Happy Halloween!

What a wonderful Halloween we had today!   Take a look at our chalk pastel pumpkins... can you see them glowing in the moonlight?

Thanks so much to our party planners:   Mrs. Adam and Mrs. Dimitrou

and to all our wonderful helpers:   Mrs. King, Mr. Nilsen, Ms. Santana, Ms. Kaminishi, Mrs. Gupta, Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Cung, Mrs. Cohen, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Dorwin, Mrs. Moriarty, Mrs. Hastings, Ms. Darab.  

Thank you also to our field trip chaperones:  Mr. Reed, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Dorwin, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Santana,and  Mrs. Adam

Besides all our halloween fun.. we did some amazing writing, reading, and math today.  I will post pictures of some fabulous first grade writing later this week.

It's a Scream in 1st Grade

Today we learned about Edvard Munch's The Scream and the Expressionist art style.  Munch painted his feelings in this painting so we decided to express ourselves just like him.

Our fabulous first grade writers continue to amaze me with their hard work.  Today I'd like to share writing by:

Henry:

Christian:

Ayzlyn:

 Nima:

and David:

We also had a visit by the Kirkland Fire Fighters and they talked about safety and how to Stop, Drop, and Roll.

Remember that our field trip to Craven's pumpkin patch is this Friday.

Have a wonderful Monday.

Monday Mini-Report

To start off...here's a lovely photo of where we stuff our backpacks and coats each day.  All four first grade classrooms look a bit like something out of NASA these days.  Anything we can possibly do to get rid of lice.  Thank you so much for all your work to make sure our class stays free and clear of this.   

City Skyline at Night created by your amazing first graders.   These were inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's Radiator Building

We are an amazing group of first grade writers.... here is an example of some first grade writing by Ella.   We practice writing about things that have happened to us and that we really care about.

 

In math, we've started our subtraction unit.  Please be sure to practice those addition facts. Now that we know what adding means and why 2 + 3 = 5, it is time to get those facts down pat. The more those facts are quickly retrieved from memorization, the better and easier math will become. 

Thank you to Mrs. Hastings for coming in this Monday to read our scholastic newspapers with us.  We learned all about bats.

Thank you to the parents who have turned in party money to Noah's mom.   Today, you will find a letter about the Halloween party which lets you know how you can donate party money if you haven't done so and would still like to. Thank you to  Mrs. Adams and Mrs.Dimitriou for organizing this.

We had our first art docent lesson last Friday!   Amazing cave paintings.  Thank you Mrs. Adam and Mrs. Dimitriou for teaching this.  I will post a picture of these next week.

As you all know, we have been working very hard on washing our hands to prevent the spread of germs and coming to school healthy.  This is important every year, but even more important this year since one of our  students is working really hard on staying healthy after his diagnosis of leukemia last year.  His parents have a beautiful and informative blog about their son, Jacob.  Please feel free to stop by it and leave a comment.  We are so happy that Jacob is part of our class and we hope that he can attend school as much as he can this year.

Here is a link to their blog:   http://jacobschaub.com

And one final note:    I posted a poster above our door today that says, "What did you learn today that you want to learn more about?"   I told each 1st grader that I want them to think about what they learn in school and ask themselves what they would like to learn more about.   This is also a great way for you to ask your child about his or her day each day.   You'd be amazed at what they are all interested in.  They are such a great group of children.

Monday Update

We read one of our all time favorite books today, "Where the Wild Things Are", and then painted some adorable wild things of our own. 

Thank you to all our parent volunteers... some of whom have started already!   Mrs. Gupta, Ms. Santana, Mrs. Dimitrou, Mrs. Fornia have been in to help photocopy, to help read with students, to help pass out art supplies, and to generally help out in the room.   We are excited to have our art docent, Ms. Darab, come in to do our first art docent lesson.  Thank you to everyone.

We have our first field trip coming up this month.  We will be going to Craven's Pumpkin Patch on October 28th.   This is always a great field trip!

We also have a party scheduled for Monday, Oct. 31st.   Mrs. Adam and Mrs. Dimitrou have already started planning the festivities.   There is an all school parade that day at 2:15 and children are invited to bring their costumes to school so they can change into them for the party/parade.

Goal Setting Conference Week

Dear Parents of our Wonderful First Graders,

This week, our schedule is quite a bit different due to conferences.

Monday, October 3rd is a half day, students will be dismissed at noon.  Mrs. Morissey will be teaching that day rather than Ms. Subcleff.  

Tuesday and Thursday are half days as well, with noon dismissal.

Wednesday Oct. 5th will be a regular dismissal at 2:00. 

Friday there will be NO SCHOOL for students, as it is a district teacher work day.   

 

Mrs. Morissey will be leading all the conferences, but I am more than happy to make it in if you would like me to be there as well.   Please send me an email and I will arrange my schedule accordingly.  Likewise, I am happy to meet separately on a Monday before or after school if that is something you would like.

 

 

And . . . Our volunteer program is just about to begin!  We look forward to work as a team towards the success of our first graders.  Beginning Oct 10^th the program will be under way.  This week the final schedule will come out and we will be in contact with the parents that have signed up with us.  Thank you so much to all you parents who have said you can come in to help with our students.  We are so thankful to have you.

Speaking of volunteers,  thank you to Pooya Darab, Nima's mom, for helping out in the school library during our class's Monday library time.  She is there every week helping Mrs. Caddock, our librarian,  check out books, etc.

 

If you are looking for a small volunteer opportunity, our individual and class pictures are on Monday Oct. 10th at 11AM.   If there are any parents that want to come in just at our picture time (arrive 10 minutes earlier), to help me make sure first grade hair is brushed, clothes are straightened, money envelopes are sealed, and we are all looking our best, that would be extremely helpful.  Just let me know and make sure to check in at the office before coming to our room.

Thanks so much for all you do.