Another busy week in 1st Grade...

Technology issues can be an ongoing problem, but I was able to upload some pics. from the week today!  What a wonderful "SHORT" week!  The children discussed what scientists do and were able to walk through our Science Lab. and sign their contracts.  We want everyone safe during lab time!  See if they remember what they should be doing when going to lab.  We wrote about the story events in Lily's Purple Plastic Purse as we closed out our Kevin Henkes Unit.  We created questions of what we want to know about birds so we can begin our research! Today our problem solver was spiders!  They did a great job learning creating addition sentences with 4 plus more!  We had several different solutions to the same problem!  You have a bunch of STEM thinkers in the room!
Looking forward to seeing you at PTA Open House! :)

Have a great weekend!

Newsletter

September 14th Newsletter

Dinosaurs, Patterns and Kevin Henkes

We really had a great time answering our questions about dinosaurs.  If you want to know what we found out...Come to Open House and see our board.  :)  

Thanks so much for all of the support for the animal shelter!  We now have towels, newspaper, and toys to add to the mix!  If you are still wanting to help out, I know cleaning supplies help them, more newspaper, treats...Thanks for thinking of the puppies, cats, and animals without a home.

We ended our week with a "snack pattern" and the kids LOVED IT thanks to my helpers!  Making learning fun can get "pricey" so I try not to overload, but when everyone contributes something, it helps make some of our days a little more enjoyable!  Thank you again!  :)

We sent a video of math problem solving that we do in class.  I wanted you to see an example of how we work on a daily problem solver!  Problem Solvers are meant to challenge students!  The kids are wonderful thinkers!  I love the way they think differently and we share that it's OK!  There are a lot of ways to get to the same place! 

Have a great holiday weekend!  The kids did well on their Language and Reading tests this week! The math Quiz with +0 let me know that you have been working!  You may begin working on +1 facts. The kids will be tested every week for Reading and Language.  I sent an important note on Thursday on how they would the reading test would be a little bit different every other week!  You will find a "cold text" passage coming home once a week for practice.  Allow your child to read the passage to you, if they struggle, you read to them and practice until they are familiar with the words in the passage.  We test ON GRADE LEVEL so if students are behind, you will have to work a little bit harder!  GG is where they should begin 1st!  Many are there or higher.  Some are at G and are almost there!!  It won't take much to put them there! :) 

Thanks for all you do! 

Life is Busy in 1st Grade!

We have had more fun learning facts about dinosaurs!  We learned from MSNBC that dinosaurs may have derived from birds.  We learned that dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago.  Jake wrote about that and put it on our Wonder Wall!  J.B. and the girls have been reading about dinosaurs and how fossils show that they may have eaten their own babies!  We learned what extinct meant and went on a virtual field trip of a dinosaur museum!  We love our dinosaur items in our Wonder Center.  The kids have had a blast playing with all of the dinosaur toys and reenacting dinosaur days!  We learned all of this during "fill in" time or at the end of the day when all of our work was complete! We learned that you could go to the table of contents and find WHAT you want to learn about!  ( The kids who wanted to look at books...learned that! )

Thanks for supporting our fun, fun, fun learning!

We had a great time discovering about patterns and creating them with our pattern blocks!  Some of our pattern homework is hanging on our bulletin board!  Nice work! 

Sheila Rae the Brave has been a great class read this week!  We pulled out important vocabulary, worked in groups, and shared what some of those important words meant!  The children did a great job on our class "Twitter Posters".

I have created the letter attached in Google Docs, but I am not crazy about the way it formats my writing.  I will keep working and trying.  In the meantime, PLEASE MAKE SURE ALL HOMEWORK IS COMPLETED.  Students begin with a 100 Homework Grade and every time they are without their homework, the grade drops 2 points.

A big thank you to our moms who sent, M&Ms, pretzels, goldfish, and chocolate chips for us to pattern with for  Friday Fun Day...and then eat our patterns!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for the support!

What a wonderful first week of school!

Students came in sharing All About Me homework.  It was fun to learn about the interests of others!

We listened to a story about Rosie's Walk.  We laughed as the fox chased Rosie and couldn't catch her!  Then, we went on a school walk and learned about  all of the important school places. Students will be helpers and it is important that they know where to go and how to return!

We read a poem, drank some "jitter juice," and got rid of all of our worries! :)

Later in the week we read about The Giving Tree and learned how to care for others and how being kind and considering others and their needs is the right thing to do!

Thanks Jake for sending treats for the Animal Shelter. You can bring in old towels or blankets, food, treats, newspaper, cleaning supplies, etc...

Looking forward to a great year!

School Lunch

For those who purchase school lunch or eat at school, Chartwells Food Service has an app. you can download to get a more detailed menu!

Please find attached more information on the Digital Menus. The key to searching for the app in the app store is to search for Nutrislice and on the web search for Nutrislice.com. The Digital menus can also be found on the District 2 Web Page under ‘Resources”, just click on School Menus. The Digital Menus will also be posted in “Departments”-Food Service in the near future.

Welcome to First Grade

Welcome to the 2015-2016 School Year!  My name is Annette Hyder!  I am celebrating turning 50 this year!  (Not sure if you should know that... )  I am also married to my High School sweetheart of 25 years this September!  LOTS OF MILESTONES!  The good news...It's all good!  I have 2 daughters, Emily and Katie.  One is a Clemson Graduate living and working in Charlotte and the other is a Sophomore at Clemson this Fall.  I currently hold a Masters Degree in Education and I am certified in both Early Childhood and Elementary Education.  I am former recipient of Oakland's Teacher of the Year and News Channel 7's Golden Apple Award. I have worked on several committees throughout my career, the most recent being our District Math Curriculum Committee!  I work hard and  I love teaching.  I am very thankful to have a job I love to go to. I have worked in Summer Learning Academy for the past 3 years to help students who need a little more attention and assistance.  

I believe that the best approach for successful learning in the younger years is one where students interact.  I use a "Literacy/Math Centers Based Approach" to enhance learning. Including Lunch, Recess, Snack, Special Area and Centers, students are out of their seats for 1/2 of the day. Although students will be seated facing the front of the room, they are only seated during Morning Work or Silent Reading. Students also participate in a monthly project where we help those in our world around us entitled the "Providing Palm Tree".  We want to move students from a "me" base to an "others" based lifestyle where we are considerate of those around us. These things promote life skills and create a fun learning environment as well.  YES!  Learning can be fun! 

I look forward to a great year ahead!  Please make a note to join me for "Meet the Teacher" on Wednesday, August 12th!   

If at all possible, please bring supplies and especially 1 inch binder with a clear front pocket on this day!

If you want to send any extra items needed...Below is a list of extras only! (totally optional)

Clorox Wipes
Hand Sanitizer
Kleenex
Sandwich Baggies
Dollar Store Items for our Prize Box

I will explain all important information on August 12th!  Think about things you may want to sign up to help with...Room Helper, 100 Book Party Helper, Supplies Helper, Book Talk Guide, Mystery Reader, ( Mystery Reader is reading a seasonal book with our class and bringing a treat or craft to accompany it! No worries...I will be happy to help with all of it!!)