NEST FEST INFO.
Kick off April 11
Taking Pledges Until Tuesday May 3rd to be eligible for prizes
Friday May 6th- Walk-A-Thon Day!
Questions Addressed to [email protected]
Taking Pledges Until Tuesday May 3rd to be eligible for prizes
Friday May 6th- Walk-A-Thon Day!
Questions Addressed to [email protected]
April 25-29
Dear Parents,
There is so much going around at SJS right now I am going to keep this short and sweet. Read the upcoming events page, read virtual backpack, and mark your calendars. There are so many days in the final 13 days where student have special dress down days, need to bring items from home, or need sack lunches. Please make sure you are staying on top of your email through the end of the year or they may miss out on something fun.
Get in those pledges before the final May 6th date! Nest Fest is turning out to be a huge success. We cannot do it without you.
Next week we will be working hard to complete the end of year STAR assessment. Please make sure your student comes to school well rested and with a good breakfast in them. These are important tests to aid us when making an education plan for your student!
Mrs. Sammie Becker
There is so much going around at SJS right now I am going to keep this short and sweet. Read the upcoming events page, read virtual backpack, and mark your calendars. There are so many days in the final 13 days where student have special dress down days, need to bring items from home, or need sack lunches. Please make sure you are staying on top of your email through the end of the year or they may miss out on something fun.
Get in those pledges before the final May 6th date! Nest Fest is turning out to be a huge success. We cannot do it without you.
Next week we will be working hard to complete the end of year STAR assessment. Please make sure your student comes to school well rested and with a good breakfast in them. These are important tests to aid us when making an education plan for your student!
Mrs. Sammie Becker
April 20-22
Dear Parents,
These past two weeks have been really fun. They have worked hard on their cumulative graphing project, an amazing writing project that is hanging in the hallway and will come home soon, and now a research project about our school's patron saints. We will be finishing the Saint project next week after we collect information from 3 resources. I would appreciate it so much if parents would send their student to school with a white piece of poster board in order to complete the projects. We will begin creating the projects on Tuesday. So if you send a poster board to school by Monday that would be so appreciated.
We are going on a field trip to the Rose on Wed. We do not need parent volunteers for this field trip. You need to return the permission slip and $8 ASAP in order for them to be able to go. They will need to bring a sack lunch on Wednesday April 27 because we will be eating at the Rose that day.
Aside from the field trip next week we get right back into our normal reading unit and spelling unit routine. So please go check out the upcoming academics tab in order to prepare and get your routine back in check for next week and through the end of the year.
I am so proud of the students first program they took part in this week. It was so nice to see a bit of normal and students performing! I loved all of their amazing Spring colors they came dressed in for the day. You should all be very proud of how well they prepared and represented SJS in front of an audience. I could not be more proud of my class this year and how well they rise to meeting the expectations they are given.
Please remember to sign up as a volunteer in one way or another for NestFest. I know they are not only in need of volunteers for the day, but also donations of items. There is something on the volunteer list to meet each families needs. Help us to make this event fun and successful however you can! And keep fundraising! If you are bummed about not being able to volunteer for the field trip, this is the perfect opportunity to take part in something with your student that is fun! Let me know if you have any questions about any of the spots you are considering.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
These past two weeks have been really fun. They have worked hard on their cumulative graphing project, an amazing writing project that is hanging in the hallway and will come home soon, and now a research project about our school's patron saints. We will be finishing the Saint project next week after we collect information from 3 resources. I would appreciate it so much if parents would send their student to school with a white piece of poster board in order to complete the projects. We will begin creating the projects on Tuesday. So if you send a poster board to school by Monday that would be so appreciated.
We are going on a field trip to the Rose on Wed. We do not need parent volunteers for this field trip. You need to return the permission slip and $8 ASAP in order for them to be able to go. They will need to bring a sack lunch on Wednesday April 27 because we will be eating at the Rose that day.
Aside from the field trip next week we get right back into our normal reading unit and spelling unit routine. So please go check out the upcoming academics tab in order to prepare and get your routine back in check for next week and through the end of the year.
I am so proud of the students first program they took part in this week. It was so nice to see a bit of normal and students performing! I loved all of their amazing Spring colors they came dressed in for the day. You should all be very proud of how well they prepared and represented SJS in front of an audience. I could not be more proud of my class this year and how well they rise to meeting the expectations they are given.
Please remember to sign up as a volunteer in one way or another for NestFest. I know they are not only in need of volunteers for the day, but also donations of items. There is something on the volunteer list to meet each families needs. Help us to make this event fun and successful however you can! And keep fundraising! If you are bummed about not being able to volunteer for the field trip, this is the perfect opportunity to take part in something with your student that is fun! Let me know if you have any questions about any of the spots you are considering.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
April 4-8
Dear Parents,
What a crazy week this was. Unfortunately, I was out a couple days this week so I am sure you heard lots of stories. It seems like the kids were amazing for all subs and represented SJS well to our guests! I am always so proud of them for that! The subs did great at following my plans and keeping the students on their normal schedule all week long. When I got back we were able to pick up right where we should on a Wednesday morning. You should be very proud of your kids for adapting so well!
The students are doing amazing in their pods and I think they are so happy to be sitting with so many different friends at lunch with the new cafeteria setup.
Next week begins with some very exciting things! We are getting chicks delivered on Monday from 4H. We will have a lesson from them and learn how to care for them in our room. We will then care and hatch them over the next 3 weeks! There will be lots of "chick time" in the classroom over the next few weeks! On Monday we also kick off our school fundraiser, Nest Fest. I will make sure to put something together to share information about Nest Fest with you once I get it. In the meantime the school Parent FB page is a great resource to find out how to volunteer for the event or donate items they are in need of. I know there is quite a bit they need in order to field all the prizes and fun their have in store. Nest Fest is essentially a walk a thon. Students will be trying to raise money before our big event here at school. Reach out if you are looking for a way to take part in this fun day. I know people we can get information from to find you the perfect spot!
Like I said last week, we are not going to have our normal weeks lessons during the two, 3 day weeks. We are going to do a lot of reviewing of major concepts as well as get in quite a few science experiments and art projects revolving around Holy Week. This is always a fun time for me and the kids and I have been looking forward to it for quite some time.
So, make sure to get them plenty of rest and take advantage of the time to get them caught up on sight words they may have gotten behind on, Xtra math they may be behind on, or shoe tying they have not mastered. All things would benefit them before going into second grade.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
What a crazy week this was. Unfortunately, I was out a couple days this week so I am sure you heard lots of stories. It seems like the kids were amazing for all subs and represented SJS well to our guests! I am always so proud of them for that! The subs did great at following my plans and keeping the students on their normal schedule all week long. When I got back we were able to pick up right where we should on a Wednesday morning. You should be very proud of your kids for adapting so well!
The students are doing amazing in their pods and I think they are so happy to be sitting with so many different friends at lunch with the new cafeteria setup.
Next week begins with some very exciting things! We are getting chicks delivered on Monday from 4H. We will have a lesson from them and learn how to care for them in our room. We will then care and hatch them over the next 3 weeks! There will be lots of "chick time" in the classroom over the next few weeks! On Monday we also kick off our school fundraiser, Nest Fest. I will make sure to put something together to share information about Nest Fest with you once I get it. In the meantime the school Parent FB page is a great resource to find out how to volunteer for the event or donate items they are in need of. I know there is quite a bit they need in order to field all the prizes and fun their have in store. Nest Fest is essentially a walk a thon. Students will be trying to raise money before our big event here at school. Reach out if you are looking for a way to take part in this fun day. I know people we can get information from to find you the perfect spot!
Like I said last week, we are not going to have our normal weeks lessons during the two, 3 day weeks. We are going to do a lot of reviewing of major concepts as well as get in quite a few science experiments and art projects revolving around Holy Week. This is always a fun time for me and the kids and I have been looking forward to it for quite some time.
So, make sure to get them plenty of rest and take advantage of the time to get them caught up on sight words they may have gotten behind on, Xtra math they may be behind on, or shoe tying they have not mastered. All things would benefit them before going into second grade.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
March 28-April 1
Dear Parents,
This week is pretty exciting! This week we were able to move out straight rows of desks back into pods! In first grade group work and collaboration is so important to teach good social skills. Also, kids learn best and are most engaged when they have the chance to talk to peers or listen to peers. Being back in pods after 2 years is a very exciting stepping stone to getting back to some best practices we have had to put aside over the past two years. We will continue to take the mask optional approach, clean and sanitize often, and ask families to keep sick kids home, but we will start moving towards the direction of a more "normal" classroom environment. In the cafeteria, for the first time since these kids have been in school, they are officially going back to getting to choose their own seat and sit with friends in the cafeteria. All these things are very exciting and the kids are loving it. This group has not experienced normal things such as all school masses, assemblies, and school programs. These things are in the plans for fourth quarter!
You should have seen your child's sight word test in their red folder. On the back are the April words. This will be your student's last set of sight words for first grade. I am so proud of their hard work. If your child still has highlighted words on their sheet you will want to work hard to get them caught up before second grade. They will get a second grade list next year.
Next week is a full week of school followed by two 3 days weeks due to Easter Break. We will not do a spelling or reading unit during either of 3 day weeks. Instead, we will be doing some extra science, art, review concepts, and writing projects. So please check next week's upcoming academics for a normal week but know the two weeks following things will be very different for the 3 day weeks.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
This week is pretty exciting! This week we were able to move out straight rows of desks back into pods! In first grade group work and collaboration is so important to teach good social skills. Also, kids learn best and are most engaged when they have the chance to talk to peers or listen to peers. Being back in pods after 2 years is a very exciting stepping stone to getting back to some best practices we have had to put aside over the past two years. We will continue to take the mask optional approach, clean and sanitize often, and ask families to keep sick kids home, but we will start moving towards the direction of a more "normal" classroom environment. In the cafeteria, for the first time since these kids have been in school, they are officially going back to getting to choose their own seat and sit with friends in the cafeteria. All these things are very exciting and the kids are loving it. This group has not experienced normal things such as all school masses, assemblies, and school programs. These things are in the plans for fourth quarter!
You should have seen your child's sight word test in their red folder. On the back are the April words. This will be your student's last set of sight words for first grade. I am so proud of their hard work. If your child still has highlighted words on their sheet you will want to work hard to get them caught up before second grade. They will get a second grade list next year.
Next week is a full week of school followed by two 3 days weeks due to Easter Break. We will not do a spelling or reading unit during either of 3 day weeks. Instead, we will be doing some extra science, art, review concepts, and writing projects. So please check next week's upcoming academics for a normal week but know the two weeks following things will be very different for the 3 day weeks.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
March 21-25
Hey Parents,
It was once again a busy week here in first grade. The schedule has been very normal with all these long 5 day weeks. It will be nice to hit a 4 day week next week for a little change. The students are loving learning about Lent and how to prepare ourselves for Easter.
Next week we have a fun book that ties into April Fools Day which I know they will like. We are finishing up our money chapter in math now. It is one of the most challenging chapters in Math and I am super proud of these kids for all their hard work. I worked hard to make it very fun and engaging. We got out of the workbook completely and completed all assignments with actual coins or on the iPads using apps like Wixie and Chatterpix. If your student is still struggling to count by 5s and 10s, this chapter proves to be very difficult for them. So, anytime you can fit in counting by 5s and 10s in the car would be greatly appreciated. We will be moving on to graph making and reading next which will give their brains a little break.
Reminder: When your child is absent they must use this website to prepare for end of week spelling and reading tests. Listening to the story of the week and talking about content and vocabulary are a must when they are gone. Also, they are expected to study for spelling and be ready for Friday assessments. Exceptions will be made only when communication has been made between myself and the parent.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
It was once again a busy week here in first grade. The schedule has been very normal with all these long 5 day weeks. It will be nice to hit a 4 day week next week for a little change. The students are loving learning about Lent and how to prepare ourselves for Easter.
Next week we have a fun book that ties into April Fools Day which I know they will like. We are finishing up our money chapter in math now. It is one of the most challenging chapters in Math and I am super proud of these kids for all their hard work. I worked hard to make it very fun and engaging. We got out of the workbook completely and completed all assignments with actual coins or on the iPads using apps like Wixie and Chatterpix. If your student is still struggling to count by 5s and 10s, this chapter proves to be very difficult for them. So, anytime you can fit in counting by 5s and 10s in the car would be greatly appreciated. We will be moving on to graph making and reading next which will give their brains a little break.
Reminder: When your child is absent they must use this website to prepare for end of week spelling and reading tests. Listening to the story of the week and talking about content and vocabulary are a must when they are gone. Also, they are expected to study for spelling and be ready for Friday assessments. Exceptions will be made only when communication has been made between myself and the parent.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
March 14-18
Hey Parents,
What an awesome week me and the kids had! It went by so fast. I love the book Molly Lou Melon and the message is sends to our class. The talent show was so fun and exciting and the kind words I hear from students to their classmates just melts my heart! You all have some pretty amazing kids and I am so proud of them. The students and I worked together and made a leprechaun trap this week. We had kids on the ladder crew, the cloud drew, the rainbow crew, and the coin making crew. The leprechaun took our coins we put out as a luar and replaced it with a treat. Our Flat Stanleys were officially mailed out today! We cannot wait to start receiving our packages.
We have another 5 day week next week. We will begin end of year testing next week to gather data to have available for next year's teachers and monitor the progress we have made this year.
I hope everyone has a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
What an awesome week me and the kids had! It went by so fast. I love the book Molly Lou Melon and the message is sends to our class. The talent show was so fun and exciting and the kind words I hear from students to their classmates just melts my heart! You all have some pretty amazing kids and I am so proud of them. The students and I worked together and made a leprechaun trap this week. We had kids on the ladder crew, the cloud drew, the rainbow crew, and the coin making crew. The leprechaun took our coins we put out as a luar and replaced it with a treat. Our Flat Stanleys were officially mailed out today! We cannot wait to start receiving our packages.
We have another 5 day week next week. We will begin end of year testing next week to gather data to have available for next year's teachers and monitor the progress we have made this year.
I hope everyone has a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
March 7-11
Dear Parents,
Well, this was a week full of surprises, a late called snow day on Monday followed by a much anticipated, pulled out from under us, snow day on Thursday. The kids and I of course made the best of it. We changed a bit around in here to make things fun and exciting. Our launching rocket ship science experiment will have to be postponed until nicer weather but I was able to find a cool new solar system craft to take its place for at least this week. But I have assured the kids we will launch rockets soon.
I hope everyone received my emails this week about the upcoming fun we are about to have. The first item in that mid-week email was about the talent show. Make sure you read that and have it completed by Thursday March 17. The link to the flipgrid is in the links tab here for you. We will be watching our virtual talent show on Friday March 18. I have already started receiving some Flat Stanley envelopes. I would like all addressed and stamped envelopes by Friday March 18. Together we will pack up our Stanley's and mail him out. Then for the rest of the year we will eagerly await and open our Flat Stanley packages to study our maps! Thank you to everyone who is working hard to help find someone to help their student participate.
Report cards will come home on Friday, March 18. As always please keep the report card, sign the envelope, and return the signed envelope to school by Monday March 21. Eagle reader calendars were do today for your students to be able to participate in the extra recess and snack. If ever you loose the calendar I will not accept an email, but I will accept a written note explaining that your child fulfilled his/her Eagle Reader weekly minutes for the entire quarter.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, stay warm,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Well, this was a week full of surprises, a late called snow day on Monday followed by a much anticipated, pulled out from under us, snow day on Thursday. The kids and I of course made the best of it. We changed a bit around in here to make things fun and exciting. Our launching rocket ship science experiment will have to be postponed until nicer weather but I was able to find a cool new solar system craft to take its place for at least this week. But I have assured the kids we will launch rockets soon.
I hope everyone received my emails this week about the upcoming fun we are about to have. The first item in that mid-week email was about the talent show. Make sure you read that and have it completed by Thursday March 17. The link to the flipgrid is in the links tab here for you. We will be watching our virtual talent show on Friday March 18. I have already started receiving some Flat Stanley envelopes. I would like all addressed and stamped envelopes by Friday March 18. Together we will pack up our Stanley's and mail him out. Then for the rest of the year we will eagerly await and open our Flat Stanley packages to study our maps! Thank you to everyone who is working hard to help find someone to help their student participate.
Report cards will come home on Friday, March 18. As always please keep the report card, sign the envelope, and return the signed envelope to school by Monday March 21. Eagle reader calendars were do today for your students to be able to participate in the extra recess and snack. If ever you loose the calendar I will not accept an email, but I will accept a written note explaining that your child fulfilled his/her Eagle Reader weekly minutes for the entire quarter.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, stay warm,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Feb. 28- March 4
.Dear Parents,
It was so nice to see so many families at our Ash Wednesday Mass. I was so proud of our students for stepping up and taking on such an important Mass with so many people in attendance! They did so well. This week went by fast as it was just a four day week. We have many 5 day weeks coming up! We have only 49 days to prepare these 1st graders for 2nd grade. I plan to work hard until the very end, sending them to second grade feeling prepared and confident. I do want to just let you all know how much I truly am loving your students this year. They are such a sweet and kind group. You are all very lucky they are together and will travel through SJS as a group.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and a good start to their Lent.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
It was so nice to see so many families at our Ash Wednesday Mass. I was so proud of our students for stepping up and taking on such an important Mass with so many people in attendance! They did so well. This week went by fast as it was just a four day week. We have many 5 day weeks coming up! We have only 49 days to prepare these 1st graders for 2nd grade. I plan to work hard until the very end, sending them to second grade feeling prepared and confident. I do want to just let you all know how much I truly am loving your students this year. They are such a sweet and kind group. You are all very lucky they are together and will travel through SJS as a group.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and a good start to their Lent.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Feb. 21-25
Dear Parents,
I am so proud of the progress I am seeing in the students. This week I was able to pull many small groups everyday in reading and math. In small groups I can really see the progress each student is making, and this week I was extremely impressed. I feel like we have official readers in this classroom and it is the most exciting and rewarding thing to watch happen right in front of my eyes. Please keep up all the good work at home.
Please remember that when you student misses school they must make up the lessons and work at home. They will also makeup the tests here at school when they return. In the classroom all our skills build upon other skills we learn. If you student misses certain skills or chapters for being absent it could not only effect them for that chapter, but for many other chapters going forward. Making up the lessons and work is so important to help them be successful and not feel stressed when they return. The older the students get, the harder it is when they miss school. It is a good idea to learn and practice early how to make up the missing work at home when they miss. If your student has 0s in sycamore at this point it means that when they were absent I sent home the work and it never got returned. It is best to return that work as soon as possible when they return to avoid it getting lost or forgotten.
Next week I will test your student over their Kindergarten - February sight words. March and April are the final lists of sight words! The end is in sight!
Have a great weekend, stay warm,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
I am so proud of the progress I am seeing in the students. This week I was able to pull many small groups everyday in reading and math. In small groups I can really see the progress each student is making, and this week I was extremely impressed. I feel like we have official readers in this classroom and it is the most exciting and rewarding thing to watch happen right in front of my eyes. Please keep up all the good work at home.
Please remember that when you student misses school they must make up the lessons and work at home. They will also makeup the tests here at school when they return. In the classroom all our skills build upon other skills we learn. If you student misses certain skills or chapters for being absent it could not only effect them for that chapter, but for many other chapters going forward. Making up the lessons and work is so important to help them be successful and not feel stressed when they return. The older the students get, the harder it is when they miss school. It is a good idea to learn and practice early how to make up the missing work at home when they miss. If your student has 0s in sycamore at this point it means that when they were absent I sent home the work and it never got returned. It is best to return that work as soon as possible when they return to avoid it getting lost or forgotten.
Next week I will test your student over their Kindergarten - February sight words. March and April are the final lists of sight words! The end is in sight!
Have a great weekend, stay warm,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Feb. 14-18
Dear Parents,
Well, I do not know if there is any better week in the whole school year. This week the kids got to celebrate Valentine's Day with lots of treats and games! This week was also Volcano week! This week in science/reading we studied the national geographic text about Volcanos. The students really showed what they have learned this year about text features. They made 4 diagrams of the 4 different types of volcanoes we learned about. They created text feature posters in partners with facts they have learned about volcanoes. Then finally on Friday each students created a living diagram of one of the types of volcanoes out of play doh and we erupted them together! I hope you all got to hear lots about this exciting week! We still have 53 days of school. There are still standards to be mastered and uncovered in the first grade curriculum. Keeping a good schedule and routine all the way to the end helps me to prepare your student for second grade best.
If you have not heard, SJS won Spirit Radio's Superstar Catholic School in our category! I am so proud of this because I truly believe we deserve it. At SJS we have amazing teachers, administrators, students, and parents! I am so proud to be apart of this community that I think it is important to let others know any way we can! So if you voted, thank you so much.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, Monday is a spirit dress down day!
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Well, I do not know if there is any better week in the whole school year. This week the kids got to celebrate Valentine's Day with lots of treats and games! This week was also Volcano week! This week in science/reading we studied the national geographic text about Volcanos. The students really showed what they have learned this year about text features. They made 4 diagrams of the 4 different types of volcanoes we learned about. They created text feature posters in partners with facts they have learned about volcanoes. Then finally on Friday each students created a living diagram of one of the types of volcanoes out of play doh and we erupted them together! I hope you all got to hear lots about this exciting week! We still have 53 days of school. There are still standards to be mastered and uncovered in the first grade curriculum. Keeping a good schedule and routine all the way to the end helps me to prepare your student for second grade best.
If you have not heard, SJS won Spirit Radio's Superstar Catholic School in our category! I am so proud of this because I truly believe we deserve it. At SJS we have amazing teachers, administrators, students, and parents! I am so proud to be apart of this community that I think it is important to let others know any way we can! So if you voted, thank you so much.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, Monday is a spirit dress down day!
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Feb. 7-11
More important that anything.... LET"S WIN SUPERSTAR CATHOLIC SCHOOL. Please vote NOW! Here is the link, we are category number 9. You do not have to vote for every category. It takes two mins. Please do it NOW! SJS deserves to win! We are no doubt the best and we need to let all of our Archdiocese know!
Dear Parents,
I will keep this short and sweet! We had a very productive 3 day week. We did not do a reading or spelling test but we kept pushing forward with our new skills.
Next week is a 5 day week with Valentine's Day being on Monday. I have a fun Valentines Day planned for the students.
Valentine's Day
Students may bring a valentines box or bag and treats and/or cards to pass out. DO NOT ADDRESS THE CARDS TO INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS. JUST WRITE WHO THE CARD OR TREAT IS FROM. We have 23 students in our class.
There is a Valentines Box competition within the entire school. It is not mandatory to participate but the kids really enjoy it. Please do not send boxes to school before Monday Feb. 14. We do not have places to store the boxes in the classroom. The students may also dress down on Monday Feb. 14 in valentines attire or colors.
I hope everyone has a great long weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Dear Parents,
I will keep this short and sweet! We had a very productive 3 day week. We did not do a reading or spelling test but we kept pushing forward with our new skills.
Next week is a 5 day week with Valentine's Day being on Monday. I have a fun Valentines Day planned for the students.
Valentine's Day
Students may bring a valentines box or bag and treats and/or cards to pass out. DO NOT ADDRESS THE CARDS TO INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS. JUST WRITE WHO THE CARD OR TREAT IS FROM. We have 23 students in our class.
There is a Valentines Box competition within the entire school. It is not mandatory to participate but the kids really enjoy it. Please do not send boxes to school before Monday Feb. 14. We do not have places to store the boxes in the classroom. The students may also dress down on Monday Feb. 14 in valentines attire or colors.
I hope everyone has a great long weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Jan. 31-Feb 4
Dear Parents,
Catholic School's Week is by far one of my favorite times to be apart of the SJS community. There is so much joy and energy in the halls everyday as we celebrate the gift of Catholic Schools together, especially SJS. It is always extra exciting when the 100th day falls within the week. This week I hope you heard lots of exciting stories about everything the students got to experience. We made oobleck on Wednesday to end our science unit about States of Matter. The kids loved it!
Next week is a 3 days school week. We will not do any end of week tests in Spelling or Reading. We will have a phonics test and keep moving forward in all our subjects. We will read and study the book Henry's Freedom Box in honor of Black History Month, but due to only having 3 days we will not test. I will put the spelling words on the upcoming academics site for the Feb. 18th test in case anyone would like to get ahead.
If I requested a conference with you please make sure to get signed up at the PTC website provided to you by the office. If Thursday, Feb. 10 does not work for you, let me know and we can work out another time after school one day. If I did not request a time with you, you are welcome to sign up for a time to discuss any questions or concerns you have, but it is not required.
As always, reach out if you have any questions,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Catholic School's Week is by far one of my favorite times to be apart of the SJS community. There is so much joy and energy in the halls everyday as we celebrate the gift of Catholic Schools together, especially SJS. It is always extra exciting when the 100th day falls within the week. This week I hope you heard lots of exciting stories about everything the students got to experience. We made oobleck on Wednesday to end our science unit about States of Matter. The kids loved it!
Next week is a 3 days school week. We will not do any end of week tests in Spelling or Reading. We will have a phonics test and keep moving forward in all our subjects. We will read and study the book Henry's Freedom Box in honor of Black History Month, but due to only having 3 days we will not test. I will put the spelling words on the upcoming academics site for the Feb. 18th test in case anyone would like to get ahead.
If I requested a conference with you please make sure to get signed up at the PTC website provided to you by the office. If Thursday, Feb. 10 does not work for you, let me know and we can work out another time after school one day. If I did not request a time with you, you are welcome to sign up for a time to discuss any questions or concerns you have, but it is not required.
As always, reach out if you have any questions,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Jan. 24-28
Dear Parents,
I have to start by bragging about how well our students did at this week's Mass! This week was our class Mass. Seven of our students we responsible for all the readings that take place during the Mass and they did wonderful. They were respectful on the Alter and loud and clear in their delivery. I am very proud of those that worked so hard to pull off their first of many Masses here at SJS. We will have the opportunity to do one more Mass this year and I look forward to seeing what the next group can do.
Next week is full of fun! Not only is it the 100th Day on Tuesday, it is also Catholic School's Week! It is a week to celebrate SJS and the opportunity to attend a Catholic School in Omaha. Each day is filled with something different to celebrate. Some days require parents to be in the know, and send students with certain items or SPECIFIC dress down clothes. I have laid everything out that you need to know about on the upcoming events. Get out your calendars and set some alerts because it is a week that requires organization from everyone.
Next week, on Tuesday, in your child's read folder there will be an optional conference form. I will request, or not request, a conference with you about your child's progress. If I request a conference you will need to login to the PTC conference link that the office will send out later in the week and choose a time slot on Thursday Feb. 10. If that date does not work for you please reach out and I can make some after school spots available. You may also request a conference if you have things you would like to discuss with me about your child. These are the optional conferences in the school year. They can be teacher or parent requested.
If you signed up to bring a 100 day items hopefully you sent it to school by today. I will go buy what we are missing after today.
I cannot wait to celebrate all week,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
I have to start by bragging about how well our students did at this week's Mass! This week was our class Mass. Seven of our students we responsible for all the readings that take place during the Mass and they did wonderful. They were respectful on the Alter and loud and clear in their delivery. I am very proud of those that worked so hard to pull off their first of many Masses here at SJS. We will have the opportunity to do one more Mass this year and I look forward to seeing what the next group can do.
Next week is full of fun! Not only is it the 100th Day on Tuesday, it is also Catholic School's Week! It is a week to celebrate SJS and the opportunity to attend a Catholic School in Omaha. Each day is filled with something different to celebrate. Some days require parents to be in the know, and send students with certain items or SPECIFIC dress down clothes. I have laid everything out that you need to know about on the upcoming events. Get out your calendars and set some alerts because it is a week that requires organization from everyone.
Next week, on Tuesday, in your child's read folder there will be an optional conference form. I will request, or not request, a conference with you about your child's progress. If I request a conference you will need to login to the PTC conference link that the office will send out later in the week and choose a time slot on Thursday Feb. 10. If that date does not work for you please reach out and I can make some after school spots available. You may also request a conference if you have things you would like to discuss with me about your child. These are the optional conferences in the school year. They can be teacher or parent requested.
If you signed up to bring a 100 day items hopefully you sent it to school by today. I will go buy what we are missing after today.
I cannot wait to celebrate all week,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Jan. 17-21
Dear Parents,
The students did so well getting right back on track after the long 4 day weekend and catching up from last week's work! Thank you for all your support at home. It truly pays off and makes the students feel confident and successful in the classroom.
In the next two weeks we will have the 100th Day of school as well as Catholic School's Week. Both celebrations come with a lot of calendar changes and exciting things. Please be sure to check the website, school calendar, and virtual backpack so that your child will not miss out. In the Links tab I have linked a tab to ivolunteer for donation items needed for our 100th Day of School activities! We will spend the day having fun with numbers 0-100 and reviewing math concepts we have learned this year in a very fun way! Stay tuned for emails and pay attention to the upcoming events page.
There is also a link to register for our Spring Fling Event that the athletic association puts on each year to raise funds for athletics at SJS! See the description above the link or ask me if you are interested in attending this event!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
The students did so well getting right back on track after the long 4 day weekend and catching up from last week's work! Thank you for all your support at home. It truly pays off and makes the students feel confident and successful in the classroom.
In the next two weeks we will have the 100th Day of school as well as Catholic School's Week. Both celebrations come with a lot of calendar changes and exciting things. Please be sure to check the website, school calendar, and virtual backpack so that your child will not miss out. In the Links tab I have linked a tab to ivolunteer for donation items needed for our 100th Day of School activities! We will spend the day having fun with numbers 0-100 and reviewing math concepts we have learned this year in a very fun way! Stay tuned for emails and pay attention to the upcoming events page.
There is also a link to register for our Spring Fling Event that the athletic association puts on each year to raise funds for athletics at SJS! See the description above the link or ask me if you are interested in attending this event!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Jan. 10-14
Dear Parents,
This week the students took their second STAR progress monitoring assessment. This tool helps me plans for the next stage in reading your student is in. It helps me tailor their small group lessons to meet them where they are at. I was very pleased in the progress my class has made. Many students jumped far beyond their next anticipated score. I look forward to working hard to get them even further as we make our way into the second half of the year.
This week the students have struggled a bit to remember how to hit all work expectations. If you see work coming home missing writing or labels or an illustration it would be wise to go over with them that they are responsible for their independent work, and points get taken off heavily for not following directions and classroom standards on all work.
Next week the students do not have school on Monday Jan. 17. Please mark that in your calendars.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
This week the students took their second STAR progress monitoring assessment. This tool helps me plans for the next stage in reading your student is in. It helps me tailor their small group lessons to meet them where they are at. I was very pleased in the progress my class has made. Many students jumped far beyond their next anticipated score. I look forward to working hard to get them even further as we make our way into the second half of the year.
This week the students have struggled a bit to remember how to hit all work expectations. If you see work coming home missing writing or labels or an illustration it would be wise to go over with them that they are responsible for their independent work, and points get taken off heavily for not following directions and classroom standards on all work.
Next week the students do not have school on Monday Jan. 17. Please mark that in your calendars.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Jan. 2-7
Dear Parents,
This week might have been my very favorite week yet with the kids. We were all just so happy and excited to be back together. We wasted no time getting back to work but also we all had so many stories to share with one another about our special break with our families! It sounds like you all had very wonderful Christmases and you made some very special memories!
I cannot stress enough keeping your nightly schedule and work consistent for the rest of the year. I will continue to work hard here in the classroom right up until the end. Falling behind a week of spelling or a month of sight words can really weigh on them when they have to work so hard to catch up. I seriously appreciate all of your at home support you have given this year.
Report cards come home today, please have the envelope signed and returned by Monday Jan. 10. You keep the report card at home.
Please make sure to read the virtual backpack for upcoming information and events! Catholic School's Week is just 3 weeks away so the calendar will be full of special happenings around the school.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
This week might have been my very favorite week yet with the kids. We were all just so happy and excited to be back together. We wasted no time getting back to work but also we all had so many stories to share with one another about our special break with our families! It sounds like you all had very wonderful Christmases and you made some very special memories!
I cannot stress enough keeping your nightly schedule and work consistent for the rest of the year. I will continue to work hard here in the classroom right up until the end. Falling behind a week of spelling or a month of sight words can really weigh on them when they have to work so hard to catch up. I seriously appreciate all of your at home support you have given this year.
Report cards come home today, please have the envelope signed and returned by Monday Jan. 10. You keep the report card at home.
Please make sure to read the virtual backpack for upcoming information and events! Catholic School's Week is just 3 weeks away so the calendar will be full of special happenings around the school.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Dec. 13-17
Dear Parents,
The students and I had an amazing final week in quarter 2 preparing for Christmas! Gingerbread house day was a huge hit and the students had so much fun. I hope you had a chance to see their pictures on the school's facebook page. Today we had our pizza party won at SOAR by our amazing parents! The kids got 2+ pieces of pizza, cookies, chips, fruit snacks, apple sauce, and a juice box! We watched a Christmas movie while we ate in the classroom. It was so much fun!
School will resume Tuesday Jan. 4 and we will jump right back into our normal weekly schedule and routines. Expectations will remain high as we get closer to being prepared for 2nd grade.
Shoe tying- Students should be able to to tie their own shoes by this point in the year. I always tell students, I do not tie shoes after Christmas. They will need to ask a friend, tuck in their laces, or switch to velcro shoes. If your child cannot their shoes at this point in the year this would be an excellent thing to work on over break.
I really hope everyone enjoys their break and Christmas with their family. I have had a great year this far with your students and I know it will be even better when we return. Merry Christmas to all my students and families!
Mrs. Sammie Becker
The students and I had an amazing final week in quarter 2 preparing for Christmas! Gingerbread house day was a huge hit and the students had so much fun. I hope you had a chance to see their pictures on the school's facebook page. Today we had our pizza party won at SOAR by our amazing parents! The kids got 2+ pieces of pizza, cookies, chips, fruit snacks, apple sauce, and a juice box! We watched a Christmas movie while we ate in the classroom. It was so much fun!
School will resume Tuesday Jan. 4 and we will jump right back into our normal weekly schedule and routines. Expectations will remain high as we get closer to being prepared for 2nd grade.
Shoe tying- Students should be able to to tie their own shoes by this point in the year. I always tell students, I do not tie shoes after Christmas. They will need to ask a friend, tuck in their laces, or switch to velcro shoes. If your child cannot their shoes at this point in the year this would be an excellent thing to work on over break.
I really hope everyone enjoys their break and Christmas with their family. I have had a great year this far with your students and I know it will be even better when we return. Merry Christmas to all my students and families!
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Dec. 6-10
Dear Parents,
The students and I are having so much fun getting into the holiday spirit by learning about Advent in Religion and holidays around the world in Reading/Social Studies! I love when they tell me about your house's own holiday traditions and compare and contrast them to those we are learning about from around the world. Today we had fun learning how Jewish children play with dreidels during Hanukkah. The kids were giggling and having a blast playing this game together that I just had to share some pictures with you again this week.
Next week is CRAZY! We are working so hard creating and putting together a parent gift that I hope you all enjoy. The students have 2 dress down days next week and a pizza party won by you parents during SOAR. You will not need to send your child a lunch next Friday, Dec. 17 as we will be grubbing on pizza due to your competitive ambition and giving during SOAR! The students will definitely appreciate it! We will continue with our normal chapters in all subjects through next week. Please keep consistent on your homework and study habits at home. The student obviously will be deserving of that nice long break coming up. Report cards are due next week, so any missing work must by in by next week Thursday to get credit for it on sycamore.
Gingerbread Houses- Thank you to all who have been volunteering for gingerbread house supplies on ivolunteer. If you have not yet and would still like to, please see the ivolunteer link on the links tab above. Every student does need their own frosting. A paper was sent home with the frosting we prefer the students to have. I understand it is hard to find and if you have to get a different white frosting that is fine. We just find that that particular one is easiest for the students to use and the students who have it get less frustrated during their construction. Everyone needs their frosting in the classroom by next week on Wed. in order to participate. You may send things in as soon as you have them.
The upcoming events tab is very full with things your students need and need to be prepared for. Get out you calendars and please make sure they are ready for next week.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Dec. 3
Hey Parents,
Did you see the cool at home paint and sip fundraiser that home and school is putting on? You can sign up for a paint and sip (hot cocoa) to do at home from Heart and Soul Art Studio. My family has taken part in many of these over the last couple of years and they are so fun. Mrs. Jenny walks you through all of the steps so even the little ones come out with a painting they can be proud of. I will include the link to order here. Registration for this ends Sunday and pick up of materials is here at school on Dec. 13. Email me if you have any questions about this.
Today the kids had so much fun doing a STEM project! They worked in partners to create the best basket possible with the supplies I gave them- 10 noodles, endless supply of tape, 4 popsicle sticks, a long piece of yarn, and a piece of card stock paper. Then we tested the basket with wooden blocks to see which team's basket could hold the most blocks! This kids had a blast and I felt you needed to see their great work! Pictures are below in a picture gallery! I only wish I could send you videos of their kind words to one another as they encouraged and got excited over each others ideas. It was amazing to both listen and watch.
Next week we will start learning about holidays around the world. We will continue to have full reading, math, spelling, and phonics units all the way up until we leave for Christmas break so attendance up through the 17th is very important. Sycamore is up to date with all the current grades and lots of missing work. If your child brought home work from when they were absent I need that back ASAP or it stays in the grade book as a 0. Report cards will be due soon.
Thank you to everyone who has volunteers to bring things for our gingerbread houses. I believe there are still some spots left of things to be brought. You should have all gotten a notes in regards to what kind of frosting each student needs to bring. Please make sure to mark the frosting with your student's name.
I look forward to getting excited for Christmas here at school with all your students. It is by far my most favorite time of year.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Nov. 29-Dec. 3
Dear Parents,
We have 3 full weeks until Christmas break! I will be working very hard with the students on all new material in all subjects. We will continue to review topics they have learned this year and work on getting those reading levels up and learning those important math facts! As the holiday and break grows near please do not get loose on your nightly routine of studying and working hard. We are doing so well and I would love to keep up this momentum as we prepare to take the mid-year STAR test to track progress.
Here is the link to I-volunteer where I have listed items needs for our gingerbread house making day. Please sign up for an item or two if you are able. Every student will be responsible for bringing in their own frosting. I will give more details as we get closer but we need the items signed up for.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
We have 3 full weeks until Christmas break! I will be working very hard with the students on all new material in all subjects. We will continue to review topics they have learned this year and work on getting those reading levels up and learning those important math facts! As the holiday and break grows near please do not get loose on your nightly routine of studying and working hard. We are doing so well and I would love to keep up this momentum as we prepare to take the mid-year STAR test to track progress.
Here is the link to I-volunteer where I have listed items needs for our gingerbread house making day. Please sign up for an item or two if you are able. Every student will be responsible for bringing in their own frosting. I will give more details as we get closer but we need the items signed up for.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Nov. 15-18
Hey Parents,
The weekend is finally here! SOAR is just two days away and you can feel the excitement in the school! Thank you to everyone who has been selling raffle tickets or buying student raffle tickets. Thank you to everyone who has sent amazon wishlist items or gift cards in. It all makes such a difference and give the event a sense of community. Even if you are not attending the event in person please know that you can bid on all items using the SOAR link post on the website. I sent an email about the first grade pizza war and ice cream sundae party. Get together with other parents and make it a group effort. Team work makes the dream work! I hope to see some of you on Saturday.
Next week is a 2 day week, we will not have a spelling or reading Unit. Everything I put on the upcoming academics tab will be for the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 3.
I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving Break. The students have been working so hard and making so much progress, they deserve the upcoming break.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns as we come around to the end of the first semester. I really appreciated all the communication and teamwork I have had so far this year with all my families.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
The weekend is finally here! SOAR is just two days away and you can feel the excitement in the school! Thank you to everyone who has been selling raffle tickets or buying student raffle tickets. Thank you to everyone who has sent amazon wishlist items or gift cards in. It all makes such a difference and give the event a sense of community. Even if you are not attending the event in person please know that you can bid on all items using the SOAR link post on the website. I sent an email about the first grade pizza war and ice cream sundae party. Get together with other parents and make it a group effort. Team work makes the dream work! I hope to see some of you on Saturday.
Next week is a 2 day week, we will not have a spelling or reading Unit. Everything I put on the upcoming academics tab will be for the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 3.
I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving Break. The students have been working so hard and making so much progress, they deserve the upcoming break.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns as we come around to the end of the first semester. I really appreciated all the communication and teamwork I have had so far this year with all my families.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Nov. 8-12
Dear Parents,
Another full and amazing week in first grade. I have to say thank you to everyone who sent in a Veteran interview and Baptism picture. It made our units so much more engaging to see people we actually know in relation to these topics. The students loved sharing their Baptism pictures and it was so helpful when explaining Baptism as a celebration and welcoming into our Catholic Church!
Next week is a 4 day week. We will have a normal spelling and reading unit with tests on Thursday instead of Friday.
All next week students can bring in money to buy $1 chance raffle tickets. The winner will be drawn on Thursday for a chance to win a $100 bill or a $25 Target gift card. All money will go to support SOAR. I look forward to SOAR every year. It is always fun to see my parents out and about on the weekend for a weekend of fun, food, and community! SOAR is not possible without all of you. If you cannot attend the event please look through the live silent auction items and consider making some bids from home. Also, if you are not interested in attending the event as a guest, SOAR is in desperate need of volunteers to serve food and work behind the scenes at the event. Please reach out to Mrs. Howard if you are interested in this volunteer opportunity.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Another full and amazing week in first grade. I have to say thank you to everyone who sent in a Veteran interview and Baptism picture. It made our units so much more engaging to see people we actually know in relation to these topics. The students loved sharing their Baptism pictures and it was so helpful when explaining Baptism as a celebration and welcoming into our Catholic Church!
Next week is a 4 day week. We will have a normal spelling and reading unit with tests on Thursday instead of Friday.
All next week students can bring in money to buy $1 chance raffle tickets. The winner will be drawn on Thursday for a chance to win a $100 bill or a $25 Target gift card. All money will go to support SOAR. I look forward to SOAR every year. It is always fun to see my parents out and about on the weekend for a weekend of fun, food, and community! SOAR is not possible without all of you. If you cannot attend the event please look through the live silent auction items and consider making some bids from home. Also, if you are not interested in attending the event as a guest, SOAR is in desperate need of volunteers to serve food and work behind the scenes at the event. Please reach out to Mrs. Howard if you are interested in this volunteer opportunity.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Nov. 1-5
Dear Parents,
Thank you so much for coming through for me on those notecards! I found out they were not on the supply list for some reason this year, so there is no wonder why I did not get any! Thank you for helping me out! We should be all set for the year.
SOAR is coming up in just 2 short weeks and the staff around here are working like crazy to make sure it is a successful event. If you are out this weekend and have the ability to pick up a gift card or two, for any amount to any place, it would be appreciated more than you know. The Eagle's Nest at SOAR is by far the most popular. We need gift cards to make it successful! I cannot stress enough how happy it would make me to see as many of my parents at the event as possible. Keep pushing those raffle ticket sales!
Hopefully everyone received the email about the optional Veteran's Day interview. If not, go back and look through your email to get all the details.
I look forward to yet another full week with all my students next week! We are pushing and working hard on these reading levels. I cannot stress enough the importance of making up work when your child is gone. I understand this year we are being more cautious than ever keeping kids home, I am grateful for everyone being so careful, but, when you keep your student home it is up to you to use this website to stay caught up on the weekly topics. When they are gone you should always:
- Listen to the reading book on youtube, discuss vocabulary and essential questions
- Practice spelling words and do a tic tac toe assignment at home
- Practice the phonics words and skills- read, segment, blend, and spell the phonics words of the week
First grade has a lot to learn and new responsibilities compared to kindergarten. Just missing one day misses out on quite a bit. Without making up the work and going over the material for the day it makes the end of unit assessments very difficult. Please make sure to read the missing work pages and not just do the worksheets that get sent home. I write many other things on there beside just the printed worksheets that need done. You will see a decline in grades due to missing school. Also, if your child is missing work you can find out by checking sycamore regularly. There has been a lot of absent students this year that I need parents help keeping up on the missing work that I send home.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Thank you so much for coming through for me on those notecards! I found out they were not on the supply list for some reason this year, so there is no wonder why I did not get any! Thank you for helping me out! We should be all set for the year.
SOAR is coming up in just 2 short weeks and the staff around here are working like crazy to make sure it is a successful event. If you are out this weekend and have the ability to pick up a gift card or two, for any amount to any place, it would be appreciated more than you know. The Eagle's Nest at SOAR is by far the most popular. We need gift cards to make it successful! I cannot stress enough how happy it would make me to see as many of my parents at the event as possible. Keep pushing those raffle ticket sales!
Hopefully everyone received the email about the optional Veteran's Day interview. If not, go back and look through your email to get all the details.
I look forward to yet another full week with all my students next week! We are pushing and working hard on these reading levels. I cannot stress enough the importance of making up work when your child is gone. I understand this year we are being more cautious than ever keeping kids home, I am grateful for everyone being so careful, but, when you keep your student home it is up to you to use this website to stay caught up on the weekly topics. When they are gone you should always:
- Listen to the reading book on youtube, discuss vocabulary and essential questions
- Practice spelling words and do a tic tac toe assignment at home
- Practice the phonics words and skills- read, segment, blend, and spell the phonics words of the week
First grade has a lot to learn and new responsibilities compared to kindergarten. Just missing one day misses out on quite a bit. Without making up the work and going over the material for the day it makes the end of unit assessments very difficult. Please make sure to read the missing work pages and not just do the worksheets that get sent home. I write many other things on there beside just the printed worksheets that need done. You will see a decline in grades due to missing school. Also, if your child is missing work you can find out by checking sycamore regularly. There has been a lot of absent students this year that I need parents help keeping up on the missing work that I send home.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Oct. 26-28
Dear Parents,
It was a nice short week, ended with a lot of fun! the kids and I had a great day together celebrating Halloween. Thank you for sending in so many things to put a smile on their faces.
I really just want to touch base on one thing in this message. We are officially into quarter 2. Quarter 1 was spent reviewing a lot of kindergarten concepts in all subjects. It was spent learning rules, procedures, and expectations. In quarter 2 you will see a significant jump in the type of work we are doing. It will be new and harder for them. So, if you have not been studying spelling words, reading, or doing Xtra math up till this point I would highly recommend you start getting into that habit or you will see it effect their grades. If you start to see grade slipping you may want to have a talk with your student about paying attention in class and using independent time well.
Also, check with your student on how they are doing on their supplies. If they say they are running out of black expo markers, clue sticks, or crayons you will want to get those replace. For some reason one thing that I did not get donated that was on the supply list was index cards. We are running low on these and I would appreciate any donations so we have enough to get us through the year.
I look forward to seeing all the rest of my parents tomorrow at parent teacher conferences. Please make sure to be on time. I will be running all my conferences back to back every 15 mins. If you are late I will have to cut your conference time short in order to keep everyone else on time. Many parents have multiple teachers to get to. If I am late for a parent it gets other teachers off schedule too.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
It was a nice short week, ended with a lot of fun! the kids and I had a great day together celebrating Halloween. Thank you for sending in so many things to put a smile on their faces.
I really just want to touch base on one thing in this message. We are officially into quarter 2. Quarter 1 was spent reviewing a lot of kindergarten concepts in all subjects. It was spent learning rules, procedures, and expectations. In quarter 2 you will see a significant jump in the type of work we are doing. It will be new and harder for them. So, if you have not been studying spelling words, reading, or doing Xtra math up till this point I would highly recommend you start getting into that habit or you will see it effect their grades. If you start to see grade slipping you may want to have a talk with your student about paying attention in class and using independent time well.
Also, check with your student on how they are doing on their supplies. If they say they are running out of black expo markers, clue sticks, or crayons you will want to get those replace. For some reason one thing that I did not get donated that was on the supply list was index cards. We are running low on these and I would appreciate any donations so we have enough to get us through the year.
I look forward to seeing all the rest of my parents tomorrow at parent teacher conferences. Please make sure to be on time. I will be running all my conferences back to back every 15 mins. If you are late I will have to cut your conference time short in order to keep everyone else on time. Many parents have multiple teachers to get to. If I am late for a parent it gets other teachers off schedule too.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Oct. 18-22
Hey Parents,
Full weeks are so fulfilling! It is amazing what we can accomplish with a 5 day week! That being said... next week is a 3 day week. We will not start a new reading unit or spelling unit. However, the next spelling unit is a review unit with 24 words, so I will post these words on upcoming academics so we can get an early start on studying. We will have a math test and phonics test next week as we finish up chapters on subtractions and ch, th, sh digraphs.
Conferences will be Monday night 3:30pm-8:00pm and Thursday 8am-5pm. Conferences run back to back every 15 mins. If you think you require more than 15 mins I will ask that you schedule something with me at a different time, otherwise I will be running a tight schedule on both conference days so please be respectful of your start and end time.
SOAR- if you have not RSVPed to SOAR please consider doing so. It is such an important event for our school. It is such a great event and wonderful community builder. I hope to see lots of you there that night. The amazon wishlist for SOAR is still linked under my "links" tab on the website. Finally, I cannot stress enough to sell sell sell those raffle tickets!
Halloween- We will have a Halloween celebration in the classroom next Wednesday, Oct. 27th, in the afternoon. You may send your students costume to school in their backpack with them that day. Please do not send them in the costume. They will be allowed to put it on at 1:15 that day for our party. Students will put it on over their clothes. Please do not send any sort of makeup, hair dye, etc. Just a costume that will be able to be pulled over their clothes so we can all get changed quickly in the classroom. You may also send with your child a treat to pass out to the class if you would like. We are not allowing parent volunteers in the classroom this year.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Full weeks are so fulfilling! It is amazing what we can accomplish with a 5 day week! That being said... next week is a 3 day week. We will not start a new reading unit or spelling unit. However, the next spelling unit is a review unit with 24 words, so I will post these words on upcoming academics so we can get an early start on studying. We will have a math test and phonics test next week as we finish up chapters on subtractions and ch, th, sh digraphs.
Conferences will be Monday night 3:30pm-8:00pm and Thursday 8am-5pm. Conferences run back to back every 15 mins. If you think you require more than 15 mins I will ask that you schedule something with me at a different time, otherwise I will be running a tight schedule on both conference days so please be respectful of your start and end time.
SOAR- if you have not RSVPed to SOAR please consider doing so. It is such an important event for our school. It is such a great event and wonderful community builder. I hope to see lots of you there that night. The amazon wishlist for SOAR is still linked under my "links" tab on the website. Finally, I cannot stress enough to sell sell sell those raffle tickets!
Halloween- We will have a Halloween celebration in the classroom next Wednesday, Oct. 27th, in the afternoon. You may send your students costume to school in their backpack with them that day. Please do not send them in the costume. They will be allowed to put it on at 1:15 that day for our party. Students will put it on over their clothes. Please do not send any sort of makeup, hair dye, etc. Just a costume that will be able to be pulled over their clothes so we can all get changed quickly in the classroom. You may also send with your child a treat to pass out to the class if you would like. We are not allowing parent volunteers in the classroom this year.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Oct. 11-14
Dear Families,
Woo hoo! We made it through the first ever field trip for these guys! I am so happy they finally got to experience the bus ride and excitement of a field trip! Thank you so much to all our amazing volunteers. This was definitely a field trip where the more the merrier.
Report card grades are done. End of the quarter is today. If you child did not complete Eagle Reader requirements for this quarter please try and work on those in quarter two. It is simply reading 35 days out of the entire quarter for 15-20 mins a night. This can be them reading to you or you reading to them. Remember to talk about the book you read to enhance comprehension skills.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone at parent teacher conferences at the end of this month. Hopefully everyone has read about my schedule conflict. I am hosting conferences on the evening of Oct. 25 from 3:30-8:00pm and then during the day time on Oct. 28 from 8am-5:00 due to a scheduling conflict. Please see the links tab to sign up for a conference time if you have not yet.
Halloween: We will do our Halloween party on Oct. 27. We will not be using parent volunteers. Your child will have the opportunity to bring their costume to wear during the party. I will give a lot more details about that next week.
Reminder: When your child misses school it is very important that you use the upcoming academics tab to listen to the story with your child. Go over the vocabulary and essential questions for the week. When they miss school they miss a lot more than just the empty worksheets that I send home. They miss about 6 hours worth of instruction that cannot be made up. In order to prepare them for the work when they return it will be the parents job to use this website to over what they missed out on.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Woo hoo! We made it through the first ever field trip for these guys! I am so happy they finally got to experience the bus ride and excitement of a field trip! Thank you so much to all our amazing volunteers. This was definitely a field trip where the more the merrier.
Report card grades are done. End of the quarter is today. If you child did not complete Eagle Reader requirements for this quarter please try and work on those in quarter two. It is simply reading 35 days out of the entire quarter for 15-20 mins a night. This can be them reading to you or you reading to them. Remember to talk about the book you read to enhance comprehension skills.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone at parent teacher conferences at the end of this month. Hopefully everyone has read about my schedule conflict. I am hosting conferences on the evening of Oct. 25 from 3:30-8:00pm and then during the day time on Oct. 28 from 8am-5:00 due to a scheduling conflict. Please see the links tab to sign up for a conference time if you have not yet.
Halloween: We will do our Halloween party on Oct. 27. We will not be using parent volunteers. Your child will have the opportunity to bring their costume to wear during the party. I will give a lot more details about that next week.
Reminder: When your child misses school it is very important that you use the upcoming academics tab to listen to the story with your child. Go over the vocabulary and essential questions for the week. When they miss school they miss a lot more than just the empty worksheets that I send home. They miss about 6 hours worth of instruction that cannot be made up. In order to prepare them for the work when they return it will be the parents job to use this website to over what they missed out on.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Oct. 4-8
Okay Parents I have a lot of information coming your way so I will try to stick just to the points! As always your children were amazing this week and they are progressing so well! I cannot wait to share with you all their individual progress at Parent Teacher Conferences!
1. Raffle Tickets- all you need to know is this... the winning class gets a dress down day, a movie day, and a pizza party! We want to win, so sell sell sell! If you need new books just let me know! When you are ready to send in money and sold tickets, do so and I will get them to the office! Lets sell those raffle tickets and start our amazing SOAR fundraiser out with a bang! Raffle tickets can be sold all the way till Nov. 12
2. Get registered for SOAR! Its a blast and it single handedly does more for our students and school than you can ever imagine.
3. FIELD TRIP INFORMATION
a. NO SIBLING ALLOWED- please do not bring little brothers or sisters if you plan to attend. This is for a parent or gaurdian and your first grade student only
b. Watch the weather forecast and send your child dressed for the weather of the day. Have them wear tennis shoes that you do not mind getting muddy just in case.
c. You will have to send a cold lunch. Suggestion from experience- DO NOT send them with anything that is not disposable. They will be walking around Valas all day long. They will be responsible for their lunch items. Give them things they can throw away when they are done!
d. I have 6 parent volunteers that signed up on ivolunteer. Those are the parents I will assign groups. All other parents that have paid to come and are Safe Environment Certified are welcome come and walk around with your child's group. The more help the better so feel free to come but you must let me know so I can check you against our safe environment certified system. You MAY NOT COME IF YOU ARE NOT SET.
e. DO NOT send your child with any money on that day. There will be NO purchasing of any food or toys or extra activities. Parents who are attending please be courteous and stick to this very important rule. You will not be told of other students food allergies and it is extremely unfair when certain groups are purchasing things and others are not.
f. If you are meeting us there you must be at the front gate waiting for us by 9:50. We will leave on our bus from school at 9:30. The students will be put in groups with their leader and head off into the patch for the day. If you are late you will have a lot of trouble finding your student's group.
g. If you are planning to ride the bus with us you need to be in the school lobby waiting by 9:20am.
h. If I do not have your permission slip and money by now I need them no later than Monday. You child will not be able to attend without proper paper work returned before the day.
i. We will be having our spelling and reading test the morning of the field trip before we go. We will come back at 2:15 and relax with a short movie till the end of the day. If you choose to take your child home with you after the field trip you will have to call the office and check them out.
j. Any questions, email me!
1. Raffle Tickets- all you need to know is this... the winning class gets a dress down day, a movie day, and a pizza party! We want to win, so sell sell sell! If you need new books just let me know! When you are ready to send in money and sold tickets, do so and I will get them to the office! Lets sell those raffle tickets and start our amazing SOAR fundraiser out with a bang! Raffle tickets can be sold all the way till Nov. 12
2. Get registered for SOAR! Its a blast and it single handedly does more for our students and school than you can ever imagine.
3. FIELD TRIP INFORMATION
a. NO SIBLING ALLOWED- please do not bring little brothers or sisters if you plan to attend. This is for a parent or gaurdian and your first grade student only
b. Watch the weather forecast and send your child dressed for the weather of the day. Have them wear tennis shoes that you do not mind getting muddy just in case.
c. You will have to send a cold lunch. Suggestion from experience- DO NOT send them with anything that is not disposable. They will be walking around Valas all day long. They will be responsible for their lunch items. Give them things they can throw away when they are done!
d. I have 6 parent volunteers that signed up on ivolunteer. Those are the parents I will assign groups. All other parents that have paid to come and are Safe Environment Certified are welcome come and walk around with your child's group. The more help the better so feel free to come but you must let me know so I can check you against our safe environment certified system. You MAY NOT COME IF YOU ARE NOT SET.
e. DO NOT send your child with any money on that day. There will be NO purchasing of any food or toys or extra activities. Parents who are attending please be courteous and stick to this very important rule. You will not be told of other students food allergies and it is extremely unfair when certain groups are purchasing things and others are not.
f. If you are meeting us there you must be at the front gate waiting for us by 9:50. We will leave on our bus from school at 9:30. The students will be put in groups with their leader and head off into the patch for the day. If you are late you will have a lot of trouble finding your student's group.
g. If you are planning to ride the bus with us you need to be in the school lobby waiting by 9:20am.
h. If I do not have your permission slip and money by now I need them no later than Monday. You child will not be able to attend without proper paper work returned before the day.
i. We will be having our spelling and reading test the morning of the field trip before we go. We will come back at 2:15 and relax with a short movie till the end of the day. If you choose to take your child home with you after the field trip you will have to call the office and check them out.
j. Any questions, email me!
Sept. 27- Oct. 1
Dear Parents,
This week you had a lot come home. I just want to remind you of a few thing....
1. Coupon books- if you are willing to buy it for the school fundraiser, please send back $20 for the book and you can keep it. If you would like to sell more book, just call the office and they will send home more with your student or fill out the order page in the front of your book and return it. If you do not want the book, and you do not want to be charged $20 for the book then you need to return it to the school.
2. Field Trip permission slip and money- On Wed. we sent home the permission slip(s) for the Valas trip. Please get that back no later than Monday Oct. 11. Please do not return the permission slip without the money. If you are one of my 6 parent volunteers you have an extra permission slip. If you did not send back your health form at the beginning of the year you have that and the permission slip to fill out. The cost is $10 per student and $15 for our adults. No siblings may attend with parents that day. If you are not one of my 6 volunteers signed up on ivolunteer you may still come, but I need you to let me know and I need to make sure you are safe environment certified. You may not come if you are not SET.
3. Students were given their end of month sight word test this week. Their highlighted sheet is coming home along with the new Oct. words on the back. Please work hard on these each night. Practice new and old words nightly to help keep them caught up and attain that 2nd grade reading level.
This week you had a lot come home. I just want to remind you of a few thing....
1. Coupon books- if you are willing to buy it for the school fundraiser, please send back $20 for the book and you can keep it. If you would like to sell more book, just call the office and they will send home more with your student or fill out the order page in the front of your book and return it. If you do not want the book, and you do not want to be charged $20 for the book then you need to return it to the school.
2. Field Trip permission slip and money- On Wed. we sent home the permission slip(s) for the Valas trip. Please get that back no later than Monday Oct. 11. Please do not return the permission slip without the money. If you are one of my 6 parent volunteers you have an extra permission slip. If you did not send back your health form at the beginning of the year you have that and the permission slip to fill out. The cost is $10 per student and $15 for our adults. No siblings may attend with parents that day. If you are not one of my 6 volunteers signed up on ivolunteer you may still come, but I need you to let me know and I need to make sure you are safe environment certified. You may not come if you are not SET.
3. Students were given their end of month sight word test this week. Their highlighted sheet is coming home along with the new Oct. words on the back. Please work hard on these each night. Practice new and old words nightly to help keep them caught up and attain that 2nd grade reading level.
Sept. 20-23
Dear Parents,
Wow! I did not realize how stressed I was not having all our students here so far this year. This week marks the first week since the first Tuesday of school that I had all 23 students in the classroom. Up until this point I have been missing 3-5 students each and everyday. This week was my favorite and best week yet! We officially started pulling small reading groups this week. Your students learned what it means to be a good reader. They began reading books at their level and working on skills that meet their individual needs. It was glorious! Next week we will continue this, but start adding in reading strategies to help us when we get stuck. Please continue to be cautious and overly careful when it comes to keeping kids at home when they are ill, but please make sure students are getting here on time and when they are feeling fine. It makes all the difference when I have all my students here each day!
Last week I gave a lot of new information regarding Epic, Xtra math, and SOAR. Please make sure you read through that and reach out if you have any questions. Xtra math or MFP should be being done nightly at home by your student. I would shoot for at least 4/7 days a week if not more. We will do our best to get it in 2 days a week in the classroom. Their time to do it in the classroom is 7:40-8:10. So, if they are tardy or running late they miss their classroom opportunity.
Reminder Kindergarten-September sight words will be tested orally 1 on 1 with students next week. Always focus on the earliest words they are missing before you move on. We do not want them trying to learn September words while they do not have kindergarten words mastered, this is not helpful in their reading level progression.
I appreciate all the positive communication between my families so far. It is so important for students to know their is a home to school connection and that both sides have similar goals in regards to their education.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Remember, there is no school Friday Sept. 24.
~Mrs. Sammie Becker
Wow! I did not realize how stressed I was not having all our students here so far this year. This week marks the first week since the first Tuesday of school that I had all 23 students in the classroom. Up until this point I have been missing 3-5 students each and everyday. This week was my favorite and best week yet! We officially started pulling small reading groups this week. Your students learned what it means to be a good reader. They began reading books at their level and working on skills that meet their individual needs. It was glorious! Next week we will continue this, but start adding in reading strategies to help us when we get stuck. Please continue to be cautious and overly careful when it comes to keeping kids at home when they are ill, but please make sure students are getting here on time and when they are feeling fine. It makes all the difference when I have all my students here each day!
Last week I gave a lot of new information regarding Epic, Xtra math, and SOAR. Please make sure you read through that and reach out if you have any questions. Xtra math or MFP should be being done nightly at home by your student. I would shoot for at least 4/7 days a week if not more. We will do our best to get it in 2 days a week in the classroom. Their time to do it in the classroom is 7:40-8:10. So, if they are tardy or running late they miss their classroom opportunity.
Reminder Kindergarten-September sight words will be tested orally 1 on 1 with students next week. Always focus on the earliest words they are missing before you move on. We do not want them trying to learn September words while they do not have kindergarten words mastered, this is not helpful in their reading level progression.
I appreciate all the positive communication between my families so far. It is so important for students to know their is a home to school connection and that both sides have similar goals in regards to their education.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Remember, there is no school Friday Sept. 24.
~Mrs. Sammie Becker
Sept. 13-17
Dear Parents,
It is so crazy what we can get done in a 5 day week in first grade! I did have a lot of students out this week so please make sure to get all make-up work caught up over the weekend and returned by Monday. I will not write too much about our week because the next two pieces of information are very important!
First new piece of info....
I have put a new link on your tool bar called "Epic Info". I was so excited about the number of families who I saw signed into their Epic accounts at home that I wanted to show you how beneficial it is to find "leveled readers". Like I said at curriculum night. I do not send home many scholastic orders because I truly believe that if you are going to buy books for your kids the $5 per month subscription to Epic is way more beneficial. It is free to use until 5:00pm each, so even if you do not purchase the app there is some time to be able to utilize it at home for free. Please click on "Epic Info" above if you are interested in finding books on your child's level to read at home! Of course, have fun with the other read aloud books not on your child's reading level as well!
Second new piece of info....
XTRA MATH- Parents, I was having some glitches with mathfactspro here on my end. The students were getting frustrated with the glitches. I have officially switched over to using a new program called XtraMath here in the classroom. Today I am sending home the login and setup instructions for your students account to use at home. I believe you will find this program more user friendly and less stressful for your student if you make the switch. You are welcome to continue to use Math Facts Pro if you would like. The goal is just that they are practicing their facts multiple times a week. I will track their progress on Xtra Math in order to give them their math fact proficiency grade. We will do Xtra Math in class a minimum of 2 times a week. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help.
Third new piece of info...
There is a new link to check out on the links tab. It is a link that takes you directly to the amazon wishlist to help with items for the silent auction at the SOAR event. SOAR is the sole event that keeps tuition affordable, give students new technology, text books, and supplies. It also helps with important fixes and repairs around the build, including but not limited to, new cafeteria tables and air conditioning units. Please consider purchasing one or more items from the amazon wishlist and have it sent directly to the school. It would mean so much to the community to have your support to make SOAR better than ever this year!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. The spelling and reading test for next week will be on Thursday due to the shortened week.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
It is so crazy what we can get done in a 5 day week in first grade! I did have a lot of students out this week so please make sure to get all make-up work caught up over the weekend and returned by Monday. I will not write too much about our week because the next two pieces of information are very important!
First new piece of info....
I have put a new link on your tool bar called "Epic Info". I was so excited about the number of families who I saw signed into their Epic accounts at home that I wanted to show you how beneficial it is to find "leveled readers". Like I said at curriculum night. I do not send home many scholastic orders because I truly believe that if you are going to buy books for your kids the $5 per month subscription to Epic is way more beneficial. It is free to use until 5:00pm each, so even if you do not purchase the app there is some time to be able to utilize it at home for free. Please click on "Epic Info" above if you are interested in finding books on your child's level to read at home! Of course, have fun with the other read aloud books not on your child's reading level as well!
Second new piece of info....
XTRA MATH- Parents, I was having some glitches with mathfactspro here on my end. The students were getting frustrated with the glitches. I have officially switched over to using a new program called XtraMath here in the classroom. Today I am sending home the login and setup instructions for your students account to use at home. I believe you will find this program more user friendly and less stressful for your student if you make the switch. You are welcome to continue to use Math Facts Pro if you would like. The goal is just that they are practicing their facts multiple times a week. I will track their progress on Xtra Math in order to give them their math fact proficiency grade. We will do Xtra Math in class a minimum of 2 times a week. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help.
Third new piece of info...
There is a new link to check out on the links tab. It is a link that takes you directly to the amazon wishlist to help with items for the silent auction at the SOAR event. SOAR is the sole event that keeps tuition affordable, give students new technology, text books, and supplies. It also helps with important fixes and repairs around the build, including but not limited to, new cafeteria tables and air conditioning units. Please consider purchasing one or more items from the amazon wishlist and have it sent directly to the school. It would mean so much to the community to have your support to make SOAR better than ever this year!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. The spelling and reading test for next week will be on Thursday due to the shortened week.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
September 7-10
Dear Parents,
Another great week. We are working hard to gain independence for reading rotations. We are not quite there yet and the students still need quite a bit of direction and re-direction from me to keep on working. Something you can do to help me is work on independence at home by having them keep track of their important things, pack up their own red folder, and care for their at home supplies. With 23 students in one room these things are essential to us being productive each day.
I cannot stress enough the importance of using this website to keep your students caught up when they are gone. They will have to make up all tests and work, until it is made up the grade book carries a 0. This greatly effects their grades.
Our first field trip will be to Valas Pumpkin Patch on Oct. 14. If any of you will be interested in coming and chaperoning a group you will need to be up to date with your Safe Environment Training. Please call the office and ask Mrs. Doll if your certificate is up to date or not. If not you will have to complete the class prior to this field trip. Class times and dates and sign ups can be easily found on the Archdiocese website. No adult is allowed to attend any events with students without this certificate. Please call the office if you have any questions. iVolunteer slots will open in a couple of weeks.
Next week's reading book is not available on youtube. There will not be a read aloud video. However I have assigned a plethora of books on our topic to your child's epic account with all similar information that goes with our first non-fiction unit on Fire Trucks and text features! Remember Epic is only free until 5:00 each night unless you want to pay the monthly fee to use it.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Another great week. We are working hard to gain independence for reading rotations. We are not quite there yet and the students still need quite a bit of direction and re-direction from me to keep on working. Something you can do to help me is work on independence at home by having them keep track of their important things, pack up their own red folder, and care for their at home supplies. With 23 students in one room these things are essential to us being productive each day.
I cannot stress enough the importance of using this website to keep your students caught up when they are gone. They will have to make up all tests and work, until it is made up the grade book carries a 0. This greatly effects their grades.
Our first field trip will be to Valas Pumpkin Patch on Oct. 14. If any of you will be interested in coming and chaperoning a group you will need to be up to date with your Safe Environment Training. Please call the office and ask Mrs. Doll if your certificate is up to date or not. If not you will have to complete the class prior to this field trip. Class times and dates and sign ups can be easily found on the Archdiocese website. No adult is allowed to attend any events with students without this certificate. Please call the office if you have any questions. iVolunteer slots will open in a couple of weeks.
Next week's reading book is not available on youtube. There will not be a read aloud video. However I have assigned a plethora of books on our topic to your child's epic account with all similar information that goes with our first non-fiction unit on Fire Trucks and text features! Remember Epic is only free until 5:00 each night unless you want to pay the monthly fee to use it.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
August 17 - Sept. 3
Dear Parents,
I am ecstatic about the progress we made in first grade this week. The majority of our students are all caught up on sight words kindergarten-august. The September words went home on the back of the highlighted oral exam paper. Make sure you keep caught up and start studying those September words early!
Please remember that whenever your child misses a day of school they will be responsible for making up the work they missed and returning it to school. Missing work results in a 0 in the grade book and greatly effects a student's grade. Please keep up on checking sycamore and getting work back returned. If they miss a test they will be expected to do the test upon return, it will be your responsibility to make sure they are prepared.
Next week is picture day on Wed. September 8. I have copy and pasted the school rules regarding the dress code on picture day. Please adhere to their requests.
A few specifics about picture day: No leggings are allowed unless they are underneath a skirt or dress of appropriate length. Dress shorts are allowed as long as they are appropriate in length. On future out of uniform days, the only shorts that will be allowed will be uniform shorts. Any student that comes to school in ripped jeans, or in shorts or skirts/dresses not appropriate in length (3 inches from the top of knee), will be given a school uniform to change into. If a uniform is not available, parents will be requested to bring something to school before the student can return to class. It is in the students' best interest that, before they come to school picture day, parents have made sure the outfit is appropriate in length, and meets these guidelines.
This year is moving along very smoothly. I look forward to continuing to work with you families and your students to help them be successful.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
I am ecstatic about the progress we made in first grade this week. The majority of our students are all caught up on sight words kindergarten-august. The September words went home on the back of the highlighted oral exam paper. Make sure you keep caught up and start studying those September words early!
Please remember that whenever your child misses a day of school they will be responsible for making up the work they missed and returning it to school. Missing work results in a 0 in the grade book and greatly effects a student's grade. Please keep up on checking sycamore and getting work back returned. If they miss a test they will be expected to do the test upon return, it will be your responsibility to make sure they are prepared.
Next week is picture day on Wed. September 8. I have copy and pasted the school rules regarding the dress code on picture day. Please adhere to their requests.
A few specifics about picture day: No leggings are allowed unless they are underneath a skirt or dress of appropriate length. Dress shorts are allowed as long as they are appropriate in length. On future out of uniform days, the only shorts that will be allowed will be uniform shorts. Any student that comes to school in ripped jeans, or in shorts or skirts/dresses not appropriate in length (3 inches from the top of knee), will be given a school uniform to change into. If a uniform is not available, parents will be requested to bring something to school before the student can return to class. It is in the students' best interest that, before they come to school picture day, parents have made sure the outfit is appropriate in length, and meets these guidelines.
This year is moving along very smoothly. I look forward to continuing to work with you families and your students to help them be successful.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
AUGUST 23-27
Dear Parents,
Wow! Your students worked so hard this week. We have started working on our guided reading rotations. This takes me about 3-4 weeks to train students. Once they are fully trained of the expectations for independent work stations the true learning can begin. During reading rotations I am able to pull small groups of 5-6 students and work on differentiated leveled reading and phonics skills at the back table. I really rely on the whole class to work together to make it a positive learning environment for all. Students will complete a daily spelling, writing, read to self, and phonics station, as well as work in a small group with me. It is a very important and large chunk of our day. Being able to solve problems and work independently is key to everyones successful, so we take it very seriously. Your kids are doing outstanding on the stations we have started to learn.
I missed a lot of my parents at the curriculum night. First grade is a big change and difference from pre-school and kindergarten. Our days are long. We do not have nap or have center time. We have fun, but we work hard. I cannot do my job without you. Your child will be most successful when we communicate and work together. If you missed curriculum night I am sending home the two packets of information that I gave out, as well as I have attached my powerpoint presentation to the email today. Please read all things in full and come to me if you have any questions.
FYI SPELLING TEST- upper-case letters written on spelling tests will be counted wrong. First graders should be able to write using lower-case letters unless it is the beginning of a sentence. We will accept reversed letters up until Christmas, except for b/d and p/q. Once Christmas hits reversed letters will also be counted wrong.
I hope you all have a great weekend, I have very much enjoyed your students this week and it was great getting to see some of you last night.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Wow! Your students worked so hard this week. We have started working on our guided reading rotations. This takes me about 3-4 weeks to train students. Once they are fully trained of the expectations for independent work stations the true learning can begin. During reading rotations I am able to pull small groups of 5-6 students and work on differentiated leveled reading and phonics skills at the back table. I really rely on the whole class to work together to make it a positive learning environment for all. Students will complete a daily spelling, writing, read to self, and phonics station, as well as work in a small group with me. It is a very important and large chunk of our day. Being able to solve problems and work independently is key to everyones successful, so we take it very seriously. Your kids are doing outstanding on the stations we have started to learn.
I missed a lot of my parents at the curriculum night. First grade is a big change and difference from pre-school and kindergarten. Our days are long. We do not have nap or have center time. We have fun, but we work hard. I cannot do my job without you. Your child will be most successful when we communicate and work together. If you missed curriculum night I am sending home the two packets of information that I gave out, as well as I have attached my powerpoint presentation to the email today. Please read all things in full and come to me if you have any questions.
FYI SPELLING TEST- upper-case letters written on spelling tests will be counted wrong. First graders should be able to write using lower-case letters unless it is the beginning of a sentence. We will accept reversed letters up until Christmas, except for b/d and p/q. Once Christmas hits reversed letters will also be counted wrong.
I hope you all have a great weekend, I have very much enjoyed your students this week and it was great getting to see some of you last night.
Mrs. Sammie Becker
Our first week
Hey Parents,
Well, we made it! The kids were AMAZING this week. I can tell this is going to a really great year! This week, and next, we go over lots and lots of rules and procedures. Everything takes triple the amount of time it should as we learn together how to do things and be independent. Once they are trained and master the expectations the true learning can begin.
I really look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday next week at Curriculum Night. This is where I can explain how and what we need to do to work together to make your child successful.
Please make sure if you get a uniform violation card you take care of that item immediately unless communication has been made and an extension is given. Unfortunately, a classroom consequence will have to be given if those go home and the violation is not taken care of. Socks have been the point of major concern so far. They need to be visible above the ankle and primarily white, navy, or black.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, I look forward to another full week with my new students next week!
~Mrs. Sammie Becker
Well, we made it! The kids were AMAZING this week. I can tell this is going to a really great year! This week, and next, we go over lots and lots of rules and procedures. Everything takes triple the amount of time it should as we learn together how to do things and be independent. Once they are trained and master the expectations the true learning can begin.
I really look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday next week at Curriculum Night. This is where I can explain how and what we need to do to work together to make your child successful.
Please make sure if you get a uniform violation card you take care of that item immediately unless communication has been made and an extension is given. Unfortunately, a classroom consequence will have to be given if those go home and the violation is not taken care of. Socks have been the point of major concern so far. They need to be visible above the ankle and primarily white, navy, or black.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, I look forward to another full week with my new students next week!
~Mrs. Sammie Becker
What to expect this year!
How is kdg. different from 1st grade?
This year we build on the skills your child learned in kindergarten. Our huge focuses will be getting your child to a 2nd grade reading level, and getting them to memorize their basic addition and subtraction facts up to 20. We will use best practices in both math and reading which include small group, differentiated instruction. We will assess often and use the data to drive the instruction for your student. The progress made, or not made, can not be put solely in my hands.
A lot of it will also depend on the at home support you give your student and making school work a priority. We will have weekly spelling and reading tests that you need to study for. We will encourage your child to become an Eagle Reader each quarter by completing 5 nights of 15-20 mins of reading each week, this can be incorporated in with their studying for reading, spelling, and sight word tests. Your child will get 12 new sight words a month to master. These sight words are a progression of frequently used words in the level readers. They are essential for your child to keep up with in order to hit their 2nd grade reading level by May. If they get even one month behind it becomes very difficult for them to catch up. And finally, you will have access and a sign in to a math fact retention program called Mathfacts Pro. I have personally seen the effects of this program if used regularly at home with my own two boys. It takes less than 10 mins a night, it is completely hands off for you as the parent, and it works. First grade is always a fun year for my students and we see tons of progress from week to week! I am looking forward to partnering with all of you this year! Please make sure you have on your calendar to attend our mandatory Curriculum night on Thursday August 26. I will have a lot more information regarding the year and can answer your questions. There.
~Mrs. Sammie Becker
A lot of it will also depend on the at home support you give your student and making school work a priority. We will have weekly spelling and reading tests that you need to study for. We will encourage your child to become an Eagle Reader each quarter by completing 5 nights of 15-20 mins of reading each week, this can be incorporated in with their studying for reading, spelling, and sight word tests. Your child will get 12 new sight words a month to master. These sight words are a progression of frequently used words in the level readers. They are essential for your child to keep up with in order to hit their 2nd grade reading level by May. If they get even one month behind it becomes very difficult for them to catch up. And finally, you will have access and a sign in to a math fact retention program called Mathfacts Pro. I have personally seen the effects of this program if used regularly at home with my own two boys. It takes less than 10 mins a night, it is completely hands off for you as the parent, and it works. First grade is always a fun year for my students and we see tons of progress from week to week! I am looking forward to partnering with all of you this year! Please make sure you have on your calendar to attend our mandatory Curriculum night on Thursday August 26. I will have a lot more information regarding the year and can answer your questions. There.
~Mrs. Sammie Becker