Welcome! If you are looking for information about first grade at New Boston Central School, you've come to the right place... for now. Please note, however, that we will be using a different platform for the 2022-2023 school year. This site will not be updated, but it gives you an idea of how I roll. If your child has been assigned to my class, please email me! I'm looking forward to getting-to-know my new first grade families!
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Hello Friendly Fox Families,
The end of our school year has been so much fun! Our field day on Friday was fantastic - perfect weather, and lots of good sportsmanship! Today your children brought home a LOT of their school supplies. DON'T CHUCK EVERYTHING! Your student can use many of those supplies to practice skills over the summer. There is a writing journal with plenty of room left and a math journal with pages to do for practice. Also, your child has his or her very own "private office" which will be a wonderful resource when doing homework in second grade! Tomorrow your child will bring home his or her First Grade Portfolio! We have been working hard on them for the past week. Students are creating memory pages with lots of pictures from our school year. They also have comparison pages, comparing their work in September to the work they can produce now. Please look at this portfolio with your child. Notice the progress and praise your child for his or her growth. That's what school is all about! All of the Friendly Foxes have learned and grown so much this year. It's very exciting! The Friendly Foxes will always have a special place in my heart!!! 💖 Yesterday an order form went home for class T-Shirts. If you already sent it back in, great! If not, and if you want to order your child a T-Shirt, please send the form and money in on Monday, May 16th. Thank you!!!
This week we candled our chicken eggs to check on their progress. It was so magical. We could see eyes, blood vessels, and even movement. We read about the chicken life cycle this week, and we learned about oviparous animals. Ask your child what oviparous means! In math, we worked on fractions - 1/2 and 1/4, and we continued our study of shapes. (Students brought home their model Earths today - a 3D shape called a sphere.) We continue to work on our efficiency when it comes to solving basic addition and subtraction problems as well. In our literacy program this week, we read stories about people who help us. One of the stories was about a girl who communicates with sign language. The Friendly Foxes each learned how to sign their own name. It was so fun! Finally, the big writing assignment of this week was to write a letter to someone who helps you. Students who wrote to family members have their letters in their folders. Some students wrote to former or current teachers or fellow students, so their letters were already delivered. All the letters were very heartfelt and showed just how much first graders appreciate people who help them. We only have 22 days left of first grade, and the weather outside is giving some of us summer brain. Please talk with your children about making the most out of these last few weeks. I'm not done teaching yet! There's a lot we can do in 22 days! Students need to come to school each day rested, fed, and ready to learn. They need to continue their safe, respectful, and responsible bobcat behavior. We've got this! 💪 Today we had a great tree-planting trip! The students were all safe, respectful, and responsible. We all loved getting our hands dirty, meeting the Forestry Commission volunteers, and helping our community. We learned about deciduous versus evergreen trees this week. Ask your child about it!
We did our spelling tests outdoors with sidewalk chalk today, and everyone did a great job! In case you haven't heard, we put chicken eggs in our incubator this week!! We have started learning about the life cycle of a chicken, and we expect our chicks to hatch the week of May 23rd. A big thank you to the Hillman family for donating fertilized eggs. These chicken life cycle lessons are part of a bigger unit of study about farm animals and their young. As a culminating activity for our farm animal unit, we will be visiting Carriage Shack Farm in Londonderry on June 1st. More info will come along for that exciting end-of-year field trip! Wishing all of you moms a fantastic Mother's Day! Thank you for all that you do to help your children be the best learners they can be! We did a lot of reviewing and assessing this week, and we focused on Earth Day. We learned how to be "planet protectors" by reducing our use of water and electricity and reusing or recycling materials. We also created 2d and 3d models of the Earth. Ask your child about it!
This week, students also learned about simple things they can do to improve their mood. If you're not in the right zone for learning, or you're just feeling blah, try some of these ideas: drink water, get some rest, do something creative, and/or spend some time outside ("green time, not screen time"😉). I hope you all have a wonderful vacation week next week! We have had a fun-filled couple of weeks! Last week we spent time learning about how sounds are made. We played with musical instruments, experimented with sound-effects, and created stories about sounds. This week we were focused on how things get built. We read stories about bridges, yurts, and boats. Students completed a fun STEM challenge - build a boat that will float and hold the weight of ten pennies. They worked with partners and used tin foil, styrofoam, tape, etc, to build their boats. I was so proud of how well the students collaborated, listening to and valuing each other's ideas. It was awesome!
Students made mini-bunny-baskets, and each student decorated one egg to keep in his or her basket. We used REAL eggs, and we blew the insides out! I poked holes in the top and bottom of each egg, and then students (just the ones who dared to try!) blew into one hole and watched the yolk and egg white squirt out of the other hole. The decorated eggs were very delicate, so some students ended up with cracks or breaks. These things happen. 😊 I hope you all have a happy Easter weekend!!! What a week! Our Show and Tell reward on Monday (and Tuesday) was awesome. Students did a great job with their presentations, and we all got to know each other a little bit more. My Show and Tell was my pet turtle, Duke. He is staying in the classroom for the rest of the school year as our class pet! Duke is a Mississippi Map turtle. He loves watching the kids just as much as they love watching him! The Book Fair and Read-A-Thon went smoothly. I was very proud of the Friendly Fox's behavior! They were patient and respectful when visiting the Book Fair, and they read THE ENTIRE TIME during the Read-A-Thon. Way to go, guys!
We worked on writing animal reports this week, and we made salt dough sculptures of the animals that we researched. We will be painting our sculptures next week. The Friendly Foxes are at their best when they've got everything they need. Please send in a water bottle for your child each day, and either send in a snack or pre-order a snack. Thank you!!! Hopefully you checked out the report card that was sent last Friday. Hopefully you talked with your child about the report too. The texts that we are reading during the last trimester of first grade are challenging. Please devote time for reading EVERY SINGLE DAY at home. Your child will benefit if you make reading a daily habit. 👍 By now you should have received a digital copy of your child's report card. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's progress.
We had a fun week, focusing on what we can see in the sky. On Tuesday, we had a bald eagle swoop down over the playground during recess! It was so cool! We did cloud observations and created cotton cloud pictures, and we even did a raincloud experiment! Next week will be an exciting one! First of all, the kids earned another Rock Jar reward!!! The Friendly Foxes have chosen a Show & Tell Day as their reward for good behavior. On Monday, March 28th, students may bring in one or two small things to show us and tell us about. Students will be expected to tell us why they chose what they did and what makes it special to them. If your child wants to Show & Tell about something that doesn't fit into a backpack, such as a pet, grandparent, or a tree that he or she climbs in the backyard - no worries! Just take a picture or video and post it on Seesaw! Next week is also our Read-A-Thon and Book Fair. We will participate in the Read-A-Thon on Thursday during our regular library time. Please send any donations in your child's folder. We will visit the Book Fair on Tuesday, and students will be able to fill out a wish list. We will go back for a visit on Thursday to make any purchases that students want to make. This week we finished up Unit 6 in our math program. All students are becoming more fluent with their addition and subtraction facts! We were able to get outside for some science and spelling this week. We practiced our spelling words with sidewalk chalk, and we did some fun shadow activities! We worked hard on creating "How To" flipbooks. Be sure to check out your child's work! Students were also introduced to one of my favorite series of books - Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. We have been devouring Frog and Toad stories all week! Of course, St. Patrick's Day was the highlight of the week. We had a lot of fun. We made our own little leprechauns and made houses for them. We also made fruit loop rainbows. Check out Seesaw for pictures!
We had a fantastic week! The students have done a great job with our new lunch routine. We have even been complimented as having the cleanest tables at the end of the lunch period! They have also been showing maturity in the classroom, listening respectfully and being patient. Way to go, Friendly Foxes!
The Reading Challenge is just the push we needed to get really excited about reading. These Friendly Foxes have been reading up a storm! They are encouraging each other and chatting about the books they are reading. It is so exciting to see. 🥰 We did a lot of work with place value this week, to help solidify the students' understanding of multi-digit numbers. In the classroom, we use Base-Ten Blocks to build numbers. ("Longs" are worth 10, and "cubes" are worth 1, so to build the number 45 you would need 4 longs and 5 cubes.) For our Wild Wednesday time this week, we did some wild base-ten math. We went outside and practiced building numbers, but we used sticks for longs and hemlock cones for cubes! This could be done at home too... it's a fun way to practice math! We also finished up our number scrolling this week. Students took home their scrolls today. Ask your child about it! We started a science unit about the sky. We learned about the phases of the moon, and today some students took home their mini-moon books. Today we did a Start-Projector activity. We did this activity to help explain why we cannot see stars in the daytime. Students poked holes in the bottom of a cup in the shape of the big dipper, and then they used flashlights to shine light through the holes to create "stars" on their desks, the floor, or the walls. With the lights out in the classroom, we could see the stars! But if we took another flashlight and shined it onto the stars, pretending it was the light from the sun, the stars disappeared! Find time to look up at the night sky with your child. We are so lucky that we do not have much light pollution in our town. Our sky is beautiful! I hope you all had a nice vacation week. I did lots of sleeping, reading, hiking, and skiing. It was wonderful!
Tomorrow there is NO SCHOOL for children! Come on down and vote! Today we started a special Reading Challenge. When a student reads an entire book here at school, he or she can add a sticker to a cool BINGO chart hanging outside of our classroom. It was so exciting to see the enthusiasm for reading today!! The whole school is participating in this challenge, which will culminate with a special celebration in June. On Wednesday, we will start eating lunch in the cafeteria. Today we ate our snack down there with the other first grade classes, and we learned about the routines and expectations in this new setting. This is an exciting change for us. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns about our new lunch routine - or anything else! As I'm sure you've heard, school has been cancelled for tomorrow (Friday 2/25) due to the potential for big snow. No Blizzard Bag work necessary! This will be a traditional snow day. Yay!!!
Students brought home some items today that you may want to hang onto for practicing at home. Each child created a "Magic Kit" for making words with silent e. Have your child read the words and show you the magic! The more practice, the better! Students also have their handwriting workbooks, and they know how to use them. If handwriting is something your child is working on, you can use the pages that we did not complete for extra practice. Speaking of practice, first graders should be reading at home every single day. Reading for 15-20 minutes each day will help your child become a more fluent and more confident reader! I hope you all have a wonderful winter break!!! See you in March, Jess Willard Happy Friday!!! The Friendly Foxes had a great week, learning about how animals work together in nature. We worked together too - on telling time (to the hour), increasing our fact power, memorizing sight words, and identifying ways to make the long e sound. We also started a very cool science unit this week about biomimicry. We used the concept of biomimicry to do a fun project today. Each student made a Secret Box. They could put anything they wanted in their box, but their box was for them and only them - it's a secret! So they needed to come up with a way to protect their Secret Box, inspired by plant and animal features that are used for protection. Some students protected their box with quills, like a porcupine, some used shark teeth, others used venom or poison. Ask your child about his or her Secret Box! Monday is Valentine's Day! 💖 Please send in a box or bag to be used as a Valentine mailbox for your child. If your child is giving Valentines, please send those in a separate bag. Thank you to the families who are donating treats. We will have a lovely day!
As always, please reach out if you ever have any questions or concerns that you would like to discuss with me. I'm happy to chat with you! Please be on the lookout for library books! Up until now, when we go the library every Thursday, students choose books to check out and then they keep those books in their book box here at school. Today your first grader was given the option to bring his or her library book home! Those students who chose to bring books home will need to bring them back to school next Thursday. Thank you!
We had our first Community Meeting this morning! Ask your child about it! I am so so so proud of the Friendly Foxes this week. They are now more than halfway through first grade, and their growth is amazing. Keep up the great work, everyone!!! It is FANTASTIC to have our whole class of Friendly Foxes back in the school!!!
We are back to pretty strict safety protocols so we can try to keep everyone healthy. I got rid of some furniture to spread the desks out as much as possible. Students are being reminded to keep their masks up and over their noses and to not touch their faces. There is no talking during mask breaks. Please talk to your children about the importance of following these safety rules. Hopefully we can get to optional masking and fun group work soon!!! Speaking of health and wellness, please remember to send a water bottle in for your child each and every day. It is very dry here at school, and staying hydrated is important. Thank you! Last week we compared how life "long ago" is different than life today. This week, our focus is on food. We will learn about where our foods come from. This is a great week to get your child involved in meal-prepping, if you don't do so already. As your child chops veggies or sets the table, talk about where the food came from, how it was prepared and shipped to the store, and how you are cooking it or preparing it for a snack or meal. Thank you for all that you do at home to help support your child's learning! We are better together!!! Happy Friday! I hope this finds you all safe and healthy.
Today is officially a remote learning day. It is time to locate that Blizzard Bag (giant manila envelope) and take out the first packet - Snow Day 1. There are 4 literacy worksheets and 2 math worksheets in this packet, along with activities for specials (today is our ART day). Please find time today to help your child complete the work. When it is finished, put the packet of completed work into your child's folder to be handed in on Monday. Thank you! There is no expectation for your child to use technology as part of this remote learning day, but visiting Wonders/Everyday Math online or IXL are options for those with power and devices to use. I will be available during school hours via email. Please reach out if you have any questions! I will have "office time" available through zoom from 11:00 to 11:30. Check email for the link. You and/or your child are free to pop into this zoom meeting if you need help with the work, have questions or comments about school, or if you just want to say hello. Enjoy the day, and stay safe! ~Mrs. Willard Hello Friendly Fox Families,
I hope you all had a great holiday break! It has been a lovely transition back. Most students were able to jump right back into our routines and show their safe, respectful, and responsible behavior. 😊 There's been a change in procedure that you should know about. It's about food. Students are now required to bring home any food left uneaten after snack or lunch. Please check your child's backpack for random food items! In lieu of making New Year's Resolutions, we are working on a ONE WORD project. Each student is choosing one word to focus on for 2022. We listened to the book in the link below, brainstormed words, and now we are creating a craft to display our words. (If your child has been absent, please watch the video and chat about what your child's one word can be.) https://www.youtube.com/embed/UyXqSqizwqU My One Word: The kids are all getting so excited for the magic of the holidays! We have been reading lots of holiday books, and we are working hard on our first-grade skills. We finished Unit 4 in math, so now we will be learning about place value in Unit 5. We have been learning about the silent e spelling pattern, and we even made magic kits - to turn cvc words like "hid" into long vowel words like "hide." This week we read several stories that were written as plays, so we were able to "perform" our parts. The expressive reading was awesome! We had a fire drill mid-week, and I couldn't have been prouder of the students' behavior. They were safe, respectful, and responsible, for sure! We also learned about how plants grow this week in Wonders. Students in attendance on Monday started their own alfalfa seeds. Most students brought their seeds home today so they could watch the sprouts grow and make sure they stay watered. Enjoy observing their growth at home! I am so proud of the Friendly Foxes who have continued to show effort during this exciting time of year. As Pete the Cat says, "At Christmas we give, so give it your all!" In our classroom, we are trying to focus more on giving than receiving. We plan to do our walk to the food pantry on Monday the 20th (and it looks like it will be a chilly day, so please bundle up your munchkin)! I am so thankful to all of you for your generous donations for the food pantry. How wonderful that we are helping our fellow community members! Next week we will be making a few different craft projects that the kids will be able to wrap and give as gifts to family members if they so choose. We will not have a gift exchange.
Each of the Friendly Foxes received (or will receive) a special pair of hand-made mittens! My mom, Maddy Perron, used to spend lots of time helping me out in my classroom, getting to know my students. Since that is not possible again this year, she wanted to connect with the kids by making them each some mittens as a holiday gift. The kids were so grateful, they made thank you notes for her today. Enjoy!! We filled our rock jar again! The kids really wanted to have a PJs/movie/popcorn/stuffy Day as a reward, so that's what we'll do! Our reward day will be on Wednesday the 22nd. Students may wear PJs on that day, but we will also have a special reward gym class on that day, so please make sure your child has shoes they can run around in. Also, please send in a water bottle for your child each day. Thank you!! Last, you should have received your child's report card earlier this week. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns about your child's report. On Monday you will receive your child's Blizzard Bag. Keep it in a safe place, and be ready to bust it out if we have a snow day! Hello Friendly Fox Fans,
We started the coolest project! We are creating a 3D map of New Boston village. We started with the river, painting it blue and adding rocks and sand, and now kids are making the buildings out of milk cartons and cardboard. Ask your child about it! We plan to go to the food pantry during the week of December 20th. If you did not yet send in a permission slip, please do so next week. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent in donations!!! With the first snowfall this week, our snow-clothes skills were put to the test. I am proud to say that the Friendly Foxes are quite independent when it comes to changing in and out of snow-clothes and keeping them organized! Please put your child's name or initials on his or her clothing. Also, it's nice for kids to have a change of socks in their backpacks when it's snowy. Have a wonderful weekend!!! |
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