Happy New Year! - January 10, 2008

Welcome Back to School
It was wonderful to see all the children's smiling faces on Tuesday morning!  Each and every one of the students seemed enthusiastic, energetic, and excited to be back at school.  We jumped right into the swing of our routine, and it was hard to believe we had been away for a couple of weeks. The students were hard at work without missing a beat. 

Bake Sale Success
Mahalo nui loa to everyone who supported our Bake Sale for the Heifer Foundation!  We raised $339, which will buy honeybees, ducks, chickens, geese, rabbits, and a share of a heifer cow, a goat, a llama, a pig, and a sheep for families around the world.

First Grade Math
The first graders are in the midst of creating surveys and collecting and analyzing data.  In Unit 4, we have been focusing on data analysis and the students are working on sorting and classifying data, representing data, describing data, and designing and carrying out a data investigation.  As seems to be the case with learning, our unit on data analysis began right as we were discussing what we should bake and sell at our Bake Sale in December...a perfect integration of math and inquiry.  The students created a "survey" to find out what items other students at MPI would like to purchase at our bake sale.  The first graders asked the question "What are your two favorite foods to buy at a bake sale?" and gave the following choices: cookies, brownies, popcorn, Rice Krispie treats, mochi, energy bars, muffins, and cupcakes.  The students collected responses and represented the data by using tally marks on a chart.  The winning treat?  Well, popcorn was the leader, followed closely by cookies.  However, at our bake sale, all the homemade snacks seemed to be "favorites."

This week, the students worked with a partner to create a survey question to ask their classmates.  The groups asked these questions and collected the following results:

• "Would you rather play soccer outside or read a book inside?" - AK and LW
  soccer = 7, read book = 10
• "Would you rather play with your toys or Wii?" - KM and NM
• toys = 1, Wii = 18
• "Would you rather have mint chocolate chip ice cream or Neapolitan ice cream?" - AS and EM
  
• mint = 4, Neapolitan = 14
• "Which do you like better: playing a Wii or reading a book?" - JM and KI
• Wii = 16, book = 3
• "Would you rather eat a hot dog or pizza?" - CH and JH
• hot dog = 4, pizza = 15
• "What do you like better: watching TV or baking with your Mommy?" - SY, SS and MO
• baking with your mom = 17, watching TV = 4
• "Would you rather watch TV or color?" - MH and BS
• watch TV = 13, color = 3
• "Which do you prefer: watching TV or reading a book?" - KJ and EY
• watching TV = 14, reading = 5
• "Would you rather be an iguana or a catfish?" - CM and JC
• iguana = 16, catfish = 4

After the groups collected the data for their question, each group shared their survey with the class and told us the question they asked, how they represented the data, what they found out from the survey, and anything that was surprising or interesting about the results. An equation that represents the data was collected.  The students are having such a great time with this unit on data analysis!

Thank You
We need to back up a few weeks to before Christmas vacation and thank all the families who sent in a book for our "Secret Santa" book exchange.  There's nothing better than giving the gift of reading to the children.  Thank you to all the parents who helped at our Christmas party: Sandy You, Wendy Handa, Danelle and Cliff Cheng,  Butch Loo and Taylor Loo (sister or KL), Tracy McConnell, Laura Adams, and Donna Wong.

  Thank you to LW for bringing in cupcakes to celebrate his birthday.  We love the birthday book he donated to our classroom, The McGraw-Hill Children's Dictionary.  It's a great resource for the students!  Thank you to KL for the delicious cupcakes to celebrate her birthday.  Okay, fast forward to the New Year; "thank-yous" are in store for KM for the yummy popcorn and energy bars to celebrate his birthday.  Our class is also enjoying reading the birthday books he donated to our classroom: Knight: A Noble Guide for Young Squires, 101 Amazing Animal Fact Cards, and Our World. 

Thank you to all the families who are saving and sending in Box Tops.  Please keep the Box Tops coming!!!

Odds and Ends

• Homework will be sent home Friday, January 11, and be due the following Thursday.  We will be using new writing folders for the spelling words, so don't be surprised when your child brings home a different homework folder.
• Send back Student Portfolios so that we can begin reflecting on and adding work for the new semester.
• We will begin our new Inquiry Unit next Monday.  Our focus is a sense of time and place in Manoa Valley.  Since MPI is celebrating 100 years in Manoa this year, we will be investigating Kawailele, the freshwater spring on our campus.  The students will explore the cultural history, cultural responsibility, natural history, and environmental stewardship and conservation related to Kawailele.

Posted on January 10, 2008 7:50 AM | Permalink