Happy Halloween

Parents,

There is no homework tonight, October 31st.  Enjoy trick-or-treating tonight and be safe.  Homework will resume tomorrow.  The homework packet was in your child's homework folders tonight along with the November Book It log. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the wonderful treats and drinks for our fall class party.  The students were so excited and enjoyed all of the treats that were shared.  We read Halloween related stories, watched a movie about a pumpkin, ate our treats, and played Halloween BINGO today. 

Trick or Treat on Pinto Street

FYI:  Trick or Treat on Pinto Street will be held in the High School Commons tomorrow night from 6-8:00 p.m. 

PTO Fall Carnival

Parents,

Remember that the PTO Fall Carnival is this Saturday, October 22, 2011 at the Elementary School.  The Carnival runs from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.  First grade games will be the Fish Pond, Lollipop Tree, and we will be selling glow-in-the-dark necklaces.  Tickets are only .25 cents and you can purchase them at the door when you come to the carnival.  You will also have the opportunity to purchase more raffle tickets.  All proceeds from the PTO Carnival go to support your local elementary school.  Grade level games/activity profits go to each individual grade level.  We have used our PTO Carnival money in the past to purchase books, equipment, games, etc. for the students in our grade level.  Please come support your local PTO and California Elementary School!

Hope to see you there!

Writer's Workshop...Preparing for a Celebration

The students have been writing about things that have happened to them all year.  They have been studying real authors such as:  Vera B. Williams, Donald Crews, Richard Scary, Don Freeman, Dav Pilkey, and Frane Lessac.  In addition, they have been introduced to various forms of writing.  Finally, it was time to choose a piece out of our writing folders that we wanted to publish.  We discussed how to choose a good piece to publish and what real authors do when preparing to publish their works.  The students chose their best pieces and then asked themselves:  "Does this make sense?" "Can I fix it?" and "Can I add to it?"  They used these questions to help guide them during the early stages of editing and revising.  Afterwards, we fancied up our pictures making them look like illustrations in real books.  We then created covers for our stories and shared them with our classmates.  The pieces we published will be added to our classroom library for students to check out and enjoy.  Currently, they are being displayed in the hallway for the school to enjoy.  Below you will see some pictures of student authors at work!

Books/Authors we studied:

                             

The Peach Tree Farm Pumpkin Patch

On Thursday, October 6th the students in first grade enjoyed a field trip to The Peach Tree Farm Pumpkin Patch in Boonville, MO.  Below are some pictures of our adventures.

Enjoying the hayride.

Searching for the best pumpkin.



Still searching...



Picking pumpkins.

Look at these great pumpkins we picked.

Feeding goats.

Beautiful sunflowers

Resting

Sharing a seat on a large pumpkin.

Looking for the strangest looking gourd.



Hay maze fun



Enjoying a nice lunch on the pic-nic tables.

REMINDER

Tomorrow is the first grade field trip to The Peach Tree Farm in Boonville, MO.  Buses will begin loading at the school at 9:45 a.m. and depart promptly at 10:00 a.m.  We will be eating lunch much later than normal, so I have given permission to the students to bring a snack and/or drink to consume before departing for the trip.  Please remember to have your child wear tennis shoes.  Students should not wear open toed shoes or sandals.  In addition, if you were planning on bringing a lunch for your child, please be sure to have a drink inside their lunch.  We will not be eating at the school for them to get a drink from the cafeteria.  We will eat lunch at The Peach Tree Farm after completing all of the activities planned.  We will then load the buses at approximately 1:30 p.m. and depart promptly at 1:45 p.m.  We should arrive back at the school at approximately 2:30 p.m.

FYI:  If you were chosen to be a chaperone, please arrive at the school between 9:30 - 9:45 a.m.  Thank you for coming on the trip with our class!

Apple Pickin Time

 In honor of John Chapman a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed here are some great sites for you to enjoy.  We studied the famous Johnny Appleseed and taste tested apples this week.  The students also learned the life cycle of the apple tree and read numerous poems and books about apples.

Story of Johnny Appleseed-Weekly Reader

Crispy's Applestand Stories and Activities

5 Red Apples-Song by Harry Kindergarten

Below are some of the picture books we enjoyed about apples.