The Race Report

Field Trip

 Our in school field trip with High Touch, High Tech is quickly approaching. Have you returned your child's permission slip and $9 donation so they can participate? You don't want to miss this one. We'll be covering quite a few of our GA Performance Standards as the kids delve into some hands on fun with sound. Permission slips and donations are due by Friday the 13th.

  We're still working hard at representing and comparing numbers to 100. This is something you can support at home if you have a few minutes each day. Give your child two numbers and ask them which is greater. Try some mental math and name 4 to 5 coins and see if they can tell you the total. Dump out your pocket change at the end of the day and let them practice counting combinations to a dollar. Most of our class is great at counting dimes, nickels, and pennies, but that quarter is certainly testing them. Another thing you could do is give them a number and let them draw the tens and ones (we represent a ten by drawing  a straight line and we use an x to represent ones). Try the games below for additional practice. Have fun mathematicians!

Dive For the Treasure

Busy Bees

Math Jingle--What am I? (shapes review)

 Some things we need for our classroom to make our learning more productive:

*Our electric pencil sharpener bit the dust last week and we could use a new one.

*A class set of white boards (The Home Depot will cut up a big sheet of this for free for a classroom).

*Colored Post-it notes large enough for a first grader to write on for an upcoming project.

*Post-it notes with lines.

Thanks for your help!

 In case you missed it, the photo album from our Pumpkin Math Party is on the left side bar. Check out all of the fun learning we did with our helpful parents!

Book Exchange

It's almost time for our annual Book Exchange. Please click the link below for information:

http://www.cobbk12.org/keheley/book exchange.html

It's almost time...

for Pumpkin Math! The kids are super excited about our math learning morning scheduled for Wednesday. Thank you so much to all of the parents who are helping out with this. There's no way we could do this without you. The pumpkins will provide a fun learning medium for the kids as we review many of the skills we've been working on these past months. Stay tuned for fun pictures!

Did you get the permission slip about our upcoming in school field trip? High Touch, High Tech will be coming out in November to teach the kids all about sound. The hands on learning will be a fun way to practice and learn our GA Performance Standards for sound. Be sure to return your child's permission slip and donation soon.

 I will be out of town this Wednesday evening and won't be available until the following Monday. Mrs. Cushingham will be my substitute for Thursday and Friday. Please be sure to put all correspondence in your child's folder. This includes notes about dismissal changes. Thanks!

*Media Center this Tuesday...bring your books!

*Pumpkin Math on Wednesday...dress comfortably (you might get messy) 

*Ms. Keirnan out 10/29-10/30

*No school Nov. 3rd for students

Character Kid - October

 We're proud that Ethan will represent our class as the October Character Kid. We are talking a great deal about cheerfulness, accountability, positive attitude, and honor this month. All qualities that Ethan has worked hard to demonstrate. Way to go, Ethan!

Red Ribbon Week--Oct. 19-23

Theme: “Drug Free is the Healthy Way to be!!

This week we will be promoting healthy choices!!  

Monday- Pledge to be healthy and drug free by signing the drug free banner in the hallway on the way to PE or lunch.

Drug free ribbons will be in your mailboxes. Everyone please wear the drug free red ribbons everyday. Have students take ribbons off at the end of the day so they can wear them all week. 

Tuesday- Tell a joke today. Laughter has a great effect on the body. Laughing is healthy! Wear drug free ribbons.

Hand out the drug free pencils this morning. Support drug awareness/ healthy choices through writings, readings, drawings and discussions.  

Wednesday- Wear red and jeans day. Wear drug free ribbons.

Thursday- Wear your favorite team jersey/ shirt/ colors. Sport teams promote healthy athletes so support a team!

The café will help us celebrate by serving red food. We are promoting eating healthy and being healthy!!   Wear drug free ribbons. 

Friday- Show your Keheley spirit, wear your Keheley t-shirts/ jeans or wear our Keheley colors which are yellow and royal blue.

Exercise your body today because we know exercise does a body good!! We will extend recess today by 10 minutes today.

Wear drug free ribbons. 

Red Ribbon Week is always a huge success due to you. Thanks for your support during Red Ribbon Week! 

Brrr!

 Brrr! It's chilly outside. Please remember to bring a jacket or sweater to school so you aren't cold during playtime. We're having Super Specials on Monday this week, so please wear sneakers so you'll be prepared for PE.

News from PE: We are promoting a program in PE/cafeteria that is called Fuel up to play 60.  This is an 8 week program where the students track how many minutes of exercise they do a day and how many nutrious foods they eat.  They earn points for both and can earn prizes. The prizes are for individuals and the school.  The top schools earn a gym makeover and individuals can earn iPods.  They are competing against other schools in the state. The ultimate reward is for themselves because they will become more aware of what they are eating. Click the link below for more information.

Download Fueluptoplay60%20doc

 Your child's first report card will go home on Tuesday. Please sign and return the white card along with the brown envelope. The report card is yours to keep. There shouldn't be any surprises this quarter because graded work has gone home each week so you could track your child's progress. Also, you are able to see every week during the homework review what learning your child is retaining. Each child has worked hard this first quarter as they transitioned to life in first grade. Each child also has some area to work on for the second quarter as we strive to master the first grade standards. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

 We're diving into 2D and 3D shapes this quarter. The kids need to be able to identify both kinds of shapes as well as describe their attributes. For example, which shape has 2 more sides than a triangle? Check out the games below for learning fun at home!

Solid Figures and Plane Shapes

What am I? (math jingle)

Follow a Path

*School starts at 7:50. Please have your child arrive on time so they have a smooth start to their day.

*Super Specials on Monday--wear your sneakers.

*We're going to the Media Center on Tuesday.

*Wednesday is Early Release. We will eat lunch at 9:33-10:03 and students will be dismissed at 12:20. 

Picture Day!

 This Wednesday is Picture Day! Remember to come to school with your bright smile and be ready to say "cheese". Please wear comfortable shoes that day so you'll be safe on the playground after lunch.

 A letter went home today explaining our upcoming Pumpkin Math fun. Please read the letter and let us know if & how you can help us to make this a great learning morning on the 28th. Please return the bottom portion of the letter by this Friday so we can plan accordingly. The kids are really looking forward to this.

 Wow...our class is really making great strides in the cafeteria. There is a sense of working together now that wasn't there before. After much practice, it seems that the kids are really getting a handle on using a quiet inside voice, showing manners with their food, and actually eating their lunches...all while enjoying each other's company. This is something that we'll continue to monitor and these appropriate behaviors will be reinforced all year. Thank you for having a conversation with your child about the importance of making good choices in the cafeteria. Our partnership is evident.

 Are you reading every night? To help keep your child on track, please read for 10 minutes a night. Reading is so much more than calling the words on the page. Don't forget about comprehension. In order to meet our reading standards this quarter, the first graders need to be able to recall 4 main events from a story read aloud to them. This falls under listening comprehension. Try this at home to check your child's understanding. Read a story to them and see if they can recall what happened first, next, then, and finally. 

 Is your child frequently coming home with a straight or sad face? We are working really hard on being good listeners and following directions the first time. Our day moves quickly and it's very easy to get thrown off track when children spend a great deal of time playing around during work time or interrupting instruction. Not only does it affect their learning, but the learning of those around them. Please know that if I write a note on your child's behavior sheet that I had to speak to him/her many times throughout the day. Today I started privately keeping track of just how many times because I think often the kids don't realize how many interruptions we have. We had numbers in the teens today...that means, for example, 15 times during the course of the day we had to stop what we were doing to address a situation with a child interrupting our learning, and that's just from one child. Please know that if I write a note that it wasn't because your child made a simple goof and blurted something out one time, rather the behavior in question was excessive. 

*10/7 Picture Day

*10/8 Media Center

*10/9 Return the Pumpkin Math Party form

Character Kid - September

We are so proud that Avery is representing our class as September's Character Kid. Our focus has been on honesty, self control, and trustworthiness. What great character traits to discuss at the beginning of the school year as these kiddos transition from being in Kindergarten to first grade where the expectations and responsibilities are greater. We're excited that Avery has stood out as an example of these traits. Way to go Avery!

Thank You!

Thank you to the parents who ordered from our recent Scholastic Book Club order. Not only did you help to build your child's home library, but you also helped to build our classroom library. I earn bonus points based on the number of dollars you spend. This recent order was quite large and I was able to add many books, games, and even maps to our classroom inventory. 

We're going to the Media Center on Tuesday...bring your books.

We've been working hard on decomposing numbers (breaking them apart into tens and ones). If you didn't get a chance to play last week's game (Numbers to 100), it's great practice. This is a concept that takes repetition in order for the kids to feel comfortable with it. Try asking your child how many tens or ones are in various numbers up to 30. 

Have fun with the game below as you review calendar skills. First graders need to know the months of the year and days of the week (in order).

Days and Dates

*Media Center on Tuesday

*Bring a healthy snack each day. Please don't freeze water bottles...they make a huge mess and waste paper. Thanks!

*The Fall Festival is this Friday!

Fall is almost here...

Can you believe that we're starting week 7 of first grade? We are rocking 'n rolling in our routine now and are moving full speed ahead as we work on our remaining standards for this quarter. How can you help your child do their absolute best? Please ensure that they eat a healthy breakfast and arrive to school on time. We have quite a few late birds in the morning and that seems to have an effect on their day when they can't settle in before we get started. 

We had a great lunch on Friday. The kids were able to see first hand just how noisy and inappropriate they had been acting by watching some of the other lunch tables have the very same problem. We left lunch with a lot of full bellies because the kids actually ate their lunch and they felt great. Several of them even requested that we always have silent lunch. We will continue to work on this until the kids are able to act appropriately in the cafeteria without me sitting right there with them. Thanks for your support.

We've put on our meteorologist hats because we're diving straight into science. We'll be learning about what weather is, what makes weather, different types of weather, and we'll even keep a weather journal. Phew! We're going to be busy! Check out the link below for some weather fun at home.

The Weather Channel

Of course, we are still wearing our mathematician hats every week as we dig deeper into what we can do with numbers. We're working hard on counting coins to 30 cents as well as making fair trades and purchasing items up to 30 cents. We also learned that we can represent numbers with base ten blocks (tens and ones). Check out the games below for fun practice at home. Practice does the mind good!

Numbers to 100 in Different Ways

Counting Money

*We'll be going to the Media Center on Tuesday--bring your books!

*Put all money in a labeled envelope so your child knows where it belongs.

*Let us know how you plan to help out with the Fall Festival. 

Fall Festival...we need you!

The Fall Festival is on Friday, Oct. 2, 5:00-7:30. Volunteers are needed...please consider working a shift so our students can have the traditional GREAT time! If you're able to volunteer, please contact Karen McElvaney - 678-849-6849. Thank you!

Daisy Troop

A new Girl Scout Daisy Troop for 1^st grade is in the works!  The troop is just forming so they won’t start meeting for another month or so, and the plan is to have the girls meet only once a month.  Anyone that is interested in having their daughter join can contact Donna Mallet via e-mail at Donnamallet@aol.com. Thanks!

 

Help!

Parents--I need your help. Our class is having a problem with appropriate lunchroom behavior. We have spent much time discussing, modeling, and practicing appropriate behavior while in the cafeteria. Each child is able to explain what the expectations are and yet we're having a hard time following through and putting that into action. Unfortunately, this isn't just a problem with one or two kids; this is a problem with each student in our class.

Some of the behaviors witnessed, that I'm sure are not allowed at the dinner table at home, are playing with food, playing with friends, grabbing people walking by, shouting and yelling, bothering people at other tables, putting their hands over people sitting next to them, and not remaining seated at their table. 

Everyday our class needs many reminders from adults in the cafeteria to make better choices. When that adult leaves our table, the class goes right back to making those poor choices. The next respectful, reasonable, and relevant consequence that we are going to try is for the class to be on silent until they can be trusted to act appropriately.

How can you help? Please have a discussion with your child about the expectations at Keheley while in the cafeteria. 1. Sit on your bottom and face front, 2. Do not play with your food, 3. You may use an inside voice with the people sitting beside you and across from you, 4. Remain in your seat until you are dismissed, 5. Eat your lunch, and 6. Clean up after yourself.

Once our class begins to demonstrate self control and respect for others, we'll go back to enjoying each others' company while eating our lunch. Thank you for your support...it's greatly appreciated.

Testing is Over...

Testing is over for first grade, but there is still testing going on in the building. Please talk with your child about remembering to be quiet in the halls so other classes aren't interrupted during important instruction/testing. It's important that the kids show respect to their peers. Many of the friends in our class think the hallway and restrooms are places where they can be silly and play, but they simply are not. Please support us at school by talking with your child about appropriate hallway and restroom behavior so we have an effective learning environment at Keheley. Thanks!

Bring your Media Center book on Tuesday because we're going to check out some new books. Many kids have asked to visit the Media Center in the morning or during other instructional time. The only time your child may visit the Media Center to check out new books is when we go as a class once a week or during literacy centers when their work is complete and if time allows. 

 I'm so impressed with the work that you are doing at home in your homework folders! Don't forget...you're in first grade now and we don't number sentences. We write in a paragraph format. That means that we start on the left and write all the way across until the line ends. When you run out of room, return sweep to the left side of the next line and continue your sentence. Don't start a new sentence on a new line. 

We also write 5 Star Sentences (just like in Kindergarten): 1. We start each sentence with a capital letter; 2. We put finger spaces between our words; 3. We write with our neatest handwriting; 4. Don't forget ending punctuation; 5. We spell Word Wall and spelling words correctly. 

 First graders need to know their addition and subtraction facts to 10 by the end of this first nine weeks so they'll be ready to move on. Practice those addition facts with the Seashell Search game. Fun With Fireflies is a great way to practice your subtraction facts. Are you still struggling with skip counting? Listen to the Math Jingle- Skipping Song to help you stay on track.

Seashell Search

Fun with Fireflies

Skipping Song

 *Bring your Media Center books on Tuesday.

*Scholastic Book orders are due by Friday the 18th.

*Put all money in a labeled envelope so your child knows where it belongs. 

*Do not freeze water bottles. That creates a huge mess on your child's desk and ends up wasting paper. Thanks!

*Don't forget to return the Performing Arts permission slip.

Math Problem Solving

We have some hard working mathematicians in this room! Check out the photos of the kids working hard to prove their math thinking using pictures, numbers, and words.