Scholastic Book Order

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: JBVLX

Dear Families,

Please remember to place your Reading Club orders by Friday, September 22nd.

You can shop and submit your order online or return the order form with payment directly to me. No matter how you order, every purchase you make earns FREE Books and educational supplies for our classroom.

The arrival of the book box is always a highlight - thanks for making it happen!

Happy reading,

Mrs. Majinski

Ordering online is fast and easy:

• REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
• ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
• CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
• SUBMIT the order to me by the due date at the top of this letter
• EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

September 11th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week will be exciting as we learn some of the literacy centers we'll be using to practice what we learn in other parts of our day.  We'll learn the big book center, the writing center, the poetry center, the art center, and the independent reading center.  

As young children learn to read, it is important that they read many, many texts.  This is because of the opportunity that reading a large number of books affords them to decode challenging words, to learn what kinds of books and styles of writing they enjoy, and to practice the words that appear most frequently in text, which is extremely supportive of young readers.  Our centers are designed to help our students explore many texts, and read many of them on their own.  Only a few centers involve working with words in isolation, because we want children reading words in the context of sentences which makes reading more fun and motivating!  Think of it like riding a bike.  Just holding the handlebars isn't much fun.  The fun part is riding the bike, which demands holding the handlebars, balancing, steering, and peddling!  Ask your son or daughter about the centers they learned about today!

In math, we will be learning about naming numbers before and after a given number and how to use a number line.  We will also be working on our daily math routines and learning a few new math centers.  There will not be any math homework this week.  

In social studies, we are working on our school unit.  This week we will learn bus safety and continue learning about school rules and how to be a "Positive Jaguar".

Friendly Reminders

• Picture day is this Wednesday, September 13th!  If you would like to purchase photos, please return the order form that you got at the beginning of the school year.
• Please empty your child's red folder each night.  Many children are returning their red folders still filled with the previous day's items.  Please look over your child's work with them and return necessary items back to school.
• If you have not sent an old sock to school for our dry erase boards, please send one or more to school with your child soon.  I greatly appreciate it!

September 5th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you had a fun and relaxing weekend!  In our Literacy block this week we will be sharing a few great stories, be sure to ask your child about Buddy and Earl, and the Elephant and Piggy characters!  As we share fun stories about friendship we are getting to know each other, building our sense for stories, enjoying stories together, and developing or maintaining the love of reading we all want our kids to have!  This time of our day is called Interactive Read Aloud, and we sit together on the rug, so that when we discuss different parts of the book we can all see and hear each other.  This is a critical piece to building the kind classroom environment where students feel comfortable taking risks and learning about and respecting one another.  We will also be working on Community Writing this week, which is where we work together to create labels, messages, and anchor charts that help solidify our understandings of new concepts and stories.  Stay tuned for more components of our literacy block in upcoming blog posts!

This week you will be receiving an Everyday Math family letter. Look for it in your child's red take-home folder. You will receive a family letter at the beginning of each unit. This family letter provides you with answers to all of the homework problems. It also explains the topics we will be covering throughout the unit.  Please keep this in a safe place so you are able to refer to it throughout the unit.

In our first few days of school, we will also be going over all of the rules and routines.

Many items will come home in your child's red folder (take home folder), please help your child become responsible for bringing their red take home folder to and from school each day.  If you have a note with a change of going home plan, please feel free to send it to school in your child's red folder.

                         

Do you have an old sock laying around the house that doesn't have a partner?  We would love to use it in our classroom!  If you could send an old sock (or more than one sock) to school with your child, it would be greatly appreciated.  They make wonderful erasers for our white boards.

Welcome to a new school year!

Dear First Grade Families,

I am so excited to start a new school year and teach all of your new first graders!  It is always so exciting to watch them grow and develop their skills throughout the year.  Each week this newsletter will include helpful information for that week or upcoming weeks.  The curriculum that is being taught will be included.  This will give you the opportunity to know specifically what your child is learning about and you will be able to reinforce these skills at home.

During the first few weeks of school, much of our time is spent learning routines and school/classroom expectations.  Throughout the year we will also learn about staying organized and being responsible for things such as our take home folders and our materials.

If you have any questions, please contact me at anytime. 

Thank you,

Mrs. Majinski

May 30th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful Memorial Weekend like we did!  This week we will be finishing up writing projects and doing some fun art projects too!  We will create summer reading lists and enjoy as many fun, interactive read alouds as we can before the very end!  Of course it is very important to keep reading to your child over the summer and have them continue to read at least 5-10 minutes as close to daily as possible.  Summer is a time for relaxing, and when your child sees you relaxing with a good book, it sends the message that you really do value and enjoy reading.  I've been urging all my friends to read "Wonder" before they see the movie; if you haven't read it, it would be a perfect summer read!  

In math, we will be reviewing concepts learned throughout the school year.  No homework will be assigned this week in math.  Please continue practicing addition and subtraction facts over the summer, as well as all of the other important math concepts the children learned in first grade.

Please send a brown grocery bag to school by this Friday.  The children will be taking home their things next week.

Special Points of Interest

• Our Take-Home book program has ended.  Please make sure your child returns their book if they haven't already.
• Field Day and Lunch on the Lawn is this Thursday - Please look for more information in the Thursday folders.

May 22nd Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Last week we invited Mr. Hartling's 5th grade class in to meet our tadpoles and today they came!  Our students had a great time telling our 5th grade friends (and siblings) all about the tadpoles.  We shared what we've learned about the life cycle of a frog and some other interesting facts too!  

This week we will finish up our letter writing unit and have some free choice writing time.  Students can choose their project for writer's workshop from any of the genres we've learned about this year: narrative/small moment, narrative/fiction, opinion, informational, or even a book or toy review!  Lots of the students writing samples will be coming home this week and next.  

This week in math we will be creating our own graphs and asking questions related to the data.  We will also be taking a closer look at hundreds charts.  The students will be completing number puzzles and creating some of their own.  Look for Home Link 10.7 and a family letter to come home this week.  These will be the final math sheets for the remainder of the school year.

Thursday, May 25th will be the last day the take-home reading books will be assigned.  We'd appreciate having all books returned by Tuesday, May 30th so that we can catalog our collection and finalize our records.  Thank you!

Please return the two field trip permission slips that were sent home last week if you haven't already!  The kids are looking forward to walking to Lion's park on Friday!  Make sure your child bring a cold lunch and something to drink!

Special Points of Interest

• Our final check out day in IMC is this week.  Please remember to have your child return their IMC book as soon as possible next week.
• Field Day is coming up - Please look for information in the Thursday folder.
• Riveredge will be coming to Thorson on May 31st to present a  program about bird adaptations. We will be outside for a few hours. Please have your child dress for the weather.
• We hope you enjoyed the Spring Music Program!  The kids had a lot of fun preparing for it.  Many thank to Mrs. Plaster!

All My Friends Playground - Student Council Fundraiser

Each year the Student Council chooses a fundraising project.  This spring they chose All My Friends Playground as the beneficiary of their fundraising efforts this spring.  This playground will be in the heart of Ozaukee County, and it will be a place where all kids can play.

We watched a presentation today that talked all about what this organization is and why it is so improtant.  Please ask your child about All My Friends Playground or feel free to research it online.

Events

1. Friday, May 19- Buy a Butterfly for $1.  Butterflies will be placed on the bulletin board outside of Mrs. Kikkert's office.

2. Stuffed Animal Day- Monday, May 22

3. Friday, May 26- Hat Day- Students can pay $1 to wear a hat to school on Friday. 

Our fundraising goal is to raise $650 through these three activities. The homeroom that raises the most money will get a pizza party.  If we reach our goal the top two homerooms will help decide the fate of Mr. Lubbers' hairstyle.  Thanks to Mr. Lubbers who is willing to shave/dye his hair to the style that is voted on by the top two homerooms.

Thank you for your support of this fundraising project.  We appreciate your help!