February 24-28

Dear Firsties and Families,

       We had a wonderful week back in first grade! I was very proud of how well the students adjusted back to our schedule after having so many days off of our regular routines. I am convinced that this upcoming week will be even better! The children are VERY close to filling up our Big Bucket of Fuzzies for the second time this year and will need to work as a team to follow our Essential Agreements all week long. Please encourage your child to follow our agreements that we set at the beginning of the year:

1.)  Do your best every day.  2.) Be Helpful.  3.) Be Responsible.  4.) Be Respectful.

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Exploring JGB poetry selections “When I Grow Up”. Please look for directions for HW in your child’s Red Folder.

Spelling:

/ur/ ex: burn, fur, turn, Thursday

Red Words: write, go, could

Grammar:

Identifying and using contractions with ‘not’ ex: cannot= can’t   

Writing:

Comparing and Contrasting the U.S. to Canada

Science/Social Studies:

Generating questions about our new unit of study “My Country, My World”

Math:

Solving and creating number stories that involve addition and subtraction.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

2/25- I will be out for a Common Core Workshop and the wonderful Mrs. Parks will be with your child. (They will not miss a beat!)

2/26- High Touch High Tech In School Field Trip

2/28- Polar Animal Presentations.

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Albin Darby! Albin shows curiosity about the world around him and is enthusiastic about learning new things. We look forward to learning more about what makes Albin so special this week!

Mark Your Calendars...Again!

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is well! I sure do miss your first graders and look forward to seeing each of them tomorrow morning ready to learn.

Here is a list of the following "events" that our class is having to reschedule due to our several days off. Please make sure to mark your Calendars!


Thursday, Feb. 20th- Class Valentines/Read-a-thon Cookie Party at 1:30. Please make sure your child brings in a Valentine for each child in the class.

Friday, Feb. 28th- Polar Animal Presentations in the auditorium from 8:30-9:30.



Also, I wanted to give you a heads up that I will not be at school on Feb. 25th. I will be receiving Common Core Training in Mathematics and look forward to learning different strategies to improve student learning that I can share with your children and the first grade team. Please make sure if you have any transportation changes that they be made with the front office.

Please see the below blog post to see which skills we will be focusing on this week. We are a bit behind due to the snow.


Thank you so much for your support and for sharing your children with me!

Sincerely,
   Mrs. Peake

Feb. 10-13

Hello Everyone!

    

Our study of the Polar Regions is wrapping up and the children are making finishing touches on their in class research projects. It’s time to mark your calendars! Please plan to join us on Thursday, February 20^th at 8:30 to hear your child present his/her polar animal. The presentations should last until 9:15.  

We are also celebrating Black History Month this month and will be studying the lives of many influential African Americans including:  Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Harriett Tubman, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In math, we are entering into Unit 6, where your child will compare lengths using centimeters, solve fact families, and recognize and complete numerical and geometrical patterns. Please make sure your child is practicing their fact families at home to gain fluency in addition and subtraction.

Please help your child to remember to “patrol their writing” using C.O.P.S. C-Capitalization, O-Organization, P-Punctuation, S-Spacing.

Here’s a look into what else we will be learning this week!

Reading:

Using summarization to comprehend texts.

Spelling:

(ir) ex: girl, dirt, chirp

Red Words: look, two, more

Grammar:

Using “see” and “saw” correctly.

Writing:

Following the first grade writer’s editing checklist to create invitations to our Polar Animal Presentations.

Math:

See above.

Science and Social Studies:

See above.

Important Announcements/Reminders

·      Our class is exchanging Valentines Day Cards on Thursday, February 13^th, please make sure your child fills in a card for each friend in our class.

·      THANK YOU SO MUCH for signing up for Small Groups this week and for all of your amazing support in the classroom!

·      Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Naomi Dereje! Naomi is enthusiastic towards learning and caring towards her friends each day. We look forward to finding out what makes Naomi so special this week! Way to go, Naomi!

Black History Month Announcement

An Announcement from our SRS Multicultural Affairs Committee 

"We are asking all teachers to extend an invitation for ANY PARENT INTERESTED in their classrooms to share with your class their profession and highlight a historical African American who shares their profession. We encourage Stay At Home Moms to share as Mom in Chief, Judges, Physicians, Lawyers, Avid Golfers, Tennis Players, Teachers, Clergy, Business Owners, Corporate Executives. For e.g. if you’re a VP of a company, you could give a five minute presentation of what you do and highlight Debra Lee of BET Network or Kenneth Chenault of American Express. If you are a semi pro Tennis player you could talk about your game and highlight Venus & Serena Williams. The parent share time frame can be five (5) to (15) fifteen minutes so as to avoid disrupting class time." 

If you are interested in sharing, please email me and we can select a date/time.