Class Book and Coupon Books

Hello!
It has been a crazy month and I cannot believe that it is almost December! I have not been very good at keeping the blog updated. I have gotten very wrapped up in all that is taking place in our classroom.
As you know, we are deep in the process of making our own class book. We are going to have it shipped off and published this weekend. All of the pages are coming together and the illustrations are being finished up. I couldn't have done it without the help of Mrs. Jensen and our high school assistant Elizabeth! If you plan to order a book the order forms need to be in by TOMORROW! Even if you do not want to purchase your own copy I need to have the order form returned with your signature and the student's name on it so that their page can be included in the book that will stay in our classroom! They have worked so hard on this and I would hate to see them disappointed when their page is missing.

On another note, the coupon books that were sent home a couple of weeks ago are also due tomorrow! If you have not sold the books I need to have the entire packet returned! If we can get all of the books returned our class will get a prize courtesy of Student Council and Mrs. Braun and Mrs. Tabor! This is very important to get those books back. They are all worth $20 so if we are missing even just a few the cash racks up quickly. Our school is responsible for that money and we would hate to see any more dimes taken from this place :)

I hope that your kids are still coming home with smiles at the end of the day. Please never hesitate to call or email if there are things that we should talk about.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Conferences and the National Anthem

Conferences have been going very well! If you have missed your conference and would like to reschedule please contact me as soon as possible. I will be sending home the reports with students who could not make it to their scheduled time sometime next week. Also, if you cannot come in but would like a phone conference that is also an option.

The kids have been working really hard on singing the Star Spangled Banner (our national anthem) every day. They stand with their hands on their hearts, facing the flag and sing with pride! Here is the video that we took on Tuesday! They are an excellent group of musicians!

Homework will be going home again on Monday, please remember that it is due on the following Monday. If your child has a tendency to lose the packet they are welcome to turn it in on Friday. Also, let me know if there are changes you would like to see in your child's homework packet. I am happy to accommodate any learning preferences you have.

I am really enjoying getting to know the families more. Conferences have been a great time for me to interact with you all and I have sincerely appreciated the warm responses I am getting. Please never hesitate to come in to the classroom!

Homework over break

I will not be giving out homework over the Fall Break. I would hope that you use this time to relax as a family and experience things outside of the normal daily routine.

If you would like additional practice materials to use at home I would be more than happy to get some things together for your student. I will not grade anything that is done over break, it is just a tool to continue practicing skills over the week.

Please let me know by Wednesday if you are interested!

Reminders and updates

Just a few reminders as things are getting crazy before break!

-- Parent/teacher conferences are October 25th and 26th

*You should have received a letter about your scheduled date/time on Wednesday. This is due back to me by Monday October 1st.

-- Cookie dough sales are due back on Tuesday October 2nd

-- I will be out on Friday October 5th. If you have any questions or concerns that you will need addressed before break, please email or call me before Thursday.

-- Homework is due on MONDAYS. I have scheduled it this way to give you the weekend to work on it with your student. Please check their work to make sure it is getting done.

I am going to be reassessing students on skills learned throughout the first quarter. If you would like to come into the classroom to volunteer I would greatly appreciate your help. This week and the 2 days before conferences I am going to need as much help as I can get. 

I am really trying to differentiate my teaching as much as I can in order to reach all of the students at their level. Please do not hesitate to talk to me about what I am asking them to do on assignments or homework. I want to make sure that we keep the lines of communication open.

I greatly appreciate everything that you do for your kiddos. They are a very special  group of students and I am so glad I get to work with them. 

Homework!

Get ready for it... homework comes home tomorrow!! Please be sure to check your student's folder to ensure that the packet comes home. It will be due NEXT MONDAY. I want to give you and your family plenty of time to manage the work. In addition to the homework packet, I will also send home a September reading log. Thank you to those of you who turned in the August reading logs! It's great to see all the reading going on. Feel free to ask for more than one log.

With the homework comes leveled spelling lists as well. Students will practice words this week that fit their needs as a learner. Please feel free to contact me if you feel that your student is not being challenged enough. I am more than happy to reevaluate their placement.

If you have any questions on what is expected for the homework packet please contact me ASAP! I want all students to be successful and I am more than happy to help. Also, please consider attending Homework Club on Tuesdays after school with Mrs. Notch and Mrs. McLallan in the Library.

This last week I am sure your kiddos came home telling you how great the class has been! I have been showering them with love because their behavior and their work has been through the roof! It has made me so happy to see them managing their own behavior and giving kind reminders to friends. Their academic success will benefit from their wise behavior choices. I was especially impressed that they didn't let the rainy day turn them into hooligans! :)

A few pictures have been uploaded from our indoor recess adventures. We did kid yoga for 15 minutes and it was pretty comical to watch as they stretched and contorted their bodies!

Homework and updates

Surprise, surprise after a long weekend we are all a little loopy! I forgot that this was a short week and I haven't had time to get the homework packets together yet. I will be sending homework home NEXT MONDAY! Later this week I will send home a letter about what is expected with the weekly homework packet.

Just as a brief overview: 
I will send it home on Monday and it will be due the following Monday. This will allow you plenty of time to complete the work in the packet, even some extra time over the weekend. I am respectful of your time at home so please feel free to discuss with me the amount of work that is expected for your student.
This is intended to support and give extra practice for skills we are learning in class. If your student is struggling with the material please do not hesitate to speak up. I want this to be a positive experience for them!
Also, I understand the desire that you all have for them to succeed and "get it right" but please make sure that it is the students' work that I see coming back to me. I use homework as a second assessment tool to gauge their progress. This is not to say that they need to do it all on their own; just make sure it is the student who comes to the final answer.

TOMORROW NIGHT is Aloha to Reading Curriculum Night here at the school from 5:00 - 6:30 with an Aloha Dance in the Multipurpose room afterward sponsored by the PTO. The class with the highest attendance will get a $50 gift certificate for books in the classroom! WE WANT MORE BOOKS!

Our spelling words this week are a little tricky. We are working with the "ck" ending. Please make sure that you are practicing every night if possible. The more practice the better readers and writers we can produce.

Finally, I appreciate how patient you all are being with me this year. It has been tough this first month to keep my head above water with all that I have going on. I am feeling so very lucky to have all these kids in my class and to have the support from you as parents. You have been great!

Monday update

Things at school are going well. We are really getting involved in the curriculum now and exploring new ways to learn. We are working a lot on being independent. It is important at this age for students to start to feel like they are an active part of their learning. We are increasing the amount of responsibility that is placed on students. With that being said the following things are going to begin taking place.

• If students are missing any work on Friday they will not be allowed to participate in our Character Counts celebration at the end of the day (a.k.a Fun Friday). They will, instead, need to finish the work.
• The missing work will go into the grade book (Jupiter) as a zero until rectified. 
• Students may make up (redo) an assignment if they are unhappy with their grade for any reason. This will need to be done as homework.

Please contact me ASAP if you are concerned with your students grade. You can check this at any time on Jupiter grades. If you do not have your login information you need to contact me as well. Please stay on top of this so there are no "surprises" at the end of the quarter. Progress reports will go out next Tuesday.

We are getting into leveled reading, writing and math groups. Hopefully this will mean more valuable learning for each student at their needed level. I will be differentiating spelling lists in addition to the in-class leveled activities that they will complete. Please do not hesitate to approach me for more or less work. I want to do what is best for your student and you are the expert on them. With all of the ability levels present in our class I am going to have my work cut out for me -- if you can volunteer in the classroom any time please do so! Just send me an email to let me know when you want to come in. I can always use help running copies, laminating, or working with small groups in math or reading. The parents who have come already have been an absolute blessing and a huge help! Thank you!

As parents you are doing such a fabulous job! I hope that your little ones come home saying that they are enjoying school. Things have been a little rough lately as we are really trying to train them in procedures and independence. Please encourage them to continue working hard; they are all such great kids and I am lucky to be their teacher!

Spirit Day Monday

On Monday it will be spirit day at Filibertos! If you make a purchase at this restaurant on Monday August 20th please make sure to mention Ranch Elementary to have a donation go to our school PTO.

Also please "like" the Ranch PTO group on Facebook and follow the directions to vote for Ranch on Give with Target. This is such a simple way to give to our PTO with little effort. For every 25 votes we get a $25 gift card. We are competing with Ellsworth Elementary right now and we need to pull ahead! Tell all of your friends and family to get on and vote! :)
Ranch PTO Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ranch-Elementary-School-PTO/146850305338247
Give with Target - https://givewith.target.com/schools/98105

Spelling and homework!

Today I sent home the homework sheet! It's official, homework has dawned on the little darlings.

I am asking that everyone read at least 4 nights a week for a minimum of 15 minutes each time (please do read more if you have the time!). This is the best way to get the students involved in what print looks like and sounds like. I suggest that if you are going to do the reading, allow them to see the book and point out things like our sight words or words that fit in the word family! This helps them make the connection between school and the real world.

I have updated the Weekly Skills page to reflect what we are learning in school this week. The spelling words are listed there as well as sight words, high frequency words as well as the word families.

I will send home a sheet tomorrow that has their spelling words on it for you to practice with them at home. If you want ideas about how to practice them feel free to ask me! Get creative with it :)

If you would like to volunteer in the class but have not turned in the Helping Hands sheet, or have changed what you want on that form, please contact me by Wednesday! I am hoping to have the schedule out by then.

You are wonderful parents! Thank you for staying involved in your child's education!

Get me those papers!

Please remember to turn in all paperwork by FRIDAY! The dental care packet and the blue medical sheet are both needed back before Friday. Please get the other information to me as soon as possible as well.

This week is flying by! We are having fun but learning lots and lots of rules as I am sure you have heard. It's a tough week for the kids as they get used to new rules and procedures. Not to mention just getting back into the swing of being at school and using those brains! :)

You all have some fabulous kids and I am blessed with a great class of caring individuals. This will be a great year!

First day!

My goodness! Whew! We have all survived the first day!
It was a great day that just FLEW by! All of the kiddos came in looking so cute and were so well behaved, I was very impressed. I'm sure they didn't come home looking as cute. Boy was it hot outside at recess!

Just as a reminder it is really hot, really sunny and sticky too! If you would like to send sunscreen with your student for recess time that would be fine. They will be responsible for putting it on themselves but it wouldn't be a bad idea just for the next month or two. I know they sell the cute twist up kind (they look a little like glue stick containers) somewhere so that it isn't so messy for the little ones.

Also, a BIG thank you is in order for all of the supplies that came in this morning! It was overwhelming how much support I have from parents. It is great to see all of you taking such a big role in your student's education. It feels amazing to know that I have the support of all of you along the journey!

Please pack snacks for your kids! HEALTHY snacks! It's a long day and they need brain food.

I will be finishing up the take-home folders this week and we will start using them next week. Reminder: homework will be reading for 15 minutes at least 4 days a week until I have a chance to assess student knowledge and set up homework packets at individual levels.

PLEASE DON'T FORGET THAT YOU MAY EMAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE!! Don't be shy! :) I will work on a volunteer schedule this weekend and get that out to all of you wonderful parents next week!
You rock!

Give your kiddos a hug for me!

Welcome to Ms. Kistler's first grade classroom!

Hello Parents & Guardians!
    Welcome to our classroom blog! I am looking forward to a fabulous year. Here are just a few things to make sure we're ready for Monday:


*If you have not done so already, please make sure to bring the completed forms back to school. It is important to keep everyone updated and these forms will help to start the year off right.


*Our school doors open at 7:55. No student will be allowed on campus any time before that, this is a safety issue. If your student is getting breakfast in the morning they may enter the multi-purpose room at 7:55 and do so. We will all meet on the playground before school to line up and walk in together.


*Snack time will be an important part of our day. As the kids get adjusted to being at school again it is crucial to take a brain break and I ask that they have a nutritious snack to help them through all of the brain work that we will be doing!


It has truly been a pleasure meeting all of you and your families! I am looking forward to seeing everyone in the classroom throughout the year. I appreciate the time you take to invest in your child's education. It is extremely important and meaningful to them! 


See you all on Monday!!