Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thank you
June 25, 2010
Dear Families,
I cannot believe that the end of the year is here. Ten months ago, June was nothing more than a far off dream. Now, in what seems like a blink of the eye, summer vacation is upon us and July is only one week away.
I always take time to reflect at the close of the school year. It has taken a lot of hard work on all of our parts (children, parents, and teachers) to arrive at this day. I have a tremendous amount of pride in the children for all that they have accomplished and for the blood, sweat, and tears that they have put into their learning. Twenty children arrived in September wanting and willing to learn. So much has happened between then and now. Lots of time spent learning, laughing, questioning, crying, etc. They have driven me crazy at times, made me sad at others, while also filling me with joy and gratitude (and all of those emotions could occur before snack time on any given day). They’ve tattled, lost teeth, grown new ones, and celebrated accomplishments and frustrations together. With all that the children and I have done, we’ve done it together.
The last day of school is always so bittersweet to me. I will miss these 20 very special girls and boys terribly but I know that they are ready to move on to new beginnings and new challenges. I am so proud of all their accomplishments and I know that I am passing them along to a school filled with very talented and capable teachers at T.Z.E.
Please accept my sincerest thanks for all of your help and support this year. The year’s success certainly couldn’t have happened without you. I truly appreciate your support, patience and understanding. Your encouragement and reinforcement are truly what make this experience so triumphant.
Have a fabulous summer vacation. Summer is a time for relaxation but it’s also a great opportunity for review and reinforcement and I encourage you to support your child by providing educational opportunities (not necessarily worksheets) for them to review and learn through games, conversations, and life. I never forget that you are your child’s first and most significant and influential teachers. Please keep in touch. Thanks again for sharing your children with me this year.
With great appreciation,
Randi Stern
Dear Families,
I cannot believe that the end of the year is here. Ten months ago, June was nothing more than a far off dream. Now, in what seems like a blink of the eye, summer vacation is upon us and July is only one week away.
I always take time to reflect at the close of the school year. It has taken a lot of hard work on all of our parts (children, parents, and teachers) to arrive at this day. I have a tremendous amount of pride in the children for all that they have accomplished and for the blood, sweat, and tears that they have put into their learning. Twenty children arrived in September wanting and willing to learn. So much has happened between then and now. Lots of time spent learning, laughing, questioning, crying, etc. They have driven me crazy at times, made me sad at others, while also filling me with joy and gratitude (and all of those emotions could occur before snack time on any given day). They’ve tattled, lost teeth, grown new ones, and celebrated accomplishments and frustrations together. With all that the children and I have done, we’ve done it together.
The last day of school is always so bittersweet to me. I will miss these 20 very special girls and boys terribly but I know that they are ready to move on to new beginnings and new challenges. I am so proud of all their accomplishments and I know that I am passing them along to a school filled with very talented and capable teachers at T.Z.E.
Please accept my sincerest thanks for all of your help and support this year. The year’s success certainly couldn’t have happened without you. I truly appreciate your support, patience and understanding. Your encouragement and reinforcement are truly what make this experience so triumphant.
Have a fabulous summer vacation. Summer is a time for relaxation but it’s also a great opportunity for review and reinforcement and I encourage you to support your child by providing educational opportunities (not necessarily worksheets) for them to review and learn through games, conversations, and life. I never forget that you are your child’s first and most significant and influential teachers. Please keep in touch. Thanks again for sharing your children with me this year.
With great appreciation,
Randi Stern
Friday, June 11, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010: Spelling Bee
This morning we went outside to see the South Orangetown Ambulance Corp. There were four ambulances and lots of paramedics. A man talked to us calling 911 for help. We asked questions (and told LOTS of stories) about times where people needed help or went in an ambulance. Then each of the classes got to go into an actual ambulance. People sat on the seats and on the stretcher. The paramedics showed us some of the things that they have inside the ambulance and then answered some of our questions and listened to even MORE of our stories. Before we came back to the classroom, we got candy and information to become Smarties.
Ms. Stern passes along a folder with important information for our second grade teachers. Some of the things in that folder are our November conference report, our final report card, reading information, and a piece of writing. Today we worked on our writing piece. We had to introduce ourselves to our new teachers. First, we thought of things that our teachers will see when they look at our writing: spelling, spacing, capitalization, punctuation, and handwriting. After that, we brainstormed things that our teachers might want to know about us: our name, family, what we like about school (or what we don’t like), what we know a lot about, school activities that help us with our learning, favorite books, our birthdays, interests or hobbies, things that challenge us in school, and our behavior in school. We turned and talked to our partners to think about what we wanted to share before we started writing at our seats. Stephen had no problem thinking of things that he wants his second grade teacher to know about him!
Today was our celebration for Dylan’s birthday. Her real birthday is the day after school ends. Victoria helped Dylan pass out the plates and then Ms. Stern passed out the cupcakes. They were red velvet mini-cupcakes. Arlo thought they tasted awesome!
We looked at coins during math today. Yesterday we worked in groups to record what we know about pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Each table wrote what they knew about one coin and then passed it to the next table. Today we looked closely at pennies and nickels. We know that pennies are a brownish, copper color. They have Abraham Lincoln on them and are worth one cent. You would need 100 pennies to make $1.00. Next, we looked at a nickel. It is a silver color and is bigger than a penny. It is worth five cents. You would need 20 nickels to equal a dollar.
We went outside during P.E. We played a bunch of games like tennis, scoops, Frisbee, boxball, kickball, and foxtail. Sasha sang a song from Glee. While people were playing games, Meaghan, Sasha, and Emma came to the classroom window to say hello. Ms. Stern saw us and came over to say hi. She was eating lunch with her friends.
We had a spelling bee after specials. Everyone lined up around the rug. Ms. Stern gave every person a word. We had to spell the word correctly and if we didn’t, we had to sit down at our seat. In the first round everyone (except for one person) spelled the word correctly. The words got harder and harder after each round and more and more people spelled the words wrong. Dylan was a little scared before her turn because she was afraid she would spell the word wrong. Drew was also a little scared. Lauria wasn’t so scared because she’s been practicing using the words in her homework journal so she thought she was going to do really well. Adam had a feeling that Ms. Stern was going to start with easier words. He also practiced pretty much all of his words. Meaghan was thinking that she wasn’t so scared. Eesha practiced with her mom in the car. She even spelled the word encyclopedia on the third try! Her practice paid off because she ended up being the winner! Our final four contestants were: Dylan A., Emma, Eesha, and Drew. Eesha got a medal and Drew (our second place speller) a certificate. Once we finished the spelling bee, everyone wanted to do it again!
Please don’t forget about donations for next week’s tag sale. So far, we only have a few items that will be available for purchase. Unused/unwanted toys, books, movies, music, stuffed animals, crafts, etc. will gladly be accepted. Thank you!
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Stern passes along a folder with important information for our second grade teachers. Some of the things in that folder are our November conference report, our final report card, reading information, and a piece of writing. Today we worked on our writing piece. We had to introduce ourselves to our new teachers. First, we thought of things that our teachers will see when they look at our writing: spelling, spacing, capitalization, punctuation, and handwriting. After that, we brainstormed things that our teachers might want to know about us: our name, family, what we like about school (or what we don’t like), what we know a lot about, school activities that help us with our learning, favorite books, our birthdays, interests or hobbies, things that challenge us in school, and our behavior in school. We turned and talked to our partners to think about what we wanted to share before we started writing at our seats. Stephen had no problem thinking of things that he wants his second grade teacher to know about him!
Today was our celebration for Dylan’s birthday. Her real birthday is the day after school ends. Victoria helped Dylan pass out the plates and then Ms. Stern passed out the cupcakes. They were red velvet mini-cupcakes. Arlo thought they tasted awesome!
We looked at coins during math today. Yesterday we worked in groups to record what we know about pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Each table wrote what they knew about one coin and then passed it to the next table. Today we looked closely at pennies and nickels. We know that pennies are a brownish, copper color. They have Abraham Lincoln on them and are worth one cent. You would need 100 pennies to make $1.00. Next, we looked at a nickel. It is a silver color and is bigger than a penny. It is worth five cents. You would need 20 nickels to equal a dollar.
We went outside during P.E. We played a bunch of games like tennis, scoops, Frisbee, boxball, kickball, and foxtail. Sasha sang a song from Glee. While people were playing games, Meaghan, Sasha, and Emma came to the classroom window to say hello. Ms. Stern saw us and came over to say hi. She was eating lunch with her friends.
We had a spelling bee after specials. Everyone lined up around the rug. Ms. Stern gave every person a word. We had to spell the word correctly and if we didn’t, we had to sit down at our seat. In the first round everyone (except for one person) spelled the word correctly. The words got harder and harder after each round and more and more people spelled the words wrong. Dylan was a little scared before her turn because she was afraid she would spell the word wrong. Drew was also a little scared. Lauria wasn’t so scared because she’s been practicing using the words in her homework journal so she thought she was going to do really well. Adam had a feeling that Ms. Stern was going to start with easier words. He also practiced pretty much all of his words. Meaghan was thinking that she wasn’t so scared. Eesha practiced with her mom in the car. She even spelled the word encyclopedia on the third try! Her practice paid off because she ended up being the winner! Our final four contestants were: Dylan A., Emma, Eesha, and Drew. Eesha got a medal and Drew (our second place speller) a certificate. Once we finished the spelling bee, everyone wanted to do it again!
Please don’t forget about donations for next week’s tag sale. So far, we only have a few items that will be available for purchase. Unused/unwanted toys, books, movies, music, stuffed animals, crafts, etc. will gladly be accepted. Thank you!
Have a great weekend!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010: Crazy Hair Day
Today we had Crazy Hair Day. It’s a day where everyone in the class gets to make crazy hair. Meaghan tried three different hair-do’s and didn’t like any of them. Adam didn’t have a lot of hair. Pretty much all of the girls in the class had lots of ponytails. A few boys had Mohawks. Stephen noticed that most of the boys had gel in their hair to make it spiky. Dylan M. had one ponytail on the top of his head, kind of like Stephanie from Stephanie’s Ponytail. Lots of kids had color in their hair. Sarah had glitter in her hair! There was lots of discussion about the different hairstyles. Dylan A’s reaction was, “WOW! They have freaky hair!” Ms. Stern couldn’t believe all of the crazy, colorful hairstyles! Tomorrow morning we will have a crazy hair contest.
Ms. Stern read us a story called Saying Goodbye to Lulu. It’s about a girl whose lifelong companion, her loveable dog named Lulu, who passes away. The girl was very sad and decided to honor her pet by planting a special tree called “Lulu’s tree.” Then she told us some very sad news. Jimmy, our class pet, died over the weekend. He was having some problems with one of his eyes for a little while. Unfortunately, Jimmy didn’t get better. Together, we shared happy memories and told about funny things that happened with him around. Lots of people were very sad. Some children cried. Sarah reminded us that when we get sad, we can remember the things about Jimmy that make us happy. We are making a book about or favorite Jimmy memories to remember him by. He was a great class pet and we will miss him. Here’s what we wrote:
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he peed and pooped on my unfinished work folder. –Emma
My most favorite memory about Jimmy is when he tried to get out of his cage. –Sarah
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he took a bath. –Stephen
My favorite memory of Jimmy is hearing him chomping on his lettuce. I miss him so so so much already. –Victoria
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he crawled in my hands and went to sleep. –Dylan
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he was eating lettuce. –Dylan M.
My favorite memory of Jimmy is seeing his puke. I miss Jimmy already. He was a great class pet. –Drew
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he eats celery and when the sand came out. –Nancy
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he was trying to climb the cage. –Hunter
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he ate his food. –Arlo
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when me and my friends played with him. –Meaghan
My favorite memory of Jimmy is giving him a bath. One Monday, me and my sister gave Jimmy a bath. We watched him crawl around in the container. –Eesha
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he scared my friend away. –Anthony
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when we met him. –Dylan A.
My favorite memory about Jimmy is when he ate and munched loud. –Sasha
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he peed on my brother’s face. –Jacob
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when Nicole (my older sister) got to take Jimmy home and we got to see Jimmy and play with Jimmy. –Amanda
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when I took him home and he looked so quiet. –Adam
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when Ms. Stern let him crawl on the rug. I think everyone was happy to meet Jimmy. Ms. Stern told us to hold him like a sandwich. –Lauria
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when we first saw Jimmy when he was crawling on the yellow rug. Jimmy crawled to me first. –Anthony D.
Ms. Stern had to go to a meeting. Mrs. McNamee came into our classroom for part of the day. Everyone read independently before lunch time.
After lunch, we did our 100 facts. Then we played place value Tic-Tac-Toe again. We got to choose our own partners.
Today everyone began writing and illustrating their ABC books using the graphic organizers to help us remember our ideas.
Our trip to the DeWint House is on Wednesday. Permission slips need to be returned by Wednesday morning in order to go on the walk. Please be sure to have your child wear sneakers and dress appropriately for the trip. We will be leaving WOS around 9:00 a.m. and are hoping to return by 11:30. Let Ms. Stern know if you are interested in chaperoning. Thanks!
Tomorrow is Twin/Triplet Day. Refer to the June activity calendar to be up to date on each day’s special event.
Ms. Stern read us a story called Saying Goodbye to Lulu. It’s about a girl whose lifelong companion, her loveable dog named Lulu, who passes away. The girl was very sad and decided to honor her pet by planting a special tree called “Lulu’s tree.” Then she told us some very sad news. Jimmy, our class pet, died over the weekend. He was having some problems with one of his eyes for a little while. Unfortunately, Jimmy didn’t get better. Together, we shared happy memories and told about funny things that happened with him around. Lots of people were very sad. Some children cried. Sarah reminded us that when we get sad, we can remember the things about Jimmy that make us happy. We are making a book about or favorite Jimmy memories to remember him by. He was a great class pet and we will miss him. Here’s what we wrote:
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he peed and pooped on my unfinished work folder. –Emma
My most favorite memory about Jimmy is when he tried to get out of his cage. –Sarah
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he took a bath. –Stephen
My favorite memory of Jimmy is hearing him chomping on his lettuce. I miss him so so so much already. –Victoria
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he crawled in my hands and went to sleep. –Dylan
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he was eating lettuce. –Dylan M.
My favorite memory of Jimmy is seeing his puke. I miss Jimmy already. He was a great class pet. –Drew
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he eats celery and when the sand came out. –Nancy
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he was trying to climb the cage. –Hunter
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he ate his food. –Arlo
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when me and my friends played with him. –Meaghan
My favorite memory of Jimmy is giving him a bath. One Monday, me and my sister gave Jimmy a bath. We watched him crawl around in the container. –Eesha
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he scared my friend away. –Anthony
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when we met him. –Dylan A.
My favorite memory about Jimmy is when he ate and munched loud. –Sasha
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when he peed on my brother’s face. –Jacob
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when Nicole (my older sister) got to take Jimmy home and we got to see Jimmy and play with Jimmy. –Amanda
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when I took him home and he looked so quiet. –Adam
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when Ms. Stern let him crawl on the rug. I think everyone was happy to meet Jimmy. Ms. Stern told us to hold him like a sandwich. –Lauria
My favorite memory of Jimmy is when we first saw Jimmy when he was crawling on the yellow rug. Jimmy crawled to me first. –Anthony D.
Ms. Stern had to go to a meeting. Mrs. McNamee came into our classroom for part of the day. Everyone read independently before lunch time.
After lunch, we did our 100 facts. Then we played place value Tic-Tac-Toe again. We got to choose our own partners.
Today everyone began writing and illustrating their ABC books using the graphic organizers to help us remember our ideas.
Our trip to the DeWint House is on Wednesday. Permission slips need to be returned by Wednesday morning in order to go on the walk. Please be sure to have your child wear sneakers and dress appropriately for the trip. We will be leaving WOS around 9:00 a.m. and are hoping to return by 11:30. Let Ms. Stern know if you are interested in chaperoning. Thanks!
Tomorrow is Twin/Triplet Day. Refer to the June activity calendar to be up to date on each day’s special event.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010: Field Day Favorites
•The best part of Field Day was having the ice pops and seeing my mom and my friends. –Victoria
•I had so much fun when I had an ice pop and I saw Mrs. Polansky and Ms. Carr having the soccer race. –Anthony D.
•My favorite part was when we were having the football race. Also when Ms. Carr and Mrs. Polansky were racing after Field Day. –Hunter
•My favorite part about Field Day was when we had the chicken race because it was easier than all of the other races and it was funny because chickens are funny. –Sarah
•My favorite part was the chicken race and the football race. –Jacob
•I liked when we did the chicken race and the football race because I felt I was going to drop the ball (during the football race) but I held it a different way and I didn’t drop it. –Sasha
•My favorite part is when we had the ice pops. –Meaghan
•My favorite part was when I got to squirt people and when I got to see Ms. Carr and Mrs. Polansky race. –Adam
•My favorite part was when we got the prizes from Coach. –Nancy
•My favorite part was when we did the football race and when we did the football race and when we saw Principal Polansky race. –Stephen
•I thought it was awesome! –Arlo
•I liked the soccer race because we could just dribble it and I took soccer for two years so it made me know how to dribble really well. –Dylan A.
•My favorite part was when we got to see Mrs. Polansky and Ms. Carr race and we got to have ice pops. –Emma
We celebrated Lauria’s summer birthday today. Her real birthday is in August so we celebrated today instead. Lauria’s mom brought in vanilla and chocolate cake with ice cream in the middle. Jacob had an Italian ice instead. It was delicious!
•I had so much fun when I had an ice pop and I saw Mrs. Polansky and Ms. Carr having the soccer race. –Anthony D.
•My favorite part was when we were having the football race. Also when Ms. Carr and Mrs. Polansky were racing after Field Day. –Hunter
•My favorite part about Field Day was when we had the chicken race because it was easier than all of the other races and it was funny because chickens are funny. –Sarah
•My favorite part was the chicken race and the football race. –Jacob
•I liked when we did the chicken race and the football race because I felt I was going to drop the ball (during the football race) but I held it a different way and I didn’t drop it. –Sasha
•My favorite part is when we had the ice pops. –Meaghan
•My favorite part was when I got to squirt people and when I got to see Ms. Carr and Mrs. Polansky race. –Adam
•My favorite part was when we got the prizes from Coach. –Nancy
•My favorite part was when we did the football race and when we did the football race and when we saw Principal Polansky race. –Stephen
•I thought it was awesome! –Arlo
•I liked the soccer race because we could just dribble it and I took soccer for two years so it made me know how to dribble really well. –Dylan A.
•My favorite part was when we got to see Mrs. Polansky and Ms. Carr race and we got to have ice pops. –Emma
We celebrated Lauria’s summer birthday today. Her real birthday is in August so we celebrated today instead. Lauria’s mom brought in vanilla and chocolate cake with ice cream in the middle. Jacob had an Italian ice instead. It was delicious!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010: Trip to TZE
This morning we went to TZE to visit the school. Adam was happy to see his school next year. Meaghan also was excited to see the school. Today was Dylan A., Emma, Eesha, Jacob, Victoria, and Dylan M.’s first time being there. Sarah was a little afraid of getting lost. We rode on the bus with Mrs. Ochman’s class. All of the first grade classes went so we had to wait a few minutes to come inside. We all went into the cafeteria to meet Dr. Lee and Ms. Lipton. We saw photos of the people who work in the school. Ms. Lipton explained different things that we will learn about or participate in. After that, the expert panel of second graders answered questions from the first graders. Mrs. Fanning, one of the second grade teachers, came to greet us in the cafeteria. She gave us a tour of the school with her students. We saw the colored hallways. They are lemon, raspberry, watermelon, and blueberry. Our last stop was Mrs. Fanning’s class. The students in her class answered the questions that we posted on the blog. That was very helpful for us. While we were talking, Stephen’s sister and her friend came into the classroom. Madison, Stephen’s sister, had Ms. Stern AND Mrs. Fanning in first and second grade. Before the trip, Dylan A. was nervous about going to the new school. After the trip, he felt really great about TZE and is excited to go next year. Lauria thought the best part of the trip was when Mrs. Fanning’s students answered our questions. Jacob liked standing in the rotunda and looking at all of the different hallways. Hunter liked getting to see an actual second grade classroom and thought it was interesting that the classrooms have 5 walls and not 4, like us.
Before our trip, we did some careful thinking about our classmates in order to give Ms. Stern information about people that we think would be good and bad matches for us to move to second grade with. We thought of 3 people who are helpful and good for our learning. At least two of them had to be in our class. Then we had to explain why they are positive people for our learning. After that, we thought about 3 people that stop us from being the best learners. They could be our friends and tempt us to talk or not be our best listeners. Or they might be people that we don’t always get along well with. Sasha found it really easy to list the people she would like to be with. Whenever she works with them, she learns a lot and completes her work. Stephen also thought it was pretty easy thinking of people he works well with. Ms. Stern told us that she can’t make any promises that we will or will not be in a second grade class with the children that we named.
Yesterday we started reading our last chapter book of the year: The BFG, written by Roald Dahl. It’s about a big friendly giant that takes a girl named Sophie during the “witching hour” because she spotted him in the street. Today we continued reading two more chapters.
We continued working on place value during math. We are doing a lot of partner work. Today we played Building On. Each set of partners picked 1 tile out of a bag. We built that number out of linker cubes by making tens and ones. We had to keep adding one more and recording until we reach 100.
Tomorrow is Gum Day. The children are allowed to chew gum in the classroom only. There will be a bubble blowing contest in the afternoon.
Before our trip, we did some careful thinking about our classmates in order to give Ms. Stern information about people that we think would be good and bad matches for us to move to second grade with. We thought of 3 people who are helpful and good for our learning. At least two of them had to be in our class. Then we had to explain why they are positive people for our learning. After that, we thought about 3 people that stop us from being the best learners. They could be our friends and tempt us to talk or not be our best listeners. Or they might be people that we don’t always get along well with. Sasha found it really easy to list the people she would like to be with. Whenever she works with them, she learns a lot and completes her work. Stephen also thought it was pretty easy thinking of people he works well with. Ms. Stern told us that she can’t make any promises that we will or will not be in a second grade class with the children that we named.
Yesterday we started reading our last chapter book of the year: The BFG, written by Roald Dahl. It’s about a big friendly giant that takes a girl named Sophie during the “witching hour” because she spotted him in the street. Today we continued reading two more chapters.
We continued working on place value during math. We are doing a lot of partner work. Today we played Building On. Each set of partners picked 1 tile out of a bag. We built that number out of linker cubes by making tens and ones. We had to keep adding one more and recording until we reach 100.
Tomorrow is Gum Day. The children are allowed to chew gum in the classroom only. There will be a bubble blowing contest in the afternoon.
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