Jan. 27-31

Hello All!

 I hope you have had a wonderful weekend! Last week was an exciting week for us as we kicked off the Read-a-Thon! The children have been very motivated to read as many minutes as possible at school and I hope that they are sharing their enthusiasm with you at home as well! As the Read-a-Thon will be lasting until Feb. 6th, it is very important for your child to keep up with their yellow booklet and ensure that they bring it to school each day to log their reading.

There are many prizes that can be obtained through the Read-a-Thon itself, however, I have created a few classroom incentives as well. If your child already has a Buckhead Public Library card, please have them present it to me for an opportunity to "treasure shop" in the class' treasure box. If you and your child have not visited our local public library yet, I highly recommend it! You can also access several educational websites through their website by just entering in your library card number. Other incentives include a "no homework pass", lunch in the classroom, etc. for logging a certain number of minutes.

Please also allow your child to visit Tumblebooks to follow along stories online. The username for this site is: atlantaps. The password is: books

HAPPY READING!

Here's a look into the curriculum for this week:

Reading: Exploring and discussing our new JGB story, Eeyore Has a Birthday. 

Comparing and Contrasting two texts. 

Phonics: /er/ ex: her, perk, sister, winter

Red Words: some, would, into

Grammar: Using the verbs "go" and "do" correctly.

Writing: Brainstorm and create a creative birthday party invitation.

Science: Creating presentations for Polar Animals.

Math: Understanding and practicing Fact Families. 

Ex: fact family 5,6,11  ( 5+6=11, 6+5=11, 11-5=6, 11-6=5)

We are also looking forward to celebrating the Chinese New Year this week and its importance to the Chinese culture. We are thankful to have Kyle Fu's mom, Anne, come and share with us what makes this celebration so special! 

Important Updates and Reminders:

CONGRATULATIONS to our newest Star Student, Will Klein! Will is caring towards his friends when he listens to their ideas. He is also enthusiastic about learning new things at school each day. We are thankful that Will is a part of our classroom community and look forward to learning about him this upcoming week. 

Jan. 13-17

Dear First Grade Family,

   HAPPY NEW YEAR! Each child began their week by reflecting upon the things they feel the most proud of for accomplishing in 2013. After reflecting, they also constructed their new year’s resolutions. Team Peake has a lot to be proud of in 2013 and we are determined to make 2014 even better!

   We also began our new unit of inquiry this week. We traveled to the north and south poles, where some of the most fascinating and unique animals live. Our central idea for this unit is “living things need to adapt in order to survive.” By studying the animals that survive in these harsh Polar Regions, children will be exploring concepts such as camouflage, insulation, hibernation, and migration.  

      

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Making inferences throughout reading.

Phonics:

/oe/ ex: toe, foe, goes, doe, etc.

Red Words:

many, these, so

Grammar:

Using the verbs, “were” and “was” correctly.

Social Studies/Science:

Students will research and identify facts about a specific Polar Animal of their choice.

Students will also compare and contrast the Arctic region to the Antarctic region.

Math:

Review for Unit 5 test on place value and comparing quantities for their test on Wednesday. Unit 6 will begin on Thursday.

Writing:

Students will continue to record facts about their polar animal.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

·      Please note that Sarah Smith has changed their policy for tardies. Parents must accompany their child to the front office if they arrive at school past 8:00. I have asked that children arrive at 7:50 to ensure that they can complete their morning routines. Every minute of the school day counts!

·      CONGRATULATIONS to our newest Star Student, Nina Addaquay! Nina shows a commitment to learning and to building caring friendships in our classroom community. We are proud of her and look forward to learning more about what makes her so special this week!

·      THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for making the holidays such a special time for our class! It is always such a special time when we can all be together to celebrate! I cannot thank you enough for your amazing support and thoughtfulness you have shown me as well this year!

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake

Dec. 16-20

Greetings All!

    I hope you have had an enjoyable weekend with your little ones! We had a very successful week in first grade, full of learning and helping others through our Candy Cane Grams sale. We continued the ACTION component of our service project to benefit the RMHC by taping grams to candy canes this past Friday. The children made a great deal of progress on the HUGE pile of grams that were purchased and are looking forward to finishing those Monday. They were so happy to know that so many children bought grams because that meant more money for the children and families at the Ronald McDonald House.

   All Grams will be delivered on Wednesday, December 18th. The following day, a representative from the RMHC will visit our campus and we will present them with a check for the mystery amount our first graders raised.

   Our second fundraiser will be our Teacher Outing Raffle. For $1, your child may purchase a raffle ticket to stay after school with one of the ten first grade teachers or a select group of specialists. There will be fun and games in the gym as well as a trip to Menchies for a cool treat! Just like the candy grams, the children may purchase their raffle tickets before school. The dates for the Raffle sales are  Dec. 18th and Dec. 19th. 

   Here's a look into what we will be reviewing this week:

Science/Social Studies:

This week we will explore the many different holidays that are celebrated during the month of December, review goods and services, and write letters of encouragement to the children at the Ronald McDonald House.

Spelling:

  We will also be reviewing our spelling rules with /a_e/,  /ai/ and  /ay/. As we discuss this spellings, students will be introduced to the ideas of Homonyms- words that sound the same but have different meanings. For example: pale and pail, tale, and tail, etc. We will review ALL previously taught red words with a focus on said, they, and there.

Reading: 

We will be exploring our last JGB story of the year, RUMPLESTILTSKIN! Your child is sure to LOVE this story, I know I do! Please make sure your child completes his or her homework on Monday and Wednesday of this week and does not skip ahead to any of the activities. Thank you for your support at home!

Math: 

Children will be analyzing different ways to solve and create number stories that compare, add, and subtract different quantities. 

Important Announcements and Reminders: 

• CONGRATULATIONS to our newest STAR STUDENT, ELIZABETH "LOVIE" WELCHER! Lovie has shown a great amount of compassion and empathy during our Holiday Outreach Project. We are thankful for our special friend and look forward to learning more about what makes her so wonderful this week!
• Our Holiday Party is scheduled for Dec. 20th from 8:30-9:15. Your child may wear his or her pajamas as we will be boarding the POLAR EXPRESS! Thank you to our fabulous parents who have worked so hard to plan our party. 
• Please continue to collect POP TOPS and have your child bring them to school before the Holiday Break. We would love to present these to the RMH representative when they come on Thursday. We will collect these throughout the year as well.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you for your amazing support!

All the best, 

    Mrs. Peake 

 

Dec. 9-13

Dear Firsties and Families,
     Last week was a successful week of learning in first grade! The children have shown a great deal of enthusiasm and compassion towards our Holiday Outreach Project to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. We have discussed the differences between needs and wants and how needs differ among people. The children grasped this concept quickly and we were able to move onto the economic principles of saving, goods and services. I was very impressed by their willingness to offer services to collect quarters so that they may buy Candy Cane Grams for their friends.
     Our two days for the Candy Cane Grams Sale are Dec. 10th and 11th and your child must arrive at school on time in order to buy grams in the auditorium.

Here's a look into the curriculum for this week: 

Spelling:

 /ay/ ex: hay, play, gray, may, lay etc. 

Red Words: other, about, out

Grammar: 

Identifying contractions

Reading:

 Identifying changes in Setting and Characters throughout texts.

Writing: 

Using adjectives to make our writing more descriptive and interesting.

Science: 

Comparing and Contrasting the ways in which other countries celebrate winter Holidays.

Math:

Comparing weights, numbers and measurments using number stories.

Important Updates and Reminders:

Congratulations to our newest STAR STUDENT, Mario Arredondo! Mario is an inquirer each day when he asks questions about the world around him. His curiosity is contagious and his dedication to learning inspires us all! We are looking forward to learning more about what makes Mario so special this week! Way to go Mario!

You may want to check out the Ronald McDonald House Website with your child to further discuss the importance of helping others.
click here

Please collect POP TABS from your recycled cans of soda if you have those at home. These tabs can be brought to school and sent to the Ronald McDonald House. Learn more about how POP TABS help the RMH here.

December 1-5

Greetings All!

 I hope that each of you had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with your loved ones! Last week's "Thanksgiving Feast" in the classroom was incredible and I want to thank you all for preparing such delicious food to share with us. Team Peake has much to be thankful for this holiday season. With that in mind, we will begin our new Unit of Inquiry titled "Helping Others". Our central idea is as follows: Helping those in need is one of our responsibilities as a member of a community. Some of the questions we will be answering during the next three weeks are...

What is a volunteer?

How does volunteerism help a community?

What are wants and needs?

How do our actions affect others? 

What is the Ronald McDonald House?

What a wonderful time of year to focus on the needs of others! Your child will be taking a very active role in a school-wide Candy Cane Gram Sale to raise money for the local Ronald McDonald House. First graders will be advertising, counting money, sorting, labeling and delivery grams to classrooms.

All we are asking of parents is to bring in 5 boxes of candy canes (which many of you have done already-thank you!) and to take a look at some volunteer opportunities to collect and organize gram sales at the Intermediate Campus. Please be in contact with Ashley Welcher if you are interested in volunteering for this special project.

Here's a look into the curriculum this week:

Phonics/Spelling:

Long A sound with spelling /ai/ ex: pail, aim, maid, nail etc.

Red Words: how their will

Reading:

Identifying the main idea, characters, setting, problem, and solution in texts.

Grammar: 

Using the verbs: is and are correctly. 

For example:

She is running. 

They are running.

Writing:

Brainstorming, Editing, Revising and Rewriting "My Gift to the World."

Students will choose a gift that they would give to the world.

Math:

Identifying place value with Tens and Ones, comparing numbers using "greater than", "less than" or "equal to", and estimating surface area and weight.

Science:

Introduction of our new Unit of Inquiry: "Helping Others."

Important Updates and Reminders:

• Tutoring will be changed from Monday to Tuesday this week. You will receive a letter in your child's Red Folder if your child has been invited to tutoring. 
• Please make sure your child reads 20 minutes each night. 
• If you would like to check out the Ronald McDonald House website it is: www.RonaldMcDonaldHouse.org
  

CONGRATULATIONS to our newest Star Student, Derin Manay! Derin is caring to his friends and shows enthusiasm towards learning each day. We are looking forward to learning about what makes Derin so special this week! Great Job, Derin!

Thank you for your continued support at home! Your children are truly a gift and so are you!

Sincerely, 

  Mrs. Peake 

Nov. 11-15

Dear Firsties and families,

   It has been an awesome week for Team Peake! Last Friday, the class finally filled up the BIG BUCKET OF FUZZIES! I am so proud of them for reaching their goal and for working as a team. The children decided that they wanted to have a pajama party to start off our week so they presented their weather safety projects in their PJ’s! J They are currently trying to fill up the BIG bucket for the second time by following our Essential Agreements. 1.)Try your best every day. 2.)Be helpful 3.) Be respectful 4.) Be safe.

We are looking forward to another exciting week of learning in first grade!

 Here’s a look into the week ahead:

Reading:

Comparing and Contrasting Fiction and Non-Fiction Texts

Comparing the First Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving now.

Grammar:

Using past and present tense verbs correctly.

Most past tense verbs end in –ed For example,

 “Mrs. Peake jumped for joy when Auburn scored a touchdown!”

We will also focus on present tense verbs that end in –ing. For example,

 “Mrs. Peake is jumping for joy because her first graders are so smart!”

Phonics:

/ee/ as in week, feel, keep

Red Words: said, there, use

Math:

Measuring using non-standard (cubes, hands, arm spans, pencils, feet etc.) and standard (inches, feet, centimeters) units of measurement.

Science:

Continuing our inquiry of weather patterns.

Important Updates and Reminders:

·      Please be reminded that our Thanksgiving Feast is scheduled for Thursday November 21^st! We hope you can join us at 10:40 in the classroom for some yummy food to celebrate our thankfulness.

·          Please try and plan for your child to be in the classroom by 7:50 each morning. Ten minutes can make a big difference in allowing your child’s morning routine to run smoothly.

·     Don't forget to read 20 minutes every night! 

Thank you for your continued support at home and for sharing your child with me! It is a joy watching them grow each and every day!

All the best!

    Mrs. Peake 

Nov. 4-9

Hello Everyone!
    Time sure does fly when you're having fun in first grade! Can you believe it is already November? October was a very successful and fun-filled month. Thank you for volunteering so much of your time in the classroom to make it a special month for your child! A special thanks to  Elizabeth Newton for making Halloween so special for our little trick or treaters! She made "Boonanas" and "Monster Teeth" with the children out of different fruits!

 Last week we pretended to be meteorologists by creating and using weather instruments. This week your child will present his or her weather safety plan, which will lead us into our study of storms and the different ways that we can stay safe during inclement weather.

Here's a look into what else we will be exploring:

Reading: Making predictions before, during and after reading. 

Grammar: Identifying and using action verbs correctly.

Phonics: Introducing the use of 'qu' with review sounds. Ex: quit, quack, quick

Red words: your, when, we

Writing: Working with a partner to describe a weather scenario to present to the class.

Science: Studying storms and weather safety.

Math: Finding the missing addend in numeral equations, Comparing lengths, and solving number stories.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

*Please save the date to attend our THANKSGIVING FEAST that is scheduled for Nov. 21st at 10:40.  The children will decide which food items they would like to have at our feast this week. An invitation will go home in Wednesday Folders this week with your child's requested food item or paper product. 

CONGRATULATIONS to our risk-taking Star Student, Siena Moore! Siena is dedicated to learning each day and is a caring friend to others! Great job, Siena!