Cheyanne's Exhibition

Today, Cheyanne completed our first exhibition of first grade!  She did a wonderful job teaching us all about Frankenmuth!  The children were very excited to here all about her interest project, but they were so impressed with how well she met each of her academic goals!  Some of the things we learned about Frankenmuth were where it is located on the "mitten," when it was founded and how far away it is from Detroit.  Great job, Cheyanne!  Here is a picture of Cheyanne and her visual aid as she shows us how to count different coins:

Shining Light

The week before we went on break, our class honored Keveon as our Shining Light!  Keveon was chosen because of an interaction that I witnessed between him and another student.  After asking Keveon to work in a small group with me, he left an already built tower of linking cubes.  As he left his center, I heard him tell another student that they could take his tower apart and use the blocks since he would not be using them for a little while.  This a perfect example of sharing!  I am SO proud of you, Keveon!  Keep up the great work!

Exhibition Schedule

Here is the exhibition schedule for Monday, November 29th through Friday, December 3rd.  Reminder notices were also sent home on Wednesday, November 24th.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. 

Monday, November 29
9:00  Kameron
9:30  Cheyanne
2:00
2:30  An'Niyia

Tuesday, November 30
9:00
9:30
2:00
2:30  Peyton

Wednesday, December 1
9:00  Kyndal
9:30  Reigna
2:00  Nico
2:30  Dominique

Thursday, December 2
9:00  Ronin
9:30  Emmanuel
2:00  Kyle
2:30  Keisa

Friday, December 3
9:00  Noah
9:30  Romeo
10:00  Keveon
2:00  Morgan
2:30  Malik

Please remember to bring your child's exhibition journal to your scheduled learning team meeting.  Also, we will discussing your child's second exhibition. Our next theme will be Famous/Influential African Americans.  The individuals chosen will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis.  Please have 2-3 people selected in case your first choice has already been assigned.  If you would like to reserve a person, you may email me at skefgen@uprep.com

Thank you!  I am really looking forward to seeing the first exhibitions of 1st grade.  Good luck! 

Class Pride

I am adding a new element to our blog called Class Pride.  Here, I will post any photos or exciting events that the children are doing outside of school!  If you have any pictures or stories about your children you would like to share, please email them to me at skefgen@uprep.com     Thank you!

This week, Reigna's family shared this photo of Reigna holding her new cheerleading trophy.  Reigna was recently a cheerleader for the Think Detroit Police Athletic League Broncos "D" Team!  Congratulations, Reigna!  Our class is so proud of you!

Our Thanksgiving Feast!

On Monday, Nov. 22, Lighthouse Village enjoyed our very own Thanksgiving feast!  Each class brought food to share, and the children ate together as a "family"!  It was a very special time for us, as it was a way to show how thankful we are for our friends.  Here are some of the pictures from our extravaganza!

                                             Here are the lunch tables decorated for the feast.

Here is some of the amazing food our families brought to share.

Mmmm, we loved all the different foods!

For decorations, Ms. Seiklay made turkeys out of pine cones with the kindergarteners!

After we ate, Ms. Ritter led us in singing some of our favorite Thanksgiving songs!

After eating, Coach Marbry led us in some fun exercises to stay healthy!

We had so much fun!  A HUGE thank you goes to all the families who donated food for our celebration.  Also, a special thank you to Mrs. Booker, Mrs. Christian, Mrs. Lewis and Ms. Smith for all their help during the feast!  We are all so thankful for our families!

Happy Thanksgiving from Mr. Kefgen's 1st Grade Class!



Bagel Sale

This Wednesday, Nov. 24, Mr. Curran's class will be selling bagels before school.  This sale will benefit their class's first philanthropy project of the year.  Proceeds will be going to an individual in the Philippines who is trying to start a business.  The cost is $1.50, which includes a bagel, cream cheese and juice.  The sale will be held in the hallway in front of the gym before school.  Stop by if you are hungry or just want to donate!

"Dressing" for Thanksgiving

This Monday will be the Lighthouse Thanksgiving feast!  If you and your child would like, they may come in "dressy free dress" that day.  This means that they may dress up for the holiday!  If your child chooses not to dress up, please send them in uniform.  Also, please do not send your child to school in jeans or sweats.  Thank you!

We are all 6 now!

Today, Kameron shared a very special day with us - his 6th birthday!  It's official...we have a complete class set of  6 year olds!  Here are some pictures of Kameron wearing the birthday vest and our class joining him in his birthday celebration.

Here is Kameron showing us his serious DJ pose!

Kameron was joined by his mom, brother Jaiden, aunt and uncle.

Here is the proud mom of a new 6 year old!  (Jaiden just turned 8 a few weeks ago too!)

Happy birthday DJ Kameron!  

Dates to Remember

All important dates are located on the left side of the blog.  Here are some of the new dates added to the list:

November 17: Parents as Partners Meeting

November 18: Milestone #4- Complete Visual Aid Due

November 19: Free Dress for $1.00

November 25-26 Thanksgiving Break

November 29- December 3: Exhibition Week

December 8: First Grade Winter Concert

December 10: Report Cards Go Home

Shining Light

This week, I chose our shining light a little differently.  Usually, we discuss a positive character trait such as honesty, kindness, helpfulness and hard work, and I look for a student who does an outstanding job in that area that week.  This week, I decided that I would honor one of our friends who is always demonstrating each trait.  I am so proud to announce our class' Shining Light....Kyle!  Kyle is such a great leader in everything he does.  Keep up the extraordinary work, Kyle!

A little recess fun!

Today at recess, the 1st graders decided that they wanted to play something new.  Before the other teachers and I knew it, they had started a conga line...complete with cha cha's and synchronized kicks!  Needless to say, it was too funny not to share with our families!  The line consisted of almost 50 children! Here are some pictures.

The line went all over the playground.  They even went under the playscape and down the slide!

Even Ms. Woolsey joined in as the caboose!



Printer Paper

Currently, our floor is running low on white paper. If you are able, please consider donating white printer paper for our floor's use.  I know that the other Lighthouse teachers and I would greatly appreciate any help from families.  Thank you in advance!

Exhibition Sign Up

A sign up sheet for exhibitions was sent home today.  Please be on the lookout for this.  The spots will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis.  Also, I am looking for parent volunteers during the week of exhibitions to help supervise the children while I conducted learning team meetings.  If you are interested, please fill out the bottom of the sign up sheet.  The more parents we have, the better! Thank you in advance!

Shining Light

Our Shining Light this week was Nico!  He was chosen because he has truly been a leader in our classroom as well as help those around him make good choices.  Great job, Nico!

Milestone 3

On Thursday, I began sitting down with the children to assess progress on their academic goals.  During these exhibition conferences, I am using flashcards of new words from their word lists, observing them solve addition and subtraction problems and going over their writer's workshop samples.  I will be sending home a worksheet that I have filled out based on these conferences.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  Thank you!

The Dome Theatre Visits UPA

On Monday, our class watched a special movie in The Dome Theatre.  This is a portable, inflatable movie theatre!  We were able to watch a movie about dinosaurs that was projected on the dome's ceiling and all around us!  The dome really made it seem like we were in the movie!  Here are some pictures of our adventure:

Here we are entering the dome...

Waiting for the movie to begin...

It is official!  We had a great time!