September 12, 2008

Upcoming Dates

Sunday, September 14th: Cupertino Jubilee Chicken Dance @ 1:00pm
(PLEASE PLAN ON ARRIVING NO LATER THAN 12:40PM and BRING YOUR
CHILD’S CHICKEN DANCE HAT!)

Friday, September 19th: NO SCHOOL – Staff Learning Day
Teachers throughout the Cupertino District will be getting trained on our new science kits.

Friday, September 26th: Cupertino Library Field Trip
We will be walking to the Cupertino Library after lunch. If you have a blue library card already, please remember to send it on Friday morning. If you do not have a library card, your child will be receiving a new one on our first visit. PLEASE practice your child’s 4-digit PIN number (for new students, it is the first 4 digits of their hot lunch number). We will get to check out two books to bring home. Please return the books directly to the Cupertino Library at your convenience (DO NOT return them to Eaton School!)

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Dear Families,

Sharing went very well this week! Thank you for preparing your child’s riddles with at least four clues and bringing a picture or object to show! Next week we are starting our complete homework packet with vocabulary and spelling. Please remember to study the words and be ready for a test on Thursday.
Here are some highlights from the week:
Poem of the Week: Manners
Song of the Week: Clap Your Name

• Language Arts: We worked on our picture dictionary to the letter L this week. Also, we started our weekend news journals on Monday. Students can write about anything they want in their journals, or they can write about their weekend. Please review the weekend events with your child each Sunday night or Monday morning!

• Math: We finished chapter one this week! It is important that students build a good habit of reading word problems carefully before solving them. We are learning strategies to understand and solve word problems.

• Physical Education: This week, we played Sharks and Minnows on the field. Our PE rotations will start next week where classes will rotate between all the first grade teachers.

• Art: We met our art teacher this week, Mrs. Abada. She did a great lesson on creating distances in pictures (ie. Smaller means far away and larger means closer). We also used crayons and practiced making a crayon rubbing picture by placing shapes behind our paper. We are excited to have our art lessons once a month!

• Music: We also had our first music lesson with Ms. Rachel this week. She let us practice different movements such as walking, marching, and jumping to various songs. We also listened to sounds of different animals and tried to move our bodies like the animals.

• Computer: We had our first computer lab visit this week! We played with the drawing software program: Kidpix. We explored the different features such as drawing lines, boxes, circles, and using tools such as the paint bucket and stamping.

• Social Studies: We learned that it was California’s birthday on the 9th and talked about California’s state flag, flower, tree, and bird. On Thursday, we talked about Patriot Day and how Americans are both same and different.

• Buddies: We saw our buddies again this week and continued our project from before. We shared activities and things that we love and made a heart project with our big buddies.

This week, our classroom behavior was better. We still needed reminders here and there, so please continue to speak with your children about following rules. Also, everyone finished their work! Please encourage your child, especially when you see them at home doing their homework, to finish within a set time free and independently! Most children can do their work if you are sitting next to them, encouraging them to finish. However, they need to build the skill of finishing their work all by themselves. Please help practice this skill at home too! Thank you!

Have a great weekend! Please come early to the Chicken Dance on Sunday! In the past, I have had students come just 5 minutes late, and they miss the whole performance =( Don’t forget your chicken hats too!