August 19th-23rd

August 19^th-23^rd

Dear 1^st Grade Families,

It has been a wonderful and fun-filled experience getting to know you and your child these past few days! Thank you for your enthusiasm and support as we embark on many new adventures together! First Grade is an academically rigorous year as we begin to learn many new concepts and explore the world around us.

Our first I.B. Unit is titled: “Working Together”. What a perfect way to start the new school year! The central idea of this unit is that communities collaborate in order to address the needs of daily life. We began studying our own classroom community, where the children had the opportunity to choose which jobs they would like to have in the classroom. One major concept we are focusing on is efficiency. How can we organize ourselves to become more efficient so that we can get the most out of our day? We then discussed our families as communities, our neighborhoods, our state, and next week we will be discussing how our nation also operates as a community.

Here’s a look into the curriculum for the following week:

Phonics: Focusing on a set of consonants and the two vowels (o,a) to create, read, and spell words.

Reading: Sequencing events throughout texts and the importance of characterization.

Grammar: Identifying the elements of a complete sentence: capital letter at the beginning, noun, verb and ending mark.

Science: Exploring the United States of America as a larger community as well as our responsibility and connection towards this community.

Math: Measuring and Interpreting Data

Writing: Writing a personal narrative about titled our "Hard Working Family."

Important Announcements/Reminders:

• I am looking forward to seeing you at first grade orientation on August 19th @ 6:30! We will celebrate/have introductions in the auditorium prior to meeting in the classroom for a brief meeting about the school year.

• Please remember that we have P.E. on Mondays and Wednesdays. On these days, please remind your child to wear comfortable shoes.
  
  
• August 29^th- Please join us at noon in the classroom for an informal meeting about Small Groups!  This will be a wonderful opportunity to become a part of your child’s learning at school.

I want to thank those of you who have contributed items to our class wish list! Your donations are being put to great use in the classroom 

Thank you once again for your support at home and at school,

Jean Peake

Email Issues

Hello Parents,
    Some of you have raised the concern that you are unable to respond to my APS email address. Until this issue can be resolved through the IT Department, please use my personal email (sjh0004@gmail.com) I will check both until it is fixed.

Thank you for your patience!

Sincerely,
    Mrs. Peake

Essential Agreements

Our First Week!!!

Dear Parents,

        Thank you so much for sharing your child with me this school year! After our first three days together, I can tell it is going to be a fantastic year full of learning and laughter.

      As a class, we have established a set of agreements that will be followed each day inside and even outside the classroom. We are all accountable to these agreements. Each child traced their hand and signed their name underneath our list. I was very impressed by the ideas that the children had throughout our discussion.  

1.     Try your best every day.

2.     Be helpful.

3.     Be respectful.

4.     Be safe.

Please show your support at home by asking your child about these agreements and by reminding them that they have pledged to follow them. It might even be a great idea to post them somewhere in your home J

The behavior plan in our classroom is the following:

Consequences

* In our classroom, each child has a set of blue, green, yellow and red cards. Everyone starts the day off on green. This means they are “ready to learn!” If a child chooses not to follow our agreements, they will always receive a verbal warning first.

*The next step is to turn their card to yellow. The consequence is to walk or run laps around the playground during the first couple of minutes in recess.

*If the behavior continues, the child will receive another warning. If this behavior still continues, the child will move their card to red. At this time, the child would write a “Reflection Log” explaining their choices and reflecting on how to make better choices next time. This log would go home and be signed and returned the following day.

 

 

Rewards:

·       If a child has an extraordinary day where they do what is expected and beyond, they can turn their card to BLUE!

·       WARM FUZZIES: Each table has a caddy where I drop “warm fuzzies.” Little fuzzies are worth 1 point. Big Fuzzies are worth 5 points. The table that has the most warm fuzzies at the end of each week picks from the TREASURE BOX!

·       To encourage the whole class to work as a team, I have a big jar that all the fuzzies will be poured into at the end of the week. Once this jar is filled, the students get a big prize of their choice. For example: A pizza party, extra recess, or pajama day.

·       It is my philosophy that keeping a “warm”, positive atmosphere eliminates most behavioral problems.

 

I have found this system to be very effective in preventing classroom distractions. Consistency is key. Thank you for your support in implementing this plan J

 

Important Announcements/Reminders:

·       This Monday, August 12^th we will be taking pictures for our bulletin board. Our bulletin board says “The Future’s So Bright We Have to Wear Shades!” We are going to be taking pictures wearing sunglasses. If your child has a pair of sunglasses please send them to school on Monday.

·       Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Orientation on August 19^th from 6:30-7:15. An opportunity to RSVP is coming soon as we are still receiving new students. I will answer many questions that you may have at this orientation. I look forward to seeing you then!

·       Our class is in need of some “Emergency Snacks” for those students who forget to bring their snack to school. Nutritional items such as: wheat thins, apple sauce (with spoons), granola bars, goldfish, etc. would be great choices.

 

Thank you so much for your support at home! We are having so much fun in first grade!

 

Truly yours,

Mrs. Peake J

"Whose Child is This?"

Author Unknown

"Whose child is this?" I asked one day
Seeing a little one out at play
"Mine", said the parent with a tender smile
"Mine to keep a little while
To bathe his hands and comb his hair
To tell him what he is to wear
To prepare him that he may always be good
And each day do the things he should"

"Whose child is this?" I asked again
As the door opened and someone came in
"Mine", said the teacher with the same tender smile
"Mine, to keep just for a little while
To teach him how to be gentle and kind
To train and direct his dear little mind
To help him live by every rule
And get the best he can from school"

"Whose child is this?" I ask once more
Just as the little one entered the door
"Ours" said the parent and the teacher as they smiled
And each took the hand of the little child
"Ours to love and train together
Ours this blessed task forever."

Last Full Week of 1st Grade!

Dear Parents,

      Can you believe this upcoming week will be our last full week of school? It has been a wonderful journey getting to guide your child through their first grade year.  Last week may have been our best yet! Thank you so much to those of you who graciously volunteered your time to make International Travelers Week so special! I hope you learned a bit about the “Land Down Under” from your child. I know I certainly learned more than I could have ever imagined.

       As I am sure these next few days will be exciting for your child, this will also be a great time of reflection and review. This next week your child will have an opportunity to “show what they know” and practice important skills that were previously taught. We will also be having our last JGB story this week. We will NOT be having any more spelling tests.

    Please remind your child that while the last few days of school are fun, that they will still need to remember to follow the essential agreements set at the beginning of the year. We still have more learning to do and will be working towards meeting new goals this week. (We are also VERY close to filling our big bucket of fuzzies for the last time)

Here is a look into the important events coming up:

Wednesday May 15^th-

Pastries for Parents (have breakfast before school with your child in the classroom)

Friday, May 17^th

 Field Day @8:00 A.M.

Monday, May 20^th-

End of the year party/yearbook signing.

@12:30

Wednesday, May 22^nd

Last Day of School

Camp Out in the Classroom

·      Your child may wear his or her pajamas to school, bring a flashlight, and his or her favorite book(s) to read.

Thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely,

    Mrs. Peake 

Where did the time go?

Dear Parents,

    I hope you have all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend! It is very hard to believe that we only have 13 more school days left together. Looking back on this year, I could not be more grateful for the group of children and parents I was given. I have been very reflective lately about this special group of students and how far they have come! Be prepared to see some tears in the days ahead as your child will always be an important part of my first and most special class.

With that being said, it is not the end yet and we have many more exciting events ahead. It is my hope that these next couple of weeks be both exciting as well as educational. 

International Travelers

Starting Monday, we will be traveling to Australia! It is finally International Travelers Week and we could not be thrilled to get started. Some of the highlights will include daily Art Activities, interactive lessons about the geography, climate, and daily life of Australians, a science experiment where we will grow our own coral, Anzac biscuit tasting (thank you Nyberg family!), a grade level art competition (wait til you see pictures of our Crocodile), a live Australian animal showing, a “walkabout” in the Media Center, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and an Australian Festival! Phew! And that’s only scratching the surface!

*It’s not too late to volunteer for any open spots on our Shutterfly website.

Pastries for Parents

I would like to provide 3 possible dates for our upcoming Pastries for Parents party that will be planned to celebrate this successful year! This party will take place in the morning before the school day begins. At your convenience, you may come to the classroom and enjoy a special breakfast with your child.

Please e-mail me the date that suits your schedule to ensure the best turn out possible:

Tuesday May 14th

Wednesday  May 15^th

Thursday  May 16^th.

Field Day 

 Field Day is scheduled for Friday May 17th. More details will come home in your child's Red Folder. 

Yearbook Signing/ End of the Year Party 

Is scheduled for May 20th @ 12:30-1:15. 

Last Day of School

I have decided that I would like to turn our classroom into a campsite for the Last Day of School. Your child will be asked to wear his or her pajamas, bring a flashlight, and their favorite book(s). If you are willing to donate one or more of the following items to our classroom for the day please let me know:

*Camping Tent

*Smores Ingredients- graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows

Thank you for all that you do to support our class!

 Sincerely, 

 Mrs. Peake