News and Announcements
Day and Night
January 23rd, 2019:
I'm sure you've heard from the kids, but if you haven't, we have been studying Space! Last week, we learned about Day and Night and worked to find the answers to some very profound questions like: "If the sun is always shining then why does it get dark outside?" and "Why does the sun seem like it's always following me?"
The kids put on their scientist hats and we went outside to make some observations of the sun as it moves across the sky. We observed where the sun was in the morning, at midday, and in the afternoon, and we measured the length of our shadows at these times. The kids came up with some great conclusions and are ever-curious about other solar and lunar phenomena! Next up: phases of the moon! Check out the blog for pictures.
Happy New Year
January 4th, 2019:
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
I hope you all had a nice time with your families over the past few weeks. I am excited to kick off the new semester; we have a lot of great learning planned!
We will be starting our new units mid-week: in reading, writing and EFS we will be learning all about space!! The kids loved this so much last year. It really is fun.
In reading, the kids will be determining the main topic of a non-fiction text and finding the key details that support it. We will be reading about the sun, the moon, the stars, day and night, the planets, and more. We will also be identifying and using non-fiction text features such as the table of contents, glossary, captions, etc. You can encourage your child to use these features in books at home and explain how they help them as a reader.
In writing we will be writing chapter books that teach people about space. Our own non-fiction texts, so to speak. They will be writing a hook, facts, and conclusions.
In EFS, we will be delving more into space by doing some observations, physical modeling (sun, moon, earth), and fun crafts and experiments all about space.
In Math, we are still in our number line unit, which involves adding and subtracting on a number line and writing story problems and equations to match. I sent home some information in my last e-mail about this.
Upcoming field trips and dates:
We will be visiting the National Western Stock Show on Tuesday, January 15th. We will leave DGS at 9:15 and return by 2:15. Opt-out forms went home last week and will go home again on Monday. If you would like to chaperone, please fill out the form and return!
We will be visiting the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's planetarium and space exhibit on Monday, February 4th. Wanted to give you a heads up in case you want to request off work. This is such a fun trip to chaperone!
There is no school on Monday, January 21st.
I also posted some photos on the blog from before break. Take a look! https://mscirullodgs.weebly.com/photos-and-blog
Thank you and let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Welcome Back to School!
August 26th, 2018: Hello families of Room 111!
We had a wonderful first full week of school last week. I started to feel under the weather on Friday, so I apologize for not sending out an e-mail sooner (I went home and went to sleep!) I'm feeling energized and much better after a weekend of rest, and I can't wait to be back in the classroom with the kids.
This week we will continue to build our classroom culture. We will be practicing routines that we have learned and expectations that we have set. We will continue to learn about the building blocks to independent reading, and we will launch writer's workshop by discussing how writers think of ideas, use their resources, draw pictures to express their thinking and eventually match words to pictures by s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-ng the sounds that they hear as they write.
In Math we have begun our "Numbers All Around Us" unit. We are using paper twin pops to help us count by 2's (we will have a real popsicle party this week to celebrate the end of this popsicle project). We are also starting to learn how to count by 5's using tally marks.
In EFS, we are continuing with social-emotional learning. I have been teaching the kids about "The Power of 3: Take care of self, take care of others, and take care of the commons." This week the focus is on self and others. We will discuss how to solve problems peacefully and how to be a kind friend.
We will also launch our intensive phonics-based reading program this week -- Read Well! I can't wait!
I will send the students' "take home folders" home on Monday. In them will be this letter as well as some work from last week (I do keep a lot of work in the beginning of the year for data, but I will send some home, too.) There will be no homework this week. We will not start the homework routine until the first full week after Labor Day (Sept. 10). I hope the kids can enjoy the daylight and spend some time outside after school before fall kicks in!
You can find a few photos from the first week on blog section of this website.
Let me know if you have any questions!
End of Year Updates
May 16, 2018 -- Wow, the end of year is fast approaching. But we aren't there YET! I want to let you know that we have begun to discuss "saying goodbye" with the kids here so that they are well prepared for the end of the year. You can start to talk about this at home, as well, especially if you are not returning next year.
We had a really awesome time on our excursion to The Urban Farm. It was sunny and warm, but the kids loved being able to see a beekeeper in action and hang out with the farm animals. Photos on the blog! We are moving on to learning about other pollinators such as frogs, bats and hummingbirds. The kids are participating in shared research projects in small groups, and we're focusing a lot on collaboration and sharing. If you want to bring this up at home, too, that would be great.
On another note, congratulations to first graders for their amazing progress in literacy this year. We have finished our state directed standardized testing in reading, and first grade scored a combined 81% proficiency (based on initial calculations). We started off with about 50% proficiency. Wow! The kids have worked so hard, you should be proud.
We want to keep that momentum going through the end of the year and into summer. Please be sure to continue reading with your child at home.
As for events, we have a final 1st grade celebration Tuesday, May 29 at 8:30 am. Come if you can!. Field day has been cancelled due to the field being re done. : (
Thank you!
Bees!
May 4, 2018 -- Thank you so much to the families who came to demo day today! The kids were so happy to share their learning with you, and I hope you were as proud of them as I am! Check the blog for pictures from Demo day and from our Cheeto pollination experiment earlier this week.
As a reminder, our field trip to the Urban Farm to learn more about pollinators is on May 15th. Opt out forms, chaperone forms and waivers will go home on Monday. The waivers NEED to be returned or your child will not be able to attend.
Fun Run is on Wednesday, May 9th! The fun run will be at 1:00 - 1:45 and then we will be picnicking at the "Grill and Chill" area where we will hang out and cheer on the next group of runners. Snacks will be available for purchase and all proceeds go to the school! Please send your child with an extra pair of clothes because they will get muddy!
Thanks! Have a great weekend.
Photos on the Blog
April 22, 2018 -- Happy Earth Day! THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the potluck! It was a huge success and we enjoyed all of the delicious dishes! We really appreciate you contributing. : )
Just wanted to send a few reminders home:
Picture Day is Tuesday, April 24th. Forms went home with your child on Friday and they are due on Tuesday with money. If you did not receive one, let me know ASAP and I will send one home on Monday! This is for class photos. If you want individual photos taken, you must indicate that on the form. Thanks!
Great Fire of London Re-Enactment! As I mentioned in my last e-mail, we are finishing up our mini fire-safety study with a re-enactment supervised by the Denver Fire Department! It will be at DGS on Monday (tomorrow) at 10am if you want to come join.
Wednesday afternoon Fatima's dad will join us for Filipino kite making round two! This time we will be using traditional materials! We need a few parent volunteers to help out. It will take place on Wednesday at about 2:15 - 3:30. Let me know if you're available to come in and help!
Community Day has been rescheduled for this Saturday, 4/28. Please join and sign up to volunteer here! I t will be a blast. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b044eaea72ea57-dgscommunity2
AND don't forget to check the blog for some pictures! My phone recently broke so I lost a lot, but I was able to save a few : )
End of Unit Potluck!
April 16, 2018
Just a few reminders:
This Friday is our end of unit 1st grade family potluck! To end our cultural unit, we will be coming together (both classes and their families) to share some food and celebrate the amazing diversity in our classrooms. If you would like, please bring a small dish that is representative from your culture! This could include your family's favorite meal, a family recipe, or whatever you want to share. You do not have to bring anything, either. You can just come by and celebrate! It will start at 8:30 am. **Please E-Mail Me if you plan to come and what you will bring.** NO CASHEWS, PLEASE!
We need boxes. We will be constructing houses out of cardboard boxes for our lesson on the Great Fire of London with Ms. Davison! We need small to medium size boxes, like your average amazon box. Other boxes like soup boxes and cartons are acceptable, too. The kids can get creative. We welcome other cardboard or wooden building material if you have some lying around -- popsicle sticks, etc.
Community Day is still on for This Saturday. Due to the weather, it may be postponed to the 28th. We will keep you updated!
Thank you for your Fun Run contributions! Our class has raised nearly 100 dollars. The fundraiser is still going if you are able to contribute. Thanks!
Have a great night,
Ms. Cirullo
Announcements and Dates to Know!
April 4, 2018
Hello Room 211 Families,
Welcome back to school! Can you believe we are in the final stretch -- just two more months?
I wanted to update you on a few things.
1. We are in the middle of our culture unit in EFS and literacy. We will be studying Ethiopian culture this week, Thai and Southeast Asian culture next week, British culture and the Great Fire of London with Ms. Davison, and Native American Culture towards the end of April. In reading we are still reading fiction stories from around the world to determine the central message or theme. Students are working on "retelling" the stories orally and in writing. When you are reading at home you can prompt your child to retell the stories events in order using transition words like "first, then, next, after that, finally." If the book you are reading has a "life lesson" you can ask your child to try to identify that!
In Writing we are wrapping up our unit on opinion writing. We have been writing opinions on topics like our favorite pets, where we would like to travel to, whether recess should be taken away, and so on. Today, since we have been studying cultures around the world and this week we are learning about rural communities, we briefly talked about how sometimes children in other countries do not go to school because they have to work in agriculture to help their families. We also briefly discussed how this used to be the case in America, but we then created laws that would keep children away from dangerous jobs and long hours. We then wrote our opinion on if we think kids in Denver should have to work jobs. With age-appropriateness in mind, we did not get deep into this topic, although we do feel it was relevant to discuss. The students formed their opinions and wrote reasons to back them up like "we should not have to work because then we wouldn't be able to play and have fun." or "then we wouldn't be able to go to school." We are moving on tomorrow to writing about our favorite book of this unit.
2. In math we have moved away from Geometry and are going back to some addition and subtraction basics, as well as studying time.
3. Important events and dates to know!!!!
Friday, April 20th - Both first grade classes will hold a family potluck to wrap up our culture unit and celebrate all of the unique cultures represented in first grade! This will likely be in the morning, starting right around 9am. More details to come soon.
Saturday, April 21st - DGS Community Day! Please come out to DGS for a day of family and fun! Read more here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BteaOcL51Rt8tkGiqQsX2O1x1rzHtKyt4h6aqnPv-C4/edit?usp=sharing
Thursday, May 3 - DGS Fun Run! More info to follow.
Thursday, May 10 - Spring Concert. More info to follow.
Tuesday, May 15th -- 1st grade Excursion to The Urban Farm. 1st grade will be going to TUF to learn more about bees for our pollinator unit. We will be sending out official Opt-Out and chaperone sign up forms in a few weeks, but I thought I'd let you know now in case you want to join and need to request work off in advance. This will be the last major excursion of the school year, although I'm trying to work in a class picnic and trip to the local public library : )
Let me know if you have any questions.
A few updates!
February 11, 2018: Hope you all are having nice weekends! Couple of announcements and reminders:
1. Thank you for those of you who got back to me on my conference request. I will see you at our scheduled time! We will also hold an open classroom workshop on Wednesday, 2/14 for those of you who do not have a conference with me but would like to see and hear about your student's work. It will start at 4pm. Bring your student, of course!
2. Report Cards will be printed and going home on Wednesday. I will send them in a manilla envelope so that they do not get destroyed : ) Please let me know if you have any questions about that.
3. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science was a big hit! The kids loved the opportunity to apply their learning. The planetarium show was particularly memorable for them. Check the blog for photos!
4. Just a reminder that Denver Green School does not celebrate Valentine's day. We will not accept candy, cards. The day will be a normal school day and you are welcome to hand out Valentines after school! Thanks for your understanding.
5. Upcoming unit: Culture in our Classroom. If all goes to plan, we will be starting an interdisciplinary unit on March 6th that is all about culture and diversity. It will go for 6 weeks. This unit will be designed to expose students to cultures around the world, and also celebrate the diverse and unique cultures that are represented in our own classroom! In reading, we will be reading stories from around the world and identifying their central message or lesson. **If you have any book recommendations of instructional level books about your culture (there must be a clear lesson), please share!!** In writing, we will be working on opinion writing and writing about a variety of opinions we have, many of which will be connected back to the reading we do. For example, "In my opinion, the lesson in the book _________ is more important than the book ________ because _________. For example....______"
In EFS, we will be be doing a social studies and geography spin on the topic. This is where we need your help! We welcome parent/family presentations, guest speakers, dancers, musicians, food, etc. from your culture. We don't have an excursion planned, but I am open to working one in if you have an idea. This could mean visiting a restaurant, attending a performance, etc. This unit is very student centric and with that means we really would like families to be involved! If you are interested in being involved in any way, please let me know by responding to this e-mail with any ideas or level involvement you may have, and we can discuss more. Thank you!!
6. President's Day and Teacher Work Day: No school for students on Monday, Feb. 19th and Tuesday, Feb. 20th.
Thank you!
Welcome to Spring Semester
January 18th, 2017: Hello and welcome back to school! I am so excited to launch into the New Year with such an awesome group of kids. We had a great time last week at the National Western Stock Show (photos on the blog!) and next week we anticipate an amazing trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science where we will be viewing a planetarium show and exploring the Space exhibits! **Please let me know in an e-mail if you would like to chaperone!!**
This upcoming planetarium trip coincides with our new EFS unit: Spectacular Space. The students have started by examining their own community: places they can walk to and drive to. As we zoom out and learn our physical place in the world (and the universe) the kids will be pondering the question: What can studying space teach us about Planet Earth? This, and they will be asking lots of questions, hunting in books for answers, writing "teaching books" and engaging in many hands on fun activities! I will be sure to keep you all in the loop of classroom volunteer opportunities.
In terms of reading writing, these next few weeks are all about Informational Text (Non Fiction). We will be reading informational text and practicing using text features like glossaries and diagrams. We will be reading to identify the main topic and key details of a text. We will be writing teaching books to explain what we are experts o. Right now they are going off of what they already know, and soon they will write about the moon, the sun, and the solar system.
In Math we are using the number line to model addition and subtraction problems. We are also practicing writing story problems to go with an equation!
I will be posting more specific information (questions to ask, vocabulary to be using at home) as the weeks go by.
Thanks, all!
Parent Workshop
December 11, 2017: Hello families! Thank you chaperones for joining us on our field trip today. New photos are up on the blog! I also wanted to remind you all that we will be hosting a 1st grade parent workshop this week. I e-mailed about it last week, but here is the information again! I hope to see you there : )
1st Grade Parent Workshop
When: Thursday, December 14th from 4:00-5:15pm
Where: Rm. 111 and 110 - Ms. Cirullo and Mrs. Davison’s classrooms
What: The goal is to build the relationship between teachers and families in our combined efforts for student learning. It will also be a fun community building event between families. This workshop will be focused on how you can best support your child with reading and math at home. We will convene in Room 111 for a 1st Grade meet-and-greet. We will then split off into respective classrooms for workshops on literacy and math. The literacy workshop will be focused on supporting students with phonics and reaading comprehension strategies. The math workshop will focus on the in’s and out’s of the Bridges Curriculum; this math curriculum is new to DGS and widely used across Denver Public Schools. We will allow you to experience the manipulatives and we will share language and strategies.
We understand a 4:00 time slot can be challenging for some families, but to make it more accessible we will also be offering free child care for 1st graders and siblings.
Welcome Back!
November 27, 2017: I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break!
I sent homework packets home tonight (sorry they aren't stapled -- I ran out of staples!). Please complete and send back on Friday. Encourage students to work through the 2nd page of the math homework (the story problem) and explain or show their thinking in either pictures, numbers (equations) or written words. This is something they will have to do for the rest of their math careers (As opposed to "I did it in my head")!
We are still in our Reduce, Reuse, Recycle unit. Please send in any recyclables for Wednesday: tin cans, milk jugs, cardboard toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, cereal boxes etc.
We are starting a new Literacy (reading and writing) unit that will end at the end of these three weeks. It is called "We Are Storytellers" and it is based around the following major reading and writing Common Core standards:
Reading:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
Students will be working on retelling stories that they have read ORALLY and in WRITING, with an emphasis on writing topic sentences, conclusions, using transition words and 1st grade appropriate conventions (periods, lower case letters unless proper noun or start of sentence...). We are also introducing problem and solution this go around. Our thinking strategy of the month is "Determining Importance". You can read more about thinking strategies here. Basically, we will be using this strategy to determine what the "major events" of a story are -- what is worth including in a retell? What is not? Rather than retell every detail, how can we retell a story using just key details?
Questions to ask while reading at home:
Who is the main character? Describe the main character's personality traits using adjectives.
What is the setting of the story? Describe the setting using 2-3 adjectives from the text or pictures if possible.
What happened in the beginning? What happened in the middle of the story? What happened in the end of the story?
What was the problem of the story?
What was the solution to the problem?
Let me know if you have any questions!
You're Invited
November 12, 2017: Hello families! I wanted to extend a couple of invitations to you all to come into our classroom and celebrate our students.
1. Wednesday, 11/15 is DGS's Celebrate Literacy Day. The students are welcome to wear their pajamas or dress up like their favorite character from a book. We will be eating popcorn, doing read-alouds and cozying down for some good old reading time, all from 8:45 - 10:00. We may have another teacher come in as a guest reader, and I am open to parents wishing to do this, as well! Please let me know if you are interested and we can coordinate.
2. Friday, 11/17 is our classroom's poetry slam! The students have been working all month on writing poems using sensory adjectives. They will be writing their final poem this week, and they will perform these poems on Friday in our classroom. This will be from 10:00 - 10:25 on Friday. Please, come support your students and hear their awesome work!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Report Cards
November 9, 2017: Hello! We are almost in our final week before Fall Break. I wanted to let you all know that you will be receiving hard copies of report cards along with an explanation letter on Thursday 11/16. I will send these home in folders so that they do not get damaged : )
In other news -- check out the blog for adorable photos of the students doing a "gallery walk" of each others' visualizing work!
Finally -- we will be moving into the "creation" phase of our reduce, reuse, recycle unit next week. If you have any materials that would otherwise be considered trash or recycling, feel free to send them in! Toilet paper tube, plastic bags, cardboard, etc etc. Thank you!
New Units
November 3, 2017: Hello parents! I am excited to announce that we have begun several new units. In Reading and Writing, we are reading and writing poetry as a vehicle for working on a few common core standards:
Reading:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.B Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.C Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences (e.g., He hops; We hop).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.F Use frequently occurring adjectives.
In reading, we are also working on "visualizing" what we read and hear read aloud. At home, this means you can ask your student to "visualize" the words in his or her head. What do you see? How does the author paint an image of the text in your head? This helps students think about what they are reading as they read. We will be writing various sensory poems from now until Fall Break, and hopefully we will conduct a "poetry slam" for the kids to share them!
In Math, we will be working on fractions (whole, half, fourth) and telling time. We will also be getting into doubles facts (3+3=6) and even and odd numbers.
In EFS, we have launched our new unit on reducing, re-using and recycling. The students took home a plastic bag that they will care for and we will be creating items like toys out of already used goods like plastic bags and such. We have an excursion to the RAFT warehouse coming up in December -- more details soon.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Thank You!!!!
October 25, 2017: Thank you all so much for coming out to our demonstration night! It brought me so much joy to see the kids share their work with you and sing their songs! Thank you for your support and for a great evening! I have attached the video slideshow in the blog. And for those of you who asked, here is the link to the pumpkin muffin recipe : ). Enjoy! https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pumpkin-muffins
Short Week
October 23, 2017: Just a reminder that this is a short week. There is no school on Thursday or Friday. Because it is a short week, we did not send home homework. It's a great time for the kids to get outside and play while we still have daylight and warm-ish weather!
Don't forget: Demonstration Night is Wednesday, 10/25 at 5pm. The students will be sharing with you what they learned about our school's farm. Check out the blog for some recent photos of our farm "work day."
Thanks!
Upcoming: Demonstration Night!
October 15, 2017: Thank you all for attending parent teacher conferences last week! I really enjoyed talking with you and I appreciate all that you do at home for your students : ). We had a blast last week celebrating Sprout City Farms and the DGS Harvest Fest (check the blog for photos!). The fun is not over yet. Please join us on Wednesday, October 25th for Demonstration Night. The students will display their diaries that they have been working on in EFS, they will recite a song, and they will be serving delicious farm-sourced treats made on sight. Please come and support their hard work! The event is from 5 - 5:30 pm on Weds, 10/25.
Also, thank you all for your support with homework. Our first spelling quiz was a success; I could tell that many of the students really worked hard to learn their sight words and it is beginning to show in their every-day writing and reading. Knowing these sight words -- how to read and write them without struggle -- is very beneficial to their literacy development. So thank you! We will have a new set this week. Also, please continue working with the students on their math homework. Encourage them to explain their thinking. "Which addition strategy did you use? How do you know that? We will be working a lot this week on our proficiency in making the number 10 --- I have noticed that the students can do this well using a 10 frame; now, we are taking that support away and making the number 10 fluently with addition and subtraction equations. For example:
6+ ___ =10
10 - 3 = ____
Thank you!
Calendar reminders:
Thurs, 10/26: No school
Friday, 10/27: No school
Friday, 11/3: No school
Nov. 20 - Nov 24: No school (Fall Break)
Happy October!
October 1, 2017: Hello and Happy October! We have a busy week coming up. I am so excited to meet with you all at parent-teacher conferences. We are also very excited for our upcoming excursion to EKAR Farm on Tuesday! A couple of parents have signed up to chaperone -- Thank you! We are still in need of 1 or 2 more chaperones, so please let me know if you are interested. For those of you who haven't returned the permission form, I will send another one home on Monday. Pease sign and return.
There are also some new photos up on the blog -- check it out! The students have really enjoy their time spent on our school's farm.
Finally, click the "Resources" tab for some great online ten-frame (math) practice to strengthen your child's number sense.
Our First Excursion! Need Permission Slips back
September 25 2017: Hello, families! I hope you are having a nice Monday. Last week we began our EfS unit: Sprouts in the City. In this unit, students will be learning all about our school's farm as well as other urban farms in the area. They will be learning what grows on a farm, how these foods taste (we tasted some veggies today), how these foods grow, why farms are important, and how food gets from a farm to your dinner plate. As part of the unit, we will be walking to EKAR family farm to get another perspective. A permission slip for this excursion went home today! Please check your students' homework folders, sign, and return!
Also, the culture festival is this THURSDAY, Sept. 28. We would love to see you there! 4-6:30 pm.
Finally, please let me know if you have any questions about the students' math homework. They are rockin' it in math, so they should be able to do it just fine.
Picture Day, Conferences
September 11 2017: Reminder: Picture day is WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH! Forms are going home with your student tomorrow. Also, please sign up for parent-teacher conferences here.
Thank you and have a great evening!
Community Building in First Grade!
September 8 2017: Hello families! Happy Friday. We enjoyed a short week this week but we also got a lot done! The students have been focusing on identifying character traits in literacy, skip counting by 2's and 5's and a little bit of coin counting in Math, taking care of others in EfS (tattling vs. telling), and developing characters in writing. We've also been doing a lot of team building -- games, challenges, class meetings and more. Enjoy this fabulous video (on the blog page) of the students solving the "hot lava" problem that I presented to them.
Remember, there will be no school for students on Friday, September 15th.
Have a nice weekend!
New Blog Post
August 29, 2017: Hi families! Check out the "Photos and Blog" tab for some adorable photos of our first full week at school. You'll see our first-day-of-school writing project (All About Me), a picture from The Eclipse, and some awesome creations that the students have made during Math Workplaces time. You'll also notice some popsicle math that we have been working on; the students are practicing skip counting by twos (twin pops), graphing data and analyzing data. I understand that you all submitted photo release forms at registration; I took a look and considered those who did not sign the release. Please let me know in an e-mail if I made a mistake.
If you're wondering about homework, I plan to start next week. I will also be uploading a form to fill out for snack. I plan on having one family provide snack for two weeks at a time (a big tub of pretzels, cheerios, raisins, etc). I hope everyone has a nice week!
First Day!
August 17, 2017: What a GREAT first day of school! The students are super star listeners, and I'm pretty sure they are the best in the whole school at walking silently in the hall! Ask your student about Skittles Math, The Melt, the eclipse, and ways to read a book. Thank you all for the school supplies! We'll see you tomorrow for a half day (school ends at 12:45).
Back to School Night
August 15, 2017: Thank you to those of you who joined us for Back to School Night last night! It was so great to meet all of you. Just an update: if you are planning on being out of town for an extended period, please let the office know. The same goes for changes for transportation. If there is a change to your transportation routine, you must let the office know that morning or before! Otherwise, we will send your child home the way that you elected on your form. Lastly, home visits! Here is the Home Visit Google Form if you weren't able to fill that out! Don't forget to download the DGS app! Search "Denver Green School" in your app store. See you on Thursday!
Welcome!
August 9, 2017: Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! I am so excited to begin our first grade journey together. In the first 4 weeks of school, the students and I will work hard on building a classroom community of respect, trust and joyful learning. We will focus on establishing and following routines and rituals (morning routine, transition routine, reading workshop routine, recess and lunch routine, morning meeting rituals, classroom jobs, closing circle, clean up, celebrations, etc. etc). We will also take time together to establish norms and expectations for appropriate class behavior in many different situations. We will practice, practice, practice! We will build our stamina as independent readers. We will review the foundations of writing and have opportunities to learn about each other through thoughtful read-alouds and reflective writing time. We will discuss and practice taking care of self, others, and the commons. We will dive into math with interactive manipulative time (hands on learning) and our first Bridges in Mathematics Unit, "Numbers All Around Us."
To see a full curriculum map, click here or come by the classroom and you may view one that is posted outside our door!
January 23rd, 2019:
I'm sure you've heard from the kids, but if you haven't, we have been studying Space! Last week, we learned about Day and Night and worked to find the answers to some very profound questions like: "If the sun is always shining then why does it get dark outside?" and "Why does the sun seem like it's always following me?"
The kids put on their scientist hats and we went outside to make some observations of the sun as it moves across the sky. We observed where the sun was in the morning, at midday, and in the afternoon, and we measured the length of our shadows at these times. The kids came up with some great conclusions and are ever-curious about other solar and lunar phenomena! Next up: phases of the moon! Check out the blog for pictures.
Happy New Year
January 4th, 2019:
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
I hope you all had a nice time with your families over the past few weeks. I am excited to kick off the new semester; we have a lot of great learning planned!
We will be starting our new units mid-week: in reading, writing and EFS we will be learning all about space!! The kids loved this so much last year. It really is fun.
In reading, the kids will be determining the main topic of a non-fiction text and finding the key details that support it. We will be reading about the sun, the moon, the stars, day and night, the planets, and more. We will also be identifying and using non-fiction text features such as the table of contents, glossary, captions, etc. You can encourage your child to use these features in books at home and explain how they help them as a reader.
In writing we will be writing chapter books that teach people about space. Our own non-fiction texts, so to speak. They will be writing a hook, facts, and conclusions.
In EFS, we will be delving more into space by doing some observations, physical modeling (sun, moon, earth), and fun crafts and experiments all about space.
In Math, we are still in our number line unit, which involves adding and subtracting on a number line and writing story problems and equations to match. I sent home some information in my last e-mail about this.
Upcoming field trips and dates:
We will be visiting the National Western Stock Show on Tuesday, January 15th. We will leave DGS at 9:15 and return by 2:15. Opt-out forms went home last week and will go home again on Monday. If you would like to chaperone, please fill out the form and return!
We will be visiting the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's planetarium and space exhibit on Monday, February 4th. Wanted to give you a heads up in case you want to request off work. This is such a fun trip to chaperone!
There is no school on Monday, January 21st.
I also posted some photos on the blog from before break. Take a look! https://mscirullodgs.weebly.com/photos-and-blog
Thank you and let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Welcome Back to School!
August 26th, 2018: Hello families of Room 111!
We had a wonderful first full week of school last week. I started to feel under the weather on Friday, so I apologize for not sending out an e-mail sooner (I went home and went to sleep!) I'm feeling energized and much better after a weekend of rest, and I can't wait to be back in the classroom with the kids.
This week we will continue to build our classroom culture. We will be practicing routines that we have learned and expectations that we have set. We will continue to learn about the building blocks to independent reading, and we will launch writer's workshop by discussing how writers think of ideas, use their resources, draw pictures to express their thinking and eventually match words to pictures by s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-ng the sounds that they hear as they write.
In Math we have begun our "Numbers All Around Us" unit. We are using paper twin pops to help us count by 2's (we will have a real popsicle party this week to celebrate the end of this popsicle project). We are also starting to learn how to count by 5's using tally marks.
In EFS, we are continuing with social-emotional learning. I have been teaching the kids about "The Power of 3: Take care of self, take care of others, and take care of the commons." This week the focus is on self and others. We will discuss how to solve problems peacefully and how to be a kind friend.
We will also launch our intensive phonics-based reading program this week -- Read Well! I can't wait!
I will send the students' "take home folders" home on Monday. In them will be this letter as well as some work from last week (I do keep a lot of work in the beginning of the year for data, but I will send some home, too.) There will be no homework this week. We will not start the homework routine until the first full week after Labor Day (Sept. 10). I hope the kids can enjoy the daylight and spend some time outside after school before fall kicks in!
You can find a few photos from the first week on blog section of this website.
Let me know if you have any questions!
End of Year Updates
May 16, 2018 -- Wow, the end of year is fast approaching. But we aren't there YET! I want to let you know that we have begun to discuss "saying goodbye" with the kids here so that they are well prepared for the end of the year. You can start to talk about this at home, as well, especially if you are not returning next year.
We had a really awesome time on our excursion to The Urban Farm. It was sunny and warm, but the kids loved being able to see a beekeeper in action and hang out with the farm animals. Photos on the blog! We are moving on to learning about other pollinators such as frogs, bats and hummingbirds. The kids are participating in shared research projects in small groups, and we're focusing a lot on collaboration and sharing. If you want to bring this up at home, too, that would be great.
On another note, congratulations to first graders for their amazing progress in literacy this year. We have finished our state directed standardized testing in reading, and first grade scored a combined 81% proficiency (based on initial calculations). We started off with about 50% proficiency. Wow! The kids have worked so hard, you should be proud.
We want to keep that momentum going through the end of the year and into summer. Please be sure to continue reading with your child at home.
As for events, we have a final 1st grade celebration Tuesday, May 29 at 8:30 am. Come if you can!. Field day has been cancelled due to the field being re done. : (
Thank you!
Bees!
May 4, 2018 -- Thank you so much to the families who came to demo day today! The kids were so happy to share their learning with you, and I hope you were as proud of them as I am! Check the blog for pictures from Demo day and from our Cheeto pollination experiment earlier this week.
As a reminder, our field trip to the Urban Farm to learn more about pollinators is on May 15th. Opt out forms, chaperone forms and waivers will go home on Monday. The waivers NEED to be returned or your child will not be able to attend.
Fun Run is on Wednesday, May 9th! The fun run will be at 1:00 - 1:45 and then we will be picnicking at the "Grill and Chill" area where we will hang out and cheer on the next group of runners. Snacks will be available for purchase and all proceeds go to the school! Please send your child with an extra pair of clothes because they will get muddy!
Thanks! Have a great weekend.
Photos on the Blog
April 22, 2018 -- Happy Earth Day! THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the potluck! It was a huge success and we enjoyed all of the delicious dishes! We really appreciate you contributing. : )
Just wanted to send a few reminders home:
Picture Day is Tuesday, April 24th. Forms went home with your child on Friday and they are due on Tuesday with money. If you did not receive one, let me know ASAP and I will send one home on Monday! This is for class photos. If you want individual photos taken, you must indicate that on the form. Thanks!
Great Fire of London Re-Enactment! As I mentioned in my last e-mail, we are finishing up our mini fire-safety study with a re-enactment supervised by the Denver Fire Department! It will be at DGS on Monday (tomorrow) at 10am if you want to come join.
Wednesday afternoon Fatima's dad will join us for Filipino kite making round two! This time we will be using traditional materials! We need a few parent volunteers to help out. It will take place on Wednesday at about 2:15 - 3:30. Let me know if you're available to come in and help!
Community Day has been rescheduled for this Saturday, 4/28. Please join and sign up to volunteer here! I t will be a blast. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b044eaea72ea57-dgscommunity2
AND don't forget to check the blog for some pictures! My phone recently broke so I lost a lot, but I was able to save a few : )
End of Unit Potluck!
April 16, 2018
Just a few reminders:
This Friday is our end of unit 1st grade family potluck! To end our cultural unit, we will be coming together (both classes and their families) to share some food and celebrate the amazing diversity in our classrooms. If you would like, please bring a small dish that is representative from your culture! This could include your family's favorite meal, a family recipe, or whatever you want to share. You do not have to bring anything, either. You can just come by and celebrate! It will start at 8:30 am. **Please E-Mail Me if you plan to come and what you will bring.** NO CASHEWS, PLEASE!
We need boxes. We will be constructing houses out of cardboard boxes for our lesson on the Great Fire of London with Ms. Davison! We need small to medium size boxes, like your average amazon box. Other boxes like soup boxes and cartons are acceptable, too. The kids can get creative. We welcome other cardboard or wooden building material if you have some lying around -- popsicle sticks, etc.
Community Day is still on for This Saturday. Due to the weather, it may be postponed to the 28th. We will keep you updated!
Thank you for your Fun Run contributions! Our class has raised nearly 100 dollars. The fundraiser is still going if you are able to contribute. Thanks!
Have a great night,
Ms. Cirullo
Announcements and Dates to Know!
April 4, 2018
Hello Room 211 Families,
Welcome back to school! Can you believe we are in the final stretch -- just two more months?
I wanted to update you on a few things.
1. We are in the middle of our culture unit in EFS and literacy. We will be studying Ethiopian culture this week, Thai and Southeast Asian culture next week, British culture and the Great Fire of London with Ms. Davison, and Native American Culture towards the end of April. In reading we are still reading fiction stories from around the world to determine the central message or theme. Students are working on "retelling" the stories orally and in writing. When you are reading at home you can prompt your child to retell the stories events in order using transition words like "first, then, next, after that, finally." If the book you are reading has a "life lesson" you can ask your child to try to identify that!
In Writing we are wrapping up our unit on opinion writing. We have been writing opinions on topics like our favorite pets, where we would like to travel to, whether recess should be taken away, and so on. Today, since we have been studying cultures around the world and this week we are learning about rural communities, we briefly talked about how sometimes children in other countries do not go to school because they have to work in agriculture to help their families. We also briefly discussed how this used to be the case in America, but we then created laws that would keep children away from dangerous jobs and long hours. We then wrote our opinion on if we think kids in Denver should have to work jobs. With age-appropriateness in mind, we did not get deep into this topic, although we do feel it was relevant to discuss. The students formed their opinions and wrote reasons to back them up like "we should not have to work because then we wouldn't be able to play and have fun." or "then we wouldn't be able to go to school." We are moving on tomorrow to writing about our favorite book of this unit.
2. In math we have moved away from Geometry and are going back to some addition and subtraction basics, as well as studying time.
3. Important events and dates to know!!!!
Friday, April 20th - Both first grade classes will hold a family potluck to wrap up our culture unit and celebrate all of the unique cultures represented in first grade! This will likely be in the morning, starting right around 9am. More details to come soon.
Saturday, April 21st - DGS Community Day! Please come out to DGS for a day of family and fun! Read more here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BteaOcL51Rt8tkGiqQsX2O1x1rzHtKyt4h6aqnPv-C4/edit?usp=sharing
Thursday, May 3 - DGS Fun Run! More info to follow.
Thursday, May 10 - Spring Concert. More info to follow.
Tuesday, May 15th -- 1st grade Excursion to The Urban Farm. 1st grade will be going to TUF to learn more about bees for our pollinator unit. We will be sending out official Opt-Out and chaperone sign up forms in a few weeks, but I thought I'd let you know now in case you want to join and need to request work off in advance. This will be the last major excursion of the school year, although I'm trying to work in a class picnic and trip to the local public library : )
Let me know if you have any questions.
A few updates!
February 11, 2018: Hope you all are having nice weekends! Couple of announcements and reminders:
1. Thank you for those of you who got back to me on my conference request. I will see you at our scheduled time! We will also hold an open classroom workshop on Wednesday, 2/14 for those of you who do not have a conference with me but would like to see and hear about your student's work. It will start at 4pm. Bring your student, of course!
2. Report Cards will be printed and going home on Wednesday. I will send them in a manilla envelope so that they do not get destroyed : ) Please let me know if you have any questions about that.
3. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science was a big hit! The kids loved the opportunity to apply their learning. The planetarium show was particularly memorable for them. Check the blog for photos!
4. Just a reminder that Denver Green School does not celebrate Valentine's day. We will not accept candy, cards. The day will be a normal school day and you are welcome to hand out Valentines after school! Thanks for your understanding.
5. Upcoming unit: Culture in our Classroom. If all goes to plan, we will be starting an interdisciplinary unit on March 6th that is all about culture and diversity. It will go for 6 weeks. This unit will be designed to expose students to cultures around the world, and also celebrate the diverse and unique cultures that are represented in our own classroom! In reading, we will be reading stories from around the world and identifying their central message or lesson. **If you have any book recommendations of instructional level books about your culture (there must be a clear lesson), please share!!** In writing, we will be working on opinion writing and writing about a variety of opinions we have, many of which will be connected back to the reading we do. For example, "In my opinion, the lesson in the book _________ is more important than the book ________ because _________. For example....______"
In EFS, we will be be doing a social studies and geography spin on the topic. This is where we need your help! We welcome parent/family presentations, guest speakers, dancers, musicians, food, etc. from your culture. We don't have an excursion planned, but I am open to working one in if you have an idea. This could mean visiting a restaurant, attending a performance, etc. This unit is very student centric and with that means we really would like families to be involved! If you are interested in being involved in any way, please let me know by responding to this e-mail with any ideas or level involvement you may have, and we can discuss more. Thank you!!
6. President's Day and Teacher Work Day: No school for students on Monday, Feb. 19th and Tuesday, Feb. 20th.
Thank you!
Welcome to Spring Semester
January 18th, 2017: Hello and welcome back to school! I am so excited to launch into the New Year with such an awesome group of kids. We had a great time last week at the National Western Stock Show (photos on the blog!) and next week we anticipate an amazing trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science where we will be viewing a planetarium show and exploring the Space exhibits! **Please let me know in an e-mail if you would like to chaperone!!**
This upcoming planetarium trip coincides with our new EFS unit: Spectacular Space. The students have started by examining their own community: places they can walk to and drive to. As we zoom out and learn our physical place in the world (and the universe) the kids will be pondering the question: What can studying space teach us about Planet Earth? This, and they will be asking lots of questions, hunting in books for answers, writing "teaching books" and engaging in many hands on fun activities! I will be sure to keep you all in the loop of classroom volunteer opportunities.
In terms of reading writing, these next few weeks are all about Informational Text (Non Fiction). We will be reading informational text and practicing using text features like glossaries and diagrams. We will be reading to identify the main topic and key details of a text. We will be writing teaching books to explain what we are experts o. Right now they are going off of what they already know, and soon they will write about the moon, the sun, and the solar system.
In Math we are using the number line to model addition and subtraction problems. We are also practicing writing story problems to go with an equation!
I will be posting more specific information (questions to ask, vocabulary to be using at home) as the weeks go by.
Thanks, all!
Parent Workshop
December 11, 2017: Hello families! Thank you chaperones for joining us on our field trip today. New photos are up on the blog! I also wanted to remind you all that we will be hosting a 1st grade parent workshop this week. I e-mailed about it last week, but here is the information again! I hope to see you there : )
1st Grade Parent Workshop
When: Thursday, December 14th from 4:00-5:15pm
Where: Rm. 111 and 110 - Ms. Cirullo and Mrs. Davison’s classrooms
What: The goal is to build the relationship between teachers and families in our combined efforts for student learning. It will also be a fun community building event between families. This workshop will be focused on how you can best support your child with reading and math at home. We will convene in Room 111 for a 1st Grade meet-and-greet. We will then split off into respective classrooms for workshops on literacy and math. The literacy workshop will be focused on supporting students with phonics and reaading comprehension strategies. The math workshop will focus on the in’s and out’s of the Bridges Curriculum; this math curriculum is new to DGS and widely used across Denver Public Schools. We will allow you to experience the manipulatives and we will share language and strategies.
We understand a 4:00 time slot can be challenging for some families, but to make it more accessible we will also be offering free child care for 1st graders and siblings.
Welcome Back!
November 27, 2017: I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break!
I sent homework packets home tonight (sorry they aren't stapled -- I ran out of staples!). Please complete and send back on Friday. Encourage students to work through the 2nd page of the math homework (the story problem) and explain or show their thinking in either pictures, numbers (equations) or written words. This is something they will have to do for the rest of their math careers (As opposed to "I did it in my head")!
We are still in our Reduce, Reuse, Recycle unit. Please send in any recyclables for Wednesday: tin cans, milk jugs, cardboard toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, cereal boxes etc.
We are starting a new Literacy (reading and writing) unit that will end at the end of these three weeks. It is called "We Are Storytellers" and it is based around the following major reading and writing Common Core standards:
Reading:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
Students will be working on retelling stories that they have read ORALLY and in WRITING, with an emphasis on writing topic sentences, conclusions, using transition words and 1st grade appropriate conventions (periods, lower case letters unless proper noun or start of sentence...). We are also introducing problem and solution this go around. Our thinking strategy of the month is "Determining Importance". You can read more about thinking strategies here. Basically, we will be using this strategy to determine what the "major events" of a story are -- what is worth including in a retell? What is not? Rather than retell every detail, how can we retell a story using just key details?
Questions to ask while reading at home:
Who is the main character? Describe the main character's personality traits using adjectives.
What is the setting of the story? Describe the setting using 2-3 adjectives from the text or pictures if possible.
What happened in the beginning? What happened in the middle of the story? What happened in the end of the story?
What was the problem of the story?
What was the solution to the problem?
Let me know if you have any questions!
You're Invited
November 12, 2017: Hello families! I wanted to extend a couple of invitations to you all to come into our classroom and celebrate our students.
1. Wednesday, 11/15 is DGS's Celebrate Literacy Day. The students are welcome to wear their pajamas or dress up like their favorite character from a book. We will be eating popcorn, doing read-alouds and cozying down for some good old reading time, all from 8:45 - 10:00. We may have another teacher come in as a guest reader, and I am open to parents wishing to do this, as well! Please let me know if you are interested and we can coordinate.
2. Friday, 11/17 is our classroom's poetry slam! The students have been working all month on writing poems using sensory adjectives. They will be writing their final poem this week, and they will perform these poems on Friday in our classroom. This will be from 10:00 - 10:25 on Friday. Please, come support your students and hear their awesome work!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Report Cards
November 9, 2017: Hello! We are almost in our final week before Fall Break. I wanted to let you all know that you will be receiving hard copies of report cards along with an explanation letter on Thursday 11/16. I will send these home in folders so that they do not get damaged : )
In other news -- check out the blog for adorable photos of the students doing a "gallery walk" of each others' visualizing work!
Finally -- we will be moving into the "creation" phase of our reduce, reuse, recycle unit next week. If you have any materials that would otherwise be considered trash or recycling, feel free to send them in! Toilet paper tube, plastic bags, cardboard, etc etc. Thank you!
New Units
November 3, 2017: Hello parents! I am excited to announce that we have begun several new units. In Reading and Writing, we are reading and writing poetry as a vehicle for working on a few common core standards:
Reading:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.B Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.C Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences (e.g., He hops; We hop).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.F Use frequently occurring adjectives.
In reading, we are also working on "visualizing" what we read and hear read aloud. At home, this means you can ask your student to "visualize" the words in his or her head. What do you see? How does the author paint an image of the text in your head? This helps students think about what they are reading as they read. We will be writing various sensory poems from now until Fall Break, and hopefully we will conduct a "poetry slam" for the kids to share them!
In Math, we will be working on fractions (whole, half, fourth) and telling time. We will also be getting into doubles facts (3+3=6) and even and odd numbers.
In EFS, we have launched our new unit on reducing, re-using and recycling. The students took home a plastic bag that they will care for and we will be creating items like toys out of already used goods like plastic bags and such. We have an excursion to the RAFT warehouse coming up in December -- more details soon.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Thank You!!!!
October 25, 2017: Thank you all so much for coming out to our demonstration night! It brought me so much joy to see the kids share their work with you and sing their songs! Thank you for your support and for a great evening! I have attached the video slideshow in the blog. And for those of you who asked, here is the link to the pumpkin muffin recipe : ). Enjoy! https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pumpkin-muffins
Short Week
October 23, 2017: Just a reminder that this is a short week. There is no school on Thursday or Friday. Because it is a short week, we did not send home homework. It's a great time for the kids to get outside and play while we still have daylight and warm-ish weather!
Don't forget: Demonstration Night is Wednesday, 10/25 at 5pm. The students will be sharing with you what they learned about our school's farm. Check out the blog for some recent photos of our farm "work day."
Thanks!
Upcoming: Demonstration Night!
October 15, 2017: Thank you all for attending parent teacher conferences last week! I really enjoyed talking with you and I appreciate all that you do at home for your students : ). We had a blast last week celebrating Sprout City Farms and the DGS Harvest Fest (check the blog for photos!). The fun is not over yet. Please join us on Wednesday, October 25th for Demonstration Night. The students will display their diaries that they have been working on in EFS, they will recite a song, and they will be serving delicious farm-sourced treats made on sight. Please come and support their hard work! The event is from 5 - 5:30 pm on Weds, 10/25.
Also, thank you all for your support with homework. Our first spelling quiz was a success; I could tell that many of the students really worked hard to learn their sight words and it is beginning to show in their every-day writing and reading. Knowing these sight words -- how to read and write them without struggle -- is very beneficial to their literacy development. So thank you! We will have a new set this week. Also, please continue working with the students on their math homework. Encourage them to explain their thinking. "Which addition strategy did you use? How do you know that? We will be working a lot this week on our proficiency in making the number 10 --- I have noticed that the students can do this well using a 10 frame; now, we are taking that support away and making the number 10 fluently with addition and subtraction equations. For example:
6+ ___ =10
10 - 3 = ____
Thank you!
Calendar reminders:
Thurs, 10/26: No school
Friday, 10/27: No school
Friday, 11/3: No school
Nov. 20 - Nov 24: No school (Fall Break)
Happy October!
October 1, 2017: Hello and Happy October! We have a busy week coming up. I am so excited to meet with you all at parent-teacher conferences. We are also very excited for our upcoming excursion to EKAR Farm on Tuesday! A couple of parents have signed up to chaperone -- Thank you! We are still in need of 1 or 2 more chaperones, so please let me know if you are interested. For those of you who haven't returned the permission form, I will send another one home on Monday. Pease sign and return.
There are also some new photos up on the blog -- check it out! The students have really enjoy their time spent on our school's farm.
Finally, click the "Resources" tab for some great online ten-frame (math) practice to strengthen your child's number sense.
Our First Excursion! Need Permission Slips back
September 25 2017: Hello, families! I hope you are having a nice Monday. Last week we began our EfS unit: Sprouts in the City. In this unit, students will be learning all about our school's farm as well as other urban farms in the area. They will be learning what grows on a farm, how these foods taste (we tasted some veggies today), how these foods grow, why farms are important, and how food gets from a farm to your dinner plate. As part of the unit, we will be walking to EKAR family farm to get another perspective. A permission slip for this excursion went home today! Please check your students' homework folders, sign, and return!
Also, the culture festival is this THURSDAY, Sept. 28. We would love to see you there! 4-6:30 pm.
Finally, please let me know if you have any questions about the students' math homework. They are rockin' it in math, so they should be able to do it just fine.
Picture Day, Conferences
September 11 2017: Reminder: Picture day is WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH! Forms are going home with your student tomorrow. Also, please sign up for parent-teacher conferences here.
Thank you and have a great evening!
Community Building in First Grade!
September 8 2017: Hello families! Happy Friday. We enjoyed a short week this week but we also got a lot done! The students have been focusing on identifying character traits in literacy, skip counting by 2's and 5's and a little bit of coin counting in Math, taking care of others in EfS (tattling vs. telling), and developing characters in writing. We've also been doing a lot of team building -- games, challenges, class meetings and more. Enjoy this fabulous video (on the blog page) of the students solving the "hot lava" problem that I presented to them.
Remember, there will be no school for students on Friday, September 15th.
Have a nice weekend!
New Blog Post
August 29, 2017: Hi families! Check out the "Photos and Blog" tab for some adorable photos of our first full week at school. You'll see our first-day-of-school writing project (All About Me), a picture from The Eclipse, and some awesome creations that the students have made during Math Workplaces time. You'll also notice some popsicle math that we have been working on; the students are practicing skip counting by twos (twin pops), graphing data and analyzing data. I understand that you all submitted photo release forms at registration; I took a look and considered those who did not sign the release. Please let me know in an e-mail if I made a mistake.
If you're wondering about homework, I plan to start next week. I will also be uploading a form to fill out for snack. I plan on having one family provide snack for two weeks at a time (a big tub of pretzels, cheerios, raisins, etc). I hope everyone has a nice week!
First Day!
August 17, 2017: What a GREAT first day of school! The students are super star listeners, and I'm pretty sure they are the best in the whole school at walking silently in the hall! Ask your student about Skittles Math, The Melt, the eclipse, and ways to read a book. Thank you all for the school supplies! We'll see you tomorrow for a half day (school ends at 12:45).
Back to School Night
August 15, 2017: Thank you to those of you who joined us for Back to School Night last night! It was so great to meet all of you. Just an update: if you are planning on being out of town for an extended period, please let the office know. The same goes for changes for transportation. If there is a change to your transportation routine, you must let the office know that morning or before! Otherwise, we will send your child home the way that you elected on your form. Lastly, home visits! Here is the Home Visit Google Form if you weren't able to fill that out! Don't forget to download the DGS app! Search "Denver Green School" in your app store. See you on Thursday!
Welcome!
August 9, 2017: Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! I am so excited to begin our first grade journey together. In the first 4 weeks of school, the students and I will work hard on building a classroom community of respect, trust and joyful learning. We will focus on establishing and following routines and rituals (morning routine, transition routine, reading workshop routine, recess and lunch routine, morning meeting rituals, classroom jobs, closing circle, clean up, celebrations, etc. etc). We will also take time together to establish norms and expectations for appropriate class behavior in many different situations. We will practice, practice, practice! We will build our stamina as independent readers. We will review the foundations of writing and have opportunities to learn about each other through thoughtful read-alouds and reflective writing time. We will discuss and practice taking care of self, others, and the commons. We will dive into math with interactive manipulative time (hands on learning) and our first Bridges in Mathematics Unit, "Numbers All Around Us."
To see a full curriculum map, click here or come by the classroom and you may view one that is posted outside our door!