Monday September 17th is Cici’s Pizza Night for Seabourn at the 1200 E. Davis location. 10% of the proceeds will be donated to our school IF you mention Seabourn Elementary. It is a great way to help our school and get some yummy pizza! I will be having dinner there as well as several other teachers, so if you see us, please stop by our table and say hi. Thanks for supporting our school!
Back to School!
Welcome to our class blog! I will be attempting to use the blog to share with you things that are going on the the classroom, photos of fun lesson that we do, occasional videos, and just share information. I know you get so many papers in their folders, so I am hoping that this will be an easy way for us to stay connected. Be sure to check out the various tabs at the top of the page to get the full experience. I will be sending a permission slip home so I will be able post those pictures and videos.
I am so excited to begin a new school year. This year is proving to be one of the best yet. I am overjoyed to be back with your kids for a second year in a row! First grade is a year of great growth, probably the greatest growth. You will see your child blossom and change in dramatic ways academically.
It was so wonderful to see some many of you last night at meet the teacher. We had a terrific turnout. I want to thank each of you that took the time to come and see our new classroom and talk about some of the changes for the new year.
For those of you that were not able to make it, let me share with you what is new for 1st grade. While we have the same class, it is a new grade level and so there will be a few things that are different from last year. One of the major differences is that this year students will be given real numerical grades. No more C, P, or N’s on the report card. This means a higher level of accountability for the students, myself, and for you guys. It is really important to keep up with nightly reading logs, as this will be are part of your student’s reading grade. The good news is that it is really the only regular homework there will be. 🙂 This year students will also have the added subject of spelling. So there will be weekly spelling test that the kids will need to study for. The spelling words will be given in the weekly newsletter. I will also give a pre-test on Mondays, which will be sent home in Tuesday folders. The words will be on there and you can see which ones they missed, so you can focus on those words. We will continue to build on the knowledge and skills that we gained last year.
Please feel free to contact me any time you have a question, concern, or just want to share some information about your child. I can be reached by phone during my conference period Monday through Friday from 12:00 to 12:45 or after school. Email is also a fabulous way to connect and my email address is bblaylock@mesquiteisd.org. I am looking forward to another fantastic year with your students!!
The Budget Crisis
If you have watched the news in the past couple of weeks, then you have to know there are serious issues being debated in our state capitol as to how to fund our state’s educational system. You must be aware that budgetary cuts are coming to our school district and I am sure many of you have questions about how these cuts will it affect your children. If you have not visited the district’s website, there is some very informative information on there and I highly recommend you check it out. Here are two videos that can be seen on the district’s website.
While we will all feel the loss of funding, I want to assure you that the staff at Seabourn is committed to retaining the high quality of eduction your children are receiving. While we do not know exactly what the future will hold or how deep the cuts will be, MISD has plans in place for all possible scenarios and intends to do everything possible to minimize the impact on student achievement.
You may be wondering what you can do? As stakeholders and voters you can make your voice heard by writing to your locally elected officials. I have written to my representatives in the past and actually received a phone call regarding the issue I addressed. Please know that your voice can be heard and counted if you speak up! Take the time and opportunity to make your opinions known.
I have posted a link to the district’s website and Texas PTA, their website has a wealth of information as well.
http://www.mesquiteisd.org/budget/index.asp
Legislators to Contact:
| Local Officials
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Rep. Cindy Burkett, District 101
Capitol Address:Room E2.804, Capitol Extension District Address:P.O. Box 850975
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Sen. Bob Deuell
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068 District Address: Mesquite, Texas 75150
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| Other Legislators Active in the Education Funding Debate:
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| Sen. Florence Shapiro
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068 Fax (512) 463-7579 District Address: 5000 Legacy Dr., Ste. 494
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Sen. Royce West
Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068 District Address: 5787 S. Hampton Rd., Suite 385
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| Rep.Diane Patrick
Capitol Address: Room EXT E2.610, Capitol Extension District Address:318 West Main Street, Ste. 102
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Rep. Rob Eissler
Capitol Address: Room E1.408, Capitol Extension District Address:P.O. Box 9494
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| Rep. Scott Hochberg
Capitol Address: Room CAP 4N.08, Capitol District Address:7011 Harwin, Suite 230
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Ice, Ice, and More Ice
The view from my apartment window on Friday morning.
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed their time off. I must say, it was a nice, unexpected break. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to get back to work. I missed your kiddos and am looking forward to being back in the classroom!
I hope your students logged in some time reading during this break. You may have noticed that your student’s reading ability has started to improve. This time of the school year you often see huge developmental growth in 1st graders, so it is important to capitalize on it by making sure your student is reading daily. Just as with any skill the way to get better is to practice. The more they read the better readers they will become!
Since we missed almost an entire week, we will pick up where we left off. We will have the same spelling list as last week. I will send another copy home tomorrow, just in case it has been lost. All other subjects will be the same as well.
Inaugural Post
To show support for Red Ribbon Week, students wore "crazy" hair.
Welcome to our class’s blog! I am new to blogging and hope to use this site as a way to keep students and parents informed as to the happenings in our class. I will post important information, pictures of class activities, student projects, and tips to help students get the most of their educational experience. Please be patient with me as I bungle my way through the learning process of blogging. I will do my best to keep information current. Please feel free to post comments and questions. I look forward to blogging with you!
Miss Blaylock's Class 