Holiday Party

We had such fun today at our holiday party. Thanks so much for volunteering goodies and your time to make it a success. Also a big thank you to Mrs. Reed for organizing it all!

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful gifts. You are so generous and kind. I wish you a very Merry Christmas full of happy memories and joy. I also wish you a happy and healthy New Year!

Holiday Show

The first graders did a fantastic job performing this week. Thank you for all of your support at home. They looked adorable and knew their lines!

We had an awesome trip to the North Pole in our Pajamas on Friday. The students enjoyed sipping hot chocolate and watching The Polar Express.

Next Friday is our holiday party. It is the last hour of the day. You may come to help us celebrate. Please remember no siblings are allowed. The students must also bring in 1 wrapped book with a tag that says who it is from for our book exchange.

Magnets and Landforms

This week in the Science Lab we got to experiment with magnets. This students had a great time testing items to see what would be attracted to the magnet and what it would repel. We will continue to study magnets in class and on our next visit to the lab.

In class we ate all 6 Landforms! They were delicious! Thanks for donating supplies to make this happen. The students had toms of fun.

Upcoming events:
December 10th- Winter Play-be in costume and in class at 5:30
December 18th: Holiday Party and Book exchange

Landform Project

Landform Project    DUE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7

1.    You will need:  Materials to make models of the landforms.  (Example: a small piece of cardboard for a base and different colored clay/playdough for landforms.)

2.    Make a plan for how you want to make the landforms.

3.    Your project must have these landforms (if you know others and want to include them, that’s fine):

·        mountain

·        valley

·        plain

·        desert

·        plateau

·        coast

4.    You must decide where to put each landform.

5.    Label each landform.

6.    Be ready to orally present your project to the class.

7.    Review the rubric to be sure you are completing the assignment correctly.

BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN!

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Landform Project Rubric

	3	2	1
Category
Plan	Landforms are properly based on their characteristics.	Some understanding of landform placement is shown.	The landforms are placed.
Landforms	Project displays 6 landforms.	Project has 5 landforms.	Project has a few landforms.
Due date	Project was turned in on time.
Presentation	The student can identify and explain landforms.	The student can identify the landforms.	The student can point out a landform.
Presentation	The student speaks clearly and presents material in a well thought out manner.	Information is presented.	The student shares limited knowledge of the subject matter.
Category total
Total score
Comments

Field Trip

We had a blast watching Junie B. and her friends and family sing and dance on our field trip to the Roswell Cultural Arts Center. The students really enjoyed watching live theater and it was a good chance to practice being a good audience member. Now they know what to expect when they perform in December!

In the Science Lab we continue to experiment with sound!

Heroes

Students who enter complete a heroes essay will be able to move their clip up to pink and they can use it in place of 2 homework assignments for the week they choose to write it.

Please send a note in your child's GATOR book if your child plan on enetring so I can send an entry form home.

East Cobb County Council (ECCC) of PTAs

2015-16 Honoring Our Heroes Program

everyday heroes: the power of one

Honoring Our Heroes is a student writing program designed for you to write about your real-life heroes and role models.

The person you write about should display one or more of the following characteristics:  generosity, trust, persistence, dedication, leadership, creativity, caring, bravery, imagination, service, gentleness, courage, or compassion.

We want you to redefine media-hyped and cartoon heroes such as professional athletes, movie stars, and rock musicians and instead recognize someone who has made a more personal impact on your life such as a family member, doctor, public safety officer, soldier, or teacher.

Essay Rules and Guidelines

1.      The essay can be handwritten or typed.

2.      The essay must be on one single sheet of 8½ x 11-inch paper

(Single or double-sided but no more than one sheet of paper)

3.      Completed entry form below must be attached to essay

4.      Student name ONLY should be placed in top right corner of the essay;

NO other identifying information should be on the essay.

5.      A picture of the hero should be attached if possible.

Label the picture on the back with the student’s name.

Judging Rules and Guidelines

Entries will be judged on the student’s ability to articulate the qualities of the hero and to describe the manner in which the hero has impacted the student’s life.

ECCC will hold a special reception to recognize the first place winner from each grade level at each school.  In addition, every writer who fits in the Special Artist category (as defined by Georgia PTA’s Special Artist category for the Reflections competition) will also be recognized.

Entries are due by January 22, 2016.

Do you hear what we hear?

We had so much fun in the science lab exploring sound. The students saw how sound make vibrations with tuning forks. They made their own duck or chicken sounds. They also practiced using an old fashioned string phone. This nine weeks students will also learn about volume and pitch.

On Thursday we meet with our book buddies! They shared their pumpkin projects and we read fall and Halloween books together.

In social studies we have started to learn about Thomas Jefferson. The students love hearing about him and all of his accomplishments and contributions. We took a quick virtual tour of his home. If your child would like to take a closer look at Monticello, please see link below.

Monticello


We have also learned about nouns. Students know a noun is a person,place, and thing. Help your child identify them in sentences to enrich their learning. MAybe even let them label you!

Stop the Clock!

This week we have been working on telling time to the hour and half hour. The students have really mastered time to the hour. Time to the half hour can be a little tricky.Here is a link to a fun game we played in class.




Stop the Clock!

Red Ribbon Week October 19th-23rd

Red Ribbon Week

October 19-23, 2015

Addison Elementary School

Monday – 1. Students will receive RRW stickers.

                  2. Announcement of Red Ribbon Week on Gator News

    Network.

3. Banners @ Front of Building, 400 Hall entrance,

& Cafeteria

Tuesday – Stomp out Drugs! Students will wear mismatched

                   shoes.

Wednesday –  Take the pledge! Students will sign drug-free

class pledge. Teachers will place class pledge on large black paper on the wall between 200 & 300 halls.

                  

Thursday – Wear red day.

Friday –    Show your school spirit. Addison is drug free! Students will wear school spirit wear.

.   

Benjamin Franklin Projects and Our Garden

The students were so excited to share their Ben Franklin projects with their classmates. They did a wonderful job presenting. We had a few fun new inventions too!

A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Flaherty for helping us with our garden plot. The kids had so much fun digging and planting. It looks great! Come by and see it when you are here for the Fall Festival!

Olaf

On Friday we had an icy visitor in our classroom...Olaf. First grade students are responsible for explaining how water changes states and determining that the weight of water will not change as its state changes. We watched Olaf throughout the day and recorded the changes we saw and his weight. We were pretty surprised that he remained 6 pounds!

Ben Franklin Project

October 1, 2015

Dear Parents:

In Social Studies, we are learning about Benjamin Franklin and his inventions.

Please help your child make a representation of one of Ben’s inventions.  Students may also choose to create an invention of their own. However, they must design their invention around a problem or obstacle to make life easier-just like Ben did!  You may use recycled materials or things found around the home such as paper, foil, plastic wrap, cups, empty cereal or shoe boxes, newspaper, etc.  These projects should be sent to school by Monday, October 12th, and students will have the opportunity to share later that day.

A few ideas are listed below:

Lightening rod

Odometer

Swim fins

Bifocals

Declaration of Independence

The Grabber

Chair with desk attached

Fire Department

Public Library

Postal Service

Glass Armonica

Franklin Stove

Please write about your invention and attach the writing to the invention.  Thank you for your support with this special assignment.

All our best,

First Grade Teachers

COGATs, Conferences, and Project

COGATs are over! The students were super focused and well behaved. Ask your child what the test was like. It's actually pretty neat!

 

Lots of important papers are coming home today. The first is a conference sheet. These sheet are stapled into your child's agenda. Please sign and return this form as soon as possible that way if we need to reschedule accommodations can be made. Conference week begins October 19. This will also be early early release. 

Students are also bringing home a paper explaining their Benjamin Franklin project . This project is Due on October 12th. Students are to choose one of his contributions to represent ans write about it. They will present these to the class . 

Lastly, there is an opportunity for practice and pre teaching our next math concept. We will be working with a 120 chart next week. I'm sending a chart and activities home for practice over the weekend. There are of choices for practice. I asked that students complete 5 (with your help) and return their sheet on Monday for a treat!  

Reflections

Reflections Contest

Are you an incredible dancer? An insanely skilled filmmaker?

Are you great at capturing the perfect image in a photograph?

Are you intensely musical or an awesome illustrator?

Then consider entering the PTSA’s Reflections Contest.

Each year the PTSA sponsors an arts contest designed so that you can showcase your talents in one of six artistic areas:

Dance choreography, Film production, Literature, Musical Composition, Photography and Visual Arts

All you have to do is submit an original piece in one of the six categories that is inspired by the theme:

“Let Your Imagination Fly”

That piece will be judged at the school level and the winners in each category will receive award certificates and medals. Winning pieces will then be submitted to the county and or state level for further judging.

Pick up a packet for further information on the categories, rules and entry forms. Don’t delay-projects are due by October 14^th.

For a look at last year’s winners, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA4KNZs5VuA

For further detail please visit:

http://www.georgiapta.org/for-pta-leaders/committee-chairs/reflections-leadership/ or contact Jennifer Powers at Jennifer.powers@cobbk12.org

We hope you will try and let your imagination fly!

Grandparent's Day

Thank you so much to our wonderful grandparent readers! The students had such a good time hearing you read and your funny stories! I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to come in and spend time with us.

In the science lab this week we continued to learn about tools to measure the weather. This week we made thermometers and practiced reading real thermometers.

In class we focused on the water cycle and created one of our own.

We Made it Rain!

This week we did a super fun and easy experiment in class this week. We made it rain! All you need is a clear cup,water,shaving cream,and food coloring. First he students filled up the cup with water. Then I added their "cloud". Next each student took turns dropping 1 drop of coloring in at a time until  the water droplets got so heavy they had to drop out. That is how you make it rain!

Next week we will focus on the water cycle and types of precipitation.