1.1 Classroom News!!!!!
From Ms. Jordan Week of 11-18-13
Reminders
*I have had some students tell me they have brought their IPADs and other expensive electronics to school. This worries me because the school is not responsible for any lost or stolen items. It has not become a problem in my classroom, but the students do leave the electronics in their backpacks because they are not permitted in the classroom and their backpacks are left outside the room. The best rule to follow is if you are worried about something happening to it, then do not send it to school.
*The new lunch system is in place. I ate lunch in the cafeteria with the students on Monday and it seemed like it was going very well! Everyone had a balanced lunch and one of the students turned to me and said "This lunch is delicious!" If you would like to purchase a pre-paid meal plan for the next semester contact the elementary office. They can give you more information!
*MAP goals have been explained to your children this week. They may come home talking about their MAP goals and how they met them in class. Feel free to encourage your children to keep working on those goals. I sent the email with their goal in it a long time ago. If you would like another email with their goal in it, please let me know! I would love to send you another one.
*Please send a healthy snack with your child every day. I am having some students come in with candy. That is NOT a good snack for the middle of the day. Please do not send your child with candy as a snack.
*Homework packets are due on Monday. There is no late penalty for homework. At the end of the day, I just want your child getting the extra practice.
*Please make sure your child brings their library books back to school by Friday of each week or they WILL NOT be able to check out a new library book on Friday. If you want to keep the book for longer that is fine, but students have to ask the librarian to renew it.
*Also, make sure students return the books they take home from our classroom library. Some of these books are my library books and I want to make sure they get to back to the right place. Also, some of our class books we have made have been lost! Please remind your child to take very good care of the books they bring home, especially class books. They are priceless because they are YOUR child's work! I cannot simply replace them.
*Swimming really began this week, however, I still had one student not bring their swimming materials. Remember for swimming you need a swimsuit, underwear, swim cap, and a towel.
*I sent home a letter about the animal project coming up. I was told many people did not receive the email so I sent home a paper copy as well. Please read that over and email me if you have any questions. It is due on November 26th. I have also emailed you the list of what animal your child picked.
*LAST REMINDER! If your child is taking a different bus than usual or you are picking your child up, please contact the elementary office. I CANNOT send your child to a different location without a note from the office. THANK YOU!
Shoe-a-thon!
Dear Friends,
In an effort to support school initiatives, SRC will be holding a Shoe-Athon to donate to “Un Futuro Mejor Foundation”. This is a foundation founded by Mr. Hackin to help Kuna children who live in the Panama City.
On Friday, November 22 , children who bring a pair of shoes in good conditions (or two if they want), get to wear free clothes. There will also be a “boli” sale during recess. Each “boli” will cost 50 cents.This money will be used by the SRC for the FANLYC Christmas party in December.
A boli is an icy in a plastic bag which we will have frozen solid for everyone’s delight! See the picture below for a visual of what a boli is.
Thank you,
Sandy Stargardter & SRC Members
Friday, Nov 22, 2013, 07:30 AM
International School Of Panama, Panama
Targets for Next Week (Our Goals:)
These goals are based on the Common Core Standards, and have been
written in 1st
grade friendly language. The expectation is that each student
will reach the following goals by the end of the unit.
Literacy: The Amazing Animal World
Oral Language/Listening Skills
I can understand when to use correct capitalization, spelling, and
punctuation in writing.
Reading
I can identify main idea and details.
I can identify non-fiction text features and understand how they help
me read.
Writing
I can write an informative text about a topic, find supporting details,
and provide a closing sentence.
Math: Unit 4
I can read and discuss a math message.
I can read a thermometer to the nearest 2 degrees.
I can measure with non-standard units.
I can understand an inch as a standard unit for measuring.
Science: Plants and Animals
I can distinguish between a living and non-living thing.
I can identify the five different animal groups.
I can describe the characteristics that define a fish and a mammal.
Words, Words, Words, Oh My!
Vocabulary:
These are the words your child will be learning in school this week. Any additional exposure to these words at home will help your child have a better understanding of their meaning.
Students should be familiar with these words, but they are not for the spelling test.
Math
length
digit
yard
pace
cubit
arm span
hand span
hand
foot
inches
Literacy
main idea
detail
non-fiction
glossary
bolded words
heading
table of contents
caption
Science
living
non-living
mammals
fish
Popcorn Words:
good
great
help
man
name
say
sentence
think
through
where
Spelling Rule:
We as teachers spent the past week analyzing the spelling assessments of the students. We have found that while most students are able to spell correctly the ten words we were sending home, it wasn’t always being utilized in further writing. The focus will therefore shift from word memorization to identification and application of rules. We feel this will provide a more solid and balanced skill set that addresses reading, writing, and spelling. We will dedicate the upcoming several weeks on long vowel sounds as it is a particular challenge for native Spanish speakers. I will be posting the spelling rule in this newsletter whereas before students were sent home with a list of words.
Their homework will ask them to find more words that follow the rule. The spelling test will continue to take place on Fridays and most words will follow the pattern with a couple exceptions of patterns already introduced and related to the current pattern.
Thank you in advance for your patience and support during this time of evaluation and transition.
Our rule for this week is words with the long i sound and the silent e at the end. (i____e)
Some examples of words with this rule are:
bike
like
kite
strive
Coming Soon!!
All of the elements that were included in last week's newsletter of the coming soon portion have been implemented!
*Students have been informed about MAP goals.
*Parent RenWeb where I will put the links to ALL my newsletters in case you want to look at old ones
*The new way of teaching spelling is underway and students are responding well.
*Animal Unit with an at-home component. Due date is November 26th!
*Last week we had 6th graders come in to read with us and interview us about what books we like to read. This a joint project with a 6th grade teacher colleague of mine. This means that her students will be writing children's books for my students which they will get to read, keep at school, and then bring home at the end of the year. So in this coming soon portion, what is coming soon is a book written for your child!
*Continual integration of IPADS!
Keep looking for the Coming Soon! portion to see what else will be implemented in your child's classroom in the following months!
Email Issue
Dear Parents,
I have not been receiving many of your emails. They have been going to the wrong address and that teacher has been forwarding them to me. My email is jrjordan@isp.edu.pa. Please make sure it is going to the correct email so I can get back to you in a timely fashion. Have a wonderful weekend! I do not have any new videos for the home fun this week because we are still classifying animals. Feel free to watch the ones from last week if you have a chance! Again, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Julie Jordan