Happy Fall!

Greetings & Happy Fall from Room 4! Just a few reminders of upcoming events:
1. Science night is tonight! Join us tonight at 6:00 for some fun science events at AHE! :)
2. Report cards will sent home Friday. Please watch for your child's card in their folder.
3. Parent/Teacher Conferences begin next week. If you have signed up, I sent reminders home last week. Please let me know if you need to cancel or change your time.
4. Literacy Workshop: I am so excited by the number of RSVPs I am getting for our parent literacy workshop next Thursday. Please let me know if you can make it.
5. Character Day: Friday, November 1st is Character Day for AHE 1st graders. I have received a few character forms. Please be sure that you have planned with your child their character so that we can begin working on our character reports.

A HUGE thank you to my amazing class and their amazing families for all the progress we have made this first grading quarter. I couldn't be more pleased with the growth I have seen and I am very excited to continue our progress. As we move forward with the second grading quarter you can expect to see:
1. Sight words: yes, I know, more sight words. :) Remember, Dr. Rasinski's work on fluency highly supports the practice of sight words. 75% of the first graders in Room 4 can read the first 150 fry sight words. We have been continuing to work on the other lists and could possibly grow to 1,000! :) Thank you for continuing to practice these words at home.
2. Story retelling: We will begin working on retelling stories including key details and understanding of the central message or lesson of a literary text.
3. Writing stories & Ending punctuation: As we begin to write more stories we will practice beginning each sentence with a capital letter and ending with a correct punctuation mark.
4. Subtraction: We have spent a lot of time working on addition, in the next week we will begin to practice subtraction.
5. Graphing: This quarter we are going to practice organizing data and creating various graphs.
6. Science: Much of the first quarter is spent on social studies and building our classroom community. I am so excited to get our first science unit, a study of the pumpkin up and running this week. We will spend time in November studying leaves, and wrap up the second quarter with a holiday 5 senses unit.

As always, please email or call with any questions.

Thank you! :)

Updates & Upcoming Events

Greetings from Room 4! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. :) I wanted to pass along a few updates & upcoming events.

* Specials Schedule:
Monday: Library & Art
Tuesday: PE & Music
Wednesday: Social Skills with Mrs. Autry
Thursday: PE & Music
Friday: Library & Art

* Open House: Next Monday, September 9th Arlington Heights will host Open House from 6-7:30. There will be an informative meeting in the gym at 6:00. We are working on a schedule for teachers to host three different informative meetings in their rooms so parents with students in multiple classes can get all the information they need.  I will also have my parent/teacher conference sign-up schedule available at Open House.

* Field Trip: we have a field trip coming up next Thursday, September 12th. We will be traveling to the Monroe County Public Library. Our plan is to leave school around 9:00 and return around 10:30. I am looking for parents who would be willing to meet us there and help supervise the tour. Please contact me if you are interested.

Thanks! :)

Finally, a Welcome Back post! :)

I am beyond excited to welcome a new batch of 1st graders to room 4! We have really hit the ground running in here too. I have been a busy bee getting to know the students and starting our benchmark assessments. Here are a few helpful tips to make this year a success for your 1st grader:
* Stay in the know. Please check your child's backpack each evening, especially their Take Home Folder for important information. I will send home curriculum guides about every three weeks to help parents stay current on curriculum goals. It is also help to follow my blog or Twitter account (@MrsQuimby1st) to stay up to date.
* Ask questions. Please feel free to email, twitter message, write a note or call if you have any questions. It's also fun to engage your child in conversations each night about what we did at school. Hopefully, you get more than me from my child who always responds, "recess!" :)

I am super excited to be your child's teacher & for another great year in Room 4!

Mrs. Quimby

Last Day of School Reminders :)

This is it! Tomorrow is our last day in Room 4! :) Just a couple of reminders:
* Our School Academic Celebration will begin at 9:30 tomorrow. This is scheduled to be done at 10:15.
* Room 4 Awards will begin at 2:30. After awards, I have a parent that has graciously offered to bring a treat for the students and I have juice boxes. My goal is for this event to last until 3:45 so that if you want to take your child home you can without having to sign them out. :)

I look forward to seeing you all and celebrating the accomplishments of this amazing 1st grade class!

Room 4 Class Awards

While the students are out enjoying fun & games with field day, I am going to take advantage of my prep-time to get organized for our last week in 1st grade. :)

Next Friday, May 24th is our last day of school. There will be an all-school awards ceremony in the morning with awards being given for academics, attendance, and citizenship. In addition to the ceremony in the morning, we will have our Room 4 Awards in the afternoon. Parents & special guests are invited to Room 4 at 2:30 for our class awards. All students will be receiving a special award from me. I anticipate this event will take about an hour.

Hope to see you there! :) 

Spirit Week, Field Day & Spring Carnival

Next week is a BUSY (&fun) week at AHE!

Spirit Week: To celebrate all the learning that has taken place this year, students are invited to take part in our school-wide spirit week next week. Each day will have a different theme for students to dress up.
Monday: Book Character Day, dress up like your favorite book character
Tuesday: Hat Day/Crazy Hair Day, students can either wear a hat or do their hair crazy
Wednesday: Wacky/Tacky Wednesday, wear your wacky, tacky, and mismatched clothes
Thursday: Sports Team Day, dress to support your favorite sports team
Friday: Green & White Spirit Day, wear your AHE colors to support your favorite elementary school

Field Day: Next Tuesday, May 14th is Field Day. Field Day is an all afternoon event hosted by the 6th grade students and Ms. Ortega. There will be various stations set up around the school yard including a water slide, shoe toss, blowing bubbles, and many more. We will rotate through the stations all afternoon. Early forecasts for Tuesday look great, little warm, but great. I encourage students to wear cool and comfortable clothes. I don't mind 1 piece bathing suits worn under clothes. I also encourage a  dry change of clothes for the bus ride home. Students can bring water bottles, sunglasses, sunscreen, or anything else you think necessary for an afternoon outside.

Spring Carnival: Next Friday, May 17th is our school carnival. This is a HUGE fundraiser for our school PTO. Our PTO uses the funds raised to support teachers and events through the year, including teacher stipends which are very much appreciated by the teachers. :) It is a great event for the family. There will be games, prizes, food, even a dunking booth with the opportunity to sink Ms. Carroll-Frey or Mr. Bodie! :)
I hope to see you there!

Olympics Success

Wanted to share our class pic! :) We had such a great time last week. Thanks to all who were able to attend. Also, special thanks to those who helped put this event together, Miss Adamson, Mr. Bodie, Mrs. Carroll-Frey, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Mullis, Mrs. Arnold, Mr. Turchyn, Ms. Bennett, Ms. Autry, Ms. Ortega & all those who donated treats or drinks! :)

Way to go Room 4 & Room 5!

Last few weeks in Room 4...

Greetings! It is hard to believe that we are down to our last few weeks in Room 4. Time flies when you are having fun, that's for sure!

We have officially wrapped up our iRead 1st grade assessment. I was VERY pleased with our class results! Please stay tuned to find out when and how those results will be distributed.

This week we have been working on double-digit addition (without regrouping). We will continue to work on this, as well as starting double-digit subtraction soon. My hope is to also squeeze in some time for money instruction before the year is over.

We started our planting and growing unit this week too. We were very fortunate to get our hands on 4 awesome planting kits donated by Hilltop Gardens supported by Cook Medical. We have 4 groups of students growing various flowers and vegetables such as lettuce, marigolds, peppers and beans. I will be looking for 4 students who would like take these kits home to continue growing them this summer once we are done with them. The first 4 parents who commit to picking them up on May 15th can have them. :) 

Please stay tuned for upcoming events. We have spirit week, field day, and our awards ceremony coming up as we wrap up this school year.

1st Grade Measurement Olympics

The Arlington Heights First Annual 1st Grade Measurement Olympics are a go! Miss Williams and I have been working away on all the specifics, and we are so excited about this! :) Here is what I have to share with you at this time:
* Friday, April 26th
* All 1st grade families are invited to attend, please bring a lawn chair or picnic blanket
* Opening Ceremonies will begin at 1:30 with a parade & introductions of the athletes
* 11 different events that we challenge both speed & accuracy with measurement as well as strength & endurance
* Each student is guaranteed to participate in at least   2 (predetermined) events, which they will be practicing next week
* Closing ceremonies will wrap up the event with medals & certificates
* We have been talking about celebrating with a cookie & drink reception, donations are currently be accepted :)
* We will have a rain date for Monday, April 29th

I will add more details as we continue to work them out.

I hope to see you all there! :)

Space Reports on Monday

Greetings & Happy Friday from Room 4! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our grandparents & special guests this afternoon. :)

Thank you all for your feedback about coming in to see our space reports. The majority of the feedback I received pointed to 2:00-3:00 being the most convenient time to stop by.  You are invited to stop by Room 4 this coming Monday, April 15th between 2:00 and 3:00 to view our space reports and projects.

Thanks & hope to see you Monday!

Also, I will post pics for those who can't make it. :)

Space Reports,Room 4 Musical & 1st Grade Olympics

Good morning from Room 4! I wanted to remind everyone of a few events coming up this month:

Space Reports: We are currently working away on our space reports. We have gathered our facts and written our first drafts. Today, we will work on peer revisions and begin our final drafts. I am also planning some work time this afternoon to being working on our visuals. On Monday, students will present their work to the class. I am also hoping to have an hour during the day to invite families, the other 1st grade class and possibly the kindergarteners too to show off their awesome work! I will use the results of the posted poll to pick a morning or afternoon time. :)

Room 4 Musical: Tuesday, April 16th at 5:30 in the Music Room. Please make plans to attend the show that evening. The students have been working SO hard on this and it is a great show! If you have any questions please let me know.

1st Grade Olympics:  Save the Date! Friday, April 26th (afternoon) the 1st grade class will be taking part in the First Annual Arlington Heights First Grade Olympics. This will be a culminating activity for our measurement unit. More details to come soon!

Moving right along...

Happy Spring Room 4! Besides those early morning flurries yesterday, it is finally starting to look like spring around here! Woo hoo! It sure feels like spring in Room 4. Probably my favorite part of teaching is witnessing the transformations that occur from the beginning of the year to the end. I love watching my students catch hold of the concepts and run with them.  They are really starting to bloom into future 2nd graders.

This week we are continuing our Space Unit. The students and I have really enjoyed studying a planet each day and really spending some time exploring our Solar System. We have been using planet poems each day to support our fluency goal. We have also been doing a lot of explanatory writing with this science study.

This week in math we have slowed down and started reviewing some topics of previous study. Next week we will being a unit on measurement.

Please remember to make plans to attend our Room 4 Musical on April 16th at 5:30. We have been rehearsing ( this tied in PERFECT with our fluency study) daily. They are really doing great.


As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. :)

Mrs. Quimby

Good Morning Room 4!

Good  morning Room 4! This snow is beautiful, but I am ready for spring! On Friday, we said goodbye to our amazing student teacher, Miss Adamson. She will be moving down the hall to the Literacy Lab to complete the reading portion of her program. We sure will miss her in room 4!

I hope that everyone had a chance to look over their child's report card. I am so excited about the progress we are making in Room 4! I am so sorry about the math grades, I will send home updated math grades today.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

This week we are beginning a unit on space. We will integrate literacy, science and writing for this unit. If you have space books at home, we would love to borrow them for a couple of weeks.  During our literacy block we will be spending some time working on fluency, the smoothness and flow of our reading. We are going to do being a lot of poetry reading, reader's theater, listening to reading,  and sing a-longs. We will use many of the strategies studied by Dr. Tim Rasinski.

Our math unit this week will focus on fractions.  Fractions are fun to incorporate at home by allowing your child to help in the kitchen.

Thank you all for your continued support. I can't believe we are in our final quarter of 1st grade. Time flies when you are having fun! :) 

What's New in Room 4?

As promised, here is a look at what we are working on in Room4:
Literacy: This week we began our study of non-fiction texts. Students will be reading a variety of non-fiction texts and responding to various organizers and completing activities that support our skill of retelling the key information and supporting details in an informational text. 
Math: This week we completed our Graphing Unit and have not started our Geometry unit.
Science: Miss Adamson has been working with the students on the topic of weather this week. They have studied temperature, clouds, wind and so much more.

Tomorrow AHE will be celebrating the birthday of a very famous author, Dr. Seuss! Dr. Seuss's birthday is nationally recognized as Read Across America Day. As part of this celebration, we have invited some IU student athletes to Room 4 to read-aloud their favorite children's book. Please encourage your child to wear their red & white to honor the creator of, The Cat and the Hat as well as our own Indiana Hoosiers!

Bottles please

Happy Friday Room 4! Miss Adamson is currently working on a weather science unit and is asking students to bring in cleaned out bottles, 2 L work great or soda/water bottles. Watch for more information Monday regarding our upcoming studies.

Valentine's Day

This was playing Minute to Win It. The students were given a Twizzler and had 1 minute to eat the entire thing without using their hands!

Enjoying a fun celebration in Room 4!

Just wanted to share some pics from Valentine's Day. We had a great day in Room 4! Thanks to all who contributed and/or attended and helped. You all are so amazing! :)

Room 4 is on Twitter!

Yay! I am so excited I have linked our blog to Twitter! Woo hoo! I will tweet some of the great things happening in room 4 as well as upcoming events. :)  Follow us @MrsQuimby1st     You can also follow Arlington Heights @AHEeagles  

Technology Night

Technology Night at AHE is tomorrow night. Parents and students are invited back to school between 6-7:30 to visit informative booths that will highlight some of the technology students at AHE are using daily.

Valentine's Day

Love is in the air, and we are excited to celebrate Valentine's Day in Room 4! We will celebrate on Thursday, February 14th around 1:45-2:15. Miss Adamson and I were thinking a sugar cookie party would be fun. We are seeking donations of sugar cookies, as well and yummy decorations (icing, sprinkles,...) We are also thinking it would be fun to work on a craft for our party. I have been digging through Pinterst and I think I have a few ideas. If you have an idea, please let me know. I am sending home a class list today.  I am hoping to get to Target this weekend to  see if they still have the adorable tiny mailboxes for each child to collect their cards, if not we will make some cute bags.I will keep you posted as I hear from parents. Thank you! :)

100s Museum

I am so sorry I am just getting this posted, January just flew by me! :) Thanks to all who were able to stop by and see our 100th Day Projects! It was a great time and an awesome celebration of the learning that has taken place in 1st grade at AHE!

100th Day Fun!

 

Next Friday is the 100th day in 1st grade! To celebrate we will have a 100's museum with Miss William's class on Thursday. Students are being asked to bring in a collection of 100 items to display. On Friday, our celebration will include dressing up like we are 100 years old, creating self portraits of us at 100 and enjoying a 100th Day treat! I am excited for another fun week in room 4!

 

 

Next week, we will spend our mornings studying the book, The Crayon Box that talked. We will be completing several comprehension activities involving this book, as well as life skill topics such as cooperation, tolerance and equality.

Meet Miss Adamson

Introducing, Miss Adamson! You have probably heard your child talking about our new student teacher, Felicia Adamson. Miss Adamson will be with us through the month of March, she will then head down the hall to complete the reading portion of her license with Ms. Whitmen. Miss Adamson is a Bloomington girl, born & raised. She enjoys cooking and shopping! She hopes to someday have a class of her own, possibly in Oregon. I am so excited to have her join us in room 4!

PJ Day Fun!

 

Just a few snapshots from our PJ Day Winter Celebration! Thank you so much for your contributions! We had a great time!

Happy New Year, Penguins, Report Cards & More

First off, Happy New Year! 2013 is looking to be a great year in Room 4! I will start by answering the question on every first graders mind this morning:

Yes, we are going to have a party! Woo hoo!

 After some careful consideration I think I have figured out a great solution to our snow-day party cancellation problem.
This week we are studying penguins. We will integrate literacy, math, geography, and science for some penguin fun. I was thinking it would be a fun treat to end the week with our party, but now with a penguin twist. Instead of watching, The Polar Express, we will watch a fun penguin movie, possibly Happy Feet or any other penguin movie the kids can vote on. I think this is a great way to integrate our current theme and keep our winter celebration. I will be asking the parents who originally offered to bring treats if they are still able to do so. We will keep it simple with popcorn & drinks. Thank you so much!
Report cards: I am currently finishing up entering grades for term 2. It is my belief that report cards will be sent home on Friday. I will let you know if that has changed.

Thank you all again for your continued support. It was so great seeing all those happy faces coming in this morning. I am looking forward to a great 2nd semester!