Gobbelina, the Tango Turkey!

Some of our Third Grade students met in the Think Tank at lunch for several days to design and build an entry into the Best School Mascot category in the Lichterman Nature Center Scarecrow Contest.  Gobbelina, the Tango Turkey was unveiled in chapel this morning before she headed to her temporary home at the Lichterman Nature Center.  She will be "officially" judged tomorrow but we will all be able to vote for her throughout the month of September in the "Most Popular" category.  Please take your family to visit this amazing exhibit which will be on display from September 12-November 22.  We are grateful to our amazing parent volunteers who helped us created such a wonderful entry - Laurie Padron, Will McGown, Melissa DeLany, and Donna Van Hoozer. Here is a link to the Lichterman website for directions and operating hours:

Lichterman Nature Center





Go Turkeys!!
Gobble, gobble!!!






 

















Print off these questions to answer when you visit the Scarecrows!

SCARECROWS 2013
Scarecrow Search & Find (K-3rd) DIRECTIONS: Work in teams or on your own as you look at the Scarecrows, search
and find the answers to questions below! Have fun searching!

1. How many Scarecrows are silver? Answer:
   
2. How many Scarecrows have straw in them? Answer:
   
3. How many Scarecrows are wearing a hat? Answer:
   
4. How many Scarecrows have bugs around them? Answer:
   
5. How many Scarecrows have on red clothes? Answer:
   
6. How many Scarecrows are about helping the earth? Answer:
   
7. How many Scarecrows were made by schools? Answer:
   
8. How many Scarecrows have flowers around them? Answer:
   

BONUS: After your search, draw your favorite Scarecrow on the back of this page! Thanks for visiting us! We hope you had fun with the Scarecrows!
Enjoy the rest of your field trip and come back soon to Lichterman Nature Center!

Reading Rockets tips for First Grade Parents

Above is a great list of things that you can do to help your daughter become a more confident and fluent reader.  I tell the girls all of the time that right now, "reading is hard work!" but it will become easier the more that they practice and by the end of the year it will be fun!!

Upcoming Fun Events!

Hummingbird Migration Celebration:
This weekend in Holly Springs, MS is the annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration which includes hummingbird banding and releases, nature walks, craft vendors, and a native plant sale.  Please click on the link below for more information.

Schedule and Program Information



3rd Grade MATH Mania Morning!
Parents are invited to join their daughters in becoming more familiar with the enVision math program that is used in our 3rd and 4th grade classrooms.  Math Morning will take place this upcoming Monday, Sept. 9th from 7:30-8:30am in the 3rd grade classrooms.  Come complete an online "scavenger hunt", play math games, and learn about the wonderful tools that you can access from home!

Accelerated Reader Refresher

As a reminder to our returning students and an introduction to our newest students,  I wanted to post the steps you can use to find a book on your level from the St. Mary's Website homepage.  First you need to go to:
St. Mary's Website

Then you need to click on the tab called "Academics" -

When you click on the "Academics" tab there will be a drop-down menu that will include "Libraries" so click on that and you will then see this page -

You will then go to the heading on the right side of the page that says, "ECC/LS Library Resources" and click on the heading beneath it that says "Accelerated Reader" and you will see this page -

Where it says "Book Level" you can put in numbers from 0.0 on up and then click on "Get my list!" for a long list of books to choose from.  Our Lower School library contains many of the titles in the Accelerated Reader library and I feel certain that your daughter will be able to find at least one that she will enjoy reading!  If you have any questions please contact me, the librarians, or your homeroom teacher.  Happy Reading:))

Recording Apps for Fluency

Here are two apps that you can use to record your daughter to help her improve her Oral Reading Fluency.  iTalk is an app for the iPhone and One Minute Reader is for the iPad.  Both apps allow your child to record themselves reading a short passage that they can then listen to and then re-record trying to improve each time they re-read it.  They need to strive to be accurate when they read, reading the words as they are written and not adding/omitting any.  Once they feel confident about this skill, they can then pay attention to their phrasing and use of expression.

Educational Games

I was reading through some old workshop materials this weekend and came across a link to a website that I already had listed under my "Math" tab on my blog.  It is called Gamequarium and it has many more components to it than just math including some reading activities.  Here is the link and I am adding it to the "Reading" and "Fun Activities" tabs too! Gamequarium Link  First Grade Friends - note that there are links to sight word lists and phonics games:)

Keep on the Sunny Side!

We began this year with an uplifting chapel featuring our students, and musicians Mrs. Stephens, Mrs. Miller, and Mr. Landaiche (my husband!).  We all introduced ourselves and sang "Keep on the Sunny Side" (adaptation of a June Carter Cash version).  I hope this school year that we will all try to "keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side, keep on the sunny side of life, it will help us everyday, it will brighten all the way, if we'll keep on the sunny side of life."

Here is a link to some websites that are listed on the Learning Specialist's page of the school website - check them out!
Summer Websites