We hope everyone is having a great Halloween!  We would like to thank Donna Campbell for her organization of our craft projects today! Thank you to the families who contributed to the purchase of the crafts.  Donna has kindly offered to help with a craft before the holiday break, please let her know if you can help with this.  Thanks!
Today our class made Red Sox posters to congratulate them on their World Series win!  These posters were delivered to the Boston Duck Tours.  We may see the posters during the Rolling Rally on Saturday morning! (Mrs. Barth's and Mrs. Lees' students made posters during the 2010 Stanley Cup Rolling Rally and their posters were on the yellow Duck Boat during the parade!) 

Our boys and girls at Stratton are cheering on the home team!  Let's go 'Sox!

We will have a school photo on Wednesday at 1:30.  Feel free to wear red/white  or Red Sox clothing.  
Today the children enjoyed using the Raz-kids app.  during our reading block.  In the afternoon, they were able to use the ipads during Choice Time.  The children worked together to make beautiful drawings and designs.

Not only did the Red Sox have a huge win on Monday night, but we are also ready to announce our first grade field trips for the year!  
*Apple Store Field Trip (Burlington Mall) for iMovie training on November 12th 
*Discovery Museum on December 5th
* New England Aquarium on February 4th 
*Charlotte's Web at the Berklee Performance Center on May 30th
Permission slips and chaperone information will be sent home for our November 12th trip soon!

Good luck Red Sox!
(Mrs. Barth's friend, Sean Molloy, took this  great photo!)

We hope you are able to join us for our Pumpkin Carving Night at Stratton from 6:00-8:00.  Magician Lucky Bob will be performing.  
(Maybe we will see some some Red Sox pumpkins!)

On Monday and Tuesday, the children played a card game that required them to "subitize" (to instantly know a number/amount without counting).  The boys and girls are doing a great job talking through their strategies!

Our Stratton community is invited to show their Red Sox PRIDE tomorrow to school.  Wear Red Sox clothing or the color red to celebrate this great achievement!  ac Congratulations to our 2013 Red Sox for making it to the World Series!

Our school photos will be taken on Wednesday, October 23rd at 10:30.  Please return the photo order envelop if you choose to order photos.  We will have both individual and a class photo taken.

Even though there was a fall chill in the air this morning, our first graders gathered in the great outdoors to make observations in nature.  Our goal was to use 4 senses; hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling to observe nature.  (In science, we never use the sense of taste.)  How did the weather feel today?  Is it windy?  Did you observe effects in nature from wind, precipitation, or lack of precipitation?   What changes/differences might we observe in the winter, spring or summer? 
Directions will be sent home on Friday for a fun science observation assignment.  The children will love it!

Todd Gutner from the Channel 4 Weather Team visited our first graders.  We watched a cool video and we learned how meteorologists predict the weather.  Ask your child about the tools that are used to predict the weather.  Mr. Gutner talked to our classes about the different states of matter; solid, liquid and gas.  Our first graders will be sharing a special morning message tomorrow (10/10) on Channel 4 at 5:15 and 6:15!

I went to the Rick Riordan book signing event at the Ottoson Middle School. It was great seeing current students and graduates from Stratton attending the presentation. This video clip shows how excited children can become about reading!

Mrs. Barth

During this morning's PRIDE assembly, Mr. Hanna reminded the children about being dedicated to the cleanliness of our school; in particular the outside area.  We reminded the children to use the outside trashcans to dispose of their snack wrappers.  We look forward to seeing the beautiful results!
Speaking of PRIDE, take a look at our new Stratton PRIDE page on our website!

In our latest math session, Mrs. Pratt read a story called "Math-terpieces" by local author Greg Tang.  The story showed beautiful works of art.  While reading the book, we worked to sort objects into groups of 6 and 7.  We also used math cubes to investigate ways to make 5, 6 and 7.  

Will.i.am reminds us to keep our heads up high, stay strong and believe in ourselves. Students at Stratton show all of the attributes described in this catchy tune!  Enjoy

Click on this link to hear some tips on how we can show PRIDE at home!  Elmo shares such a positive message with his buddies from the GooGoo Dolls!  We think Elmo can make his bed better than Mrs. Barth!

During our Open Circle sessions we have been learning about calm breathing as a way to help us calm down if we get upset or nervous.  Take a look at this video which shows the "Belly Breathing" technique in action with some familiar friends!