Newsletter

First Grade Newsletter

Oct. 17

Mrs. Eriksson's Class

 

 

Storyline:

We had a fun week with our storyline.  We set up camp, roasted marshmallows and rafted down the Deschutes River. We explored Class 3 and 4 rapids and told stories in our tent.  We also went fishing in Mirror Pond.  Thank you to Mr. Light and Mr. Laesky for helping with cast fishing and detangling many fishing lines and to the Lahertys and Mr. Ratcliff for teaching the kiddos how to fly-fish. 

 

Fish and Wildlife just stocked Shevlin Pond with large trout….may be a good time to go fishing.  Children under 12 do not need a license.

We also began to work on the itinerary that we will send the Fritz family.  We hope to have it done by next week.

 

Research Project:
If your child has not completed their research project PLEASE work on it this weekend.  It was due last Monday.  PLEASE make sure your children are involved in the project.  I ask several children about their research and they said they didn't do it, their parents did.  If the parents complete the research part of the project, the children will not be able to create a presentation.  Please talk with you children this weekend about what they researched.

 

Culmination:  Our Culmination will be on Wednesday, November 4

 

Homefun:

Poem folders did not come home this week.

 

Math:

Last week in Math we worked on:

·      Counting by 2's and 5's

·      Worked with out teen numbers

·      Introduced the telling time to the hour. 

·      Worked on number writing.

·      Worked on finding pairs with the sums of ten.

·       

 

Reading:

We worked

·      with the "et" word family

·      in skill set groups – curriculum depended on the needs of each group.

·      In guided reading groups

 

PE/Music: 

We will have PE this coming week on Wednesday.

 

Vocabulary we worked on this week:

Elements of Story:

·      Characters

·      Setting

·      Problem

·      Resolution

Itinerary

 

I hope you had a great weekend.  Nice snowstorm!

Becky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newsletter Oct. 9

First Grade Newsletter

Oct. 9

Mrs. Eriksson's Class

 

Conferences: 

I want to thank all of you for attending your child's conference.  I am grateful to report that I had 21 conferences!  I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with your children.  I also feel very fortunate to have the support of the parents.  It is so wonderful to see how much you care about your children.  Talking to you this Thursday and Friday was a great way to spend two days.  One thing I love about conferences is that I get to share what your children are doing in school with you on a more personal basis.  Another thing I love about conferences is that I can reflect on the children's learning.  They have made wonderful progress in the weeks we have been in school and I look forward to watching them continue on growth!

Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  Parent communication is a key component in your child's education.

 

Storyline:

This week we continued to work on our frieze.  We learned about Atlas', maps globes and continents.  We completed some mapping skills as well discussed our directions: North, East, South and West.

Field Trips:

Monday, Oct. 12:  Camping and Rafting

We will be camping near the Deschutes River and rafting down Big Eddy (not really). But we will be setting up a campsite along with rafts, canoes and kayaks by the gym!   We will read a few camping stories and have a marshmallow!  Please let me know if you child cannot have a marshmallow and if that is the case, could you please bring a small treat your child could have by our pretend campfire.

Volunteers Needed:

Thursday, Oct. 15:  Fishing on the Deschutes at Mirror Pond

We will be hiking to Mirror Pond to do a little cast fishing and Fly-fishing.

If you would like to help with this event, I know I will need some!  Fishing poles, lines, bait, 6 and 7 year olds….. am I crazy?  I know it will be a very busy day, however, I also know it will be a great time!

Several parents have contacted me about helping with the fly-fishing portion of this event.  If you are still interested, please contact me.  We will be leaving school at 12:15 and arriving at the fishing area at 12:25.  Fishing will occur for 40 minutes then we will head by to school.

 

PLEASE CONTACT HELP AND ME IF YOU CAN VOLUNTEER WITH THE CAST FISHING, NO EXPERINECE NECESSARY, OR HAVE SOME FLYFISHING EXPERIENCE WITH EQIUPEMENT.

 

 

Research Project:

The research project information is due no later than Tuesday, Oct. 13

 

Culmination:  Our Culmination is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday November 4.   

 

Homefun:

Please read the poems in the Poem folder with your children and return the folder to school on Monday.

 

Please remember to help you children with their math homework.  Please make sure numbers are written correctly and answers are correct.

 

Math:

Last week in Math we completed several activities with the 100's grid.  We also practiced writing numbers.

 

Writing:

We wrote about mini moments and we also did a free right where the children could write about anything they wanted.  Many dragons, castles, princesses and unicorn came alive!

 

Reading:

This week we worked with

·      The "-ug" word family

·      Worked on a color word pack

·      Worked on hearing and writing sounds in words and manipulating sounds in words to create new words.

 

PE/Music: 

We will not have a Wednesday special this week.

 

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILDREN:

What is an Atlas?

What is a continent and how many are there?

What is a globe?

What are the for directions you can find on a map?

What kinds of maps do people use?

I hope you have a great weekend.  I will be in Hillsboro and McMinnville for soccer! 

Becky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newsletter Oct 2

First Grade Newsletter

Oct. 2

Mrs. Eriksson's Class

 

 

Storyline:

This week we worked on our frieze.  We now have our mountain range up along with lakes and sky.  Next week we will be working on putting up Bend and the surrounding area.

Field Trips:

Monday, Oct. 12:  Camping and Rafting

We will be camping near the Deschutes River and rafting down Big Eddy (not really). But we will be setting up a campsite along with rafts, canoes and kayaks by the gym!  We will need yellow rafts, canoes and kayaks, paddles and life jackets and blue tarps (water).  If you have any of these items and would like to bring them next Monday let me know and I will share the specifics with you!

 

Thursday, Oct. 15:  Fishing on the Deschutes at Mirror Pond

We will be hiking to Mirror Pond to do a little cast fishing and Fly-fishing.

If you would like to help with this event, I know I will need some!  Fishing poles, lines, bait, 6 and 7 year olds….. am I crazy?  I know it will be a very busy day, however, I also know it will be a great time!

Several parents have contacted me about helping with the fly-fishing portion of this event.  If you are still interested, please contact me.  We will be leaving school at 12:15 and arriving at the fishing area at 12:25.  Fishing will occur for 40 minutes then we will head by to school.

 

Research Project:

On Friday, I sent home large envelopes with your child's research project.  Please read over the information. If you have any questions, please email me.

 

Culmination:  Our Culmination is tentatively scheduled for the week of November 9 – 12 – but may change to the week prior.  A specific date and time will be announced soon.

 

Homefun:

Please read the poems in the Poem folder with your children and return the folder to school on Mondays.

 

Please remember to help you children with their math homework.  Please make sure numbers are written correctly and answers are correct.

 

Math:

Last week in Math we worked on:

·      Ordering numbers

·      Counting by 2's and 5's

·      Making and counting tally marks (It would be good to practice at home!)

 

Writing:

Each child picked on e member of the Fritz family and wrote al them.  We also wrote about Mimi Moments.

Reading:

This week we worked with

·      The "ell" word family

·      Completed a word sort using the short a, i and short sounds in words

·      Worked on syllables, and hearing sounds in words. 

 

Volunteering:

There are still some time slots left for volunteering if you are interested. 

 

PE/Music: 

We will have Music this week.

 

I hope you had a great weekend.  Nice snowstorm!

Becky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homework and Take-home Folders

Good evening everyone,

Just a quick note on homework and take home folders.

• Take Home Folders need to be returned to school everyday.    
  
• Please make sure you correct you children's work when they are completing homework assignments.  Many of the children had mistakes on the last math homework assignment.  These mistakes included writing numbers backwards, writing the teen numbers backwards, and making the wrong number of tallies for the number written.  By correcting your child's works you have the opportunity to talk about the concepts being covered.
  
• It is also important to make sure that your child's name is written on the top of all homework papers.
  
• Please look through your childs folder each night and talk to them about the papers they have brought home.  Make this an opportunity to talk to your child about what they are doing in school.  This will also help them not turn everything back in the next morning!!!  If your childs paper has a star or stamp on it, it should stay at home.
  
• Poem Folders are due back each Monday.
  
• Library books are due back to school every Thursday.  If you child does not return the library books they will not be able to check out new books.
  
• Please make sure your child wears the appropriate shoes for PE.  
  
  

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Becky

Newsletter Sept 27

First Grade Newsletter

Sept.27, 2009

Mrs. Eriksson's Class

 

 

Storyline:

Last week we went on two field trips to down town Bend.  Both were a great deal of fun.  We went to the High Desert Museum and the Bend Historical Museum.  We are beginning to set the stage for our research projects.

We finished creating the Fritz family and they will be up on the frieze board this week.  We also began working on the Map of Bend and the surrounding area.  The goal is to have everything up by the end of the week! 

Our next field trip will be to Drake Park.  We are going to be doing some cast finishing and watching (maybe trying) some fly-fishing.  We are planning this walking field trip for Tuesday, October 6.  If you are fly fisherman or have experience with cast fishing, please let me know if you would like to help.  Even if you don't have experience, let me know, as I will need some volunteers. 

 

Storyline needs:  Yellow rafts, canoes and kayaks, paddles and life jackets.  No we are not going on the water, but we are going to use them at school for an incident.

 

Questions to ask your children:

What was the neatest thing you saw at the High Desert Museum?

Did you like the miner's Cave?

What part of the museum do you think Julian would like the best?   Why  (likes lizards and snakes)

What was you favorite part of the Bend Historical Museum?

What was one interesting thing you learned?

 

Culmination:  Our Culmination is tentatively scheduled for the week of November 9 – 12.  A specific date and time will be announced soon.

 

Homefun:

Please read the poems in the Poem folder with your children and return the folder to school on Mondays.

 

Math:

Last week in Math we worked on:

·      Ordering numbers

·      Counting by 5's

·      Making and counting tally marks (It would be good to practice at home!)

 

 

 

Writing:

We continued to work on Mini Moments.

 

Reading:

This week we worked with

·      The "ip" word family

·      The short a and i sounds

·      Changing sounds (beginning, middle and ending sounds) in words to create new words.

 

Volunteering:

There are still some time slots left for volunteering if you are interested. 

 

Back to School Night:

If you did not make it to Back to School Night and you did not receive an information packet please email me.  I got many emails last week about different things.  I lost track! 

 

PE/Music: 

No Specials this week.

 

I hope you had a great weekend.  I am sorry for the late newsletter, but I was in Portland all weekend for soccer! 

 

Becky

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to School Night/ Poem Folders

Good Evening everyone,

Just a few reminders:

If your kiddo is home ill, please make sure you call the office in the morning and let them know.

If you arrive at school after after 9:05, please go to the front office and check your child in.

If you take your child out of school early, please go the the front office and check your child out.

Tomorrow night is our Back to School Night.  It starts at 6:00 and should run about an hour.   If you need to bring your children, please know that I do not have anyone to watch them in the library as originally planned.  My son's soccer practice got moved to Wednesdays.  If you need to bring your children, I will have crayons and math manipulative set up in the next room.  We can leave the door open so we will be able to keep an eye on them during our meeting.

Poem Folders need to be returned each Monday.  The kiddos will bring them home each Friday.  Please read the poems with your kiddos over the weekend.

Next field trip:

To:  Bend Historical Museum

When:  Friday, Sept. 25

Departure time:  1:10

Return time:  2:50 -3:00

Transportation:  Feet

Cost:  Free

Please make sure your child wears good walking shoes.

Thanks,

Becky

Storyline/Volunteering

Good Evening Everyone!

Storyline:

I hope your kiddos had a great day today on our field trip.  All in storyline fashion (part of the incidence) many things went wrong today!  First, the bus driver did not know how to get to the High Desert Museum.  The children said to drive along the highway, up a big hill and to La PIne.  Luckily, I had a map!   Then when we got there, they were not open.  I had to go down and the front desk folks to please let us in and after much discussion, they let us in!  Finally, we didn't have enough money to get everyone in!  I tried to use my credit card, but I didn't have enough credit.  Thankfully, Mrs. Gross had her check book!  Once we got in, everything ran very smoothly.

Now, please know this was all staged.  We are setting the stage for the children for when they start completing there research.  More information will be coming home soon.    Please ask your children about the trip.  Ask them if anything went wrong and if they were going to go there again what would they do differently, before they went!

Thank you to all the volunteers today:  Mrs. Neumann, Mr.Leask, Mrs. Cornutt, Mrs. Cunningham, and Mrs. Grube.  They did an amazing job!!

Volunteering:

If you have signed up to volunteer in the classroom, we are beginning this week.  If you can't make it this week, please let me know.  If you have signed up for a split shift and I have not contacted you, please let me know when you will start coming in.

Have a nice evening!

Becky

Math Game and Poem Folder

Hello everyone,

One of these weeks I will get everything into the newsletter!

Today your child brought home a Poem Folder.  Please have your child read the poem to you.  Thing of other rhyming words that rhyme with the word family at "at".

Top It Math Game:

Supplies:

I deck of card.  J - 11, Q - 12 K - 13

This game is played like the game "War".  Divide cards up evenly.  Place cards face down.  Each player flips over the top card in their deck.  The person with the highest card wins.  If both players turn up the same card, then you place three cards face down and the 4th card face up.  Hightest card wins.  To make game more challenging take out (or leave) the J, Q and K.  Turn two cards over, add them together (or subtract) and the highest player wins.

Attached is the newsletter and Fritz family letter I sent home today.

Have a great weekend!

Becky

High Desert Monday

Hello everyone,

Just a quick reminder, we will be leaving school at 9:30 on Monday for the High Desert Museum.  We will be returning to school at 2:30.  Please make sure your child brings a lunch, snack and water.  Also, good walking shoes are important.

Have a great weekend!

Becky

Field Trips Past and Present

Hello all!

I am wondering if your kiddos are tired tonight!  I certainly am!  Thank you to Ms. Grube and Mr. Leask for helping with the field trip.  We walked for over 2 hours with one 15 minute break.  We had a wonderful walk around Bend.  We were lucky enough to be invited into the Tower Theater and a local barber gave each kiddo a lollipop!  

Our next field trip is coming up this Friday.  We are going to the Bend Visitor's Center.  Tomorrow, I am will send a field trip form home for this trip.  It is a walking/BAT bus (Bend Area Transit) field trip, so I need to have a field trip form.  Some families already received the form, so if you get another one, please ignore it!

Trip to The Visitor's Center:

Departing School at 9:30

Catching the BAT bus at 9:40 at 6th and Newport

Off the bus a Harriman and Newport

Visiting the Visitor's Center

Start walking back to school at 10:00.  We will walk along Newport Ave.

Today, I sent home a field trip form which is for Monday.  We are going to the High Desert Museum.  The cost of this field trip is $4.50.  Please attach a check or cash to the field trip form.  

If your family is in need of a scholarship for any of the trips we take, please let me know.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Take Care!

Becky

Walking Field Trip

Hi Everyone,

Please remember, there is a walking field trip tomorrow.  Please make sure your kiddo has a snack, water, has a backpack to carry the water and snack and finally, please make sure your child is wearing good walking shoes!!!

See you tomorrow.

Becky

Field Trip Change

Our field trip to the Bend Visitor's Center has been changed to Friday, Sept. 18.  We will be leaving and returning at the same time.

I will be sending a field trip form home on Monday for this field trip.  It will need to be returned for Friday.  

Please remember to turn in your walking field trip form before Tuesday.  It came home in the manila envelope at open house.  If you have not turned it in, or do not have one, please see Deb Douglas in the front office.

Thanks and see you on Monday!

Becky

First Letter Home

First Grade Newsletter

Friday, September 11

 

Dear Parents,

 

First, I will apologize for the long newsletter…. The next few weeks are going to be very busy so I need to share with you all that we are doing!

 

I have sent a hardcopy of this newsletter home with your child as well as in an email.  If you did not receive this newsletter by email, please let me know. My email address is becky.eriksson@bend.k12.or.us

 

The first week of school has been really fun!  I am enjoying getting to know all the children in the class.  The children are also getting to know each other and are beginning to develop new friendships.  We have been filling our days with projects, reading, writing, exploring math tubs, community time and free choice time.  I have begun assessing the children in the areas of phonics, phonemic awareness, number writing and spelling.  I will continue to assess the children next week.  This will allow me to create reading and math programs that will meet the needs of the children.

 

Please make sure you return all the forms that came in your manila envelopes.  Especially the Walking Field Trip Form and The Volunteer Back Ground Check Form. 

 

Thank you to all the parents who have donated $15 to our class fund.  This money will go toward a subscription to Kid's National Geographic and needed classroom supplies through out the year.

 

Back to School Night will be on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:00.  Originally, I was going to have my son help with watching children in the library.  Well, now he has soccer practice on Wednesdays.  With that said, I will not be able to provide child-care.  If someone has an older child that can watch the children in the library, let me know.

 

If you did not get receive Highland Piper Newsletter via email on Thursday, please let Deb Douglas know.  Her email address is deb.douglas@bend.k12.or.us 

 

I will be posting a classroom volunteer schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 16.  I will be asking that people start volunteering on the week of Sept. 21.  Please know that I rely heavily on my parent volunteers.  As a volunteer, you will be working with small groups in reading, math and writing.  I create my lesson plans with the idea that you will be there to work with groups.  If you sign up to volunteer and are not able to make it on a specific day, please let me know as soon as you can so I can make adjustments to my plans for the day.

PE and Music Schedule:  We will have PE on Mondays and Thursdays and Music on Tuesdays and Fridays.  On PE days, your child will need tennis shoes in order to participate.  This is so that we protect our children from injury and to maintain the gym floor.  On some Wednesdays we will have PE.  For September we will have PE on Wednesday the 23.

 

STORYLINE NEWS

 

Today, we received a letter from a family who lives in San Francisco.  They are trying to decide if they should come to Bend, Oregon for a vacation or go to Seattle, Washington.  They have asked our first grade class to plan a "Vacation of a Lifetime."  They are also asking a first grade class in Seattle to do the same.   We are to create a vacation and send them the plans.  They will then decide where they are going to go for their vacation.  If they decide to come to Bend, they will visit our school and town the first or second week of November (hint… culmination).   

So we are off and running and will begin our storyline journey!

 

We will be going on several field trips to prepare for our task.  It is VERY important that you turn in your child's Walking Field Trip form as soon as possible.  If you would like to volunteer for any of these trips, please let me know.  I would like to have 3 volunteers for the first two walking field trips to downtown Bend and Visitor's Center, Five for the High Desert Museum and three for the Bend Historical Museum. I will be posting a field trip volunteer form outside the classroom on Monday.  I realize I have not given you much notice and I hope some of you will be able to help.  If you would like to help, please either sign up or email me.

 

 

Tuesday, Sept. 15:

Field trip to downtown Bend

Transportation:  Walking

Departure:  12:45

Return:  2:15

What your child needs to bring:  Backpack, GOOD Walking shoes, snack and water

 

Thursday, Sept 17:

Field trip to the Visitor's Center in Downtown Bend

Transportation:  BAT Bus and walking

Cost:  Free

Departure: 9:35

Return: 10:30

What your child needs to bring:  backpack, water, good walking shoes, and snack

 

Monday, Sept. 21:

Field Trip to the High Desert Musuem

Transportation:  School Bus

Cost: $4.50 per child

Departure: 9:30 am

Return:  2:30 pm (approximately)

What your child needs to bring:  Backpack, good walking shoes, lunch, and water

 

Friday, Sept. 25:

Field trip to the Bend Historical Museum

Cost:  Free

Departure: TBA

Return: TBA

What your child should bring:  Backpack, good walking shoes, snack and water

 

 

OK, I think I am done….  If you have any questions about our storyline, field trips, classroom activities, etc., please email me.  I usually check my emails in the morning before school and in the evenings.

 

Have a great weekend!

Becky