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