Friday News

Sorry I have been MIA this past week!  Short weeks really throw me off, so I apologize!

This week may have been short, but we packed a lot in.  In math, we are learning about subtracting with tens.  We will be using the same strategies used with adding by tens, only now we are subtracting.  The students seem to be grasping this concept very well since they are familiar with the strategies.  We will be taking the quiz on this chapter on Wednesday, reviewing on Thursday and also taking the test on Thursday since the students have a 4 day weekend.

In Reading we have started learning about pronouns.  We don't call them pronouns, but the students have been introduced to using I and me in sentences.  The rule we use is that the word "I" is only used in the naming part of a sentence and the word "me" is used in the telling part.  We read the story "Me on the Map" and the students were able to see how you can have a map for your room, your house, street, town, state, country and world.  They were able to see that everyone has their own special place in the world.

In spelling, the students were working with words featuring silent e.  The words were in the -ake and -ate word families.  They have been doing very well on their spelling tests, but I still encourage all of you to work with them every night since they words are becoming more challenging.

This past week and next week we are focusing on dental health.  The students brought home a toothpaste outline and were able to design their toothpaste tube to match the kind you use at home.  We will be creating a graph with these next week, so please bring them in if you have not already.  They also brought home a brushing teeth graph.  Please make sure to bring that in after next week as they have to record their brushing for 2 complete weeks.  When they turn in the signed chart, they will receive a tooth related prize!

The students have been working hard and I am expecting more out of them.  To get them ready for second grade, I have implemented a new rule.  If the students do not get their work completed in the allotted time because they were not completely focused on their work, they will have to stay in during recess, finish their work, and receive a yellow for the day.  Hopefully this will help some of the students who have trouble finishing their work in class get the motivation they need to complete their classwork on time.  Also, please make sure homework is being turned in promptly.  I expect the homework to be turned in the next day, unless their is a specific due date.  This is teaching the students accountability and responsibility.  The students know when they have homework. I try to have homework being sent home on all the same days, but sometimes that doesn't work out.  A good habit to get in to is to have your child take out their folder, look through it together and see what home work needs to be done.  That way there won't be any questions about homework and it won't get lost. :)

I appreciate all the hard work you all do to get things done! 
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Petrucci