Homework, etc. etc.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of my student's parents that have been on top of getting your child to do his or her math homework. Even though there has been a few times it has not been done, overall the students are all bringing it back daily. That is AWESOME!

I barely see this.... (picture)

Well, now there will be a homework change in a week or so. Instead of the pink piece of paper coming home, they will have a sheet come home from their math workbook. Your child will be expected to answer questions 1-4 daily. There will be more questions on the page. If you want to work with your child on the extra questions, go for it! That would be AWESOME! 

IMPORTANT DATES:
October 12th is our parent/teacher conference. If you cannot come, please let me know ASAP so we can schedule another time. It is very important that we meet.

October 30th is Pumpkin Math and  Field Day. If you would like to volunteer, please make sure you have signed up to volunteer through the district this year. Even if you volunteered last year, you have to sign up again. I would love to see parents here enjoying the day with their kiddos.  Click here to sign up!

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a program with college readiness in mind. It focuses on closing the achievement gap by teaching students strategies to help them have ownership of their learning and reach their full potential. We use organizational tools and agendas in 4th and 5th grade, but we have instructional strategies site-wide. Writing, inquiry, collaborating, organization and reading to learn are only a few of the AVID strategies we implement. 

It's never too young to start thinking about college. A college-bound culture is a culture of success and everyone can benefit from that at any age. AVID is really stressed in 3rd, 4th, and 5th and we're trying to move it into all grade levels in the near future. It'll be available at Carpenter Middle School and in Plano high schools. 

Our AVID liaison for Christie Elementary, Mr. Ramos in 5th Grade, has designed an awesome Avengers themed t-shirt to help promote the program. 

You pay for your shirt(s) online, and they will ship to Christie 4-7 days after the closing date which is Wednesday, September 30th! Teachers, parents, and students are all encouraged to order and proceeds exceeding a certain order amount will be used towards Christie College Week to promote our college-bound culture. It's a win-win! I hope that you join me in supporting both Christie and the AVID program with Plano ISD.

The shirt design:

Ready, Set, Read

Ready, Set, Read

For the most part. testing is over. I now finally feel like a teacher and can actually teach from 8AM to 2:45. That being said, review time for language arts is over. Each week, the students will be expected to know at least 50 words. The good news: those words belong to a pattern. Your child will learn so much in first grade, but they need the help at home. Part of their homework is to read every night for at least 20 minutes. Their Fun Free Friday depends on it!

Check this out....

If you feel frustrated with your child at home, here are some tips you can utilize. Print this out and stick it on your refrigerator.

Tips for Parents for Reading at Home

For my friends that already have students that read, my best advice for you is to ask them questions about the story. If you want to know some specific questions, e-mail me! I have plenty!

Thinking Like A Scientist

First Grade's Law of Theory

As many parents are aware, we have adjusted the curriculum to teach the students science every day. I would say that many of them LOVE science. One of our essential questions is "How does science impact our everyday life?" The past two weeks, we have been working on observing different experiments, but more importantly, being able to connect it to something else in our lives.

Last week, we did the infamous Gummy Bear Experiment. The students predicted what would happen to the gummy bears. Many said they would get bigger, but they were all surprised about how little the gummy bear in the vinegar turned out. We learned what the word dissolves meant. After talking about our results, I integrated math into our lesson. We learned how to graph our work so we could get precise answers about our observations.

Today, the students predicted what would happen if we mixed milk with dish soap. If you want to do this experiment at home, pour some milk into a pan. Then, add some food coloring of different colors in the middle of the pan. Next, put dish soap on a Q-tip. Last, dip the soap into the middle of the pan of milk. The kids were so amazed at what happened! They were all saying how much they love science. They went back to their desks and wrote about what the milk reminded them of. I was impressed by some great connections!

Madilynn compared the milk to a big jaw dropper candy ball that you can buy.

Braylon said it looked like the portal from the movie Big Hero Six.

Eliana wrote that the milk looks like a ripple when you throw a rock into the water.

Makaela said it looked like an erupting volcano.

Many more experiments to come! Stay tuned.....

Time to be Awesome.

Awesome. It seems like a small word. It is a word that is overused in our society. However, the true meaning behind it has a lot of worth. This year, I want everything in my class to be AWESOME! From the pictures each student draws all the way to the crazy activities we do in first grade, everything should be Awesome. Here is where I get my inspiration from. Of course it was a kid......

Are you being Awesome to your friend? Do you think your work is Awesome? Are you having an Awesome attitude? Don't you think being a scientist in Miss Christie's class is Awesome? Doesn't it feel Awesome when you work hard and learned something new?

I am going to show this to my students in class. Show it to them at home too! When you see your child each day, ask them "What did you do that was Awesome today?"

"Life is too short not to be Awesome?"  - Kid President

New Blog for the New School Year

MEET THE TEACHER

Welcome to First grade! Welcome to Miss Christie's corner! I am so excited to start a new year with your child. This summer has been a great two months to reflect on what my drive will be this year. I finally found it! As kid president would say, "BE AWESOME." We will get more into that later.

To start off, my name is Stephanie Christie. This is my fifth year at Christie Elementary and my fourth year in first grade! I LOVE FIRST GRADE! I think I will be a first grade teacher for as long as I teach. You will see why as the year goes by. I graduated from UNT, Go Mean Green! Big News: I am getting married this year, November 7th, Future Mrs. Blake Adams. I have two AWESOME dogs: Mickey and Bailey. Of course I have to include them on this. Oh yea, and the gerbils! They stay at the school or else Bailey will try to have them for snack.

The best way to get ahold of me is through e-mail: stephanie.christie@pisd.edu. You can also call my direct line: 469-752-0853.

I hope you enjoy first grade as much as I do each year. First graders show such a high growth compared to many other grades. What? They have to learn how to read in one year? Yes! They can do it! We are on a new side of the building, with a new classroom. If you walk around the school, you will see updates: painted walls, new driveways, these crazy new double-desks. It's time for a fresh start! My advice: enjoy the chaos. First grade is busy and can be stressful, but the kids will have so much fun and some great memories.

Miss Christie's Favorites

Food: Tex-Mex

Books: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Gillian Flynn books

Color: Anything colorful and bright

Drink: Red Bull, DP, Starbucks

Store: Target, Barnes and Noble

Snack: Jalapeno Chex-Mex, beef jerky

Candy/chocolate: gummy bears, Almond Joy, Hanuta

Litter Bug Art

Welcome to Christie's Maker Space Camp. Recyclable trash has been collected for months so children can make whatever they want in Litter Bug Art. 

Here is a great creation by a kindergartener! Introducing Mr. Bug-E Bug. 

First graders love bugs!

18 Little Engineers and the School Dance

This week was the kick-off to the Engineering Expo! 

The students were presented a problem: When the parent volunteers bring ice pops to our End-of-Year party, what will you create to keep the ice pops from melting?

This is a student-based project, which means the students ask the questions and figure out the best solution. From first graders? Yes! First off, they have been engaged 100%. Getting them to think on their own has been like pulling teeth, but they are finally getting it! While trying to figure out what material can help keep the ice pops insulated, we have been talking about different temperatures.

I enjoyed integrating math into our lesson. We compared Fahrenheit to Celsius and discussed that both degrees are different units of measurement, like measuring with inch tiles and paper clips. We also discussed what degree it has to be to keep the ice pop from melting. Do you know? Ask your child.


I talked to a wonderful lady that works in the kitchen and she let us go into the walk-in fridge and freezer. The students fully understood what above freezing and below freezing felt like. Cold is not just cold! There was a big difference. While freezing their tooshies off, we compared what foods were in the freezer and fridge. We talked about why we put other foods besides ice cream in the freezer. We observed that the apple juice is still a liquid in the 40 degree cooled fridge. The students also observed what the fridge was built with and compared it to what materials they will use for their project.


Challenge your child: let them try to give you an example of why heat energy is important to our every day life.

SCHOOL NEWS!
***All children must be accompanied by an adult in order to attend the dance this Friday***