HEADING WEST

Coach Seirer and I are heading to the mountains for one of my favorite times of the year! I've told the children that I'm on my way to see Santa's reindeer. We'll be spending 4 days in Estes Park for Elk Fest. If you've never heard an elk bugle it is the most amazing experience. The aspen trees are just beautiful. It's the peak time for Autumn in the Rocky Mountains!

THANK YOU MRS. GOECKLER

Mrs. Goeckler was a guest reader in our classroom today. She shared a story about the migration and growth of the Monarch butterfly. It was so nice to hear her experiences with the Monarch butterflies. Thank you Mrs. Goeckler!

TECHNOLOGY THURSDAY

We're on our way to the computer lab this week to practice new games. In reading the children will play a sight word Bingo game. Beware this site comes with sound...adjust the volume! The math website uses a ten frame to help reinforce addition. Happy Tech Thursday to all!
READING
http://www.abcya.com/dolch_sight_word_bingo.htm
MATH
http://illuminations.nctm.org/activitydetail.aspx?id=75

VICEROY BUTTERFLY

The children had fun today observing the Viceroy butterflies. (Also known as the Painted Lady butterfly.) Here is some information on the Viceroy. It is easily confused with the Monarch due to the similarity of colors. Happy Butterfly hunting!

The viceroy butterfly is dark orange with black veins. A row of white spots edge its wings. Its color and pattern mimics the monarch butterfly's pattern except for a black horizontal stripe that crosses the bottom of its back wings. The viceroy caterpillar is white and olive-brown.

CONNOR - STUDENT OF THE WEEK

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MAKING APPLESAUCE

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MATH INVESTIGATIONS



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BUZZ's HONEY BUST

Just for fun.......a game the children will enjoy playing at home!
http://honeydefender.com/honeybust/?dfa=&cmp=5553418&adv=2086518&site=1110170&page=64984887&ctv=0

COMPUTER LAB FUN

First Graders are working on the computers in the lab practicing reading and math skills!

TECHNOLOGY THURSDAY

Let's here it for "TECH THURSDAY"! The children are looking forward to another day in the computer lab. Here are the websites we will visit. Have a terrific Thursday everyone!

READING
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/picturematch/

MATH
http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-1/recognize-patterns
http://www.thekidzpage.com/learninggames/shelfnumbers.htm

STAR WORDS

I have encouraged the children as they practice words at home to have a parent put a star on each word they can read. After the word receives 5 stars then we can consider the word mastered. Once a week I check the words for stars. Those with stars on their words receive a treat! Please feel welcome to put a star on the words your child knows as you practice together! Thanks again for your support in helping your child to be a CHAMPION READER!

JADA - STUDENT OF THE WEEK

LIFT

LIFT is short for.....Learning is Fun Together! Monday the children will be starting new learning groups. LIFT is a time where students will work in small groups on reading skills in concentrated lessons. Groups are mixed with students from grades K-2. Students will remain with the same group until our next PLC Day on October 12. Each child has been evaluated and placed according to their needs. The students will be pre and post tested during their LIFT time to monitor their progress. There are 7 staff members working with groups during our LIFT time. Groups vary from Letter sounds, Consonant Vowel Consonant patterns, Silent E, Blends, Digraphs, and advanced skills such as R-Controlled Vowels and Consonant Clusters, Silent Consonants and Consonant Digraphs. I will be supervising 2 groups during this first session. One group of 5 will work with Letter Sounds. The other group of 3 will work on advanced skills. At parent teacher conferences I will share more information on MTSS and the strategies we are using to improve our reading program.

TECHNOLOGY THURSDAY

Time for Technology Thursday! This week in the lab the first graders will work with spelling city. It is a favorite for spelling practice. Today we previewed the games of Unscramble and Hang Mouse. The children have been working on their first list of spelling words. The final test is Friday. The Spelling City website offers a variety of word spelling games. Good Luck First Graders!
http://www.spellingcity.com/

EARLY DISMISSAL

A reminder that Wednesday, September 14 the students will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m. The staff will be attending inservice meetings until 3:30. We are looking forward to discussing data collected and strategies for MTSS. MTSS is short for Multi-Tier System of Supports. Group support time is referred to as "LIFT" - Learning is Fun Together! Our students are evaluated and placed in learning groups that best fit their educational needs. I will visit more about MTSS at parent teacher conferences.

SPELLING

The children are so ready to begin weekly spelling tests! First Graders are bringing home a note and list of spelling words today. Several passed the pre-test at 100% and are receiving a list of special words. Please encourage your child to learn to spell as many special words as they can. They are only bonus words and will not count on their final grade. Spelling Recognition Awards will be presented at the Awards Program at the end of the school year. Help your child choose a few from the special list or they may attempt all 6 special words. I'm doing a HaPpY dance because I have such a smart group of students!

TECHNOLOGY THURSDAY

Here it is again....already time for Technology Thursday! We will explore these websites for reading and math in the lab this week. The Bees and Honey game is pretty simple but it prompts control of using a mouse and tracking using their finger as the bees are counted. There are 3 different levels of this game. In the game of Number Track the children will review counting order. Quite simple but they enjoy dragging the numbers to their correct places. In the explore option the children may create their own number track! Starfall.com is one of my most favorite reading sites. The games are wonderful for sound blending! Have a wonderful Thursday!
Math
http://www.tvokids.com/games/beesandhoney
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy-properties-and-ordering.html#ntrack
Reading
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f

FAMILY TIMES

The children will be bringing home each week a message called "Family Times". On the front is a rhyme that we are using to reinforce letter sounds. In the middle is a game board with directions on how to play the game. On the back is 5 days of activities the children may complete at home. I hope that you will take time to be involved and help your child to complete some of the activities. They don't have to do all 5. Trying one or two each week will help your child move along the road of success. Send back any activities that your child completes. They may earn a sticker for their sticker books for showing the extra effort. Have fun together playing the board game in the middle eah week. We played "Begin It" today and had such a good time. The children are working on playing cooperatively together and learning how to share turns. Enjoy your family time!