Room 8 News

June 8, 2015
Dear Parents,

I can’t believe I am writing the last newsletter of the year! This year has flown by. I have felt honored to teach all of your children this year.  I will miss them all so much! It has been such a special year for me!

This is the last full week of school.   It is also the last week of Homework and Centers.  A heart-felt thank you to all of those parents who have volunteered for Centers, Garden, Art, Library and Wednesday Folders this year! You have made such a difference in our year!!. We have been so fortunate to have your support!

 All Reading Folders are due back this Friday. I will be sending home a list of recommended books for your child to read this summer! Please continue to have your child read every night!
We are in need of 18 paper grocery bags with handles. Please send in any that you may have. Thanks!

This Wednesday is early dismissal – school will be out at 12:30.

This Thursday is Pajama Day in First Grade! Please check out the sign up genius if you haven’t yet. www.SignUpGenius.com/go/70A0E45ACA82A1-pajama/5774699
We are still in need of a few parent volunteers to help make waffles for our pancake breakfast! Please sign up if you can!   Thank you to those parents who have signed up to send in supplies, please send them to school no later than Wednesday afternoon.
Next Monday, June 15th is going to be a fun day for Room 8! Not only are our pen pals visiting us in the morning, but we have our last dance class with Annie at 12:30. This is an open dance class and all parents are welcome to come and watch! It will be a fun opportunity to check out all the cool dance moves your child has learned this year! The dance class will be on the stage in the MPR from 12:30 – 1:00. There will be chairs set up on the stage for the parents.

Our End of the Year Bowling Party will be on Tuesday, June 16th. Please send your child to school on that day with a morning snack, booster seat and white soled shoes if they have them. A pizza lunch will be provided for all of the children.  If you are a parent driver, please be here by 10:15. We will leave school at 10:30 and returning at approx. 12:45.

Woody’s will be serving ice cream to all Edna students on Wednesday, June 17th at 1:45pm as an end of year celebration.

The last day of school is Thursday, June 18th and dismissal will be at 12:45.

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani


May 11, 2015


Dear Parents,

I have to say today was very difficult for me…having to make my own breakfast and pack my own lunch! I was seriously spoiled last week! Thank you all for the beautiful flowers and I have to specially thank those of you who fed me so well. Thank you to Juliet Brown, Yelena Kamnyanskaya, Michelle Barenbaum, Karen Gioia, Natalie Kay, Mary Walsh, Christy Prasad and Ginny Fisher for the delicious breakfasts and lunches. What a wonderful treat!!

Our Community Helper Projects are due next Thursday 5/21 and Friday 5/22. Please make sure your child comes to school with his/her project, poster and any clothing and props they may be wearing or using for their presentation (in a bag). Also, please help your child prepare for the oral presentation by reading the What Am I Going to Say sheet of their project several times at home before their presentation day. If your child is finished early and would be ready to do their presentation on Tuesday 5/19, please let me know.

The Drivers/Chaperones for our field trip to the Marine Mammal Center on Wednesday, May 20th are: Juliet Brown, Amy Dean, Christy Prasad, Alma Osorio, Josefa Rangel and Maria Troncoso. We will be leaving school at 9:00 and returning by 1:30. Please send your child to school with a morning snack, lunch and booster seat. It can be quite cold at the MMC and we will possibly eating outdoors so please send your child to school in layers on that day.

There is no school on Monday, May 25th as it is the Memorial Day holiday.

Donations: We are in need of glue sticks in Room 8 for all of our fun ocean crafts!. Please send some in if you can. Thank you!!

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani 

 April 20, 2015

Dear Parents,

Welcome back! I hope you all had an enjoyable Spring Break!

We are officially in the home stretch now with 8 weeks of school left. Some new units we are beginning over the next couple of weeks include Communities in Social Studies, Oceans in Science and Geometry and Fractions in Math.

We are urgently in need of a few volunteers to come in and help us finish typing (publishing) our poetry tomorrow. Any time will work – please let me know if you have any available time to come in tomorrow.

This week is Earth week. In honor of this, we will have a Garden Sing on Wednesday, April 22nd (Earth Day) at 11:00 at the outdoor auditorium. All families are welcome to attend. Parents can bring a lunch and join their children for a picnic outside on the field during the lunch hour (11:25 – 12:10) if they wish. We will not be having Centers on Wednesday because of these events.

Congratulations to Lee, Lauren, Bareerah, Iris, Tabitha, Xoana, Alexander and Shauwn for submitting stories for the Edna Maguire Young Author’s Fair. The fair will be this Thursday morning in the Library and these students will be excused from class to attend!

This Friday is Room 8’s Poetry Slam from 8:30 – 9:15. All parents are welcome to come and listen to the students read the beautiful poetry they have written this year! I hope to see many of you here!

If any of you can lend us 4-6 mason jars or bud vases for Friday’s event please let me know. Also, if any of you have a garden and can donate some fresh flowers for our poetry slam this would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know.

Happy Earth Week!

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani

  
March 23, 2015

Dear Parents,

We are incredibly busy in First Grade right now with only 9 more days until the Hoe Down!! The Hoe Down is on Wednesday, April 1st at 6:15 p.m. Please make sure the children are in the multi at 6:15 sharp. The attire is western clothing (cowboy hats will be provided for the students – sorry but we don’t have any extras for siblings) Families are also welcome (encouraged) to dress up in western gear! Due to the strict rules of the new Multi-purpose room, there will be no food or beverages served, so please make sure the kids have had an early supper so they are energized and ready to perform! It is the cutest show ever so don’t forget the cameras!

Curriculum Updates:
In math we have been learning different strategies for addition to 20 and will be doing studying the same strategies for subtraction next week. In social studies we are studying maps and globes. In Reader’s Workshop, we are learning to use different text features to find information in non-fiction books.


Spring Break is 4/13-4/17!!!

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani
March 2, 2015


Dear Parents,

Greetings! I hope you all had a great weekend. We are having a busy week in Room 8.  We are continuing with mid-year assessments as well as beginning a Social Studies unit on American Symbols. In writing, we have been writing reviews (Opionion Writing).   As a reminder, progress reports will come home on Friday, March 13th.

This week is Dr. Seuss appreciation week. We will be reading lots of Dr. Seuss books and doing a few fun projects.  I am asking the students to bring in some Dr. Seuss books from home to add to our classroom collection for the week.  Please send make sure your child’s name is written in the books before they are brought in.  They will be returned in by the end of next week.

The students may have begun talking about our upcoming Hoe Down. This is an annual performance put on by the first graders and is a lot of fun! This year the Hoe Down will be held on Wednesday, April 1st at 6:00 pm. Please save the date and more details will be sent out soon.

We will be celebrating the 120th Day of School on March 18th. It will be a exciting day with classroom rotations and fun projects. You will receive a sign up genius soon for donations as well as volunteer positions for the celebration. There is a special homework assignment for the 120th Day. The students have 2 weeks to work on their collection t-shirt which is coming home, along with directions, in the homework folder today. Please email me if you have any questions. The t-shirts are due on Friday, March 13th and will be handed out for the students to wear on the 120th day of school.

If you have not signed up for carline duty for this month, please visit this link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b054fafab2d6-carline60

There is no school on Monday March 16th as it is a staff development day.

Just a reminder that Spring Break is April 13th – 17th


Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani

January 26, 2015

Dear Parents,
There is a lot going on in Room 8 this week! We are busy with our math unit on place value and our science unit on weather. In writer’s workshop we are beginning a new genre of study – opinion writing (persuasive narratives). Our first writing project will involve writing about the collection that the students brought in today. If your child did not bring in a collection of 5 items today, please make sure this is sent in tomorrow.

As you all know, I have been participating in Reader’s Workshop training this year, for which I have had to be off campus for a few days. As part of that training one of the Reading Workshop gurus from the Colombia University Teacher’s College Reading and Writing program is coming to Mill Valley to demonstrate a few great reading lessons. We are so very fortunate, that of all the first grade classes in the district, ours was the chosen one for these demonstration lessons. They will take place this Thursday and Friday. I’m excited that my students get to benefit from Natalie, the instructor’s expertise. There will be 17 teachers along with several administrators observing the lessons on Thursday and Friday. This should be very exciting for the kids. There will be no centers on Thursday morning.

Our Interactive Art Show is Tuesday, Feb 3rd from 9:20 – 10:10 in the Multi-purpose room. All families are welcome. You will get a chance to look at your child’s displayed art work as well as participate in a fun art project with your child.

The First Graders will be putting on the Lifeskills Assembly on Friday, Feb.13th . Each grade level takes turns “hosting” the monthly assembly. This one will feature the Lifeskill of “Sense of Humor” and some of our students will be telling jokes and all the first graders will be singing a silly song. If you are available, please drop by the Multi at 8:40 to watch the short presentation.

The students will be exchanging Valentines with each other on Friday Feb. 13th. We will be having a small celebration in the afternoon. The room parents will be contacting you all for a few snack and beverage donations. I will send home a class list in the Wednesday folder this week with all the students’ names.

A reminder that there will be no school for Ski Week – 2/16-2/20.

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani

January 5, 2014

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year! Welcome back. I hope you all had a happy and peaceful holiday. I wanted to start off by thanking all of you again for the very generous gift you gave me for the holidays. It was so appreciated!  Also, thanks to our room moms and all of the parents who donated supplies and/or came in to help out with the holiday party which was a lot of fun.

Well…It’s back to the grind for us in Room 8. We are moving on to a new unit on Place Value in math.  In this chapter we will study numbers as represented by tens and ones. In Science we are beginning a unit on Weather. In this unit we will study different types of clouds, the water cycle and patterns of weather.  This month we will also be learning about Martin Luther King Jr. through various books, class discussions, writing projects and art projects.

Just a reminder that there is no school on Jan 19th as we will be celebrating the MLK holiday and no school on Jan 20th as it is a Staff Development Day.

Our Interactive Art Show is on Tuesday, Feb. 3rd from 9:20 – 10:10 in the MPR. All parents are welcome to attend and participate in a hands on art activity with your child. This is also a great opportunity to view some of your child’s art projects that have been completed so far this year. You are sure to be impressed! I hope to see many of there.

Have a great week!

Nandita Stachon
 
December 1, 2014
Dear Parents,

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving break.  I can’t believe there are only 3 weeks until the Winter holidays! This week we are busy working on subtraction in math. You can help your child with their subtraction homework by using counters, counting down or hopping backwards on a number line.  We have also begun a new unit in Science on Matter. Camp Edventuremore came in before the break to kick start our unit with a fun science experiment. The kids made oobleck and discovered that some matter can be both solid and liquid. In Social Studies, we are studying families, heritage and traditions.

Our field trip to watch The Velveteen Rabbit at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is coming up on Friday, December 12th.  Please send your child to school with a morning snack (which can be eaten in the car), a lunch and a booster seat. Our drivers are: Jennifer Schoner, Christy Prasad, Natalie Kay, Amy Dean, Alma Osorio and Maria Troncoso.If you are a parent driver please be here by 9:30. We will back by 2:00 approx.

Our holiday party will be on Friday, Dec.19th at 1:40-2:50. Parents are welcome.  More details to follow soon.

We are still collecting empty paper towel rolls. Please send in any you may have.

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani

November 3, 2014

Dear Parents,
Our Halloween party was a great success last week!  Thank you to all the parents who donated snacks, drinks and napkins.  And a huge thank you to those parents who volunteered to run Centers for our party!

This week we are busy with Thanksgiving activities including writing, math and art projects. We are also finishing our first term assessments.

The parent teacher conference schedule has been finalized. Please do not make any changes without emailing me first. If you do not remember the time you signed up for, please check out the sign-up genius -  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0e45aca82a1-parentteacher

Please remember to be on time as the conferences are often scheduled back to back. Thank you.

This week I will be sending home the rest of the small moment stories your child has created so far this year in the Wednesday folders. These are very special stories and the students have worked very hard on them. Please have your child read these stories to you and keep them in a treasured place in your home. These are the very first personal narrative stories your child has ever written about significant moments in their lives. It was hard for me to part with them!  I hope you enjoy them!

We are in need of empty toilet paper rolls for a November craft as well as Number Rolls (we will need 40 so we will most likely be collecting for a few weeks).

The Book Fair is happening this week! Your child will be bringing home a wishlist today. It is open from 8-3:30 and there will be an evening café on Thursday.

Just a reminder that there is no school on Tuesday, November 11th as we will be observing Veteran’s Day and we have early dismissal (1:45) to accommodate parent conference for the following 2 weeks (11/9-11/14 and 11/16-11/21).

Have a great week!
Nandita Manghnani

October 21, 2014
Dear Parents,

Thank you all for the very generous birthday gift! I can’t wait to use the spa gift certificate and the flowers are beautiful!!

We will be very busy with first trimester assessments for the next few weeks.  If you have not signed up for a parent conference please do so as soon as possible. I will be reviewing the assessments and progress reports with you at these conferences.
We have finished our unit on Small Moment Narratives in Writer’s Workshop.  We are publishing one of our stories this week which is very exciting for the kids. All of the stories the kids have written so far in writer’s workshop will be coming home in the Wednesday folder for the next few weeks so please look out for them. In Science these next few weeks,  we continue our study of insects and arachnids as well as a mini-unit on the human skeleton and in Math we are beginning to learn about Subtraction.

Reading Folders will begin to come home this week. It will take a few weeks to get them all started. In the meantime, please refer the beginning reader list (coming home in this week’s Wednesday folder) when choosing books from the library. Please make sure your child is reading every night for 15 mins!

Halloween is around the corner! Our Halloween parade will be at 9:00 in the morning so please send your child to school in their costume on the 31st. We will be changing out of our costumes before lunch so please make sure your child has a bag to put their costumes into. Costumes should be worn over regular clothing so changing will be easier. If you wish for your child not to participate in the Halloween parade, please let me know. I hope to see many of you at our school wide parade (costumes are encouraged ☺) Our class party will be at 2:00 and very mellow. We will not need any parent helpers. Thank you to those parents who are donating snacks and water for our party.

Lastly, I will be out this Thursday and Friday. I am traveling home to Toronto as there has been a death in my family (which I have not told the students). I can be reached by email. I will be back on Monday.

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani

October 6, 2014

Dear Parents,
Edna Maguire is abuzz with Steeplechase excitement!  Our big event is this Friday at 2:00.  Please send in a reusable water bottle labeled with your child’s name (if there is already one here, we will label it and fill it). Please make sure your child comes to school in proper running shoes and warm weather clothes as they will working up a sweat running those laps! We hope to have many of you here as cheerleaders on Friday.  A sign up genius link was sent out by Michelle Barenbaum with more information about how you can help out with this event.

In Room 8 this week we have begun our Mad Minute Math (timed addition tests) and the kids had a lot of fun racing the clock to finish 30 math questions. You may see many of these come home unfinished – the point is not to finish, but to work on getting faster every time.  We are also going to begin to write letters to our Pen Pals this week. Our pen pals are a first grade class from Park School. We will be corresponding with them all year and will meet them at the end of the year.

I am looking for some parents to help with publishing (typing) up student stories next week. Any day would work. Please let me know if you happen to have any spare time (45 mins would be perfect).
If you have not sent in your child’s permission slip for Lawrence Hall of Science, please do so as soon as possible.

Upcoming Events and Reminders:
*The window for ordering Scholastic Books for October has closed. All orders have been submitted and we should be receiving them soon.
* If you have not signed up for your November Parent Conference, please do so when you can using the sign up genius link:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0e45aca82a1-parentteacher
*Our field trip to LHS is next Wednesday, October 15th – please send in a morning snack, lunch and booster seat!  Parent drivers for this trip are: Anna Monge, Natalie Kay, Maria Troncoso , Alma Osorio, Christy Prasad and Jennifer Schoner. Drivers, please fill out the form included in your child’s homework folder today and send in by Friday. Please be at school by 8:45 on October 15th.
*There will be no school on Monday, Oct.20th (Staff Development Day)

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani

September 29, 2014
 

Dear Parents,

Last week was another great week for us in room 8. In math we are learning about even and odd numbers and practicing addition. In writing we are continue to focus on personal narratives (small moment stories) and in Science we have begun to study insects.

If you haven’t turned in your child’s field trip donation, please do so as soon as possible so that we may pay to reserve our spots for this year’s trips.

We are in still in need of egg cartons for an  October project. Please send in any that you may have.

Parent/teacher conferences are coming up.  These are the only official conferences of the year.  The conference is very important as I go over your child’s first trimester assessments with you and discuss your child’s progress as well as learning goals for the year.  You will be receiving a link this week to sign up for a time slot that works for you. There will be early dismissal  (1:45) for 2 weeks (11/10– 11/21) to accommodate all of the conferences. If you need to change the time you select, please email me. Please try to be on time as the conferences are often booked back to back.

Reminders:

* No School on Monday, Oct.20tht due to District Staff Development Day

* Steeplechase is Friday, Oct.10th at 2 pm

* Field trip to LHS is Wednesday, October 15th – please look for permission slip in this week’s Wednesday Folder.

* No School Tuesday, November 11th as it is Veteran’s Day

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani



September 22, 2014
Dear Parents,

Last week was another great week for us in room 8. We worked on counting up to add in math , read our September Poetry and continued to work on narrative writing.  This week we are beginning our Science unit on Insects. Very soon we will have the opportunity to observe ladybugs in the classroom 
as they change from larva to pupa to adults. 

We have begun our literacy Centers this week. Thank you to all of our volunteers. Your helping hands will really make a difference this year.  We are still in need of a parent to run a Monday Center (10:25 – 11:25) Please let me know if you are available.  If you can only do every other week, please let me know and I can try to find someone to rotate the position with you.
  
Thank you to those of you who sent in donation items or gift cards! They are so appreciated!  

We are looking to collect the following items for October crafts: egg cartons and 20 wire hangers. Please send in any that you may have.

This week’s Wednesday folder will include:

The Scholastic Book Order form for October.
The Steeplechase pledge packets which are due back by October 31st.
A Field Trip Information and Donation letter.

Upcoming Event and Reminders:

•      Steeplechase is on Friday, October 10th at 2 pm.
•      Our first field trip is coming up! We will be taking a trip to the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley on Wednesday, October 15thwhere we will be participating in an interactive class called Insects in Action.  It is a wonderful learning experience and the kids always love it! There will be a permission slip home in the Wednesday folder next week.  We are looking for parent drivers so please indicate on the permisson slip if you are able to chaperone on this this trip.
     
There is no school on Monday, October 20th as it is a Staff Development Day.

Warm Regards,
Nandita Manghnani


 September 15, 2014

Dear Parents,
Greetings!  We are having so much fun in Room 8!   In math this week we will be focusing on counting, sorting and adding activities.  In Writer’s Workshop we are focusing on personal narratives and we are getting ready to begin our unit on Insects in Science.

Homework begins today. Please send the homework folder with the completed homework back on Friday morning.  Please keep the math book at home for the entire year.  Please tear out the assigned sheets and include them in the folder on Fridays but keep the book in a safe place at home.

Tomorrow is our class picture day! We will be taking class and individual photos in the morning.

Thank you to all of you who were able to attend Back to School Night. It was great to meet all of you and to get the opportunity talk about our year with you.  A special thanks to all of you who so generously signed up to donate your time to volunteer in our classroom.  Your helping hands will make such a difference in our year!   

This year’s volunteers are:

Wednesday Folders: Melina Harper/Cindy Hsu

Class Photographer: Amy Dean and Roshi Seif

Library Parent: Anna Monge

Art Parent:  Jennifer Schoner

Monday Center Parents (10:25 – 11:25):

Natalie Kay, Melina Harper and Alma Osorio

Thursday Center Parents (10:25 – 11:25):

Jackie Forrest, Maria Troncoso, Michelle Barenbaum

Room Moms: Christy Prasad, Alma Osorio, Michelle Barenbaum

We are still looking for 2 garden parents to rotate (Mondays at 12:15). Please let me know if you can help out in the garden this year.

I look forward to seeing Library, Art and Wednesday folder parents this week. Centers will begin next week.  If you are a Center Parent please try to be here 5 mins. early so I can explain the center activity to you. Thank you for your support!

I will be contacting Room Parents and the Class Photographers to set up a meeting to discuss these roles for the year.

Library Day is Thursday, please make sure your child returns brings back his/her library books on Thursday.

We will be having a Steeplechase Pep Rally this Friday from 8:45 – 9:30 in the multi-purpose room. Each grade level will be performing a cheer to get us in the “spirit of fundraising”.  Each grade level is going to try to wear a spirit color. The first grade color is blue, so if your child has a blue shirt, please have him/her wear it to school on Friday. All families are welcome to attend and watch the cheers.

Thank you for all of the generous classroom donations (supplies and gift cards)! They are so appreciated!

Sharing begins this week. Please refer to the Sharing Schedule in the hand out given out at Back to School Night for your child’s assigned day.

I will be out on Wednesday attending a Reader’s Workshop Training.

Lastly, I will be sending each of you a class list with parent names, phone #’s, and email addresses in the Wednesday folder this week. This is for class communication, play dates, etc. Please let me know if for any reason you do not wish for your information to be distributed to the class.

Warm Regards,

Nandita Manghnani


 August 27th-29th, 2014

Dear Families,

Greetings! It has been a wonderful and busy few days in Room 8!  We have been getting to know one another through games, class discussions, and cooperative  activities. We are learning how to sit together in the meeting area, listen to others, take turns, and respect our peers in this learning community. This is going to be a great year!

Just a few reminders:
*If you haven’t yet returned the forms that your child brought home to you on the first day, please do so as soon as possible.

*Back to School Night is Wednesday, September 10th.  The classroom presentation will be at 5:30 pm followed by a principal’s address and PTA presentation at 6:30 in the Multi.  Everything you need to know about First Grade will be reviewed on this night.  Sign ups for classroom volunteers will also be posted on this night. Attendance at this event is encouraged!

*All the students will have a birthday celebration in class. I will be sending home information about when we will be celebrating your child’s birthday in the Wednesday folder next week.

*Homework will begin the week of September 15th – more information about the homework program will be given on Back to School Night.

I hope your child has had a wonderful first week in First Grade. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help make your child’s First Grade experience a success. I’m looking forward to working together with you to make this a fantastic year!

If you need to reach me, please email me at nstachon@mvschools.org or call me at 389-7733 x 2608.

Warmly,
Nandita Manghnani


You can reach me at nstachon@mvschools.org