Chick Watch 2017

If you haven't heard, the First Graders are learning all about animals, their behavior, structures, changes and parent/offspring characteristics.  As part of this unit, the children are doing three in-depth investigations - one on a different animal in each room!

Mrs. Cibor is teaching the children about the structure of insects, focusing on the parts of an ant!  What make them so strong for their size?  We will find out soon as we build ant models this week through a STEM project and see how much weight they can carry!

Mrs. Cooper is conducting an investigation on the changes (metamorphosis) that some animals go through.  Each child was given a mealworm to observe and document their changes over the next few weeks!

In our classroom, the first graders are exploring eggs!  We have learned about the life cycle of a chicken and are currently caring for 12 eggs in our classroom incubator.  We have already learned what fertilized means (containing an embryo that could hatch), what an embryo is (the beginning stages of a live organism inside the shell) and what to look for in a healthy, developing egg including veins and an air sack.

As a grade level, we have already had the discussion prior to candling our eggs (using a high powered LED flashlight to see through the shell) that not all of the eggs may be fertilized, and even if they are, it does not mean that they will hatch.  It depends on three elements that we are controlling - heat, moisture and movement.  The children are in charge of checking the incubator's temperature (100 degrees), humidity level (86 degrees) and that the eggs are being rotated by our automatic turner named Mama, which moves the eggs just like a mother hen would to prevent the embryo from adhering itself to the egg's membrane as well as provide opportunity for a uniform egg temperature on both sides.

So far, we have candled the eggs on day 8 of 21 to check to see how many were fertilized.  Needless to say, we were all ecstatic to learn that all 12 are fertilized and developing!

Here they are inside the incubator...Benedict, Poachy, Yoko, Shelly, Huevo, Omelette, Scrambles, Sunny SU (as in Side Up), Foo Yung and his twin Les Oeufs (affectionately called Fooy and Zooy), Rolly and Meringue.

And here is what we found last week when candling.

This week we will learn about oviparous (egg laying) animals, the parts of an egg and their functions, as well as candle the eggs again to check on their development.  

Stay tuned to Chick Watch 2017 for more information coming soon!

NWEA Reading Assessment

Our class is scheduled to take our NWEA Reading assessment this Wednesday, May 3.  To help your child prepare for this, please make sure they get a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast in the morning.  Also, please speak to your child about taking their time on this assessment.  Anyone who has not completed their assessment during our original testing session will be given as much time as they need on a different date to finish.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Schedule for the Week of 5/1 - 5/5

Monday (C) - Music
Tuesday (D) - PE
Wednesday (A) - Art & Music
Thursday (B) - Media Center
Friday (C) - Music

Please remember to bring gym shoes on days we have PE and return library books on days we visit the media center.

Delayed Start - Thursday, April 27

This is a gentle reminder that Thursday, April 27 will be a delayed start day.  School will begin at 10:19am and will conclude at our normal 3:50pm dismissal time.

Toys and Stuffed Animals

Dear Parents,

The is a gentle reminder to please ask your child to leave their toys and stuffed animals at home, and kindly refrain from bringing them to school.  I have noticed an increase in the number of items that have been brought in recently.  Unfortunately, these are a large distraction, not only to the owner, but to those around them.  Even with multiple reminders to leave these items in our cubbies, these are still being brought to the carpet, played with during work time, or traveling to our special classes.

If your child requires these for an after school activity, or attends Kids Club, please ask them to leave them in their backpacks until after school.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

NWEA Math Assessment

The children will be taking their NWEA math assessment tomorrow, Monday, April 24.  As a class, we talked last week about the importance of getting a good nights sleep and having a healthy breakfast to help us prepare for this assessment.  We also did several practice problems, as well as reviewing how to navigate through the assessment.

 Please remind your children to take their time when answering the questions.  Each child will be given as much time as they need to complete the assessment, so they do not need to worry about running out of time.  If needed, I will remind students to slow down and check their work before moving on.

 Paper and pencils will also be provided for the students to use to help them calculate their answers using equations, pictures, models, etc. as needed.

I wish all the students good luck as they show how much they have grown this year!  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Compass Challenge Results

 Thank you to all of the first graders who participated in our Compass Learning Challenge!  At this time, all families of children who reached or exceeded 300 minutes have been contacted to inform them that their child met the challenge. If you have not received an email, but feel your child has completed the challenge, please let me know and I will go over their minutes again.

I am so proud of how many students participated this year!  Compass Learning will continue to be available for your students to practice their skills.

Schedule for the Week of 4/24 - 4/28

Monday (B) - Media Center
Tuesday (C) - Music
Wednesday (D) - PE
Thursday (A) - Art & Music
Friday (B) - Media Center

Please remember to return library books on days we visit the media center and bring gym shoes on days we have PE.

Compass Learning Challenge

Thank you to all of the families that participated in the Compass Learning Challenge!  I am currently working on calculating the total number of minutes for each student.  I will update each family by email as soon as I have this completed.

Thank you all for your patience.  I hope to have this done by Tuesday afternoon.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Schedule for the Week of 4/17 - 4/21

Monday (A) - Art & Music
Tuesday (B) - Media Center
Wednesday (C) - Music
Thursday (D) - PE
Friday (A) - Art & Music

Please remember to return library books on days we visit the media center and bring gym shoes on days we have PE.