Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!  The sun is shining and what a beautiful day!  Praise the Lord for ALL of the blessings that He gives us!

Yesterday, during our Prayer Partner Activity, we learned about the next mission of the month (well…month and a half).  We are going to be sending money to the Seminary, in order that the Chaplins that serve overseas, can provide Bibles, little cards with Scripture verses on them, even popsicles!  (Sometimes, it is the little things that the men and women serving overseas are given that they appreciate SO much!)  If you are able, please send in donations to give to this great mission.  

In Religion, we learned about Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. We talked about how Satan tries to entice us to be greedy and not be satisfied with what we have. We talked about the “Greed Monster” and how he tries to steal our joy and our love, our patience, our kindness, etc…  Being thankful and grateful for all that the Lord provides for us, isn’t always easy, especially in our consumer-driven society.   How can we avoid the “Greed Monster”?  Praying for guidance is always a good way to start.  God promises to be there for us and help us!

We continue to work in groups and they are doing well with this!  We have been reading the play “Henny Penny” and even though they were in small groups, I didn’t assign them “parts” to read….and then I stepped back and watched to see what they would do.  Lo and behold….there was NO arguing (in ANY group)!  They figured it out on their own!!!  I have to say, secretly inside, I was like a proud mama.  Lol!

Also, today, we (as a class), came up with some killer tongue-twisters using our spelling words!

There will be a Math test tomorrow and our regular spelling and memory tests will be happening as well.  Please make sure they are studying as hard as they can in order that they may be prepared for all of these tests.  Thanks for your help with this on the home front. 

I hope that you are able to get outside today and enjoy all of that wonderful thing that we haven’t seen in awhile, the SUN!
Blessings!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

The weather is finally turning!  Yea!  I hope that you are able to get outside and enjoy God’s wonderful and beautiful creation!

I don’t know if your firstie has told you but we have started to write in a journal and some of their writing has been quite interesting to read!  The minds of 6/7 year olds…… Oh my. 

Here is an example of our journal from yesterday….

(the words that are misspelled are nauseous and “pukey”)

As they are writing more and more (we try to journal several times during the week) they are putting their spelling words to good use! They are applying their knowledge (limited, right now, yes….) of grammar; punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.  We will continue to practice writing to strengthen these skills that they are learning.  

We are learning about Jesus’ teachings and today we learned about the parable of the rich young ruler.  We talked about what this man had and what he wanted.  We also spoke about how we really are able to get to Heaven….though the grace of God and only because of Him and what He did for us.  

In Science we have been learning about weather and today we talked about clouds!  The firsties drew pictures of different kinds of clouds and precipitation in the air, and they really did a great job!  Watch for the pictures (they will be coming home tomorrow) and ask your firstie to share the labels with you.  

Finally, here is a little  (or a lot) sparkle for you, because who doesn't need some sparkle to brighten their day?

(It is seriously one of the biggest bows I have ever seen.....I LOVE IT! )

Blessings!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

Time has escaped me!  First of all, I can NOT believe that we are already in the 4^th marking period!!!  This year has positively flown by and I have so enjoyed my firsties; how much they have learned and how much they have grown. 

More recently, though, I had every intention of posting our St. Patrick’s Day party pictures and fun, but again, time just escaped me.  So even though they are a few weeks old, here they are! 

 The firsties had loads of fun making a “leprechaun trap”, going on a scavenger hunt to find out where he “hid” the gold, listening to a story, and graphing using Lucky Charms.  Many thanks to Mrs. Samborn for all of her hard work that she did in creating this fun party for the kiddos.  

3^rd marking period report cards are coming home today.  They don’t need to come back signed, but are just for you to have an update on where your firstie is.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!  Thank you!

We have been learning about Jesus’ miracles in Religion class and learned (or heard again) about the feeding of the 5,000 (well, there were actually more than 5,000!).  Ask your firstie about how willing they were to share the little bread that I offered them, with the 2^nd grade class?  And then the 3^rd & 4^th grade classes?  (They actually weren’t too keen on the idea and thought that they wouldn’t have much left for themselves if they shared with some of the other classes.) Jesus showed how powerful is He by not only providing the people there, the food that they needed to nourish their bodies, but also He provided the food that they needed to nourish their souls. He sat with them and talked with them and taught them about how much God loves them.   He does this for US too!  He gives us what we need both body and soul.  Praise the Lord, for His goodness! 

We are in a new chapter in Math!  We going to be studying and learning about measurement!  I am excited to be doing something a little different and I think the firsties are too! (A few of them said today….This is fun! Ha.)

We are also learning about nouns.  We learned that a noun can be a person, a place, or a thing.  Talk about this with your firstie.  Point out what nouns are wherever you are!  I think that they will be surprised at how many nouns they already know and how they are surrounded by them. 

The rest of this week should be somewhat normal (whatever that is....!)

Blessings!

Standing on the amazing promises of God,

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

The firsties received a couple “new” things yesterday!  Did they tell you?  NEW Religion books, NEW hard-covered reading books, NEW reading workbooks, and NEW seating arrangements!  Whew!  They handled all of the “newness” well…..they are getting better about “going with the flow”, since lately, our weeks have been so out of the norm.  

March is Reading Month and if you get a chance, take a stroll down the main hallway and check out the door decorations and reading decorations in celebration of this month.  I have to admit to you ( please don't tell the firsties), that I reused two door decorations that I did a few years ago.  They are both still pretty cool and I am quite proud of em. :)

In Religion Class yesterday, we began learning about Jesus’ many miracles.  Did your firstie come home with a Band-Aid on a finger yesterday?  Did you notice the red cross on it?  Ask your kiddo why in the world they were wearing a Band-Aid and why their teacher drew a red cross on it. I gave another one to each firstie so that they may share with someone else that they choose.

(please ignore the middle finger sticking out!)

The visit from the comfort dog “Faith” on Friday, went well!  The first graders were very calm and gentle with her and they had lots of questions for her “handler”.  Each firstie was able to pet Faith, love on her, and a few even hugged her.  I do believe that having her here was a good thing and though Abby’s name wasn’t brought up specifically, we are all still grieving. 

 

 

We are pressing on in Math and have been learning about two-digit subtraction.  We are using all of the tools that we have here at school; ten frames, blocks, and our hundred charts.  If your firstie needs additional help or needs any of those tools to use at home, please let me know.  I can send home whatever is needed.

 

Tomorrow, in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day, we will be making a leprechaun trap….hmmm…..what will that entail?  Stay tuned! 

Blessings!

Miss Gallagher

Dear Parents,

I wanted to share with you a few snap shots from the last few weeks….

*Seeing the joy of the firsties faces when they were able to go on the GIANT snow hill out in the parking lot for the first time….

*Kindergarten student students hugging the legs of the 7&8grade students as they are walked down the hall….and the older kids totally loving it….

*Students embracing the bracelets that we were given to us, in remembrance of Abby.   

*Students getting excited about March being reading month and, for me, seeing how far they have come with reading this year…

It has been a very “different” few weeks but in looking ahead, I am excited about what is coming up.   

We have the comfort dog coming to visit the whole school tomorrow and I am looking forward to seeing how the firsties interact with the dog. 

My former kindergarten teacher passed away two weeks ago and I was able to go home for her funeral, last weekend.  She was a wonderful Christian lady who taught for 41 years.  She and her husband were some of my parents’ closest and oldest friends; they even traveled together often.  She was sick but only had been sick for a few months….so it was quite a shock when she passed.  The more I heard about the days before her passing, the more I heard that she was ready to go.  I am so thankful and comforted that she had peace and understanding of her Lord and Savior….what a blessing.  What an amazing blessing. That is not to say that she won't be missed and I am certainly sad, but the knowledge of her with Jesus, lessens it.

One of my classmates, found this picture and had a framed and sent it to her when she retired.  We were a special class to her and she told my mom later, that receiving the picture, was one of the very best gifts she received. I shared it with the firsties this morning....a few were able to find me....can you? :)

Standing of the powerful promises of God,

Miss Gallagher