Mrs. Hughes

Week of November 2 to 6

I hope you enjoyed the day off from school on Tuesday.  It was the perfect fall day!  We were very productive here while the kids were at home.  We revamped our library.  Each child now has their own box of "just right" books that they can read at any time.  Too much time was being wasted trying to find their "just right" book.  Everyone's bax includes a nonfiction book about the science topic we are or have studies.  All books read in Guided Reading are also in their boxes, along with other fun fiction books!  In Reader's Workshop we started making text-to-text connections.  We read "Amazing Grace" and "Oliver Button is a Sissy".  We then compared and contrasted the character traits of Grace and Oliver.  In Writer's Workshop we wrote a narrative about our Halloween costume.  We have also worked with synonyms and antonyms.  Some of them sounded elaborate!  In math we have been working on larger numbers-comparing them, representing them, and adding 10 to a number.  In Social Studies, we learned about Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea.  Not only did we read about their expedition, we used the Interactive Whiteboard to choose our own path for them!  We also had Guidance with Mrs. Edwards.  The topic was "tattling"!  We also started practicing for our first grade "Thanksgiving Play".

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Thank you to Deb Buker for helping with Math Centers, and Lisa Tewell for being our Mystery Reader. will

*Today your child will be coming home with their first AR book.  Please help them prepare to take a test  on it next week.  There will be a letter in their folder explaining the program!

*Thursday, November 19th is the first grade play at 8:15 AM.  There will be a short reception after the performance in our classroom.  Look for the invitation next week!

*Something discussed in our staff meeting on Tuesday was math computation.  Over the years, test scores have dropped at Tritt in the area of computation.  We have decided as a school that three mornings a week we will have a "math drill" directly after morning announcements.  For first grade, this will be about 20 addition or subtraction problems and two minutes to complete them.  The children will work towards bettering their score.  This is for individual growth only!  Unfortunately there is computation on the CRCT that is timed.  Having these tests will help your child feel less anxious about taking tests that are timed!

*Our class won!  WE WON!  We collected the most BoxTops in the month of October!!!! Our class will be rewarded with a special snack during recess.  We will vote on what we want as a class!  THANK YOU!  There will be another contest in February, so save those BoxTops!

Week of October 26 to 30

Well, the flu struck my house this week, and unfortunately I was out on Wednesday and Thursday!  However, we still had a productive week!  In math, we worked on comparing numbers using the greater than, less than, and equal to signs.  In Reader's Workshop we continued working on setting, characters, and details.  Mrs. Rothstein, Tritt's Speech teacher, came in on Monday and introduced Braidy.  She will be coming in every Monday for a few weeks to introduce Braidy.  Braidy is a doll that visually reminds students to think about the characters, setting, details, and main idea.  It is a great strategy for all students, but especially helps those children that are visual learners.  In Writer's Workshop we had fun writing sticker stories using Halloween stickers.  We also did a "Draw to Learn".  Step by step, we drew a pumpkin and wrote a story about it.  Earlier in the week we drew a spider!  On Tuesday we went to the Science Lab and explored magnets!  That same day we all read about magnets during Reader's Workshop.  Today we learned about synonyms and antonyms!  They will come up in our homework next week!:-).  We also met with our 4th grade book buddies and made edible spiders!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Thank you to Melanie Zeller and Kim Alderman, our wonderful room parents, for organizing a wonderful Halloween celebration!  Thanks to all the parents who came out to help!

*Thank you to Kim Alderman for helping with math centers, and to Sally Boice for being our Mystery Reader!

*The November homework calendar and fresh paper is coming home in your child's folder today.  Please transfer it to their red homework folder!

*Tuesday, November 3rd is election day, and therefore there is no school!

*Square 1 art and yearbook order forms came home.  If you are planning on purchasing anymore, please return these forms ASAP.

*Monday, November 2nd is family yoga night at Tritt from 7 to 8 PM in the gym!  Come on out and enjoy the fun!

*Our class will be starting AR!  Look for a letter explaining the program in their folders next week.  We will start the week after next!  I will be assigning them their first book, so be on the lookout!

Week of October 19 to 23

We have had a very productive week!  In math we started learning about fact families.  We will continue to work on fact families all year.  This is a good visual for the children to see how addition and subtraction are related.  In Reader's Workshop we have continued working on setting, character, and details (along with practicing our connections).  We will be making the leap to main idea in the next week or so.  All of this work helps us to understand what we have read, which is as important as being able to read the words! In Writer's Workshop we wrote an acrostic poem on fall!    Today we had some pumpkin fun!  We all had our own small pumpkin that we had to describe, weigh, measure, and compare to our classmates!  We then decorated our pumpkin and wrote about it!  We had fun!  Mrs. Edwards also came to our class for a Guidance lesson, and we went to the Computer Lab to use Kidspiration to classify nouns!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Indent-A-Kids flyers are coming home today.  This is a program that supplies parents with a identification card for their child that includes the child's finger prints.  If interested, please send in the order form and money by Wednesday, October 28th.

*Thank you to Jyothi Bodas for helping us with math centers, and to Beth Mayfield and Marlene Riba for being our Mystery Readers!

*Come to the Relay for Life Costume Kickball game on Thursday, October 29th from 2:45 to 3:45.  Tickets cost $1 and all proceeds go to Relay for Life!  Come see Mrs. Hughes' costume!

 *Next week is Red Ribbon Week. 

RED RIBBON WEEK!!

Monday-Learn the story of Red Ribbon Week during The Tritt Tiger Talk News!

Tuesday-Poster Contest entries due to the box in the front lobby!  Wednesday-“Team Up Against Drugs Day”.  Wear your favorite sports jersey to school!

Thursday-“Keep Your Head in the Game” Day!  Wear a hat to school!

Friday-“Red Rally Day”! Wear red to school.  The winners of the poster contest will be announced!

Week of October 12 to 16

Fall is finally here!  It is nice to have the chill in the air.  Please make sure you label all of your child's coats and sweaters.  Sometimes they don't even know it is their jacket, so it sits in our room for days! This week we continued finishing up assessments for the report card.  I am sure you all will be pleased with your child's progress!  Specifically, in Reader's Workshop we have been working on identifying the characters and main character, along with setting.  We have also been sequencing the events of the story.  In Writer's Workshop we wrote a personal narrative about a time when we were proud of ourselves.  Come check them out on the wall by our room!  We also learned about the noun!  We will continue to learn about the other parts of speech in the upcoming weeks.  On Tuesday we went to the Science Lab to learn more about....water!  Today we also met with our Book Buddies and played Hangman!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Picture re-takes is on Wednesday, October 21st.  You must send back all old photos in order to have pictures re-taken.

*Wednesday, october 21st is also Early Release Day!  Please note that school is dismissed at 12:30, so if you have any transportation changes, don't forget the note!

*Report cards came home today.  Please make sure to sign the white signature card and return it in the brown envelope!

Thank you to Lisa Tewell and Kim Alderman for being our Mystery readers, and to Nausheen Naidoo for being our Math Center helper!

*Next week is Bus Safety week.  We made our bus drivers cards today, and will be giving them to the drivers next week!

*The week of October 26th is Red Ribbon Week.  more information will be coming home on that!

*Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 29th for the Relay for Life staff kickball game!  What will Mrs. Hughes dress up as for Halloween?  Come to the game to find out!

Week of October 5 to 9

This week was the last week of our first 9 weeks of first grade!  Report cards will be going home next Friday, October 16th.  We spent a lot of time assessing the students this week, in all subject areas. In Reader's Workshop we continued with our connections.  We read Sheila Rae, the Brave, and made connections about a time when we were brave and when we were scared.  We also read When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry and thought about a time in our own lives when we were really angry.  We then though about that incident in terms of beginning, middle, and end.  Then we wrote about that time.  This writing was an introduction to writing a personal narrative.  That is what we will be working on during Writer's Workshop!  We also have started to work on nutrition for our Health Standards.  We have been talking about the food groups and why we are to eat most of our food from some groups, and less food from others (like fats and oils!).

We also went to the Media Center, had Guidance with Mrs. Edwards, and went to the Computer Lab to take the STAR test again!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Please note that the Screen on the Green has been postponed because of more rain:-(!  But the Tritt Trot is still on!

*I hope you all like the new format of the homework better.  It was much easier for us to look at and provide feedback on if necessary.  There is no need to return the entire red folder.  Just make sure the homework page is in your child's daily folder!

*Tritt will be conducting hearing and vision screenings on all first grade students next week!

*Thank you to Melanie Zeller for being our Mystery Reader, and to Jennifer Orlow for helping us in Math Centers!

*Please continue to work on math fact fluency with your child.  While we have not pushed it in here because we have been working on the concepts, they will need to master these facts by the end of the year. 

*We are having a Box top contest for the month of October!  Save those box tops!

*Thank you for turning in your Boosterthon money by the due date.  I think I will be shopping for that pencil sharpener soon!:-)

Week of September 28 to October 2

I hope you all are enjoying the cooler temperatures this week.  It was perfect for the Boosterthon on Wednesday!  The children did great and we had so much fun.  Thanks to all who came out to join us!  This week in math we have been working with the number line.  We have used it as a tool for both addition and subtraction, and we are beginning to understand how the two are related.  We also worked on solving and creating word problems for both addition and subtraction.  The children are to have mastered their addition and subtraction facts up to 10 for this 9 weeks in order to receive a "3" on the report card.

In Reader's Workshop we worked on sequencing, along with our connections, of course!We have also been working on ABC order, the word families of -et, -en, and -eg.

In Science we have been learning about weather.  We have been keeping a weekly weather journal, as well as learning about the different types of precipitation (snow, rain, hail, sleet) and different kinds of storms.  We also explored water and the changes of matter.  We went to the Science Lab to explore the states of matter and water.  Do water and ice weigh the same?  Ask us!

*Please note:  Starting on Monday we will have a new homework format!  Each child will be bringing home a red folder with a monthly homework calendar.  There are four pieces of lined paper (front and back) that can be used for each week.  If you need additional paper, please use some from home.  Homework folders are to be turned in every Friday!  There is an example included in your child's folder, so please don't worry now if you don't understand:-)!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*The Book Fair stars on Monday, October 5th and runs through Wednesday, October 7th.  Please refer to the Tritt website for times!

*Thank you to Kathleen Schmidt for being our Mystery Reader and to Carolyn Arnold for being our Math Centers helper!

*All Boosterthon pledges are to be turned in by October 8th!  Thank you for your help!

*The Screen on the Green and Tritt Trot are coming soon!  Please plan to join us on Saturday, October 10th for these fun events!

*Happy birthday today to Alec Whitaker, and on September 26th to Kristina Schmidt!

*We need your junk!  The Creation Station is coming to Free Choice soon!  This is a place where kids can make things out of junk such as egg cartons, milk jugs, containers, and cans!  The children then have to write about their creation!  Please feel free to send in your gently used junk so we can open our Creation Station!

Week of September 21 to 25

Wow!  What a week!  I hope everyone made it through the flood with minimal damage.  When I see the pictures of West Cobb, I realize how blessed we were over here on the east side.  I hope you enjoyed your unexpected days off with your kids!  This week in Reader's Workshop we have continued with making connections between our own lives and the stories we read.  The children are doing well with it, and making these connections will make them better readers as they attempt to comprehend what they are reading.

We used Writer's Workshop this week to write about the connections we made with the books we read.  Specifically, we read "Ira Sleeps Over" and "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day".  You should have heard some of the connections!  You would have chuckled, too!

In math we worked whole group on addition and subtraction strategies using a number line.  In small group center time I have been working with the children on making fair trades and counting out coins up to a value of 30 cents.  30 cents is what is required on the report card, but for some of the children I upped the ante to almost a dollar!  Please work on money at home with you child.  We will continue to practice it in small group.

We started learning about weather this week.  We will keep a weather journal for a week and include the temperature, sky conditions, precipitation, and wind level.  We will be learning about water next week in Science Lab to coincide with our weather unit.  We have also been talking about the four seasons and how they relate to the weather.

We missed the Media Center this week, as well as the Computer Lab.  We will go to the Media Center next Tuesday, and will make up our lesson in the Computer Lab on Monday.

*ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS

*Thank you to Stacey Whitaker for being our math center mom and to Beth Mayfield for being our Mystery Reader!

*THANK YOU for the overwhelming response of snack donations!  I think our kids will be well fed for a while!

*Our Boosterthon has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 30th at 10:30.  Please come out and cheer on your child!  Bring bells,whistles, pom poms-whatever it takes to keep them going!

*Susie Adams, Tritt's long time secretary, is retiring on Wednesday, September 30th.  I'm sure she would love a goodbye hug!

*We don't skip specials on day that we miss school, so I think Monday is Art (or Music...I don't have the schedule in front of me). I just know Monday is not PE!

Week of September 14 to 18

Wow!  What a rainy week!  This week we have been learning about connections in Reader's Workshop.  Good readers make connections between themselves and the text.  We read the book "Hazels' Amazing Mother", and we all had connections that made us understand the way the characters felt!  We learned that some connections have no relevance at all, but that the text reminds us of "things" all the time.  We called upon or "schema", or prior knowledge, to make those connections!  Everyone's schema is different, therefore everyone's connections are different!

In Writer's Workshop we have been learning how to plan what we will write before we write it.  Good e writers have a plan for their story.  We are working with transition words such as first, next, and last.  We are also working on recognizing the beginning, middle, and end of stories both read and what we have written.

In math, we have worked with subtraction.  Students are to know their addition and subtraction facts up to 10 by the end of these nine weeks.  We have wrapped up the "concepts" of both addition and subtraction.  The next few weeks we will  be focusing on strategies for learning the facts.  Some strategies are counting on, counting back, using doubles, and using a number line.

In social studies we spent this week learning about Ben Franklin!  Who knew he was the chief postmaster for the thirteen colonies?  The children are to identify the character traits of this American Hero.  The words we focused on for Franklin are commitment and respect for others.  Next week we will spend the next few weeks on weather, seasons, and the water cycle!

We also met with our Book Buddies today, and went to the Science Lab on Tuesday and learned about germs!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Progress reports are coming home today.  This is the first time we have done them for every student!  At this time, we have still not covered everything that is on progress report.  If you have any questions, or want to have a conference with us, please feel free to email me!

*Thank you to Lisa Tewell for being our Math Center parent, and for Kathleen Schmidt for being our Mystery Reader!

* Our Booster-thon run is Thursday, September 24th!  Our run time is at 10:20!  Come on out and join us!  Every pledge counts!  Even flat donations count!  Don't forget that all money donated is tax-deductible!

*We are out of snack donation, so if you can send in a box of something, it would be appreciated!

Week of September 7 to 11

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day!  We came back after the holiday weekend and went right into testing.  The kids did great!  They were very ready for it to be over today, though!  Because of ttesting, we had an abbreviated day.  We continued to work on subtraction in math.  In Reader's Workshop we practiced partner reading. We have also been learning about the importance of re-reading.  Good readers re-read!  When re-reading a favorite book with your child, I encourage you to notice something different either in the text or illustrations!  We used the book we read in Reader's Workshop for Writer's Workshop.  Our overall big picture in Writers Workshop is that writers write for an audience, however this week we focused on using illustrations to support what we write.  We wrote a class story about winter, and then all illustrated it.  Come check it out--it is outside our classroom door! Our phonics lesson this week was working with the -an and-at word families.  You will see more of this on their homework next week!  In Social Studies we read about and discussed landforms!  Ask us about a plateau, desert, valley, mountain, or plain!  Next week we will begin studying...Ben Franklin!

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*Thank you for all the birthday well wishes!

*Thank you to Debra Buker for being our Mystery Reader!

Week of August 31 to September 4

It is hard to believe that we have been in school for 4 weeks already!  We have settled in to our routine nicely, and the light bulbs are all turned on!  This week in math we have been working with simple addition.  We discussed the name of the parts of the math sentence, and we used manipulatives to explore the various ways to make 7, 8, 9, and 10.  We also worked on solving addition sentences that are written "the high school" way, aka vertical addition! 

In Reader's Workshop we read poetry and discussed the various genres of books.  We also practiced choosing a "just right" book for us.  I call just right books "baby bear" books.  I am attaching the poster we have in our classroom to chose a "just right" book.  If there are five or more words on a page that your child can't read, it is too difficult.

Download Just right books

In Writer's Workshop we wrote our first 4-square writing about our summer.  We use this writing process to help the children organize their writing into a paragraph.  Our four square model is used for our rough draft.  This is what came home in your child'd folder.  Editing is the next step in the next writing process, and that is what I do in red pen.  When we publish our final draft, spelling and punctuation are correct.  if you want to see your child's final, published draft, come look on the wall outside our classroom!

We finished reviewing the final consonants sounds, and we begin working with word families next week.  We all seem to know our planet,continent, state, and town.  Please continue working on their street address and zip code with your child!

We also went to the Science Lab for the first time to explore scientific instruments, and to meet our new Science Lab teacher, Mrs. Keck.  Mrs. Donavon, the Target teacher, also came in to conduct a lesson on deductive thinking.  She will be coming in weekly until November.   We also went to the Computer Lab on monday to do a lesson on the interactive whiteboard about the continents.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

*The COGAT test will be given to all first graders next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Please make sure your child is here on time and well rested.  The test is an abilities test, much like the IQ test, so please don't stress about trying to prepare your kids.  Tell them to do their best and not worry about the rest!

*Thank you to Michelle DeWeese for being our Mystery Reader, and to Carolyn Arnold for helping us with Math Centers this week!

*Please be on the lookout for an email from our room moms about center time volunteers.  We won't have Math Centers next week due to the COGAT, but we will have them every week starting on September 17th.

Enjoy your long weekend!