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Mrs. Beausoleil´s Class
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LANGUAGE ARTS We continue to work on building reading skills. It’s important that the children not only concentrate on individual words and sounds, but also to listen to the context of the whole sentence and story. They need to understand that all that they read should make sense! At various rates, most of the children are building a sight word reading vocabulary. These are our word wall words and any words that they can read from memory. Discussing and retelling stories (with the book closed) they read at home helps to develop thinking and comprehension skills. You may find that on your child’s report card there is a reference to your child using reading strategies to help him/her figure out unknown words. These reading strategies are listed on the first page of your child’s reading duotang. In Phonics, we are studying the short vowel i (it, is, ing), and are continuing with the digraphs “ch, th, sh, wh.” MATH We continue to follow the Nelson Math program and will continue to study numbers to 100, with emphasis on realizing that a two-digit number is a code that means there are enough things to make groups of ten with extra ones left over. For example, 74 means there would be enough things to make 7 groups or bundles of ten things, with 4 things left over. Information is always placed in your child’s Math duotang at the beginning of each unit of study. CLASSROOM NEWS It’s hard to believe that the March Break is here, and we are now into our third term of study. Your children continue to amaze me as they mature academically and socially! We have a wonderful class! Now that spring is here, you may wish to send your child with splash pants to school. They are a great way to keep your child’s school clothes clean, as well as they provide some warmth on those muddy but cool early spring days. Please continue to send your Foodland receipts, as well as your beverage pull tabs. Don=t forget to check your child’s hair for nits and lice on a regular basis. Many children have run out of pencils, erasers, colouring pencils, wax crayons, and glue. Please send a fresh supply of any of these items if your child needs them. Happy Spring to all! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! I hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday season! We seem to have settled back into our routines, and the next five months will be full of wonderful changes for your child. You will be amazed in June at how much your child has learned in one year! I must apologize for not sending a January letter. Due to my father’s death and my son’s two week hospitalization in London, I was unable to get to it. “100 DAY” Tuesday, February 9 is the 100th day that the children will have attended school this school year. We will be celebrating A100 Day@ with various activities about the number concept of 100. I am asking that each child bring in a set of 100 small objects (buttons, toothpicks, dry beans, noodles, etc.) so that we can investigate these sets of 100 by grouping them into tens, counting them, and discovering much about what makes 100! For this activity it would be best if the objects cannot break apart into smaller pieces (ex. NOT crackers, cereal) or roll around too much. VALENTINE’S DAY Our class will be exchanging our valentines on Friday, February 12 in the afternoon. This is an optional activity. I have sent a list of names home with the children for them to complete their own valentines. If it has been misplaced, please let me know. If possible, please have your child wear red, white or pink for this day! If you choose to send treats, they must be pre-packaged with a manufacturer=s list of ingredients included, in respect of our “nut-safe” policy at our school. Please remember we cannot accept any treats that may contain traces of nuts or may be manufactured on the same equipment that processes products with nuts. For this reason we are also not allowed to accept any homemade treats. LANGUAGE ARTS We are working to help the children develop their reading skills by using phonics, picture clues and words that make sense, when decoding unfamiliar words. When reading stories with your child, you may wish to look for: endings (s, ed, ing), compound words (snowman), root words (sing-ing), and some contractions (’s, n’t). Discuss stories they read to you, and ask many types of questions including ones where your child will have to gather the information from the story and formulate an answer or opinion. It is wise to encourage this deeper level of thinking, even at this young age! By asking higher level thinking questions, you are helping to develop your child’s thinking skills and to go beyond just knowing the basic facts. I am sending you a page with ideas for these types of questions. It is also very important to have your child retell the story (with the book closed). All of the events, important details, and characters should be included in the retell. Some children are able to read stories very well, but have difficulty retelling the story with the book closed. Remembering and gaining information is the very reason for reading. All of the children=s writing skills are improving. Keep encouraging them to write messages, notes, lists, stories, cards, etc. at home. Have them read what they have written so they realize the importance of legibility and spacing of words. Word wall words are copied, and for unknown words beginning, middle and final sounds are stressed when spelling. Our focus this month is on writing reports. In Phonics, we will continue to study consonants, as well as the short vowel i (as in - it, is, in). We will then learn about the consonant blends “bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl,” short vowel o (as in - on, off) and the blends “br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr.” Phonetic reading pages will be added to your child’s phonics/word study duotang, as they will continue learning to “blend” sounds to read phonetically. Just remember that this approach only works for a limited number of English words, but is an important skill to learn. We have studied the endings s, ed and ing. Looking for these in stories is a reinforcing activity. You may wish to discuss the root word before the ending was added and find compound words made from two words (ex. snowman). MATH We continue to follow the Nelson Math program. Please read the letters sent home at the beginning of most of the study units in order that you may be able to focus on what we are studying as you help your child at home. At home please challenge your child with stories involving numbers, and have him or her determine if it is a situation involving addition or subtraction, and what the answer is. Please also continue practising addition and subtraction facts with your child. We are also studying 2-D shapes, symmetry and 1/2. Finding and identifying 2-D shapes in the environment is a challenging activity, both at school and at home. Remember, 2-D shapes are flat! We continue to study the number system to 100 and counting patterns by 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s to 100. Emphasis will be placed on what each two-digit number means, grouping tens and ones, and being able to print single two-digit numbers from memory. COMMUNICATION CALENDARS Our Communication calendars seem to be working well. The children are learning self-discipline which is crucial if your child is to progress to his/her academic potential. It’s wonderful to be able to reward them for such hard work. Please check the calendar and their duotang (for correspondence) on a daily basis. The children need to realize that the home-school connection is very important and that we are working together for their benefit. At school I stress that the children are ultimately responsible for everything they do, and therefore they need to make good decisions before they act. CLASSROOM NEWS Thank you for replenishing your child’s school supplies. Please continue to regularly check with your child to see if they need any pencils, erasers, colouring tools, glue, etc. They do use them up rather quickly. Please remember to keep an extra pair of mittens and socks in your child=s school bag at this time of year! Also, please remember to have your child=s name or initials on all of their winter wear. We have already had mix-ups with boots and snowpants, and having names/initials in them helped us to solve the problem quickly! We continue to stress proper nutrition during our Nutrition Breaks. Thank you for ensuring that your child has many healthy foods to choose from. Please continue to check your child’s hair for head lice and nits. Please continue to send in your Foodland grocery receipts. Thank you for your continued support! Happy Valentine’s Day! See our February newsletter. LANGUAGE ARTS / MATH Our daily study of reading, phonics and word study has had quite an effect on the children. We have many budding readers and writers! Your help in reading with them at home has been invaluable. Remember - keep it enjoyable and never frustrating! Work at your child’s level! Make reading Christmas stories a part of your family traditions - what wonderful memories your child will have! We will be reading and singing Christmas poems and songs during our Shared Reading time. They will be in the children’s reading duotangs to share at night. Many are beyond your child’s independent reading vocabulary - just keep it fun and festive! In our phonics program, we continue to study consonant sounds, and will study the short e (as in red, egg) sound. On many report cards I have made reference to the many reading strategies necessary for independent reading. These strategies are listed on the front pages of your child=s reading duotang as well as in the pages in her/her ziploc bag. I also may have made reference to retelling. This comprehension skill is where after a story is read, the book is closed and the child retells the story in as much detail as possible. Also, discuss who was in the story, where it took place, and the events that happened. Ask for their opinion and give reasons for things in the story. All of these comprehension skills are important to develop so that in the future your child will have the skills necessary to retain information read in textbooks, etc. At home, remember to include Math concepts into questions you ask your child as you are busy preparing for Christmas together. At the current time, stories involving measurement, and addition and subtraction would be great! CLASSROOM NEWS Our class is getting very excited that Christmas is coming soon! It’s hard to believe our first term is finished! I am amazed at how much your children have progressed since September. Grade One is such a special year and we have a wonderful class which makes it even more special! With the arrival of cold snowy weather it is always a good idea for the children to have an extra pair of mittens and socks tucked away in their school bags. Please put their name or initials on all belongings they bring or wear to school, including boots. With winter hat weather comes the ongoing concern with head lice. Please check your child’s hair regularly for lice and/or nits. On Tuesday, December 15 we will be having a “Christmas Craft Morning” starting after Christmas Carolling at approximately 10-10:15. I will need several adults to help make Christmas decorations with the children as we will be working with glue guns, metal cutters, etc. Please send a note as soon as possible if you are able to come and help. We will be making crafts with small groups of 4 to 5 children. I plan to be finished by 1:00 at the latest. On Wednesday, December 16, please send an empty shoe box, cereal box, Kleenex box, or something suitable, so that your child can bring his or her Christmas ornaments home without them becoming broken. Tissue paper for inside the box would help lessen the chance of breakage during the transport home. Please send a piece of Christmas wrapping paper (pre-cut for the box would help a lot) to wrap up the box. We will be wrapping our “gift” with the help of grade 8 students Thursday or Friday of the last week. The two grade one classes will be singing a few songs for the school during our Christmas Carolling on Friday December 18 at 9:30. Any parents able to come are welcome. On Friday, December 18, the last day before Christmas holidays, I will send home the children=s indoor/gym shoes. Please check them for size and quality, and send them back on Monday, January 4. If you need to purchase a new pair, please keep in mind our school’s light-soles policy. Also, Velcro, zipper or pull-on shoes are recommended until your child is able to tie shoes independently and tightly. Most grade one children have a hard time lacing shoes three times each day, and it ends up a safety issue for that child. Many children continue to run out of pencils, erasers, and colouring things. I will send home their pencil cases on December 18 so you can check with your child to see what he or she may need. Please replenish and send back on January 4. Christmas ideas may be: pencil crayons (Laurentian, not any made in China), wax crayons (24 maximum), white liquid school glue, erasers, pencils (again, not any made in China). LANGUAGE ARTS / MATH We are continuing to work on tracking skills and getting a feel of the “rhythm” of the English language. Both are extremely important in setting a firm foundation for success and future enjoyment of reading. Important points to stress with your child should include: 1. Reading has to make sense. 2. We read to get information. As your child’s sight word vocabulary continues to expand, emphasize that they check to make sure that they are pointing to the correct word as it is being said. When a page has been read, ask them to point out specific words or sounds. Ask them questions about the stories they read. Retelling a story (with the book closed) is an especially important skill for your child to learn. Our main focus in word study continues to be consonant sounds along with the short vowel “a”, as in a or an. Most children are trying to use the sounds they know when spelling words as they write stories. They are beginning to place periods at the end of sentences and learning that sentences start with capital letters. We are also stressing the use of lower case letters! We continue to work on our school board’s focus on the forms of writing. We are currently working on Narrative Writing. Children are writing make-believe stories with problems and solutions.We already have some budding readers in our class, and many have already received their first certificate for reading 25 stories or more at home! The sheet for recording stories read at home continues to be in your child’s Ziploc bag (which goes home every few days), and any story read at home in order to develop your child’s reading skills may be recorded. You can keep track of stories you read at home to add to the list when it comes home. A certificate is awarded for every 25 stories read, and your child’s name is added to our “25 Story Reading Club Bookworm” in the hallway. Hopefully, this month all the children will reach and surpass the 25 story mark. If your child’s bag has been damaged or misplaced, please replace it for him/her. Please continue to have your child read a few pages from his/her reading duotang each night. Regular practice of the word wall page is important until your child knows the words perfectly and can read them with ease. You can make “flash cards” of these words, along with some with pictures. With these cards, your child can manipulate them to make sentences. (ex. The big is yellow.) In Math I will continue to place a letter in your child=s Math duotang at the beginning of each new unit describing what we will be studying and giving suggestions for you to use at home. CLASSROOM NEWS Some of the children have been bringing in toys from home. As I mentioned in September, I am requesting that toys be left at home, since many problems arise from toys being at school. We have had toys misplaced, taken, played with in class, etc. - all of which take away from the children=s learning time. Sports equipment for outside play is welcome. Please continue to send in Foodland grocery receipts as well as beverage pull tabs. Please continue to check your child’s hair for head lice and nits. Each morning at the first nutrition break, the children choose snacks that come from the food groups. The provincial curriculum for Healthy Living states that in grade one the children should be able to identify and give examples of foods from the four food groups, as well as be able to choose healthy snacks. We are using Canada’s Food Guide as a guideline in which dessert type treats (cookies, cake, pie, brownies, etc.), candy and “junk food” are not considered part of any food group. We save these treats for dessert at lunch break (when their blood sugar levels are lower!). Please check with your child to see if he/she has enough pencils, erasers, and a full set of wax/pencil crayons at school, and send what they need. Many children are in need of these things. Soon it will be cold weather. Please make sure your child’s name or initials are inside boots, coats, etc. We are busily finishing up the first term of Grade One! I am amazed at how much the children have progressed since September. If there is anyone who would like to discuss their child’s progress at this time, please contact me by note or phone and we can set up an interview. It’s always best to address concerns as they arise, and to not wait for a specified interview day. I truly appreciate all the support and guidance you have given your child in helping them with their homework each night. Your child will truly benefit from this commitment. Grade one is such a special year!
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here! The children are settling nicely into our classroom routines, and we are all working hard. They are so anxious to learn. Each child in our class is a unique and special person and I am enjoying getting to know each of them! LANGUAGE ARTS In September, we concentrated on these three rules for reading: 1. Look at the words. 2. Stay still. 3. Think about what you are reading. We also concentrated on the left to right direction of words and sentences, and that reading has to make sense. The children are being exposed to many basic words through meaningful stories with much repetition. Finger tracking word for word of familiar songs and poems is important in the beginning reading process. We are beginning the Guided Reading component of our language program next week. Children will be divided into flexible groups where they will be reading stories at an appropriate level for them to best learn and practise reading strategies and retelling skills (comprehension). Their Ziploc reading bags will be sent home frequently, but not every night. The reading bags may contain a book from the guided reading lesson or a book they have chosen during independent reading. It is a good idea to discuss your child=s reading homework with them before you have them read it to you (or with you). This helps them to have an idea of what the story, song, or poem is about, and it will be easier to decode all those new words. Doing a “picture walk” before a story is read, where you discuss all the pictures using special vocabulary words from the story and build a story from the pictures, is very helpful. Once read, retelling a story with the book closed is a very important skill that could be practiced with stories that your child has read, as well as with “read together / read to child” stories. Please record the homework books on your child’s reading log in their Ziploc reading bag. You may also include other books from home on this log - if you have used the story to help your child develop any reading skills. Keep track at home of these stories so that you may add the titles to your child’s list when the Ziploc bag does come home every few nights. The book, list, and bag need to be returned the next day. We already have a few children who have read 25 or more stories. Each time your child reads 25 stories, your child gets a certificate and their name is added to our “Bookworm” display in the hallway. In our word study lessons, we have reviewed rhyming words and are now studying beginning sounds. Encourage your child to listen for beginning sounds (the “popper”) and have your child point out and find sounds at the beginning of words. Sounding out words completely is NOT an efficient reading strategy for beginning readers. It is better to look at just the first sound (the “popper”) and incorporate other reading strategies, at the same time. These are listed in the reading duotang and Ziploc bag. The children are also learning actions to go along with each letter sound we study. This kinesthetic learning approach will help them not only in their reading but also in their spelling. It is a good idea for parents to learn these actions also, as you will be able to use them when helping your child. For example, when your child is stuck while reading, you can point to the first letter and make the action. Chances are your child will then know the beginning sound. Also, when your child wants to know how to spell a word, you can break it down into sounds and make the actions at the same time, which helps your child to better recall the proper letter for the sound. This phonemic awareness is a crucial step to good reading and good spelling - being able to break down a word into its sounds. Knowing the SOUNDS of the letters is more important for reading and spelling than knowing the names of the letters. In writing, we have finished up our unit on “Recount Writing” and are now beginning to write “Narrative Stories”. Children will get a chance to use their imaginations to write make-believe stories with problems and solutions. We also continue to work on developing our stories with a beginning, middle and end. Children are encouraged to think about or plan their stories first and then write one sentence at a time first using one “magic line” to represent each word. (ex. ____ ______ ______. ) This helps beginning writers to put spaces between words. We then encourage the children to correctly spell words that they can copy from the “Word Wall” or that are on charts around the room. They are then encouraged to use their phonetic spelling (we call it grade one spelling) to put the sounds they hear in the other words. (ex. I lv you . ) MATH In Math, we have learned to identify, create and extend patterns. We are learning about the concept of equal sets, as well as more and less. We are now studying numbers to 30. The Nelson Math program is used in our school board from Kindergarten to Grade 8. I will be sending a letter home in the Math duotangs at the beginning of every new unit, discussing the topic as well as how you can help your child at home to better understand the math concepts for the unit. CLASSROOM NEWS Our three rules for attentive listening are: 1. Look at the person. 2. Stay still. 3. Think about what you hear. You may wish to use these at home! I remind the children daily that it is their responsibility and part of their homework to make sure that they have their PARENTS SIGN THE BACK OF THE LAST PAGE OF EVERY HOMEWORK DUOTANG. This is the easiest way you can communicate to me that you have reviewed new and old material with your child each day. Babysitters, grandparents, or much older siblings could also sign the homework books if they did the homework with your child. If there is no new work in a duotang (especially reading), just re-initial the back of the last page indicating that you have reviewed a few of the pages. At times you may notice comments such as “with teacher’s help” or “with assistance” on your child’s work. This is to indicate to you that your child is experiencing difficulty in this area and that extra help at home would be beneficial. We continue to be a “nut-aware” school and require peanut/nut-free lunches and snacks, which includes foods which state “may contain traces of nuts.” Please check the list of ingredients before sending any food. Thank you to all for respecting this most important practice. Please also ensure that your child has at least two nutritious snacks for morning snack time at 11:15, as lunch time is not until 1:35. Two drinks or one large reclosable drink should be sent to cover the two eating breaks. Please save and send in any Foodland receipts, as well as pull tabs from all beverage cans. Please continue to check your child’s hair for head lice and nits. Questions have been raised as to what is appropriate to send for prizes for our “Class Store.” Here are some ideas - jewelry, barrettes, wrapped candy, pencils, erasers, sticker sets, prizes from restaurants (ex. McDonalds), little toys your child is no longer interested in, prizes from cereal boxes, etc. The “store” is usually operated in the first week of the month, and you should expect a note in your child’s note pocket about it being store day. Thanks to Mrs. Slocum for volunteering to be the “storekeeper.” We will be traveling by bus to the Chatham-Kent Safety Village on Monday, November 2. A note will be going home soon. Parent volunteers are welcome! Information about special activities for Hallowe=en will be sent home towards the end of the month. Please keep in mind, that only prepackaged manufactured treats with the ingredients listed will be accepted to be passed out for Hallowe’en. Homemade treats are not accepted at our school due to deadly allergies of some of the children. Thank you for working with your child each night. Your continued support will certainly enhance their learning this year! mathville.com Dear Parents, It is with great enthusiasm that I begin the 2009-2010 school year as your child’s grade one teacher! During our first few weeks I am looking forward to getting to know my new group of children. If I have not already done so, I hope to meet you soon as well! I would like to explain some of the routines and requirements for your child this year. Our class will have Library every Day 4 (usually Thursday). It is very important that the children learn to return their books on time so that they will have full Library privileges. Physical Education will be taught in the gym on Days 1 and 4 (usually Mondays and Thursdays) by Mr. Munroe. We will also have a 20 minute period of Daily Quality Physical Activity (DQPA) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Your child will need a pair of light-soled or labelled non-marking soled gym shoes which will be worn at all times inside the school, as the children remove their outdoor shoes on entering the school building. VELCRO CLOSURE OR TIGHT FITTING ATHLETIC SLIP-ONS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR GRADE ONE. It has been my experience that most grade one children have great difficulty in properly tying laces each time they come inside. Comfortable clothes (not skirts/dresses) are best to wear to school on Phys. Ed. days. The children will have French with Mme. Kelly, and Science with Mrs. Marshall. I am sending a reminder list of the supplies requested for our class. School supplies get used up or misplaced by the children throughout the year. I will stress with the children that they look after their supplies carefully, but they will frequently require additional supplies to replace old or misplaced ones (especially pencils and erasers). Please send only a few pencils and erasers at a time, and keep a reserve at home for when your child runs out. All supplies and clothing (ex. running shoes, shoes, boots, hats, coats, etc.) should be permanently marked with your child’s name or initials. I have somewhat of a supply of extra size 6-6x clothes for accidents such as spills, mud, etc. If anyone has some pants, underwear or socks they’d like to donate to the classroom, please send them in with a note. If your child does not fit these sizes, it is recommended that they have a labelled change of clothes at school. Please put them in a labelled bag for easy storage. **** It is school policy that toys be left at home as they are easily misplaced or damaged when among so many children. **** If your child wishes to bring sporting equipment to school (ex. skipping rope, ball, etc.) please make sure they are permanently marked with your child’s name or initials. We will be collecting ONLY Tilbury Foodland tapes at our school this year in order to purchase extra learning materials for the classroom. Please send them in at any time. Throughout the year as a part of the Health program, I will be stressing proper nutrition as we learn about the four food groups. First Nutrition Break will be our “Healthy Snack” time, and Second Nutrition Break will be our “Lunch and Dessert” time. I would appreciate it if you would keep this in mind when packing snacks and lunches. Glass containers are not recommended in lunches because of safety reasons. Please pre-peel or slice oranges. **** Please remember we are a nut-aware school, and snacks containing nuts or “may contain traces of nuts” will be sent back home. Please keep me advised of current, as well as any changes, in transportation arrangements, medical or personal needs. A note from a parent is appreciated whenever there is a change in the regular routine as well (ex. leaving early due to an appt.) We have a new website for our school: www.tapsfalcons.com . There will be a web page for each class. It is a very user friendly site and I will attempt to put newsletters, as well as other information under our class link. Please check it out! This year will be such a wonderful year of changes for your child. Please feel free to phone me about any concerns during the year, at school (519-682-2260) or home (519-682-0442). If we can work together with your child’s best interests at heart, your child will truly benefit. I look forward to working with you in helping your child have a successful and enjoyable grade one experience! I sincerely thank you in advance for your cooperation and support. Sincerely, Anne-Marie Beausoleil Welcome to Tapsfalcons.com, and welcome to the wonderful world of grade one! Grade one is such a year of exciting changes for your child. We are going to have a great year - the children are so eager to learn! As we work together to help make all these changes happen, remember to celebrate the little moments - the first book your child can read all by him/herself, a first tooth lost, the first time your child ties his/her own shoes, the first note your child writes to you to remind you to buy milk (or cookies!), etc. etc! |