1st Grade is ALMOST HERE!

Wow! First grade is right around the corner! I hope that everyone has been enjoying this gorgeous last weekend of the summer before school begins. I was hard at work in the classroom last week, and it's all set and ready for students to arrive. Remember, Open House is Tuesday, August 28th, from 8:00-9:00 a.m. Please stop by and say hello and tour the classroom. School begins on Wednesday, August 29th. Yippee!

(I realize some names are printed larger than others in this image--this was a randomly generated piece of "word art." The sizes, colors, and fonts are random. Pretty neat, in my opinion!)

Field Day

As many of you know, Field Day 2012 was a great success! It was a gorgeous day, students were on their best behavior, and there were many fun activities ready for us at Airport Park. Enjoy the photos!

Tammie Wirtz took  many great photos which can be accessed by clicking here: More Field Day Photos

I could not figure out an efficient way to include them in my existing slideshow, but she captured some excellent moments, including the class surprising me with a scrapbook of their memories of me and the school year. I was touched!

I will send an email sometime this weekend with details about the last day of school and I will try to do another blog post if time allows. Have a great weekend!

Decorating T-Shirts

Thank you for sending in a white t-shirt to decorate for field day on Wednesday. Students spent some time on Friday signing each other's t-shirt, and the teachers spent some time Friday (and over the weekend) spray dying them! Originally, I wanted students to help with the spray dye. But, after a trial run, I realized they would come home with more than just their field day shirt dyed--it's a messy process!

The results look pretty good in my estimation. You'll get a sneak peak below, but we'll be sure to take lots of photos when we're wearing them at field day. Your child will wear his/her shirt home that day too.

Remember, if you want to join us for field day on Wednesday, June 6th, the activities will start around 9:30 a.m. and our lunch time is at 11:30 a.m. Let's hope for dry weather!

 

 

 

Drying on my back porch. :-)

Bike Trip 2012

Thank you to EVERYONE--each and every family--who helped make the annual bike trip a success once again! From dropping off/picking up your child's bike at school, to packing the cold lunches, to accompanying us on the trip as a bike rider or crossing guard--it took all of us to make this work!

We had a great day for biking--not too hot or cold, but just warm enough with some cloud cover so no one overheated. Hooray! We had a few bumps and scrapes, but no serious injuries. Hooray! Most of all, everyone I talked to had fun. Hooray!

Thanks again for a wonderful day. This is one of my favorite field trips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potato Planting

I hope your child's sticker, which read, "I planted a potato today, ask me how," prompted some good conversation about our potato planting activity on Thursday. UMS and the Colchester Food Shelf have formed another partnership in addition to our food drives--planting potatoes for Tuberville, an organization which grows potatoes for those in need. There is now a potato patch behind the new Colchester Food Shelf (next to our school) and the first graders were the first to plant the potatoes that will help provide food for those in need come fall harvest time. And, when that harvest time comes around, our students will be second graders and they will help harvest the potatoes. What a great way to be involved in helping our community! Great work, 1st graders!

Four Winds Day 2012

We had a great Four Winds Day on Thursday last week. It was windy, warm, and FUN! This year's topic was ferns. Students went to four stations outside to learn more about ferns and then watched a great puppet show presented by our volunteers in the afternoon.

Holding the chicks

Ah, what an exciting day! This is the first Animoto video I'll create...I have a feeling there will be more as the chicks come out of the incubator and into their new habitat. Stay tuned! (And see below for a video of a chick hatching taken today).

The first hatch!

It was pure excitement as students gathered around the incubator to watch our first chick hatch this morning. They hatched a day early...well, three of them did! We are hopeful that there will be more when students get to school tomorrow.

This video is a little long, but I think it's worth watching. We were able to do a "simulcast" (thanks for the reminder, Mr. Antonicci!) on the whiteboard using the Apple TV as I recorded the hatch using the iPad. This allowed everyone to see the action, even if they weren't standing right at the incubator. The excitement in the room was contagious! (And if you're wondering why students are cheeping, we decided the chicks needed some encouragement to hatch! Some students think the chicks respond well to our singing too.) :-)

Bike Safety

Mrs. McCleary came in to talk to our class and Mrs. Hughes' class about bike safety this morning. This lesson was created because of our upcoming bike ride field trip on May 31st. Mrs. McCleary reminded students about the importance of having a bike that's in good working order, wearing a helmet, and following bike bath etiquette. Students even went outside and pretended to ride bikes to practice bike path etiquette (riding single file, staying on the right, stopping and watching for cars before crossing at crosswalks, etc). We are very excited for our upcoming trip!