Class News

Happy December!  I can't believe only 10 school days remain this semester.  We are almost halfway through first grade! The past few months have been a delight.  Your children have learned so much and are always eager for more.  That's one of the many reasons I love being their teacher.

Next week, we have some exciting things happening at school. First, Hour of Code kicks off on Monday with a brief assembly in the auditorium. The kids will learn what the Hour of Code is all about and how they are going to participate. Our class will serve their hour on Tuesday, 11:00am-12:00pm in our computer lab with Mr. Hicks. You can find out more here.

Next week is also Inclusive Schools Week. This year's theme is "Sharing Our Gifts in Inclusive Schools." Our Mary Lin community, teachers, staff and students will all be celebrating the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors. Mrs. Stroman, our school counselor, has been working with our students this past week and will continue next week sharing the message of “No Place For Hate” which is an APS initiative to prevent bullying. Our students will also read books regarding inclusion with Dr. Johnson during media center time, and do other activities next week including signing a banner along with creating a school-wide "inclusion tree" for our entire community to enjoy. Activities for the week are as follows:

Monday-Friday, 12/7-11 "Commitment Days"(Sign the banner and hang your leaf on the Inclusion Tree.)
Monday, 12/7   "Pin Your Ribbon"(ISW Ribbons will be provided.)
Tuesday, 12/8  "Mix It Up Lunch"(Students will be allowed to sit with students from other classes as long as it's on the same grade level. The goal is to find out something they didn't know about that person.)
Wednesday, 12/9  "Unity Day"(Students and Staff wear Navy Blue or come as close as you can in shades of blue.)
Thursday, 12/10   "No Place for Hate"(Students & Staff wear black, gold/yellow and white. NPFH stickers and pins will be provided.)
Friday, 12/11   "Mary Lin Spirit Day"(Students & Staff wear Lin spirit wear.)
*Special Thanks to the Mary Lin PTA Special Education Committee and Parent Volunteer, Peggy Edwards for all their hard work.

On Thursday, our class will participate in our in-school field trip with High Touch High Tech. The program is called "What's That Sound" and the kids will conduct several sound experiments with a scientist!

On Friday, December 18th, the Mary Lin staff has been invited to a holiday breakfast and administration is looking for volunteers to cover each class so that homeroom teachers can attend (7:45-10:00am). So far, we have one volunteer (thank you Julie!!) and we need one more. I promise to make it SUPER EASY!!!! The first grade team has decided that it would be a great time for the kids to watch "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (rated G) so they can compare the story we've been reading aloud to the movie. There's also time for a craft if you'd like to do that with the kiddos. There must be two volunteers for our class so that I can attend the breakfast. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your consideration!! 

With only two weeks left of the semester, we have a lot to do in a short amount of time! Here's what you can expect:

Reading: Chapter analysis of our read aloud: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and identifying main idea and details of short reading passages.

SMART: /ue/ sound - there aren't many words with this vowel team, so our spelling list is short this week.

Grammar: Questions

Writing: Informational Writing

Math: Applying properties of operations to add and subtract (commutative and associative properties) and understanding subtraction as an unknown-addend problem (using addition to solve subtraction problems)

Science:  Finishing our magnet unit and beginning our sound unit

Social Studies: American Hero, Benjamin Franklin

As always, thank you for all you do. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'm here to help!