It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Advent...

Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your time with family and friends over the Thanksgiving break!  In case you were wondering, I try not to work on the blog (and other work-related items) over holiday breaks... as one of my seasoned professors once told me at my teacher credentialing ceremony, "Don't burn your candle at both ends- otherwise you will have nothing left to light the way for your students." This is so true!  And it seems so appropriate after watching the movie Race to Nowhere with the other teachers this past Monday.  If you didn't get a chance to see this movie, I definitely recommend it.  It makes us aware of some of the challenges of the youth today.  Things are definitely different today than they were ten, twenty, and thirty years ago.  It is so important for all of us to remember (adults and kids) that over-committing ourselves to activities can really be a detriment to our health.  As the wise saying goes, "Everything in moderation." With that said, I hope we all become very aware of our own limitations, and let us all keep a close eye on the children present in our lives, who sometimes take on too many activities themselves just so they don't disappoint the adults in their lives.  As the old saying goes, "Take time to smell the roses."

Well, enough with that topic... on to the fun stuff!  We are having another bake sale this Friday (the 7th) at noon to help raise more money for our class' Christian Service fundraiser. This time we are trying to have a Christmas themed bake sale.  An e-mail should be going out to all of you wonderful Firsty families on Monday with details.  Please contact Mrs. Vona or Mrs. Schultz with questions. Thank you!!!!

I'd also like to say a big thank you to the Firsties who have/are donating any amount of money to our Mission Collections.  Catholic Schools everywhere collect money for the poor in Advent and Lent.  We like to promote our students to just look around the house for loose change, or perhaps take some change from our piggy banks, to help make a huge difference in the lives of the less fortunate.  It is a great way to prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus.  The Firsties are learning that we need to get our hearts ready for Jesus, and we can do this by doing anything that Jesus might do himself if he were alive here on Earth today.  I am overwhelmed by the generosity of these fabulous Firsties.  We have already collected approximately $60 in change and only approximately ten children have donated money... amazing!!!! 

Academically your Firsties have been pretty busy this week!  We are wrapping up our unit on nouns and pronouns in English, and we will have a test covering that material this week.  We have finished receiving new sight word lists, and we will have a cumulative sight word test sometime before Christmas break (TBD).  Please take this time to review the sight word flash cards that your child has received over these past few weeks.  Make sure your child is able to quickly recognize and read each and every word.  This is a key component of your child's reading career, and we want to make sure they have a strong foundation.  When we return from the Christmas break, we will move on to Spelling lists. 

Speaking of academics, report cards will be going home this week!  Look for them in your child's backpack this WEDNESDAY.  Please go through the report card with your child.  Remember, E = well above the First Grade expectations; M= meeting the First Grade standards (this means your child is doing what a First Grader should be doing); T= your child needs to put extra time and effort into these subject areas.  Please read the comments on the back, sign and date the same box as the comments, and return the report card immediately in their Red folder.  If you feel the need to leave any notes for me in their report card, please feel free to do so using a post-it, or just e-mail me!  

Have you marked your calendars for our annual Advent Program?  This year it is taking place on the evening of Thursday December 20th.  If you are new to our school, you are in for a treat!  Every class participates in this wonderful Christmas program, singing two favorite Christmas carols in the Church.  This year the Firsties are singing Jingle Bells (We're going for the Frank Sinatra version- to listen to it, click on the play button located in the upper right-hand corner of this blog!) I'm sure your Firsty would love to sing it for you = )   We will also be singing Little Drummer Boy, but we haven't started officially practicing that just yet.  The Advent Program is one of my favorite events of the year, and I hope you get a kick out of their performance! You won't want to miss this!

Finally, please start looking around your home for a sturdy shoe box.  We prefer something that has a bottom with the approximate measurement of 8x11 inches.  Typically most adult shoe boxes will do.  The box should have the lid, but the lid should be unattached (The shoe box will be laying on its side, and the lid will become a sturdy base.)  The Firsties will be using these shoe boxes to create a diorama of a Nativity scene.  We will be creating the inside of the diorama in class on our own, but we need the Firsties to decorate the outside of the shoe box with the help of their parents at home.  In the past we have seen students cover the outside with Christmas wrapping paper, paint, glitter, popsicle sticks, twigs, hay, etc.  It is really your choice.  Our hope is that our Firsties will take pride in their work, enough pride that they will want to keep these Nativity Scenes for years to come, as a special reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.  Once the Nativity scenes are completed in class, we will display them on our desks and take a tour of our Nativity scene "gallery".  Don't worry- I will be sending home a sheet of paper describing these directions sometime this week.  I just thought those of you that read our blog might like a little head's up = )

 Well, off I go to put those last minute touches on those report cards!  I hope you all enjoy this rainy weekend, and don't forget that Advent begins this Sunday! Please try to make an extra effort to attend mass with your Firsty throughout the Advent Season. Thank you! 

Take care, and don't forget to smell the roses! 
~Ms. Hudson 




     

Short but "sweet" post...

Hi Everyone!  
     As I sit here on this rainy Saturday typing this blog post, I realize that I have done quite a bit of talking this week!  Over a period of four days, I have had 33 conferences!  And at 20 minutes a piece, that is eleven hours of talking time!  No wonder my friends and family noticed how quiet I've been this week! Now, don't get me wrong- I loved meeting with each and every one of you.  These conferences are so important- they give me a better idea of your precious children, and best of all, I get to know all of you a little more.  There's only so much we can talk about standing at the doorway of our classroom as I let your kids into the room in the morning = ) While all of our meetings were very unique, every one of you have something in common- you truly want the very best for your Firsty!  And, I will do my best to make sure your Firsty gets the best First Grade education possible.  

   Aside from our conferences, I need to say a huge thank you to everyone who made our First Grade Bake Sale a great success this week!  We made roughly $260! Mrs. Schulte and I were commenting that all of the items looked so delicious and even professional!  A lot of care went into those baked goods, and we appreciate every ounce of it!  Thank you with sugar on top! Another bake sale will take place sometime in December.  We can't wait to bake some delicious Christmas treats!  
    I'd also like to say thank you to everyone who donated canned or dried food to the Santa Comes to Agoura collection!  Your donation will make such a huge difference in a less fortunate family's holiday.  What a great way to live out WWJD! (What Would Jesus Do) 

    A few reminders about this week:

• Grandparents/Special Visitor Day is this Wednesday.  Your weekly parent envelope this past week had an itinerary for the day.  First Grade will be performing their famous turkey song and dance two, possibly three, times throughout the day.  Even if grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, or special friends are not able to make it, we hope you, their wonderful parents, will be able to stop by! 
• Grandparents Day is a half day- students will be dismissed from their classrooms, not from the church (there will be a special prayer service).
• Monday and Tuesday are full school days! There is no school Thursday, Friday, or the following Monday.  
•  First Grade will be helping out with the Adopt a Family Program this year.  Kinder, 1st, and 2nd Grade will be adopting one family together.  First Grade is in charge of purchasing clothing for the family.  I will be working with our room moms on creating a sign up for this wonderful cause- it is 100% voluntary.  Black Friday is a great day to shop for these less-fortunate families, and I'd like to get that sign up completed before then.  Thank you in advance for your generosity- more info on this will be sent home this week.   

Enjoy the weekend, and take care! 
~Ms. Hudson

Even our Firsties voted!

     Hi Firsty Families!  I hope everyone is enjoying their day off!  Has your Firsty talked to you about Veterans' Day yet?  While we didn't get a chance to delve too deeply into the history of Veterans' Day, our class learned that Veterans are special people who have fought for the wonderful rights of our country (like voting).  It turns out that a lot of our Firsties know a Veteran somewhere in their lives, and we learned that we should say thank you to those heroes!  I for one am very thankful for my cousin.  He is a retired sergeant of the 101st Airborne, and he has served several terms in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other war-torn areas.  He signed up shortly after 9/11, feeling like he needed to contribute to our country.  Our whole family is so proud of him, as well as all of the veterans out there, and we say a heartfelt THANK YOU! 
     Speaking of rights, our Firsties had the chance to experience what it was like to vote on Tuesday!  Rather than have our class vote on the real presidential candidates, we decided to take a lighter approach and have them vote on... Muppets! The Firsties were able to vote for either the Grover/Cookie Monster Party, or the Gonzo/Rizzo Party: 

 

    We barely touched on the pro's and con's of each party, including if Cookie Monster could really provide excellent healthcare since he himself eats far too many sweet's.  And, do we really want a "rat" as our vice president?  Well, no surprise here, the Grover/Cookie Monster Party won the votes of our Firsties.  No, there was no electoral college here (I'm not even about to attempt to explain that to our class!), but about 2/3 of the popular votes went to those loveable blue monsters.   Here are some photos of the voting booths and a few responsible citizens voting:

 The kids had a blast, and hopefully, when they turn 18, they will be just as excited to get out there and vote, too!  
     This week is a week filled with half days! Yes, there will be daycare available.  The reason we are having half days is so that you, the parents, can sit down and chat with me about your fabulous little student!  Please take the time to think of any concerns or questions you might have to ask me about your Firsty and their time in First Grade.  Please remember that this is a parents only meeting.  Please also remember to try your best to be on time.  I can't extend our meeting times if you are late, so it just means we will have less time during our meeting = (  If you know you won't be able to make our meeting time, please call the school and let Ms. Charlotte know!  These meetings are mandatory at the primary level.  I still have a few slots open, so if you need to move your meeting time, call Ms. Charlotte and see when you can switch your meeting.   If you have forgotten when your meeting time was scheduled, please don't hesitate to email me and ask.  I will have our meeting times posted on our classroom doors each morning, so you can double check before school and after school.  Please remember that every time we have a half-day, it is automatically rainy day pick up.
    Finally, our wonderful Christian Service Room Mom's are putting together a bake sale this Wednesday, November 14th, at noon.  Volunteers are needed to bake items for the bake sale!  If every family donates a dozen items, then we will have 400 items to sell!  And, if we sold those 400 items at a dollar a piece, then we would make $400 for our Christian Service project!  Items can be dropped off that morning with your child.  The other option would be to drop them off around 11:30 when our Room Mom's will be setting up our bake sale table outside.  Please contact Mrs. Vona or Mrs. Schultz with any questions!  Thank you for your help everyone! 
    Well, that's going to be it for me on this Veterans' Day!  Don't forget that our school is collecting used clothing until Grandparents Day (Wednesday, November 21st).  

Take care!
~Ms. Hudson
 

Annnnnnd breathe!

     Wow! What a week! The Firsties and I have officially survived our first big holiday together! Hooray! I need to thank all of you wonderful parents for helping us out this week, between buying pumpkins for our science experiment (we didn't make it to the decorating part), sticking to the many guidelines for the costumes, volunteering to help us change the kiddos into their costumes, and donating everything for the carnival, I offer you my deepest gratitude!  I also owe a big thank you to the three families who carved, cleaned, and counted seeds in our three pumpkins for our Math estimation project, as well as the fabulous family that roasted the delicious pumpkin seeds for our class!  We are truly blessed here at St. Jude School with so many generous and talented families! Thank you, thank you, thank you!  What would I do without you? Wait, I can answer that- I'd probably go a little crazy! 

     So besides Halloween hoopla, what has your Firsty been up to?  Well, we had our second Meet the Masters lesson on Friday, which will be continued on Monday.  We are learning about the female artist Bonheur.  You can catch a quick glimpse into her life at this wikipedia site: Rosa Bonheur   


    Our Halloween Pumpkin Estimation project was a success!  The class was read a cute story first, seen here:

Then the class was shown three pumpkins, seen below: 

They then had to predict which pumpkin they believed had the most seeds.  You'd be fairly surprised to know that not all of them went with the Big pumpkin.  They remembered that the story informed them that darker pumpkins have been on the vine longer, and therefore have a longer time to grow more seeds.  They also learned that pumpkins usually have a row of seeds inside the pumpkin for every line visible on the outside of the pumpkin.  Using that knowledge they estimated which pumpkin they thought would have the most seeds.  The winner actually did end up being the biggest pumpkin, but the kids still had fun counting the seeds themselves with their group! 

 

After that excitement was over, the kids then had fun with their afternoon centers.  In case you haven't heard of something called the Tower of Power, well here's your glimpse into that fun game!  The Tower of Power is an addition fact game that involves building a tower with small plastic cups.  What's the catch?  The plastic cups have addition problems written on them.  The students must answer the addition problem correctly to add that plastic cup to their Tower of Power!  Then, the best part involves blowing the tower over once they have built it!  They aren't allowed to physically knock it over- they have to blow it down, much like the Big Bad Wolf!  

 
 The Firsties also enjoy some quiet reading time in the library during centers.  We even have special, cuddly reading buddies that just love being read to!  My personal favorite is our little class "owl" = )

Now you're pretty caught up with the fun stuff going on in First Grade!  Next week will be pretty neat, too!  Don't forget to get out there and vote!  We've been talking about government and laws in our Social Studies lessons, and this Tuesday the Firsties will be voting, too!  No, they won't be voting for Mr. Romney or Mr. Obama... they will be voting on two surprise candidates!  They can't wait to find out who the candidates will be... We will even have our own little voting booths set up, so they can experience something close to the real thing!  Parents, don't disappoint your little Firsty- please remember to vote!  

Here are a few items to think about this week:

• Monday is Mrs. Schulte's birthday! (I didn't tell you!)
• Please keep the East Coast in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.
• The school is having its bi-annual clothing drive now through November 19th for our parish Loaves and Fishes program.  All gently used clothing, including Halloween costumes, will be collected in the large black bins posted outside of First Grade and 7th Grade. Shoes, too!
• The following week, November 13th through the 16th, not this week, is Parent Teacher Conference Week! Mrs. Charlotte has informed me of all of our scheduled times.  I'm looking forward to meeting with all of you!  Please take the time to think about any questions or concerns you may have regarding your child's First Grade education, and please try to be on time... more info on that later this week! 

Thank you again for all of your help this week!  We're looking forward to a little bit of "calm" before the next big storm holiday!  

Have a fabulous weekend! 
Take care! 
~Ms. Hudson