Room 14

Over the summer all of the classrooms were given new numbers.  My classroom number is now 14.  It is still the same classroom that I was in last year, the old room 5.  If you are coming from the school office, you will see my classroom in the 2nd building on your left, directly across from the MPR.

Also, please note that all paperwork from the school uses my full name, Mrs. Graves Smith, but I prefer to be called Mrs. Smith.

Welcome first grade scholars!

 You should all be receiving my welcome letter this week!  I hope it will help to begin our communication with each other.

Dear First Grade GATE Families,

            Welcome to an exciting new school year at Ethan Allen!  My name is Mrs. Smith and I will be your child's teacher this year for first grade GATE.

            I would like to tell you a little about myself.  This is my 9th year of teaching, and I absolutely love it!  Working with gifted children is a very rewarding job.  Each day is exciting and interesting for both my scholars and for me.  When I am not teaching I love spending time with my son Sebastian, playing with my three dogs, enjoying the great outdoors, and reading.

            I am so thankful to be a part of such an amazing school.  If you are new to Ethan Allen you are in for a treat.  This school is filled with the most wonderful students and teachers imaginable.  Everyone works hard, and we also have many fun celebrations and activities.  One very nice thing about our class is that all of the scholars are new to GATE and many of the children are also new to our school, so everyone will be making lots of new friends.

            Since you know your child better than anyone, I would like to ask you to write me a short letter telling me a little about them.  Does your child have a special talent or interest?  What do you feel they will need the most help with this year?  Was there a particular moment when you realized that your child was gifted?  Is there anything important about your child that I should know?  I appreciate you taking the time to write this letter.  You can email it to me or your child can bring it on the first day of school.

Jump Start is a great chance to have your questions answered and for your child to meet me and their classmates.  Jump Start will be on Friday, September 4 at 11:00 in the Ethan Allen MPR. In the meantime, feel free to visit my classroom blog at www.ethanallenscholars.blogspot.com.  My blog contains a calendar of events as well as photos and descriptions of previous students’ work.  It can help give you an idea of what to expect during this new school year.

                                                                                    Sincerely, Mrs. Smith lgravessmith@ggusd.us

Thank you

Thank you for a wonderful school year.  This class has been such a joy to teach and I will truly miss each and every scholar.  We worked so hard together this year and I feel very proud of the progress we made. Please check your child's backpack for their report card and other important information inside the green folder.  Have a great summer and enjoy your time with your sweet and talented children.

Last Day of School Preparation

On the last day of school I will send home a folder containing your child's report card, a letter from me with suggestions for summer activities, and their portfolios.  These portfolios will not contain tests, but examples of their daily work throughout the year in reading, writing, math, and scholarly habits.  I don't send tests home because unfortunately in the past they have been shared with incoming students.  I will also include a report of your child's scores for our trimester 3 math final exam.

If you know that your child will NOT be present on the last day, please let me know so that I can send their folder of important papers home early.

Recess Revolution

We are ready for a very exciting June!  During these last two and a half weeks we have many fun and engaging activities planned.  Mark your calendars for the Annual Ethan Allen Dance Festival on the last Tuesday of the school year.  We hope you are able to attend and see the first graders perform the Hukilau.

Please check Friday Folders for a permission slip for Recess Revolution.  You can learn more about it here:  http://www.recessrevolution.org

This event will be on campus, but just like the walkathon a permission slip is required.  It should be a very fun and creative day for the scholars!

Recess Revolution reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:  "Creativity is intelligence having fun."

QR Codes

We are looking forward to sharing some of our work with you next Tuesday at Open House!  If you have a smart phone,  please download a QR code reader app before Open House.  That way you will be able to easily scan the QR codes I've posted to access your child's Prezi and other scholars' Prezis as well. Very high tech for first grade, I know, but that's the kind of work our children are doing these days believe it or not!  If you don't have a smartphone please don't worry, I will have an iPad available.

We are hard at work!

Parents, I am sorry it has been so long since my last post.  As you know our standards have changed this year and I find myself spending lots of time creating new assignments to address Common Core.  I wish I had more time to keep this blog updated!  I do continue to keep our calendar current, and you can see that May is a very busy month for us.  We are working hard to prepare many projects to share with you at Open House, which is just two weeks away on Tuesday, May 19.  We hope you can come to see some of our work which will especially highlight science, geometry, and our writing.