We "mustache" you to say NO to drugs!!!

Red Ribbon Week

Mrs. Rowan's son! Dreams in Action!

We do go outside some, and when we do.... we have so much fun!

Dance Party

We had a great dance party with Douglas Anderson's Creative Dance Ensemble. Mrs. Rowan's daughter is a member. We watched 5 different cultural dances, and then came back for a private dance party! The students had so much fun! I hope they shared with you our dance we learned! Some of us did it again on the carpet today!

We have been having so much fun!

First Grade is so fun! And Exhausting!

 Here are a few pictures!

 Mrs. Rowan's son Jap and his girlfriend Sterling came in and allowed us to describe them as matter! We had so much fun!! I didn't realize how tall he was until we tried to measure him using our 10 sticks!

We are so busy learning every day!

It is hard to believe it is December! We are still working right up to the break. Homework folders came home today, but they will not come home next week.

I will be posting a few picture posts, there is a new filter at school that does not allow me to access the BLOG sometimes!

Enjoy!

The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

It's hard to believe we are already in mid-November! It is a very busy time of year for us with many breaks that sometimes cause us to forget our academics. Now, more than ever, it is so important to work with your students at home in Math and Reading.

Expectations for First Graders at this point include:

1. Reading Fry Words List 100, 200, and 300
http://www.k12reader.com/subject/vocabulary/fry-words/

2. Addition and Subtraction of Math Facts to 20
http://www.mathplayground.com/flashcards_03.html

3. Fluently Reading Level C/D books
http://www.readinga-z.com/books/leveled-books/?lbFilter[level-A]

4. Solving Story Problems With Known and Unknown Numbers
http://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets/first-grade-1/word-problems

5. What is Matter? How do Objects Move? What is the Scientific Process?
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm

The CPALMS website is also a great resource for following along with what First Graders in Florida are supposed to achieve.
http://www.cpalms.org/Public/

No doubt, First Graders have a lot of information to cover! There success depends greatly on a partnership between home and school.

As we enter these days of frequent breaks please continue to support learning at home through study times with your student.

After the first of the year (2015) we will schedule conferences to discuss academic performance. Please make every attempt to attend these conferences.

Have a great weekend!

Monday will be Day 35

We are having fun with some Fall activities in our classroom! We will finish up our first nine weeks in just a short 10 days! That is so hard for Mrs. Rowan to believe!

In Math we are still working with combinations. While our students must be fluent in their addition and subtraction to 20, they must also understand and be able to solve word problems with known and unknown parts!!!

In Science we are still working on Matter. Mrs. Vega has provided some great hands-on learning activities for the students! We will continue talking about properties as they relate to matter this next week.

In Reading we just finished talking about poetry. We even tried to write some of our own poetry. We had fun with the rhymes that we read in some of our poems. We continue to work on Narrative Writing using 5 quick sketch pages to help us along.

This week we will add in a Language Arts Block and a handwriting center! We are busy learning new things every day!!!

I am looking for a few volunteers on 10/31 if you are able to come in between 1:00 - 2:30! We will have a few pumpkin themed centers happening!!

Mrs. Rowan will be out Wednesday and Thursday! One of my former students will be graduating from boot camp in South Carolina and I am so excited to be part of this next chapter in Shayla's life!!

Mrs. Vega and Mrs. Bergeron will hold down the fort!!

I-Ready is Ready!!!

Student Log-in codes and passwords were sent home Thursday taped to planners. Please allow your students time at home to work on I-Ready. If you do not have internet or a computer the Public Library is a great place for students to work, and they can check out books!!

Lunch- Lunch is served FREE everyday in the cafeteria. Snacks are available for purchase, but I am requesting that we put a hold on those for awhile. We are still in the process of learning and following our rituals and routines and sometimes we just don't need all that extra sugar!!!

Students are moving through centers and you may see a decline in conduct grades. It is the classroom expectation that students work while they are in their centers and do not leave that area. Most often centers are hands-on and students must document what they are learning in their journals. We will continue working on documentation and rotations through centers.

We are learning a lot in FIRST grade!!  I mean a LOT!!! It is important that your students are working with their phrase rings, completing their homework, and reading nightly. All three combined will help ensure their success in school.

Please work with your student on counting to 20 with objects, and addition and subtraction within 20 with unknown numbers.
Example: I have 7 crayons, some are blue and some are red. I have more red crayons. How many of each could I have?

Example: Rosa had some stickers. She gave 2 stickers to her friend. Then she had 4 stickers left. How many stickers did Rosa start with?

Have a great weekend!!!

Progress Reports Came Home Today!

Progress Reports Came Home Today! Make sure you sign and return them by Friday. This is just student's standing at the midpoint of First Grade.

is READY!! Student Passwords will come home Friday!!! This is a great tool for reading and math practice at home.

 

 

Friday is Super Hero Day!!! Dress like your favorite Superhero!!!

 

 

Housekeeping - Week 6

Can you believe we begin week 6 Monday? I cannot!! We are learning everyday and having fun with it!! Most days we are rushing to get it all in.  We received a new student Friday-

 Welcome Matthew D!

We are now up to 20!

Progress Reports will come home in the Tuesday folders. Please sign and return one copy of the Progress Report. If you would like an academic or behavior conference please indicate that on the form, and I will send you a conference notice.

Planners need to be signed every night! This is a way to communicate and stay aware of your student's conduct grade. Last week we started a self-monitoring program that will enhance our daily behavior grades. This program will allow us to mature and not blurt out, leave our assigned area, and help us to stay on track!

Homework Folders are looking a lot better. To increase the proficiency in your student's handwriting, please allow them to complete some word work in the spiral.  Please also work on the Sight Words and Phrase Cards!

Wednesday is EARLY RELEASE!!! Student Dismissal begins at 1:45!

This week we have Art on Thursday!

Friday is Johnny Appleseed Day- we are planning some fun activities!!!

Please join PTA by Friday, 9/26 so your student can go to the Mad Science presentation Friday.

We have had a lot of fun celebrating September birthdays!!! And we have many more in October!!

Have a great week!

Observing and Recording

Today we made Egg Geodes using sugar (green), sea salt (yellow), baking soda (red) and rock salt (blue). We will be practicing learning how to ask Science questions and recording our observations. We will continue to observe and record our dirt, dry beans, and wet beans.

Students are coming home with new Homework for the week. Please make sure that they are completing activities nightly.

The 20th Day

Monday will be our 20th day of school! It's hard to believe that we have been in school for that many days. We have spent quite a bit of time reviewing our rituals and routines to help make us successful in school. We have been practicing our center rotations, and movements throughout the day. Monday we will start FULL speed at moving through our day using our CHAMPS system to help us out.

We will have 3 resources this week: Art Tuesday, Music Thursday, and PE Friday :)

A few reminders:

* Planners come home everyday with your student's color of the day. Please talk to them about their color. Blue, Purple and PINK are very exciting to them! Yellow, Orange and Red might be a great time to talk about making good choices and being responsible!
* Homework Folders are YELLOW! They contain a spiral notebook and the monthly menu. We also send home Math for the week. Stapled to the spiral notebook you will find the weekly sheet. Remember that students may use 3-5 sheets a week to complete homework.
* Tuesday folders are GREEN. Please remove and read any papers and return the folder and any necessary papers Wednesday.
*Lunch - Lunch is at 11:15. All school lunches are free this year. If you pack a lunch for your student please send a well rounded lunch of protein, carbs, and fruits and vegetables. A lunch full of sugar makes your student sleepy before school has ended.
* Phrase Rings - Each student receives new phrase cards each week. Please make sure your student is reading these to you during the week.
* Thursday Night, 9/18 is Pizza Night at Pizza Palace on Baymeadows Road. Come out and visit with your teachers and friends!

We are having a great time in ROOM 111. Thank you for sending your student to school ready to learn!

No Open House!

Mrs. Rowan's class 

WILL NOT

have Open House on 8/28/14.

Open House for Mrs. Rowan's Class

WILL BE

on Tuesday, September 2nd.

Thank you!!!

Tuesday folders came home yesterday. Please review our First Grade Newsletter and Class Updates sheet. This will help you support your student at home. 

Thank you! We had a fabulous 8th day of school!

First Week of School!!

We have almost finished our first week of school! We have been busy learning our routines and rituals and have managed to work in ELA, Science, and Math every day!!!

A few classroom reminders:
* Planners come home daily with a conduct grade and any important notes that cannot wait for our Tuesday folder. Please sign your child's planner each night.

* Homework spirals stay in the yellow homework folder. Nightly word work (Spelling and Sight) will help our reading and writing tremendously. Next week we will begin sending home Fry Phrases. Please work with your student on these phrases.

* Math and Science will be sent home as needed. They will also be located in the Yellow Homework folder but will need to be returned the next day. ** I-Ready is not READY--- as soon as we receive information I will send home log-in information.

* Breakfast in the classroom is daily! This week students have enjoyed eating at our table and talking with their friends before our day begins. The weekly menu can be found here: Breakfast in the Classroom Menu & Lunch Menu

* We eat lunch at 11:15.

* Mrs. Vega is with us until November. She is an intern and is in the final stages of earning her teaching certificate. She has been with us since Tuesday, and already jumping in to help!

* I will send home an Open House Date Monday. Room 111 WILL NOT have Open House next Thursday! Mrs. Rowan will be in Columbia, South Carolina cheering on her son in his first College GAME!!!

It has been a great week and we are looking forward to a super year!

Orientation

It's almost time to start our year!!

Please join us for First Grade Orientation

Thursday, August 14th

@10:00

Room 111, Beauclerc Elementary

Please bring $5.00 to join PTA!!

Moving to 1st Grade!

It's great to be in Room 111 as a First Grade Teacher!! I can't wait to meet each of my new students and parents.

Please don't buy any supplies until we receive our district list (we will be using journals this year for Math, Reading, and Writing).

Feel free to email me at : rowant@duvalschools.org

Looking forward to a great year!!

26 Days

Hi Parentals!!!

Can you believe that in 26 days your students will be 6th graders?! It is certainly a huge accomplishment for students and their families.

With that being said, we are busy working everyday to get ready for 6th grade. Make sure you are keeping up with Grade Portal!!! Progress Reports will come home next Friday.

In the next few weeks you will receive a form requesting information for middle school placement. This will be sent to assure your students records are sent to the correct school. All scheduling will be handled by the middle school teams.

Yearbooks are available for purchase - $30.00!!

5th Grade Awards will be June 6th at 9:00am.

Have a great week!

FCAT is here!!!

Parents,
We need you more than ever! Today in class, students wrote letters to themselves expressing their fears and worries over FCAT. Almost every student was afraid of letting their parents down with a low score, or a score that they feel you would not be proud of!

PLEASE

1. Tell your student you are proud of their accomplishments!

2. Encourage your students to do their personal best; that is really all we can ask for!

3. Remember they are in 5th GRADE!!!! What may seem easy to you can be very difficult for them, and they become deflated when they are chastised about "how easy something is."

4. Make sure they get a good nights sleep- after school go for a walk, play outside, or just hang-out- make them feel at ease!!!!

5. Send them to school fed, rested, and ready for the day!!! NO arguing on the way to school!!!

These little suggestions can make a huge difference in how your child FACES their test!!!

Don't forget your snack day, and let the testing begin!!!!

52 Days

I hope you had a wonderful Spring Break!! I know I did!! I took Macey to New York and we had so much fun in the city! We saw three shows, and went all over the place... well Mrs. Rowan and Ms. Holley did, because Macey was so busy dancing! It was so cold though. The highs were only in the high 20's or low 30's! The city is so much fun, I especially enjoyed Central Park, and riding all over on the subway. The 9 story Macy's was a lot of fun too!! And the bakeries... oh I could just go on!

When we came back we were greeted by Mr. Sunshine!! It has been a great few days back in Jacksonville. Mr. Rowan and I have worked in our yard, and cleaned the house to get ready for Spring. We are enjoying our last two days of break!

Do you know that when we get back there are only 52 days of school left?! I can't believe it!! It seems like we were just starting, not about to end.

We have a lot to accomplish in those 52 days. We will prep for FCAT, and get ready for all of our end of year activities for 5th grade.

Make sure you are in school Monday- See you soon!

Spring Break!!!

It's just about that time!! Please be safe and enjoy your Spring Break!!

The 4th nine weeks will begin shortly after our return!! We still have a lot to accomplish, so rest, play, and have fun on this well deserved break!!!

Mrs. Rowan will be in the big city of New York with Macey!!! I think it's going to snow, so I'll take some fun pictures!!

You take pictures too!!!!

Be safe!!!

Congratulations!!!

A Big Congratulations to the following Students!

Kate Wilson and Sofia Moran

2nd Place Science Fair Winners

Matthew May

4th Place Science Fair Winner

Our students did a great job with all our Science Fair Boards!!!!

Get Ready to Run!!!

Tomorrow is our FUN RUN!!!!

We will start the run at 8:45! We would love for you to come cheer us on!

See you at the RUN!!!

Science Fair

Students should be in FULL science fair mode!!! They have given me their question, and at this point they should be conducting their research, writing their hypothesis (prediction), writing their procedures and designing their data chart. We will review these items on Monday 1/27!

Remember, each piece of the project is a grade. Each student has a Science Fair Timeline and Checklist, as well as a packet entitled "My Science Journal." Students will be able to purchase a backboard for $3.50 but will not start putting their boards together until the week of February 7th.

Please remember to go on-line and complete your Boosterthon Pledges!!! We are trying to build a track for our school!

Report Cards will come home next Wednesday. Please be on the look-out for those!

Have a great weekend!

Happy New Years!!!

I hope you have all enjoyed you LONG winter break! I know that I have! I love sometimes just being able to do nothing, having no place to be, or no time constraints to get the job done. But as we know, all good things settle back into a routine, and for us that routine begins Monday, January 6, 2014.

When we return to school we will be following a 10 day rotation. Mrs. Rowan's homeroom will receive 10 days of English instruction in reading, and then move over to Mrs. Ryan's room for 10 days of Spanish instruction in Science and Math.

Mrs. Ryan's homeroom will receive 10 days of Reading instruction in Spanish, and then 10 days of Math instruction in English. We will attempt to follow 2 school weeks to help students track the time better.

The 2nd nine weeks is over January 16! Report cards for the 2nd quarter will come home January 29th.

We will begin taking Math CGA's the first week back, followed by Reading and Science.

Please make sure that your student is completing homework and nightly silent reading assignments.

See you next week!