It’s hard to believe we have been in school for two weeks already. We had a great start to a new school year! We learned about many school and classroom procedures and expectations. Throughout the first two  weeks, we have reviewed cafeteria, recess and hallway expectations and along with community building within our classroom and expectations of effort.  It was great seeing so many parents at Thursday’s Back to School Night. I hope I answered a lot of questions.  I am sure there are more to come as the year continues. If you have questions or concerns please contact me.

I enjoyed the children's presentation about their "Special Me" bag.  We had so much fun learning about one another, our favorite sports, toys, families, friends, pets and so much more!  Each one of us is special in a different way.  The children got to ask and answer questions and reflect on how each of us are different and alike in many ways.

Reminders  

Tuesday, September 8, Vision/Hearing screening. Please try to make sure that your child is present.

Thursday, September 10, Picture Day.  Order forms were sent home in Friday’s folder.  Have your child dress appropriately and wear a smile!

This week’s specials schedule -

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
P.E.	Music	Art	P.E.

HOMEWORK

READING -reading logs will be sent home beginning Tuesday, September 8.  A parent letter explaining the reading logs and tips for reading with your child will also be in the folder.

SOCIAL STUDIES  - As we begin our identity and cultures unit, we will be building a “families quilt.”  A “quilt square” with directions for its completion is being sent home in Tuesday’s folder.  The quilt square will be due Friday. September 11.  Your child may return it to school anytime this week when they have completed it. In addition to magazine photos, feel free to use google images. Here is my sample.

This week in first grade:

Reading

The students are doing a wonderful job building their reading stamina in the Read to Self workstation.  They LOVE going to the classroom library to browse and choose books in Read in the Library workstation.  We are still working on choosing “just right” books. The favorite workstation is the Listen to Reading workstation.  They are working on becoming independent problems solvers with the technology.  They are mastering using a CD/tape player (old technology) and using the website “Tumblebooks” to choose and listen to books. We will continue to make predictions about what will happen next in a story and about what characters might do or say, and retell a story by telling about the beginning, middle, and end in the correct order.

Writing

We continue to learn what writing is like in first grade: Introducing the writing tools (papers, pencils, markers and crayons, tape, glue, scissors), and resources such as the alphabet charts, first grade words, and the print around the classroom. I will continue to model how to brainstorm, sketch, and write about my story idea, something that I know and care about. The children will then begin writing  true stories about themselves, something that they have experienced and want to share.

MATH

This week in math we continue to explore numbers.  Numbers represent different and specific quantities.  We will think about things that we can count and different ways to find the answer to the question, "How many?" At this age, some children count objects one at a time and some can count by using sets of 2, 5 or 10.  If asked to show 6, some children count one by one and some can show 6 in one set.  Our goal this week and forward is to push children to use the benchmarks of 5 and 10 to make different sets instead of counting one by one.  We will continue to work on recognizing instantly the quantity of structured arrangements.

Social Studies/Science

This week’s unit is identity and culture.  We will be exploring families, holidays, customs, celebrations and traditions and why they are important to our families and communities.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for being a partner in your child's education.  I appreciate all of your help and support!