Dec. 10-14

Dear Parents,

 I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We have been very busy in the classroom lately learning new skills and participating in our community service projects to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. I want to say a special thank you to those of you who volunteered your time last week to help sell Candy Cane Grams. Our second Community Outreach service project will be our 1^st Grade teacher raffle. Raffle tickets will go on sale Tuesday, December 11^th and Wednesday, December 12^th from 7:30-8:00 in the auditorium.

 Students will have the chance to buy as many raffle tickets as they want for the opportunity to spend the afternoon with any of the fabulous first grade teachers or to be a Media Specialist or Assistant Principal for the day. Raffle tickets are $1 each and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald House.

         In other exciting news, our class’ Holiday party is scheduled for December 18^th from 1:15-2:00.

 We will participate in our Book Exchange as well as celebrate together before the Holiday Break.

 Please make sure to have your book wrapped and sent to school by Thursday, December 13^th.

 I know this is such a busy time of year, so I thank you for all of your help in these upcoming events J

Here is a look into the week ahead:

Reading: Identifying character and setting.

Words to Know:

about

give

read

say

says

should

could

would

were

Phonics: /ie/ (ex: tie, lie, pie) and words with triple consonant blends (ex: strap, scrape, stripe)

Grammar: Reading, and writing contractions.

Social Studies: Comparing and Contrasting different Holidays around the World.

Math: Continuing to practice using Fractions.

Writing: Writing an opinion piece on why we think it is better to give than to receive.

Please let me know if you have any questions throughout the week!

Have a Marvelous day!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Peake



Dec. 3-7

Dear Parents,

       We had a great week back from Thanksgiving Break! The students have been working hard to prepare for our upcoming events to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House and have been showing a strong desire to help those in need. The children are very curious about how they can better help those in our community, so this would be a great opportunity to ask them questions! To take our idea of “responsibility” even further, you might want to give your child opportunities around the house to earn quarters that they can use them to buy candy grams this week. It will give them such a great sense of pride when they know that they have earned the opportunity to help others. I am looking forward to seeing our school come together to help such a worthy cause this week. Please read the following announcements and reminders for ways you can volunteer your time J

            Here is a look into the following week:

Reading: Students will continue making predictions throughout a given text.

Words to Know:

call

how

more

funny

there

so

Phonics: Vowel Valley sounds  /oo/ (boot) and /oo/ (foot)

Also, reviewing i_e words. ( hike, like, pile, mice)

Grammar: Using the verbs (is and are) in sentences. Identifying that when using the verb, is, we are talking about one person, place or thing. When we use the verb, are, we are talking about more than one person, place or thing.

Ex: She is playing soccer.

They are playing soccer.

Social Studies: Reviewing wants, needs and services. Preparing and advertising for the Candy Cane Gram Sale.

Math: Introducing fractions.

Writing: Choosing a gift to give to the world and writing a letter to the world explaining why that gift is important.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

•             Dec. 4^th-5^thwill be our two selling days for the Candy Grams. Please check our Shutterfly website to volunteer for the remaining 3 spots! Our class will be selling grams at the IC from 7:20-8:15 @ the table near the front office.
•         Thank you to our three wonderful volunteers for helping with our first small groups!  The students loved having you visit our classroom and help us create posters!
• Dec. 11th-12th- 7:30-8:15, students can buy raffle tickets for $1  each for a Teacher Outing. 
•           Dec. 13^th- will be our Holiday Book Exchange. A letter with details will be going home in your child’s Red Folder on Monday.

Thank you all for your continued support!!

    Sincerely,

             Mrs. Peake 

November 26-30

Dear Parents,
     I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break! I want to thank those of you who attended, served, and brought dishes to our Thanksgiving Feast. It was a huge success! It's hard to believe that December is almost here. In the month of December we will be studying our responsibility of helping others. All first grade classes will participate in a candy gram sale to raise money for the local Ronald McDonald House. More information will go home in your child's Red Folder detailing volunteer opportunities for this special project.

Here's a look into this upcoming week:

Reading: Junior Great Books! We will be reading, discussing, and responding to the story: Imagination.

Phonics:Reading, spelling, and writing words with oe. (ex: toe, goes)

Social Studies:Discussing and Introducing wants and needs.

Math: Building number fluency (automatic addition and subtraction problems) composing/decomposing numbers, and solving number stories using different strategies.

Writing: Students will begin writing their first persuasive piece. 

Announcements and Reminders:

• Please remember to practice the spelling words for the week as our words become more difficult. 
• Please bring in 5 boxes of traditional or flavored candy canes for our candy cane gram sale benefiting the Ronald McDonald House. 

Thank you for your continued support at home!

                                                       Mrs. Peake 

November 12-16

Dear Parents,
     I have some exciting news for you! Our class filled the BIG bucket of fuzzies for the first time this year and the children have voted on their prize....a class pet! Tomorrow morning, we will welcome a new member to our class family. Before we voted on our reward, each child agreed to be responsible for the care of our new friend. I will keep you updated on this exciting new adventure.
   Speaking of family, we have our THANKSGIVING FEAST coming up on Thursday, November 15th. A note should have gone home in your child's red folder detailing what your child wanted to contribute. I hope to see many of you there, as we celebrate our thankfulness :)

Here's what to look forward to in the curriculum this week:

Reading: Students will be comparing and contrasting stories using graphic organizers.

Words to know:

girl

boy

together

when

people

care

water

Grammar: Identifying past and present tense verbs.

Phonics: "s" blends (strap, string, scram) and "Bridge e" (same, tile, use, note, Pete)

Identifying syllables.

Social Studies: Students will study the history of Thanksgiving and show their gratitute to others through writing.

Math: Students will continue exploring measurements and composing/decomposing numbers.

Writing: Students will use a graphic organizer to begin writing and revising a personal narrative.

Reminders and Announcements:

• Please turn in the bottom half of the Thanksgiving letter in your child's Red Folder on Monday, Nov. 12th.
• Remember to have your child keep track of the books they are reading (or you are reading together) for our monthly "Book It" challenge!  If they reach 20 books they will receive a sticker and a free pizza from Pizza Hut.
• Keep studying the spelling words each week!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Sincerely,

      Mrs. Peake

November 5-9

Dear Parents,
    Last week was so much fun! We enjoyed reading The Mouse and The Wizard and discussing topics that were geared towards the children's interests. They really impressed me with their ability to listen to one another's ideas and develop their own interpretations of the text, using evidence found in the story. We LOVE Junior Great Books! We also enjoyed dressing up for Halloween, and making Autumn Trees with pretzels and M&M's for Fun Friday. We are looking forward to another great week ahead.

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

Reading: Students will "be detectives" and make predictions before, during and after reading. 

*Questions to ask your child to practice making predictions: What do you think this story will be about? What do you think will happen next?*

Words to Know:

hello

could

walk

pull

all

oh

*Also our Spelling and Red Words from SMART*

Phonics: Vowel Valley sound /au/ /aw/: haul, crawl, paw, August. We will also look at words with  the a_e spelling. For example: pale, make, tape, ate

Social Studies: Students will read and write about the Presidential Election. We will also continue to discover how Human Safety is connected to Weather by conducting experiments.

Math: Students will continue skip counting, reading thermometers, and measuring using Standard and Non-Standard Units.

Writing: Students will write a personal narrative. "If I Were President of the United States"

Reminders and Announcements:

• Please continue studying the Spelling Words each week. These words become more complicated as the year progresses and the "criminal words" must be memorized since they do not follow the rules. The children are given opportunities to practice during the school day, however, this time alone will not be enough to excel on the weekly spelling tests.  Please keep up the good work!
• We do NOT have school on Tuesday, November 6th. It will be a teacher work day.

Thank you for all of your continued support at home! 

Sincerely, 

    Jean Peake 

October 29-November 2 (Junior Great Books' Week)

Dear Parents, 
     We had another exciting week in First Grade! The children LOVED kicking off our week in their Pajamas, and dressing up all week in celebration of Red Ribbon Week. I was very proud of how well the students showed their independence in the classroom this week. They have certainly mastered our classroom routines and feel at home in the classroom. We are also getting very close to filling our big bucket of Fuzzies for making good choices as a whole class. They have been estimating how long it will take us to reach our goal by passing the bucket around each Friday. This week we will be diving into another Junior Great Books' Story! This week's story is titled The Mouse and The Wizard. Please make sure to follow along with the homework carefully. A guideline will be sent home tomorrow in your child's Red Folder. 

Here is what your child will be exploring this week:

Reading: Reading, Discussing and Responding to  Junior Great Book story, The Mouse and The Wizard. 

Review: Plural and Proper Nouns, Sight Words.

Science: Investigating Weather, Weather Safety Reports (due Tuesday), and observing changes in Weather.

Phonics: We will continue traveling down our Vowel Valley where we hear the /o/ sound. We will practice spelling, reading and identifying words with the letter "o". For example: song, on, mop, clock

Math: Measuring temperature to the nearest 2 degrees, measuring and comparing lengths of objects, measuring using nonstandard units (our feet, hands, paper clips, etc)

Writing: Use the Editing Checklist to write a Non-Fiction paragraph about Fall. 

Reminders and Announcements:

• Please remember to send in your Boosterthon money with your child in the envelope or online. The last day to turn in money is tomorrow, October 29th. 
• Please make sure that your child brings their Junior Great Book back to school each day after completing their homework.
• The Safety Reports are due October 30th. 

Thank you for all of your support at home!

    Sincerely, 

        Mrs. Peake 

October 22-26

Dear Parents,
        I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Last week was filled with excitement as we ended our journey with Boosterthon. Our team did an amazing job at earning pledges to help build our future playground and showed great enthusiasm during the Fun Run! Thank you for your participation and help during all of our Boosterthon events.
    We also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Day on Wednesday. Ingrid and her family made us Mexican Tamales that we were able to enjoy during lunch. We also had a presentation about Spain from Marcus while he was dressed as a World Cup Champion! The students were very inquisitive about their classmates' heritages. It was a proud moment for us all, as we celebrated each other.

Here is what to expect from the curriculum this upcoming week:

Reading: Identifying the Sequence of Events in stories. Recognizing the Main Idea as well as the details that support it. Using Visualization as a strategy in reading. (creating mental images while reading or during Teacher Read Aloud)

Grammar: Identifying Months, Days, and Holidays as Proper Nouns.

Phonics: Reading, Identifying and Spelling words with l blends (glad, club, black, blob, flap)

Vowel Valley: /u/: put, mug, much, cup

*Ask your child to tell you about our adventure through the Vowel Valley!*

Science: Discussing Weather Safety. Project letter will go home this week relating to this subject.

Math: Count Forwards by 1's, 5's, and 10's, Collecting data to make a Line Plot, practicing basic addition facts.

Writing: Students will write about topics related to Halloween.

Announcements and Reminders:

• Parent/Teacher Conferences will continue this week. Please make sure to arrive on time so we can have enough time to discuss your child's progress in the 1st grade. The last day of conferences are November 2nd. If you need to change your conference time please let me know and I will work with you as best as I can to fit your needs.
• We are celebrating Red Ribbon Week this week. This year the theme is "Saying No to Drugs" Each day will be a dress-up day:

      M: Shade Out Drugs Day-Students will wear shades/sunglasses.

      T:  Sock it to Drugs Day- Students will wear mismatched/crazy socks.

      W: Put a Cap on Drugs Day- Students will wear their favorite caps to support the fight against drugs.

      R: Stay in the Game Day- Students will wear their favorite athletic apparel.

      F: Wear Red Day- Students along with faculty/staff will wear red on this day.

Thank you!

Dear Wonderful Parents (&Students),
     I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful surprises that you and your children so generously gave me on my birthday. It was such a moving experience having each child bring in a flower to create one perfect flower arrangement. I have once associated this class to a garden when speaking with one of my colleagues, and this gesture was the perfect illustration! Each child is beautiful in their own way, growing and blooming at different rates. While they paint a pretty picture alone, they create a MASTERPIECE when they are working and growing together. Thank you. Not only for your generous gifts, but for the privilege of teaching your child. I love each of them! This was the best birthday yet.

Sincerely,
     Mrs. Peake

October 15-19

Dear Parents,
    What an exciting week! Even though our week was short, we were very busy learning both inside and outside of the classroom. We had a BLAST at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, where each of us got to touch a real live corn snake, explore a beaver's lodge, and enjoy a hike with one of the center's Naturalists. Some great follow up questions to ask your child would be:

What are the basic needs of animals and plants?

What is an organism?

What does a beaver eat?

How does the beaver's fur, teeth, and tail, help it to survive in the wetlands?

Can you tell me about how a snake moves?

How did the snake's skin feel? Were you surprised?

Here's a look into what your child will be learning this upcoming week :

Reading: Retelling stories including key details. 

Sight Words:

want 

put

show

under

three

make

Phonics: Short /a/ and Short /u/. 

Grammar: Proper Nouns- Capitalize dates and names of people. 

Reviewing Contractions.

Science: Observing changes in weather. (check out the "links" tab for a great weather website)

Math: Telling Time to the Half Hour, Counting forwards and backwards by 1's, 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's.

Writing: Creating stories that relate to Weather.

Announcements and Reminders:

• Please ask your child about the BOOSTERTHON! They each should have brought home a "Pledge Book" where they are encouraged to find family members, businesses, or family friends to make a pledges to help our school to fund our new playground! The students will be running laps to earn money for our school at the FUN RUN on Friday, October 19th @ 9:00. These pledge books should not be brought back into the classroom. They can only be entered into funrun.com.  For more information about the Boosterthon and the Character Education that your child is receiving each day this week go to bootherthon.com. 
• To encourage reading, our class is participating in the "Book It" program! I have set the goal for each child to read 20 books each month to earn a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut and earn a star sticker on our class reading chart. I would love for each child to earn this reward each month! Your child must list the books they have read and all you need to do is sign the bottom of their reading list so they can earn their prize!
• Parent/Teacher conferences begin this upcoming week! Please make sure to be on time for your conference, as we only have 20 minutes to discuss your child's progress in 1st grade. I am looking forward to seeing you soon!

 A BIG THANK YOU TO:

• Our wonderful chaperones who volunteered their time and energy on our Field Trip! 
• Our mystery readers!

As always, thank you all for your support at home!

    

                 Mrs. Peake 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Fall Break! Please make sure to sign up for your Parent/Teacher Conference on our Signup Genius page!

Tomorrow, October 10th,  we will be having our first Field Trip @ the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Please make sure your child is wearing his or her SSES t-shirt, jeans, and comfortable walking shoes. 

Thursday, October 11th, is Class Picture Day. I know our class will be smiling BIG after our two days off, and adventurous Field Trip!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

October 1-5

October 1-5

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather! This past week was very exciting for our class as we discovered and graphed different types of leaves outside our classroom, experienced our first Junior Great Books story, and previewed the school’s Book Fair. We are looking forward to another great week! Here is what to look forward to in the upcoming days:

Reading: Identifying the Main Idea and details of a story.

Sight Words

into

many

live

out

Phonics: SMART spelling words with short e. Example: help, pet, shed. We will also be looking at consonant blends /sh/ and /th/. These blends are in words such as: shell, thank, wish, with

*Please review spelling words that were sent home this Friday throughout the week.*

Grammar: Irregular and Regular Plural Nouns.

Example: Irregular-foot, feet

         Regular-boy, boys

    Adding “ing” to the end of a word to show present tense.

Example: They are running.

Social Studies: We will be finishing up our exploration of the desert and taking a test on the Landforms Unit.

Math: Exploring Number Patterns. Adding and subtracting on the Number Line. Discovering numbers that go below zero on the number line. (negative numbers)

Writing:Using the First Grade Writing Checklist, students will edit, revise and publish a personal narrative.

Reminders and Announcements:

• Our Class will be visiting the Book Fair from 10:45-11:15 on Wednesday, October 3rd.

·      Walk to School Day is also October 3^rd.

·      The Social Studies project is due this Friday, October 5^th

·      Our first Field Trip is right around the corner! We are looking forward to visiting the Chattahoochee Nature Center on October 10^th.

A Big “Thank You” to:

·      Ivy Sun for bringing moon cakes to our class in celebration of the Chinese “Moon Festival” also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. We are so glad that our class got to participate in this very important Chinese tradition.

·      ALL of our fabulous Mystery Readers!

As always, thank you for your continued support at home.

Sincerely,

    Jean Peake

September 24-28

Dear Parents,
       I hope you all are having a great weekend! I have been patiently awaiting this upcoming week for quite some time. This week we will be starting...JUNIOR GREAT BOOKS! Thanks to the Sarah Smith Education Foundation, your child will be exploring literature through a "shared inquiry" approach to learning. I am looking forward to this week as your child interprets our first text, "The Black Hen's Egg." Please take a look at the following link to learn more about how your child will be exploring literature:

http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/pd/what-is-shared-inquiry.html

Here is an overview of what we will be learning together in the classroom this week:

Reading: Exploring, discussing and responding to "The Black Hen's Egg"

   Additional Skills:  Short e, short i, plural nouns, summarizing and retelling stories.

Sight Words:

who

some

of

no

eat

do

to

Grammar: Identifying when to use contractions.

Social Studies: Comparing the Desert to the Wetlands. Learning how animals move, change, and grow.

Math: Unit 2 Math Test, Introducing odd and even number patterns, exploring visual Patterns.

Writing:Writing a Personal Narrative "My Family Takes Care of Me"

Announcements and Reminders:

This Wednesday our class will be previewing the Fall Book Fair. The following Wednesday, October 3rd, is our scheduled day to purchase books. 

Thank you for your continued support at home!

Sincerely, 

  Jean Peake 

jpeake@atlanta.k12.ga.us

September 17-21

Dear Parents, 
   What an exciting month it has been! We have "traveled" across the United States to visit the Rocky and Appalachian mountain ranges. We have visited the Colorado and Mississippi Rivers, the 5 Great Lakes and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Now, it is time for us to travel to the Deserts in our country and our world!  

Here is what to look forward to in the following subjects this week:

Reading: Identifying the main idea in stories as well as the details that support the main idea. Reading words with the short o, and i sound.

*Sight Words*- one, her, two, they, does

Grammar: Identifying nouns as a person, place, or thing. Adding -ed to a word to show past tense. Reviewing plurals.

Social Studies: Labeling Deserts of the U.S.A. Describing Desert life.

Phonics: We will begin out adventure down "Vowel Valley!" We will land our helicopter at the top of the mountain and immediately want to take a picture. We smile for the camera to say "cheese!" This week we will be looking at words with "ee", such as: week, sheep, teeth, etc.  

Math: Using the 100's chart to count forwards and backwards from any given number. Combining nickels and pennies. 

Writing: Following the 3 Stages of Writing (Brainstorming, Drafting, Editing/Revision)  before presenting our paragraph to the class.

Reminders/Announcements:

• Please practice the spelling and red words that were sent home this past Friday. We will be having our first spelling test this upcoming Friday and all want to succeed! :) 
• The students and I will be having a "Picnic for Peace" outside our classroom on Friday, Sept. 21st. A form will be going home tomorrow afternoon detailing the information that must be returned to school on Tuesday, Sept. 18th. 

Thank you again for all that you do in supporting our classroom from home! 

Sincerely, 

      Mrs. Peake 

Sept. 10-14

Dear Parents, 
   I cannot believe how fast time flies when you are having fun! We have been very busy learning about each other, and various different subjects in the classroom this past week. Here are a few reminders and announcements for this upcoming week:

• This Tuesday we have a Parent/Teacher social at Tacos and Tequilas at 6:30PM. I look forward to hopefully seeing some of you to eat some delicious mexican food!
• Progress reports went out in your child's red folder this Friday. Please note that these are not report cards, just an informal way to keep you updated on your child's progress. Please sign and have your child return the entire packet to school. 
• I will not be in the classroom on Thursday, September 13th. All new teachers will be participating in a Professional Development seminar. I will certainly miss being at school, but look forward to learning more about making our class even more successful!

Here is what we will be focusing on this week:

Reading: Identifying Author's purpose. Asking questions such as: Why do you think the author wrote this story? How does the author describe____in the story? 

We will also continue to focus on statements, questions, and exclamations in Grammar.

Social Studies: Labeling Oceans and rivers of the USA. Describing and researching wetland animals.

Phonics: Word endings: nd, nt, st, nk

Math: Telling time to the hour, Exploring lengths, and beginning our "Money Story" on pennies and nickels. 

Writing: Sequencing our stories using the words: "First", "Next", "Then", and "Last."

* Here is a list of the sight words we have been reading this year.* 

too 

yes

it 

over

jump 

not 

up

down

run 

ride

be

come

that 

on 

good

This week 

help

now

use

very

Happy 60th Birthday, Sarah Smith!

Tomorrow is Sarah Smith's 60th Birthday! We will be celebrating by traveling back to the 50's and wearing clothes from that decade! 

September 4-7

Hello Parents!
   I hope everyone enjoyed their four day weekend! I know I sure did. We went to the Auburn game Saturday, skydiving on Sunday, and are now resting up from the annual Macon Labor Day Road Race. I am ready to embark on a new week in First Grade and hear about everyone's Labor Day Weekend Adventures!

This week we will be learning about and reviewing the following topics:

I.B.: Who We Are: Working Together

Reading: Making predictions, sequence of events in stories (using words such as First, Next, Then, Last) Recognizing character and setting, and understanding when to use a question mark and exclamation mark.

Social Studies: Discovering the Wetlands and choosing an animal to research for our Non-Fiction booklet, Writing about the Water Cycle.

Math: Finding different ways to make 10, Telling time to the hour, and using calculators.

Writing: Writing in complete sentences, rereading writing to self and others, adding details, and communicating effectively when relating experiences.

Thank you again for continuing to bring in Wish List items to our class!

If you have any questions please let me know and I will be happy to help!

   
Sincerely,
Jean Peake
jpeake@atlanta.k12.ga.us

August 27-31

Dear Parents, 
   We had another successful and busy week in First Grade! As the fourth week of school approaches, we are ready to take on new challenges and adventures. Here is what your child will be exploring this week.


                                                            I.B. Working Together.

Reading: Identifying Sequence of events, short i sound.

Social Studies: Discovering different types of Landforms. Mountains and Valleys will be our focus this week.

Phonics: Reviewing Poppers and Leakers. Introducing Nosey Neighbors (m, n, ng) Huffy Neighbors ( h, w, wh) and Liars ( l, r )

Math: Identifying strategies to solve Story Problems.

Writing: Continuing to use graphic organizers and the First Grade Editing Checklist to write stories.

A few announcements:

• If you are sending lunch money to school, please make sure that it is in a sealed envelope with your child's name, grade level and my name included. 
• If your child has a change of transportation, please e-mail me by noon. This will help us to continue our smooth dismissals. A note from your child in the morning is great!
• Field Trip permission slips and money are due to Luci Phillips on Thursday, August 30th.
• If you haven't already, check out our amazing Shutterfly website that Luci Phillips created for our class! You will find many ways to stay connected to our classroom through this resource.

Thank you for your continued support at home! I am grateful for each day I get to spend with your child!

Sincerely, 

       Mrs. Peake