Getting a hold of me...
The best way to contact me is through email. I usually check it a couple of times a day and at night. dthelen@pylusd.org

FYI
Please remember to label your child's snack. First graders often forget and take their lunch out with them at snack time. A few students didn't have lunch today and weren't sure if they were supposed to buy or not. On days your child buys it is helpful to review and remind them all the way to school so they don't forget. The easiest way to handle paying for lunch is to put money in an account for your child. You may put a check in an envelope labeled with your child's first and last name. I will be sending "lunch numbers" home with your child soon. Please help your child memorize the number so he/she can punch it into the computer when lunch is purchased. This number is needed even if you don't have a lunch money account.

Get to know me!
To see pictures of my family and my pets, go to "Resource File"

Buying Lunch
Buying lunch the first week is a little overwhelming. I will help students the first week and then send new buyers with experienced ones:-) Your child will have an account to purchase lunches. If you send a check in an envelope with first and last name on it I will turn it in.


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LINKS!
Good news!  I added links to some wonderful web sites for kids.  Look for the "links" tab at the top of the page.

Last update: 1/15/2012 1:59:42 PM     Comments (0)

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January

January has been a busy month!   We read "The Mitten" and "The Hat" by Jan Brett as well as "The Hat" by Alvin Tresselt.  It was interesting to compare and contrast the two mitten stories.  Your child should have brought home a large mitten with animals inside.  This was a tool to help students practice retelling a story.  Retell is an important part of our reading comprehension assessment.  After listening to your child read, it is helpful to ask them to retell the story in their own words.  The more details they remember, the better! 

We are continuing our Solids and Liquids science unit.  We have moved into the second component that focuses on liquids.  Last week we observed several liquids and discussed properties of liquids. 

We also started to learn about penguins!  I love them!  They are cute and so interesting.

Please review daily math pages and tests that come home.  Also review phonics and reading skills pages because those are skills that will be on Friday Skills Tests. 

Last update: 1/15/2012 1:47:26 PM     Comments (0)

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October!!

Everything is going great!  I'm so proud of the class for having great behavior in PE and receiving so many "10" scores on their PE reports.  Also super behavior at the lunch tables this month and all yellow tickets so far!

You may have heard that first grade started Walk to Read.  Students go to different classrooms to participate in 40 minutes of leveled reading instruction four times a week. 

Our Halloween party will have a "spider" theme.  Fun!

The Jog-a-Thon was awesome.  Thanks to parents that helped with this event and to parents that supported their students with donations. 

Great work on the Zig Bug huts!  I love seeing students get so excited about a project and this is one of my favorites!  I'm also thrilled that every single student completed this assignment!  Hooray!! 

Last update: 10/22/2011 2:24:51 PM     Comments (0)

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We Are Rolling!

Thank you so much for attending Back to School Night.  I know I talked your ears off!  We are rolling into the third week of school.  We will start centers this week as well as science!  We'll begin science by learning how we use our senses to investigate and learn about things around us.  If you voluneered to work at centers I will see you this week.  Homework will be posted Monday morning.  If I forget, feel free to send me an email reminder!

Last update: 9/17/2011 5:59:39 PM     Comments (0)

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We did it!

The first week of school is done!  So many things to do and learn!  Your kids did a great job.  Procedures are beginning to become routine.  I think they all know where they are going at the end of the day and how to get there. 

I look forward to meeting you all Back to School Night.  You'll need to take notes so bring a pen.  Ha! 

Friday is our first school wide lunch.  The whole school eats together at 12:15. Students will bring/buy lunch as usual. 

Last update: 9/11/2011 7:14:21 PM     Comments (0)

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Hooray!!
We made it through one spectacular, hot, first day of school!  Kids were hungry and tired all day.  Haha.  They aren't used to being here so long.  I remember an inservice I went to one time where the speaker told us that the kids should be exhausted and ready for a nap at the end of the day or we didn't do our job.  Soo funny but true.  Here is what we did today:  used the promethean smart board to introduce students, learned about vowels by singing a song and making a hat (every word has to have a vowel so vowels are the stars of the alphabet), read a couple of stories, sang a couple of songs, introduced some of the math topics we will cover this year, completed phonics pages (t,s,m,c), started a journal page, talked about rules, talked about rules some more, talked about rules some more.....Maybe tomorrow we'll talk about rules some more  Actually, the principal gets a turn to talk about rules tomorrow at an assembly.  That means I have to discuss "assembly rules". 

Last update: 9/6/2011 3:50:12 PM     Comments (0)

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Ready for you!
I was at school today and finally have everything ready for you to come on Tuesday!  You will have your own desk.  New first graders always think that is fun.  I wonder if you can keep your desk clean.  Haha!  See you soon!

Last update: 9/3/2011 4:16:33 PM     Comments (0)

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Welcome!!
I hope you had a fantastic summer!    I did!  I am looking forward to getting to know you.  First grade is such an exciting year. I hope you are ready for fun! 

Last update: 8/31/2011 3:52:57 PM     Comments (0)

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