August 30th News and Notes

Blogging Full Speed Ahead!
Hello everyone!  I have heard from many of you regarding my blog invitation and it seems that it is working well so far!  Again, I thank you for taking the time to create your own gmail account in order to keep our blog more secure.   This week, I will send one more printed copy of the blog home in the Friday Communication Folder.  Starting next week, please check the blog online on Fridays for the updated version.  Please let me know ASAP if you will need a printed copy.

Breakfast Is Important
We are still adjusting to being back in school again, and many of the kids are used to getting up late, eating a late breakfast, then having a normal lunch time.  Now that breakfast is happening early, they are "STARVING" by the time lunch finally rolls around at 12:00!  Plus, this lunch time is one hour later than they are used to from previous years.  Please encourage your student to eat a good breakfast before coming to school each morning.  Unfortunately, there are no snacks (or naps!) in first and second grade!  Thanks!

Saxon Math Homework
Thank you to everyone for your attention regarding the math homework!  This is a very important part of the Math program and will help them practice the skills they will need to move forward.  It works best when you give your student a few minutes to complete the work on their own, then sit down with them and look over their paper (both sides) to make sure that they understand and have the correct answers.  This homework is not an attempt to "trick" your child at all.  If they miss something, please  do fix it with them and talk about the answer so that the next time they encounter it on their own - on a test for example - they may be more successful.  If you have any questions on how to manage the math homework with your child, please let me know.

Religion
Memory Work for the Week of September 2nd  ... please note the change in due dates for next week  due to NO SCHOOL MONDAY FOR LABOR DAY:

Wednesday (First and Second)
How many are Your works, O Lord!  In wisdom You made them all.  The Earth is full of your creatures.  Psalm 104:24

Friday (First and Second)
God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

No additional Memory Work for Second Grade on Friday this week!

Reading
 First Grade Reading Story for the Week of September 2nd:  Pam and Sam
Sight Words To Practice:   up   not   jump

Second Grade Reading Story for the Week of September 2nd:  David's New Friends
Vocabulary:  groan   different   whisper   carefully   excited

Spelling
Next Friday will be the first Spelling Test opportunity for both grades!  Please remember to check out the Spelling City website for more spelling word practice!  The link can be found at the top of this blog entry.  You will need to scroll down the list of stories to the bottom to find the entries for Pam and Sam (First Grade) and David's New Friends  (Second Grade).

First Grade Words:  man   ran   can   cat   hat   mat     Bonus Word: not

Second Grade Words:  has   wag   sat   had   bad   six   if   him   will   fix    Bonus Word: whisper

McDonald's Superstars of the Week:
First Grade:  Alana Lemon
Second Grade:  Brynn Dolbeare

Next Week's Book Nook Topic:
Alphabet Books

Thanks for all that you do for your student!  Have a nice weekend and week ahead!

Love and Blessings,
Mrs. Bradshaw
kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org

August 23rd News and Notes

Blog Invitations
I am including a printed copy of this week's blog in the Friday Communication Folder. I have attempted to send a blog invitation to everyone who provided an email address to me on the green questionnaire form from Open House Night. This mainly concerns the families of our new students and the first grade students. Returning second grade student families should be able to login like last year. Please let me know if you have not yet received an invitation or are having trouble logging on by emailing me at kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org. Thank you for helping St. John's save on paper and printing costs again this school year! Please be sure to check the blog every Friday for a new parent letter. Let me know if there are any additional people in your family that you would want to be invited as a reader to our blog!

 Religion
 As part of our first and second grade Religion curriculum, I will be assigning Bible verses for the children to memorize and repeat back to me. Verses will be said twice a week for first graders (Tuesday and Thursday) and three times per week for second graders (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) unless otherwise notified. We will be practicing them during class time, but some additional help from home would be appreciated. Look for the Memory Verses on the Friday parent letters.

Tuesday (First and Second)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Thursday (First and Second)
God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:31

Friday (Second)
The first commandment: You shall have no other Gods.

Reading/Spelling 
We have been working on the Smart Start pages from our Reading series in both grades this week. We will continue to review next week. Please look for the first Spelling Test and Reading Sight and Vocabulary Words to appear on the August 30th blog entry.

Saxon Math Homework 
Please look for the first math homework sheet in Friday's communication folder along with a parent letter which briefly describes the program. Help your child complete the homework, and return in the communication folder on Monday morning. Thanks in advance for your attention to this important subject!

Next Week's Book Nook Author:
Robert Munsch

Thanks for all that you do! Have a nice weekend and week ahead!

Mrs. Bradshaw
kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org

Welcome Letter

August 2013

 Dear Parents and First and Second Graders:

Hello!  I would like to welcome my students back to school!

 
First – a little background :  Four years ago,  I returned to St. John’s as the first and second grade teacher.  I previously had taught second grade here for the 1998-1999 school year, and then first grade after that for three more years.  Previous to that, I taught for two years at Holy Rosary School in Monroe City at the first grade level.  And before all of that, I graduated from Culver-Stockton College in May 1996 with a degree in Elementary Education.

 After taking some time out in the business world (working for Niemann Foods in Quincy as an Equipment Buyer), I decided that I was missing the imagination and creativity that teaching brought to my days. So I returned to the field of education.  I live with my husband, Doug, and seven year old daughter, Maddie in Payson, Illinois.  Maddie is a second grader in our classroom this year!

 I would like the parents to know that they are always welcome to visit our room.  If you have concerns, questions, etc…please don’t hesitate to call me at school (221-0215), on my cell  (217-430-9257), or e-mail me at kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org.  We are working as a team to help our kids get the best education possible!

 A few things to keep in mind:

 1.             Please check your child’s bookbag every evening for a School Note Folder.  This folder will be sent home every evening with important all-school notes and information that often needs to be signed and returned.  Also you will find information about your child’s daily behavior inside this folder.  From time to time, the folder may contain completed work, work to be singed and returned, or work that needs to be completed and returned to school on the following school day.    Please go through the completed papers with your child.  Help explain to them any mistakes that were made.  Be sure to praise them for their really good work!  Folders need to be returned to school on the following school day.

2.         The Weekly Friday Parent Letter may be viewed online in “blog” form at the following address  http://www.mrsbradshawsclassroomblog.blogspot.com/  .  Other forms of reference for our classroom (handwriting samples, Book It! Forms, etc…) may be found and printed from this blog.  Also there are links to fun websites such as Spelling City where students may practice their weekly spelling lists.  If you are unable to access the blog and would like to request a paper copy of the Friday Parent Letter, please let me know.

 

3.             Due to the increase of students with various food allergies, I have decided to eliminate edible birthday treats in our classroom.  In order to still allow children to celebrate their special day in class, I am encouraging the kids to donate one favorite book to the classroom library.  Kids can write their names and birthday on the inside cover so the book will always be a representation of that special day.  Students may also have a special person come in and read the book to the class (please make an appointment with me in advance!).  Kids with summer birthdays will have “half-birthdays” (exactly six months from their real birthday).  I will contact these kids about when their birthday can be celebrated.

 

4.             Students will have gym class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please make sure that they are wearing comfortable clothing, and they must be wearing tennis shoes to participate.  Kids may bring a pair of tennis shoes to school to always have on hand for gym class.  Also, we will be having Art on Friday afternoons, so kids might want to come in clothes that are not their “Sunday Best” in case of an accident!

 

5.             Twice a week, first and second graders will be bringing home a Reading homework assignment in a Ziploc bag.  Also included will be a note to sign and return indicating what the student is to read.  Please check your child’s bookbag  on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for this assignment.  Other regular homework in first and second grade will be Memory Work, Spelling Words (Friday tests), and Reading Sight Words (which can all be found on the Friday Parent Letters), and Math (see below).  Both first and second graders may have additional homework depending on what is not completed at school. 

 

6.           NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR!  We are proud to introduce our new Math series entitled Saxon Math.  This is a very intense way of teaching Math that I feel will be great because of its constant review of skills learned.  However, please be looking for Math homework sheets to be coming home in the Communication Folder almost every evening!  Typically one page for first graders and two for second graders, this is a way for your student to show you what they have learned that day.  Although frequent, the pages won’t be very long or time consuming.  Please make sure that your student completes these and returns them to school on the following school day.

 

7.             Much of elementary school in general involves the learning of important social skills such as good classroom behavior and getting along with others.  Our classroom uses several management plans to accomplish this goal:

 

                1.  The Card System – Each child has a pocket of colored index cards at the back of the classroom.  Each day every student starts with a GREEN card.  When a student needs to be reminded of their behavior he or she then turns their card to WHITE.  When a student needs to be reminded again, he or she must turn their card to YELLOW and they will sit for five minutes of their recess time.  If the student needs to be  reminded a fourth time, he or she turns their card to ORANGE and they will sit the entire recess time.  A fifth turn will result in a HOT PINK card which brings a silent lunch, loss of entire recess, and a possible visit to the principal and/or a call to parents. 

 

                2.  Row Prize – This is another whole class plan.  Each row in the classroom has the opportunity to earn points with good behavior throughout the school week (such as quietness, being ready first to start with the next activity, etc).  On Friday afternoon, the row with the most points gets a small prize.
 

When dreaming of the future for my students, I hope that they will grow into adults who possess the following ten character traits:  self discipline, self respect, respect for others, integrity, perseverance, patience, generosity, commitment, determination, and diligence.  I hope that you will work together with me to help instill these qualities in the hearts and minds of our students.  This will provide them with the tools they can use to serve as Christian witnesses and productive members of their future communities.

 

 Please let me know if you have any questions.  I look forward to working with you this year!

 

Sincerely,

 

Mrs. Bradshaw

kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org