End of the Year

Summer Safety:  As we finish out the year, the students are learning about Summer safety. This week we will talk about pool safety, bicycling safety and sun safety. Just from our discussions today, it is evident that the students know a lot about how to stay safe in the summer. Great job parents!
Stars and Stripes: We will learn about the American flag colors and what the design represents.  Flag Day is Saturday, June 14th.
Memory Book: The students are completing their memory book of the school year. They will bring these home on Friday.
Move-up Day Assembly is Thursday, May 29 from 2:30 to 3:00. The students will have a chance to meet the next year's teachers and ask questions. Dr. Doherty will talk to the students at the assembly and we will recognize him for his years of work at Captain Elementary.
Last Day is Friday: The fifth grade promotion ceremony is at 9 a.m. My daughter Carolyn will be walking across the stage. School will dismiss at 1:30 after all the students have lunch.
Grade Cards and Next Year's Teacher information will be mailed home on the last day Friday, May 30th.

Meet Dr. Martin

Today First Grade students got to meet Dr. Jen Martin, our new Principal for next year.
She read a story to the class and answered their questions. We found out Dr. Martin is married. She has two children and a pet dog. She has been principal before coming to our school.  She likes the color blue, spaghetti and chocolate.  Also, she drinks tea and not coffee just like Mrs. Goode!

Serento Springs First Graders wrote us a note

How Many Days Left?????

That's right...There are only 13 days left of school!
 Here are the end of the year activities  in Captain First Grade.

Wednesday, May 14- Late Start
Friday, May 16-  Report Card Day, no school for students.
Monday, May 19, 6 p.m.- Meet the New Principal, Dr. Jennifer Martin, Popsicles on the Playground
Wednesday, May 21- Spirit day- dress up as your favorite sports hero
Thursday, May 22- Spirit day- Crazy Hat and Hair Day
Friday, May 23- Field Day AND Captain Carnival/Fair
Monday, May 26-No School- Memorial DayFriday, May 30- Last Day- Dismissal at 1 p.m.

Math:
We teach and test Chapter 15: Calendar and Time. Then we will introduce only identifying coins and mixed coin counting in Chapter 19. 

Reading:
We are reading our Chapter books long and strong to build our stamina. We are trying to make the "movie" of the books story in our head.

Writing: We are writing our First Grade memories.

Social Studies: We are finishing our Marketplace unit by studying coins. Then we will learn about Summer Safety.

Playground Construction

Thanks to the PTO and their fundraisers over the years, Captain will be getting some new playground structures. The weather has been rainy and the students have noticed how long it is taking to install the new equipment. Notice the "caution" tape and snow fencing around the construction. The boys really like the bobcat front loader.

Notice the "caution" tape around the area.

The hole has filled up with water from the rain! 

Notice the bobcat front loader in the background.

Magic House Fun!

Today we went to the Magic House to learn about community jobs. Then we planned our own towns during the lesson.  The children loved exploring the indoor village. Thank you parents for all your support.

Life Long Reader

Harper Collins has a post about how to create a life long reader.

Please take a look
http://harpercollinschildrens.tumblr.com/post/82994073693/10-steps-to-raising-a-lifelong-reader

2nd Grade Fairy Tale Theater

We loved watching the second grade's performance of Fairy Tale Theater. Several students saw friends or siblings performing.

Reading Chapter Books with Partners

We have been focusing on reading chapter books with partners so we can talk about the books. We have learned to ask, "Why?" to our partner's responses or predictions. Asking why helps the partner to think and talk deeply about the story. It was a great, rainy day to have a blanket and pillow for this activity.

Bald Eagle Research

We have started our research unit on Bald Eagles. One of our tools for learning about Bald Eagles is the live eagle camera from Decorah, Iowa or in Minnesota.

The links are:
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
http://mnbound.com/live-eagle-cam/

Today we watched the eagles in Decorah, Iowa.  There were two eaglets and one egg. At the end of the morning we saw a baby eagle being born!  What an awesome experience on the first  day.

Partner Reading

On Thursday,  April 4, 2014 the students will be Partner Reading a shared book after math.
They are allowed to bring a blanket and pillow for this activity.

Demun Field Trip Photos

We had beautiful weather for our walking field trip. Thank you to the parents who helped make our trip safe and fun. We walked to the log cabin and got a tour inside. We also got to play on the playground at Demun Park!