Last week before holidays

Dear Parents,

Finally after many hours of rehearsing, we performed our Christmas Show on Friday night. Thank you for being there to show your support for your child and our school. I know your children always appreciate your being at their performances or special events. Photos taken from the show will be put up shortly, they can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/wood.his.

Photos are also up on the HIS website http://www.hdis.hc.edu.tw/

December, 17th, will be the last day before Christmas vacation. It will be a half day for students and buses will leave school at 1.00pm. Non-bus students should be collected by 1.00pm. School will reopens on January, 5, 2011.

On Thursday, 16 December, we will have a class party. You are welcome to join us from 1.00 pm. For the Christmas party, could you please send a nicely wrapped gift (valued around 200NT). Can girls please buy a gift for girls and boys for boys?

As the Festive Season approaches, please can you discuss Christmas with your child so that on Wednesday, your child can share with the class what Christmas means to them or what you do as a family during this season.

I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. If you are going away for the Christmas vacation, I wish you a safe journey; if you are staying in Taiwan, I wish you a great time with your child - before you know it they are all grown up. We look forward to seeing you again in the New Year.

Regards,

Robyn Wood

Christmas Gifts

Dear Parents,

Next Thursday, 16 December, we will be having our class Christmas party from 13.30. Please can you prepare a small gift, for not more than 200NT. Can girls please buy a gift for girls and boys for boy? Please clearly mark the gift with either boy or girl.

If you would like to join us for our party you are more than welcome to.

Regards

Robyn Wood

Directions to the Science Park Theater

http://maps.google.co.za/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=24.781718,121.005896&spn=0.007237,0.009645&z=17&iwloc=lyrftr:m,18200838884626117839,24.78166,121.005918&msid=102177011504186316552.000496413bd7060da2b1b

Week 12

Dear Parents,

Time seems to be flying past and it’s just over a month until Christmas!

Although our classrooms are warm, the weather is getting colder and we still

have our recess periods outside. Please ensure that you send a warm coat to

school for your child every day to make sure that they stay warm, comfortable,

and healthy.

If your child is sick and they are required to take medication, please can you

inform either Ms Yu or me about it so that we can ensure that your child takes

it on time and can recover quickly.

Today we welcomed Erin Chang into our class; we hope that she will settle

down quickly and she and her family will soon feel part of the Grade One

family.

Some dates for your diary:

25 November

Thank you for your response to our Thanksgiving Meal letter. We look forward

to seeing you here at 11.30 am for this special meal which should be finished

around 1:00pm

10 December

We will be holding our annual Christmas Show won the evening of Friday,

10 December. Your children have been practicing for this very special

performance and we look forward to seeing you there.

17 December

This will be the last day of school before we break for Winter Break and we

will be finishing after lunch at 1:00 pm.

This week we will delay our normal Friday tests as we will be busy with a full

rehearsal for Beauty and the Beast. We will also reschedule our Show and

Tell period.

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

Robyn Wood

Week 11

Dear Parents,

Thank you for bringing your child to school on Saturday, it is greatly appreciated. I am confident that the show will be a great success but more importantly that the children have fun. Thank you for ensuring that your child was dressed all in black. Please ensure that on the night your child is wearing black socks.

Thank you to those parents who met with me last week. I hope that I was able to clarify your concerns.

Last week we covered the following:

Reading

• New words: also, blue, brown, colors, funny, green, like, many, some, grab, grass, it’s, let’s, trip
• We read the following stories: The Trip and At the Aquarium
• Clusters with r (cr, br, tr, pr)
• Contractions with ‘s (he’s, it’s, what’s, where’s, who’s)
• What happens next (sequencing)
• Short i sounds
• Naming parts

Math

Lesson 5.4 – Using Additional Strategies

Lesson 5.5 – Writing a Number Sentence

Add by code

Chapter Review

Social Studies

We have started Social Studies. Our first unit is My School

· We looked at maps

Spelling List – List 10

• nap, tap, clap, flap, sip, rips, hip, lips, strap

Dictation

• I clap my hands, tap my feet and move my hips.

Show and Tell

• An orange object

Important Dates for this week:

• Wednesday, 17 November – Show and Tell
• Friday, 19 November – Maths Chapter 5
• Friday, 19 November – Spelling test

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

Regards,

Robyn Wood

Week 11

Dear Parents,

Thank you for bringing your child to school on Saturday, it is greatly appreciated. I am confident that the show will be a great success but more importantly that the children have fun. Thank you for ensuring that your child was dressed all in black. Please ensure that on the night your child is wearing black socks.

Thank you to those parents who met with me last week. I hope that I was able to clarify your concerns.

Last week we covered the following:

Reading

• New words: also, blue, brown, colors, funny, green, like, many, some, grab, grass, it’s, let’s, trip
• We read the following stories: The Trip and At the Aquarium
• Clusters with r (cr, br, tr, pr)
• Contractions with ‘s (he’s, it’s, what’s, where’s, who’s)
• What happens next (sequencing)
• Short i sounds
• Naming parts

Math

Lesson 5.4 – Using Additional Strategies

Lesson 5.5 – Writing a Number Sentence

Add by code

Chapter Review

Social Studies

We have started Social Studies. Our first unit is My School

· We looked at maps

Spelling List – List 10

• nap, tap, clap, flap, sip, rips, hip, lips, strap

Dictation

• I clap my hands, tap my feet and move my hips.

Show and Tell

• An orange object

Important Dates for this week:

•  Wednesday, 17 November – Show and Tell
•  Friday, 19 November – Maths Chapter 5
•  Friday, 19 November – Spelling test

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

Regards,

Robyn Wood

Beauty and the Beast

Dear Parents and Students,

I would like to kindly request a few things.

Students, please make sure you attend the full school rehearsal this Saturday, November 13^th. If we want the Beauty and the Beast production to be successful, we need to practice! Practice makes perfect! The time for the rehearsal is 12.30pm till 5.30pm. If you have another class in the morning, come when your class is finished. Remember to eat some lunch for energy!

Second request:

All students need to wear a black T-shirt, black pants and black socks. Please make sure that there are no pictures or writing on them.

Thank you VERY much for your cooperation! It puts a warm feeling in my heart!

Kind Regards,

Robyn Wood

Week 10

Dear Parents,

This week we covered the following:

English

· We have started learning about the writing process. Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Proof reading and Publishing

Reading

· New words: all, called, eat, eating, every, first, never, paper, shall, why, fixed, Jack’s, licked, yelled

· We read the following stories: Ham and Eggs, Miss Jill’s Ice-cream Shop, Making Ice-cream.

· On Friday we made ice-cream: the recipe can be found at the following address: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Ice-Cream

Math

· Unit 2 Introduction

· Lesson 5.1 – Count on to Add

· Lesson 5.2 – Use a Number Line to Add

· Lesson 5.3 – Use Doubles to Add

Social Studies

We have started Social Studies. Our first unit is My School

· We watched “Lion and Mouse.” We discussed what it means to be a good friend and how we can be a good friend.

Spelling List – List 9

Far, jar, car, star, her, fur, hurt, purr and start

Dictation

The cat purred when the car started to go far.

Show and Tell

· A green object

· This week I will give your child a grade

· I will look at the following

Criteria	Points
	1	2	3	4	5
Preparation
Followed directions for the assignment
Presented a mostly green object
Showed presentation was rehearsed
Stayed on Topic
Answered questions from the class
Presentation form:
Spoke audibly
Volume
Correct use of language
Made eye contact with the audience
Listens to Other Presentations
Listens without causing Distractions
Column Totals:

Important Dates for this week:

· Tuesday, 9 November – PT Meetings (Evelyn, Wilson, Mami, Clement and Aoi)

· Wednesday, 10 November – PT Meetings (Masatoshi, Makoto, Allyson, Richard and Michael)

· Wednesday, 10 November – Show and Tell

· Friday, 12 November – Maths Chapter test

· Friday, 12 November – Spelling test

· Saturday, 13 November –Whole school required Beauty and the Beast Rehearsal 12:30 – 5:30pm.

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

Regards,

Robyn Wood

Thank you for all the effort that you put into our Halloween celebration. I hope that you and your child enjoyed the day.

Week 8

Dear Parents,

This week we covered the following:

English

· Checkup: Unit 3

· Noun books

· Lesson 1 – Discuss Prewriting and Drafting

Reading

· New words: animals, birds, cold, fall, flowers, full, look, of, see, buds, is, lots, pick, pups, will

· We read the following stories: Animals in the cold, Seasons, Ha Ha Ha (poems)

Math

· Lesson 4.3 – Making a Pictograph

· Lesson 4.4 – Read a Bar Graph

· Lesson 4.5 – Make a bar Graph

· Lesson 4.6 – Use a graph

· Chapter Review/Test

Science

· How do People Use Their Parts?

· How Do People Grow and Change?

· Review And Test Prep

Spelling List – Halloween Words

Bat, dark, boo, spook, candy, corn, black, cat, witch

Show and Tell

· I am pleased with the progress that Grade 1 are making in their presentations.

Important Dates for this week:

· Wednesday, 27 October – Halloween Celebration

· Wednesday, 27 October – No after school clubs

· Thursday, 28 October – Monday, 1 November – Mid-Semester Break, no school

Ayane Kono will be returning to Japan until January. We wish her and her family well and look forward to her return.

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

Regard,

Robyn Wood