Math in Focus: Chapter 7 Numbers to 20 (Begins Monday 1/3/17)

Winter is Here!

We will continue to play outside every day during winter unless the temperature is frigid. Please prepare your children with the appropriate attire.

Fun with Shapes and Patterns

Hour of Code

Dear Families,

We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. But only a tiny fraction of us are learning computer science, and fewer students are studying it than a decade ago.

That’s why our entire school joined in on the largest education event in history: The Hour of Code. During Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 8-14), every one of our students will be amongst over 2 million worldwide spending one hour learning the basics. Today, The Fantastic First Graders spent an hour in the computer lab learning the basics of "block coding." The level of excitement was infectious! 

What is the Hour of Code? A self-guided activity for students of all ages, kindergarten and up. We watched tutorials that featured lectures from Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, and artwork from popular games Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies. This effort is being completed to demystify code, and change the conversation around computer science. Today students had their first taste of coding by participating in a national hour of computer science instruction called the Hour of Code. The hour is part of Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 8-14), and our goal is to get kids to think, create, and have a blast -- all while learning some computer programming.

We used the following websites to practice block coding. Please give your children an opportunity to show you what they learned in a short amount of time. I promise you will be amazed!

http://hourofcode.org

http://thefoos.com  (click in play on your web browser from main menu screen)

http://playcodemonkey.com

http://code.org/minecraft

Winter Weather has Arrived!!!

 The Winter Weather has arrived therefore mandatory recess attire going forward will be...

In order to play in the snow, students need to have the following items:

-warm winter jacket

-hat

-gloves or mittens (thick, not cotton because the cotton ones get wet and                                         students get upset)

-snow pants

-boots

Please pack a change of clothes and extra socks in your child's backpack. Often socks get really wet. Also clothes can get wet. The nurse doesn't have a large stock of extra clothing. 

Label everything!

Students NEED to have a change of sneakers or shoes for the classroom. Wet boots track in water, ice and mud and it gets the rugs and floors wet. All boots are left in the hallway. 

Please continue to practice shoe lace tying with your child. With many shoe changes each day, tying needs to be efficient. 

Also, students need to be independent with getting on snow gear. If your child has difficulty, please practice with them at home. 

If a child does not have the proper winter attire, they will be restricted to play only on the blacktop, instead of the fields and climbing equipment. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

If you are in need of these items, please contact our school nurse, Cindy Libby.

Thank you!

Mrs. Salcito

Math in Focus - Chapter 5 Shapes and Patterns beginning Monday 11/28/16

Slapstick Science - November 21, 2016

On Monday 11/21/16, Ted Lawrence, a.k.a. "Dr. Quinton Quark", from Slapstick Science amazed the students with his engaging presentation on energy, friction, and simple machines. It was fully interactive with students participating in the experiments and answering questions. The school principal, Mr.Loi, even got into the act when students were asked to lift him in the air with a pulley! He even had the opportunity to lift 250 pounds of steel in the air with the pulley. Mr. Loi and Dr. Quark dropped the weight on a lever to launch a large object in the air. We loved the presentation. Thank you to the Hooksett PTA for sponsoring the event and to the students for not dropping the principal!

A Cranberry Thanksgiving

On Tuesday, November 22 the Fabulous First Graders read a story called Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin and Harry Devlin. We learned about being thankful and about not judging people. After reading the classic tale, we made Grandma's Famous Cranberry Bread! A big "thank you" goes out to the cafeteria workers for helping us bake the bread. Due to their efforts, we were able to taste the bread in the afternoon and we took a slice home to share with our families as well. Hope you enjoyed!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

The focus of the learning centers last week was on Thanksgiving. Here are a few pictures of the integrated learning that occurred.

Veteran's Day Assembly

The Fabulous First Graders participated in a moving Veteran's Day Assembly today. We watched the Cub Scouts present the flag, we listened to the songs of each of the branches of the military, and we recognized the veteran's in the audience with continuous rounds of applause. We would like to especially recognize Paxton's mom Trudy for joining us today. Trudy served in the Marines. The children had a great time asking her questions about the life of a Marine. Thanks to all the veterans for believing in our country and for protecting our freedoms!

Presidential Election 2016 in First Grade

The Fabulous First Graders in my class learned about ballots, ballot boxes, campaigns and candidates yesterday. We listened to the candidates explain their platforms via video on CNN Student News. We ended the day with a mock vote. The winner in our class was Donald Trump!

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?

The Fabulous First Graders read the story How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara on October 31, 2016. The story is about Mr. Tiffin's class and what they discover when they open up pumpkins.

 "How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess.

Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them."

Our class simulated this experiment and enjoyed learning that pollination, pumpkin variety, and time on the vine determine how many lines are on a pumpkin-and how many seeds are inside. We were surprised by the results: our smallest pumpkin had the MOST seeds! It had 147 seeds. The biggest pumpkin had only 123 seeds.