Cardboard Tubes Needed (Again!)


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We are doing another S.T.E.M Challenge this month for which we need some cardboard tubes, so please consider dropping them into your child’s backpack to donate to our class by 
Friday, April 15.  We prefer paper-towel-sized tubes or wrapping-paper-sized tubes over toilet paper rolls.  Sorry for the late notice. Don’t stress over it, just if you remember please drop them in their backpack. Thank you!!  🙂

Little Bunny Foo Foo S.T.E.M. Project

I didn’t get as many photos of this STEM project as I would have liked, but I wanted to share the few that I was able to capture.  For this month’s STEM project, students created their own egg dippers using pipe cleaners, because “Little Bunny Foo Foo had stolen all childrens’ egg dippers!”  Students were very creative in their efforts to create dippers and execute the dipping, and, in the end, each student was able to bring home what we decided to call our “egg baby.”

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Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Wow! What a lucky day!  

It all began when we entered the room to check on the leprechaun traps we had set up the day before.  We found that the room was a topsy-turvy mess!  Chairs were overturned, crayons were dumped on the floor, and little green footprints were found everywhere!

We had worked together the day before to create a message for any leprechauns who may happen to come by.  The message was meant to lure any leprechauns into our traps, but, apparently, it didn’t work!

Instead, a leprechaun had left a message for us, inviting us to try the “Leprechaun Juice” he had left behind.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see the warning label until it was too late!  When I took off my shoes and socks, it was revealed that my feet had turned a brilliant green!  Yikes!

Good thing the rest of our day turned out lucky!  We did some fabulous leprechaun writing and leprechaun math.  Maybe that Leprechaun Juice really did do some magic?  We may never know…

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St. Patty’s Day Dress

Please ensure that students are wearing uniform compliant shirts and pants  for St. ShamrockPatrick’s Day. Students are welcome to wear accessories such as bracelets, necklaces, earrings, hair ribbons, head bands, or socks that are green if they would like (no hats, green hair, etc. please). Thank you!

Announcing our First Grade Patriotic Concert!

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The entire first grade will be performing a Patriotic Concert on Thursday, May 19th at 5:30 in the Junior High gym.  Please have your child to the Junior High gym by 5:15 that evening, dressed in a RED SHIRT and uniform pants.  Any patriotic accessories, such as hairbows, pins, belts, ties, etc., are encouraged!! (Please avoid any tall accessories, such as tall hats, that could potentially block the view of other children standing behind your child.)  

We would like to honor any veterans in the audience, so we encourage you to invite any friends or family members who have served in the military to join us!  The performance will not last more than an hour.  

The first grade will be performing this same concert the next morning, May 20th, for students and faculty, so please be sure your child wears a RED SHIRT and patriotic accessories the next morning, too.

CONGRATULATIONS TO RYAN ROWLEY, OUR READING CHALLENGE CHAMP!

What an exciting moment to discover that the winner of the reading challenge is a member of our class!  We sincerely congratulate Ryan on his spectacular achievement! Ryan is certainly deserving of this honor, having woken up every morning at 5:45 this past week to read an entire chapter book each day!  Ryan read over 1,000 minutes this past week and won a beautiful brand new bike, complete with a sparking brake and helmet!

We are so proud of all of the many other members of our class who entered the challenge – we definitely were well-represented in the contest, and many of our classmates read a LOT!  Hats off to you all!

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Homework for the Week of March 14th-17th

This week, only

1. Reading Homework
2. the Leprechaun Trap Project (DUE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16TH), and
3. the Heredity Photo Project (DUE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16TH)

are required.  

It is not necessary to fill out a Homework Form for this week’s homework.  Please complete the following activities:

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We are preparing for a possible visit from leprechauns!  Please help your child with the project as described on the worksheet that your child brought home on Friday, March 11th.  The leprechaun trap is due back in class on WEDNESDAY, March 16th.


If your children are adopted or in a blended family, your pictures are most welcome!  My own children are adopted and I bring in their pictures to show that even though we don’t share the same genetic traits, we share the same traits that make us humans.  Even biological families often don’t look like each other and it gives us lots of examples to talk about.

Leprechaun Trap Instructions
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Heredity
In our next science unit, we will be exploring the similarities and differences in characteristics when comparing offspring to parents and siblings to siblings.  This is especially fun for the students if they can bring in pictures of themselves and their families.  If you are able to send in a family photo, or a one page collage of the members of your family in a protective plastic sleeve by WEDNESDAY, March 16th, I will hang them up for the students to observe, but not touch.  Bonus points if you have a picture of yourself around your child’s age! :) 

If your children are adopted or in a blended family, your pictures are most welcome!  Even biological families often don’t look like each other and it gives us lots of examples to talk about.


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A Reading for All Learners (Book Buddy) leveled book will be sent home with your child DAILY. Please have your child read the book (or one story from the books that contain more than one story) at least three times and then sign the included form. You may supplement your child’s reading using books at home, library books, etc. to fulfill the minimum requirement of 20-30 minutes of reading per day. 

It is not necessary to fill out a Homework Form for this week’s homework.  Simply initialing the form that comes home with your child’s Book Buddy is sufficient.

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This activity should be completed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  It is not necessary to fill out a Homework Form for this week’s homework – I trust that you will do it.
  1. Visit the following website: http://www.haslett.k12.mi.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=11283&
  2. Select a “Level 100” reading passage. For this week, please read passage # 119 (Bike Safety) for MONDAY and TUESDAY, and passage #120 (Walking to School) for WEDNESDAY. 
  3.  Complete a one-minute timed reading and record your score on the Homework Form. Feel free to use this online timer: http://www.online-stopwatch.com/timer/1minute/ Find your score by subtracting the number of incorrect words read from the total number of words read in one minute (for instance, if you read 98 words, but read 5 of the words incorrectly, your score would be 93).   
  4. Re-tell the story with as much detail as possible, and in your own words, to a parent, using the guidelines described below:
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If you are able to read the entire passage in less than a minute: start again at the top of the passage and read as many more words as you can until the one-minute timing is over.  For scoring, include the total words read during the entire minute. For instance, if you read the entire passage (137 words) and then read part of it again (39 words) before the one-minute timing was over, your score would be 176 (if you had no mistakes).