Mrs. Jansen's First Grade Class
Weekly Newsletter: January 11, 2016
KEYSOR PRIDE
We are Respectful, Responsible and Safe.
Freezing temperatures & Fun Times!
Spending the time during our Making New Friends time last week, enjoying some 'family building' activities was a blast! It was neat for the children to learn more about their friends and find new shared interests about each other.
Also last week, we had our first harvest for the new year from one of our three tower gardens, through serving gourmet lettuce as samples during our lunch time. All of the children loved the fresh and tasty vegetables, as a special treat. Can't wait for the next harvest!
Lastly, we finished off our week with celebrating many friends. Our classmate Liam was selected as this week's Leader of the Week due to his continued great friendships with all, his constant curiousity and his wonderful hard work that was demonstrated during the end of his Writer's Workshop, creating his All About story on how to draw an army tank. Also, way to go to Jake and Chloe for their continued great work in demonstrating their Keysor Pride.
Also last week, we had our first harvest for the new year from one of our three tower gardens, through serving gourmet lettuce as samples during our lunch time. All of the children loved the fresh and tasty vegetables, as a special treat. Can't wait for the next harvest!
Lastly, we finished off our week with celebrating many friends. Our classmate Liam was selected as this week's Leader of the Week due to his continued great friendships with all, his constant curiousity and his wonderful hard work that was demonstrated during the end of his Writer's Workshop, creating his All About story on how to draw an army tank. Also, way to go to Jake and Chloe for their continued great work in demonstrating their Keysor Pride.
Special Classes/Activities Schedule:
Monday, Jan. 11th: E Day - Art with Mrs. Lang; Keysor Night @ Billy G's
Tuesday, Jan. 12th: A Day - P.E. with Coach Widamen; Keysor Town Hall meeting @ 6:30 followed by PTO meeting at 7. All are invited, as childcare will also be provided. Registration for Trivia Night opens. Keysor Cubs Music & Movement from 6:15 - 7:00 p.m. Adults need to remain with their children for Keysor Cubs.
Wednesday, Jan. 13th: B Day - Music with Dr. St. Clair; Wellness Wednesday for walking, running or riding your bikes to school; Report Cards and Conference Notes will be sent home. Please return your child's white envelope only, following your review of their report card.
Thursday, Jan. 14th: C Day - Wellness with Mrs. Ehrlich; Chess club begins for those that are signed up. Please return your interest slip ASAP if you would like to participate.
Friday, Jan. 15th: D Day - Library with Mrs. Ems, books are due; Keysor Movie Night: "Paddington Bear." Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $5 per family.
**No School on Monday, Jan. 18th due to observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Tuesday, Jan. 12th: A Day - P.E. with Coach Widamen; Keysor Town Hall meeting @ 6:30 followed by PTO meeting at 7. All are invited, as childcare will also be provided. Registration for Trivia Night opens. Keysor Cubs Music & Movement from 6:15 - 7:00 p.m. Adults need to remain with their children for Keysor Cubs.
Wednesday, Jan. 13th: B Day - Music with Dr. St. Clair; Wellness Wednesday for walking, running or riding your bikes to school; Report Cards and Conference Notes will be sent home. Please return your child's white envelope only, following your review of their report card.
Thursday, Jan. 14th: C Day - Wellness with Mrs. Ehrlich; Chess club begins for those that are signed up. Please return your interest slip ASAP if you would like to participate.
Friday, Jan. 15th: D Day - Library with Mrs. Ems, books are due; Keysor Movie Night: "Paddington Bear." Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $5 per family.
**No School on Monday, Jan. 18th due to observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Poetry Explorations
Our final new unit to begin during this first part of the new year, is our study of Poetry. This week, the children will explore a variety of poems to learn about poetry's form and describe how they know it's poem. Some elements of the poems may include shortened lines, pictures created through the use of words and/or separation between the words upon the lines.
Learn to Learn (with LEGO's)!
Last week, as part of our new year and new experiences enjoyment, the children began their first formal work with their individual "Learn to Learn" LEGO kits that have been provided by our Keysor PTO. Each week on Wednesdays, during Making New Friends, the children will explore their sets in creative ways to learn through design & engineering, language arts, math, and science lessons.
Cooperation in Measurement
As shared last week, we began our unit on measuring, to build upon our addition and subtraction work that occurred during 2nd Quarter. The kids did a WONDERFUL job in working together to complete their measurements, decide what quantity to count by and record their observations.
Sight Word and Sound Focus
Our sight words this week are: bike, bed, feet, puppy, basket
We will also be exploring the long vowel sounds in the two new vowels, 'a' and 'u' in words like our friend Jake's name or the word rule.
Lastly, the children will be provided with an additional practice with their acquired sight words through reading and matching, as well as play, with synonyms such as 'little/small,' 'begin/start.'
We will also be exploring the long vowel sounds in the two new vowels, 'a' and 'u' in words like our friend Jake's name or the word rule.
Lastly, the children will be provided with an additional practice with their acquired sight words through reading and matching, as well as play, with synonyms such as 'little/small,' 'begin/start.'
Writing Workshop: Creating informational chapter books
As the children have finished their 'All About' books, we will move into our interest group piece, as the children will work to research about a chosen topic of interest and create a chapter book regarding that topic.
Continuing in Place Value Strategies
The children did a great job last week, working with partners to complete their measurement work through counting by fives and tens with unifix cubes. This week, they will be taking those measurements and adding 'sides' together, through combining two sets of double digit numbers. This work will support the children in realizing they can break apart two digit numbers into tens and ones to add them together with another two digit number.
Patterns in the Sky: Understanding Cycles, the Sun & the Moon
Lastly, we will be continuing with our unit in understanding patterns in the sky. Our work last week, took us to identifying what may been seen in the sky. This week, the children will learn about what were able to see in the sky, dependent upon the weather, day or night. Also, the cycle of how our days occur through viewing of our sun and moon. During the last part of the week, the children will explore the phases of the moon as well.
Mrs. Traci Jansen
Email: traci.jansen@kirkwoodschools.org
Website: http://keysor.kirkwoodschools.org/pages/Keysor_Elementary/Classes/Jansen
Location: 725 N Geyer Rd, Kirkwood, MO, United States
Phone: 314-213-6120 (2164)
Twitter: @TraciJansen