

I will begin testing this week.  I’ll contact you when testing is complete so that I can meet with each of you.

Please send one old sock to use as an eraser with our wipe off markers. 

The Fundraiser begins today, Monday, Sept. 17th.  Be looking for it in your child’s backpack. 

Continue to let your child read their book to you nightly. Also, practice their letters and numbers.
It was great meeting some of you for the first time tonight, and seeing those I already knew again.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns anytime during the year. I will keep you  up to date on events as I receive them.

Thanks again for coming tonight!

We have ended our second week. I hope your little one is enjoying first grade thus far.

This week we will be adding to our Word Wall: see, like, look, but, to

We started working on words that end in at and an such as: fat, rat, bat, cat, sat, hat, mat, pat, ban, can, dan, fan, man, pan, ran, tan, van.

I sent home color words and numbers last Friday. If you could review these with your child at least 3 times a week it will help them in their reading. I know it is a lot to add to already busy schedules, but just recognizing these words when they are reading will help them tremendously.

We are still talking about weather. This week we will be going outside every morning to gragh what is happening with the weather. Is it raining, sunny, windy? How hot is it? Are there clouds?

Don’t forget that Monday night from 6:30-7:15 is Parent Orientation for grades K-2. Below is a sample of some of the things I will be covering Monday night.
Hope to see you there!

This is some of the things that I will be discussing at Monday night’s Orientation.

Orientation Agenda
Mrs. Lemoine
2007-2008

WELCOME!
School Hours
·School begins at 8:00  (Tardy at 8:01)
·School ends at 3:00
·Rainy day plans
·If afternoon plans change, you MUST write me a note. Otherwise, they will go home as instructed on the first day of school.
·You MUST send a note with your child after each absence.

Lunch 11:00-11:30
*Please keep your child’s account current. You can now pay online at
 https://www.mealpayplus.com/
*Please wait in the main hall if you are joining us for lunch.
*Regular Lunch and alternate lunches available

Take Home Folder/Green Book Bag-Make sure the take home folder is returned everyday.  I will send graded papers and notes in the folder daily. The green book bag will usually come home Monday-Thursday. The child should read the book and do any homework inside. It must be returned each day, as the books are needed for class. Children will not be given a new guided reading book if they haven’t returned the old one.

Library – We go to the library every Thursday morning from 10:00-10:30.  Please help your child remember to bring his/her book to school before or on Thursday.

Dress Code
· Skirts and shorts must be as long as the fingertips when arms are down to the side.
· Shoes- Bring tennis shoes for gym. All children need to know how to tie their shoes.(I will be working to teach them,if they do not know how to tie already.)
· Students should have no skin showing between their shirt and pants or skirts.

PTO · Please consider joining if you have not do so yet. $2.00 per family.  Our PTO does       
        many things for our school. Grades (Reporting periods are nine weeks for elementary schools.)
     E = Exceeds standards/expectations
     S = Consistently meeting standards/expectations
     N = Not Progressing toward standards/expectations
     U = Unsatisfactory progress
Children will be given grades in  English/Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Music and P.E.  A reading level will also be recorded each nine weeks.

Reading Level
· The reading level is determined by assessing fluency, comprehension, and use of   
   strategies.
· Reading Levels- End of year=18 (Please remember that reading levels vary from publisher to publisher. Your child may bring home different levels, as there are different objectives for different levels. If I am concerned about the progress of your child, I will be in touch.)
· Plastic Homework Folder (Green)

English / Language Arts
· This grade will consist of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking objectives from the Language Arts TEKS.
· We will have spelling tests beginning the second nine weeks to build your child’s knowledge, but remember that is only part of the grade. Application of skills is very important.  Dictation will be graded with each spelling test.

Math
·Problem Solving – Place Value – Calendar – Patterns – Graphing-Number Concepts – Classifying – Addition and Subtraction Facts
·The math curriculum will move very quickly this year in order to prepare the children for the benchmark tests.

 Social Science
·Science and Social Studies will be integrated into the reading and math curriculum.  The children receive a Social Studies and Science grade on their report card.

 Discipline Plan
· Conduct folder sent home every Friday with any marks checked. Sign and return the first school day of the next week.

Homeroom Chairperson – Anna Potts is our Room Mother.
Each child needs to bring $5.00 for parties.

 Recycled Treasures from Home

 Birthdays – We are not allowed to distribute birthday party invitations or send home a   list of names for parties.

Computer Lab –   Each  Wednesday- 10:30-11:00
Lunch: 11:00-11:30
Conference Time: 1:05-1:55
Questions/concerns- Call me @ 832-668-8500
Email- tlemoine@dpisd.org

I’m looking forward to a great year!
Now you can pay for lunches online! Go to https://www.mealpayplus.com/

Week of Sept 3-7, 2007
We have finished one terrific week!

This week we will be reviewing the numbers 1-5, and will begin working on 7,8,9, & 10. We will continue working on color words. Students should be able to identify the color name by sight, as well as, knowing the color when they see it. The colors they should know are: orange, yellow, purple, brown, green, blue, brown, and red.

                Word Wall words:
 a    and   the   is    name   on   of   with  go
orange   yellow    purple    brown   green   blue 
brown    red    one   two   three   four   five   six
seven   eight   nine   ten
We will start talking about the weather this week in Science. We will discuss storms, the wind, rain, etc.

              WHATS COMING UP THIS MONTH:

Monday, Sept 3rd: NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, Sept 4th: 1st grade will be having vision and
                   hearing screening with the nurse.
Wednesday, Sept 5th: PICTURE DAY
Thursday, Sept 6th: Our class will go to the library
                    today from 10:00-10:30. 

Monday, Sept 10th: K,1,2 Parent Orientation
Tuesday, Sept 11th: 3,4,5 Parent Orientation

Friday, Sept 28th: NO SCHOOL: Teacher In-Service Day
Week of Aug 27-31, 2007
We are having a great week! We are working on color words and the numbers 1,2,3,4,& 5.We have started practicing the letter a lowercase and uppercase.

Please email me if you have any questions or need some information.

Please note the letter I forwarded from our PTO President.
Hello teachers,
We are so excited about the new year, and are hoping
your first days are going well.
I want to first say that I’m sorry that the PTO MOM
sign-up sheet caused confusion for some. My mistake,
so sorry!

Let me explain what we are looking for…
We are wanting a volunteer in addition to the room
mom. This position is completly seperate from the room
mom.

The PTO MOM will be a liasion between her class and
the PTO. She will help the PTO to enlist voulnteers
and keep the parents informed about what is going on
with the PTO. Her main responsibility is to get to
know the parents and help us find people to volunteer
for things like the carnival, Pappa Johns Teacher
Deliver Night, and the Santa Store. She is also
required to attend at least 1 PTO meeting per
semester.

If you did not get a volunteer to sign-up the first
day, we will give your class another sheet for parent
orientation to try and enlist someone.

Thanks for all your patience with us as we are just
learning!!!
We look forward to working with you.
Be loking for a little goodie from us in your box next
week!

Have a GREAT day!!!
Fairmont Elementary PTO
Vanessa Byerly
Vanessa
  
Welcome to first grade!!!

I am so excited to be sharing this year with your children.

Any new information that I feel you need to know will be put on this page. I will also have dates of things to come, spelling words, and what we are doing in class.

Make sure to click the add to email button so that you will automatically be emailed everytime I make a change to the site.

I look forward to a great school year!

Mrs. Lemoine (more…)