Sunday, August 25, 2019

Grandfriends' Day

Click on the above Link to RSVP

Friday, September 6th

We would like to honor those important people in our lives who love us and help us grow.

Please plan to join your Maple Dale student(s) in his or her classroom at the following times:

All Day Kindergarten, AM Kindergarten -9:30-10:30
First Grade- 12:00-1:00
Second Grade- 10:40-11:40
Third Grade- 1:00-2:00
Fourth Grade- 2:30-3:30

Fun activities in the classroom and light refreshments will be served.
Parking will be available in the large parking lot at 9:25.

****On this day, eating lunch with your child will not be allowed due to limited space.
You are welcome to come another day to have lunch.****

Ms. Anzer's Permission


This is the letter asking permission to allow Ms. Anzer to work with your child and take video of her teaching the class throughout the semester. Please sign and return the attached form. If you need another copy please email me and I will send another copy home. 

MAP Testing!

Image result for computer testing

Just to let you know...we take the MAP assessment on Monday and Wednesday of this week. We will take the test in the morning and we plan to have a small snack halfway through. Make sure everyone gets a good night's sleep and great breakfast so we can show what we know!

We will take the reading test on Tuesday and the math test on Thursday. Students take the test on the laptops and use their headphones. They have been dying to use those headphones! Results from the MAP tests, along with my classroom observations and assessments, help us to make plans for what to teach your child next. Results from the first MAP tests are great for some kids, but might be a little off for other kids if they have difficulty using the computer. Don't worry, I take that into consideration if I see a child doing well in class, but not on the first MAP test. It is a piece of the picture.



If your child has not brought headphones yet,
please make sure they have some by Monday morning!


Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast!

And get a good night sleep!


Image result for testing sign




Curriculum Preview....



Be sure to mark your calendar for curriculum preview. It is Tuesday, August 27 at 6 PM. We will meet in Room 103. There are 2 sessions that repeat so you just need to attend one. This gives parents the opportunity to attend more than one session if you have more children at our school. Each session lasts approximately 25-30 minutes. This will give parents the opportunity to ask questions about first grade and take a closer look at the classroom and the curriculum. I hope to see you then!

Can't make it? I'll send anything you need to know home with the kids!

Superhero of the day!

We started our "Superhero of the Day" to get to know one and another! The students ask the superhero about their "powers" and questions about them! As you can see they take their role as a "superhero" very serious because these are their own stance as a hero. 
The superhero of the day is Mrs. Horner's helper for the day! Everyone will get a chance to be the superhero of the day and when everyone has had a turn we will have superhero of the week! 







2-D Shapes

We started learning about 2-D shapes! We had a lot of fun creating snakes and rockets with our shapes! 














Raz-Kids



Looking for books for your child to read? Your child can use our online reading program.

The username: khorner6
Password: Ask your child what their password. If they don't remember contact me. :)

If you can't login their password might be different and send me an email and I can let you know what their password is to be able to login.

I put all the students' names into our computer reading program that you can use at home.  I made estimates on what reading level everyone was on from last year's information, so if you find it is too easy or too hard for your child, email me and I can change it.  There is the opportunity to listen to a book online, then read it, then answer questions.

Some students love to just collect the stars for their spaceship or robot so you will want to monitor their work when they use it at home.  I ask that they listen to the story once, read it once or twice, then answer the questions.  If they are not doing well on the question portion, you may want to be sure they read it two times.

The letter in the folder should get your child started on using this program at home. I showed students the site and explained it to them. They tried it so they might remember their picture icon and can do it right away!

Many used it last year. I hope they will be super excited!  It can be used on a computer or iPad at home. The expectation is that they will listen to the story and read it at least once before answering the questions. Beginning readers should listen to the story and read it more than once. I think they will love choosing their own story, listening and reading, then taking the test.  Hope they will use it at home as another opportunity to read!

They can listen, read, and take a quiz

Here is the login page...See where the kid's login?

You can use the app too!

login screen
username: khorner6

Takes you to the class screen. The kids pick their
name and then enter their password.
Take a look!

These are the level reading books.

There is a reading room!

This is where they spend the stars they earn!

Here is where all the info is!


Thursday, August 22, 2019

Media Center Birthday Book...

Maple Dale Media Center          

Image result for kid reading


Please support the “Birthday Book” program at Maple Dale by allowing your child to donate a new library book in celebration of his or her special day! With your $10-$20 donation, your child or children may select a brand new book during their birthday month (summer birthdays will choose on their ½ birthday) from newly purchased titles.  A personalized bookplate will be placed in the book and a picture of your student with their book selection will be posted and sent home.  Your child will also be the first to check-out his or her choice! Feel free to email Mrs. Smith, smithni@sycamoreschools.org with any questions.

https://www.titlewish.com/1092685

Sunday, August 18, 2019

I promise...Kid's pictures...


 I promise that I will never post a child's picture if you do not want his or her picture to be on our blog. Just email me and let me know. Thanks!

Also, if you would like to see your child on our blog, but there is a certain picture that you would want me to remove, please email me and I would take it off immediately. Thank you!



Stick and Stone....Adopting a Friendship...


We are checking out this book. This is a great way to start our new year! 
Take a peek at the book here:




Handwriting Zoo...


We will start handwriting next week. This should be finished in the next few weeks before we start writing workshop. When writers make their letters automatically without thinking about the formation, they are able to concentrate on their message. This will be a great chance to review and clean up some of the things that our writers might need some support. Handwriting homework will come home soon. We wanted to give students plenty of time to play after school before homework came home.






We are Problem Solvers....


We will take a look at how to be a good problem solver during our Social Studies time. When you are in first grade, this is a great skill to be developing. There are so many personalities and we spend so much time collaborating with friends, that being able to solve problems, rather than cause problems,  is a wonderful life long skill!



This simple book will get our conversations started!




Check out the video below to see the short clip we will watch!