Ms. Shelly's News February 22

We had such a fun time on our field trip to the INK museum!  They worked, observed, discovered, explored all day.  Several even napped on the way back to school.  Thank you to the parents who were able to come.  We appreciate your help so much!  A ticket for a return trip went home in their folders. 

We are approaching the end of the 3rd quarter!  The year is going by so quickly.  I will be working on a schedule for spring conferences and will share that out to you soon.   

I am about halfway through sight word checks for the end of February.  To be "meeting" the kindergarten standard, students will need to know a minimum of 100 sight words by the end of the year.  A "meets" for this quarter would be 75 words or more.  They must be able to tell me the word within 3 seconds to "know it". Sounding out words does not count. Please continue to review sight words with your student each night for homework.  

• Continue to practice sight words every night for 5-10 minutes. 
• Continue to practice counting to 100 by 1's and 10's at home. Some students have moved on to counting by 5's.
• Shoe Tying practice...There are some super interested kids wanting to tie their shoes all on their own.  Be sure to practice this skill at home.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Raise Craze this year!  Rocky Branch students collectively completed over 1800 acts of kindness at home and in the community. Rocks have been passed out to help the ripple effect continue.  We made notes for our Rocket Buddies, we cleaned up things that were not necessary our mess.  We helped friends in need with book bags and chairs, we created cards and pictures for others!

Week in Review:

• Writing: We have continued to write about true narratives  (stories with a beginning, middle and end). We wrote about our field trip to the INK museum.
• Math: Coin ID: penny and nickle; Continue to practice adding and subtracting
• ELA: We read Amelia Bedelia. We practiced multiple meaning words (words with m ore than one meaning)
• Social Studies:President's Day; George Washington; Abraham Lincoln

Activity Snapshot:

• Guest speaker, Maria, came to talk about how acts of kindness have touched her life and what she is doing to pass on kindness to others!
• We read: I am George Washington. We made George Washington's face.
• We read: I am Abraham Lincoln. We made Abe Lincoln with a penny

Peek at the week:

• Writing: Wrap up learning about (true) narrative writing (stories with a beginning, middle, and end). Sharing our stories with the class later this week!
• Math: mixed addition and subtraction practice; continue coin ID practice
• ELA: Practice blending CVC/CCVC words; Review digraphs; Verbs
• Science: begin rocks and soil

Reminders and Announcements:

• March 6 & 7- K registration (If you know of anyone that will be starting K at RBES next year, please pass these dates along!

• March 11- Teacher Work Day 
• March 13-  K Picture Day 
• March 18- 22- Spring book fair
• March 19- STEAM night @ RBES
• April 1-5 Spring Break

Ms. Shelly's News February 15

Happy President's Day!  DLD is here.  The assignments were opened up last Monday and will remain open until February 22nd.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the assignments.  If you are trying to access the websites through a tablet, it will ask you to subscribe or purchase the app.  These are free websites if you use them from a laptop or desk top computer.

As we come up on the end of the month, I will be pulling everyone for sight word list checks.  Keep practicing the list you have currently and passed lists to keep words fresh on the brain!  They need to be able to tell me the word within 3 seconds to move on to a new list.  No sounded out words count.  Thank you for your help with this!

Our field trip is this Thursday.  Please make sure to return permission slips and lunch choice for your student ASAP!

• Continue to practice sight words every night for 5-10 minutes. We can really see improvement in all of their reading!
• Continue to practice counting to 100 by 1's and 10's at home. Some students have moved on to counting by 5's.
• Shoe Tying practice...There are some super interested kids wanting to tie their shoes all on their own.  Be sure to practice this skill at home.

The RBES PTO is heading up this kindness initiative. The students have painted a rock to pass out in the community to say someone has been R.O.C.K.E.D. by kindness. The rock and card, along with more specifics will come home next week.  The purpose of Raise Craze is not to pay students for being kind, but to encourage acts of kindness in general.  This is to go along with the "k" in the ROCKETS way! Make sure you record what you do in the community on the Raise Craze website in order to show our class is working hard to pay it forward!

Week in Review:

• Writing: We have continued to write about true narratives  (stories with a beginning, middle and end). We have started a new research book on Dinosaurs.  Students' choice!
• Math: subtracting within 10
• ELA: Valentine book read aloud this week.  We practice retelling the story and picking out the details from the beginning, middle, and end.
• Practice digraphs sh, ch, and th.
• Social Studies:National Symbols: Statue of Liberty, Bald Eagle

Activity Snapshot:

• Learned a new song: "You're a Grand Old Flag"
• We bowled to practice subtracting.
• We took a Virtual field trip to the National monuments and the White house
• We checked on the bald eagle and the eaglets using the Berry College eagle cam
• We created our own paper eagle.

Peek at the week:

• Writing: Continue learning about (true) narrative writing (stories with a beginning, middle, and end)
• Math: mixed addition and subtraction practice; data collection and grraphing; coin ID
• ELA: Multiple Meaning Words
• Social Studies: National Symbols- Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, President's Day

Reminders and Announcements:

• February 11- 22 Raise Craze 
• February 18- Digital Learning Day (no school)
• February 21- INK field trip
• March 11- Teacher Work Day 
• March 13-  K Picture Day 
• March 18-22- Spring book fair
• March 19- STEAM night @ RBES
• April 1-5 Spring Break

Raise Craze

Hey all!  I just wanted to make signing up as easy as possible for everyone.  I signed myself up for the class and I'm hanging there all by myself at the moment.  Please do not feel obligated to look at this as a fundraiser, but please help your child be involved with a great kindness booster by signing up and doing something positive for another!

Raise Craze website

Signing up was very easy.  Select the items from the list that you are already doing and maybe 1 reasonable to add to an already busy season of life! It will ask for email addresses if you wish to send to family or friends, but this is optional.  Be sure to click the completed items on your child's dashboard that have been completed.  This gives me an update to how we are doing with our gifts of kindness in the community and in our homes!  Thank you again for supporting such an awesome attribute in these amazing kids!!

Digital Learning Day

For access to the Digital Learning Day assignments, please click  here. Click through the slide show for assignments to be completed for kindergarten and connection classes. Activities are linked by clicking the hyperlink or picture. Teachers will be available for questions on Monday, February  18th. Please let me know if you have any difficulty with the link. This is new to us all and we are hoping this will be the easiest way for parents to access the assignments.  Digital Learning will be open from Monday, February 11 until Friday, February 22.

Happy learning!

Ms. Shelly's News February 8

We had a wonderful school assembly this morning based on "kindness" and led by our wonderful first grade!  We kicked off  "Raise Craze"!  Start thinking about how you are showing kindness to each other at home and ways we could show kindness to others in the community. We will be doing some things in class to make others feel special. 

It was our week to collect and weigh the plastic bags.  Our Rocket buddies help us  with this task. Thank you for continuing to help support all our our PBL's! K- Plastic film recycling 1st- collecting loose change to "Give burns the Boot" every Friday, 2nd- aluminum pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Please send in your Valentine cards with the "from" only.  It helps us get them passed out quickly.  We are making a bag at school.  No need to send in a separate item.

We have had some trouble with school store items in our classroom.  As a class, we came to a solution that we would not use these items in the classroom anymore. We have sent everything home that was in their school boxes and asked that they to not bring them back to class.  They are still able to go to the school store if the choose, but the items will have to stay in their book bag and go home at the end of the day.

Please only have a toy in book bags if your child is the Star Student for the week.  This has been another distraction that we are trying to correct.

• Continue to practice sight words every night for 5-10 minutes. We can really see improvement in all of their reading!
• Continue to practice counting to 100 by 1's and 10's at home.
• Shoe Tying practice...There are some super interested kids wanting to tie their shoes all on their own.  Be sure to practice this skill at home.

We will be sharing a link through email on Monday to easily access what you will need to complete for the Digital Learning Day. I will also post the link on the blog as well.

The RBES PTO is heading up this kindness initiative. The students have painted a rock to pass out in the community to say someone has been R.O.C.K.E.D. by kindness. The rock and card, along with more specifics will come home next week.  The purpose of Raise Craze is not to pay students for being kind, but to encourage acts of kindness in general.  This is to go along with the "k" in the ROCKETS way! Make sure you record what you do in the community on the Raise Craze website in order to show our class is working hard to pay it forward!

Week in Review:

• Writing: Continue learning about (true) narrative writing (stories with a beginning, middle, and end)
• Math: Adding  and subtracting within 10
• ELA: Long /u/; Antonyms (opposites); Digraphs- (two letters that make a new sound) sh, ch, th
• Science: Dental health
• Social Studies: "Pledge of Allegiance"; "Star Spangled Banner"

Activity Snapshot:

• Created our own story problem to go along with the story The Day it Rained Hearts
• Play "double compare" ("War" flipping over two cards and adding the numbers together) with partners.
• Publishing party with our Rocket buddies- Penguin research books came home today! Enjoy!

Peek at the week:

• Subtraction; Subtracting within 10 
• Continue American Symbols
• Multiple Meaning words

Reminders and Announcements:

• February 11- 22 Raise Craze 
• February 11- iMom breakfast
• February 18- Digital Learning Day (no school)
• February 21- INK field trip
• March 11- Teacher Work Day 
• March 13-  K Picture Day 
• March 18-22- Spring book fair
• March 19- STEAM night @ RBES
• April 1-5 Spring Break

Ms. Shelly's News February 1

We are well into the new year.  The school year has flown by and we are continuing to make the most of our day!  The kids and I had a lot of fun celebrating my birthday this week with mini ice cream cones to go with Hiroki's cupcakes and learning games on Friday.
A few things to mention:

• Send in those Six Flags reading logs from home! I have not mailed them off yet. It's a FREE ticket to six flags for all of their hard work!! 
Reading Log
• The Father/Daughter dance is this Friday, Feb. 8th.  
• Field trip information came home. INK is always a favorite!You must have attended the volunteer training to be part of the class. Parents must meet us there and pay separately
• We will make a Valentine's bag in class to collect all of our sweet valentine cards in.  No need to send in a separate box. The Valentine Day celebration is very low key.  This is not a party that parents attend.  
• Just write the "from" on valentine cards that you send in.  It makes it quick for them to hand out. 

Week in Review:

• Writing: Continue learning about (true) narrative writing (stories with a beginning, middle, and end)
• Math: Adding within 10
• ELA: Long /i/; adjectives (describing; "fancy" words) 
• Science: Groundhog Day; hibernation
• Social Studies: Needs and Wants; Goods and Services

Activity Snapshot:

• Class graph to predict if the groundhog would see it's shadow.
•  Complete our research book on penguins
• Birthday treats and game day for Ms. Shelly's birthday!

Peek at the week:

• Subtraction; Subtracting within 10 
• Long /u/
• Antonyms (opposites)
• American symbols

Reminders and Announcements:

• February 8- Raise Craze Kick off
• February 8- Father/Daughter dance
• February 11- 22 Raise Craze 
• February 11- iMom breakfast
• February 18- Digital Learning Day (no school)
• February 21- INK field trip
• March 11- Teacher Work Day 
• March 13 & 14- Picture Day (K-2 is probably on 13th, but I will clarify)
• March 18-22- Spring book fair
• March 19- STEAM night @ RBES
• April 1-5 Spring Break