It looks like we will have another nice week for weather.  Whew!  Make sure your child has a coat for those chilly morning and for unexpected rain.  We go out for recess unless it is down pouring or below zero degrees.

Picture Day- All kids get their photo taken on Monday.  Make sure your little darling looks adorable even if you do not plan to purchase.

Homework- This weeks homework is "Making 10 Number Search".  Your child needs to circle at least 15 making 10 equations.  We have been working on this in class so it should be easy for them. I attached their "Making 10 rainbow" for support.

Scholarships-Mrs. Dimock and Mrs. Hughs are in charge of the Karen Cox Memorial Scholarship Basket Fundraiser at our school. Karen Cox was a beloved educator in our district who lost her life in a tragic car accident in 2004.  Her legacy lives on through the BEA Karen Cox Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to three high school seniors.  We are calling for gift cards, of any nature or amount (labeled with the amount), for our school's basket. You may also make a cash donation and which will go purchase a gift card to add to our basket.  This is a community effort and we look forward to collecting as many as we can. We have until October 23rd and then the baskets from all over the district will be raffled off in November.  It sounds like we'll have some pretty neat ones to pick from, so help our basket be one of them!

Pack the Place in Pink order forms are in your green folder.  If you are interested in ordering a PPP shirt please fill out the order form and send the money back to school.

XTRA MATH sign up directions are in the green folder
Xtra Math is a free web program that teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts which are critical to success in mathematics. Speed and accuracy are both important to fluency, and Xtra Math will help kids build up both. Math fluency is essential for success with fractions, decimals, multi-digit algorithms and any higher level math. It is based on the assumption that students who regularly practice will quickly and easily recall answers when needed, freeing up mental resources for more complex problem solving (also known as fluency).
After a simple placement exam, fluency goals are achieved through timed practices. Students are given 3 seconds to correctly answer each individual math fact. If they answer the fact in under 3 seconds (the deemed rate for fluency) they earn a smiley face. An answered keyed in under 10 seconds earns a green check mark. Finally, if a student takes 10 seconds or more, the answer will display in grey beneath the math fact and the student still must key it in. Any incorrect answers show a red “x” and still require the correct answer to be keyed in. This is great, because it forces the student to focus on the right answer before moving on. These problems will also show up again soon, so that the student reviews them quickly, before they have lost the fact from their memory (a research based strategy for learning new facts).

Book orders are due Friday.  There is a lot of great books that are very reasonably priced!

We are started reading groups this week!  Hooray!  I love teaching reading groups.  In first grade we do "Walk to Read."  This allows the students to be placed into more appropriate groups based on their reading level.  These groups are flexible and allow students to placed in different groups as their reading ability grows. Some of the kids in our class will be in reading groups with Mrs. Dimock and Mrs. Hughs.  It is fun to be able to work with and get to know some of the kids in the other classes.  Our first unit is about friends and family.

In math, we will continue to focus on ways to make 10.  This week we made 10 rainbows.  We will be playing 10 Go Fish and we will be jumping back into the Go Math! workbooks.

In writing, we are still working on our personal narratives.  Last week, the kids worked with a partner to share what they had written and to discuss what they are going to add next to their narrative. Hopefully, we will be able to finish up the first draft of our narratives this week.

Our practice spelling test went okay on Friday.  Please help your child practice their spelling words.  It makes a huge difference.  I did however have to mark many letters incorrect.  Please make sure you are helping your child with correct letter formation.  The correct letter formation went home in the parent orientation folder.  This week the spelling test will be graded.  Good Luck!

Homework Suggestions:
Monday- Read (10 minutes) Practice spelling words (5 minutes)
Tuesday- Read (10 minutes), Xtra Math session, Practice spelling words (5 minutes)
Wednesday- Read (10 minutes) Green Folder homework, Practice spelling words (5 minutes)
Thursday- Read (10 minutes), Xtra Math session, Practice spelling words (5 minutes)
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday- Have fun first and enjoy your family!  If time allows, read, do an Xtra math session, and explore fun math and reading games on my blog!

Have a great rest of the week!