April 22,2005

Dear First Grade Families,

It has been a good week at school. We welcomed Shraddha to our classroom. She has come from Nepal and has fit right in as though she’d been here forever. Coming home today is the permission slip for the field trip to Seattle Children’s Theatre. If you would like to be a chaperone, please let me know by next week. I have six slots for parents (also $10). We will be seeing Frog and Toad based on the Arnold Lobel Books we’ve been reading.

Our Reading Workshop time has gone very well this week and we are moving right along with sight words. As the children move on to a new list, that list goes home. Fluency with sight words is critical for next year'’ second grade assessment at the beginning of the year. Madison brought in Quick As A Cricket and we made our own versions, Some went home on Wednesday and the rest today. We also read a fabulous book called Mousekeeping. Ask your child to recall the book and the very imaginative drawings.

In writing we have started to learn how to write a report. Our first report will be done together and we’re writing about elephants. These are called “All-About” books and we are writing all about elephants. We are using some of our non-fiction conventions to enhance our writing, too.

Our science journals website is up! Please go to http://staff.edmonds.wednet.edu/cl/ or you can go to the School District Page and get to the website that way. The science journals link is on the left side of the screen at the bottom. Please let me know what you think. I am writing a report to Hewlett Packard that made this possible and would like to include some parent comments. E-mail is great: blackb1@ edmonds.wednet.edu.

We have been painting this week and it’s time for Edmonds Art Festival Entries. The school chooses about 20 pieces to send and you can also enter in the open class, forms are available at the school district office. (670-7000).

We had some very sad news this week, Lexi’s little sister passed away. She had heart surgery in December and we hoped she would continue to do well, but it wasn’t to be. Services are at Forest Lawn in West Seattle at 1:00 on Saturday.

See you at Open House next Thursday. The Ice Cream Social and Book Fair starts at 6:30 and the rooms open at 7:00.

List 14
joy when moon
them boil join
that soon why
boy

Beth