Jan. 26-30

Dear Parents,

We had a fun-filled week together in first grade and an even more fun Friday as we kicked off Read A Thon with a school-wide Pajama Day! The children enjoyed listening to some of our class favorites, reading independently and reading with a buddy in their cozy P.J's! It was such a treat seeing so many familiar faces at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair. What a privilege it was to be a guest reader! I am looking forward to seeing how many minutes the children have read over the weekend. I have some exciting prizes in store for those who have logged 60 minutes and above! Thank you to our Read A Thon Representative Kathryn Brown for helping our class with this important fundraiser!

Here's a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading: 

JGB Story- Eeyore Has a Birthday

* Please read homework page and complete only what is assigned for Monday and Wednesday, please do not complete any additional assignments as they will be used for classwork. Your child must bring his or her book back to school each day to participate in class discussions. Don't forget to have your child log the minutes for Read A Thon. JGB counts!*

Spelling:

Assessing and Reviewing all previously taught Red Words. 

I will send home a list of these words this week for your convenience as you may want them for extra practice.

Grammar:

Past and present verbs

Math:

Navigating the number chart with numbers 0-120. Analyzing story problems and introducing the hundreds place.

Writing:

Brainstorming, Editing/Revising and Publishing an Opinion Piece.

Important Updates and Reminders:

• Please remind your child to bring his or her Yellow Booklet to school each day to log their minutes at school.
• Thank you for fulfilling the items on our class wish list throughout the year. If you are able to send in some extra treasures (ex: small toys/trinkets, tattoos, glitter pens, fun pencils, etc.) for our class Treasure Box, they would greatly appreciated!
• Please continue to send in a nutritional snack with your child. 

Thank you for your continued support!

All the best! 

Mrs. Peake 

Jan. 20-23

Dear Parents,

I hope that you enjoyed your weekend with your first grader! We have a fun-filled week planned in first grade and are looking forward to beginning the Read-a-thon this upcoming Thursday, Jan. 22^nd at 3:00. I look forward to another great week of conferences with you as we discuss your child’s progress in first grade.

Here’s a look into this week’s curriculum

Reading:

Analyzing non-fiction texts to locate important information.

Grammar:

Using the verbs have and has correctly.

Using the verbs is and are correctly.

Spelling:

Ending l blends ex: bold, shelf, quilt

Red Words: if, she, do

Math:

Exploring word problems involving addition and subtraction.

Science:

Researching Polar Animals with a partner.

Important Updates and Reminders:

·         Read-a-thon begins on Thursday, January 22^nd at 3:00 PM. Your child will be bringing home a YELLOW BOOKLET to keep track of his or her reading. This booklet contains important information so please take a look at it with your child.

·         SRS is having a Spirit Day at Barnes and Nobles this Saturday, January 24th to help kick-off Read-a-thon and raise money for our wonderful school. Mr. Peake, Henry and I will be dropping by around 2:15 to hang out and I will be a guest reader beginning at 2:30! I look forward to seeing some friendly faces at my favorite neighborhood bookstore.

·         Friday is READ ALL DAY IN YOUR PAJAMAS DAY! Please make sure your child wears his or her pajamas and brings his or her favorite book(s) to read throughout the day. Make sure your child has his or her name written inside their book to ensure that it returns home.

·         Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Evan Edwards! Evan is caring to his friends and his teacher and shows lots of enthusiasm towards learning. We are proud of our Star and look forward to learning more about him this week.

Star Student

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Jacob Moran! Jacob shows enthusiasm for learning each day! We are proud of our Star Student and look forward to learning about what makes him so special this week!

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it is already 2015? Time flies when you're having fun! I hope that you enjoyed the Holidays with your families and friends. I loved hearing the children's stories about all of their adventures over the break. We have much to be proud of from 2014, but I am confident that 2015 is going to be even better as we continue to grow and learn together!

Today we began a new unit of inquiry on Animal Survival. Students will be exploring the Arctic and Antarctic regions throughout the next few weeks and studying the unique animals that live in these harsh environments. Our central idea is: living things adapt in order to survive. The students had many questions today and are eager to explore the Polar Lands. They also learned a new song today to help them learn the names of all 7 continents. You might want to ask them to sing it to you, it's pretty catchy!

Here's a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading

Identifying strategies to use when reading for specific information in a Non-Fiction text.

Spelling:

triple consonant blends: spl, scr, thr, spr

ex: splot, scrap

red words: use, an, each

Writing:

Using the brainstorming, drafting and editing process to write our new year's resolutions.

Math: 

Telling time to the hour using analog and digital clocks.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

• Please remember in addition to the Monday-Thursday homework sheet, your child should be reading 20 minutes a night. We are working on becoming fluent readers by reading smoothy, quickly and with expression. Rereading the same book will help your child to build this fluency and build confidence!
• I am looking forward to meeting with you for your Winter Conference. Please bring any questions that you may have. Each conference will begin and end on time so please plan to arrive promptly at your scheduled time.

As always, thank you for your continued support!

All the best!

Jean Peake