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