How is it already the week before Christmas? December is flying by in the blink of an eye. It is definitely going to be a white Christmas.
Tuesday, December 20 is our Holiday Music Program at Medicine Crow. The show will begin at 9:15. If you are planning on leaving after your child performs please sit in the back. Also, please make sure your kiddo is to school on time. We will be leaving Bitterroot at 8:45 to walk over. That does not give us much time to get backpacks put away, potty, take attendance, etc. Please make sure your kiddo is wearing shoes that are safe and easy for them to walk in. It has been decided students will only be wearing their coats to Medicine Crow. We don't have time to take snow pants off and we don't have storage for them at Medicine Crow. Please make sure if your girly is wearing a dress they have leggings or at the very least tights on with it. We don't want their little legs to freeze on the walk over! Mrs. Olson has done a fabulous job with the program this year!
Thursday, December 22 is our annual First Grade Polar Express Day! Students may wear their pajamas to school on Thursday. I have some pretty awesome Christmas jammies for this very occasion! They may also bring slippers and a small blanket. Please make sure your kiddo wears shoes or boots to school on Thursday and we will change into slippers when they get into the classroom. We will have regular school in the morning and then will watch Polar Express and enjoy some yummy treats in the afternoon. I have gifts for each of the kiddos that day, so make sure to check back packs before they get thrown aside for Holiday break.
Safe travels to those who are heading out of town this holiday season. Hopefully, the roads clear up and travel won't be an issue.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Cozy Sunday
The winners of the Bobcat 200 have selected to have another spirit day. On Tuesday, December 13, the entire school is being encouraged to wear their favorite sports team gear. If your kiddo doesn't have a favorite sports team they can wear Bitterroot bobcat gear or colors (blue and yellow).
Let's hope it is above zero and we can go outside for recess next week. Students must have snow pants, snow boots, and gloves to play in the snow and on the play equipment. Children without the proper snow gear will have to stay on the blacktop during recess--BORING! If providing these items is a hardship, please contact Mrs. Neese. Mrs. Neese has many donors and programs to help provide these items for those in need.
Just a reminder...our Holiday Music Program is on Tuesday, December 20 at Medicine Crow. The show starts at 9:15. I hear the first performers are quite amazing!
The next few weeks are looking a little different during our reading block. We just completed unit 2 in our Wonders reading series and are going to wait until after Christmas to start unit 3. That means we will not have any new spelling words or high-frequency words until we get back from break. We will be focusing our time working on our close reading skills using a passage on reindeer. We will look for unfamiliar words, pull out important facts, work on labeling a reindeer, and do some writing about reindeer.
This week in writing, I will be introducing personal narratives. This should be much easier than our how-to writing. Personal narrative writing is basically the students writing about something they have experienced and we all know first graders love to tell stories about themselves!
In math, we are going to continue talking about tens and ones. We will be doing many activities with the 120 chart. I will be sending home a 120 chart and many activities your kiddo can do with it to help improve their math skills.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Let's hope it is above zero and we can go outside for recess next week. Students must have snow pants, snow boots, and gloves to play in the snow and on the play equipment. Children without the proper snow gear will have to stay on the blacktop during recess--BORING! If providing these items is a hardship, please contact Mrs. Neese. Mrs. Neese has many donors and programs to help provide these items for those in need.
Just a reminder...our Holiday Music Program is on Tuesday, December 20 at Medicine Crow. The show starts at 9:15. I hear the first performers are quite amazing!
The next few weeks are looking a little different during our reading block. We just completed unit 2 in our Wonders reading series and are going to wait until after Christmas to start unit 3. That means we will not have any new spelling words or high-frequency words until we get back from break. We will be focusing our time working on our close reading skills using a passage on reindeer. We will look for unfamiliar words, pull out important facts, work on labeling a reindeer, and do some writing about reindeer.
This week in writing, I will be introducing personal narratives. This should be much easier than our how-to writing. Personal narrative writing is basically the students writing about something they have experienced and we all know first graders love to tell stories about themselves!
In math, we are going to continue talking about tens and ones. We will be doing many activities with the 120 chart. I will be sending home a 120 chart and many activities your kiddo can do with it to help improve their math skills.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Monday, December 5, 2016
Get Ready for Cold Weather!
BRR! It's Cold Outside
It is going to be very cold this week. Please make sure your child comes dressed for the weather--NO SHORTS! Please be sure to write your kiddo's name on all of their cold weather gear. I have already noticed quite a few girls have the same purple gloves.
PTA is hosting a holiday family fun night at 6:00-7:30pm on Friday, December 9. Here's the best part...IT'S FREE! PTA is still looking for a few volunteers to help with some of the stations. You can sign up here, Sign Up!! They would greatly appreciate it!
Last week marked the end of the first Boxtops competition. Mrs. Martin's class won for the primary grades and Mrs. O'Donnell's class won in the intermediate grades. We took...THIRD TO LAST PLACE! Say it isn't so! I'm not sure if this competitive teacher will survive if our class takes last place in the next competition, so start sending in those Boxtops!
Here's a peek at our week,
Reading
Essential Question: How can you find your way around?
Vocabulary: locate, route, height, model, separate
Word Work: consonant digraphs-ch, -tch, ph, wh, inflection endings -es, -s,
Grammar: irregular plural nouns, capital letters, periods
Writing
We will be reviewing opinion writing before beginning our personal narrative unit next week. We will also continue writing in our Elf Journals.
Math
We will start the week with a review of word problems, fact families, and other skills taught so far. We will then move on to starting our place value unit. This week will be focused on counting to 120 and working with groups of ten.
Have a great week and stay warm!
-Mrs. Dimock
It is going to be very cold this week. Please make sure your child comes dressed for the weather--NO SHORTS! Please be sure to write your kiddo's name on all of their cold weather gear. I have already noticed quite a few girls have the same purple gloves.
PTA is hosting a holiday family fun night at 6:00-7:30pm on Friday, December 9. Here's the best part...IT'S FREE! PTA is still looking for a few volunteers to help with some of the stations. You can sign up here, Sign Up!! They would greatly appreciate it!
Last week marked the end of the first Boxtops competition. Mrs. Martin's class won for the primary grades and Mrs. O'Donnell's class won in the intermediate grades. We took...THIRD TO LAST PLACE! Say it isn't so! I'm not sure if this competitive teacher will survive if our class takes last place in the next competition, so start sending in those Boxtops!
Here's a peek at our week,
Reading
Essential Question: How can you find your way around?
Vocabulary: locate, route, height, model, separate
Word Work: consonant digraphs-ch, -tch, ph, wh, inflection endings -es, -s,
Grammar: irregular plural nouns, capital letters, periods
Writing
We will be reviewing opinion writing before beginning our personal narrative unit next week. We will also continue writing in our Elf Journals.
Math
We will start the week with a review of word problems, fact families, and other skills taught so far. We will then move on to starting our place value unit. This week will be focused on counting to 120 and working with groups of ten.
Have a great week and stay warm!
-Mrs. Dimock
Monday, November 28, 2016
Welcome Back!
Welcome back! I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving full of family, friends, and yummy food! It was so nice to have some extra days off and get caught up on everything around the house and at school. However, I am so excited to see those firsties today! At the end of the week we will start our Christmas and holiday fun! We keep Christmas light-hearted and fun (Santa, elves, etc.). Please let me know if your family does not celebrate Christmas, so I can adjust some of the activities for your kiddo.
We are back to the grind this week and back to our normal schedule. In reading, we will be investigating ways people help around the community.
The informational writing has proven to be much harder to master than opinion writing. We are going to take a step back and write a few how-to pieces together this week. We will also be learning the parts of a letter. We will be receiving a package from the North Pole later this week and will need to know how to write a letter! SHH...the package is a secret!
Math is all about the equal sign. We will spend the week learning the importance of the equal sign and that it means "is the same as."
In our science curriculum we will continue to explore sound and help solve our "problem." We will be working with tuning forks and brainstorm a device that will help us hear sounds over long distances to communicate.
I hope you have a fabulous week, and remember, you can call to chat about anything going on in you or your child's lives. Connected parents and teachers are the best team!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
We are back to the grind this week and back to our normal schedule. In reading, we will be investigating ways people help around the community.
The informational writing has proven to be much harder to master than opinion writing. We are going to take a step back and write a few how-to pieces together this week. We will also be learning the parts of a letter. We will be receiving a package from the North Pole later this week and will need to know how to write a letter! SHH...the package is a secret!
Math is all about the equal sign. We will spend the week learning the importance of the equal sign and that it means "is the same as."
In our science curriculum we will continue to explore sound and help solve our "problem." We will be working with tuning forks and brainstorm a device that will help us hear sounds over long distances to communicate.
I hope you have a fabulous week, and remember, you can call to chat about anything going on in you or your child's lives. Connected parents and teachers are the best team!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Back to "Normal"
A huge thank you for those of you who made donations for our class to get some new books. I was able to pick out some excellent read alouds that the kiddos will really enjoy!
Also, thank you for attending conferences. It makes such an impact on your kiddo's success in first grade if we are working together and are on the same page.
Ms. Voigt's class is hosting a food drive November 7-November 18. They are working to raise 1,200 cans, bags, and boxes of food. If you are able to donate they would greatly appreciate it.
Your kiddo has some homework this week. Your kiddo will need to disguise a paper turkey. We will be using these turkeys for a writing project, so please make sure they are returned no later than Monday, November 14. The paper turkey and more detailed instructions will be in your kiddo's green folder on Wednesday. Please do not go out and by supplies for this project. Only use what you already have at home.
In reading this week, we are focusing on buildings and what they are made of. We will also be learning about a new genre...fantasy! This week we will also be taking a look at the similarities and differences of homes around the world.
Our phonics and word work focuses this week are short u words and contractions with an 's.
This week in writing we are breaking down the parts to how-to writing. We will be learning that the introduction explains what the book is about and tells the reader why they might want to read it. The body will include a list of materials, equipment, or supplies needed and also list all of the steps to teach the reader how to do whatever the topic is. The conclusion will tell the reader what to do with the information they just learned. I love seeing what special talents and skills the students are able to teach the reader about!
In math, we will be working on finding missing parts in addition and subtraction problems. We will start with results unknown (sum/difference). We will move on to the change unknown (4 + ___ =6, 6-___ = 4) and end the week with the start unknown (___ + 4=6, ____ -4=2). We will also incorporate some word problems into this weeks lessons. The skills taught this week are much easier to understand when the students know their addition and subtraction facts. The Xtramath login in your conference packet is a wonderful tool to help students master their addition and subtraction facts.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Also, thank you for attending conferences. It makes such an impact on your kiddo's success in first grade if we are working together and are on the same page.
Ms. Voigt's class is hosting a food drive November 7-November 18. They are working to raise 1,200 cans, bags, and boxes of food. If you are able to donate they would greatly appreciate it.
Your kiddo has some homework this week. Your kiddo will need to disguise a paper turkey. We will be using these turkeys for a writing project, so please make sure they are returned no later than Monday, November 14. The paper turkey and more detailed instructions will be in your kiddo's green folder on Wednesday. Please do not go out and by supplies for this project. Only use what you already have at home.
In reading this week, we are focusing on buildings and what they are made of. We will also be learning about a new genre...fantasy! This week we will also be taking a look at the similarities and differences of homes around the world.
Our phonics and word work focuses this week are short u words and contractions with an 's.
This week in writing we are breaking down the parts to how-to writing. We will be learning that the introduction explains what the book is about and tells the reader why they might want to read it. The body will include a list of materials, equipment, or supplies needed and also list all of the steps to teach the reader how to do whatever the topic is. The conclusion will tell the reader what to do with the information they just learned. I love seeing what special talents and skills the students are able to teach the reader about!
In math, we will be working on finding missing parts in addition and subtraction problems. We will start with results unknown (sum/difference). We will move on to the change unknown (4 + ___ =6, 6-___ = 4) and end the week with the start unknown (___ + 4=6, ____ -4=2). We will also incorporate some word problems into this weeks lessons. The skills taught this week are much easier to understand when the students know their addition and subtraction facts. The Xtramath login in your conference packet is a wonderful tool to help students master their addition and subtraction facts.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Back to It!
I will not be posting next Sunday since we will only be in school for a day and a half. We will spend that time reviewing and using it as a catch-up time.
A few important dates to remember...
Wednesday, November 16 is Panda Express Fundraiser Night. The information for this went home with your kiddo on Friday.
Thursday, November 17 there is a PTA meeting from 6:30-7:30 in the library.
Tuesday, November 22 is a noon dismissal day. If your kiddo needs a sack lunch please fill out the form that went home Friday.
Wednesday, November 23-Friday, November 25 are no school days. School resumes Monday, November 28.
Wednesday, November 30 is picture retakes
This week in reading, we are learning about communities in nature and are trying to answer the question, "Where do animals live together?" All of the reading groups will be reading a nonfiction text called, Meerkat Family. We will also be learning about various habitats.
In writing, we will begin writing our How-To Disguise a Turkey paper. We will be using the turkeys the kiddos disguised at home. Please make sure your kiddo has brought their completed turkey to school on Monday.
We will continue to work on missing parts in addition and subtraction problems. Last week our focus was finding missing parts in addition problems. We will continue to practice that skill and learn strategies for finding missing parts in subtraction problems. This is one of the toughest concepts we work on so we will be taking it slow and spending quite a bit of time on it.
I am so excited to continue working on our Light and Sound Module in Project Lead the Way. Last week, we learned what the problem is that we will be solving at the end of the module (A group of hikers is lost and needs to communicate with the other group.) and learned about the engineer design process. Over the next month or so we will be working on activities and projects that will increase our knowledge on light and sound. We will then apply that knowledge when we solve the problem and create a way to communicate using light and sound.
Have a wonderful week and Happy Thanksgiving!
A few important dates to remember...
Wednesday, November 16 is Panda Express Fundraiser Night. The information for this went home with your kiddo on Friday.
Thursday, November 17 there is a PTA meeting from 6:30-7:30 in the library.
Tuesday, November 22 is a noon dismissal day. If your kiddo needs a sack lunch please fill out the form that went home Friday.
Wednesday, November 23-Friday, November 25 are no school days. School resumes Monday, November 28.
Wednesday, November 30 is picture retakes
This week in reading, we are learning about communities in nature and are trying to answer the question, "Where do animals live together?" All of the reading groups will be reading a nonfiction text called, Meerkat Family. We will also be learning about various habitats.
In writing, we will begin writing our How-To Disguise a Turkey paper. We will be using the turkeys the kiddos disguised at home. Please make sure your kiddo has brought their completed turkey to school on Monday.
We will continue to work on missing parts in addition and subtraction problems. Last week our focus was finding missing parts in addition problems. We will continue to practice that skill and learn strategies for finding missing parts in subtraction problems. This is one of the toughest concepts we work on so we will be taking it slow and spending quite a bit of time on it.
I am so excited to continue working on our Light and Sound Module in Project Lead the Way. Last week, we learned what the problem is that we will be solving at the end of the module (A group of hikers is lost and needs to communicate with the other group.) and learned about the engineer design process. Over the next month or so we will be working on activities and projects that will increase our knowledge on light and sound. We will then apply that knowledge when we solve the problem and create a way to communicate using light and sound.
Have a wonderful week and Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Conference Week
Thank you to those who supported the Bitterroot PTA and volunteered and/or attended the Pumpkin Patch Party. It looks like it was tons of fun!
Reminder costumes may not be worn to school on Halloween. We are only allowed one party per year and I have chosen to have a Valentine's Day party this year.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are noon dismissal days due to Parent Teacher Conferences. Please contact me or call the office if you need to switch your conference time. I am looking forward to sharing all the great things your child has accomplished so far!
Report cards go home on Tuesday. Please remember report cards are not like they used to be. They are now a standards based progress report. This means we look at the full year expectations and report where your child is currently. However, in the reading categories we look at the current quarter's reading level expectations and report based on those reading levels. There will be many 1s and 2s on your child's report card. This is perfectly normal. A 3 is our goal for the end of the year. A 1 does not necessarily mean your child is not where they should be academically. Information writing will be blank because I have not taught that yet. We will go over your child's report card during conferences and visit more on how your child was assessed. Be proud of their accomplishments!
We are starting unit 2 in our reading series. The first week focuses on jobs in the community. We will be reading lots of different texts about community jobs and even using PebbleGo to research jobs.
We are taking a break from opinion writing this week and will be starting informational writing. We will start out by writing how-to books.
In math, we will continue to work on number bonds and subtraction. We will work on finding the missing part in an equation and introduce fact families.
See you at conferences!
Mrs. Dimock
Reminder costumes may not be worn to school on Halloween. We are only allowed one party per year and I have chosen to have a Valentine's Day party this year.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are noon dismissal days due to Parent Teacher Conferences. Please contact me or call the office if you need to switch your conference time. I am looking forward to sharing all the great things your child has accomplished so far!
Report cards go home on Tuesday. Please remember report cards are not like they used to be. They are now a standards based progress report. This means we look at the full year expectations and report where your child is currently. However, in the reading categories we look at the current quarter's reading level expectations and report based on those reading levels. There will be many 1s and 2s on your child's report card. This is perfectly normal. A 3 is our goal for the end of the year. A 1 does not necessarily mean your child is not where they should be academically. Information writing will be blank because I have not taught that yet. We will go over your child's report card during conferences and visit more on how your child was assessed. Be proud of their accomplishments!
We are starting unit 2 in our reading series. The first week focuses on jobs in the community. We will be reading lots of different texts about community jobs and even using PebbleGo to research jobs.
We are taking a break from opinion writing this week and will be starting informational writing. We will start out by writing how-to books.
In math, we will continue to work on number bonds and subtraction. We will work on finding the missing part in an equation and introduce fact families.
See you at conferences!
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Red Ribbon Week
Did you remember to return your conference slip? If not, please return ASAP as we will be scheduling your times this week.
Help needed! Do you have time to volunteer to work with some first graders. I am looking for someone to come in from 1:30-2:00 up to 3 days a week and work on numbers with some of the kids. You could do one time, two times, or even three times a week if your schedule allows it. You would need to have a completed background check done. If you are interested, please email me!
On Monday, we will be having bus safety. The bus driver will show your kids the proper way to get on a bus, get off a bus, how to evacuate in case of an emergency, and how far in front of a bus they need to cross to ensure that the bus driver sees them.
On Friday, we have tentatively scheduled a fire safety presentation with our very own first grade firefighter dad! This presentation is a great reminder of picking a meeting place for you and your family to meet if there is a fire in your home. It also shows your child how to safely exit the home. The firefighter even puts on all his gear so the kids can see what he would look like in full uniform.
It is Red Ribbon week!
Here are the themes for each day:
Monday, October 24 Be red-y to say no to drugs--Wear red
Tuesday, October 25 I elect to be drug free--Wear red, white, and blue
Wednesday, October 26 PAWS-itively proud to be drug free--show your school spirit and wear Bitterroot Bobcat colors (blue and gold) and paws (Temporary tattoos will go home Tuesday for the kiddos to wear on Wednesday. Picture day is Friday and I am not sure how temporary the tattoos are...place tattoos accordingly!!!).
Thursday, October 27-Smarties choose to be drug free--dress smart
Friday, October 28-Sock-it to drugs--wear mismatched or crazy socks
This week in reading, our theme question will be "How does your body move?" We will be learning exercise, physical, agree, difficult, and exhausted for our vocabulary words.
In math, we will begin to learn subtraction strategies. Some strategies are how to use a number line, counting back, drawing a picture, and using doubles to subtract. We will learn about related facts, taking away zero, and horizontal and vertical subtraction. We will also learn how to apply these strategies to word problems.
In writing, we will review the parts of an opinion paper: introduction, stating your opinion, giving as many reasons as you can think of, and a conclusion. We will also discuss the 5 stars of writing: capitals, punctuation, spaces, makes sense, and nice handwriting. We will begin an opinion piece on our favorite places in Billings and learn how to use a rubric for our writing.
The students will be writing our poem this week. It will be called "Spider Soup". Every year, we serve up our delicious spider soup to first graders. It has been quite a popular event in the past. Your children will be picking out the ingredients to put into the soup. I have started collecting many spiders! We will eat it on October 31st. I promise it is not as gross as it sounds. Trust me!
We do not celebrate Halloween at Bitterroot School. It is a typical school day. Kids are not allowed to wear costumes or face paint. However, we do try to incorporate some fun activities. Please be prepared for a rough day on Tuesday, November 1. The kids will be exhausted from Halloween and trying to recover from all the sugar they ate. Please keep all candy at home and do not pack it in their lunches. Watch out! First graders are known for sneaking candy to school. Check their backpacks and pockets!
Have a great week!
Help needed! Do you have time to volunteer to work with some first graders. I am looking for someone to come in from 1:30-2:00 up to 3 days a week and work on numbers with some of the kids. You could do one time, two times, or even three times a week if your schedule allows it. You would need to have a completed background check done. If you are interested, please email me!
On Monday, we will be having bus safety. The bus driver will show your kids the proper way to get on a bus, get off a bus, how to evacuate in case of an emergency, and how far in front of a bus they need to cross to ensure that the bus driver sees them.
On Friday, we have tentatively scheduled a fire safety presentation with our very own first grade firefighter dad! This presentation is a great reminder of picking a meeting place for you and your family to meet if there is a fire in your home. It also shows your child how to safely exit the home. The firefighter even puts on all his gear so the kids can see what he would look like in full uniform.
It is Red Ribbon week!
Here are the themes for each day:
Monday, October 24 Be red-y to say no to drugs--Wear red
Tuesday, October 25 I elect to be drug free--Wear red, white, and blue
Wednesday, October 26 PAWS-itively proud to be drug free--show your school spirit and wear Bitterroot Bobcat colors (blue and gold) and paws (Temporary tattoos will go home Tuesday for the kiddos to wear on Wednesday. Picture day is Friday and I am not sure how temporary the tattoos are...place tattoos accordingly!!!).
Thursday, October 27-Smarties choose to be drug free--dress smart
Friday, October 28-Sock-it to drugs--wear mismatched or crazy socks
This week in reading, our theme question will be "How does your body move?" We will be learning exercise, physical, agree, difficult, and exhausted for our vocabulary words.
In math, we will begin to learn subtraction strategies. Some strategies are how to use a number line, counting back, drawing a picture, and using doubles to subtract. We will learn about related facts, taking away zero, and horizontal and vertical subtraction. We will also learn how to apply these strategies to word problems.
In writing, we will review the parts of an opinion paper: introduction, stating your opinion, giving as many reasons as you can think of, and a conclusion. We will also discuss the 5 stars of writing: capitals, punctuation, spaces, makes sense, and nice handwriting. We will begin an opinion piece on our favorite places in Billings and learn how to use a rubric for our writing.
The students will be writing our poem this week. It will be called "Spider Soup". Every year, we serve up our delicious spider soup to first graders. It has been quite a popular event in the past. Your children will be picking out the ingredients to put into the soup. I have started collecting many spiders! We will eat it on October 31st. I promise it is not as gross as it sounds. Trust me!
We do not celebrate Halloween at Bitterroot School. It is a typical school day. Kids are not allowed to wear costumes or face paint. However, we do try to incorporate some fun activities. Please be prepared for a rough day on Tuesday, November 1. The kids will be exhausted from Halloween and trying to recover from all the sugar they ate. Please keep all candy at home and do not pack it in their lunches. Watch out! First graders are known for sneaking candy to school. Check their backpacks and pockets!
Have a great week!
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Sunday Update
On Wednesday, October 19 school will be dismissed at noon.
There is no school on Thursday, October 20 and Friday, October 21. School resumes on Monday, October 24.
Green folders will be going home on Monday, not Wednesday this week. There will be a form to fill out regarding parent-teacher conference times. Please fill it out and return it to school with your kiddo.
Attendance is key component to academic growth. Please make sure your kiddo is to school on time each and every day.
Pack the Place in Pink is Tuesday, October 18. Wear pink and show your support for those who currently are or who have been affected by breast cancer.
Red Ribbon week will be October 24-October 28. Mrs. Neese is holding the second annual drug free door decorating contest. The winning classroom will get a slime making party with Mrs. Neese. If any of you creative parents would like to come in and decorate the classroom door with a drug-free theme please let me know. Pinterest has lots of cute ideas. In first grade, we talk more about making healthy choices and putting healthy things into our body and not so much about drugs themselves.
Here are the themes for Red Ribbon Week...
Monday, October 24 Be red-y to say no to drugs--Wear red
Tuesday, October 25 I elect to be drug free--Wear red, white, and blue
Wednesday, October 26 PAWS-itvely proud to be drug free--show your school spirit and wear Bitterroot Bobcat colors (blue and gold) and paws (Temporary tattoos will go home Tuesday for the kiddos to wear on Wednesday. Picture day is Friday and I am not sure how temporary the tattoos are...place tattoos accordingly!!!).
Thursday, October 27-Smarties choose to be drug free--dress smart
Friday, October 28-Sock-it to drugs--wear mismatched or crazy socks
Due to the short week, we will not be starting anything new in reading. We will use this week to go back and dig a little deeper into the texts we have already read. We will also be incorporating some reader's theater into our short week.
No new spelling words this week.
We will be continuing to work on Our Favorite Places opinion writing piece.
In math, we are launching Daily 3. This is very similar to the way we do our morning reading rotations. We will start with a mini-lesson and then break out into center rotations and continue this pattern for our hour math block. The students will be able to select from Number Work, Math with Someone, and Math Technology. During this time I will be calling small groups to work with me. This allows me to meet the needs of the students better than just teaching whole group math. This week will we will mostly be putting our math rotation procedures into place and learning what is expected during this time. I am looking forward to math groups!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
There is no school on Thursday, October 20 and Friday, October 21. School resumes on Monday, October 24.
Green folders will be going home on Monday, not Wednesday this week. There will be a form to fill out regarding parent-teacher conference times. Please fill it out and return it to school with your kiddo.
Attendance is key component to academic growth. Please make sure your kiddo is to school on time each and every day.
Pack the Place in Pink is Tuesday, October 18. Wear pink and show your support for those who currently are or who have been affected by breast cancer.
Red Ribbon week will be October 24-October 28. Mrs. Neese is holding the second annual drug free door decorating contest. The winning classroom will get a slime making party with Mrs. Neese. If any of you creative parents would like to come in and decorate the classroom door with a drug-free theme please let me know. Pinterest has lots of cute ideas. In first grade, we talk more about making healthy choices and putting healthy things into our body and not so much about drugs themselves.
Here are the themes for Red Ribbon Week...
Monday, October 24 Be red-y to say no to drugs--Wear red
Tuesday, October 25 I elect to be drug free--Wear red, white, and blue
Wednesday, October 26 PAWS-itvely proud to be drug free--show your school spirit and wear Bitterroot Bobcat colors (blue and gold) and paws (Temporary tattoos will go home Tuesday for the kiddos to wear on Wednesday. Picture day is Friday and I am not sure how temporary the tattoos are...place tattoos accordingly!!!).
Thursday, October 27-Smarties choose to be drug free--dress smart
Friday, October 28-Sock-it to drugs--wear mismatched or crazy socks
Due to the short week, we will not be starting anything new in reading. We will use this week to go back and dig a little deeper into the texts we have already read. We will also be incorporating some reader's theater into our short week.
No new spelling words this week.
We will be continuing to work on Our Favorite Places opinion writing piece.
In math, we are launching Daily 3. This is very similar to the way we do our morning reading rotations. We will start with a mini-lesson and then break out into center rotations and continue this pattern for our hour math block. The students will be able to select from Number Work, Math with Someone, and Math Technology. During this time I will be calling small groups to work with me. This allows me to meet the needs of the students better than just teaching whole group math. This week will we will mostly be putting our math rotation procedures into place and learning what is expected during this time. I am looking forward to math groups!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Monday, October 10, 2016
FYI 10/09/16
I cannot believe how fast the year is going! We only have 12.5 days left until the end of first quarter.
It looks like we are going to have some cold weather on Tuesday. Please make sure your kiddo is prepared for the cold weather and snow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't snow. I'm just not ready for it quite yet!
This week we our essential question is "What do friends do together?" As always, we will be reading and digging deep into various texts to find the answer to our question. We will be working on finding evidence from the text, asking and answering key details about the text, identifying the main idea, and using photos/illustrations.
Our spelling rule for the week is short o as in hot. Even though we are not taking spelling tests, it is important your child is practicing reading short o words and spelling short o words at home.
In writing, we will be finishing up our first opinion piece and completing the final draft. We will then move onto our second opinion piece about our favorite place in Billings. Often it is hard for students to think of their favorite place. Please help your kiddo brainstorm a few of your family's favorite places to go in Billings. It could be a park, a store, restaurant, etc.
In math, we are continuing to work on our addition facts. We will use number bonds this week to help understand that addition is taking two parts and putting them together to make the whole. We will use the part-part-whole terminology throughout the year. This approach really seems to help when we move into subtraction. Please help your kiddo with their addition facts. It is so important that students know their addition facts.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
It looks like we are going to have some cold weather on Tuesday. Please make sure your kiddo is prepared for the cold weather and snow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't snow. I'm just not ready for it quite yet!
This week we our essential question is "What do friends do together?" As always, we will be reading and digging deep into various texts to find the answer to our question. We will be working on finding evidence from the text, asking and answering key details about the text, identifying the main idea, and using photos/illustrations.
Our spelling rule for the week is short o as in hot. Even though we are not taking spelling tests, it is important your child is practicing reading short o words and spelling short o words at home.
In writing, we will be finishing up our first opinion piece and completing the final draft. We will then move onto our second opinion piece about our favorite place in Billings. Often it is hard for students to think of their favorite place. Please help your kiddo brainstorm a few of your family's favorite places to go in Billings. It could be a park, a store, restaurant, etc.
In math, we are continuing to work on our addition facts. We will use number bonds this week to help understand that addition is taking two parts and putting them together to make the whole. We will use the part-part-whole terminology throughout the year. This approach really seems to help when we move into subtraction. Please help your kiddo with their addition facts. It is so important that students know their addition facts.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Happy Fall!
It was great seeing so many of our Bitterroot families supporting local schools at Saturday Live! Thank you to all who supported Bitterroot by attending Saturday Live and/or donating candy for our booth.
It is going to be a fun week in first grade! To celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday we will be doing many apple activities this week. We will be experimenting with different liquids to see which liquid helps to prevent sliced apples from browning. Also, we will be taste testing different kinds of apples (thanks to some very generous families!) and graphing our results. We will also incorporate some apple fun into our writing!
During our reading block we will be starting our second week in the Wonders series. This week we will be investigating and trying to answer the essential question, "What is it like where you live?" We will be reading many different books throughout the week to help us answer this question. Our phonics focus will be short i as in insect. Please be sure to work on identifying the short i sound with your kiddo this week. A quick idea to help with phonics-say one word that has a short i sound and one that does not have the short i sound such as, dog and dig. Then have your kiddo identify which word has the short i sound. Also, please be sure your kiddo is practicing reading and writing the high-frequency words.
During writing we will continue our personal narratives-a story that really happened to you. I have already seen such an improvement in the kiddo's writing this year!
In math, we will keep working on addition strategies. This week is all about making ten and doubles. We will incorporate lots of math songs and hands-on activities to master these skills. If you have a dice at home you can help your kiddo with both of these strategies. For making 10: roll a dice, have your kiddo say how many is needed to make 10. For example, the dice shows 3, your kiddo would say 7. Doubles: roll a dice and have your kiddo say the doubles fact. For example, the dice shows 4, your kiddo would say 4 + 4 = 8.
It is going to be a fun week in first grade! To celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday we will be doing many apple activities this week. We will be experimenting with different liquids to see which liquid helps to prevent sliced apples from browning. Also, we will be taste testing different kinds of apples (thanks to some very generous families!) and graphing our results. We will also incorporate some apple fun into our writing!
During our reading block we will be starting our second week in the Wonders series. This week we will be investigating and trying to answer the essential question, "What is it like where you live?" We will be reading many different books throughout the week to help us answer this question. Our phonics focus will be short i as in insect. Please be sure to work on identifying the short i sound with your kiddo this week. A quick idea to help with phonics-say one word that has a short i sound and one that does not have the short i sound such as, dog and dig. Then have your kiddo identify which word has the short i sound. Also, please be sure your kiddo is practicing reading and writing the high-frequency words.
During writing we will continue our personal narratives-a story that really happened to you. I have already seen such an improvement in the kiddo's writing this year!
In math, we will keep working on addition strategies. This week is all about making ten and doubles. We will incorporate lots of math songs and hands-on activities to master these skills. If you have a dice at home you can help your kiddo with both of these strategies. For making 10: roll a dice, have your kiddo say how many is needed to make 10. For example, the dice shows 3, your kiddo would say 7. Doubles: roll a dice and have your kiddo say the doubles fact. For example, the dice shows 4, your kiddo would say 4 + 4 = 8.
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| Make and Break |
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| Human number line! |
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| Rainbow Tens |
Sunday, September 18, 2016
9/19/16 Update
Welcome to another full week!
We have noon dismissal on Thursday, September 22.
Saturday Live is this Saturday. Thank you to those who donated candy for our booth. PTA is still looking for volunteers to help with the Candy Shack. You can sign up to volunteer on the PTA blog, http://bitterrootpta.weebly.com/.
The PTA coupon book fundraiser has ended. If you have not returned your child's envelope please do so ASAP.
First graders will have a hearing screening on Monday.
Mrs. Neese, the school counselor, will be teaching us about whole body listening on Wednesday.
This week is super exciting...we start reading groups! I love teaching reading groups! We will be working on visualizing as we read and decoding short a words. I will also be setting reading goals with the students this week. Send me an email if you are interested in helping your child with their reading goal at home and I will let you know what their goal is and give you some ideas on how to help them.
The spelling rule for the week and the spelling words can be found on the right hand side of the blog. However, we will not be having weekly spelling tests. I find it is more important for the students to be familiar with the spelling rule rather than be able to memorize a list of words. I will have Spelling City loaded up soon, which is a fun practice site. Also, be sure to have your kiddo practice the high-frequency words.
We are continuing to work on addition strategies in math. This week we will learn how to use the greater number to count on. We will also use the number line to add.
Have a wonderful week!
We have noon dismissal on Thursday, September 22.
Saturday Live is this Saturday. Thank you to those who donated candy for our booth. PTA is still looking for volunteers to help with the Candy Shack. You can sign up to volunteer on the PTA blog, http://bitterrootpta.weebly.com/.
The PTA coupon book fundraiser has ended. If you have not returned your child's envelope please do so ASAP.
First graders will have a hearing screening on Monday.
Mrs. Neese, the school counselor, will be teaching us about whole body listening on Wednesday.
This week is super exciting...we start reading groups! I love teaching reading groups! We will be working on visualizing as we read and decoding short a words. I will also be setting reading goals with the students this week. Send me an email if you are interested in helping your child with their reading goal at home and I will let you know what their goal is and give you some ideas on how to help them.
The spelling rule for the week and the spelling words can be found on the right hand side of the blog. However, we will not be having weekly spelling tests. I find it is more important for the students to be familiar with the spelling rule rather than be able to memorize a list of words. I will have Spelling City loaded up soon, which is a fun practice site. Also, be sure to have your kiddo practice the high-frequency words.
We are continuing to work on addition strategies in math. This week we will learn how to use the greater number to count on. We will also use the number line to add.
Have a wonderful week!
Monday, September 12, 2016
Here We Go!
I hope you had a great weekend! I spent the weekend celebrating my birthday with my family and getting ready for the week.
This week we will be hitting the ground running! We are doing great with assessments and the kids are building reading and writing stamina, giving me time to work one on one with students.
In reading, we will continue reviewing letters, sounds, and blending/segmenting. In math, we will use properties and strategies to begin adding. In spelling, we will continue reviewing letter formation and writing whole words.
FYI's
9/13 Open House 6:00-7:00 Grown Ups only!
9/15 PTA Meeting 6:30-7:30
9/22 Early Out 12:00
I really hope to see you on Tuesday for Open House. It is such a great time for Q&A and you'll get to see all of the great things we've been doing in first grade. I'll post the slides on the blog after Tuesday, but if you have any questions and aren't able to make it, you have my number!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Check out these awesome EEKKers! (Elbow, elbow, knee to knee, book in the middle so we can both see!!)
Update from PTA
A little note from PTA
"Thank you to everyone who has participated in our fundraiser. We are so grateful for your support. Our fundraiser will conclude on Wednesday, September 14th. All fundraiser packets must be turned back in with money for orders on that day. Our goal is to have all the orders filled and ready to send on Friday, September 16th.
We will again be having rewards for the class with the highest per student average of books sold for K-2 and 3-5. Those two classes will win a Cinnabon party.
Included in our Grand Prize drawing this year are two family passes as the Reef, a family art outing at In Good Glazes, a family movie night package, and several STEM related science kits.
We will have a drawing for our grand prizes the week of September 19th. For each book you sold, you get an entry. For every 3rd book you sold, you get a bonus entry. If you turn in a monetary donation, you will get an entry for each $10 you turn in.
Again, thank you all for your help with this fundraiser. We could not do all the fun activities at Bitterroot without your continued support!"
"Thank you to everyone who has participated in our fundraiser. We are so grateful for your support. Our fundraiser will conclude on Wednesday, September 14th. All fundraiser packets must be turned back in with money for orders on that day. Our goal is to have all the orders filled and ready to send on Friday, September 16th.
We will again be having rewards for the class with the highest per student average of books sold for K-2 and 3-5. Those two classes will win a Cinnabon party.
Included in our Grand Prize drawing this year are two family passes as the Reef, a family art outing at In Good Glazes, a family movie night package, and several STEM related science kits.
We will have a drawing for our grand prizes the week of September 19th. For each book you sold, you get an entry. For every 3rd book you sold, you get a bonus entry. If you turn in a monetary donation, you will get an entry for each $10 you turn in.
Again, thank you all for your help with this fundraiser. We could not do all the fun activities at Bitterroot without your continued support!"
Sunday, September 4, 2016
4 Day Week!
Our first full week was FULL of fun and learning. I am so impressed with this class's ability to read-to-self. We made it to 6.5 minutes on Friday. We'll be to 20 minutes before we know it!
This week:
Monday-No School!
Reading- Wonders Start Smart Week 2. Review letters, sounds, and blending words together. The kiddos are working hard on letter formation and asking questions about reading. We will continue to practice Daily 5 so that we will be able to hopefully start choices and small group/conferences next week.
Math- We are still reviewing numbers 0-20, number identification, and strategies.
Specialists-Tuesday music and Thursday P.E.
We are FastBridge testing this week in the afternoon. These are done one-on-one and cover skills from letter naming to decomposing numbers. It will give us enough information to best guide instruction to meet our students. Thanks for your patience!
Reminder- Green folders go home Wednesday, please return Thursday. Reading binders go home Fridays, please return on Monday (or the next day of school if no school on Monday).
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Update from PT
This is from PTA
"We will be starting our Fundraiser tomorrow, Wednesday August 31st. We will have tried to pull all of the books for students that sent an opt out form back. If you have an opt out form for a student that didn't get pulled, please pull the packet out of your pile before distributing and staple the opt out form to the envelope and return it to the PTA box.
Our fundraiser will run through the 14th of September. All books and money will due back that day. We will be coming around to classrooms on the 14th after school to collect your piles of books so we can go through the books, reconcile money and start putting together the piles of books to send home with each student.
I will be putting up a PTA meeting sign up by the mail box (either late this afternoon or tomorrow morning). We would like to have a teacher present whenever possible at our meetings. Meetings are typically the 3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30-7:30 except for October which will be the 2nd Thursday of the month.
I will also be putting a flyer in each teacher's box regarding Box Top collection. Our first collection will be occurring the last week of September. We will be doing contests a little differently this year, we will have one contest for K-2 and one contest for 3-5. We will be running 3 contests during the year, each 3 months long and then we will have overall winners as well at the end of the school year.
We will be looking for volunteers for Saturday Live. At this point, I'm not sure we will get the help from the Billings Bulls this year so we will need more help then ever. Please make sure to encourage parents to sign up to help. We will have a sign up opportunity at the open house and they can always use our signup program: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4dabab23a64-saturday1
Candy collection for Saturday Live will start September 7th and run through September 21st. We will have a collection box in the work area to store your candy. We will also being doing ticket sales for Saturday Live before school the week before the event (Saturday September 24th). I'm not sure if we will have someone available to sell after school or not. We will see if we can line someone out to sell for the early release after school. We do not typically sell tickets during the late release.
Also new this year is our remind system. There are three different lists, one for General PTA announcements, one for Volunteers, and one for Bakers. Sign-ups for these can be found on our website, www.bitterrootpta.weebly.com
As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or any other member of the PTA board.
Thanks,
Jenny Jasper
PTA Vice President - Communication"
"We will be starting our Fundraiser tomorrow, Wednesday August 31st. We will have tried to pull all of the books for students that sent an opt out form back. If you have an opt out form for a student that didn't get pulled, please pull the packet out of your pile before distributing and staple the opt out form to the envelope and return it to the PTA box.
Our fundraiser will run through the 14th of September. All books and money will due back that day. We will be coming around to classrooms on the 14th after school to collect your piles of books so we can go through the books, reconcile money and start putting together the piles of books to send home with each student.
I will be putting up a PTA meeting sign up by the mail box (either late this afternoon or tomorrow morning). We would like to have a teacher present whenever possible at our meetings. Meetings are typically the 3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30-7:30 except for October which will be the 2nd Thursday of the month.
I will also be putting a flyer in each teacher's box regarding Box Top collection. Our first collection will be occurring the last week of September. We will be doing contests a little differently this year, we will have one contest for K-2 and one contest for 3-5. We will be running 3 contests during the year, each 3 months long and then we will have overall winners as well at the end of the school year.
We will be looking for volunteers for Saturday Live. At this point, I'm not sure we will get the help from the Billings Bulls this year so we will need more help then ever. Please make sure to encourage parents to sign up to help. We will have a sign up opportunity at the open house and they can always use our signup program: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4dabab23a64-saturday1
Candy collection for Saturday Live will start September 7th and run through September 21st. We will have a collection box in the work area to store your candy. We will also being doing ticket sales for Saturday Live before school the week before the event (Saturday September 24th). I'm not sure if we will have someone available to sell after school or not. We will see if we can line someone out to sell for the early release after school. We do not typically sell tickets during the late release.
Also new this year is our remind system. There are three different lists, one for General PTA announcements, one for Volunteers, and one for Bakers. Sign-ups for these can be found on our website, www.bitterrootpta.weebly.com
As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or any other member of the PTA board.
Thanks,
Jenny Jasper
PTA Vice President - Communication"
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Reflections and Gearing Up for Our First Full Week!
Wow! As I'm typing this my eyes are heavy, my body is tired, and I am ready to take a break! We had such an eventful, fun, wonderful first two days. I am so blessed with this class, as I have many siblings and familiar faces. Thank you to the parents who sent back the parent surveys and the update sheets. We had some papers go home Friday. Remember, I don't do paper newsletters, but I keep you up to date via the blog.
Next week, we are starting Daily 5 with our first lesson of reading stamina and Read-to-Self. Our goal for 1st grade is to read for 17 minutes without breaking stamina. With this class, I think we should be there in no time! While we work on stamina, we will also have our first poem and mini-lessons starting with reading strategies and why and what readers read. I know they are excited about reading!
In math, we'll start with number recognition and counting to 20. Also, we'll play some games for extra practice before we jump into adding strategies!
We'll start whiteboard spelling along with handwriting practice for extra skill building. Our new curriculum, Wonders, will stay right along with us as we begin discussing concepts of print and our two new sight words, I and like.
Also, we'll continue with classroom procedures and routines as well as building our school family.
If you have any questions about this coming week, please call or email! Thanks!
P.S. Boys and Girls Club starts tomorrow! We'll have our walking crew over to Medicine Crow at dismissal. Reminder: If your child is a B&GC regular, please call the office to notify if they will NOT be going on a particular day. Thanks!
Mrs. Dimock
In math, we'll start with number recognition and counting to 20. Also, we'll play some games for extra practice before we jump into adding strategies!
We'll start whiteboard spelling along with handwriting practice for extra skill building. Our new curriculum, Wonders, will stay right along with us as we begin discussing concepts of print and our two new sight words, I and like.
Also, we'll continue with classroom procedures and routines as well as building our school family.
If you have any questions about this coming week, please call or email! Thanks!
P.S. Boys and Girls Club starts tomorrow! We'll have our walking crew over to Medicine Crow at dismissal. Reminder: If your child is a B&GC regular, please call the office to notify if they will NOT be going on a particular day. Thanks!
Mrs. Dimock
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Welcome to Mrs. Dimock's 1st Grade Class!
Wow! Summer really flew by, but I am excited to get back to my new group of firsties. In the next few weeks, expect letters home, dates and times for supply night, and an exciting transition to first grade. If my kiddos don't leave on the first day dying to come back to school the next day, I didn't do my job.
Just an update on my summer.
My husband I and I enjoyed spending our 4th anniversary by selling our first home together and signing the papers for new construction! We are out of the house now and will be moving in the beginning of December. Merry Christmas to us! In the meantime, we've enjoyed a quiet summer of nightly walks with our dog, Sheldon, day trips to everywhere and anywhere, and long mornings of tea and relaxation.
In July, my teaching partners Mrs. Vegara, Mrs. Martin, and myself went to the Safe and Civil Schools conference in Portland. We learned some great tips and tricks for dealing with "tough" kids in our school and classrooms. I can't wait to get started on some of the strategies and tools to use with all of my students.
If you happen to be browsing through the blogs to get a head start (yes, you, type-A parent ; ) then look no further! All I ask is that you've completed the supply list, signed up for Bloomz, and have your child ready for the first day! I can't wait to see all of those smiling faces at Meet and Greet!
Love,
Mrs. Dimock
P.S. Here is the code to sign up for Bloomz!
Friday, June 3, 2016
Last Day!
Here are some pics from the last few weeks! I am going to miss these kiddos sooo much! We had such a great year and I am sad to see them go, but glad to know they are ready for second grade. Thanks for sharing them with me and I hope you have a great summer.
Love,
Mrs. Dimock
Love,
Mrs. Dimock
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Last Week!
Wow! We did it! Our first graders will be promoted to 2nd grade. Through laughter, fun, tears, frustration, and perseverance, these kiddos have grown up soooo much! It is bittersweet to see them move on, so ready for the next grade.
This week, no school on Monday and we have the field trip on Tuesday. Please make sure to send kiddos with backpacks, lunches, sealed water bottles, sunscreened and bug sprayed before coming to school, and an umbrella ready for any weather. I ask that kiddos wear tennis shoes and not flip flops or exposed toe sandals. Thank you again to our chaperones that make this field trip possible! We will leave from the school at 1:30 and return by 2:00.
On Wednesday and Thursday, we will try to keep the schedule as normal as possible. On Friday, a half day, we will watch a G rated movie, have recess, and do our in-class awards assembly before dismissal. It is a time for us to spend just kiddos and I so we can say goodbye.
I hope you have a great summer and I truly appreciate you all letting my have your kiddos for the year. I have many unforgettable moments to treasure!
Monday, May 23, 2016
Field Day Update from Mrs. Buss
I hope this answers any last minute questions for my volunteers!
From Mrs. Buss-----
Hello Wonderful People,
Below is a list of your Field Day station assignments. Also, I have attached a list of descriptions for each game in case you want them for your volunteers. There will be students running each station so they will explain the games if needed to each class. We will rotate the same as previous years. I will have a red flag that I will hold up as I blow my whistle. That will be the clue for each class to line up behind their line leader (chosen ahead of time by the teacher) to move to the next station. Then I will move my flag in a rotation motion and blow the whistle again to mean for the classes to walk to the next station. There are two stations involving water, so please stress to your students no white shirts. If they are wearing white shirts they will be asked to sit out during the water stations. Each students should also be reminded to wear tennis shoes and sunscreen. Water bottles are also a great idea, but will be kept at the bathroom/water break station. Lastly, popsicles will be available in the custodial closet freezer to take for your classes when you find convenient. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Primary Station:
1. Disc Golf - Redmond
2. Sack Race - Garcia
3. Water relay - Perius
4. Spiders and Flies - Martin
5. Water Balloon Toss – Dimock
6. Parachute - Vergara
7. Egg Race - Pohle
8. Tug-o-war - Miller
9. 3-Legged Race - Richardson
10. Bathroom/Water - Open until first rotation
Thanks,
Alexis Buss
Health Enhancement
Bitterroot Elementary
bussa@billingsschools.org
406-281-6205
From Mrs. Buss-----
Hello Wonderful People,
Below is a list of your Field Day station assignments. Also, I have attached a list of descriptions for each game in case you want them for your volunteers. There will be students running each station so they will explain the games if needed to each class. We will rotate the same as previous years. I will have a red flag that I will hold up as I blow my whistle. That will be the clue for each class to line up behind their line leader (chosen ahead of time by the teacher) to move to the next station. Then I will move my flag in a rotation motion and blow the whistle again to mean for the classes to walk to the next station. There are two stations involving water, so please stress to your students no white shirts. If they are wearing white shirts they will be asked to sit out during the water stations. Each students should also be reminded to wear tennis shoes and sunscreen. Water bottles are also a great idea, but will be kept at the bathroom/water break station. Lastly, popsicles will be available in the custodial closet freezer to take for your classes when you find convenient. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Primary Station:
1. Disc Golf - Redmond
2. Sack Race - Garcia
3. Water relay - Perius
4. Spiders and Flies - Martin
5. Water Balloon Toss – Dimock
6. Parachute - Vergara
7. Egg Race - Pohle
8. Tug-o-war - Miller
9. 3-Legged Race - Richardson
10. Bathroom/Water - Open until first rotation
Thanks,
Alexis Buss
Health Enhancement
Bitterroot Elementary
bussa@billingsschools.org
406-281-6205
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Almost There!
It sounds like the kiddos have been extra busy with sports and playing outside! They are as active as ever, which is great, because we are almost done with assessments!
Next week will do our last writing samples for their portfolios and cumulative folders. Make sure they are here every day this week so we don't miss out!
We will be gearing up for the end of the year, which for me includes packing up the room. I will need everything boxed up again before 3:30 on the last day of school, so reassure your child that it is just how the end of the year goes and I'm just packing and not moving ; )
Friday was the last day for poetry binders. Keep them at home for practice over the summer. It is a great memory from first grade!
On Wednesday, May 25th, from 8:45-10:45. Please send kiddos in appropriate sportswear and tennis shoes. A fitted (not flat-brimmed) hat would work well if it is sunny that day.
The last homework will be sent this week. I've gotten back almost all the field trip permission slips!
If there is anything else coming up, I'll do my best to send out a remind.
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, May 15, 2016
14 Days!
We had such a blast with career day costumes on Tuesday! The kiddos were so excited to dress up and share why they wanted to be in that career field.
It is crunch time! If you have unpaid lunch tickets, lost library books, or any other must do, please get it done before the end of school. We are getting tile flooring in our rooms starting the week after school gets out, so it will be difficult (if not impossible) to get in the building.
This will be the last week for poems. As you may have noticed, the kiddos didn't have their poetry binders this Friday. I felt badly sending home a poem about summer when we had such silly weather. ; )
I am still finishing up assessments. WOW! Our kids have made such great progress this last quarter. Please make sure to continue sending your kiddo each day so that he/she doesn't miss out on the end of the year assessments. Thanks!
I have had plenty of volunteers for both field day and the field trip. Currently 3 for field day and 4 for field trip, but if any one else would like to join in, we always have room for more help!
Our animal reports are going so well! I can't wait for them to finish writing and move onto illustrating so we can get them home for you to see.
Thanks for all that you do,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Happy Mother's Day!
We are starting to plan our end of the year field trip to Riverfront Park. This is a fun day of games and nature. We will be going from 9:30-1:30 on Tuesday, May 31st. Our class is still in need of at least 3 more volunteers to help make this day happen. For safety purposes siblings are not allowed on this trip. If you are willing to volunteer please let me know. Permission slips and more information will be sent home when the date gets closer.
I will still need 1 more parent volunteer for field day on May 25th. Please email me so I can forward it onto Mrs. Buss the P.E. teacher. dimockc@billingsschools.org
The bake sale has been extended. Goodies will be sold Wednesday after school.
We are out of snack again. I have purchased enough snack to get us through this week, but we will need a few more boxes to make it through the rest of the year.
Now that we have wrapped up our Lead 21 curriculum we will be doing things a little different. This week we will not be having reading groups. During reading group time I will be assessing reading levels. Spelling will also be a bit different. For the next three weeks spelling tests will be high frequency words. I will not be posting the 10 words I will be assessing for the week. These are words that the students should already know and words we have been working on all year. However, the words will be taken from the high-frequency word list on the right side of the blog if you would like to help your kiddo study.
We are back to our normal math routine this week. We will be learning about 2-D shapes and their attributes.
We had a wonderful turnout for our Mother's Day Breakfast! It was tons of fun getting to celebrate all of those special ladies. The room was so full of LOVE!
Thank you, again, for all of the gifts and kind notes this week. Teacher Appreciation Week sure made me feel appreciated!!
I will still need 1 more parent volunteer for field day on May 25th. Please email me so I can forward it onto Mrs. Buss the P.E. teacher. dimockc@billingsschools.org
The bake sale has been extended. Goodies will be sold Wednesday after school.
We are out of snack again. I have purchased enough snack to get us through this week, but we will need a few more boxes to make it through the rest of the year.
Now that we have wrapped up our Lead 21 curriculum we will be doing things a little different. This week we will not be having reading groups. During reading group time I will be assessing reading levels. Spelling will also be a bit different. For the next three weeks spelling tests will be high frequency words. I will not be posting the 10 words I will be assessing for the week. These are words that the students should already know and words we have been working on all year. However, the words will be taken from the high-frequency word list on the right side of the blog if you would like to help your kiddo study.
We are back to our normal math routine this week. We will be learning about 2-D shapes and their attributes.
We had a wonderful turnout for our Mother's Day Breakfast! It was tons of fun getting to celebrate all of those special ladies. The room was so full of LOVE!
Thank you, again, for all of the gifts and kind notes this week. Teacher Appreciation Week sure made me feel appreciated!!
Sunday, May 1, 2016
May Day!
Thursday, May 5 is our Mother's Day Breakfast. This is a time for you and your kiddo to spend some extra special time together and celebrate YOU! Please leave siblings at home. We will have lots of yummy goodies.
On Wednesday, May 25th from 8:45 - 10:45 we will be having our Primary Field Day. Mrs. Buss, the P.E. teacher, is asking for 2 parent volunteers per class. If you are interested, please let me know so I can get you on the list!
We are starting to plan our end of the year field trip to Riverfront Park. This is a fun day of games and nature. We will be going from 9:30-1:30 on Tuesday, May 31st. We are in need of volunteers to help make this day happen. For safety purposes siblings are not allowed on this trip. If you are willing to volunteer please let me know. Permission slips and more information will be sent home when the date gets closer.
It is tick season and we have seen some ticks in our fields. Please be sure to check your kiddo for ticks each night.
Thank you to those who came and supported our Classroom Carnival Friday night. It was so much fun!
It's assessment time again. We will be taking our spring Fastbridge benchmark assessments this week during math. Hopefully, we can get through them in one week!
We our finishing up our fairy tales this week and starting in on our Animal Reports! They have turned out so good and the kiddos LOVED working on this project!
This will be our last week of LEAD 21 spelling words. After this week we will be working on high-frequency words. Please be sure to help your kiddo study for their spelling test!
Spelling Words: toe
goes
road
boat
coat
snow
blow
grow
know
people
I tried to blow the snow.
On Wednesday, May 25th from 8:45 - 10:45 we will be having our Primary Field Day. Mrs. Buss, the P.E. teacher, is asking for 2 parent volunteers per class. If you are interested, please let me know so I can get you on the list!
We are starting to plan our end of the year field trip to Riverfront Park. This is a fun day of games and nature. We will be going from 9:30-1:30 on Tuesday, May 31st. We are in need of volunteers to help make this day happen. For safety purposes siblings are not allowed on this trip. If you are willing to volunteer please let me know. Permission slips and more information will be sent home when the date gets closer.
It is tick season and we have seen some ticks in our fields. Please be sure to check your kiddo for ticks each night.
Thank you to those who came and supported our Classroom Carnival Friday night. It was so much fun!
It's assessment time again. We will be taking our spring Fastbridge benchmark assessments this week during math. Hopefully, we can get through them in one week!
We our finishing up our fairy tales this week and starting in on our Animal Reports! They have turned out so good and the kiddos LOVED working on this project!
This will be our last week of LEAD 21 spelling words. After this week we will be working on high-frequency words. Please be sure to help your kiddo study for their spelling test!
Spelling Words: toe
goes
road
boat
coat
snow
blow
grow
know
people
I tried to blow the snow.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
April Showers Bring May Flowers
April went by in the blink of an eye!
A full week of school?!? Let's hope we can survive after being spoiled with back-to-back short weeks!
SAVE THE DATE--We will be having a Mother's Day Breakfast on Thursday, May 5 from 7:30-8:00.
Wednesday is Administrative Professionals Day aka Secretaries Day. If you see Mrs. Z be sure to thank her for all she does. She is AMAZING!
The classroom carnival is Friday. Come enjoy some fun games and family time! I hope to see you there!
We are still finishing our Fairy Tales and will be publishing them to SeeSaw this week.
We will be starting our geometry unit in math. We will start out with solid figures. We will learn some new math vocabulary to help us identify solid figures such as faces, vertices, and edges. We will have lots of fun in math this week!
Spelling:
light
fight
high
try
why
sky
pie
tie
like
think
Why is the light up high?
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Spelling:
light
fight
high
try
why
sky
pie
tie
like
think
Why is the light up high?
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Another Short Week!
Hello, families!
We've had a wonderful week full of learning money, finishing our fairy tales, and digging deep into our Amy Krouse author study.
Next week, we have no school on Friday, April 22nd.
In reading, we will continue with Unit 6: A Perfect Place to Live and begin selection 2 in reading groups. Our question we will be trying to answer is, "What is a habitat?". This is great background knowledge for when we start animal reports the following week.
In writing, we are finishing up fairy tales, with some students even ready to publish! They are doing such a great job on these!
In spelling, we will be covering long a words using ai and ay.
rain, nail, wait, brain, way, play, tray, say, again, said
I can't play in the rain.
HFW: there, walk
In math, we will continue coins and review time. It is important for the kiddos to be practicing both at home, as these are "real" life math concepts.
Again, if you have any questions about the curriculum or what your child should be working on, give me a call or email!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
I can't play in the rain.
HFW: there, walk
In math, we will continue coins and review time. It is important for the kiddos to be practicing both at home, as these are "real" life math concepts.
Again, if you have any questions about the curriculum or what your child should be working on, give me a call or email!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Short Week 4/11/16
Hello, Families!
Our time unit went fantastically! The kiddos were super engaged and excited for learning. Thanks for supporting them at home with bringing a zoo stuffed animal!
This week, will still have spelling. We are working on "Y Bandit." It is unit 6 week 1.
baby, silly, easy, city, piece, chief, field, puppy, everybody, very
The baby is silly.
High Frequency Words: something, dog, again
In writing, we are continuing with our fairy tales. These kiddos have such imaginations and I am excited to see how they end up next week!
In math, we are starting our money unit, covering pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Support at home is greatly appreciated!
We are continuing with our Author Study of Amy Krouse. This week we will be reading, "Duck! Rabbit." If you had read the blog post a few weeks ago, we were supposed to read this book, but at the last minute, I was offered the chance to be a part of this author study. I saved it for this week, but we'll be doing the same project.
Just a reminder, we are still missing a few picture packets and report card envelopes. Please return those as soon as possible.
Also, the school carnival is coming up at the end of this month. To raise support, first grade is in charge of the Family Fun and Games basket. If you can, please donate!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
The baby is silly.
High Frequency Words: something, dog, again
In writing, we are continuing with our fairy tales. These kiddos have such imaginations and I am excited to see how they end up next week!
In math, we are starting our money unit, covering pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Support at home is greatly appreciated!
We are continuing with our Author Study of Amy Krouse. This week we will be reading, "Duck! Rabbit." If you had read the blog post a few weeks ago, we were supposed to read this book, but at the last minute, I was offered the chance to be a part of this author study. I saved it for this week, but we'll be doing the same project.
Just a reminder, we are still missing a few picture packets and report card envelopes. Please return those as soon as possible.
Also, the school carnival is coming up at the end of this month. To raise support, first grade is in charge of the Family Fun and Games basket. If you can, please donate!
Wishing you well,
Mrs. Dimock
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Update 4/4/16
This is one of our lucky weeks where we get a full week to catch-up and get back to routine!
Spelling:
he, she, eat, seat, each, keep, queen, these, where, teacher
Where is the teacher?
HFW:
listens, school
Writing: We will continue our Fairy Tales Unit. This week we will be planning our fairy tales and begin the drafting and revising process. I can't wait to see what the kiddos come up with! They have quite the imagination!
Reading: We are in Unit 5 Week 4, so it is a week of review and wrapping up our phonics and comprehension skills. Our reading comp lessons will focus on understanding the vocab and author's meaning, while also revisiting tools and strategies we can use to figure it out!
Math: This is one of my favorite units in math! We get to start time to the hour and half hour. I've got a whole week full of activities to help your kiddos become clock masters! We will be doing a wrap-up activity where the kiddos will get to bring a stuffed zoo animal to school. With their new skills, the kiddos will be able to prepare a zoo schedule to take care of their stuffed animals. We will work up to reading, writing, and telling time throughout the week!
If you have any questions regarding report cards, please get in contact with me sooner rather than later so we can discuss goals/plans for the kiddos. For those of you that scheduled conferences this week, let me know if any time conflicts arise! I'd rather reschedule that have a no-show.
Also, spring pictures went home Friday. If you don't want the photos, send them back to school. If you do order photos, send money and the leftovers back as well. Any questions? Get a hold of PTA or the front office.
Thanks for all that you do! This last quarter is going to fly by!
Mrs. Dimock
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Seattle, Purple Hand Cookie, Easter, and Other Updates
Wow! These last two weeks have been such a blur!
St. Patrick's Day, Purple Hand, Report Cards, Spring Pictures, Spring Break, Assessments and Easter
I'm looking forward to getting back to routine and enjoy the time we have left in this school year.
Here are some important dates to keep in mind as the quarter progresses:
4/1/16 Friday-Report cards go home
4/4-4/8/16- Scheduled conferences
4/8/16- Last day of Penny Wars
4/4-4/22/16- Raffle basket collections (more info in Wednesday Folders this week)
4/11/16- PIR Day No School for Students
4/22/16 - Vacation Day No School
4/29/16 Friday- Carnival
5/2- 5/5/16 - Teacher Appreciation Week
5/6/16-Vacation Day No School
5/25/16-Field Day - K-3 AM, 4-6 PM (Volunteers needed!)
5/30/16-Vacation Day No School
Also, Mrs. Neese found these wonderful videos from Billings Clinic. I've been listening to these on and off over the last week, and they have a lot of interesting points for teachers and parents. Check it out if you have time!
Here are our photos from measurement, the UnWaxed Museum, graphing activities, and a totem pole I found in Seattle (for some of the kiddos that read about Alaskan totem poles in their differentiated readers).
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