First Grade News
http://mrsnixonsfirstgrade.weebly.com/
February 8 - 12
Conferences and Interims
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d44a5a92ba31-mrs/
For any student receiving an interim, the interim will be shared during Parent Teacher Conferences. If there is no conference time scheduled the interim will be sent home.
Supporting Our First Grade Readers
Darby Creek Elementary PTO
Donations needed for our class basket!
Dear Families,
We are putting together a Game themed basket to be raffled off at the I love DC Winterfest February 26th.
The class brainstormed ideas for basket themes and voted. Our class basket theme will be Games. Ninjas and Princess tied for second place:)
Please feel free to donate anything that would go along with the theme! Some student ideas were board games, math games, table games(ping pong sets), and games to play outside. In the past families have connected with local businesses for donations. Any donation would be appreciated!
Donations for the baskets will be due February 19th.
A note from PTO
*if your class has enough donations we will split them into two.
*It is okay if there are duplicates of themes, items and some truly out of the box thinking
*We will ensure that each Classroom’s donations are broken down evenly, presented attractively
*We also do not need an actual basket for each class. If there is one donated, then we will definitely use it in some way, but it is not necessary
Please visit our Darby Creek PTO website.
http://www.darbycreekpto.com/Class list for Valentine's
Valentine's Box
This year please send in a decorated bag or box for your child to collect their valentines on February 11th. I will have white lunch bags for any student who does not have a box or bag to collect valentines.
Valentine's Treat Information from Mrs. Clemmer
Dear Parents,
I will be sending in heart-shaped Rice Krispie treats and a little bag for each student on February 11th. This is not a party day so Mrs. Nixon will pass it out during class. To cover the cost of the Rice Krispie treat & goody bag, I'm asking for each parent to please send in $1.00. Please send it in a Baggie or envelope.
Thank you so much for your help!
Michelle Clemmer
mmclemmer@gmail.com
We have 26 students.
John
Elaina
Aubrey
Nate
Abram
Laila
Kaitlyn
Matteo
Miles
Griffin
Brendan
Jamaure
Gavin
Brooke
Bree
Hayli
Nicolas
Kennedy
Maddie
Evan
Jaxon
Cooper
Kya
Tori
Jensen
Kendi
****Learning Celebrations****
Writing
In writing
- We continue to write personal narratives with details. Personal narratives are a story about you told by you. Only you can tell the story. Every Monday we write our weekend news. Please ask you child what they wrote about this week.
- We continue to make sure capital letters do not sneak into the middle of our words when we are writing our stories!
- We are adding feelings and the five senses to bring our stories to life. We are also making our characters talk using speech bubbles and quotation marks.
KidBlog!
Each student has been given his/her own blog space on Kidblog. Our class blog is called Mrs. Nixon's Blogging Bunch. Students will have opportunities to blog about new concepts, books they are reading, and other daily learning.
Additionally, students are welcome to blog from home about topics of interest. They are also welcome to read and comment on the blogs of their friends. Kidblog has the ability to link classes. Soon we will connect with Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Fraziers classes. They are also welcome to read the posts of friends in other classrooms and comment.
Safety
Our blog is only visible to members and linked classrooms. I will be moderating all posts and comments before they will be visible on our blog. Parents are welcome to comment. Just comment under your child's sign-in, but sign your comment by putting the name of your child and mom/dad (ie. "Katie's Mom").
Even though posts are moderated and our blog is only visible to members, I'm asking students to follow basic internet safety rules:
- Use first names only. No last names.
- Do not give any location information (school name, city name, address, etc.).
- Do not add photos of yourself. Instead try to include pictures that help tell your story. (For example, if you want to tell the class about your favorite reading spot, include a picture of the place without you in it.)
- Parents for login information ask you blogger!
Please make sure your child is reading EVERY night and returning their folder each day so they can select a new book!
For more information go to and look for the Book Selection Flyer! mrsnixonsfirstgrade.weebly.com
Reading
We are Thinking about what is happening in the story. We have
- noticed important information the author repeats over and over
- ask wonder questions and found the answer
- thought about the character
- notice a clue
- thought about the authors message
Math Thinking
- We are working to understand the equal symbol =. We know that it means "the same as". We learned that each side of the symbol has to be balanced and have the same amount. We are working to understand number sentences written like this 10 = 5+5. Sometimes we try to add all the numbers together.
- We are learning about Place value. We are writing numbers and making numbers using the tens and ones tools. We know the first number tells us how many tens we need to make the number. The second number tells us how many ones we need to make the number.
- We are learning that if we know all the ways to make ten it can help us add larger numbers. 13+17= 15+15= 16+24=
- We continue to write and draw our math thinking in our math journals. We are drawing organized pictures that are easy to understand. We are picking and using tools efficiently to solve problems. We are solving word problems with our math partners.
- We are working on "Counting On" starting at any number. We put the starting number in our head and and count on. Some of the higher numbers can be tricky especially the change in decades Example 29,30 or 39,40.
- We are continuing to explore math apps on the IPads, and students are logging into JiJi Math (ST Math).
Here is a website that has links to some great Apps we are using or will be using in the classroom. As of right now they are free:) We use the number frames and number rack Apps now. Right now it looks like they are available as an Apple App and also as a Web App. Here is the link
http://catalog.mathlearningcenter.org/apps
- We are sharing our interests and growing our nonfiction library
Happy Birthday!!!!
For more information Click on Class Celebrations
Birthdays:
Birthdays are a special time and we love to celebrate with your child. To share in this celebration you may send in a favorite toy or your child’s favorite book to share with the class. If your child has a summer birthday, we will be celebrating his/her “half” birthday during the school year (July 22nd would be celebrated on January 22nd). I will be passing out a special gift to your child to celebrate their special day!
We will not be sharing an edible treat for birthdays. If you would like to send in a non edible item for the students, we have 26 students in our classroom.
Please do not send birthday invitations to school to be passed out unless everyone is invited. While we understand that it is often not possible to invite an entire class to a party, invitations passed out to only some children result in hurt feelings. Children’s addresses may be found in our school directory.
Volunteer
Dear Families,
Thank you for signing up to volunteer! I am asking for two volunteers per week. In the comment box please list either the exact time or time of day(morning/afternoon) you will be volunteering. This information will allow me to get materials ready. If you are available on a certain day to work on items at home please add at home to the comment box. Items sent home may include sorting time for kids, cutting out laminated items or gluing items to be laminated later.
Thank you again for your time!!!
Mrs. Nixon
If you are able to volunteer your time please go to
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d44a5a92ba31-volunteer2/
Dates to Remember
UPCOMING DATES FOR DARBY CREEK:
2/9--DCR Parent Conference/Partnership Night
2/11--Valentine's Day TREAT--remember NUTRITIONAL BALANCE PLEASE
2/12 and 2/15--NO SCHOOL--Conference Comp Day AND President's Day
2/26--End of First Grading Period
3/7--7:00 p.m. PTO Meeting Media Center--Kindergarten to attend
3/8--7:00 p.m. 5th Grade Music Performance
3/11--6:00 p.m. DCR/ PTO Movie Night
3/15--NO STUDENTS REPORT TO SCHOOL--PROFESSIONAL WAIVER DAY FOR STAFF
3/21-3/25--SPRING BREAK--NO SCHOOL--SPRING BREAK
3/28--BACK TO SCHOOL
Important Reminders
DRESSING FOR THE WEATHER!
Please be sure your child dresses for the weather when they come to school. Per the Handbook, we will go outside if the temperature is 20 degrees or above with a wind chill. Students have 30-40 minutes of outdoor recess. Many of our students attending after school day care wait up to 15 minutes outside for their day care busses. Students waiting for parents picking them up sometimes wait for up to 15 minutes outside for their rides. It is so important our students come to school with the clothing they need to say warm while they are outside. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Darby Creek Directory
Here is a letter from Samantha Brill about accessing The Darby Creek Directory
Hello teachers!
I need your help distributing some information! To keep this as secure as possible, we are asking teachers to email out the password information for the directory to the parents of your students. Thanks in advance for your help!
The Darby Creek Directory is live on the PTO website (www.darbycreekpto.com). To find the directory, click on the "forms and reports" tab and select "directory." This is a password protected page.
PASSWORD: darbycreekdirectory
all lowercase, no spaces.
Thanks for all you do,
Samantha Brill
Have you visited our classroom webpage?
------------------------------Darby Creek eNews------------------------------
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DarbyCreek_eNews
"Darby Creek eNews" is a regular update sent directly to parents by e-mail. The Darby Creek eNews List will contain news and information pertaining to Darby Creek Elementary School. Subscribers to the Darby Creek eNews List also receive e-mail notification of school delays and cancellations as soon as they are announced.