Winter Carnival

Classroom Carnival Baskets!

 Each year at the Winter Carnival we have a very popular and successful classroom basket raffle.  Each grade donates items to fill a few baskets.

If you are able to donate the following items (or money!) by March 2nd that would be great!

This year the first grade themes are:  

*Minecraft - anything related to Minecraft!

*Playmobil sets

*Pocket toys – yoyos, balls – anything small and fun!

Items can be placed in the Carnival Basket located in the school entry hall, under the drop off desk, or in the office.  If you are donating money, please make out a check to “Thorson PTO” and write basket donation on the envelope.

Any donation is greatly appreciated!  Thank you for your generosity!

February 23rd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will be taking a look at realism and fantasy.  We will be creating story maps and comparing and contrasting animal fantasy stories.  We will be discussing what real things the animals do and what things the animals do that are fantasy.  We will also be creating our own animals doing something real and something that is fantasy.  

In writing, we will be continuing to focus on story writing.  Last week the students created a story map of their own version of The Mitten and this week they will be writing their stories.  The students need to include characters, settings, and events in their stories.

This week in math we will be analyzing data and creating graphs.  We will also be learning about different shapes, including polygons, spheres, cylinders, rectangular prisms, pyramids, cones, and cubes.  Look for the Unit 7 Family Letter along with Home Links 6.12, 7.1 and an addition practice sheet to come home this week.  Please keep Home Link 7.1 at home for extra practice.

We will be continuing our study of the United States.  We will learn more about our countries symbols and past presidents.

Special Points of Interest

• Read Across America is this Friday afternoon.  If you plan on coming to read with our class, please fill out the online form located in the Thursday folder.
• Winter Carnival - March 7th 11:00-3:00
• Thorson Variety Show - March 10th
• Science Fair - March 19th
• Fine Arts Night - April 23rd

Field Trip Tomorrow

Dear Parents,               

Our field trip to Schauer Arts and Activities Center is tomorrow, February 17^th.

Please remember to send a cold lunch with your child.  Milk will be available for purchase.

Thank you!

February 16th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we are going to be comparing and contrasting different stories with the story The Mitten by Jan Brett.  We will be focusing on the different aspects of a story, such as characters, setting, problems in the stories, and how they’re resolved.  The students will not have new spelling words or a spelling homework packet this week.  Our chunk of the week will be -ip as in clip.

In math, we are going to continue practicing “What’s My Rule?” problems.  We will also provide experience finding the value of collections of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.  We will review time and introduce our math reference book.  We will be playing math games using our math triangles, please reinforce this at home by practicing them at home with your child.  Look for Home Links 6.8, 6.9, 6.11 and a subtraction practice sheet to come home this week.  Please keep Home Link 6.11 at home for your child to practice with.

This week in social studies, we will be learning about a few of our presidents and taking a close look at George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We will be comparing and contrasting George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Special Points of Interest

• THANK YOU to all of the families that donated items for our Valentine's Party - The kids had a lot of fun!
• No school this Friday, February 20th - Professional Development for Teachers
• Winter Carnival - March 7th 11:00-3:00
• Thorson Variety Show - March 10th
• Science Fair - March 19th
• Fine Arts Night - April 23rd

February 9th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will continue to make inferences about the stories that we read by using the picture and story clues in the books that we read.  Additionally, we will be focusing on the long e sound, spelled ee, ea, and e.  We will be reading biographies of famous people and writing short reports about them.  This week we will be reading stories about Alexander Graham Bell, Amelia Earhart, and Benjamin Franklin.

We are also in the middle of a book study on the story Mercy Watson to the Rescue.  After each chapter, we complete different activities.  The students are having a lot of fun listening to this story and working on their comprehension and retelling skills.

In math, the children will continue to use the Addition/Subtraction Facts Table to solve subtraction problems.  We will also be learning about the centimeter as a unit of measure.  Look for Home Links 6.5, 6.6 and 6.7 to come home this week.  Please keep Home Link 6.7 at home so your child can practice math facts with the math triangles.

We are celebrating the 100th day of school today.  We will have fun exploring different activities using the number 100.

A great resource for all subject areas is BrainPopJr.  From Thorson’s homepage, click on Online Resources, then click on the link for BrainPopJr. Username:  cedarburg  Password: cedarburg There are many videos and games that are fun and educational for the children!

Last week we started a new social studies unit called Our Country.  This week we will be taking a closer look at a map of the United States and we will be locating different states.  We will also learn about the locations of the continents and the oceans.  Additionally, we will be learning about important symbols of the United States.

Special Points of Interest

• Valentine's Day classroom parties are this Friday, February 13th.  Your child should bring their valentines to school by Thursday, February 12th.
• Read to Succeed Reading Logs are due this Friday, February 13th, if your child is participating
• Scholastic Book Orders are due on Friday, February 13th. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX
• No school next Friday, February 20th - Professional Development for Teachers

A few updates...

This Friday, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center will be here to do a program for the first graders about birds of prey. Thank you to the PTO for helping to bring this program to us!

We are in the process of our new Junior Achievement unit about working and wants and needs.  A big thank you to Mrs. Emmerich for coming to teach this unit to our class. She will be coming on Friday afternoons.  At home, you can discuss with your child what the difference between a need and a want is and talk about specific examples in their own lives.

Additionally, today we started a new Social Studies unit called Our Country.  We will be learning about the location of our country, important symbols of our country, and much more!

February 2nd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will be working on comparing and contrasting.  We will be looking for things in the stories that we read that are alike and different.  We will also be revisiting compound words.  Additionally, we will be focusing on the sound ay and ai as in the words bay and mail.

In math, we are going to continue using name collection boxes.  We will also be practicing our fact families and learning about fact triangles.  Look for the Unit 6 Family Letter to come home this week along with Home Links 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4.  Please keep the fact triangle home link (6.4) at home so that your child can practice with the fact triangles.  Remember to keep practicing addition and subtraction facts at home.  This quarter we will be working on facts all the way up to 16.

Happy Groundhog Day!  Last week we made predictions as to whether the groundhog would see his shadow or not.  Will we have six more weeks of winter or will we have an early spring?

Scholastic book orders are due next Friday, February 13th. You can go online to order www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and type in the Online Code: JBVLX, or you can send the order form and money to school with your child

A field trip permission slip will be coming home today.  Please return it to school as soon as possible.  Thank you in advance!

Special Points of Interest

• Valentine's Day classroom parties are on Friday, February 13th - Thank you in advance to all of the parents who are donating food and items for our party!
• Thorson Winter Carnival on Saturday, March 7th from 11:00-3:00
• Reminder:  Read to Succeed Reading Logs are due on Friday, February 13th, if your child is participating