Hello Everyone

Wow, it has been a really busy year. I have not really been as involved with our classroom website as I had intended. I have added a new website called Story Time for Me. Please take a look. Click on "online stories" and scroll down to see the books that are available. The story is read to you while highlighting the words so easily a "Read to Me".

We are having a great year and everyone is making fabulous progress. I am proud of all my students and their hard work. We are having a Christmas party. We will be decorating cookies, reading stories and, of course, wearing our pajamas. Please join us on December 16 @ 1:30.

We did a Reader's Theatre and had a lot of fun. :) Enjoy!!!

It's been a real jungle in our room the past few weeks but we are learning a lot. Be sure to ask you student what is happening with their mealworms and what new life has sprouted in the mealworm homes. Don't stop there, be sure to ask them about some of our new reading and writing centers.

If they haven't already told you how much fun it is to do math on an i-touch be sure to ask about that. We are down to business and everyone is working hard. Thanks for all you do to help them at home in their learning. Here is to a fabulous year.

Hello to Gavin

We are off to a good start this first week. We are missing Gavin who will be joining us after the first of the year. We wish to include Gavin in our classroom from a distance so we have set up a separate blog to communicate. I am experimenting so it may/may not work or be totally user friendly. It is a work in progress but try it and see if you can send a quick hello through the comment section. Let me know.....

Ms. McGinley

Welcome to 2nd Grade

Welcome to 2nd Grade,

I'm glad you could swing by and check out our classroom website. I have some fun learning websites listed along the side to get you started and ready for your first day.

Open house is August 25 at 5:30 - 6:30 so please come and say hello, check out your new room, and let me see how much you grew over the summer.

Wear something jungly if you have it -- this is a clue about our classroom . See you soon.

Ms. McGinley

More pictures of camping.

More pictures of Yellowstone National Park

I took some really cool pictures of the geysers and we will talk about them when you return to school. I have a lot of pictures but I will only show a few on our website.

What is everyone doing this summer?

Hello Everyone,

I'm missing you already, but I am having some fun with Dakota this summer. We went camping at Yellowstone National Park and we saw a lot of animals. We even saw a bear right by our campsite. YIKES! :) We are going to write about our summer and all the fun things that you are all doing. I can't wait to see you all again as second graders. Don't forget to keep reading so you can enter second grade as superstar readers.

Dancing our way into healthy wellness

Wow, what a fun assembly. Everyone practiced their dance moves and really showed them off. We should have invited John Travolta to see our moves.

Money makes the learning easier...

We are learning how to add three single digit numbers and using pennies to set up the problems just seems to make the adding a little more exciting. Instead of 2 + 3 + 5 they have 2 pennies, three pennies, and five pennies. We are also going to try our money bags again. I think almost everyone is doing well enough with their money to accomplish this now.

Wow! Our class, families, friends, and community members pulled together and we did it!!!! We earned two ipods for our classroom. They will be joining the other ipods Ms. McGinley will soon have in her classroom thanks to a grant that she applied for and received. That means that we will have enough for a small center. OOOOOOHHHH let the learning begin.... :) We have already started a new project on donorschoose.org so if you didn't get a chance to help us in our first project, you still have a chance. Thanks for everyone who supported and believed in us.

What's growing in first grade????

We are growing potatoes in first grade and we have a blossom. We have seen two new potatoes so far. We are going to harvest them at the end of the year and make potatoes and eggs.

Having Fun with Science

Wow, look at us having fun with science. Everyone got to learn about the PH Scale and how chemicals work together. I was very proud of how everyone followed directions and worked carefully with their partners. We had a lot of fun.

Help our class get new Technology into our room!

We have a donor page where anyone can donate to our classroom so that we can continue to develop the technology that we have access to in our room. We are trying to get some ipods for our room so that we can use them for reading and math fluency. We can actually read a story into the ipod and then listen to ourselves read so we can see where we need the most work. We can even listen to stories on the ipod so we can access material that may be to difficult for us to read. The best thing is that Ms. McGinley is going to teach us how to take pictures with the ipod cameras so we can take pictures of our classroom and download them to the website. We can even take pictures to use in our writing powerpoints. Wow! Can you believe we are going to learn all that!!!! Visit our donor page and let us know how excited you are about our learning. http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=557028&verify=1306758410

Writing is serious business in first grade.

Writing is serious busines; especially when there is an author's chair waiting for a budding new author to share their precious stories. Come join us in our classroom and see for yourself what amazing ideas these first graders have.

We know how to have fun!

We are reading champions in Ms. McGinley's classroom but we also know when to let our hair down and have a good time. Skate night offers students a fun, relaxing time. They can show their moves, laugh, and build social relationships. I had a great time joining in.

We love reading in our classroom!

Just look at these kids go.... read, read, read--it is all they want to do. :) I heard from many parents during conferences that their children come home and want to read, some even read at top notch volume early in the morning. :) I love knowing that they are developing a "love of reading". It will be a life-long tool for them. YEAH!!!!

Look what we are learning in class!!!!

We are learning how to use our promethean board. Everyone loves it and our learning is very engaging. Please ask your student how it works and how they are learning.

Spelling becomes an enjoyed community activity. Everyone hurries to write the answer on their personal whiteboards to check it with the student "teacher's" answers. It is very cool to watch.

Welcome Back Everyone!!!!!!

I've missed everyone and can't wait to see you tomorrow. I have lots of new and exciting things to share with you. We have our new wireless testing ready, we have a classroom camera so you can start sharing pictures of your learning with your parents, and of course I bought some new books.

Spring Break

I know that you are all excited to be on Spring Break. I am sure that everyone will get to do something fun. Anna is going to Disney World - fun, fun. Ayden is going to plant a garden with his mother. Kaylah is going to the beach. I can't wait to hear what everyone else gets to do.

Don't forget to read over Spring Break so you can WOW me with your brilliance. Ms. McGinley

Thanks to everyone for attending conferences and allowing me to share your child's wonderful successes with you.

Pajama Party on Wednesday

It's true!!!! We have worked hard all week and we are ready for a little rest and relaxation. We decided that we couldn't wait until Spring Break to worship our pajamas so we are wearing them on Wednesday to school - YES TO SCHOOL! We will; however, remember to wear our shoes with them so our feet are safe.

The best part is that Ms. McGinley is going to make everyone a picnic lunch. She is making ham and cheese sandwiches, chips, apple slices and juice. If you don't like that please bring your own cold lunch or be ready to get a lunch from the cafeteria and join us later. If it is nice we will enjoy our lunch outside in the fresh air, but if it rains we will seek safety in our room.

Our class has worked very hard this trimester and we deserve a pat on the back and a little rest and relaxation so get your jammies ready.... I am very proud of all my students and their success!!!!!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Next week is parent conferences. I have a confirmation from almost everyone but just in case, my schedule is below:

Tuesday: 2:45 -Tanner

4:10 - Makara 9:10 - Ty

4:30 - Madison 9:30 - Zoe

4:50 - Shawn 9:50 - Elvis

5:10 - Jesse 10:10 - Horacio

5:30 - Tyson 10:30 - Alyssa

5:50 - Grayson

6:10 - Samuel

6:30 - Nancy

6:50 - Paige

7:10 - Alexis K

Wednesday:

8:50 - Lyssa

9:10 - Ty

9:50 - Elvis

10:10 - Horacio

10:30 - Alyssa

10:50 - Jamie

3:50 - Jordyn

4:10 - Alexis M

4:30 - Bailey

4:50 - Anna

5:10 - Ayden

5:30 - Adrianna

5:50 - Crystal

6:10 - Kaylah

I look forward to sharing all our great work with you all.

Ms. McGinley will be absent from school on Friday, March 11, 2011. I have a writing training to go to so I can learn new ways for our class to learn about writing. You will have Mrs. Marlow as your guest teacher. I'm sure that you will not treat her the way this class is treating their guest teacher. I know that you will all be angles and help her in our classroom. Have a great day.

Student Work Samples

Outstanding Student Work

Some of our students are raising the bar for writing assignments. After researching and writing reports some of the students are making powerpoints of their work to share with their peers. I hope everyone has a chance to do one this year.

Parent Conferences

Dear Parents,

Conferences are just around the corner. I look forward to meeting with all of you. I am very excited to share your child's success with you. Our reading and writing is fabulous and you won't want to miss seeing their growth. Conferences are Tuesday 03-15-11 3:30 - 7:30 and

Thursday 7:30 - 7:30. If you haven't received your scheduled time please contact me so I can assist you.