Dear Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that, as a gala auction item, Ms. Clark, Ms. Druhot, and I are offering "Fun and Games at Chuck E. Cheese."

This will be for the auction winner plus 3 guests. Approximately 2 hours of fun along with pizza and tokens.  Date and time to be worked out between teachers and parents.

The Gala Auction will be held February 4, 2012 at Olde Towne Athletic Club from 7 to 11 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://gmefoundation.org - $35 and $45 at the door or you can Download 2012GALATicketformto purchase tickets in advance. Visit the website for a sample of items to bid on. All proceeds go back to GMEF.

The proceeds will be used to improve our school by providing funding for programs such as technology, educational curriculum and facility improvements. The GMEF will accumulate and distribute resources beyond those provided by Cobb County or the PTA, in order to further enhance, foster and enrich the educational experiences of all students at Garrison Mill.

Thank you for your support!

Happy New Year!

I hope that you had a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.

My holiday travels took me to my home state of Connecticut and to New York City.  It was great to be with my family and to sleep in late whenever possible!

The year is almost half over and we have many more goals to accomplish and things to learn in first grade!

The expectations / state standards for the third nine weeks are as follows:

Reading:  Distinguish between Fiction and Non-Fiction books

                Main Idea / Characters / Details

                Beginning / Middle / End of a story

                Sight Word List  # 4

Math:      Addition and Subtraction Facts to 18

               Detailed printed outline was sent home this week

Phonics:  Long and Short Vowels continued

L. Arts:    Compounds

                Contractions

                Synonyms

                Antonyms

                Nouns / Verbs / Adjectives

Writing:   Informational Writing

                Complete Sentences

                Capitalization

                Punctuation

                Edit / Correct sentences for fluency and spelling

Science:  Shadows and Light

                Plants

                Needs of Plants and Animals

S. Studies:  Harriet Tubman

                   Theodore Roosevelt

                   George W. Carver

Many thanks to all those who helped out with our fabulous Holiday Party!!

I appreciate all of your support ... you make my job much easier.

Joyce Atcheson

Welcome December!  Time is really moving quickly and before you know it,

the holiday season will be here.  Thank you for joining us for the Grandparent

Luncheon and spending time with us.  It was nice to see all of you, again!

Thanksgiving Break was fun and I cooked my first turkey ... 20 lbs. no less!

Thanksgiving is a great time to spend time with family and friends.  I hope

that your holiday was as enjoyable as mine!

The Annual Foundation Pancake Breakfast had a fabulous turnout.  I served

pancakes and sausage to more people than I could count ... at least it

seemed that way!

Looking ahead:

International Night:  6-8pm on Dec. 8th

Checkpoint Testing is Cobb County mandated and will reflect what the

children have learned, thus far, this academic year.

Dec. 13th  Language Arts

Dec. 14th  Math

Dec. 15th and 16th will be for input of answers on both tests using

I-Respond in our classroom

December 15th will also be High Touch High Tech on Sound

Dec. 21st from 12:20 until 1:20 will be our Holiday Party for the children

Please help out in any way that you can with donations of party items and

or your time at the actual party!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Have a safe and happy Holiday Season!

Joyce Atcheson

Conference Week was very enjoyable for me and hopefully very helpful to you.  It is always very enlightening to share ideas, praise, work samples and concerns at conference time.  Thanks for mentioning the "talking situation" at home, things are getting better every day!

Special Centers were fun and enjoyed by all.  Thank you to Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Galvin and Mrs. Allen for making our center time possible!

 Our Grandparents Luncheon is on Thursday, November 17th.  Please come at 10:05 to our classroom for Thanksgiving songs.  We will walk down as a group for our 10:30 lunch. The Book Fair will be held in the Media Center as well as a family photograph opportunity.

Turkey Feather Projects have started to come in already, and they look great!  Don't forget to turn them in by Thursday, November 10th. 

Club Photos for the Yearbook will be taken on Thursday morning, November 10th.  Any student that has participated in any after school club is welcome to have his or her picture taken.  Please be sure to make your child aware of this activity and remind them that it is strictly voluntary.  Thanks!

Math:  Please work on counting coins and dollar bills at home as well as basic Addition and Subtraction facts.  Please use the flashcards that were sent home recently, each and every night. 

Science:  We are working on Magnet books.

Social Studies:  We have started Thomas Jefferson and we will also cover both Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea.

Reading:  Please continue to read each night with your child and remember to note it in the monthly Reading Log.  We had one child in our class with over 1,000 minutes for the month of October!

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the week with family and friends!

Thank you for all of your help and support so far this year.

Joyce Atcheson

 !

Fall has certainly arrived and I hope that you are enjoying the nice change!

I hope that you and your family will be able to attend the Garrison Mill Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 14th from 6:00 until 8:00. I will be working at the Dunk Tank Table from 5:45 until 6:30 ... please stop by and say hello!

Conference Letters were sent home on Oct. 10th and most of them have already been returned. Thank you for returning them so promptly!

High Touch / High Tech Permission Slips and Payment Envelopes were sent home on Oct. 3rd and need to be returned as soon as possible. I did send a second reminder notice today and hope to have everything in soon!

The Scarecrow Projects were wonderful!! They are proudly displayed in the hallway. Each child explained how their scarecrow was completed with the help of his/ her family.

Recently, we had Special Centers for the first time this year! They were a big hit and enjoyed by all. Thank you for all of the parent assistance which helped to make the centers fun and kept the children actively engaged!

CogAt Testing went well and the Test Fairy Treats were thoroughly enjoyed by the children. Thank you for your generous support and involvement in our school activities.

Joyce Atcheson

Many thanks to all who attended the Garrison Mill Fun Run .  We had 10 children running in the race from our class!  It was great to see them run and cheer them on.  I was very proud to have so many participants from our class!

Many of our Wish List supplies have been turned in ... thank you for your  much appreciated gererosity.

Our first Scholastic Book Order is due back on ... Sept. 20, 2011.  Please help us out by ordering ... if you can.  I use the bonus points earned to buy paperback books for our classroom.

We are now into our third official week of Homework for this school year.  I am receiving quality work , completed and turned in on time!  I appreciate your effort, hard work and time which will make such a big difference in your child's confidence and ability to both read and write independently this year! The stories are really fantastic and we are sharing them in class. 

Special Centers are coming up soon ... please respond to our Room Moms when they request supplies or ask for your help to make the time special for your son or daughter. 

Thanks,

Joyce Atcheson

Many thanks to all who attended our recent Open House.  Susan Parker, our head room parent, had lots of volunteer sign up opportunities available that night.  If you were unable to attend and would like to help out this school year, please contact Susan Parker.  Her contact information was in the green packet included in the folder of information provided for each parent.

Thank you for your help with the numerous forms required at the beginning of the year.  If you have any forms left at home to complete, please return them as soon as possible.  Your child will select an item from our Treasure Box once everything has been returned!

Our year is off to a great start as we continue to work on following the class rules and doing our best each and every day.

We are working on addition/subtraction in Math, initial sounds in Phonics (n,o,t),and correct book selection in Reading.  In Handwriting, we are working on correct letter size and formation and using capital letters only when necessary.  Our Writing emphasis has been creating simple sentences starting with a capital letter and ending with a period.  In Science, we are discussing seasons and types of weather.

Thanks for coming to the Meet and Greet on Friday.  I enjoyed meeting all of you who were able to attend.

We will be having an Open House for the parents on Thursday, August 18th - a PTA meeting will be held at 6:30pm in the cafeteria followed by an information session in my classroom.  It is important for at least one parent to attend the Open House to learn about my plans for the upcoming school year.

I'm looking forward to the first day of school on Monday, August 15th.  It will be a great year and I appreciate the privilege of teaching your children.

-Joyce Atcheson