Thank You!

Dear Parents,

It has been my pleasure teaching your children this year.  I have learned as much from them as they have learned from me.  Each and every child is unique, creative, loving, caring, special, and a true gift. I will miss the kids immensely as they wrap up the end of the year and prepare for a fun summer!

I just want you all to know that the kids are in great hands.  All of the lessons and fun projects that are planned for your children are still going to happen in and out of the classroom.  Joy and Shari have been wonderful! I am also in close contact with the teachers and administration daily to support the transition in any way that I can. I will be visiting a few times before the school year ends.  I look forward to bumping into you all and visiting with the children. I miss them already!

Have a wonderful rest of the year!

Sincerely,
Jill Davis

Our "silly faces" after a celebration the children put on for me!  So sweet!  :)

First and Second Grade (missing our sweet Eliora!)

Abby presenting me with a flower to put in my vase........

All the children gave me a beautiful flower and card......



We all recieved a copy of the book, Pocket Kisses!



Some examples of "pocket kisses".

Author and Mom Willa Perlman Visits Second Grade!

Dear Parents,

We had a such a wonderful time listening to the story, Pocket Kisses, by Willa Perlman.  We learned how the story was created and the ideas behind the writer's concept.  Willa also shared the entire process a writer potentially experiences in hopes that their book will be published.  Thank you so much Willa!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Davis

First Grade Puppet Show - Animal Habitats

First Grade Updates

During the past few weeks we:

• learned about the various treasures in our country, family, and home.  What treasures can you find in your home? On the beach? When visiting Yellow Stone Park? Your back yard?
• learned how to write an informational paragraph using a topic sentence and supporting details.
• continued learning more about solids and liquids.  Students recently explored a plethora amount of mystery liquids. Students learned about sorting circles and how to sort the many liquids according to their properties.  Please ask your child if liquid detergent, cooking oil, colored water, hand soap is TRANSLUCENT OR TRANSPARENT, VISCOUS OR FLOWING, BUBBLY OR FOAMY? ? Students are doing a fabulous job working with their science buddies to problem solve and help each other learn more about solids and liquids.  Please ask your child scientist what kind of scientific illustration or focus question they worked on today? Just to mention that we have science every Tuesday and Wednsday.
• worked on our invitations for our First Grade Puppet Show! Students have been practicing their lines and putting the finisihing touches on their puppet during art.  The actual script is derived from our Readers' Theater Series. Students will be putting on a puppet show for the students at JCDS.  We are currently trying to figure out a day that parents can also attend the puppet show.  I will keep you posted.

Reminders:

*Parent Teacher Conferences

*Encourage your child to Login to Reading Street.  Students will gain more fluency and comprehension when practicing the e-reads!

Thank you!

Mrs. Davis

Several engineers competing.......

First and Second Graders Explore Solid Materials

Who can build the tallest tower?  Materials that must be used; 1 straw, 2 cardboard squares, 1 cup, and 1 square of tinfoil.  What solid materials were helpful when building your tower?  Ask your child about their scientific illustrations and their "I wonder" entries in their science notebooks.

Second Grade Science Museum

Reese explaining what a plant needs to survive.

Eli disussing the process of photosynthesis.

Where does cotton come from? Max explains to many students at JCDS

Ben anwering the question, "Which plant made these items?"

Pre-k students learning about the various parts of a plant.

Annabelle's sweater that is made from bamboo.

Annabelle reading poetry about the life cycle of a plant.

Is a coconut a seed?

Students acting out "photosynthesis"

Spelling Test

First and Second Grade Spelling Test

We will have last week's spelling test on Monday February 7, 2011 due to the snow days.

Please encourage your child to look over and practice their spelling words!

Thank you!

Dear Second Grade Parents

Here are some things that are going on this week!


We will:

• host our Science Museum on Wednesday.  Pre-k, kindergarten, and first grade will be attending.
• begin our Rag Coat literacy book bag project!  Families have the opportunity to snuggle together and enjoy this beautiful literacy experience.  Please make sure your child takes special care of the book bag. Students that bring the book bag home on Monday will return it on Thursday.  The student that brings it home on Thursday will return it on Monday.
• finalize our Adopt-a-Pet persuasive essay.  Will students convince others to go out an adopt a pet?
• learn more about multiplication and division.
• learn more about Brazil and Peru.

Next week we:

• will begin our new science unit on Solids and Liquids.

Jill :)

First Grade Parents

Dear First Grade Parents,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  We had a great time on our field trip to Mystic Aquarium.  We enjoyed the sea lion show, petting the sting-rays, and observing all of the animals.  Wow!  We learned a lot about invertebrates and mammals!

Jill :)

A few notes:

• We will have our spelling test today and wrap up Unit 3 week 4 !
• Unit 3 week 5 will be uploaded to Reading Street today!
• Homework Packets will be given out today and it will be due on Friday.
• We will begin our new science unit on Solids and Liquids next week.  We will be combining classes with second grade.
• If you have any small rocks to donate to our class please send them with your child.  We need them for our "rock jar".
• If any family could donate a bottle of hand sanitizer to the classroom, that would be fabulous.......the more bottles the better!
• Remember to dress WARM!

Jill :)

Mystic Trip

 The Beluga Whales.....

 K and First having fun!

 Exploring the crabs, starfish, and turtles!

 Eliora the octopus!

Mr. Jordan......

What can we learn about animals as they grow and change?

Dear First Grade Parents,

We are learning about how animals grow and change this week. Please take the time this week to sit with your child and log on to Reading Street.  Please pay close attention to your child as they read the e-reads, sing our weekly song, and sort our weekly anthology in the correct sequence.  It is crucial for us to work together to support your children as they grow and change as readers and learners.  This semester I am going to focus on many comprehension skills and strategies along with guiding students to build their oral fluency.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me.  I am very proud to say that your children have come a LONG way in reading and writing.  Wow, it is impressive!

Thank you,
Jill :)

Plant Museum

Plant Museum

Second Grade

Dear Second Grade Parents,

Students have been learning about the life cycle of plants all semester.  In the next two weeks students will have the opportunity to show off their Plant Museum.  Students have been working diligently preparing pictures and posters of all different kinds of plants and highlighting important information.  For instance, the process of photosynthesis, the many uses of plants, the different kinds of leaves, and experiments that show what a plant really needs to survive.  Pre-k through first grade are invited to walk through our museum and observe or ask our second graders anything and everything about plants!  Thank you to Jamie Woods for all your work on this garden/plant unit! :)

Jill Davis :)

Mystic Aquarium

Dear First Grade Parents,

We will be venturing out to Mystic, CT to visit the aquarium on January 20, 2011.  We will be participating in a science hands-on program from 10:30-11:30am.  The program reinforces all of the social studies, science, and reading units students have been learning about this year; habitats, how animals grow and change, classification, and life cycles.  The kindergarten class will be joining us.  Students will need to bring a bag lunch.  We will be returning to school around 3pm.

Thank you,
Jill Davis :)

Solids and Liquids Unit with both First and Second Grade

Solids and Liquids

First and Second Grade

Dear Parents,

In the next few weeks I will begin teaching about Solids and Liquids.  We will be combining both first and second grade together two times a week for science.  The Solids and Liquids Module emphasizes the development of observation and description skills and building explanations based on experience.  The module supports the following National Science Education Standards.

Science as Inquiry:

Develop students' abilities to do and understand scientific inquiry.

Content: Physical Science

Develop students' understanding of the characteristics of matter.

Science and Technology

Develop students' abilities in technological design.

I am looking forward to this unit.  I was recently trained by Gemsnet/URI.  The science kit is full of fabulous hands-on activities that the children will love!

Jill Davis :)