Mystery Reader

Special thanks to Aly Lull for being our Mystery Guest Reader last Friday!

Mrs. Lull shared two wonderful books with the children, 

Mortimer and You Can Do It Sam.

Mystery Reader

Special thanks to today's Mystery Guest Reader, 

Jen Rodier, who read the book 

The Pout Pout Fish and the Bully-Bully Shark to the children.

We Are Thankful!

Wishing you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathleen Gouzie

Halloween Fun!

Special thanks to our room parent, Kat Larson, for organizing our Halloween Party and to all the parents who sent in items for our party! We had a great audience and wonderful weather for our Halloween Parade! The kids had so much fun, and they looked so cute in their Halloween costumes!

Storyteller Diane Edgecomb

Today the children listened to stories of Superheroes told by storyteller Diane Edgecomb.  Long before the Superheroes of today, people all over the world used their super imaginations to create folktales about creatures and people with extraordinary powers.  Diane told the story of Anansi the entertaining Spider God from Africa who had web-spinning adventures.

Thanks to TESPTO for funding this program
 for the children to enjoy!

Halloween Word Problems

Spooky Halloween Word Problems have been suddenly appearing all over our classroom! 

During our Writer's Workshop times we have been focusing on Word Choice. Word Choice is about painting a picture with your words. It's about trying a variety of words to connect with your reader.  It's about using verbs to create an active, energetic voice and trying new ways of saying things.  Word Choice is about using the perfect word in the perfect place. 

 After learning about nouns, verbs and adjectives the children are focusing on the power of word choice while creating their own Halloween Word Problems for their classmates to solve!

Fun with Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives!

During our Writer's Workshop times we have been learning about Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives! 
The children have learned that if you were a noun, you would be easy to spot.  You would be a person, a place or a thing.  If you were a noun, you could be a star, a cloud, an astronaut, or the moon.

If you were a verb, you could tell what someone or something is doing.  If you were a verb, you could show action!  If you were a verb, you could swim, tiptoe, dance, leap, paddle or plunge.

They have also learned that if you were an adjective, you would work side by side with nouns.  A noun names a person, place, or thing.  As an adjective, you would be busy describing nouns. 
 If you were an adjective, you would be colorful, brilliant, dazzling, feathery, many-legged or slimy!

The children had lots of fun writing their own Halloween nouns, verbs and adjectives!

Halloween Parade and Party Reminder

Halloween Parade & Party!

Who: Kindergarten & First Graders

When: October 31

What Time: 2:00PM (changed from the originally planned 2:10 start time)

Where: Front parking lot across from the school entrance & gym

This parade will be followed by our individual classroom Halloween parties!

All family members are welcome!

On October 31st (or beforehand) please remember to send your child to school with his/her Halloween costume! Any accessories/makeup that may get lost might be better off staying at home. Please, no scary horror masks or toy weapons. Thank you so much for understanding!

We hope to see you there!

The Kindergarten & First Grade Teachers

Mystery Guest Reader

Special thanks to Erin Larkin for being our 

Mystery Guest Reader on Friday.

The children loved listening to the story,

  Dragons Love Tacos!

Mystery Guest Reader

Special thanks to today's Mystery Guest Reader, 

who shared a favorite book from his own childhood, 

The Travels of J.B. Rabbit.  

It was a such a nice way to end our Fun Friday!

Mystery Guest Reader

Special thanks to Jenn Kolinka for being our 

Mystery Guest Reader last Friday.  

The children loved listening to Rosie Revere, Engineer. 

This book celebrates creativity and perseverance as Rosie uses her imagination and creative thinking to construct great inventions.

Mrs. Kolinka donated this wonderful book to our classroom library, which was greatly appreciated!

Happy Costume Day!

Our First Mystery Guest Reader!

Special thanks to Megan Brown, 

our first Mystery Guest Reader this year!

The children loved listening to 

Postcards from the Topsfield Fair.

As Meg Quinn, the author of this fun Alphabet Book says,

"We hope you had fun reading each letter,

"And learned that the Fair just gets better and better.

Every year in October it runs for 10 days,

Next time you'll enjoy it in many more ways!"

Walk-a-thon

Many thanks for all of your support of our

Steward School Walk-a-thon.

We had a great day! 

The children got lots of exercise 

while supporting a great cause!

  

Discovery Museum's Traveling Workshop on Sound

Today our first graders participated in a program presented by The Discovery Museum's Traveling Workshops entitled Sound.  The children plunged a vibrating tuning fork into a bowl of water to create a spray as they learned that sound is vibration.  The children actively engaged in exploring sound, and they created unique sound makers with household materials.

Thanks to TESPTO for funding this exciting program!

If you are interested in making more science discoveries, you can visit http://bit.ly/TSWactivity

to find more ideas for exploring science with fun, at-home science activities.

If you complete the five question survey about the Sound workshop, a FREE admission pass to visit the Discovery Museum will be sent to you!

Thank you for a Fantastic Parent Open House!

Dear Families,

Thanks to all who were able to stop by Thursday night for our Parent Seminar!

  It was so nice to meet so many of you and get a chance to talk about your fabulous first graders and some of the exciting activities I have planned for the children.  Below is a link to my Parent Seminar presentation for all to view. 

 This may be a great resource for you to refer back to throughout the year, 

as it highlights the concepts that will be taught in all curriculum areas.

I am looking forward to a fantastic year!

I hope you enjoy our Slide Show Presentation,

 Meet Mrs. Gouzie's Super Stars! 
The children would LOVE to read some comments on their Slide Show! 

Comments will not show on the blog immediately, but will be posted within the next few days!

Click on the scroll bar to view our Parent Seminar Presentation:

Welcome to First Grade!

Welcome to a new school year at Steward School! This is such a wonderful time for you and your child. Your first grader will grow tremendously during the course of this school year. My goal is to create a classroom community where children are happy, comfortable, enthusiastic about learning and love waking up to come to school every day!

                                         Happy First Day! 

                                           Mrs. Gouzie

Communication Is Key!

You are the experts on your children! Therefore, I love keeping communication open at all times. Parent volunteers and Mystery Readers will be welcomed throughout the year. A volunteer schedule will be presented on

Open House Night on September 20^th!

I am always available to chat! Here are 3 ways to contact me…

By email:

kgouzie@topsfieldps.org.

By phone:

You can call the office at 978-887-1538. My extension is 3405. I am here late most afternoons, so this is a good time to reach me.  I also check my voice-mail at the end of each day!

Write a note:

You can also place a note in your child’s Take Home Folder and I will get back to you as soon as possible!

Important Dates & Times to Remember:   

August 31st- No School

September 3rd- No School

September 20th- 

Steward School’s Parent Seminar!

7:00-7:45pm

September 28th-      

Early Release 12pm

*Please provide your child with a healthy snack to eat each day during our mid-morning break before lunch. This year first graders eat lunch at 12:55pm so having a larger snack in the morning is energizing!

·        Due to allergies please make sure these snacks are nut free to ensure our classroom is a nut free zone.

·         Buying Lunch- Children buying lunch will make their lunch choice in the morning. An account system can be set up through the Steward School Website. J

Please feel free to send your child to school with an extra cold water bottle to keep in the classroom throughout the day, especially during this hot weather!

Bus/Car Rider Notes

Children who attend after-school activities will need a note stating their destination, including Steward Station and car riders unless you send a permanent note stating the days your child will be going to Steward Station or the days your child will be a car rider throughout the entire school year. 

A note is also needed if your child is going home with a friend on a different bus, or is getting off at a different bus stop.

The bus notes are read by me and then sent to the main office early in the morning where bus lists/pick up lists are generated and provided for the staff covering afternoon dismissal duties. 

Please make your child aware of any dismissal changes which may take place during the school year. 

Thank you so much for your cooperation!

I cannot thank you all enough for sending in the wonderful school supplies for this school year. Most importantly, thank you for sending your children to school with happy smiling faces! J

Here’s to the start of a Fantastic

 First Grade Year!

Mrs. Gouzie 

One Last Mystery Reader

Thanks to Liz Anvari for being a special 

Mystery Guest Reader this year.  

Mrs. Anvari read the book, I Am Peace, and led the children in some mindfulness activities!

Stone Zoo Field Trip Reminders - June 18th

 

Dear Families,

The children are looking forward to visiting the Stone Zoo tomorrow!  Here are some reminders to help you get ready for our field trip:

      

1.  Please have your child wear a RED shirt if possible.  This can be a Steward Spirit shirt or another red shirt.

2.  Remember to bring a BROWN PAPER BAG LUNCH with your name labeled on it. 

No nuts please! 

Bring lots of WATER (It's going to be in the 90s!)

                                  

3.  Don’t forget to apply sunblock and bug spray BEFORE coming to school. If you need to reapply during the field trip, please bring it in a bag with your NAME labeled on it.                                                                                                 

4. Please wear COMFORTABLE shoes! 
                            

   

5.Don’t forget to bring your smile for this amazing day!

Fun with First Grade Friends!

Having some fun with friends on Friday after finishing a challenging Math test!