African Christmas Picnic

Each day we have been reading about how another country or continent celebrates Christmas. Yesterday, we learned that people in Africa have picnics outside at this time of year. 

So, naturally... we have an indoor picnic!!!

"I Mustache You a Question!"

Dec. 17-19

Parents,

This week is a short one at school. Only three days! We hope each of you enjoy this Holiday Season with your families.

There will be no homework this week. Just pick up a good book and read. :)

A few housekeeping items:

*Christmas Sing is Wednesday Dec. 19th in the gym beginning at 10:00 am. Kindergarten will perform first, we will follow right after.
*Library day is Tuesday for both classes next week.

*Many of you have asked if we need anything for our classrooms... Currently, we are in need of whiteboard markers and disinfectant wipes (to keep the flu bug away). We appreciate all your contributions and time!

Attached is a copy of an email sent from Mrs. Larsen. And I couldn't agree more with her last statement. "We love your children and care about their safety."

Happy Holidays,

Mrs. Rebecca Liston & Miss BreAnn Wayman

Dear Parents,

In light of recent events in Connecticut, I wanted to remind you about the plans we have in place in case of emergencies.

*As mentioned in a Monday Memo earlier in the year, we do have procedures set up for a lockdown and have practiced them. We will have another lockdown drill after Christmas.

*In order to control access to the building, we keep all doors locked except for the main entrance by the office.

*We ask all visitors, even parents, to check in at the office so we are aware of who is in the building.

*Staff will continue to be vigilant about noticing who is in the building as well and will report any suspicious activities to the office.

*We have a computerized calling system that can have a recorded message out to all of our patrons within minutes of sending it out.

*We have a wonderful Safety Committee and School Community Council that are continually working on safety measures.

We love your children and care about their safety and the safety of our staff and visitors. We appreciate your support in following our guidelines. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Cami Larsen, Principal

Random Recess Moment

I've seen tether-ball played with 2 people... But, 6 people is even better!

New Books!

We got new books last week... and we couldn't stop reading! 

Cardio Bowling P.E.

Dec. 10-14

Fridays are spirit day at school! This Friday students can dress up like a superhero to show their school spirit.

Mark your calendars! We will be having a Christmas sing on December 19th. It will be held in the gym beginning at 10:00. Grades will come in one at a time, beginning with 6th.

This week:

Homework
Chinese-Math- Identifying solid figures and problem-solving
Chinese-Writing- Volume 1, Workbook A (page 16-17)
English-Reading- Read 20 minutes a night and mark on reading folder
Engilish-Spelling- Look for spelling pattern in reading and discuss with your child.

In class, we are learning:
Math-Shapes/Fractions
Language Arts- asking questions while reading, characters
Writing- past, present & future verbs, conjunctions
Phonics- wh & ch diagraphs
Chinese- What is in the backpack? Lesson 10
Social/Science study- Weather

Spelling:
red: (ar & contractions) park, yard, party, before, store, isn’t, didn’t, wasn’t, can’t don’t
yellow: (wh & ch) March, who, when, where, why, what, lunch, much, do, see
blue: (igh & y) by, sky, high, sight, fly, night, light, were, here, or

Miss BreAnn Wayman & Mrs. Rebecca Liston

Envy of the Nation

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23233541&nid=148&title=utah-immersion-program-the-envy-of-the-nation&s_cid=featured-3

Check it out!

Dec. 3-7

Thank you for marking reading days on the inside of your child’s folder. These will be recorded on Monday. 

Please note: Beginning January 15th, students will be expected to use only Chinese in Mrs. Liston's class, with the exception of emergency situations. Please discuss this with your child and help prepare them.  If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact one of us. 

This week:

Homework
Chinese-Math- Identifying plane shapes and properties of plane shapes
Chinese-Writing- Volume 1, Workbook A (page 14-15)
Chinese-Reading- What date is it today?
English-Reading- Read 20 minutes a night and mark on reading folder
Engilish-Spelling- Look for spelling pattern in reading and discuss with your child. 

In class, we are learning:
Math-Geometry & Shapes
Language Arts- past, present & future verbs
Writing- basic parts of a letter (to Santa)
Phonics- initial blend with “r”
Chinese- What date is today? Lesson 9
Social/Science study- Weather 

Spelling:
red: (ow & ou) about, how, now, down, clouds, count, out, shout, ground, south
yellow: (blend with r) brown, green, pretty, grab, grin, frog, from, put, she, they
blue: (ow & oa) coat, float, boat, throw, snow, grow, slow, know, there, their

Miss BreAnn Wayman & Mrs. Rebecca Liston

January 15th

Mark your calendars!

January 15th is going to be a BIG deal in Chinese! Watch for more info!

Parent Workshop for Mandarin

http://utahimmersioncouncil.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/parent-workshop-mandarin-101/

This was sent to me by a parent. Might be helpful...

Check it out! Let me know if it's useful!

Nov. 26-30

We hope each of you enjoyed Thanksgiving with your families. We are excited to get back to school and working! 

This week:

Homework
Chinese-Math- Using related fact and fact families
Chinese-Writing- Volume 1, Workbook A (page 12-13)
English-Reading- Read 20 minutes a night and mark on reading folder
Engilish-Spelling- Look for spelling pattern in reading and discuss with your child.

In class, we are learning:
Math-Geometry & Shapes
Language Arts- adjectives and intro to pronouns
Writing- opening/closing statement with opinion pieces
Phonics- initial blend with “l”
Chinese- What date is today? Lesson 8
Social/Science study- Weather

Spelling:
red: (oo & adding ed) book, cook, good, food, soon, called, asked, needed, washed, looked
yellow: (blend with l) clap, flag, slip, glue, blue, place, sister, brother, me, you
blue: (oy vs. oi) boy, toy, join, soil, moist, point, joy, that, very, two

Miss BreAnn Wayman & Mrs. Rebecca Liston

Nov. 19-20

Mrs. Liston and I just want to take a moment and express our gratitude to each of you. What an amazing thing we have going! Everyday the students impress us with their growth and willingness to push through hard things. We know this is partially due to your hard work and dedication at home! Thank you! We hope you enjoy a warm holiday with your families this week.

(optional) All Better Chinese enrollment forms are due by 10 am Nov. 19th.

Only 2 days of school this week, Monday and Tuesday.

Unfortunately, we had several problems with Pokemon cards on the playground this week. Therefore, we ask that they no longer be brought to school. Thank you your support with this.

This week:

Homework
Pick up a good book and read. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Liston’s homework folder will not come home this week.

In class, we are learning:
Math-Add & Subtract from 12
Language Arts- Review
Writing- Opinion with supporting reasons
Phonics- Review week (long and short vowels)
Chinese- Where do you live? Lesson 7
Social/Science study- First Thanksgiving

Spelling:
(This will be done as a class this week as a review. No test will be given.)
went, said, have, from, like, was, came, come, are, they

Miss BreAnn Wayman & Mrs. Rebecca Liston

First Grade Websites

Parents,

Here is a list of a few websites you might enjoy with your child.

Knowledge Adventure
(I really like the Math Lines game.)

Short Vowel Games

Starfall

Fun Brain

Wonderopolis

(This one is for the curious mind. Very informational, in a fun format. Check it out!)

Construct a Word

Enjoy! And if you have any other suggestions, SHARE! :)

Nov. 12-16

The end of the trimester is this Friday. Do you know what that means? We are 1/3 of the way through first grade! It’s very hard to believe!

Thank you for all your support in class and out! It’s great to know we have such a great team working together!

During this week, we will be collecting coins for our sister school in Kenya, Africa. Each day we will be collecting a different coin. We would love your support as we show the children together we can make a difference.
       Monday-pennies   Tuesday-nickels   Wednesday-dimes   Thursday-quarters   Friday-any amount

**Please note: Due to next week being only being 2 days of school, there will be no assigned homework, except to enjoy a few good books. :)

This week:

Homework

Chinese -Math- Doubles and Problem solving skill
Chinese-Reading- I love my family. Lesson 6
Chinese-Writing- Volume 1, Workbook A (page 10-11)
English-Reading- Thank you to those who updated reading folders!
English-Spelling- Please work on spelling words at home. Discuss the spelling pattern, and look for words that are similar in reading. Some fun ways to practice are: making silly sentences, drawing words in a plate of shaving cream, or drawing them on the outside of a baggie filled with hair gel.

In class, we are learning:

Math-Add & Subtract from 12 (distinguishing the + & - symbols)
Language Arts- plural & singular nouns, this, that, those
Writing- opinion vs. fact, writing the sounds we hear
Phonics- Long u with silent e
Chinese- Where do you live? Lesson 7
Social/Science study- How to read a map and key/Change over time

Spelling Words:
Blue: (long a with ai & ay) away, play, day, stay, say, rain, wait, mail, train, sail
Yellow: (long u, with silent e) look, to, rule, cute, huge, June, all, as for, are
Red: (au & ew) because, draw, saw, lawn, fault, few, grew, drew, new, knew

Miss BreAnn Wayman & Mrs. Rebecca Liston

Nov. 5-9

The blog is once again updated with pictures! This time with fun Halloween times. J

Red Ribbon Week is celebrated with many fun festivities.
Monday: Hot air balloon launch/Wear red day
Tuesday: Pajama day (school dress code still in place)
Wednesday: Crazy sock day
Thursday: Sports day
Friday: Crazy hat day

This week:

Homework

Chinese -Math- Using counters and numbers to subtract
Chinese-Reading- I go to Dahua Elementary School
Chinese-Writing- Volume 1, Workbook A (page 8-9)
English-Reading- Thank you to those who updated reading folders! These will be checked on Momday again. Please mark days read. Students who read more than 20 days will receive a coupon to Maui Chill.
English-Spelling- Please work on spelling words at home. Discuss the spelling pattern, and look for words that are similar in reading. *In class, children work on spelling 2-3 days a week, only the yellow groups words are discussed daily because it follows our phonics study.  This is why it is essential you practice at home. Thank you!

In class, we are learning:

Math-Add & Subtract from 12 (distinguishing the + & - symbols)
Language Arts- syllables, plural & singular nouns, this, that, those
Writing- Narrative story (we get to illustrate these in art this week),  opinion vs. fact
Phonics- Long o with silent e
Chinese- I love my family. Lesson 6
Social/Science study- Map skills/Change over time

Spelling Words:
Blue: (diagraphs wh & ch) March, who, when, where, why, what, lunch, much, do, see
Yellow: (long o, with silent e) his, my, mole, was, rode, hope, globe, hole, toe, said
Red: (th vs. sh) than, then, them with, bath, both, wish, dish, fish, cash

Miss BreAnn Wayman & Mrs. Rebecca Liston

Halloween Fun!