We have only had two days of school so far, Thursday and Friday, but both days were perfect attendance days. Â All 24 students attended the first days of school. Â Let’s keep that trend!
Towards the end of last week our schedule changed. Â The new schedule is available on our website under “Basics” and “Dates”. Â Also, we know the date of our first music “Sing-a-long”. Â If you would like to attend, it will be in the Auditorium starting at 2:45 on Friday, September 2nd.
Spelling begins this week! Â You should look for the first spelling packet in your child’s Monday Folder. Â Friday is our spelling test day, as well as the day the packet will be due each week.
We begin switching classes for Math on Monday. Â The second grade students will learn with Robin Duran, while the first grade students will remain in our classroom.
Another element of our learning that begins this week is UNIT. Â This is a time to focus on Social Studies and Science learning. Â During the 2011-2012 school year, 1st and 2nd grade students will study Earth Science, Geography and History.
Instead of breaking up the UNIT time into specific topics each trimester, I believe the students will benefit from ongoing study in all three of our topics this year. Â My goal is for students to have weekly exposure to Geography throughout the entire school year. Â Students will not only study map skills, but they will recognize ourselves as a part of a dynamic community as we both use and create resources. Â (This aligns with the Colorado State Standards.)
Similarly, instead of spending only one trimester studying History, it will be studied throughout the school year, as holidays come up, and other special months with focus (such as Black History Month or Women’s History Month). Â In that same way, we will study Earth Science throughout the school year, as our weather patterns change.
I believe that each student will learn most effectively if we continually discuss and digest elements of social studies and science all year long. Â Fortunately, we will reinforce our reading, writing and math skills as we discuss various topics during UNIT.
Boyd’s Bugs are busy learning and growing.