~ FIRST CLASS FRIDAY ~

There was so much excitement this week in HA!  I was excited to get to meet all my new students and learn a little about each of them.   Seeing the excitement in their eyes as I picked up my groups for HA was a great start to the week!  The kids were eager to get started with their groups.  Both classes this week started off with learning about classroom expectations and an exciting theme we will be building on throughout the year.  Below you can read about how our classroom is building character throughout this school year.

Our Class is Building Character…  

   1.  Each week a different quote from a Disney movie will be displayed in the room.  It will focus on a character trait that we are looking for in the room that month.  The students will have a chance to guess the movie the quote came from and the character who said it.  This will allow them to earn prizes throughout the year.

   2.   The children will also have an opportunity to SPOT Great Character in the room.  If they spot a student displaying character they will fill out a slip marking the traits that student displayed for the day.  I have asked them to also include what the student did to show the trait.

   3.The traits a student displays will have a chance to have them be selected into the Character of the Month Club.  Each month this will change to a different theme we are building with our Character.

   4.   On Fridays I will display the next week’s quote on the blog as a preview so the students may think about it and have their answers prepared for the week.  You may sit down and discuss the quote and give them a hint, but please remember it is a challenge for them – so don’t give them the answers.

   5.   The blog will also allow you to see the next month’s Character of the Month. At the end of the month the students who displayed Good Character will be featured in the Character of the Month club!

I am hoping that this will become a fun way to talk to the students about character traits.    I also hope it makes them work on displaying all of their leadership skills daily, as I will be looking for different ones each month.

LANGUAGE ARTS & MATH:  My language art groups met with me on Monday and Tuesday and my math groups came to see me on Wednesday and Thursday.  On the first day for both groups we went over classroom expectations and the students learned some fun facts about me.   The second day they came to me we learned all about the students with some get-to-know you activities.  I learned lots about the students this week and can’t wait to learn more about them as the year continues!

My first grade language arts group only met on Monday because of early dismissal, so they will start next week off with a get-to-know you activity so I can learn all about them too!

LANGUAGE ARTS:  My groups will be starting regular lessons next week.  My first and second graders will be learning all about connections.  My third and fourth graders will be learning all about change.  These are the two themes you will see throughout the year as we work through the materials. 

4^th Grade Language Arts:  A reminder to all parents, they should have come home with a folder and worksheet to complete at home.  I went over the sheet with the students and explained they should interview an adult.  They only need to complete the interview – we will complete the rest in class on Tuesday.  Please have your child return this paper on September 19^th.

1^st Grade Language Arts:  They will come home with their folders on Monday with a packet on Coat of Arms.  There will be a letter explaining what to complete at home with the students.  This will allow them to have plenty of time to complete the badges and help keep them a secret from the group, until they present them to the class.  Please follow the instructions on the letter and we will assemble the project in class.  Please be on the lookout for this packet from you child.   Please return this packet on September 26^th.

MATH:  I shared a little information with the math groups about the new program we will be using this year.  Each group will be working with measurement with their grade level.  I am very excited for the kids to work with this new program!  It looks like they will have a lot of hands on learning as we are exploring new concepts.

WEEKLY QUOTE: "You and I are a Team.  Nothing is more important than our FRIENDSHIP ."

This week the kids can submit two answers:

The children may submit an answer with the movie the quote came from and a bonus for the week if they can name the character who said it.  Let the guessing begin!

Spotting Good Character

Around the School:

This week the school kicked off One Book One School with an assembly on Tuesday.  The school had a visitor join us at the assembly to give them hints about the book for the school year.  They were all thrilled when they met Humphrey and discovered the book for the year…

Important Dates:

October 4^th:  Early Dismissal Day

October 10^th & 11^th:  4^th Grade Camp Goodfellow

October 20^th:  End of first Grading Period 

October 21^st:  Fall Recess – No School