Welcome!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Blog Update With No Photos...

     Hi everyone!  Sorry I missed out on updating our blog last weekend- I was away for the weekend for a good friend's wedding, and, no, I did not make the cupcakes for that event!  Last night was our school's annual auction, and before I go any further, no, I am not posting any photographs of our totally radical parents from last night's awesome event!  Nor do I have any video of said parents performing, either!  What a great time!  On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students, I'd like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone for donating your time, talent, and money to this fundraiser!  It was a great success, and we cannot wait to see what wonderful improvements can be made to our already-wonderful school thanks to last night!  I'd also like to applaud Mr. and Mrs. Mackintosh for being wonderful MC's all night!  We were definitely very entertained!  Owen- you should be proud!

     As I sit here in my office, iced tea in hand, music on in the background, ready to blog away, I have noticed that apparently the website my blog uses is having difficulty uploading any photos = ( Unfortunately, this means my blog would be somewhat boring if I continued to type with no photos to post!  Therefore, I am going to have to postpone an in-depth blog update until tomorrow (or whenever this problem is fixed!)  In the meantime, here are some notes for what we can expect this week! 

Monday- the children will be practicing their "dance" for International Day!  International Day is this Wednesday, May 1st.  Mrs. Rodarte and Senora Mandeville have been working on a short Chinese performance for this multicultural celebration, and they ask that our First Graders wear (if possible) their black uniform pants and white uniform shirts on Wednesday.  If you don't have these items, please don't stress! The performance will be just as great!  Parents, please feel free to join us on this special day!  We are also looking for a few parents to help us out at our table on Wednesday(setting it up, stamping children's passports, keeping an eye on things, etc).  If you are free Wednesday, please contact either Ms. Hudson, Mrs. Rodarte, or our room parents, Mrs. Marchis and Mrs. Dudley.  Thank you!

 Tuesday- our Christian Service parents will be coming in and working on another great Christian Service project in our classroom!  This time the project is part of the preparation for the May Procession, happening on May 10th.  We always enjoy working on Christian Service projects, helping us to remember our favorite rule, WWJD? = )

Speaking of Tuesday, our mass this week will take place on Wednesday, not Tuesday.  So shorts are fine on Tuesday!

Finally, Friday, from 1:30-2:30, is our Mother's Day project!  This event is for DADS ONLY!  We have 6 or so dad's who have already signed up (looooong ago on Back to School Night).  If you are a dad and are interested in volunteering for this project, or you are available to donate requested items for this project, please contact me by WEDNESDAY!  Thank you! 


Let's hope that the blog website will allow me to upload pictures sometime this week! We have lots of catching up to do! 

Take care! 
~Ms. Hudson





 

 
    
   


Saturday, April 13, 2013

It's been a while!

     Wow! I can't believe the last time I blogged was before Easter Break!  I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and enjoyed their time with their family and friends!  The kids have told me all about their breaks (well, at least what they remember!)

     Since our last blog, the Firsties had a small Easter celebration in our classroom.  Since the celebration occurred during Holy Week, we definitely kept things centered around the true meaning of Easter.  Here are some photos from that celebration:
The class made these colorful tombs with the help of some wonderful parent volunteers

We passed on the traditional cupcakes and opted for "breaking bread"with round crackers and grape juice, along with some Swedish fish candies = )

The kids seemed to really enjoy their snacks as they listened to the story of Easter.
 Thank you to everyone who contributed to this special celebration of our faith!

     That week was also supposed to be the date of our Santa Barbara Zoo Field Trip, but, well, things didn't go exactly as planned!  There is a saying that came to mind, "You want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans"... well, apparently God didn't want us to go to the zoo that day, but thanks to the help of our AWESOME Firsty parents, we made lemonade out of lemons and headed over to the park for a fun day at the park!  There are too many parents to thank, but I hope each and everyone of them know how much I appreciated their help, enthusiasm, and donations that day!  The kids had a BLAST regardless of the initial disappointment, and it was really due to the ingenuity and flexibility of our parents to help us make the best of things that day.  THANKS A MILLION!!!!

    Speaking of the zoo trip, we did make it there, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!  I understand some parents were sharing photos on the photo stream (an iphone app) all day long, but here are just a few photos from that field trip:
This little fox is apparently native to Iraq, but I wouldn't mind taking him home!
The kids love the train ride! It's our tradition to start off the field trip with this ride around the park.


These lions couldn't get enough sun, and neither could we!

This is my kind of snake...

The two female elephants are 42 years old.  Some of us got to watch them give the elephants a shower.

Some future zoologists

With all of the amazing wild animals around us, this teeny little duckling was a favorite of many Firsties!

Here are some little monkeys visiting the Gorilla exhibit
One of our monkeys hanging around!

Another couple of monkeys

And one more!


They had so much fun they were a little delirious on the ride home = )
***I'm sorry I don't have more photos of other students... I'm sure we will see those in the yearbook!
      We ended our busy week with a special going-away party (complete with Quinn's favorite desserts served on Steeler's plates and napkins, and even Steeler's colored balloons) for our wonderful friend Quinn. Quinn and his family are moving to Pennsylvania, and we couldn't be more jealous of that East Coast state!  They are getting such an awesome family, and we cannot wait for their first visit back!  I'm thinking we need to set up a Skype account in our classroom and Skype with them sometime in the future... = )  We wish them all the best as they begin on this new, exciting part of their life! 

    Next week, along with the week after, are short weeks.  There is no school this Friday, the 19th, and there will be no school on Monday the 22nd.  Teachers will be working on both days to prepare for next year's WASC visit.  We will start off this week with a fun visit from  children's author/illustrator Carol Heyer.  She is the author (and family friend of the Francis family) of the book Humphrey's First Palm Sunday, along with many others!  Check out her website here Carol Heyer .  She will speak to our class about writing and illustrating, and maybe even give the kids a brief drawing lesson!  I'll be sure to post photos about this next week!  

     This Thursday, the students will receive their assignments for their big Social Studies project on our country's national monuments.  Students will pick a national monument out of a hat.  All directions and details will be handed out on Thursday as well.  For those of you who have experienced this fun project with me in the past, you will notice several changes this year.  Look for those changes in the packet to be handed out this Thursday.  We can't wait to see what these Firsties have in store for us this year!  (Emphasis on Firsties, not Firsties Parents... hint, hint, hint) 

     Finally, we are actually out of hand wipes!!! We have plenty of cleaning wipes (Lysol, etc), but we are down to one box of hand wipes.  If each student could bring in two to three boxes, we should make it until the end of the year.  Please help us keep the germs down to a minimum! Thank you!!! 

Until then, enjoy the weekend, and we will see everyone on Monday! 

Take care!

~Ms. Hudson


 

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Things are really "In Shape" in First Grade!

     These Firsties are really becoming inundated with shapes this time of year!  We started our week with an extremely "technical" Meet the Masters art project.  Mrs. Marchis and Mrs. Alikian did a fabulous job directing the Firsties on this intricate cut-and-paste art project based around the work of the famous artist Jacob Lawrence. Here are some photos of the students working hard to listen to directions, cut shapes, and glue them using overlapping techniques:





     The kids also had a great time decorating Easter eggs by tracing some plane figures onto large paper eggs!  Here are a few of their festive eggs:


      Aren't they beautiful?!?!  We really have some amazing little artists!  Their coloring skills have improved so much since the beginning of the year- you would never guess this was the art of 1st Graders... more like 8th Graders!  We will be sure to send those eggs home with the kiddos this Thursday... don't forget!  Thursday is a half day, and we are having a special Washing of the Feet prayer service at 10am.  One lucky student from each class will be picked to have  their feet washed that day!  Please come join us before we are dismissed for our Easter Vacation!  


     Speaking of Easter, the Firsties also worked hard during Centers this week to make some "hand-made" Easter lilies... you'll get the pun once you take a close look at these beautiful flowers!  

     If you can't tell, the lily is actually their hand traced onto white paper... another precious keepsake brought to you by these wonderful Firsties! 

     This Wednesday is our Amazing Santa Barbara Zoo Field Trip!  I hope you all received an email filled with reminders about the trip and what to expect.  Just in case you were wondering, the Firsties will be placed into groups of 4-5 children supervised by one chaperone.  The chaperones will do their very best to make sure every child is safe and happy!  Children will not go anywhere alone- that includes bathroom breaks!  They will be buddied up whenever possible, and they will be following the "three second rule"- if you cannot reach your supervised chaperone within three seconds, you are too far and in big trouble!  This is my 7th year running this fabulous field trip, and my 9th time supervising a large group of young children to the SB Zoo (I used to run a summer camp for the Conejo Valley, which included 60 kindergarten through 2nd grade campers!)  This is a very safe zoo, in a beautiful location, and we are confident your kiddos will have a safe, happy, and educational experience!  Once again, don't forget to arrive early on Wednesday- preferably around 7:30... we are leaving at 7:55!  Thank you for trusting us with your precious children- we know they will have a wonderful time!  

One last reminder- if your family is entering our school's Peep Diorama Decorating Contest, please remember to bring in your entries tomorrow!!! 

I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

Take care!

~Ms. Hudson

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Top o' the weekend to ya!

     In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I had to "go green" in this blog!  What's everyone doing for this festive day?  Remember, the kids get to wear green-dress on Monday (as long as they are wearing tennis shoes and following the general school dress code, and of course, wearing GREEN!) Don't worry, no one will be pinching anyone in First Grade!  It's all for fun! Let's hope that all of the green clothing will inspire these little Firsties to have green cards all day! 
    
     We will be distributing report cards on Monday, so please look in your child's red folders for their report card.  Firsties know that they are not allowed to look at their report card before their parents, so be sure to spend a few moments talking about their report cards with them.  This report card is critical in your child's First Grade "career".  You can see where your child needs to improve before moving on to the Second Grade.  If you see any check marks, please take them seriously and work with your child in improving those areas.  Praise your child for all of their hard work, especially if you see any areas that have improved since last report card.  Finally, don't underestimate the power of a great tutor!  First Grade forms the important foundation for your child's future in reading.  This is the best time to truly support that foundation- better now than two, three, or four years down the road, when your child has more responsibilities after school (i.e. homework, sports practices, etc). {Cue teacher stepping down from soapbox} = )


     On a fun note, your child had a great time this week with some new 6th Grade friends!  Mrs. Johnson invited our Firsties to participate in a Mathletics Session this past Thursday.  The Firsties were partnered up with a 6th grader, then we split up half of the kids into the 6th Grade, and the other half stayed in our classroom.  The laptops were brought into the rooms, and the Mathletics fun began!  They had such a great time, Mrs. Johnson and I agreed that we will need to do that more often! Here are some fun photos from the kids that stayed in our classroom... I'll try and get the other half next time:

    
    Speaking of computers, Mr. Colvin's lesson this week lined up perfectly with our new Math Chapter... shapes! The kiddos used Microsoft Word to insert shapes onto a page, change the color of the shape, and change the color and width of the shape's outline.  These kids are on their way to becoming computer wiz's! Here are just a couple snapshots of these future Microsoft employees:



    Finally, we had a nice visit this week from Mrs. Schulte.  We invited her into our room to play a little Whack-a-Mole (or, as the kids kindly corrected me, Mole-in-the-Hole, but I like my old-school term better!)  She had a great time, and the kids were cheering her on!  Here are a few photos from that little event:

     Just in case your Firsty has mentioned that they haven't had a chance to play Whack-a-Mole yet, rest assure, yours truly will make sure they get their chance to play! With 35 players, we only have time to allow a few kids at a time to play.  We pull popcicle sticks out of the famous popcicle stick cup to see who gets to play each time.  Patience is definitely a virtue I get to instill in a lot of these Firsties, and they are definitely working on it day-by-day!  

     Well, that's going to be it for me right now- I have 35 report cards to finish up!  As you may have noticed, our report cards are hand-written (minus the comments portion)... don't worry! One day in the near future (definition of near is unclear) our technology-savvy school will have report cards completed on computers! I never thought the day would come for a Catholic School!  I believe the upper grades get to play with that option first, and then it will trickle down to us primary teachers- like I said- patience is a virtue!  

Until then, fill out those field trip permission slips as soon as possible, and have a wonderful weekend!

Take care! 

~Ms. Hudson 

   

Saturday, March 9, 2013

A Very Seuss-ical Week!

After this week, I can't help but feel like I am supposed to fill this blog posting with silly nonsense words and rhymes!  We celebrated Dr. Seuss like no other class has ever celebrated Dr. Seuss!  We read his books in the morning, we read his books at night, we read his books here and there, we read his books everywhere!  
We absolutely loved having so many guest readers popping in to read a good book to us... in fact, here are some photos of those good sports! Thanks again everyone for volunteering your time and talent!












 The kids were busy all week long with festive Seuss activities, especially during centers.  Here are some photos from Seuss centers:



We also took a vote on some of our favorite Dr. Seuss books, graphed the results, and compared and contrasted the numbers!  The winner was...
                                                                       GREEN EGGS AND HAM! 

Our week of Seuss ended with a messy, gooey Science project.  We played with Oobleck!  What's Oobleck? It is an equal mixture of corn starch and water (approximate).  We had to decided if it was a liquid or a solid.  We were pretty undecided, since it had both liquid properties and solid properties.  It felt wet, it could slosh around like a liquid, and it filled the container, but when we poked it or squeezed it, it felt like a solid.  Here is a photo of the gooey substance:
The final result- Oobleck is a Non-Newtonian Fluid, meaning that it has both liquid and solid properties.  And, it makes a pretty big mess, too! But mess = fun, so the kids were happy! 

On a slightly more serious note, the kids are beginning to learn how to say the rosary.  Each child was given a rosary "kit" to keep in their desks.  Since we are First Graders, we are only saying one decade a day.  The faithful Firsties have learned that rosaries are very special tools to be used for prayer, and we must treat the rosaries with respect.  We have also learned that the Blessed Virgin Mary is very fond of the rosary.  Here are some photos of the kiddos learning to pray the rosary:





   We will definitely be ready for the May Procession if we keep this up!  

Here's a quick glance at what the Firsties are learning these days:
Language Arts: We are working on reading and spelling with long vowels. We have covered a, e, i, and now we are moving onto o.
Religion: Learning to pray the rosary, learning about Lent, and soon, learning the Stations of the Cross
English: Using adjectives to describe nouns.  We have learned that an adjective can be a color, number, and descriptive words that can finish the sentence "It's so _____________!"
We have also finished writing our first complete friendly letters.  
Math: The kids are finishing up their unit on place value.  We will be tested on place value later this week, then we will move onto shapes!
Science: We are learning about animals and their habitats.  This week we will focus on animals' coverings. We need to be fully informed before we head to the zoo!
Social Studies: We have finished learning about presidents, and now we are moving onto American Symbols.  Please click here to view a live webcam of Bald Eagles right here in California at our Channel Islands: Bald Eagles


Speaking of the zoo, our trip is confirmed for March 27th, a Wednesday, to go to the beautiful Santa Barbara Zoo!  We will be selecting 7 lucky chaperones' names out of a hat this week. Each parent will be responsible for guiding and caring for their own group of Firsties.  This is an educational field trip that is worth points towards their Science grade.  If for some reason your child is unable to attend this field trip, please see me for information on how he or she will make up the work.  This will be our 7th field trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo, and we are positive it will be just as wonderful as all of our previous trips!  I realize some parents are concerned with the length of the drive to the zoo, but please rest assure, we will all be safe and sound together on the bus, enjoying the picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean, possibly spotting a dolphin or two!  The trip home is usually filled with some worn-out Firsties, many of them napping the whole way.  Please look for the zoo field trip forms sometime soon in your child's homework folder.  The cost per child of the field trip is unknown at this time, but it will include entrance to the zoo, a ride on the zoo train, and the cost of the bus.  Unfortunately, if you or your child has a membership to the zoo, the zoo does not allow you to use it since we will be entering the zoo before the zoo actually opens.  More details will be included on a letter sent home with the field trip form.  We can't wait! 

I hope everyone enjoys this sunny weekend!  I'm off to the happiest place in California (location name to be withheld)... 

= )

Take care!
~Ms. Hudson