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
