Mrs. O'Connell's Classroom Connection

Homework for Monday:

Reader The Same As You

Math Workbook p. 67

School Supplies?
This is a good time of year to ask your child if they need to replenish pencils, crayons, glue sticks, etc.

Flowers in January
Just a reminder that the class will perform their Readers Theater production of Flowers in January twice on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 10 and 10:45 a.m. Hope you can join us for one of our performances!

Homework for Tuesday

Read Take the Cake aloud. Mark the long a words such as take, and circle the words with beginning digraphs ch and th

No math homework today!

Bake Sale Thursday! We will be visiting the Bake Sale after lunch on Thursday. If you'd like your child to purchase any goodies, please send money that day. I believe many items can be purchased for $1.00 or less, but don't quote me on that.

Today we celebrated Student Appreciation Day at St. Linus School. We participated in a very cool assembly in the gym called Mad Science, played All School Bingo (with numbers called over the P.A.,) and went to the movies. Students chose from four features shown in the Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms, and enjoyed popcorn during the show. It was a great day to be a student at St. Linus School!

Don't forget that tomorrow is Open House from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and our classroom will be performing Flowers in January at 10 a.m. and again at 10:45. Hope to see you here for one of our performances.

Heads up for Valentine's Day...
We will have a little party on Friday, February 12 to celebrate Valentine's Day. Children may bring Valentines to exchange. Please be sure to include everyone -- we have 14 boys and 11 girls in our class. The party will be in the afternoon, following Library, at 1:15 p.m.

No new homework assigned today, but there were a few children who did not turn in their homework on Wednesday, so it needs to be completed and turned in on Thursday!
On Thursday, the Reader will come home and our weekly Selection Test will take place on Friday, as well as our Spelling Test.

To all who were able to visit our classroom today and view a performance of Flowers in January, we hope that you enjoyed the show. Thanks for stopping by!

This afternoon, we enjoyed a trip to the Bake Sale - please check your child's backpack or lunchbox for possible leftover goodies.

Homework for Thursday:
Read Cherry Pies and Lullabies aloud. Selection Test tomorrow.
Practice spelling words for Test tomorrow.
Math Workbook p. 68 Skip counting patterns - 2s, 5s, 10s

Please remind your child that it is their responsibility to bring their homework to school. I'm hearing "My mom forgot to put it in my backpack" far too often!

What a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Day! I was greeted both in the morning and the afternoon with lovely cards and thoughtful gifts from my wonderful class! Thank you!

Thanks to Mrs. Gallagher for beautifully managing our class while I enjoyed a teacher luncheon.

I am sending home two Scholastic Book flyers for February. I'll be placing the order next Friday, 2/12. If interested, please return forms before then.

Don't forget about the Six Flags Six Hour Reading Club! Completed forms are due by February 19 in order to receive a free ticket to use this summer.

Have a great weekend!

Our phonics focus this week will be the long o sound, as in hope, and the initial digraphs sh- and wh-, as in shop and what.

Here are the spelling words for Friday's test: rode, those, hope, home, joke, stone, has, very, shop, what

High Frequency words: father, going, has, thank, very

Homework

Reading: Rose and Grandma Make the Sun Shine

Math: Workbook p. 70

Homework:

Read Whales and talk about what the story is all about (main idea).

Math workbook p. 71

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

No more snow! No more snow! No more snow!

Homework for Wednesday:

Reader My Family Get Together
Read aloud and retell the story. Selection test on Thursday.

No math homework today - go out and play in the snow!

Spelling Test on Friday!!!

We will celebrate Valentine's Day in the afternoon by crafting a bag to carry our goodies and cards home in. If your child is bringing Valentines to pass, please remember to include all 14 boys and 11 girls.

Thanks to our special visitor - Kyle's grandma - who read two wonderful stories to our class today!

Thanks to all for the goodies and cards, and to our room moms for assisting with our Valentine's Day craft and party at the end of the day. Your help is really appreciated!

Enjoy the long weekend and have a sweet Valentine's Day!

Our phonics focus this week is on the long i sound, as in like, and single/double medial consonants.

Here are the words for Friday's spelling test: like, ride, nice, white, time, five, your, friend, never, rabbit

High Frequency words: be, friend, pretty, soon, your

Because our week is a day short due to the holiday on Monday, we will have both our Reading Selection and Spelling tests on Friday.

Homework for Wednesday

Read Summer at Pine Lake
Word hunt for long i words with CVCe pattern

Math Workbook p. 74

We are working on counting money in class. Please give your child opportunities at home to practice with real pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

Homework

Reading
The Rat and the Cat
Selection Test tomorrow

Weekly Spelling Test tomorrow!

Math
Workbook p. 75

Next week, on Thursday, 2/25, we celebrate our second 1st grade Mass at 8:30 a.m. You are welcome to attend! Those children whose names were drawn to read during Mass have their parts in their Home folder today. Please keep this at home to practice. We have another copy for school. We will be practicing next Tuesday and Wednesday together, but nightly practice will help their reading confidence in front of an "audience." Thanks!

FAMILY PICTURE
Please send in a family photo to be used in our 1st grade Mass next week. It will be returned to you! Please do not send in a framed photo.

Because of the shorter week, we will have both our Reading Selection and Spelling tests on Friday this week.

Spelling words for Friday's test: fish, that, long, the, such, with, four, were, cute, use

Word Wall words: four, funny, long, watch, were

This week, your child is allowed to bring cowboy boots and/or hats to wear for fun as we read stories about ranch life. Please make sure they have their regular school shoes as well.

Please remember to send in a family photo no later than Wednesday so that it can be included in the poster for our 1st Grade Mass!

Operation Rice Bowl collection boxes were sent home on Friday. Please encourage your child to be generous with their pennies and spare change during Lent.

As we learn about counting money in Math, we will put our new skills to use shopping in a Lenten Store. Your child will be able to purchase inexpensively priced items such as small toys, pencils, erasers, stickers, and more. Most items will cost between 10 and 50 cents. Proceeds will be donated to Operation Rice Bowl. Our store will be "open" every other Friday from 1:25 to 2:15 for the next several weeks during Lent. I am looking for a couple of volunteers to assist the children as they make their purchases on the following Fridays: 2/26, 3/12, 3/26. If you'd like to help out, please let me know which date would be best for you - and THANKS!

Progress Reports will be sent home on Friday!

Homework for Tuesday:

Read June and the Mule aloud

REMINDER: Wednesday is the due date for family photos to be used in our Mass on Thursday.

Tomorrow is our 1st Grade Mass at 8:30 a.m. If you are available, please join us in Church.

Homework for Wednesday

Phonics Reader The Dude Ranch Dudes Read story aloud. Do a word hunt and mark the long u words, such as dude. Circle words with digraphs (noted on cover page).

Math Workbook p. 77

What a wonderful Mass our 1st graders celebrated today! I'm very proud of them. Because we have a group in Church praying the Rosary immediately following the 8:30 a.m. Mass, I need to ask the parents who join us to make their greetings quickly and quietly when Mass is over. The children tend to be quite excited about seeing you there, so we need to make our exit right away to avoid disturbing those who remain to pray. Thanks for understanding.

Homework for Thursday

Read Slim, Luke and the Mules aloud and retell the story in your own words.
There is a Reading Selection Test tomorrow.

Math Workbook p. 78.

Practice Spelling words for test tomorrow.

REMINDER: Our class store is open tomorrow following Library class in the afternoon. You may send up to $2.00 in change for your child to spend in the store. Proceeds will be donated to Operation Rice Bowl, our Lenten mission. I am still looking for a volunteer or two to help set up the store and aid the children in their "shopping" between 12:30 and 2:15 p.m. tomorrow. If you are available, even for just part of that time, please let me know. Thanks!

Thanks to Mrs. Vicenteno and Mrs. Homa for helping out in our Classroom Store today. Counting out real money to buy real stuff is fun! We will open our store again in 2 weeks, on Friday, March 12.

Thanks to generous Jack McCarthy who won the Mystery Raffle and donated his prize for a second drawing. Mairin was the winner of the stuffed yellow bear!

Week of March 1-5

Our phonics focus will be on the long e sound, spelled with ee or e and compound words.

Spelling words for Friday's test: we, he, she, see, me, green, any, kind, anything, inside

High Frequency words: about, ask, any, kind, over
Is your child putting these written words in their shoebox each week and taking them out to study? I've been finding many in student desks.

A packet of Scholastic Book orders was sent home. If interested, please return forms with payment by March 2nd. Thanks.

As the weather (hopefully) warms up, we will try to spend time each day outdoors, especially on those days when we don't have P.E. Please make sure your child has adequate outerwear for a 15-minute recess.