April Newsletter

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing spring break!

Important Dates:

April 10 - Welcome back to school
April 25 - Field trip to ESSL

Field Trip:

Just a reminder that we will be visiting FCPS's Earth Space and Science Lab on Wednesday April 25th. Please return your field trip permission slips as soon as possible. After all slips have been returned, chaperones will be randomly selected and contacted. Thank you.

Homework Reminders:

As the weather gets nicer andd outdoor activities start, please make sure that you and your child are making an effort to complete homework assignments in a timely manner. Your encouragement helps your child to build a positive attitude towards school. Thank you for your continued support.

Supplies:

Please check with your child on any needed supplies. As our school year winds down, many of us are missing crayons and erasers.

P.E.:

Our class has been P.E. Class of the Month for first grade 3 times this year! Please continue to make sure your child is wearing sneakers on Wednesday's and Thursday's so we can continue this fabulous trend!

Web Links

These are some of our favorite websites. If you are able to access them at home, I encourage you to help your child build their brain power with some extra help!

Raz-Kids Here students can access short texts to read at their reading level or have the text read to them. Then, they can take a quiz following their reading for a chance to earn stars. These stars allow them to "purchase" things to decorate a virtual rocket. To access our class you will need to enter in my teacher username: twoolleya

PBSKids This is a great resource for reading and math games for students. We frequently visit this site in our classroom and the students love seeing some of their favorite television characters helping them reinforce their skills.

Starfall is a wonderful site for your student to visit at any point in the year to practice their reading skills! There are four different areas of the site that allow for differentiated instruction with activities ranging from basic letter recognition, to letter sounds, to reading more complex texts such as folk tales and Chinese fables. Happy Reading!

Book Activities Students love visiting this site, linked to our own TPS Media Center. Here, they can play games and learn more about their favorite book characters. Characters featured include: Junie B. Jones, Captain Underpants, Magic Tree House, Dr. Seuss and more!

Math Games Thurmont Primary School has created a matrix of math games that are arranged by math standard and grade level. We spend time as a class exploring these games during instruction and computer lab time. Enjoy games that align with current standards being taught or review previously taught skills.

Math Magician is a favorite site for students to practice their math facts in a timed format. Addition and subtraction facts are available to practice by each addend (+0, +1, etc.) or mixed practice.

Stay tuned! Through out the year, more web resources will be posted.

Memory Word Activities

Memory words, or high frequency words, are the most common words seen in print. Learning to read can be very laborious, and if a child has to make letter sounds and blend for every word they encounter they can become discouraged and give up. I enourage you to work with your child to help them learn to recognize, rapidly read, and spell their memory words.

Inside your child's reading baggie is a "word wallet". Within this word wallet are kindergarten memory words, first grade memory words, and concept words (such as colors and numbers). In addition to practice reading these words as flash cards, I have listed some activities to try below:

• Trace the words on the word card as you read them.
• Write the words in sand, salt, oatmeal, or flour.
• Write the words in shaving cream on the shower wall during bath time.
• Search for and circle memory words in a newspaper or magazine.
• Take a "spelling test" outside with sidewalk chalk.
• Draw boxes to show if the letters in your word are tall, short, or low.
• Use magnetic letters to build your words.
• Write the words on a white board, chalk board or magna doodle.

Homework

In first grade, it is expected that your child will have between 10-20 minutes of homework Monday - Thursday evenings. In addition to bringing home their blue cougar folder each night, your child will bring home a red homework folder and their reading baggie. They will also bring home a yellow fluency folder on Wednesday nights.

Each night, your child should read through the books in their book baggie and practice their memory words.

In addition, your child will have the following assignments:
Monday - Comprehension (Your child will have to read a short story and answer a few questions. For fluency practice, your child should reread the story each night. The final assignment will be due on Friday of each week.)
Tuesday - Math (Your child will bring home math to practice that matches the days objective or reinforces previously taught skills.)
Wednesday - Fluency (Your child will bring home a poem that we have been practicing reading as a class. Your child should read it to you and complete the word study activity on the back.)
Thursday - Math (Your child will bring home math to practice that matches the days objective or reinforces previously taught skills.)

While I do not assign written homework on Friday evenings, I ask all students to take home their reading baggie each weekend and try to find a few minutes to read.

Thank you for your support in reinforcing skills at home.

Specials Schedule

As a reminder, we enjoy specials every day from 11:00-11:40, and also from 12:50-1:30 on Thursdays and Fridays. Our specials schedule is listed below:

Monday: Art

Tuesday: Music

Wednesday: P.E.

Thursday: Art & P.E.

Friday: Music & Library

Please remember to wear sneakers on Wednesday and Thursday for P.E. and return library books on Fridays!

Weekly Schedule

Listed below is the schedule we follow each day. For a more specific schedule for each day, click here.

8:10-8:40 Arrival

8:40-9:20 Word Study

9:20-9:40 Whole Group Reading

9:40-11:00 Small Group Reading

11:00-11:40 Specials (see schedule)

11:40-12:30 Lunch / Recess

12:30-12:50 Read Aloud / Calendar

12:50-1:30 Writing / Specials (see schedule)

1:30-2:30 Math

2:30-3:00 Social Studies / Science

3:00-3:10 D.O.T. (Daily Organized Transition)

3:10-3:40 Dismissal

Back to School Basics

Lunch may be purchased at school for $2.05. If your child just needs to purchase milk, it is $.40.  If your child is buying lunch please put your child’s lunch money in a baggie or envelope labeled with his/her name.  This makes it less likely that the money will get lost.  Please do not send your child to school with large bills.  You can prepay for meals by cash, check made payable to Thurmont Primary Cafeteria or online at www.cafeprepay.com.

If you need to make a change in your child’s dismissal, please write a note or call the office prior to 2:30pm.   

Birthday party invitations may NOT be handed out at school and we are not allowed to give out addresses.  If you would like to send in a treat for the whole class to enjoy for your child’s birthday, it will be passed out during lunch.  Instructional time cannot be used for birthday parties.  You may send the treat in with your child in the morning or deliver it at lunch. 

Ms. Woolley's Furry Friends

Ms. Woolley has two furry friends as her children... Meet Smokey and Reynolds!

Smokey and Reynolds are both Shih Tzus, and are named after the movie Smokey and the Bandit.

Smokey is ten years old. He loves to go for rides in the car and is my cuddly one.

Reynolds will be two years old in June. He is still very much a puppy and loves to play with toys. 

About Ms. Woolley

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to teach, and my dream has always been to teach first grade.

After growing up in the Frederick County School system (as a Walkersville Lion) I went to the University of Maryland where I received my B.S. in Elementary Education. I am now working on my M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction at Hood College.

After gaining some first grade experience in the Prince George's County school system, I returned home to Frederick County. I worked in two different long term substitute positions at Thurmont Elementary before coming to Thurmont Primary School in 2010. I am thrilled to be a part of the TPS family and this wonderful community.
I currently live in Frederick, and my life revolves around my two Shih Tzu dogs. Smokey is ten years old, and Reynolds is just one. (Both dogs were named after the movie Smokey and the Bandit.) We love to take walks in the park, and chase after tennis balls. When I’m not with my dogs, I spend my time working with the Tuscarora High School marching band. I play the flute and I love any and all music!

I look forward to working with you and your child this year as we grow in our brain, heart, and body power! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email me at any time.

Welcome to First Grade!

Hello Friends! Welcome to first grade!
I am thrilled to be using this blog as a method of communicating classroom events and activities. Please feel free to subscribe for blog updates to be sent to email, and comment on any of our classroom posts.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Ms. Woolley

© Tara Woolley
Thurmont Primary School
(240) 236 - 2833
tara.woolley(at)fcps.org
http://tps.sites.fcps.org/tarawoolley