Puppy Dog Tales

October News

There are a lot of important dates coming up in October to remember:

This Friday:

 Dowell International

Family Fair

Friday, October 14^th, 2011

6:00 – 8:00 pm

Come and help us celebrate the many cultures and countries represented at Dowell!

All families are invited to attend, and we are hoping many families are also willing to share their cultural heritage through artifacts, food, and more.

Next Thursday, Oct. 20^th is our first grade field trip to the Theatre in the Square. 

The week of the 24^th – 28^th is conference week.  School will be dismissed two hours early every day.  Conferences are being held from 12:40 – 4:30 each day.  I look forward to speaking with all of you about your child’s progress.  Thank you in advance for taking the time to meet with me and for being on time to your conference.  We have a lot to cover and time is limited.

Oct. 28^th is the Fall Festival.  This is another great family night of fun.  See the flyer in today’s Thursday folder for details.

Tomorrow we will be having our classroom AR celebration at lunch with a pizza party. 

On Monday, we will be having out grade level dance party celebration for AR.  All students that have passed at least 8 quizzes will be able to participate in both of these activities.

Next 9 weeks the AR goal is 18 passed quizzes!  Please make sure your child reads their AR book every night and is  ready to pass at leasst 2 quizzes each week!  Together we can all meet this goal!

Math Night!!

         Join us for some math fun…

 

                                       MATH Night at Publix

Tuesday, October 4^th

 

Location:   Publix at Dallas Highway

(2500 Dallas Highway)

Times

5:30-6:15 Session 1

6:15-6:30 PTA Meeting

6:30-7:15 Session 2

 

Don’t forget to show your pride and wear your Dowell t-shirt!  Parents please help your child participate in all activities.

September News

I hope you can all come to learn about our classroom Thursday night.  The first session is at 5:30.  There is a PTA meeting at 6:30.  Then a second session will be held at 7:00.  You only need to attend one session.  The second session is for families with more than one child. We will be going over a lot of information. Open house is for the parents, the children do not need to be here.

 

In this week's Thursday folders there are a lot of things for you to look at, read and return.  One important item is the permission slips for our field trips. Please read these carefully, fill them out and return them as soon as possible.  Our first in house field trip is Sept. 26^th.  Our first away from school field trip is Oct, 20^th.  Both of these are quickly approaching and we want to be sure all the paperwork is here. 

 

Many children are not ready for an AR test each morning.  Every night your child needs to be reading their AR book with you 3 times, so they can take a quiz the next morning at school.  Students that meet their goal of 2 books every week and have at least an 80% average for the week will get to eat with Lunch Bunch on Fridays!  We had 10 children today at Lunch Bunch!!  It was such fun, I hope everyone can join us soon! 

 

We Are Navigating the SEAS in First Grade!!

 

What busy first graders we are!! We have learned different ways to help us add numbers to 10.  We have started to learn about subtraction.  We have learned how important it is to choose a "Good Fit Book".  We have practiced "reading to self" as a part of our Daily 5.  We are building our reading stamina by reading a little longer each time.  We are learning to let our ideas flow in our writing.  We have been practicing writing complete sentences with capital letters at the beginning and punctuation at the end.

 

Please continue to sign your child’s homework page so I know you see what color they were on each day. 

 Please make plans to join us for Open House on Sept. 2^nd.  We will be talking about curriculum and first grade expectations. It is a great opportunity to see your child’s classroom and the work we have been doing.

 Please practice sight words each night with your child.  Every Monday a new set will be in your child’s homework folder. Use the new words and old words to keep practicing.

 Your child should be bringing home a library book and 2 “trading Books” each night.  Please read these with your child and write them on the reading log.

We will be beginning AR shortly.  More information will be coming soon!

 Many of our students have been getting very sleepy during the day.   I know it is an adjustment, getting back into the school routine, but please help by making sure your child gets plenty of rest each night.  7:00 or 7:30 is a good bedtime for 1^st graders.

 

Join PTA!    Being a part of PTA is a great way to support your school! 

Chick Fil A chicken biscuits will be sold every Thursday morning for $2.50. 

If your child needs to eat breakfast at school, please be sure they are getting here closer to 7:15 than 7:50.

Open House is Sept. 15^th.  Please plan to attend this informative night!

 

We Are Navigating the SEAS in First Grade!!

 

We have had a busy 8 days of school! We have started to get our routine down and are working hard!

Please continue to sign your child’s homework page so I know you see what color they were on each day. 

 We have started to work on addition. One of the fun ways we have to practice facts is a computer program called FastMath. We will be starting this in a few weeks. This is a game that helps us get faster with our math facts.  If you have addition flash cards at home, you can practice them with your child as well. The faster your child gets with their facts, the better they will always be in math!

 Please make plans to join us for Open House on Sept. 15th.  We will be talking about curriculum and first grade expectations. It is a great opportunity to see your child’s classroom and the work we have been doing.  I can't wait to see everyone that night!

Tomorrow night PTA is hosting a Back To School Movie Night featuring the movie RIO!  The cost is $2.00 per person!  Please make plans to join up for a fun evening!

 Don't forget to join PTA!    Being a part of PTA is a great way to support your school! 

   We have worked really hard this year and the children have shown what they have learned on the CRCT instructional tests we have been taking this week.  Tomorrow is math and them we are finished. Thank you for making sure they got a good night’s sleep, are here are time, and have eaten a good breakfast. 

  Next week we will be celebrating Fitness Night and Earth Day.  On Thursday night there is a free fitness night at school.  Come on out for fun with the whole family. 

On Friday we will be having an Earth Day celebration to show how we can take care of the earth.  This will be during the school day.

   We have a lot of fun days coming up over the last few weeks of school.  Be sure to check the Thursday folder each week for any flyers about the activities. 

  Help your child remember to read their AR book every night! They have to have 3 stickers each week and an 80% average to make our AR Lunch Bunch!!

Fitness Night Information

Fitness Night Reminder!

ALL ACTIVITIES are FREE!!

 

When: Thursday, April 21^st from 5:30-8pm

Where: Dowell Elementary

What and who will be there?

Special guests: *Kennesaw State University  

*Living Waters Martial Arts Studio    *Gold’s Gym

*Cobb Parks and Recreation      *Cobb County Food & Nutrition

*Osborne High School JROTC

Services: *FREE Vision and Blood Pressure screenings

*Nutritional and fitness tips from nutrition,

health and fitness experts

 

Come join the many fun activities and learn about how to stay healthy!

Happy Spring Break!  Enjoy the week with your children.  I am sending home a bag of books, as I have done over many of the other breaks this year.  Please encourage your child to read every day.  You can read to them, you can each take turns reading a page, or they can read to you.  There are numerous benefits for your child whatever way you choose to read.

  After Spring break, we will be taking a practice CRCT on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  This test will be over all the standards that we have covered this year.  If you have any questions about the test, please feel free to contact us.

  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow will be April 1^st.  This year has gone by really fast.  I am very pleased with how well the children are doing with their reading and math facts.  Keep practicing! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

   Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  I hope everyone has a lucky day!

 

   We have spent most of this week assessing to get ready for report cards.  Report cards will go home next Thursday.  The work in first grade is getting harder. It is very important that you are reading with your child every night and practicing math facts.  These are the building blocks that will support everything else that is taught in school. 

 

  Next Wednesday we will be having Spring Pictures. Look for the picture envelope that will be in Homework Folders on Monday.  We will have our whole class pictures taken, as well as individual pictures if you pay for them in advance.

 

  Keep working with your child on manners.  We have been doing a good job with please and thank you. 

December

  I just want to take this opportunity to tell each of you how important your child is to me!  I love each and every one as if they are my own.  I hope all of you have a wonderful and restful Christmas break.  Please spend some of the time reading with your child.  I know how fast the time passes (my own babies are from 14 to 21 already!) and cuddling together with a good book is such a great way to enjoy each other. 

 

   When we return from the holidays and begin the New Year it will be so important for the children to be focused and ready to learn.  Even though we do not take the CRCT in 1^st grade, we do need to master the 1^st grade standards so everyone is ready for 2^nd grade.

 

   Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy break!