Socktober Notes

While you're in the building for conferences or the book fair, be sure to stop by our Socktober bulletin board and write the first graders an encouraging Socktober note!  We'll read them to the students as they come in and then post the note on the bulletin board.  If you can't make it in, go ahead and email me a note and I'll post it for you.  Let's fill it up!  

KCRG TV-9 Story Link

Below is a link to KCRG's story on our Socktober project in case you missed it early this morning.  We showed it to all of the students today.  They're really feeling like celebrities! :)

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Its-Socktober-in-Van-Horne-229672731.html 

Socktober on KCRG

KCRG visited our classroom today and is going to broadcast our Socktober story on channel 9 news tomorrow morning!  Watch for your student on the news before school.  If they share the story on their website, I'll be sure to post a link on this blog.   So far, we've collected 461 pairs of socks!

Socktober at VHE

Bloomsbury Farm

We had a chilly, FUN day at Bloomsbury Farm today.  The students enjoyed all of the new activities Bloomsbury had to offer.  Here are a few scenes from our blustery, exciting day!  

Socktober Mug

This is the mug a committee of students designed to promote Socktober.  The picture doesn't do the mug justice.  It turned out super cute!  Let me know if you are interested in ordering one.  :)  

Socktober/KCRG MONDAY

The KCRG news team will be here on Monday to do a story on our students' Socktober project!  How cool is that?!  We are all super excited to share how awesome kids at VHE are!  We plan on counting socks on Monday while they're here.  We also plan on all of the students wearing their Socktober t-shirt.  

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!  I will send a note home on Monday to let you know when the story will be broadcast.  

Socktober Update

The committees have been hard at work spreading the word of SOCKTOBER!  I know a lot of parents have been working hard to spread the word as well!  THANK YOU for supporting your child in this way!  I have been so impressed by how hard these students have been working, I decided to share how awesome they are on Twitter.  The tweet had been retweeted by Good Morning America's Josh Elliot and the Kid President!  The students were super excited to hear that the Kid President knew they were working on Socktober!  

1. 
   

   Image will appear as a link
2. Josh Elliott ‏@JoshElliottABC22 Oct

   You bet... RT @AnnaUpah: @JoshElliottABC My 1st graders are collecting socks for homeless. Could you help them get the word out?#socktober

   Expand
3. james kotakis ‏@jkotakis222 Oct

   @JoshElliottABC @AnnaUpah Everyone help Josh and Abc out!!! It's my b-day today !!!!

   from Northvale, NJ
4. Josh Elliott ‏@JoshElliottABC22 Oct

   @jkotakis2 @annaupah Happy Birthday--and many, many more.....

   Expand

   •  Reply 
   •  Retweet 
   •  Favorite 
5. Kid President ‏@iamkidpresident22 Oct

   @JoshElliottABC @AnnaUpah THANK YOU for spreading love this #SOCKTOBER! You are awesome.

   
   

The Socktober t-shirts are also for sale.  They are $6.00.  Checks need to be made payable to Outer Edge Screenprinting.

Time

Our math focus has moved to telling time!  As you know, this is a life skill that would be hard to live without!  Today, I asked the students why it is important to tell time.  They came up with some great answers including not wanting to be late for appointments and knowing when to go to recess.  In first grade, we focus on telling time to the hour and half hour.  We talk about the differences in the hour and minute hands, the differences between an analog and digital clock, how to write the time, and how to use words like o'clock and half past.  

Check out our Symbaloo for math games on practicing how to tell time!  I encouraged my students to try and tell time sometime tonight.  Please ask them to tell YOU the time!  :)

Morgan

Our service learner, Morgan had her last day on Friday.  With the change in quarters, she got a new schedule and can no longer come to our classroom for math.  However, she is planning on coming back to our classroom during the third quarter.  We are so excited for her to return and see how the student's have changed and what new knowledge and skills they've developed/  Morgan contributed her time and talents to our room daily.  She did an awesome job helping students with tasks, practice skills and keeping our classroom organized.  Her last day happened to be Kamden's birthday! :)

Thank You Mrs.Werning!

Mrs. Werning came to our classroom and told us what it is like to be a physical therapist.   We all learned about how many bones and muscles are in our body and how physical therapy can help people of all ages.  Mrs. Werning brought all sorts of "tools" that she uses for us to try on and exercise our muscles with. 

Thank you for coming in and sharing your talent.  We love it when experts of any sort come into the classroom to help us learn something new!  

Socktober - Going Global

Students came to school today still buzzing about Socktober.  This made my heart sing!  I was thinking about Socktober all weekend long.  We think it would be neat if we could collect socks for our project from family all over the United States/world.  We will track all of the locations we get socks from on a website called BatchGeo.  The students were really excited to put their first long distance sock donation into this site.  We received our first pair from Omaha, NE!  If you would like to join in on this activity, please have your relative mail socks to VHE in care of Socktober.  Make sure they include an encouraging note and tell us which first grader they are connected to.  

Our flyer committee finished their fliers and sorted them to be sent home today.  We also decided to add a QR to their flyer.  By scanning this QR code with a tablet, smart phone or computer, you will be taken to directly to a link with my information on Socktober.  Ask your first grader how to do this once you've downloaded a free QR Reader app onto your device.  

Socktober Project Planning

Yesterday, the students discussed wants and needs and started to brainstorm ways to get people to help them with their Socktober project.  They came up with lists of ideas and supplies they might need.  Today, we got together with !H and got into project groups.  We have students working on the following projects: video, coffee mug design, t-shirt design, posters, yard signs, fliers, Toontastic stories, bulletin board designs, Glogster, and a press release for the Star Press Union.  You'll find a permission form in your child's take home folder tonight concerning Socktober.  PLEASE return the bottom portion of that form ASAP.  Without the consent form, we will not share your child's work.  Let me know if you have any ideas on how we could help these students achieve their Socktober goal.  Please email me with any questions or concerns.  

Red Ribbon Week is Next Week!

 Red Ribbon Week

October 21^st- 25^th

Monday: “I Pledge to be Drug Free”- Students will sign a banner and tie red ribbons in front of the school. ALSO WEAR RED DAY!

Tuesday: “Hairs” to a Drug Free Life- Crazy Hair day.

Wednesday: Drugs Don’t Make Cents!  - Loose change drive: proceeds will be donated to our local food bank for the upcoming holidays. (Change can be brought through Friday.)

Thursday: I’m Too “BRIGHT” for Drugs - Students can wear bright clothing.

Friday: Don’t Let Drugs Twist Your Mind - Students will receive pretzels, compliments of the PTO.

Kid President Challenge: Socktober - PLEASE WATCH

I showed this video to the students today and it sparked a BLAZE in our classroom.  They ALL decided this was something they wanted/could do!  We talked about how others aren't as fortunate as we are and how important it is to help others.  We discussed the difference between wants and needs and listed items in each category.  Next, I let the students loose in groups to decide how to accomplish this and what we would need.  The conversations were AMAZING.  It brought a tear to my eye to watch and listen in on the things these children were coming up with.  They all kept coming back to "because we want to help people."  How cool is that?  We have a major task ahead and the students will be leading the charge.   They decided they wanted to try a get 100 pairs of socks just in our classroom!  Stay tuned for information on how you can help these student accomplish their Socktober goal!  It's truly inspiring when even on these cloudy, gloomy days, your children are "shining" on so many.  

Audri's Rube Goldberg Monster Trap

Although I don't like to be gone, I was out of the building today at a conference in Des Moines that will directly impact your student.  The focus of the conference was on ways to integrate technology into the classroom and really help your "mobile aged learner."  The video below is one of the videos I had the privilege of seeing today.  Nothing is more rewarding and inspiring than seeing students actively engaged and in control of their own learning.  Your child is growing up in a digital world.  Let's work together to help them shoot for the moon!

It's collaborative, creative problem solvers that will be the forward thinkers of the future.  This video is a great example of how children (unlike most adults) are not intimidated by failure.  We need to foster this as much as possible!  Greatness is achieved only after one has tried and tried again.  

Butterfly Little Bird Tales

We have finished our Little Bird Tales about butterflies.  If you click on your child's name, the link will take you directly to his or her online story.  

Even though our focus has shifted, we aren't quite done with butterflies completely.  October 21st we will be going on our first (of hopefully many) VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS with the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.  I will post pictures and more information about how we made this work after the experience.  

Avery
Mike
Kayla
Kaitlyn
Troy
Ava
Dani
Delaney
Ciara
Kamden
Brayden
Mallory
Jeremiah
Hayden
Katarina

Unity Point St. Luke's Hospital Tour

We had a really great, informative, interesting trip to St. Luke's Hospital yesterday.  We were able to spend a large amount of time with the Life Flight helicopter pilot and toured the emergency ward and pediatrics.  The students came with really great questions and received many compliments by hospital staff and visitors about how respectful they were.  

After our tour, we enjoyed a beautiful fall afternoon at Cherry Hill Park before returning to VHE. Below, you'll find a few scenes from our fabulous day.  Enjoy! :)

Sack Lunches/ NO Peanuts or Tree Nuts

Your child will need a sack lunch for tomorrows field trip to St. Luke's Hospital.  Please make sure your student brings a sack lunch that does NOT contain peanuts and/or tree nuts.  This includes products made in the same facility.  You can find this information on ingredients labels.  The information is usually in bold print.  Please be sure to check everything in your child's lunch for the safety of our students.  We have to throw away anything containing peanuts and/or tree nuts outside in the dumpster.  It cannot enter or be left in the building.  Thank you for your increased sensitivity and attention to this matter.  

We're excited for our first field trip!

Fire Safety

Did you hear sirens in VH this morning?  No big deal.  That was just... FIRST GRADE ON A FIRE TRUCK!  The highlight of the year for some happened this morning when a few fireman from VH visited our school and taught us about fire safety.  They got into their gear and taught us about what to do if we are involved in a fire.  Some students even got to practice STOP, DROP and ROLL.  Finally, we got to go on a short fire truck ride around VH.  Some of us were pretty snug on top of the fire truck, but no one seemed to mind.  We counted fire hydrants along our way and saw six in just the few short blocks we traveled.  

Your first grader has fire safety homework!  Please help your student fill out the fire safety plan page and have your student return it to school.  We will discuss/share our plans as a class.  

Share Your Talents!

Our current unit of study is on health and safety.  If you have a special interest in this area or know someone who does and would be willing to share with our class, please contact me.  Two of my goals this year are to show students that there is a global community of people that they can learn from and that learning doesn't only occur between the hours of 8:00am and 3:00pm.  Helping them see that we're all experts in our own way will be empowering for them to pursue their own interests.  

We would be interested in some of the following presentations/experiences/experts: 
Fitness 
Nurse
Doctor
Construction Safety
Hunting Safety
Farm Safety
Police Officer
EMT

Please let me know if you would be interested in sharing one or more of your talents with our class!  

Book Fair Reading Incentive

Today your child brought home a goal setting/record sheet for our Scholastic Book Fair, organized by Mrs. Bange, BCSD elementary librarian.  Please set a challenging, yet attainable goal for your student.  Each time he or she reaches the set goal, they can color in the picture and your can initial the line underneath.  They will be entered into a drawing to receive book fair dollars if they meet their goal all three weeks.  The VHE book fair will be held at the end of the month, during parent-teacher conferences.   

Daily Writing Journal

Today, your student is bringing home a writing journal in their book bag.  Please read the note in his or her take home folder about this new project.  I have talked to the students about the importance of growing as a writer.  I appreciate your extended efforts in this area.  Please call or email me with any questions.  

Daily Writing Journal Note

Scholastic Book Order

Scholastic Book orders will be due on Thursday, October 17^th.  Please see the information below if you are interested in ordering.  

Our classroom earns FREE books with every order! 

Scholastic Book Clubs

Scholastic Book Clubs Ordering Information
www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: KXJMN

Phone Number/Address/Field Trip

In your child's take home folder, you'll find a yellow half sheet that asks for your phone number and address.  We will practice memorizing these during our "Health and Safety" mini unit.  I didn't want to use the information you've provided the school with because I am unsure of which phone number and/or address you prefer your child to memorize.  Please return the yellow sheet or email me with this information as soon as possible.  

Also, please return the St. Luke's Hospital Tour field trip note.  Remember, your child will need a sack lunch that is peanut and tree nut free (meaning it cannot contain or have been made in a facility with peanuts or tree nuts).  

Bye Bye Butterflies

Today marked our last "official" day of our butterfly exploration.  In order to bring it to a close, we released our butterflies this afternoon.   Some students were glad to see the butterflies go to their natural home and others were pretty sad about them leaving our classroom.  Either way, I think they enjoyed getting an up close and personal view of them outside of the habitat.   Check back next week to view your child's informative writing on butterflies.