Our class seminar on Bargain for Frances was amazing. There is never a seminar where I am not completely blown away by my students' insights. We were discussing friendship and whether Frances or Thelma actually wanted to be friends or if they learned how to show friendship. The discussion took a turn it has not taken in years prior when one of my students pointed out that neither Thelma nor Frances were good at friendship because they were so busy tricking each other. She pointed out that Gloria, the little sister, was the only one showing real friendship because she was honest and helpful. Many students were able to expand on that thought once it was expressed. Children have profound thoughts and deep insight about the world around them. They just need to be given the opportunity to share and be heard.
THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who donated the beads, craft sticks, and zip lock bags. We appreciate it and will be putting the supplies to use on Thursday. UNIFORM REMINDERS: Jackets Inside the Building- Students should only wear uniform outerwear inside of the building. Both of the following are acceptable: Sweater a. Color: Navy with school logo b. Style: fleece or cardigan c. Vendor: Dennis Uniforms or Anton Uniforms Pullover Jacket a. Color: Navy with crest b. Vendor: Dennis Uniforms or Anton Uniforms *Please take note that Spirit Wear is not approved outerwear.* Outside the Building– During Recess/Before or After School - Non-uniform jackets may be worn to school for warmth but must be free of logos and messages. Skirts - skirt length policy requires that skirts should be no higher than just above the knee. PARENT/TEACHER MEETINGS: This is just a reminder that if, at any time, you would like to meet with me to discuss your scholar's academic growth, the school day, or just to chat about your child, you are welcome to e-mail me to request a zoom meeting. KEEP READING: I encourage you to keep up the reading practice with your scholar over spring break. Oh! I highly recommend Junie B. Jones books as incredible read-alouds when you are reading to your scholar. The books and scenes when Junie B. is in school are my favorite. The teacher's reactions to Junie B. always have me laughing so hard that I have to temporarily stop and wipe away tears. GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding- Students will learn 10 new words on Monday, 10 new word on Tuesday, and review the 20 words on Wednesday. The spelling test will be on Thursday. Math - This week we will be focusing on a very short unit involving fractions. In first grade the focus is identifying 1 whole, halves, and fourths/quarters. A "Friendly Notes" information page was placed in your scholar's red homework folder today. Science - Habitats with a focus on the Arctic Tundra and the Sonoran Dessert Grammar/Writing/Literature - Using word banks, key words, and transition words to write UPCOMING DATES: Thursday, March 4 - Trivium Spirit Day Friday, March 5 - Friday, March 12 - No School: Spring Break Friday, March 12 - Quarter 3 Evaluations posted to Powerschool Parent Portal Families will be emailed when Evaluations are posted Please see the weekly Athenian Echo for more information about upcoming dates and general school news. ON A PERSONAL NOTE: I am looking forward to spring break!!! I will admit to feeling a tad bit anxious too. Last year, t the end of the first week in March, I gave hugs and high-fives to my students amongst conversations about their plans and many "I will miss you Mrs. Spencer. I will see you soon!" only to suddenly not have them back. Some of my students from last year, those whose parents chose full-year distance learning or transferred, I still haven't seen. I know that won't happen this year and the anxiety is more from memory, but I will still breathe a sigh of relief when they walk back into my classroom on the 15th. NAMING THE GOOD: I seriously wonder why any teacher would choose to teach humanities and seminar with middle school and high school students when they could be a first grade teacher and seminar with 7-year-olds! Enjoy your week and have a very fun break!!!!
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We are finishing up Bargain for Frances this week. Each first grade class will be participating in seminars about the book. Archway Trivium east is providing the opportunity for parents to seminar about The Great Gatsby. The first seminar which will focus on Chapters 1 -3 will be this Thursday, February 25th from 5:30 - 7:00 PM. Remember, this seminar is for parents to attend. More information can be found in the weekly Athenian Echo that was sent out this past Friday.
BARGAIN FOR FRANCES: Next week the first grade will be celebrating the completion of the 3rd quarter of learning by doing some fun literacy activities centered around Bargain for Frances. We are in need of the following supplies: - colored craft pipe cleaners - plastic pony beads (or other types of plastic beads) - quart-size and/or sandwich size zip-lock bags If you are able to donate any of these items please send them to school with your scholar by this Friday. IMPORTANCE OF DRESS CODE: As Mr. Philabaum stated in the weekly Athenian Echo this past Friday, dress code is very important in all of the Great Hearts Schools. As a reminder, all students must wear belts with their pants or shorts. For more information and answers to your questions about dress code policy please open the link below. The dress code information begins at about page 43. https://archwaytriviumeast.greatheartsamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/07/Archway-Trivium-East-Handbook.pdf GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding - Students will learn 11 new words on Monday, 11 new words on Tuesday, and 8 new words on Wednesday. The review of the 30 words is on Thursday and the spelling test is on Friday. Math - This week students will continue to learn introductory concepts of multiplication and division. The focus is on equal grouping and sharing. Another "Friendly Notes" information page will be placed in your scholar's red homework folder on Wednesday. Please keep the information page in a safe place and use it as a guide when helping your scholar with homework. *Note* - Please do not skip ahead on the math homework. The math workbook pages are, of course, listed for the week on the homework log. As the grade level math planner I can say that there is a lot of thought that goes into which pages are assigned for each day and they match what is taught in class on that day as close as possible. The purpose of the math pages is for extra practice on the skills that were taught that day. Since each lesson builds on the next it is important not to skip ahead. Thanks!! History - We will be finishing up our history unit on Early American Colonists this week. A study guide will be sent home in your scholar's red homework folders on Tuesday. We will also being reviewing the unit in class on Tuesday and again on Thursday before the unit test. Science - On Friday we will begin the science unit on Habitats Literature - Bargain for Frances Grammar - Pronouns, the correct way to write a sentence, correct usage of the words is/are Poetry - "There Once was a Puffin" by Florence page Jacques *Note* - We will begin learning this poem but will not do recitations until 4th quarter. UPCOMING DATES: Thursday, February 25 - The Great Gatsby Chapters 1-3 Seminar for Parents, 5:30-7 PM Wednesday, March 3 - PSO Night at Papa Murphy's Pizza Thursday, March 4 - ** Trivium Spirit Day ** Friday, March 5 - Friday, March 12 - No School: Spring Break Please see the weekly Athenian Echo for more details about upcoming dates and general school news. ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Actually, on most weeks, I enjoy updating the blog because writing a blog can be kind of fun. I have toyed with the idea of creating my own blog. I have toyed with topics. Maybe a blog on teacher/parent relations? Who knows. The idea is there. It may or may not come to fruition sometime in the near or distance future. Sometimes it is just fun to have the idea. NAME THE GOOD: - I was able to take naps this weekend! Two times! One on Saturday and one on Sunday. Who-hoo! Oh! If only I knew how preciously wonderful naps were when I was little. I would have spent more time sleeping and less time building forts with my stuffed animals. Two naps!!!! - If you can ever be a fly on the wall, visit a first grade classroom when students are using cubes to create arrays. So fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a fun week! Hi. I hope everyone had a great 3-day weekend! (For those who get 3-day weekends of course. If you didn't get three days then I hope you had a great weekend anyway!)
GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding - Students will learn 10 new words on Tuesday, 10 new words on Wednesday, review the 20 words on Thursday, and take the spelling test on Friday. Math - Introduction to Multiplication through repeated addition. *Note - A "Friendly Notes" information pages has been placed in your scholars red homework folders. Please keep it in a safe place and use it as references when helping your scholar with homework. History - Early explorers and settlers Literature - Bargain for Frances Poetry - We are completing poetry recitations of "My Shadow" this week. UPCOMING DATES: Tuesday, February 16 -Dorothy Sayers' Seminar for Parents, 5:30-7 PM Thursday, February 25 - The Great Gatsby Seminar for Parents, 5:30-7 PM Have a nice week! So how long does it take for all of you to remember to write 2021 instead of 2020? I usually remember the new year for the first 2-3 weeks and then I go back to writing/typing the old year for awhile. Right now I keep writing and typing 2020 on everything.
THANK YOU! Thank you to all who sent in wipes, paper towels, and pencils. We very much appreciate the donations!! JUST A REMINDER: As you know we have a very red, white, and pink and heart filled holiday coming up in one week. Though Valentine's Day is fun this is just a reminder that we do not celebrate Valentine's Day at Great Hearts. Students will not be allowed to pass out Valentine's Day cards at school. GENERAL ACADEMICS: Spalding - Students will learn 10 new words on Monday, 9 new words on Tuesday, and 11 new words on Wednesday. We will review the 30 words on Thursday. The spelling test is on Friday. Math - Numbers to 40 with a focus on subtracting with renaming, story problems, and adding 3 numbers. History - Early American explorers and settlers, the lost colony of Roanoke, and Jamestown. Literature - Bargain for Frances Grammar - Identifying nouns, pronouns, and verbs in stories Poetry - "My Shadow" by Robert Lewis Stevenson UPCOMING DATES: Tuesday, February 9 - PSO Night at Panera Bread, 4-8 PM Monday, February 15 - No School: Presidents Day/R&R Tuesday, February 16 - Dorothy Sayers' Seminar for Parents, 5:30-7 PM Thursday, February 25 - The Great Gatsby Seminar for Parents, 5:30-7 PM *Note - One of the wonderful things about Great Hearts is that students have the opportunity to have seminars on classical literature. Your first grade scholars have participated in formal seminars on Owl at Home and Frog and Toad. They have also participated in informal seminars on other literature, science, and history topics. They will be participating in a seminar on Bargain for Frances in a few weeks. Teachers and staff have the opportunity to seminar with their co-workers several times a year. Two weeks ago we have our first seminar on The Great Gatsby. As you can see above, parents now have the opportunity to seminar as well!! The Athenian Echo that was sent out out last Friday has more information about upcoming parent seminars. I highly encourage you to participate. :-) ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Technology. You gotta love it. I had three main things to do tonight - fold laundry, write the weekly blog, or work in PowerSchool to enter grades, etc. I decided to work in PowerSchool. Then my computer showed me the notification that "Your GreatHearts Powerschool server is unavailable." Okay. Blog and laundry it is... Have a fabulous week! |
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May 2022
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