Dear Parents,

The firsties were a very chatty bunch today…whew!  However, despite their chattiness, we did get a lot done today!  We took our first memory test (The kids come up to my desk and say their memory to me,  which is somewhat private and hopefully not TOO intimidating!) and we took our first “real” spelling test.  Thank you for helping your kiddo prepare for these tests! 

Today we learned what a noun is…..ask your firstie about it!

Quiz them in the car, quiz them at the dinner table, quiz them at home!  It doesn’t take long and it reinforces what we are learning at school…..which is very helpful and beneficial! 

We are practicing and review writing our letters (today was b and e) and ask your firstie the trick I gave them to remember the difference when you write a lowercase b and a lowercase d (A lowercase b looks like a mama with a baby bump!).  

Monday, we will be talking a little bit about remembering what happened on September 11^th.  I brought it up today and told them they are allowed to wear red, white, and blue on Monday (The whole school is invited to wear red, white, and blue).  We will read two books about September 11^th.  The first one is called “Fireboat”, which is about the John J. Harvey that was the largest, fastest, shiniest fireboat of its time, but by 1995, New York City didn't need old fireboats anymore. So the Harvey retired, until a group of friends decided to save it from the scrap heap. Then, one sunny September day in 2001, it was called upon to help again.  It is a true story!  The second book is called “The Man Who Walked Between the Towers”.  Watch the video clip below (and I am sorry for the profanity), to learn about this!  We don’t watch the video, just read the children’s book….also a true story.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+man+who+walked+between+the+towers&view=detail&mid=7A79E6D176FCCA653AF27A79E6D176FCCA653AF2&FORM=VIRE

I will also bring in my pictures of Ground Zero. I have a friend who lives and teaches in Queens and I visited her the summer after September 11^th, and really, it just looked like a huge construction site.  But the cross that was found, formed from the beams that had melted together when the towers fell, was on display in the middle of all the site, and I was able to get some pictures.  I don’t go into much detail about this awful day, but we DO discuss it as it is a part of our country’s recent history.  

Don’t forget that we are singing this Sunday, at the 10:30 service.  Students need to be here by NO LATER than 10:15 to warm up and practice and we will be meeting in the basement.  See you then!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday! I hope you are all having a GREAT week!

Our morning routine when the students come into our classroom is; they should turn in their homework into their numbered mailbox, check and make sure they have at least three sharpened pencils (and then sharpen a few if need be), fill up their water bottle, use the restroom, and if all of these things are completed, they may get a book and read at their seat (next week I will be introducing “Morning Tubs”, which I will explain later)….ALL before the school begins at 8:00am.  We don’t have a bell system here so instead, the older students will start announcements, pledges, and prayers pretty much right away at 8:00, and that is how we gage our start time. 

A few firsties are having a hard time getting into our morning routine, and I am hoping that the more that we do it, the more it will become automatic.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I need YOUR help!  Please talk to your kiddo, and review what our morning routine is.  Ask them questions about it because the more that it is spoken about and practiced, the better!  

After the announcements, pledges, and prayers, then we go to the back of the room, sit on the carpet,  and talk about the calendar and weather and we are also tallying how many days of school we have had so far.  Then I take prayer requests and I have to tell you….more than any other class I have ever had….this class is so THANKFUL!  Instead of prayer requests, most will ask me to thank God for something…whether that is creating us, giving us food and drink, giving us a family to be a part of, giving us homes or shelters, even thanking God for colors!  Then we spend a little time in prayer and we also confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness.  Before we get up to start the rest of our day, each firstie will give another firstie a blessing on their hand…..I love starting our day in this way!  

Yesterday we wrote our “rainbow words” for the first time.  “Rainbow words” are our spelling words the kiddos trace with three different colors.  Each word gets traced in red, yellow, and blue (primary colors!).  The more and different ways that we can practice our words, the better! 

Tonight’s homework includes reading the story “What is a Pal?” in their hard-covered reading book (Journeys).  Please have your firstie read the story to you.  The story has mostly words that have a short “a” in them or are words that we have practiced in class.  Ask your firstie about what their tracer finger is!

Memory test and spelling test tomorrow.

Have a great night!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

Hello! Welcome to a new week (because, really….doesn’t it feel like Monday?!?) and a new month!  We are slowly starting to get into the swing of things....how are things going at home?  Is it getting any easier to get your firstie up for school?  

Here are some “jitter glitter” pictures from the beginning of school!  I had one firstie tell her mom that she slept SO WELL, because of the “jitter glitter”!  ;) I love that!

We are reviewing on how to write our letters of the alphabet (uppercase and lowercase) and today we practiced writing our spelling words.  Do you see our little helper that we use to space out our words correctly? 

He’s SPACE MAN……!  And his only job is to help firsties put space between their words!  Ask your kiddo about him and what he is used for.  

In Religion, we have been talking about Creation.  Your kiddo brought home bags that have little pictures that they colored.  Each picture represents something that God created on particular days.  I told the kids to quiz you to see if YOU remember what God created on what day.   Remember, it only took God 6 days and He rested on the 7^th day…. (Even though there are 9 pictures….). How’d you do? 

Then the firsties were asked to draw their favorite thing that God created.  I saw some pictures of flowers, moms, pets, beaches, etc…everyone had something different!  

Just a reminder about dress code! Please double check with the parent handbook (which is on our school’s website www.trinitymonitor.org  or if you aren’t sure, you can always ask me!  Thank you!

Tomorrow we will be having our first prayer partner activity.   

Did you send in your firstie’s information sheet?  Again, this is just for reference and no gifts for the prayer partner are required.  As soon as they have all been turned in, they will then be dispersed to the prayer partners.  Please watch for the information sheet to come home soon.

Have a great evening!

Blessings!

Miss Gallagher