Miss Hutchison's Class Blog

Notes for Parents:

• Here is the note that came home about Valentine’s day cards. Please let me know if you have any questions!

• Interested in purchasing PE Apparel from our annual fundraiser? Here is the link to the ordering website. Orders can be made until January 29.
• Please email me your child’s winter sport schedule so I can come cheer him/her on!  

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CELEBRATIONS

Top Frog – We have been learning about empathy, kindness, and compliments over the past few weeks. Each day, every first grader writes a kind, complimentary note for the Top Frog and put it in his or her special envelope. Emma P, Kendall, Lily, Rocco, and Colton got their Heart Notes this week! 

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Miss Hutchison awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to CHARLOTTE for being a role model!

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning, give awards for the quote of the week, along with awards for lost teeth, shoe-tying, & birthdays from the week. Here are our “award-winning” first graders from Friday’s family time.

Mystery Reader – Logan’s mom and his little sister came to read to our class on Tuesday. Then, Kendall’s mom surprised us as our mystery reader this Wednesday! Thank you for visiting our class. 🙂

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OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We have been exploring characters over the past few weeks. This week, we practiced talking like the characters in our books and even acting out parts of stories like the characters would! 

Writing – We have continued writing reviews this week by learning a variety of strategies to use when trying to convince our readers! First graders are writing about things that they think are the best: best restaurant, best movie, best athlete, etc.  

Math – We learned how to draw ten sticks and ones circles to make numbers. We also practiced comparing two digit numbers using >, <, and =. (For example, 16 < 61.)  

Word Study – We reviewed contractions this week by playing a few different games with the word cards including memory and go fish! 

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Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, January 27 – Music
• Tuesday, January 28 – PE, library
• Wednesday, January 29- Art
• Thursday, January 30 – STEAM
• Friday January 31 – STEAM, Early Release @ 12:15 pm
• Monday, February 3 and Tuesday, February 4 – NO SCHOOL (midwinter break)
• Wednesday, February 5 – Miss Hutchison will not be at school

Notes for Parents:

• Here is the note that came home about Valentine’s day cards. Please let me know if you have any questions!

• Interested in purchasing PE Apparel from our annual fundraiser? Here is the link to the ordering website. Orders can be made until January 29.
• If you have a chance to complete a Kindness Story with your child, we would love to add their page to our “Kindness Book” this week!
• Please email me your child’s winter sport schedule so I can come cheer him/her on!  

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CELEBRATIONS

Top Frog – We have been learning about empathy, kindness, and compliments over the past few weeks. Each day, every first grader will write a kind, complimentary note for the Top Frog and put it in his or her special envelope. Wesley, Mia, Kylee, Emma M, and Claire got their Heart Notes this week! 

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Miss Hutchison awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to KENDALL for looking out for others and helping them!

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning, give awards for the quote of the week, along with awards for lost teeth, shoe-tying, & birthdays from the week. Here are our “award-winning” first graders from Friday’s family time.

Mystery Reader – Lily’s mom surprised us as our mystery reader this Wednesday! Thank you for reading to our class. 🙂

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OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We explored characters all week long. We searched for the main character in stories, watched how characters can change throughout a story, and analyzed character traits.  

Writing – We have continued writing reviews this week by learning a variety of strategies to use when trying to convince our readers! First graders are writing about things that they think are the best: best restaurant, best movie, best athlete, etc.  

Math – We focused on teen numbers this week, and we tried to find the “hidden ten” to help us solve teen number equations. We also learned about doubles equations (1+1, 6+6, 8+8, etc.) 

Word Study – We added multiple new snap words to our word walls this week. We also looked at different ways to spell the same sounds. For example, the sound “oh” can be spelled with “oa,” “ow,” and “o.” 

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Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, January 20 – STEAM
• Tuesday, January 21 – Music, library
• Wednesday, January 22- PE
• Thursday, January 23 – Art
• Friday January 24 – STEAM

The annual P.E Apparel sale is officially open and will be open until January 29, 2020!  If you are interested in buying any apparel, you must order online this year.

The link is: https://bit.ly/30fOoh0

Here is the design and colors available:

Notes for Parents:

• Be on the lookout for an email from me later this week with a sign-up for our last party of the year: Valentine’s day party. 
• Please email me your child’s winter sport schedule so I can come cheer him/her on!  

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CELEBRATIONS

Top Frog – Our newest round of “Top Frog” activities began this week with our heart notes! We have been learning about empathy, kindness, and compliments over the past few weeks. Each day, every first grader will write a kind, complimentary note for the Top Frog and put it in his or her special envelope. Jessica and Bella got their heart notes on Thursday and Friday!

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Miss Hutchison awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to BRYCE for always giving his full effort and attention to learning!

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning, give awards for the quote of the week, along with awards for lost teeth, shoe-tying, & birthdays from the week. Here are our “award-winning” first graders from Friday’s family time.

Sports Day – We celebrated our 18 star reward on Tuesday with sports day! We played four corners with sports questions, silent seat ball, and extra recess. Plus, on Wednesday, we went to the gym to have some free time with sports equipment! 

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OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We spent this week refreshing our memory about what it looks like to be an avid reader. We also reviewed giving a “Five Finger Retell” after reading fiction stories. We even wrote out retells for our favorite stories on Friday! 

Writing – We began a new writing unit this week: Writing Reviews! Students used their collections to pick the item they thought was the best. Then they used examples and reasons to justify their opinions. We also learned how to “check” our writing to make sure it has all of the necessary components: an opinion, three reasons, and a conclusion. 

Math – This was our first week of doing “Math Switch!” Students work in specified groups on unique tasks to support their exact math learning needs. We began learning about place value this week by finding the hundreds, tens, and ones digits in a given number. We also practiced comparing numbers using >, <, and =. 

Word Study – We practiced using ALL of the things we’ve learned about word to help us figure out big, long words! We also learned the importance of having a vowel in every syllable of a word, especially when we are writing words. 

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Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, January 13 – Art
• Tuesday, January 14 – STEAM, library
• Wednesday, January 15- PE
• Thursday, January 16 – Music
• Friday January 17 – Art

I hope your new year is off to a great start! We kicked off the new year with a GREAT week together and lots of positive new year’s resolutions! 

Welcome back! We are ready to have an amazing second half of the school year! I’m so sorry for putting things on your to-do list right at the start of January, but the kids are excited to partake in these two activities tomorrow:

1. Shoebox Collections – If you have time, please send in a small shoebox collection with your first grader tomorrow (it can be in a baggie – shoebox isn’t necessary!). Please do not worry if you are unable to gather a collection – we can share! Here is the note:

2. Sports Day – To celebrate our 18 STAR reward, we will be having sports day tomorrow. Students can wear sports gear for the day! (No helmets or hats, please.)

Thank you for helping us kick off 2020 with some fun learning experiences!

Notes for Parents:

• After break, we are hoping to have our students bring in shoe box collections to use with the upcoming writing unit. Please see the note below for details about what to send in: 

• Please email me your child’s winter sport schedule so I can come cheer him/her on!  

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CELEBRATIONS

Top Frog – Our newest round of “Top Frog” activities began this week with the privilege of sitting at Miss Hutchison’s desk for the day! Lily, Rocco, Colton, & Henley loved having a special work spot for the day. 

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Miss Hutchison awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to ROCCO for having amazing manners and showing kindness!

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning, give awards for the quote of the week, along with awards for lost teeth, shoe-tying, & birthdays from the week. Here are our “award-winning” first graders from Friday’s family time. 

Book Exchange – Thank you so much for sending in a book for our classroom book exchange! The kids had SO much fun and were the most respectful and kind group of first graders with each other as they opened their books! We even got to read some of the books as a class.

Holiday Party – Thank you to ALL of the parents who volunteered at our holiday party or sent in goodies for the event. The kids had a blast playing games, making crafts, and eating yummy snacks!

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OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We are learning how to get super smart about nonfiction topics. We’ve been exploring text features, tables of contents, and more! 

Writing – We finished up our nonfiction writing books by picking one of our stories to “Fix & Fancy” so we can publish it to show you!

Math – We wrapped up our unit on story problems this week and took our Unit 3 assessment. I am so impressed with how much our first graders have learned about using strategies to solve word problems these past few weeks!

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HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD:

Netherlands – Instead of filling stockings, Sinterklaas fills children’s wooden shoes with treats and small gifts. So, we made our own wooden shoes (with paper) and lined them up in our classroom just like Dutch children would!

Sweden – We made crowns of candles to celebrate St. Lucia’s day, which coincidentally falls on Dec. 13 each year! On Monday morning, Mrs. Greenlund (whose family is from Sweden) came to our class dressed as St. Lucia and taught us about how her family celebrates the holiday!

Mexico – We made our own poinsettia crafts as we learned about some holiday traditions celebrated in Mexico (including pinatas!).

America (Kwanzaa)– We learned a little about Kwanzaa traditions, and students had the option to make some bracelets with the colored beads that represent the 7 days of Kwanzaa.

France – We learned about yule logs and we even got to play the “bead” game, which resembles the fun tradition of finding the prize in the “Kings Cake.”

America – For our final stop, we came back home to the United States to be reminded of how so many of our American holiday traditions have originated from other countries. We had hot cocoa, too! 

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Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, January 6 – PE, School Resumes
• Tuesday, January 7 – Art, send in shoe box collections, Sports Day! (wear sports clothes as part of our class “18 star” celebration)
• Wednesday, January 8- STEAM
• Thursday, January 9 – Music
• Friday, January 10 – P.E

I hope you have a wonderful winter break! I am BEYOND lucky to be able to have the BEST job in the world of teaching your first graders. Thank you for your kind words and overwhelming generosity in this season! A little something is in the mail for your first grader reminding them that I can’t wait to see them in January.💕

Notes for Parents:

• Our class will be visiting the Penguin Patch holiday shop this Monday, December 16. If you would like your child to shop at the holiday shop, please send his/her $ in a labeled envelope (preferably the one sent home attached to the penguin patch note). Thank you!
• Our classroom holiday party will be on Thursday, December 19 from 12:30-1:45 pm. Parent volunteers, be on the lookout for an email from me with confirmation details! 
• Please email me your child’s winter sport schedule so I can come cheer him/her on!  

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CELEBRATIONS

Top Frog – Our newest round of “Top Frog” activities began this week with the privilege of sitting at Miss Hutchison’s desk for the day! Kylee, Emma M, Claire, Emma P, and Kendall loved having a special work spot for the day. 

Quote of the Week – Each week, our class learns about a new quote and spends the whole week trying to embody that quote. At the end of the week, Miss Hutchison awards a friend from our class who really shined with that quote’s energy from throughout the week. This week’s quote went to BRONWYN for looking out for others!

First Grade Family Time – Every Friday, all of the first graders at Georgetown get together for a little assembly! At the assembly, we celebrate our learning, give awards for the quote of the week, along with awards for lost teeth, shoe-tying, & birthdays from the week. Here are our “award-winning” first graders from Friday’s family time. 

Mystery Reader – Nathan’s brother and mom surprised our class as this week’s mystery readers! 

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OUR LEARNING:

Reading– We are learning how to get super smart about nonfiction topics. We’ve been exploring text features, tables of contents, and more! 

Writing – We have been writing our own nonfiction chapter books all month long! We’re writing about animals, places, holidays, and more.

Math – We wrapped up our unit on story problems this week and took our Unit 3 assessment. I am so impressed with how much our first graders have learned about using strategies to solve word problems these past few weeks!

Word Study – We learned that not only can words have a blend at the end, they can also have a digraph at the end (ish, ack, all, ing). 

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HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD:

Australia – We learned that Christmas is during the summer in Australia! Many have barbecues on the beach to celebrate. We played some games with a beach ball and pretended it was warm and sunny here, too! 

Germany – We learned that Germany is the country where Christmas trees and gingerbread houses originated. We loved making gingerbread houses with our fourth grade buddies! Check out the photos at this blog post. 

India – We learned a little about Diwali (Festival of Lights) and got to design our own rangoli (sand art) on paper. 

Netherlands – Instead of filling stockings, Sinterklaas fills children’s wooden shoes with treats and small gifts. So, we made our own wooden shoes (with paper) and lined them up in our classroom just like Dutch children would!

Sweden – We made crowns of candles to celebrate St. Lucia’s day, which coincidentally falls on Dec. 13 each year! A special visitor is coming to our class tomorrow to teach us more about this holiday. 🙂 

Hanukkah – Micah’s mom came to our class on Wednesday and taught us a little bit about the holiday that Micah celebrates during this time of year: Hanukkah! We read the book Shmelf, the Hanukkah Elf and got to see a real Menorah. Plus, Micah’s family graciously brought every first grader all of the things they needed to play dreidel at home. What an awesome experience for our class! 

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Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, December 16 – Music, Penguin Patch holiday shop, green/red day
• Tuesday, December 17 – P.E., library, holiday hat day
• Wednesday, December 18- Art, cozy scarf or socks day
• Thursday, December 19 – STEAM, class holiday party, PJ day
• Friday December 20 – Music, holiday sweater or shirt day
• Monday, January 6 – School Resumes

Here are a bunch of pictures from yesterday’s holiday program (and a few from the rehearsal that morning). Our first graders did an AMAZING job – I’m so proud of them every day, but last night was especially outstanding! Enjoy the pictures!! 

  We had a ton of fun making gingerbread houses with our fourth grade buddies on Tuesday! Earlier in the day, we “traveled” to Germany and learned that gingerbread houses originated there, so we decided to make our own in celebration of our learning. The houses turned out to be awesome (and delicious)! 

Thank you, thank you to those who sent in items for this project – we appreciate your generosity and couldn’t have enhanced our learning without your support! 

Our first graders are so excited to perform for you at our annual school holiday music program on Thursday, December 12, 2019! Here are ALL of the details you need to know about the event.

Where is the program? The holiday program is held at Fair Haven Ministries just down the road from Georgetown Elementary at the corner of Baldwin Street and 28th Ave.

What time do students need to be there?
Students need to report to their assigned classroom 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM.

• 6:30 – 7:00   K-2nd     (Students report at 6:15)
• 7:45 – 8:15   3rd-5th   (Students report at 7:30)

It is very important not to be late so teachers have enough time to line students up in their riser orders, pass out props and make sure everyone who has a special part is accounted for. Please do not send your child to the classroom unsupervised or prior to their scheduled time.  Please keep their coats with you.

Where does my child need to go when they get to the church?
There will be signs directing you to your child’s classroom.
Below are the room assignments by grade along with a map of the rooms.

• K and 5th – Family Life Center 
• 1st  and 3rd –  100 Wing
• 2nd  and 4th –  400 Wing 

How long will the program be?  Each group will perform for about 30 minutes. There will be 45 minutes between the two programs for K-2nd grade students to leave and upper elementary students to arrive for the next program.

What order are the grades singing? The grades are singing in order of age: Kindergarten perform first, then 1st/2nd grade, then 3rd grade and finally 4th/5th grade.

Can we save seats earlier in the day? No. The only reserved seats will be marked off and are for the directors, students and teachers. Seating is first come first serve when the doors open.

PLEASE be respectful and courteous to other families. Everyone wants a good seat and we will do our best to fit everyone into the auditorium.  Please try to keep young children on your laps and not to take up unnecessary seats in order to leave more space for others.

Is food or drink allowed in the church? Absolutely no food or drink is allowed in the church. This is strictly enforced.

Do the students need to wear anything special? No. Most students love to dress up and will wear special holiday dresses or outfits, but there is no requirement. The exception to this is if your child has a special part. Some parts require special costumes. Many costumes are provided, but some may have to be brought from home. If your child has a special part, they should have brought home a “congratulations” letter that would say if they need to wear or bring anything special. Please note that if your child has a special part that requires a costume, they will NOT have time to change in between songs and will need to wear their costume for the entire performance.

How do students get special parts? For most parts, students audition during the school day. Sometimes simple parts are randomly chosen by pulling a class number from a jar or assigning my ipad to randomly pick a name. I also keep track of every student who has ever had a Christmas program part from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Whenever possible, I try to give parts to students who have not ever had parts or who have not had parts in the past couple years. Typically, I will have about 50-100 students audition for one part! I narrow the students down to about 20 and put those names in a bowl and draw a lucky winner. Although I would love everyone to have a part, having almost 600 students and only a handful of parts each year is very difficult. I discuss this with the students and they realize everyone cannot have a solo part, but that EVERY single person is important to the success of the program. Most songs have special props or motions that involve everyone as well.

How do we order a DVD of the performance? WCET TV records the performance each year.  They sell DVD’s for $15.

Please fill this form out and return to office.Holiday DVD Form 2019

Who do I contact if I have questions? Please email Mrs. Bretz at abretz@hpseagles.net.  This is usually the fastest way to communicate with me- especially the day or two before the program.   I am often out of my classroom during dress rehearsals so phone messages are not always able to be checked.