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Sunday, May 21, 2017

Busy Week!

It's going to be a fun and busy week.  On Wednesday, we have field day at Bitterroot from 9-10:30. Make sure your kiddo wears tennis shoes and is dressed for PE.  You may need to put sunscreen on your child before they come to school-depending on the weather.

On Friday, we have our annual field trip to Riverfront Park.  Make sure your child has appropriate clothes for the weather, running shoes, packed lunch, bug spray, sunscreen, hat, water bottle, jacket
and a packed lunch if you did not order one from the school. Volunteers-I'll be sending home a letter on Wednesday with details!

You will start seeing a lot things coming home so make sure you check your child's backpack everyday.

We will be finishing up our last reading unit, reviewing some year-long math skills, and writing letters to classmates and schoolmates to practice all of our amazing growth this year. I still can't believe we're almost done. These kiddos have grown so much and I can't wait to show them some work from their portfolios. They'll be just as amazed!

Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock



Sunday, May 14, 2017

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope you are getting spoiled by your awesome kiddo today!

For those of you who have not turned in the permission slip and/or lunch slip I am sending home a second copy of them on Wednesday.  Be sure to fill it out and get it back ASAP!

Thank you to those who came and supported the first graders at their music performance.  It was so much fun!

The final PTA meeting of the year will be on Thursday, May 17th at 6:30 in the library.  They are still looking for a treasurer and secretary.  Please consider becoming a part of the PTA board!

We are finally back to our normal reading group routine.  This week we will be learning and reading about traditions.

In writing, we will be reviewing the different genres and completing our fourth quarter writing samples

In math, we will be learning about graphing and the different types of graphs.

Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock

Monday, May 1, 2017

Another Short Week!

There is no school on Friday, May 5th.

I will be sending the permission slip and sack lunch slip home for our upcoming field trip to Riverfront Park on May 26th.  Your child will also need to bring $2.00 to purchase a Snowie shaved ice.  If you are unable to send $2.00 please let me know and we can work something out.  Also, please let me know if you would like to volunteer to help out with the field trip.

It's assessment time again.  This week we will be completing the FASTBridge assessments for math and reading.  It is very important that kiddos come to school every day, well-rested.

We will still be doing whole group reading, but will not be having reading groups due to testing.  Our essential question this week is, "Who helps you?"

We are knee deep in animal research and writing.  We will be finishing up our writing this week and hopefully will have time to get some illustrating done.

In math, we are moving on to geometry.  We will continue with 2-D shapes and move on to 3-D shapes.  We will be learning about the defining attributes of the shapes (sides, vertices, open, closed).  We will also squeeze in a few fraction lessons while learning about shapes.

Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock

Monday, April 17, 2017

Welcome Back!

I hope you and your kiddo enjoyed the long weekend and were able to spend some extra time together.

The changes in morning walk have helped reduce the number of issues we were having.  We will continue to have the students walk in one big circle with all grade levels walking together.

PTA will be electing three new board members for the upcoming year during the meeting on April 20th.  Positions up for election are Vice-President, Treasurer, and Vice-President of Communication.  If you are interested in running for one of these positions please fill out the paper that will be sent home in Wednesday Folders and return to school the following day.

We are still in need of volunteers for our end of the year field trip on May 26.  You must have a background check to volunteer.  These usually take a few weeks to get back so now is the time to get the process started.  Christy has the forms at the office.

We will also need a few volunteers for field day.  This will take place on May 24 from 9:00-10:30.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping with this fun-filled morning.

In reading, we are back to our regular routine.  Our essential question is, "How do things get built?"  The phonics instruction will focus on the oi, and oy sounds.  Please make sure you are reading each night with your child.  It makes a huge difference in their reading performance.

In writing, we are still working on structure for Personal Narratives.

We are changing gears in math.  This week we will learn to identify and count coins.  Each day this week the students will learn about a different coin.  We will start with pennies, move on to nickels, then dimes, and end with quarters.  Counting coins is a tricky task for firsties.

Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock

Friday, March 31, 2017

Getting Ready for the Last Quarter!!

Report cards go home today.  Remember BE PROUD OF YOUR KIDDO'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS!  First grade is hard, especially third quarter.  These kiddos worked their tails off this quarter and gave it their all.  After reviewing your kiddo's report card please send the empty, signed envelope back to school.

Mark your calendars...Friday, May 12 will be a busy day for first graders at Bitterroot.  First grade will be hosting our second annual Mother's Day breakfast from 7:30-8:05.  More information will be coming out at a later date.  We will also be having a spring music performance from 1:15-1:45 in the gym.  Hope to see you at both events!

We need volunteers to help out with our end of the year field trip to Riverfront Park on Friday, May 26.  We will need help from 10:00am to 12:30pm.  Responsibilities include running a game station, eating lunch with a small group of kiddos, and going on a nature walk as a class.  You must have a background check completed before attending.  Mrs. Z can hook you up with a background check form.  These take a few weeks to get back so it would be wise to get it done now.  If you are interested in volunteering please let me know.

This week we will be working on many fun concepts! In reading, we will answer "What sounds can you hear? How are they made?" In math, we will continue to work with time to the hour and half hour, writing it both analog and digital. Spelling we will go into ou and ow words. Keep up the great work, parents! Your kiddos are doing so well with your support.

Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock

Monday, March 20, 2017

Spring has Sprung!

I can't believe how fast the school year is flying by.  Third quarter ends on Friday, March 24.

A huge thank you to Colter and Joey's mothers for coming in to help with our leprechaun science experiments.  The kiddos had so much fun!

Thank you to those who donated to the first grade raffle basket.  If you have not already done so there is still time to donate.  Our basket theme is family fun.  Please send donations to school on Monday, March 20.

The Classroom Carnival is Friday, March 24.  The teachers and PTA have been working hard to plan a fun night for the kids.  The funds raised go directly to the teachers to purchase items for the classroom, field trips, and other special projects.

In reading, we will be learning about the sky and what we can see in the sky.  The comprehension skills this week are, making predictions and cause/effect.

In writing, we will begin book reviews.  Each student will get a Mo Willems book (because he is my favorite author!) to review.  They will start by using a graphic organizer to plan why they liked the book or why they did not like the book.  We will then use the graphic organizer to write an opinion piece.  After the students write their opinion piece they will be working on revising and editing.  Revising and editing will be a big focus throughout fourth quarter.

In math, we will continue to work on non-standard measurement.

Have a great week!

Friday, March 10, 2017

Quick Update

Hello, families!

I don't have a lot to report from this week other than my students did amazing on their reading assessments! With report cards coming up again, I wanted to get a better idea of their new reading levels, and I was amazed at how much they've grown in 1 quarter!

Coming up this week, we'll start Unit 5 of Wonders, Chapter 9 in GoMath, and gear up with writing for some St. Patrick's Day fun!

 Reading
Essential Question: How can we classify and organize things?
Oral Vocab: trouble, whole, classify, distinguish, organize, startled, entire
Phonics/Spelling: cart, barn, arm, art, yarn, harm, happy, key, four, none
HFW: four, large, none, only, put, round

Math
How can we measure length?

On Friday, we will be doing a Mystery Morning and then a Science Afternoon. I have a few people on board for helping out. Let me know if you're interested!

Also, Mrs. Vergara and I are doing Popcorn and Cotton Candy for the school carnival. If anyone would like to help out, we'll be 6-8 (5 for set up) on March 24th. Thanks!

Wishing you well, 
Mrs. Dimock