Sunday, December 9, 2007

Report Cards and other...

I would like to say "Thank You" to all the families that have helped me to create a hard-working, motivated first grade classroom. All the children in my classroom brought home their first grading period report card and I must assure you all that each student has already made significant individual gains in the first four months of the academic year. Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the first grade classroom is knowing there are still many skills to learn and hone. I ask you all to continue helping me in the development process to ensure each student achieves a significant amount of personal growth throughout the next grading period.

Next I would like to extend a word of "appreciation" to the Room 108 Art Appreciation parents. Lori Malinksi, Paula Hurtado, and Carrie Bankes infused our classroom with an excellent array of Henri Rousseau artwork and awareness. Rousseau created a number of jungle themed pieces of work that fit in very well with the growing jungle theme in our room. After viewing many different Rousseau characteristics students were able to utilize many different artistic materials such as stamps, construction and wall paper, oil pastels, magazine cut out, and others to produce their own rendition of Rousseau inspiration.

Below is an assortment of pictures of Room 108 Art Appreciation work.
(pictures courtesy of Carrie Bankes)




Two final notes: 1) Scholastic December book orders must be turned into Mr. Reynolds by Tuesday, December 11 to ensure delivery prior to winter break.
2) Our class will be attending a performance of the Nutcracker Ballet on Thursday, December 13. For many of the children this may be their first formal ballet experience and I am asking for each child to dress in an appropriate manner for such an event. Many people have put in a lot of hard work and practice to present this performance (there will even be a live orchestra!) and out of respect to them I feel the audience should look and behave in a manner that will reflect this.

Thank you for your time and support in creating a successful first grade experience for our students. Please remember to bundle up for the cold weather!!