Nov. 17-21

Dear Parents, 

I hope everyone enjoyed their families this weekend and stayed warm! We had a very successful first full week back together in first grade last week and we are looking forward to yet another great week of learning. The children chose to compare the weather in Atlanta to the weather in Sydney, Australia each day. I was very impressed by all of the connections that were made about weather patterns and the different changes that can occur. 

We have a very exciting week ahead as we will be celebrating Thanksgiving! We hope that you will be able to join us in the classroom for our Feast. We have so much to be thankful for at Sarah Smith. The week before Thanksgiving is always such a precious time as the children reflect upon their families, friends and blessings. 

Here's a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Comparing and Contrasting throughout various texts.

Spelling:

R blends (ex: brim, grit, prom, trick)

Reviewing l blends and s blends.

Red Words:

what

all

were

Writing:

Writing a persuasive paragraph from a Thanksgiving Turkey's perspective. 

Social Studies:

Identifying the historical significance of Thanksgiving and comparing the lives of the pilgrim children to our lives today.

Math:

Focusing on problem solving strategies with addition and subtraction.

Important Updates and Reminders:

• CONGRATULATIONS to our newest Star Student, Anna Baesman! Anna is principled because she always tries to do the right thing. We think Anna is also balanced because she enjoys playing soccer and reading new books! We are proud of our new super star and look forward to learning more about what makes her so special. Way to go, Anna!

• Please be reminded that our class will be performing "A Tribute to Liberty" this Thursday at 10:15 in the music room. Our class' Thanksgiving Feast will follow immediately and will take  the place of lunch that day. We hope to see you at both of these special events.
• Please continue to send in a snack with your child each day as our emergency snack stash is dwindling again.

Thank you for your amazing support! Please let me know if you have any questions!

All the best, 

Jean Peake 

jpeake@atlanta.k12.ga.us

Nov. 10-14

Dear Parents,

      I hope you have all had a fantastic week! The children and I had a very productive couple of days last week and are looking forward to our first full week together of learning. Thank you for all of your encouragement as I have returned to the classroom. The children made me feel so special each day and we are so happy to be back together! We accomplished much during our three days together. We reflected on the past few weeks of first grade and the Essential Agreements that we set at the beginning of the school year. We decided that in order to learn as much as possible we must all try our best to follow those agreements. If we can work as a team, our class may fill up the BIG BUCKET OF FUZZIES! They are so close!

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Identifying the characters in a setting through various texts.

Phonics:

“Double consonant s blends with short vowels”

ex: slap, stop, spit, skid, spin, spat, spun

Red Words: said, can, there

Grammar:

Identifying verbs.

Social Studies/Science:

Comparing and contrasting the daily weather in a foreign city to the weather in Atlanta.

Math:

Using the number line to find the missing addend.

Ex: __+3=10

Writing:

Brainstorming, Editing/Revising and Publishing an informational piece.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Aarush Singh! Aarush is a caring friend and shows curiosity in the classroom when we are learning something new. Way to Go Aarush! We are proud of our new super star and look forward to learning about him this week.

·      Please make sure to send in a nutritional snack with your child each day. We have many children who rely on our emergency snack stash each day.

·      If you are sending in lunch money with your child, please place it in a sealed envelope with your child’s full name as well as my name labeled on the front.

·      Each child is allowed to check out 2 books at a time from the library. I encourage the children to choose one book that they can read independently and one book that they would like their parents or siblings to read aloud to them. The children and I will discuss in more detail how to make “good book choices” this week. Please also encourage this at home.

Please mark your calendars for the following dates and events

·      November 12^th Picture Retake Day

·      November 15^th Join our class for a cool treat at Menchies from 1-2 to help raise money for our school and help build our class community. A percentage of the proceeds will go directly to the Sarah Smith Education Foundation.

·      On November 20^th Our class will  be starring in a Thanksgiving Performance titled “Tribute to Liberty Musical” in the music room beginning at 10:15. Immediately after this performance, our class will be having a Thanksgiving Feast in the classroom during our regular lunchtime.  The children will be creating our menu. A letter will go home with your child on Monday, with an item that they would like to bring to our feast. Please make sure to check your child’s Red Folder for this special note. We are looking forward to this special day!

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake

Hello from Mrs. Winters

Dear Parents,

I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating Halloween!

As my last day approaches on Tuesday, I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by.  I want to thank you all for your support and positive feedback the past few months.  I have really enjoyed getting to know you and your children, and I am so grateful that I had this opportunity.  I will miss the students and I am looking forward to visiting throughout the year.  
I just wanted to let you know that I appreciated each day I had with your children.
I will miss you.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Winters