Special Guest

We had a visit from a former first grade teacher, Mrs. Marge Jardon, this morning. She shared wonderful information about Sacajawea's journey. Mrs. Jardon made a "pouch" for everyone to keep souvenirs in from their "journey" today with Sacajawea. Here are a few photos.

Pictures

Here are pictures from our Mystery Reader- Jack's uncle Scott.

We also had a visit from the Frog Room (pre- k class) on Tuesday. We showed them two stories on storylineonline.net. Then the first graders read them some of the books they have written. All the students really enjoyed our visitors. 

Student Spotlight/ reminders

Hello Families.

• The Pizza Party has switched from the 15th to the 13th. The Limo riders will not miss our pizza party at 2pm. However, they might miss some of the movie Polar Express.
• Cookie Dough Pick Up Day is Wednesday the 14th  3:30pm-6:30pm. (any cookie dough left after 6:30pm will be donated)
• Tomorrow is an Early Release day.

Mark your Calendar:

• Adopt-A-Family will continue through Dec. 9th. This week your child may bring in personal care items, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, etc.
• This Friday is Wacky Hair Day. Please send in $1 on Friday, and your child can come to school with some crazy hair. All money will be donated to our adopt-a-family.
• Concord's Character Council is collecting new and gently used children's books this week. All books will be donated to Children's Hospital.
• The Scholastic Book Fair is from Nov. 30th- Dec. 3rd. We will go as a class on Thursday to preview the books and generate a wish list. We will go back on Friday to purchase books if the students bring money. If you would like your child to purchase something please send it in an envelope with their name on it and how much they can spend/ or if you expect change back.
• The Winter Festival is Dec. 3rd.
• Dec. 7th Early Release
• Dec. 14th Authors Cafe' (our classroom 2-3pm- be on the look out for the invitation tomorrow or Thursday)
• Dec. 15th Pizza Party (we won this from selling the most entertainment books)
• Dec. 16th Winter Parties 2-3pm, last day before the winter break
  

Student Spotlight

Sam is in our Spotlight this week.

Student Spotlight

Brrrrr!!

"Brrrr" said the children in Mrs. Boyd's Class when they came in from recess.

Please make sure your child has the proper coat on for outdoor recess each day. They are outside before noon each morning for 20-25 minutes. Even though the temperature may get warm, it is November and it doesn't typically warm up until the afternoon. Your child needs their name on all of their winter gear for safe keeping.
Thank you for your help!

Reminders

Mark your Calendar:

• 11/9-12/9 Adopt-A-family (be on the lookout for types of items to send in)
• 11/11 Wear Red, White and Blue, Veteran's Day Assembly
• 11/ 14  Bring in your "Lucky Duck" coupons to receive your ducks.
• 11/16 Bring your "Lucky Duck" coupons to receive your ducks.
• 11/16 Early Release
• 11/18 Bring in your "Lucky Duck" coupons to receive your ducks.
• 11/21 Money and Order forms due (Cookie Dough Fundraiser)
• 11/23-11/25 Thanksgiving Break

I added a few new links. Encourage your child to check these out!

Student Spotlight / reminders

Paulina is in our spotlight this week. Here is a short video clip of Paulina.

Paulina would like the class to try to wear red on Wednesday.

Fun with Subtraction

The students really enjoyed working with our interactive board today during math time. Here is a video of one child when it was her turn. All the students had a chance to work at the board. This particular activity is called a flip chart. The students use these flip charts on the board with "pens"during literacy centers and during math centers. They love discovering literacy and math concepts this way!

Fall Festival Pictures

We had a wonderful day on Monday! There were so many fun things in our schedule! The children did a wonderful job displaying self- control on such a fun filled day! Way to go! 

Thank you to all the parents who planned the wonderful party, helped out with the party by sending items in, and coming to the party. Thank you to the parents who came to the pumpkin run as well! The children enjoyed seeing you there too.

Fall Festival Monday

Hello Families,
Our first Fall Festival at Concord is Monday during the school day. Here is how the day will look for Mrs. Boyd's class:
10am - Assembly
11:05-11:50 Lunch and recess
12:05-12:25 Pumpkin Run
12:25-12:45 Concord Pavilion for Music/ Popcorn
1:15 Change into costumes
1:40- Parade
2:00-3:00 Classroom Party

Your child will need to bring their costume and change into it in the afternoon. Please do not send your child in their costume. It would be a good idea to review the guidelines for costumes. The note was sent home last week.

Dates to remember:
November 1st- pj day (wear tennis shoes for recess and PE)
November 11th - Veteran's Day Assembly, Adult Crazy Bowl
November 16th- Early release
November 23-25- Thanksgiving Break, No school

Pizza

Woo Hoo! We won a pizza party for selling the most Entertainment books! Way to go students and families. We all appreciate everyone working so hard to sell those books! I will let you know when we will have the pizza party. We can make an afternoon of it!

Go Cards!

The students made "Fred Bird" visors today! Hopefully their Cardinal Spirit will help the Cardinals win!

Student Spotlight

Creating a class book

Student Spotlight this week

reminders/ student spotlight

• Tomorrow will be Cardinal's Spirit Day. Wear your Cardinals red.
• Please return the conference sign up sheet as soon as possible.
• Friday will be a Concord Spirit Day.
• On Saturday, October 8th, the Crestwood/Sunset Hills Rotary Club have put together a bike ride for Lindbergh elementary students. It will be from 8-12 on Grants Trail.

Student Spotlight started this week. Your child will get a note home the Friday before their spotlight week. Please enjoy a short video clip of our first student spotlight. 

Few reminders

Hello,
We have the laptops on Wednesday afternoons. Last Wednesday they learned how to login to the computer. Today they learned how to login to our class blog page. They will use the links on the left side of the blog page in the classroom to get to the websites. It would be wonderful if you child can practice this at home too. They can go to the blog website (boydsclass.blogspot.com) and find the links. These links have some great literacy and math activities for your child to do for review. Thank you for your support!

Check your child's folder for a conference letter. Please fill it out and return it to me as soon as you can. Thanks again for your help!

Center Time Pictures

Hello,
I wanted to tell you about center time. The students are in the swing of things. I am very proud of them. I meet with several reading groups a day and so does Ms. Marting. Your child will have small group reading instruction with the teachers and they also have independent reading time throughout the school day. The most important thing about center time is that it is a time to help the children become better readers. They enhance reading, writing skills along with word building skills. You will see their work come home as we finish a center rotation. The rotations last for 10 days and then they start new activities and continue the rotation all over again. Many activities are review concepts, so they may do it several times.

 The spelling test is tomorrow. The children did a very nice job last week. We will start the dictation part of the test next week. They are still getting used to the test taking procedures. Please make sure your child is using the tic tac toe homework with the blue list when appropriate.

Your child will bring home a YELLOW packet with guided reading level book titles. Your child's independent level (instructional reading level is used in the classroom) will be written on the top. You may use this as a guide to help get "just right books" for your child to read.

 Families, please help us fill the shelves of the St. Louis Area Foodbank Sept. 26-30.  Lindbergh Schools and the Lindbergh Retired Educators are asking each student and staff member throughout the district to donate one nonperishable food item.  Did you know that 39% of the more than 57,000 people served by the St. Louis Area Foodbank are children?  Together, we can help feed our neighbors and provide more than 6,000 food items.  Our collection point at Concord is the lobby.  Let's show our Concord Flyer spirit and support this wonderful drive! Canned items may be brought in starting on Monday, Sept. 26th.

Dates to remember:
Pink Out is tomorrow- Wear pink! (or Lindbergh colors)
School Pictures 9/28
No School 9/30

Hello Families,



We have had a nice 4 day week. The children started learning the routines of centers this week. They have done a wonderful job learning and following the expectations of center time. I am so proud of them! I have taken several pictures that I will put in a slide show. The students also enjoyed having Ryan’s grandpa come read to the class as a Mystery Reader. If you would like to be a Mystery Reader please let me know and I will get you scheduled.


The students will start spelling test next week. They will have five words from our mini lesson in the classroom and then they choose five words from their sight word list. In your child’s planner are the 100 sight words that they need to read and spell correctly. I have highlighted the ones they spelled correctly on the beginning of the year assessment. Your child will choose their five sight words from the list in the back of their planner. They will choose words that are not highlighted. They will take the test on Friday mornings. Anytime their homework says to practice sight words they can choose from the blue paper that will come home with their words for the week. You will see the blue paper for the first time on Monday.


Student Spotlight will start the week of the 19th.
Please remember that scholastic book orders are due the 16th if you wish to order books. I will not submit the entire book order until after the deadline each month. So you may want to remind your child too. Sometimes they expect the books right after you placed the order.


Dates to Remember:
9/9 Bingo Night
9/14 Early Release
9/16 Scholastic Orders Due
9/23 All District Night (football game)
9/28 Be There Day/ School Pictures


Birthdays for August and September

Jeremy- 8/6
Sam 8/12
Maggie 8/20

Isabelle 9/13

Thank you, as always, for your support!
Mrs. Boyd

Hello Families!

I just wanted you to know that I will be using the blog as our main way to communicate. I tried using just Facebook, but I prefer the blog. I can use the blog like a newsletter format and all parents have access to the blog. You will still get informed when I have a new post. You will get notified from your child's planner, Facebook and emails. If you would like to become a follower of the blog please feel free to do that too. I am sorry to switch things up a bit, but I think this format will be best for all of us. I will have several sections on the blog: links, dates to remember, info about our week or day, slide shows of pictures and video of the students for student spotlight. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support. Stay tuned for our first "official" post later in the week.

Welcome to First Grade

Hello Families!

I am so excited to meet everyone tomorrow night. It is going to be an exciting school year. There are so many wonderful things your child will be learning this year. Please feel free to become a follower of this blog so you can get updates when there is a new post. You may also "like" us on Facebook if you have a Facebook account.

Thanks,

Mrs. Boyd

End of the Year

Hello Families,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for a fabulous school year. The students were wonderful and we had a great year of learning, laughter, great memories and great friendships. I appreciate your support as parents and our partnership played a big role in your child's success.

Please be sure to use the yellow resource packet this summer. The book lists are very helpful for choosing books that are just right for your child. Level J or lower should be a just right book for your child. Level J or higher may be just right as far as reading the words, but they may have difficulty comprehending the story or content of the book. If you can keep up with one thing over the summer, it would be to make sure your child reads EVERY DAY. It would be wonderful if you can have them write a response in a journal about the books they read as well!

Feel free to share thoughts and ideas about your summer vacation under my summer posts. We would love to hear from you. Your child my email me over the summer or during the next school year too. I would love to know how the transition is working out for everyone. 

Thanks again for everything. Have a great summer and good luck next year!
Love,
Mrs. Boyd:)

Thank You

Thank you to all the families who donated new items in honor of Jacob. The items are being shipped this week. Thank you Mrs. Dragan!The students enjoyed making pictures for the children to ship with the items. Thanks again for your help!

Fun Day is Thursday! Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for outside and has tennis shoes on. Your child needs to come to school with sunscreen on, a hat and water bottle. Our fun day activities will begin at 12:30pm and continue until 3pm. Thank you in advance for your help!

Your child will start bringing things home next week. I will try to send a little at a time so their backpacks are not to heavy.

Service Learning

Hello,
The students have displayed a big interest in helping Jacob and his family since the last blog update. Samantha's mom so graciously offered to find out some information for us about donations in Jacob's honor at MD Anderson in Houston. We found out that they accept donations for the children who are being treated there. The items do need to be brand new. The accept stuffed animals, puzzles, crayons, markers, games and small toys. The students will also create cards to go with the new items to add a personal touch. If you and your child are interested in donating a small new item we will accept donations through next Friday. Since school is getting close to the end, we are limited on time. After the 13th the items will be shipped to MD Anderson in Houston. Jacob and his family are very appreciative of all the donations and this would be a great way to pass this on in his honor. If you would like to learn more about MD Anderson please feel free to click the link. www.mdanderson.org


First Grade Cafe'-  May 9th, 2011- 9:30-10:30
The students are looking forward to reading their books with you on Monday morning. The students will be sitting at different tables in the room. This will allow for the parents to listen to their child read more of their own books. There will be juice, milk and donuts to snack on while you read together.


Thank you for all the "tokens" of appreciation this week. The students are so sweet!
Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Hello.
The character word this month is SERVICE. The students have done many things throughout the school year to show service. The students have shown a lot of service just in the past two weeks. They became very interested in helping Jacob, a first grader in another class, who is suffering from brain cancer. The whole school is doing many things to help raise money to support Jacob and his family. The entire class has brought money in to donate to Jacob's cause, but I would also like to recognize the students who raised money for Jacob:
Mia- selling bracelets, headbands, pictures and other items. She raised about 14 dollars.
Drew- making banana bread and selling it to neighbors - raised and donated a total135.00 dollars.
Kirsten- Lemonade stand and selling "duck tape" accessories- raised about 20 dollars.
Rachel- her Girl Scout troop is making items for Jacob and other children that are in the hospital.


I am very thankful to all of the students who are helping out by donating money or raising money to help Jacob and his family. We are doing a wonderful job showing service and caring for others.

Other News:
Well, I sure have a room full of writers in here. The students love writing non fiction stories. They love writer's workshop and get so disappointed if it's not in our schedule for the day. I think they have accomplished the most important goal for becoming a good writer- to enjoy writing! I am so proud of them. I am looking at the calendar to try and pick a date to have one more "First Grade Cafe'" so parents can come listen to them read their stories. The students loved sharing their books with you.

Many of you have asked me over the course of the school year where will I teach next year. I officially found out that I will be teaching at Concord Elementary School. I will continue teaching first grade. The district wide activities that are coming up in May will help us all with the transition.

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend.

Slide show

We had our class visit from Mr. Politte last Monday. The kids had a great time. Here is a slide show of pictures from his visit.

March already!

Hello Families!

March is going by so fast. We are all looking forward to Spring Break. I hope everyone has a great time next week. The students will have a homework packet. The packet includes the reading log and one writing activity. It is not a problem if you child is unable to complete the packet. I know many of you may be very busy.


Many of you may be wondering who is STINK? I am reading a chapter from the Stink series each day after lunch. The class loves listening to Stink. He is a really funny second grader and goes through many silly experiences in the books. Ask your child about STINK!


Above is a picture of a few samples of personal narratives. The students have finished writing their personal narratives. They did a great job. I can't wait for you to read them, they are so cute. We are really on a "roll" with our stories during writer's workshop. They are all doing a good job with the writing process. Ask your child about what they are writing during writer's workshop.

Since "Opening Day" is March 31st, we are going to do some fun math activities connected to baseball. I thought what better way to kick off some baseball acivities than to have a professional baseball player come in and share his experiences with us. Mr. Politte, Drew's dad, will come in on March 21st in the afternoon to do some fun baseball activities with us. So, please have your child wear their Cardinal gear/ red and white on Monday, March 21st.

March 22nd is the day that we go to the zoo. I have technology training all day on the 23rd. Please see the note that went home today and return it by Friday. We will arrive at the zoo by 9:45am. We will walk around for about 45 minutes. Then the students will eat a small snack (they bring from home) and then go to a "class" from 11-11:45am. After the class is over we will load the bus and return to school. The students will eat lunch shortly after getting back to school. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather on that day. Thanks in advance for your help!

Mark your calendar:

Spring Break- March 14th-18th

Classroom visit from Mr. Politte/ Cardinal gear- March 21st

Zoo Field Trip- March 22nd

Mrs. Boyd gone all day for Technology training- March 23rd

Conferences - March 24th

Half day- March 25th

Truman Exhibit Opens at the History Museum 11am-2pm- March 26th

Spring Concert- March 27th 2pm LHS

Updates

The students had a great time at Bear Day last week. They looked so cute in their pj's and with their bears.

Here are a few reminders for February:

2/9 Early release
2/11 Valentine's Day Party/ wear red
2/11 Family Trivia Night (not too late to sign up)

2/18 Six Flags Reading Logs Due (late forms not accepted)
2/21 No school
2/23 Spring Pictures
2/25 Prism (4-8pm)

Slide Show

Welcome Back

Welcome back! It sure sounds like everyone enjoyed their winter break. The students enjoyed sharing information about their break during our morning meeting today. We are now getting back to the swing of things and starting a new chapter in math, making writing goals, and meeting the new CSR (reading teacher) that comes in our room each day to pull guided reading groups.

We want to welcome Mrs. Delassus to our classroom each morning. She will pull 2 groups a day and I pull 3 groups a day for guided reading. The students are doing a great job with their reading skills and making sure they are reading for meaning. I am very proud of them.

Speaking of reading, the Six Flags reading logs are coming home today. Please use the books they read for their homework reading log for the homework and the Six Flags log. The students read so much each week, there is no reason that all of the kids can't earn a free pass to Six Flags. I just need your help in getting the yellow log completed and returned to me by February 18th. Thank you in advance for doing this.

Thank you to all the parents who planned and helped with the Winter Party. The students had a great time and I appreciate all of your support.

Report cards will come home on Friday along with some writing samples and the books that they wrote during the first semester.