The Secret Message for this week, May 11-15 is "Come to the Carnival!" Be sure to write this down or email it in to me so that your child can get that extra "Character Board" sticker.
News for April 13-17, 2009
Welcome back! I hope that everyone enjoyed their Spring Break. For a while there, it felt more like Winter, then I thought we might be blown into the next county! At least it ended on an absolutely gorgeous note. While I did not dress like this picture, my dogs and I walked nearly everyday. Now it is time to get our noses back to the grindstone.
CRCT testing will begin next week on Tuesday. Testing will begin right after announcements each morning and will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day. Each test is broken down into 2 shorter segments. We will have a snack and restroom break in-between the two. Please make sure that your child brings a snack, has a good breakfast, gets plenty of sleep the night before each test, and is to school on time each day. Students who arrive after testing has started will not be admitted to the classroom, but instead will have to report to the Media Center and be given a make-up test later in the day. I hope that everyone will take the opportunity to help their child take a practice quiz or two between now and next Tuesday in each area in order to be more familiar with the testing format.
We are working on our Spring butterfly program that we will be performing on April 30th at the PTA meeting. I will need to know if your child will be able to attend that evening. We are assigning the special parts, and need to know that your child will be there should he/she have one of those special parts. We are very excited to be able to perform for all of you.
Congratulations to Kaitlyn, Ralph N., Ally, and Karlee for completing the reading minutes for Book-It during at least 5 of the 6 months. I will be treating them to a pizza lunch and an ice cream sundae in the room this Thursday. YUM!
5 more weeks to go. Hang in there. Summer will be here before we know it.
News for Mar. 30 - Apr. 3, 2009
Well, it's time to try it again! We will once again attempt to fly kites this Friday afternoon at the same time (approx. 12:45-1:45). I have glanced at the 10-day forecast, and while I would hope for sunny and upper 70's, it is at least calling for a partly cloudy day with a high of 70- no rain in the forecast beyond Wednesday night. Make sure that your child is wearing gym shoes. We will hope the field is not too soggy from rains earlier in the week.
This week, we will also be celebrating the season of spring with a special activity on Thursday morning. We are studying about animals and their life cycles. I am sure that your child has told you about the caterpillars that we are observing, each now in their own chrysalis. We hope to watch them emerge this week as a "painted lady" butterfly, to be released by the end of this week, hopefully. Spring has long been a season of new or renewed life. This week we will be making baby bunny baskets. I would like to fill them with some "spring treats" and use them as part of a hunt where students use their critical thinking/inferencing skills to solve a number of clues to discover the whereabouts of their basket. Parents wishing to send in any treats (18 students) should do so by Wednesday. I have picked up some spring candy. Treats may also be spring pencils, erasers, toys, etc. The "hunt" will be on Thursday morning before lunch. (It was supposed to be on Friday in my original planning, but with the rescheduling of Kite Day I thought it might be too much.) I am hoping that the weather is nice enough that the hunt can involve the entire Baker campus.
Next week will be Spring Break. I hope that all the students have a wonderful break from the rigors of preparing for the CRCT. The website is a great place to get in some review, should you be staying in town. I have uploaded about 20 new practice exercises in all three areas.
I look forward to hearing all about the good times they have over break.
News for March 23-27, 2009
Well, we tried, but we were unable to catch Darby the Leprechaun. Thanks for all the traps. They were very clever! Maybe next year will be the year.
This week, we will be going to the Media Center on Tuesday. Please help to remind your child to bring in his/her books in order to get some new ones.
After we go to the Media Center, we are going to walk through the displays that will be set up for Tuesday night's Baker Art Show. I hope to see many of you at school on Tuesday night between 6 and 7:30 for the actual art show. Ms. Quandt has put a lot of time and effort into this. There is no obligation to buy your child's artwork if you attend, though we hope you will. There will also be 6 other hands-on art activities that your child will have to choose from to do that evening. Each child will be issued one ticket for the art activity of their choice when you arrive. I will be working at the scratch art activity located in the Media Center.
On Thursday we will preview the books for the upcoming Book Fair. Your child will be bringing home a "wish list" of books that they saw and would enjoy. The Book Fair will be open late (until 6PM) next Monday and Tuesday for parents who would like to come back to view books with their child.
Kite Day will be Friday afternoon. We will go out shortly after lunch, around 12:45, and will try to wrap it up around 1:45 so that we can get back inside to prepare for dismissal, which we do each day around 2:00. Again, please make certain that your child has a pre-assembled kite, knows how to put it together, or you are planning on coming to school and will help assemble it. I will have some basic supplies outside for emergency kite repairs, should they be needed. Watch the weather forecast for Friday. If weather keeps us from being able to fly our kites, we will try to schedule a raindate.
Hope that you are able to help your child access the online CRCT site. We only have 3 more weeks of school to prepare.
Have a super first week of Spring!
News for March 16-20, 2009
Can you believe it? We are starting the last quarter of the 2008-2009 school year! Report cards will be coming home later this week. Look for some recent assessments to be coming home in your child's "Notes and News" pocket of their HOME FOLDER.
CRCT testing will be the week of April 20th. The way that time is flying by means that it will be here in no time at all. To make certain that your child is at ease with the format and wording of the CRCT, I urge you to have them practice occasionally online. If you have misplaced your child's test ID username, please notify me and I will email it to you.
Next Friday, we will hold our annual First Grade Kite Day. First graders are invited to bring in a kite and fly it after lunch. Parents are invited (dare I say encouraged)to join us outside from 12:45-1:45 to help you child get their kite up in the air! Please make sure that your child's kite is pre-assembled or that your child knows how to put theirs together if you are going to be unable to join us for the activity. If your child does not have a kite or you are unable to get them one, children generally will share the flying of theirs with a classmate.
Have a great week.
News for March 9-13, 2009
We are getting very excited about our performing arts field trip on Wednesday. I hope that all of our "Flat Stanleys" had some great adventures over the weekend! Students should bring their journals and Stanley back to class on Tuesday to share. Flat Stanley will actually get to go to the performance with us on Wednesday. We can hardly wait! Let's dress up and make it a really special occasion.
This week is the final week of the 3rd 9 weeks grading period. The year is just flying by. Report cards will be coming home next Thursday. I will be giving the students some additional assessments this week to check for mastery of the performance standards.
Speaking of assessments, I hope that many of you have been able to take advantage of the online assessment practice opportunity. If you are unable to log on, please let me know. I can send home your child's test ID username again if you need it. The password is the same for all.
We are happy to announce a new member of our class. We were joined last Friday by Michael Gaffney. He moved here from Florida. As soon as I get permission from his mother, I will send home his contact information to be added to our class directory.
Please mark your calendars for "Our Destiny" Night in the Media Center this Thursday from 6-7, and for the Art Show on March 24th from 6-7:30.
Have a great wee
News for Mar. 2-6, 2009
Well, March "roared in like a lion", so I am optimistic that the month of March should bring us some better weather than we had in February!
Monday, March 2nd we will be celebrating the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss. We will share a number of his stories and complete related writing and math activities throughout the day. We will also eat some green eggs and ham for a special snack. Don't forget that students may also wear any Dr. Seuss clothes they may have.
We will follow the day up with a RAD (Read All Day) day on Tuesday. Students are invited to wear pajamas and bring their favorite Dr. Seuss books or other books to read during the day. It is Early Release on that day, so students will be dismissed at 12:00.
Next Wed., Mar. 11th, we will be going to the Cobb Energy Center to see "The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley". Flat Stanley is a character from the book of the same name by Jeff Brown. (Stanley was flattened in a bizarre accident when his bulletin board fell off his wall and landed on him while he was sleeping. He survived, but was flattened, leading the way to some new adventures.) On Wednesday of this week, each student will bring home a "Flat Stanley" and a journal. Each night, your child should briefly write about something Flat Stanley does that night. If your child has an opportunity to take Stanley somewhere, such as to a ball practice, church, a store, a meeting, out to eat, etc. or do something with him at home, such as watch a video, play a game, read a book together, etc. The point is that the children are encouraged to treat Stanley like a member of the family for the next week. The students should write an entry for six days and return their journal next Tuesday, the day before the field trip. We will share our journals on that day before seeing what adventures he will have during Wednesday's performance. Permission slips for the field trip were sent out and returned last fall, so no further paperwork is required. (I am still missing permission slips for 4 students. Those will come home Mar. 2 stapled to the newsletter. If you don't receive one, I already have yours.
Looking forward to a great week filled with lots of special activities!
Contact Info
Email me at maggie.dick@cobbk12.org
News for Feb 23-27, 2009
Can you believe it is the last week of February already? This year is really flying by. Contrary to thr groundhog's prediction for an early spring, we are in for another chilly few days. Make sure that your child is dressed for the chill.
This week we will have our first Parent Team Trivia Night. Make sure that if you returned your RSVP you are here in time for your free pizza and drink.
This Friday will be our Spring Picture Day. Unlike in the Fall, there will be no pre-orders. A class picture will be taken as well as an individual picture of each student. Parents will get to choose the pose from six listed on the flyer that I sent home last Friday. In a few weeks, your child will bring home a "proof" of the photo taken. Parents can decide at that time whether or not they wish to order a package. Don't forget to send in the flyer with your preference filled in for your child to take to the photographer on Friday. Our picture time is 11:30.
Next week we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. His actual birthday is on Monday. Students are invited to dress as their favorite Dr. Seuss character on Monday. We will be having green eggs and ham for snack on Monday. (They will be prepared in separate pans so that students who do not eat meat/pork/eggs) can enjoy one without the other. We will do a variety of activities based on many of Dr. Seuss' best-known and best-loved books. (If any of you have the DVD of "Horton Hears a Who", I would love to borrow it.) Following on Tuesday (Early Release Day), students are invited to bring in their favorite Dr. Seuss books from home to read and share during our Read All Day (RAD).
CRCT is now only about 8 weeks away. I hope that you have been able to access the online website for test practice. Remember to notify me if you have exhausted all the practice tests on the website so I can generate more and have Ms. Lee upload them to the website for further practice.
Monthly Menus
News for the Week of Feb. 2-6, 2009
Conference Week is over and it was so great to touch base with all of the families. I really appreciate that you were all able to come in on the day scheduled. This is the first time in years that I did not have to rearrange at least 3 or 4 conferences. Thanks! I have turned in your input regarding conference month for next year. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
This week we will see some additional changes to our regular schedule. Due to the 2nd grade Fire Safety program, we will switch lunch times with 2nd grade and eat an hour earlier on Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, we will have dismissal 2 hours earlier than normal, like we did for Conference Week. Our lunch time will also be earlier in the morning again.
We will continue our study of light and shadows this week by participating in Groundhogs Day activities on Monday. I don't know about you, but I am ready for him to NOT see his shadow and put an end to these chilly mornings!
A week from Saturday will be Valentine's Day. While we will not be having a party, we will have Valentines-themed activities on Friday the 13th. I am sending home a white bag at the end of this week that your child can decorate for the passing out of valentines. I will send home a list of names so that the kids can personalize each valentine.
