It’s competition time! The 1st grade team will be making a Family Fun Activity Basket. To make this happen, we need some donations from family/friends. Feel free to ask companies for donations, purchase items, or re-gift items. Nothing is too small or too great.  The baskets will be auctioned off via a silent auction in conjunction with our Gala!  Baskets will be on display prior to the event in the lobby area of Q1.  The basket donations are due no later than Friday, February 19th.  The Gala is March 21st.  

Thank you so much for all of your support!  With a little help, we can put together the best basket and win!  The ideas are endless and there is no idea that we can think of you could donate that wouldn’t fit into our basket theme.  If you know any businesses that you can ask for donations that would be great as well!  The Rush Funplex has already donated 5 VIP All Day Passes for our basket!  All it takes is a phone call.  

Below is a list of suggested items to donate: 

Games: board games, card games, electronic hand held games, wordsearch books, coloring books, etc. 
Baking items:  Cookie mixes, cake mixes, cookie decorating tools, aprons, kids cookbook
Movies/DVD’s:  Kid friendly dvd’s or gift cards to Movie theaters or Netflix, Redbox Codes, movie theater mugs 
Gift cards:  Ice cream shops, sporting events, Fat Cats Card, Sparetime or Fun Plex Gift Cards, Boondocks card, Fast Kart passes, College or Professional Sports Events, High School Sporting Events or Drama/Musical Event tickets, etc.  
Ice Cream Bar Supplies:  Ice Cream toppings, cute dessert dishes, ice cream/dessert maker, etc.

If any parents would like to donate a bag of mini-marshmallows or a box of toothpicks for our upcoming S.T.E.M. project, we would be happy to accept the donation!

We need donations by Wednesday, January 20th. Thank you so much!

Please click on the link before to fill out the permission form for your child to participate in the “Marshmallow Mansion” S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) project.  This project will be completed on Thursday, January 21st, so please have the form filled out before this time.  You are granting permission for your child to consume a handful of marshmallows at the completion of the project.

 CLICK HERE:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iNzjakYXHW623X-xnJa1DPTe61n3gfLZKsPm3O4KwAU/viewform?usp=send_form

Dear Parents,

 We will be starting a Mad Scientist /Art club for First grade on January 25th. The club will meet every Monday in Mrs. Bischoff’s classroom from 3:00-3:55 PM. The fee for this club will be $2.

Our club will have a limit of 15 students.  POQA will do a random selection of students who have turned in their registration form to the Q1 office by January 14th.  We will inform those who have been selected by January 19^thand you will have until January 21^th to turn in your fee or forfeit your space.  Students will only be allowed to participate in 1 club.

 Discipline/Grades

Excessive discipline referrals or failing grades may result in the dismissal from the club.

 Attendance

Please set up appointments on non-club days. Students will be removed from club membership if they accumulate more than 2 absences.

 Siblings

ONLY members of the clubs will be allowed to attend the meetings. Siblings that are not part of the club should have other arrangements for after-school care.

Please print and fill out the  information at the following link, and return to the school:

Quest Academy Club Responsibilities (CLICK HERE)

Below are the times available for conferences, which are Thursday, January 28th.  Please e-mail me if you would like to schedule one of the available times.  Thank you!

Thursday, Jan. 28th
3:30-3:45: Kaylee Marsh
3:45-4:00: Aaron Fisher
4:00-4:15:
4:15-4:30:

If your child receives a Zaxby coupon for completing reading homework, the coupon says that it is expired, however, Zaxby’s says that they will definitely honor the coupon until June. 🙂

Welcome back from Winter Break!  There will be only reading homework for this week.  It is not necessary to fill out a Homework Form for this week’s homework – simply sign the Book Buddy sign-off sheet each day.  

The only other homework, which will be due Friday, January 8th, is the assignment from the library: the “Diversity Quilt” square.

Diversity Quilt Square

1. Use the colored square that was sent home the last week before Winter Break for the assignment.  Use crayons, markers, pens, or colored pencils to  create an image that represents your family.  This could include any of the following:

• Something you celebrate together
• Something you enjoy doing together
• Something that represents your family
• Flags from where your family is from
• Family crest
• Photographs of places visited
• Words describing your family heritage

    2.  Be sure to write your name on the back of the square and  turn it in to our class (not to the library) on Friday, January 8th! 

*If you have lost or misplaced your diversity quilt square, please use a piece of colored paper (any color) that is exactly 5-1/2″ by 4″ and please decorate it horizontally. Thank you!

We had such a fantastic day celebrating!  Thank you to all the wonderful parents who helped to make our Christmas party such a joyous occasion for the children!  

Enjoy these fun pictures of our party!

Below is a link to some reading passages that are very similar to the ones that your student will be encountering in the upcoming DIBELS test in January.  Please use the “Level 100” passages to help your student practice for the DIBELS test, which is a very important one-minute timed test.  Even those these are not the exact passages that will be used, exposure to similar passages such as these and a simulation of the actual timed test will prepare your child and help him/her feel more comfortable when they experience the real test. 

CLICK HERE:
http://www.haslett.k12.mi.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=11283&

Hello, Fabulous Parents!

WHEN I TRIED TO POST THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK ON THE BLOG LAST FRIDAY, THE BLOG WEBSITE WAS HAVING TROUBLE AND WOULD NOT LET ME UPDATE THE HOMEWORK FROM THE PREVIOUS WEEK.  THE PROBLEM HAS NOW BEEN FIXED! 🙂 BUT, IF YOU TRIED TO PRINT THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK ON DECEMBER 11TH, ON DECEMBER 12TH, OR EARLY ON DECEMBER 13TH, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO RE-PRINT THE CORRECT HOMEWORK.  SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE! 🙁 

For this week’s homework, there are 5 components required:

1. Reading (20-30 minutes every day!)
2. Word Sorts
3. Spelling
4. Math
5. Sentence

Each week, print out the HOMEWORK FORM (CLICK HERE), which is found here or under the “Homework Form” tab above. If you would like to reduce the number of necessary printed papers, you may choose to print only page 1 of the Homework Form and use any blank paper for Tuesday’s Writing Sort and Thursday’s Glue Sort (see below).  

• This form does NOT need to be printed or turned in for credit during weeks that we are doing only READING homework.  Simply initialing the form that comes home with your child’s Book Buddy is sufficient during those weeks.

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. 

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Each week, print your student’s assigned Word Sort by clicking on the appropriate link below.  Use the Word Sort for the following activities:

• Monday: Print, cut, and sort your words with an adult and explain this week’s rule. Sort each word under the correct guide word. Some guide words have a C or V combination on them – C stands for consonant and V stands for vowel.
• Tuesday: Practice the sort and write it (using the grid on page 2 of the Homework Form).
• Wednesday: Blind Sort (Lay down the guide words and then read the rest of the words aloud without showing them to your child. Your child must indicate where the word goes without seeing it.
• Thursday: Sort and glue (sort the words and glue them using the grid on page 3 of the Homework Form).

Word Sorts: 
Hunches Sort: CLICK HERE for Red Sort 23
(Anna, Adriel)


Sneetches Sort: CLICK HERE for Yellow Sort 9
(Deklyn, Zoey, Logan, Vincent, Christopher, Dea, Khloee, Saidi, Tanner) 


Barbaloots: CLICK HERE for Yellow Sort 16
(Kaylee, Xander, London, Jaxx, Maylee, Keagan, Rowdy, Ryan, Quinnlyn)

Things Sort: CLICK HERE for Yellow Sort 21
(Aaron, Raya, Mason)


Whos Sort: CLICK HERE for Yellow Sort 25
(Ava, Rock)
This is a tricky one.  Here is what the completed sort should look like:

ar               are               air               oddball
part            care             hair             pear
start           pare             fair              wear
harm          stare            pair             bear
sharp         square         chair           where
dark           bare             stair            heart
shark         fare          
                 hare

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• Study the following “High Frequency Words” using any method you wish in order to prepare for the weekly spelling test on Fridays.
• There is a list of recommended spelling study activities that you can access BY CLICKING HERE for Spelling Word Activities, but, again, you may use any method you wish.  
• Please write the spelling words in alphabetical order on the Homework Form.   

 




For this week, we will be reviewing some of the more difficult words we have worked on previously:

friend
people
would
what
about
from
other

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• Print off the weekly My Math homework pages (or you can use the copies that are sent home each week in your child’s backpack). Complete the My Math homework pages and staple them to the Homework Form. 
• CLICK HERE for My Math Homework Lesson 1
• CLICK HERE for My Math Homework Lesson 2
• CLICK HERE for My Math Homework Lesson 6
• Please also practice math skills regularly by utilizing any of the math activities that you can access BY CLICKING HERE for Math Activities.  These math facts activities do not need to be documented for homework credit – they are simply a resource to help you practice math fluency on a regular basis. I strongly encourage you to have your child do the IXL math and Xtra Math regularly.

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Write a sentence that includes two of this week’s spelling words. Please include the following: 

• Write a complete sentence [must include a subject and predicate (noun and verb)]
• Use at least 5 words.
• Capitalize first word and any proper nouns.
• Use correct upper/lowercase letters.
• Use finger spaces between words.
• End the sentence with a punctuation mark.

Next Friday, December 18th is a Free Dress-Down Day and Early 1:00 Release!

For next Thursday, December 17th, we have received permission to have a Pajama Day to celebrate while we watch the movie The Polar Express!  Feel free to come in your pajamas on Thursday!