Carr's Kiddos
This Week in First Grade
Week of January 6-10, 2014
Dear Families,
Well, we finally made it back! After two weeks of Holiday Break, and an additional two calamity days due to the cold temperatures, we finally started our new year together. I hope everyone had a relaxing, fun-filled time. I was able to spend some time with family, get some organization done at home, read just for fun, and catch up on some much needed sleep. Now that all the decorations have been put away, the holiday treats consumed, and the cabin fever relieved, it's back to our daily routine. Thank goodness!!
Our first week back was spent remembering some of our routines and procedures. The kiddos did a great job getting back into the swing of things. One thing to make sure to remember is to keep an eye on the Specials schedule (always found on the home page of our web site) and know especially what day Gym is. Mr. Decker will not allow anyone to participate who is not wearing appropriate footwear. If your child is wearing boots to school, please make sure they also have packed gym shoes.
Just a reminder about breakfast at school. Breakfast is offered daily at school for $1.25. They begin serving when the first bell rings to let the students in the building at 8:35. Please let me know if your child is NOT allowed to purchase breakfast. If I haven't heard from you that they are not allowed, they will be allowed to purchase a breakfast. Also, it would help greatly that if your child IS going to purchase breakfast, that he/she arrives at school as close to 8:35 as possible, so that their eating time does not run over into our learning time.
Please keep an eye on the forecast and make sure your child is prepared for the colder temperatures at recess. Even though recent days have been to cold and our playground still covered in snow, and we therefore have had indoor recess, if it does warm up enough to clear the playground and is above 20 degrees, we may head out for recess.
We all enjoy celebrating special events, but please remember that in an effort to promote healthy food choices, Darby Creek is requesting a move toward healthy celebrations. If you would like to provide a treat for your child's birthday, please be mindful of choosing a treat that would be a healthier choice. You can find some suggestions on the "Class Celebrations" page of our website. In the past, we have enjoyed pretzels, grapes, fruit snacks, pencils, etc. Celebrations can also be in the form of a gift to the class given in your child's name such as a book donation. As we have a variety of food-related allergies in our class, this also helps to assure the safety of all of our students as well as allowing everyone to join in the celebration without exclusion.
As always, if there is anything you need to know, but can't find on the web site, please send me an email and let me know. It is there for all of us, so I want to make sure that you are getting the most out of it too.
Thanks, and have a great week!
Mrs. Carr
Curriculum Happenings
Math
Science & Social Studies
In Social Studies, we have been learning about the way life was in the past as compared to life as we know it now. This will be an ongoing topic for a while. This week, Darby Creek also adopted a new motto: "We take care of ourselves. We take care of others. We take care of this place." While this was something that was in the works prior to break, it was really made personal with the vandalism of our building over break. We will continue to share ways in which we all work together to take care of each other and our community.
Reading
Writing
Spelling/Word Study
This week's feature: -ag & -og and the sight words: see, you, & yes
A Few Reminders
Please Take Note...
• Remind 101: If you have not signed up for the text alerts from Mrs. Carr yet, it's not too late. Using your mobile phone, text the message: @carrs to the number: (614) 470-5313. I will occasionally send out important, last-minute information (such as when we have a snow day or when I need to quickly give you information.
• Lunch Reminders: Help your child practice his/her lunch number if they don't already know it. Also, make sure they know what they are choosing for lunch before they arrive at school. It will make lunch time go much more smoothly.
• Family Picture: If you have not already sent in a 3x5 or 4x6 family picture for our gallery, please do so. We aren't complete without you!
• Time For Kids: As mentioned in the Beginning of the Year letter, please send in a check for $4.42 made out to Time For Kids for our year subscription. (The checks are sent directly to the company and they will not accept cash.) This is a very valuable science/social studies resource for our class. (If you are unable to send a check, please contact Mrs. Carr.)
• Twitter: Remember to follow us on Twitter! Our goal is to Tweet out our learning 2-3 times per week. Our Tweets are so much more meaningful with someone to read and reply to them. http://twitter.com/carrskiddos
• Media Center: Although there is a 2-week due date, the students can return their library books at any time; we do not have a set library day. They simply put their clip in the library basket whenever they are ready to go.
• Birthday Treats: Please keep in mind that we are trying to encourage healthier choices in our meals, snacking, and treats. See the "Class Celebrations" page on our website for suggestions. If you have a birthday coming up, please contact Mrs. Carr to make arrangements for that.
• Communication: If you have to send something to Mrs. Carr, such as a note or lunch money, make sure it goes in the student's book selection folder. Those are checked daily. Papers and envelopes that are just put loose in the backpack will not be found. As always, the most reliable form of communication (when possible) is email.
• Early Dismissal: We often find that it is necessary for parents to pick their children up from school before the end of the day, either to go out of town, go to doctor's appointments, etc. As we are trying to make the most of every minute we have, it would be much appreciated if you could let Mrs. Carr know ahead of time if this is the case to minimize the learning missed by the student.
• School Directory: The school directory is now LIVE on the Darby Creek PTO website! Just go to http://www.darbycreekpto.com and click on the "Forms & Reports" heading and select "Directory." When you click on the button to "View Darby Creek Elementary Directory", you will be asked for the password. Your password is: DarbyDirectory13-14 (this is case sensitive with no spaces). Please protect your password and information in the directory. This should be used within our Darby Creek community only. From there, you may print the PDF version of the directory and/or search the PDF form for a specific student (using the Control F function on your computer). If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Samantha Brill at samantha_brill@hotmail.com.
Upcoming Events
1/13: PTO Meeting, Media Center, 7:00pm
1/17: Interims sent home
1/20: No School - Martin Luther King Day
2/5: Late Start Day
2/10: PTO Meeting, Media Center, 7:00pm
2/10-2/13: Conference Week
2/14: No School - Conference Comp Day
2/17: No School - President's Day
2/21: Family Fun Night - Time TBA
Carr's Kiddos
Email: carolyn_carr@hboe.org
Website: http://carrskiddos.weebly.com
Phone: (614) 921-5500
Twitter: @carrskiddos