Room 117 was invited to participate in the Bridgeview October Pumpkin Fest 2015's poster contest. We all talked about how we wanted to decorate the poster, and each child was a part of the design. It turned out really cute, and they were really excited to see their faces on the poster! Great job, Room 117!
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First graders: Did you have a FUN and EXCITING first day of school today? I know that I did! Phew, I am exhausted! :) Parents, I hope that your child told you all about our day together today! We read a few books about school and first grade, we colored a first day of first grade picture (using color words), we started our very cute memory book about our first day of school, we had Art class, lunch, recess, and we played a few games! WOW, that is a lot! Oh, and we also talked about class and school rules and why certain rules are important!
Attached are some cute class photos that were taken today, as well as some pictures of our classroom! Can't wait to see you all again tomorrow! Welcome parents and students to the 2015-2016 school year! I hope you are just as excited to start first grade as I am! I can't wait to be your teacher this year! We are going to learn a lot of new things, do many fun activities, and we will all make many new friends!
I encourage you all to take a look around the website and familiarize yourself with the type of information I will be posting through the year. As the year progresses, both students and myself will be posting updates on a blog, and I like to post pictures so that you can see what your child is doing in class each week. I have also posted sight word lists and reading tips, as well as links to wonderful, fun, and engaging websites. The snack calendars for 2015-2016 have also been updated and posted with the days that your child will be responsible for bringing in snack for the class, as we will be eating lunch later in the day (noon). I love to have an open and communicative relationship with each family and parent, so please contact me at any time throughout the school year. Again, welcome to the new school year, and I hope that each and everyone of you had a fun and relaxing summer! I can't wait to hear all about it! Specials schedule for this school year: 2015-2016 Special Class Schedule Monday: Music (Loeffler) Tuesday: PE (La Rocque) Wednesday: Art (O' Hanley) Thursday: PE (LaRocque) Friday: Music (Loeffler) Daily Activities: Lunch: 12:00-12:30pm Recess: 1:40pm-2:00pm Please make sure that your child brings the appropriate clothing (gym shoes for PE) on the assigned days. We will always go outside for recess-weather permitting- as long as it is not raining outside/ is above 20 degrees. Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately. Lastly, the library and computer lab schedules will be posted once the schedules are finalized. Thank you! On Friday, the first grade classes attended their field trip at LegoLand. The kids were SO excited! It was a very, very fun field trip that included hands on areas, rides, an indoor playground, a 4-D movie, a pizza lunch, and a Science class on tall towers and structures. In the class, the kids were broken up into groups and had to use team work to build the tallest tower. After building their first tower, they were taught why it is important to build a secure structure and how to do so. They then were given a second chance to not only build a tall tower, but use what they were taught to make it secure. Friday's field trip was definitely a memorable one.
Today, our class had a VERY fun and exciting day! Right when the students walked into the classroom this morning, they noticed that we had a special visitor come to our classroom... a leprechaun! The students were so very excited! They were all over the classroom seeing what the leprechaun got into and what mess he made. The funny part was they all started cleaning up right away... they must not like a messy classroom! The whole classroom was cleaned and picked up within 10 minutes of them walking through the classroom door! :) Throughout the morning, we did some pretty fun St. Patrick's day activities, including a leprechaun craft! Later on in the morning, we went on a leprechaun scavenger hunt to find that naughty little leprechaun! After we got to clue #6, the leprechaun sent us back to our classroom for a special treat.... leprechaun rocks! These leprechaun rocks that he left us had to be put into special "water", where they dissolved and a magical chocolate coin appeared! The kids were SO excited to watch the magic happen! We wish every day of first grade could be this magical! :) Happy St. Patrick's Day to all first grade families! This was the thank you letter that Ms. Riplinger sent to all of the donors of our wonderful gift of iPad mini tablets:
"Thank you to each and everyone of you who helped support my students and classroom with your generous donations. My students were extremely excited to hear that we were receiving iPad Mini Tablets to use in our classroom. They all screamed and cheered the moment that I told them! These first grade students asked everyday, thereafter, when we were receiving the new tablets, and every time someone walked into our classroom, they thought they were delivering our package of new tablets! Once they were delivered, they couldn't wait to use them, and they ask with each and every activity if iPads are going to be used. I know ,through their words and actions, that these students are extremely grateful. Through these new resources, my students have been able to expand on their learning. I have used these iPad Mini Tablets within all different subject areas and activities, and it has allowed me to differentiate their lessons. These iPads have been used to help with small group instruction, allowing students to practice learning their letter names and sounds, sight words, or even their math facts (addition and subtraction). I have downloaded many learning apps to meet their various needs. The students have also used these iPad Minis for independent reading time or free time, through the use of EPIC Kids, a children's book app. This app is similar to Netflix, where it allows the students to choose the book, genre, or level that they are interested in. These students absolutely love to read independently this year, but this app also has the ability to read stories to students who need it. It also allows for my ELL students to listen to someone read a book fluently to them. During my "Holidays Around the World" unit in December, the students used the iPad Mini Tablets during our reading intervention block. In Small Groups, the students learned about the different holidays and cultures around the world. They were very, very interested in these activities, and the use of technology made it even easier for them to learn. The students used the QR Code app on the tablets to scan the code on the activities. This led them to either a YouTube video or web article that taught them about a specific part of the culture of holiday. They then wrote down what they learned in their travel journal. These activities worked on reading, writing, deeper level thinking, Social Studies, and technology skills. We have also used the iPad Mini tablets to perform research in first grade! Yes, these first graders absolutely love to work on research projects this year, and these tablets have allowed them to do so. In February, our students learned about the presidents of our country, as well as many of the important figures and leaders within Black History Month. The students were given the opportunity to choose the person that they wanted to learn more about. They created their own questions that they wanted to find out answers to, they read website articles using the kid-friendly search engine "Kid Rex", and they watched kid-friendly You Tube videos about their person. The students were also able to read books, from our classroom library, about their person. As these students found out information, they wrote it down on a primary level graphic organizer. To finalize their report, the students used Microsoft Word to type up their sentences or print out a picture of the person. They organized all of this information onto a poster. They all did a wonderful job! Through research, they worked on technology skills, research skills, language arts and questioning skills, reading skills, and teamwork skills. I plan on having them do a few more research projects this year, on topics, such as: the moon, Dr. Seuss, and the life cycle. Receiving the iPad Mini Tablets through this Donor's Choose project has allowed me to better meet the needs of my students, introduce them to research, broaden their technology skills, and motivate them to read more and better their teamwork skills. It has also allowed me to inspire their life long curiosity and will to learn. The activities that I have done with my students this year have allowed me to see what motivates first graders and how critically these young students can learn and think. Their ability to work together has blossomed, the quality of their writing has improved, and every single one of my students has soared in their reading levels. They are curious little learners and I am very proud of them. I am extremely grateful for your help and support of my hard-working students. With gratitude, Ms. Riplinger" See Ms. Riplinger's Donor's Choose page at: http://www.donorschoose.org/msriplinger The end of the third quarter is quickly approaching! The last day of the third
quarter will be next week, Wednesday, March 25. Parents, you are encouraged to check on your child's grades using your student's user name and password that have been sent home. Most of the grades from the third quarter have been posted. Great online resources for your child to utilize are 1) Reading Eggs (www.readingeggs.com) and 2) Xtra Math (www.xtramath.org). The user names and passwords have already been sent home with your child. By this point in first grade, your child "ideally" should: Please let Ms. Riplinger know if you need additional resources or have a question about a grade you see online. |
AuthorMs. Riplinger, a second grade teacher in the Chicago-land area. Archives
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