Happy Long Weekend!

I hope you are enjoying your long weekend with your kids!

Just a couple of things before next week:

-We will be starting all of our reading and math curriculum next week and trying to get the kids into the daily routine.

-Your child will have homework Tuesday and Wednesday night this week only.
*Tuesday night homework: Please read the story with your child and help them answer the questions on the back and return it Wednesday morning.
*Wednesday night homework: Please read the attached note for the homework. In first grade we expect the use of details in their pictures, and the use of at LEAST 5 colors. We also begin to expect that your child use correct colors for hair and any other items they may include in their pictures. The pictures do not have to be works of art, but they need to follow the guidelines. Their sentences need to be complete with a capital letter at the beginning and the correct end mark and they must write at LEAST 3 sentences.

-Please remember if you have not sent in the transportation, health, technology, or any other forms that you received, in yet they need to be in as soon as possible.

-If you have any trouble signing up for Class Dojo or Remind 101, just let me know and I will do my best to help you out.

-Please send your child to school with a snack from the approved snack list daily. We do not provide snack in first grade as they did in Kindergarten.

-If you send in any lunch money, please send it in a baggie or envelope and write what it is for on it. I would hate for the money to get lost or for me to not know who gave it to me and what it was for. It must be labeled in order to get it to the right place.

-If you plan on changing your child's transportation, you must send a note with your child or call the office or your child will be sent home the way you indicated at the beginning of the year.

-If you plan on sending your child home on the regular yellow school bus or are picking them up and they normally attend an after school activity, please let not only me know, but also the after school program that your child isn't going home that way. They have them on their list unless you notify them and it helps the process if we are not trying to find what bus the child is supposed to be on.

I think that is it for now. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! :)

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Class Dojo Mix-Up

Hello Families,

Please double check your child's Class Dojo log in sheet that was sent home on Monday. I think with the confusion of the first time getting their mail in the classroom, some students may have gotten someone else's mail by mistake. If by any chance you have a log in sheet that is not yours, please send it back to school and I will send the correct one home with your child.

If you already signed up on someone else's by accident, please let me know and I will help you fix it.

Thank you for your help and sorry for any confusion!

Miss Marrano

Welcome First Graders!

Welcome to the first day of first grade! It's going to be a great year and I can't wait to meet all of your precious little ones!

There will be a blue folder coming home with your child after the first day of school. This folder is VERY important at our school.

Please make sure you go through all of the information in the folder as soon as possible. Please return any important forms that need to come back to myself or the office. Important forms include health, transportation, and technology. These need to be back as soon as possible.

This folder will go home with your child every night (homework and important information from myself and/or the office will be in there) and needs to come back to school with them every day. It is an important and easy way to keep everything in order.

Also, please send in the necessary supplies as soon as possible as we will be using them from the very first day of school. :)

Please remember that your child needs to bring a snack that is on the approved snack list. If it is not on the snack list, your child will not be allowed to eat it.

If your child will be buying lunch, please add money on their online account or send a baggie or envelope with the money inside and their name and my name on it. Milk money should also be sent in the same way.

Please refrain from sending your child to school in flip flops or shoes with no backs. This makes recess and fire drills more dangerous to them and other children.

I look forward to the year ahead and I will provide more information as the week goes on and things get a little more settled for you and your family!

Alyssa Marrano

Unit 6

Hello families,

Unit six, our last and final reading unit is coming to an end next week with our last story, Sand Castle. Your child will be tested on the following words next week:

been
gone
other
bear
birds
Earth
table
ever
goes
laugh
only
across
air
enough
eyes
circle
grew
leave
toward

Please study these with your child and have them prepared for next week.

We will continue doing spelling until the last full week of school but will no longer be using our hard cover reading books and comprehension journals after next week.

Thank you so much for all of your help throughout the year keeping your child on track in school.

Ms. Marrano

Unit 5 High Frequency Words

It's that time again! The end of another 5 weeks of school. We are ending Unit 5 in reading next week and your child will be tested on the Unit 5 High Frequency Words. In case you have misplaced the green sheet with the words on it, the following is the list of words they will need to know in 10 seconds or less. Thank you for all that you do to help your child learn and be a successful student!

mother
try
always
father
love
ball
head
never
should
shout
better
children
or
round
along
early
nothing
thought
animals
beautiful
from
ground
places

Please remember to return the play slip if you will be attending our Earth Day Play by Friday, April 11 so we can make sure there is enough room in the classroom for you to enjoy all of our hard work!

Also, if you have not completed and returned your child's costume for the play please have that completed and sent in as soon as possible.

Lastly, in the next few weeks your child will be completing all end of the year testing such as MAP Tests, Reading Benchmarking, and Writing Samples. Please make sure they are at school on time and that they have a healthy breakfast before they come to school so they can focus and show their potential!

I look forward to all of the fun that is in store for us in the last 7 weeks of school!

Quarter 3 is On it's Way Out!

Hi families,

Quarter 3 is almost over which means Spring Break and 9 more weeks of school! I can't believe we are at this point already. This year has been a whirlwind and has gone by so quickly!

Next week we will be testing Quarter 3 words. Here is the list of words to study for next week!

over
write
ride
room
don't
sleep
said
much
that
love
one
paper
with
rain
five
door
sky
their
what
down
but
here
going
our
three

Please study and have a great weekend!

Miss Marrano

Week of 10/21/13

Hi families,

Just a reminder your child is being tested on their Quarter 1 words this week because the end of the quarter is Friday, October 25.

These words were in the open house folders given to you at the beginning of the year.  These are words that are imperative for your child to know.  The more they know, the better reader they will become.  These are 100 of the most commonly seen words in texts that are appropriate for a first grader.  Some of the words are a review from what they learned in Kindergarten.

Also, Friday will be our show and tell day.  Your child can bring something in to show the class.  Please make sure it is school appropriate and please refrain from sending your child with any expensive electronics.  I would like to make sure that none of them are broken or lost.  Please leave those at home.

Next week will be a short and busy week.  On Wednesday, October 30th the Orland Park Fire Department will be bringing their Fire Safety Trailer.  Each class will get to go through the trailer and learn about fire safety at home.  This goes along with October being fire safety month.

On Thursday, October 31 we will be having our Fall Carnival.  Please let me know if your child should not be wearing a costume.  Also, if your child does not have a costume but would like to wear one, please let me know so we can make sure your child has one to wear.  Our carnival time is from 8:50-9:20.  They will get to wear their costume for this 30 minute block and then will be changing out of them to have their regular class time.

Please remember that your child will be taking their spelling test on Thursday instead of Friday because Friday, November 1 is a Teacher's Institute and the children will not be in attendance.

That is all for now.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions!