Slideshow of the Week

NOW PLAYING - Living Things Photostories - Coming to a YouTube website near you!

Our nonfiction reading and writing, and Living Things science units have come to the end. Our first graders have worked so hard reading and writing like scientists, researching, making and collecting notes and pictures for their living things project. They have done an amazing job synthesizing information and rewriting facts in their own words. Finally they compiled the facts and pictures together and created a photostory in I.T. class with Mr. Hoffman. The link to these marvelous photostories is shown below. Please click to enjoy them. The students are very proud of their hard work.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDB63AFA7A6A2FC7F&feature=mh_lolz

Danielle - Our Star of the Week

Thank you Danielle for presenting your Star of the Week poster. You did a fantastic job sharing. Danielle is a big sister of two twin siblings. Prior coming to Oman, Danielle and her family was living in China. One cool thing about Danielle is that she can speak Mandarin fluently (she definitely speaks better than me!), a skill she learned when she was living in China. We had a fun time watching Danielle being the MC in a school concert in China on a DVD. That's neat!

It's almost the holidays.... tying up loose ends

Thank you Rasmia, Sara, and Rania (our class room moms) for organizing in a little festive party yesterday in our classroom. The kids had a great time enjoying a light snack with gingerbread cookies and juice/milk, as well as listening to a holiday story, and taking home a goody bag. Thank you for all your hard work, room moms!

Today our students also experienced another festive event - the Winter Wonderland. They were buddied up with their 4th grade reading buddies, and together, they made different holiday arts and crafts, decorated gingerbread cookies and enjoyed some storytime with parent-volunteers. It is always wonderful seeing many of you volunteering and participating in TAISM events. We couldn't have done it without you and Betina, our parent-volunteer coordinator. What a fantastic event!

Starting today, you will see the pink communication book, and reading log in your child's green folder. I have collected all the guided reading books and other classroom library books for inventory. Please continue to encourage your child to read over the holidays, and read to your child at night. Feel free to log your reading in the reading log, too. After the holidays, the children will be bringing books home as usual.

Please note that report cards will be sent home tomorrow, Wednesday December 21st (the last day of school before the holidays). Inside your report card envelop, you will find the same math unit 1 summary checklist that you got in November for your reference. Unit 2 summary checklist and math work was also sent home yesterday for you to keep. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these assessments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

After school activities (ASAs) sign ups are now in progress. Ms. Lillie is already collecting the requests. If you have not returned the form yet and your child is interested in participating, please hesitate. The spots fill up pretty quickly, and we cannot guarantee a spot if you hand in the form after the holidays. So, HURRY! = )

Tomorrow, Wednesday December 21st is a HALF DAY. Students will be dismissed at 12:00pm. However, they will still need to bring a snack to school for the morning. Classes will resume on Saturday, January 7th, 2012. 

Finally, I want to wish you a very happy holidays and enjoy the time off with your kids and family. If you are traveling, have a safe and fun journey. Happy Holidays and New Year to all of you. I will see you in 2012!

Winter Concert

Congratulations boys and girls, Mrs. Wilson, and Mr. Drahos, the ES Winter Concert was a great success! I was so happy to see many of you in the audience on Sunday. The children did an amazing job singing and playing on the Orff instruments. It was a wonderful experience for all of us - seeing our kids performing under the spotlights on stage. Job well done, everyone!

Winter Concert

The time we have been waiting for... the WINTER CONCERT is tomorrow, Sunday December 18th. The concert will begin at 2pm in the Blue Gym. Reminder - students are to wear red or white tops with dark bottoms. If girls wear dresses, any read/or white is fine. "Smart shoes" are strongly recommended (footwear other than Crocs or flip-flops will be fine).

Slideshow of the Week

Farewell to Ms. Sheikha

Last week was our SQU student-teacher, Ms. Sheikha's last week interning at TAISM. We are extremely grateful to have Ms. Sheikha with us for the past 7 weeks, as she took the initiative to jump right in to observe and help support our children in reading, writing and math. She also taught an amazing reader's theater lesson and allowed our readers to take charge being the storyteller and be expressive. Ms. Sheikha will now return back to class and continue her academic work at the College of Education in SQU. She will be missed! We wish her all the best in her future endeavor.

Field Trip to Qurum Park

Last Wednesday, all the 1st grade classes went to the Qurum Park Nature Sanctuary for a birdwatching excursion. We were so fortunate to have TAISM parent and bird expert, Mr. Ross Macfadyen to accompany us and share his knowledge about birds. Our little scientists noticed many different kinds of birds and their habitat in the park. We spotted white-cheeked bulbuls, great white egrets, house sparrows, mynahs, a dove and an eagle. The children were so excited about seeing each one of them and made careful observations and sketches. A big thank you again to Mr. Ross Macfadyen, as well as Ms. Kelly Gilreath and Ms. Karen Gates, our parent-volunteers who helped us out that day! We had a wonderful time.

Ananya and Soultan - our STARS of the WEEK

Fantastic job, Ananya and Soultan, in presenting your star of the week poster. Both of you had great and fun pictures to share and we had fun looking at them and learning more about your families, the things you like to do and the places you have been to with your families.
Next week, we have Danielle as Star of the Week!! Can't wait to find out what she will be sharing with us.

Last week's slide show

Field Trip to Qurum Park on Wednesday, Dec 14

Thank you for all your prompt response in signing and returning the permission slips for our field trip to Qurum Park this Wednesday. We will be leaving the school by bus at 9am, and return by noon (will have lunch at school). Please send your child to school that day with a snack, hat, water bottle, and sunscreen (or put it on before coming to school). We look forward to learning more about the natural habitats of birds and other living things we will be seeing in Qurum Park Sanctuary.

Living Things Research

Is your child talking about sharks? Dolphins? Sea turtles? Or snakes or scorpions? Our first graders are currently doing an integrated nonfiction reading and writing unit in conjunction with our science unit, Living Things. In partners, your child is researching and learning about a living thing of their choice through various informational resources - books, posters, fact cards, internet material, videos and our guest speakers! They have been gathering information and organizing them in categories: physical features (what they look like), animal classification (mammals, reptiles, fish etc.), and habitats. As they read, they also stop and jot down interesting facts about their living thing in their own words. After gathering and organizing their information, students will be creating and presenting their photo stories on their living thing in I.T. class before the holidays. Stay tuned!

"Wow! Did you know there are 100 kinds of different octopuses in the world?" - Alex
"I didn't know that snakes have no ears." - Kasper and Harrison
"Some orcas have lived as long as 80 years!" - Ananya

Pelle - Star of the Week!

Thank you, Pelle, for your great work on presenting your Star of the Week poster. We learned so much about you. Pelle is from Sweden. He has one younger brother, Anton. He likes soccer and cars. Now, we also know what to get him for his birthday and Christmas - Star War Lego!!! = )

We've planted our seeds, and now we are observing and making notes

Our little scientists have planted seeds in a cup! Some of them chose to plant pumpkin seeds and some chose papaya seeds. We learned that plants need soil to grow, as well as sunlight, water and air. After planting our seeds, the children watered them and observed them with a magnifying glass. Right now, they are all saying they can't see anything yet happening, but they predict that something is probably happening to the seeds deep down in the soil. We will be watching closely to see what happens and record our observations in our plant journals.

More on Living Things

Our 1st grade scientists have been so fortunate to have different guest speakers teaching them about living things. Last week, we had Cassie Irish (Mrs. Irish's daughter), a 6th grade student to share with us her living things PowerPoint slideshow. She creatively put together a series of slides including facts, diagrams and photos and questions to engage our little scientists in learning about "what living things are" and "what living things need to survive?" Our scientists were eager to participate in her question-and-answer section.

Yesterday, we had another guest speaker visit. Mrs. Carey Johnson, our high school science teacher came and gave a special presentation about desert and camels. We learned that camels are able to live in a desert for many reasons - mainly because of their physical features and body structures.
"I learned that camels have 2 sets of eyelashes that protect their eyes from sand and strong sun" - Yaseen
"I learned that camels have a leathery patch on each knee so that they can kneel and rest on the sand without burning their skin. " - Tina
"I learned that the hump is not filled with water, but body fat" - Pelle

Today in your child's green folder you will find a camel diagram sheet with different labels of their special features. Let your child teach you what they know about camels. Feel free to have them color. It is for you to keep!

Bookmark Competition 1st Grade Winner.... SHEREEF!

Congratulations, Shereef! You are the 1st grade winner in the Book Week Bookmark Competition. We are all so proud of your work and creativity. Shereef's prize was a book from our librarian, Ms. Catherine. Fantastic job to all the 1st graders who put forth their effort in making their bookmarks!