Late Winter Happenings

On February 17th, Jackson Heights Schools had Parent-Teacher Conferences.  I was happy to have 100% participation and enjoyed visiting with all my parents/grandparents.  My students are very fortunate to have such loving, caring people in their lives!  We are enjoying celebrating 4 birthdays in my class in March-Max, Jordan, Kayden, and Ellie.  We had Jodi Shupe, who is a Dental Hygienist, speak to the students recently about keeping their teeth healthy and clean.  I think we all learned a lot from her presentation.  We are reading stories in our reading series that teach us about how plants grow.  In Math we have been learning about Length, Telling Time, and Graphs and how to read them.  My "Shining Stars" are really looking forward to Spring and warmer temperatures after this long, cold Winter!

1st Grade Stars Shine for 100+ Days

On January 27th the K-2 classes celebrated the 100th Day of School!  My class started the day by learning a 100th Day Song and  making 100th Day hats.  In our TIER groups we read the story "I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words", then the kids estimated what they thought they could do in 100 seconds and performed that task.  In Math we read the book "100 Hungry Ants" and used linking cubes to count by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's, and 25.  Other activities included writing our numbers to 100 and working on 100th Day posters.  We had fun drawing pictures of what we might look like when we are 100, and receiving certificates to help us remember the day.  
In Reading we are excited to start our 1st hardback reader!  Recent topics in Math are understanding Subtraction, and Measurement.  Social Studies topics lately are Kansas Day, Presidents' Day, and the Winter Olympics.  We look forward to our Valentine Party!     

1st Grade Stars Shone Brightly in December

December was a busy month for us.  On the evening of December 16th the Kindergarten-6th graders presented a Music Concert for the community.  It was well-attended and hopefully the festive music put people in the Christmas spirit!  The very next day the K-1 classes enjoyed Polar Express Day.  The children came to school dressed in their pajamas and in train cars that they made at home.  Our train, made up of all the Kindergarten and 1st grade students, chugged through the halls of the grade school and then traveled over to the middle and high school.  We also read the book The Polar Express and did some crafts and activities.  In the afternoon we watched the Polar Express movie, drank hot cocoa and ate cookies. It was a memorable time for all! 
After a refreshing Christmas break we are getting back "in the swing" of school again.  Ava celebrated her 7th birthday on January 2nd and we started back to school on January 3rd.  We are learning about maps and globes in Reading, adding 10's and 1's in Math, and the U.S.A. in Social Studies.  We have begun taking Spelling Tests and are participating in the Pizza Hut Book-It Reading program.  We look forward to celebrating the 100th Day of School soon.  The year is zooming by!

JH Stars Have Fun Learning

October had been a busy month in our 1st grade class, and time is flying by!  In Writing we are working on a Persuasive piece, and we completed our Animal Acrostics.  We learned about Christopher Columbus and his explorations in Social Studies.  We continue to learn our Addition facts in Math, and are using the adding facts we know to learn about subtraction.  We have been reading and discussing how to show that we are Responsible at home and at school.  I enjoyed visiting with parents at Parent-Teacher Conferences.  My students are fortunate to have adults in their lives who care so much!  My students were VERY excited to start using i pads to practice their Sight Words.  The high school FFA provided a hay rack ride and pumpkin patch for the grade school classes.  We got to pick out a pumpkin for our class and decorate it.  We made a purr-fect cat. Another exciting time was our Halloween party and parade.  Thanks to all the parents who contributed to our fun party!  We also celebrated 2 birthdays in October-Mariah and Dillon.  As you can see, it has been a fun-filled month!

1st Grade Hollywood Stars

We are off to a great start in 1st grade!  On August 15th, 16 eager students walked through my door.  It is always so much fun for them to see their classmates again and open those new school supplies!  We had an assembly on the first day of school where teachers were given the Star Treatment! Students new to our school were also introduced.
We have had 2 Birthday Stars since the school year began-Jace and Katie.  We have also had individual pictures taken.  On September 18th, we took a Field Trip to Mrs. Baldridge's farm.  We got to see and pet many calves, lambs, goats, donkeys, rabbits, alpacas, and even a tortoise named Matilda!  Mrs. Baldridge also told us about their Aoudad who can jump an 8 foot fence.  We had a wonderful time "down on the farm"! 
I look forward to a great year with my Star Students!

Springtime at JH Ranch

We are so happy to have Spring arrive! My students also enjoyed Easter with family and friends. I heard many stories about Easter celebrations, get-togethers, and fun! During Spring Break, we were sad to have Ethan move to a different district. He was our friend and we miss him! On April 11, we got to experience Body Venture. It is a hands-on program designed to help students learn about their bodies so they can make healthy lifestyle choices. There were 9 Body Venture stations that students visited-- the Brain, Mouth, Stomach, Small Intestine, Heart, Lungs, Bones, Muscles, and Skin. JH High School students did an excellent job of leading each of the sessions. I know that my class learned a lot and had a great time! Many of my students were able to attend Literacy Night on April 16th and perform 3 Western-style Nursery Rhymes. After their performance, there were many activites families could choose to do including Western crafts, games, and stories. The evening ended with prize drawings! Yee-haw! We recently celebrated Dawson's birthday, and we have many more upcoming April birthdays in our class to enjoy. We are very excited about our upcoming Field Trip to the Kansas Museum of History!

J.H. 1st Graders Lasso a Lot of Learning

We have had a busy few weeks here at the JH 1st Grade Ranch. We celebrated Michaela's birthday on Feb. 27th. I have enjoyed visiting with my students' parents at Parent-Teacher Conferences. It is evident that the children in my class are very much loved. We have enjoyed helping the 4th graders get "pumped up" for their State Assessment tests by bringing them treats. In class lately we have- >been reading and learning about plants >passed more than 380 Accelerated Reading tests as a class with 92% accuracy >been participating in the Pizza Hut Book-It program since January >learned @130 Sight Words >been learning our Addition Facts to 18 and have started learning Subtraction >learned to tell time to the hour and half hour >written a biography >been studying American Indian Homes of the past in Kansas Of course, we are all looking forward to Spring Break!