You are invited to Mr. Cole’s room for an informal gathering prior to the First Grade Holiday Program. Decorate a cookie with your child and take a look at the recently published Baby Books!
Happy Halloween
As you are well aware, Halloween is fast approaching. On October 31st our class will have a small party and I do have a couple of requests …
Pocket Worthy
Science Says the Most Successful Kids Have Parents Who Do These 9 Things:
Handwriting
Unable to identify what your child’s writing? Want to fine-tune it with a few exercises?
Well, don’t you worry!
There might be a couple of things holding your child back, but we’ve got some step-by-step tips that can help you out!
Because handwriting is not just about putting pencil to paper. It’s multi-tasking!
SNAKES!
If you roll a 7, draw a snake on your paper. If you get seven snakes … You are out of the game. So, be the first to cross out all of your numbers before you get those snakes!
Math & Science Frontiers
Mr. Cole’s class has started a math unit designed to build number sense. The emphasis is on understanding how numbers can be made from other numbers: 12 can be made from 6 and 6, from 10 and 2, or from 6, 4, and 2. Being able to take numbers apart and put them back together in different ways forms the basis for a lot of mathematical work that your child will do in the elementary grades.
Students will play games and solve problems in which they break numbers into parts in different ways. For example, looking at a single pattern of 10 dots, some children see it as 2 groups of 4 with 2 extra. As they share their ways of thinking, they learn different ways of breaking 10 into parts.
Welcome Back
The 2019-2020 school year will be my 22nd as a teacher in St. Charles, MN. I attended Bigfork High School (50 miles north of Grand Rapids, MN) and I am also a graduate of Bemidji State University, with a Master’s Degree from Winona State University. Prior to teaching, I worked as a program assistant at The Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji, MN.
My wife Angela and I have been married for 20 years. We have two lovely children, Celia Rose (16) & Riley King (13). We also have a 100 lb. yellow lab named Togo. As a family, we love sports, music, books & comics.
You’ll quickly note that our classroom does reflect upon my personality. Room 117 is home to exotic animals that can be attributed to my experiences working at a science museum. I also play the guitar each morning. And you can expect that we’ll read voraciously, write & draw … And debate the quality of my (our) favorite cartoons!
It is very important that your first grader feel comfortable in the classroom. And getting to know each other is the first step …
“Every child is a unique person and comes to school with their own experiences, interests, learning style, and family history.”
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to introduce myself. I’m very excited to welcome you to our first-grade community!
Hasta Luego,
Mr. Cole
Report Cards
The Quarter End is nearing, and you will be receiving a report card in April. The report card is just one element of a communication system between home and school. Its purpose is to communicate your child’s academic progress, behavior, and effort based upon grade level expectations and standards. You may also find the following documents useful …
Please contact Mr. Cole if you have questions or comments.
School Carnival
This year’s carnival is Friday, March 8th from 6-8pm at the elementary school. The event will feature a variety of interesting games and acvtivities. Also, we are asking families to patricipate by donating items for our silent auction! To make this project as successful as possible, the PTO committee is asking that families bring items based upon their classroom’s chosen theme …
Mr. Cole & Mrs. Wahl
Theme: Puzzles & Games
Please send donations to your child’s classroom no later than Friday, March 1st.
First Grade Giving
The first grade will not be exchanging gifts in the classroom, but will share in activities that we hope will promote the spirit of the season.
The first was sponsored by Merchant’s Bank. They are continuing to collect food to insure that no one in our community goes hungry this winter. Your child brought home a grocery bag in which a nonperishable food item could be placed. The bags can still be returned to school. Thank you for taking part in 10 Days of Giving.
Our classroom participation will also include a First Grade Trading Post. Mr. Cole is asking that each first grader bring two “gently-used” books to school that can be placed in our Trading Post. After two weeks of browsing through the used book collection, students will be allowed to select a couple of the books to take home. Trade your old stories for “new” ones!
