February 24-28

Dear Firsties and Families,

       We had a wonderful week back in first grade! I was very proud of how well the students adjusted back to our schedule after having so many days off of our regular routines. I am convinced that this upcoming week will be even better! The children are VERY close to filling up our Big Bucket of Fuzzies for the second time this year and will need to work as a team to follow our Essential Agreements all week long. Please encourage your child to follow our agreements that we set at the beginning of the year:

1.)  Do your best every day.  2.) Be Helpful.  3.) Be Responsible.  4.) Be Respectful.

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Exploring JGB poetry selections “When I Grow Up”. Please look for directions for HW in your child’s Red Folder.

Spelling:

/ur/ ex: burn, fur, turn, Thursday

Red Words: write, go, could

Grammar:

Identifying and using contractions with ‘not’ ex: cannot= can’t   

Writing:

Comparing and Contrasting the U.S. to Canada

Science/Social Studies:

Generating questions about our new unit of study “My Country, My World”

Math:

Solving and creating number stories that involve addition and subtraction.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

2/25- I will be out for a Common Core Workshop and the wonderful Mrs. Parks will be with your child. (They will not miss a beat!)

2/26- High Touch High Tech In School Field Trip

2/28- Polar Animal Presentations.

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Albin Darby! Albin shows curiosity about the world around him and is enthusiastic about learning new things. We look forward to learning more about what makes Albin so special this week!

Mark Your Calendars...Again!

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is well! I sure do miss your first graders and look forward to seeing each of them tomorrow morning ready to learn.

Here is a list of the following "events" that our class is having to reschedule due to our several days off. Please make sure to mark your Calendars!


Thursday, Feb. 20th- Class Valentines/Read-a-thon Cookie Party at 1:30. Please make sure your child brings in a Valentine for each child in the class.

Friday, Feb. 28th- Polar Animal Presentations in the auditorium from 8:30-9:30.



Also, I wanted to give you a heads up that I will not be at school on Feb. 25th. I will be receiving Common Core Training in Mathematics and look forward to learning different strategies to improve student learning that I can share with your children and the first grade team. Please make sure if you have any transportation changes that they be made with the front office.

Please see the below blog post to see which skills we will be focusing on this week. We are a bit behind due to the snow.


Thank you so much for your support and for sharing your children with me!

Sincerely,
   Mrs. Peake

Feb. 10-13

Hello Everyone!

    

Our study of the Polar Regions is wrapping up and the children are making finishing touches on their in class research projects. It’s time to mark your calendars! Please plan to join us on Thursday, February 20^th at 8:30 to hear your child present his/her polar animal. The presentations should last until 9:15.  

We are also celebrating Black History Month this month and will be studying the lives of many influential African Americans including:  Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Harriett Tubman, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In math, we are entering into Unit 6, where your child will compare lengths using centimeters, solve fact families, and recognize and complete numerical and geometrical patterns. Please make sure your child is practicing their fact families at home to gain fluency in addition and subtraction.

Please help your child to remember to “patrol their writing” using C.O.P.S. C-Capitalization, O-Organization, P-Punctuation, S-Spacing.

Here’s a look into what else we will be learning this week!

Reading:

Using summarization to comprehend texts.

Spelling:

(ir) ex: girl, dirt, chirp

Red Words: look, two, more

Grammar:

Using “see” and “saw” correctly.

Writing:

Following the first grade writer’s editing checklist to create invitations to our Polar Animal Presentations.

Math:

See above.

Science and Social Studies:

See above.

Important Announcements/Reminders

·      Our class is exchanging Valentines Day Cards on Thursday, February 13^th, please make sure your child fills in a card for each friend in our class.

·      THANK YOU SO MUCH for signing up for Small Groups this week and for all of your amazing support in the classroom!

·      Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Naomi Dereje! Naomi is enthusiastic towards learning and caring towards her friends each day. We look forward to finding out what makes Naomi so special this week! Way to go, Naomi!

Black History Month Announcement

An Announcement from our SRS Multicultural Affairs Committee 

"We are asking all teachers to extend an invitation for ANY PARENT INTERESTED in their classrooms to share with your class their profession and highlight a historical African American who shares their profession. We encourage Stay At Home Moms to share as Mom in Chief, Judges, Physicians, Lawyers, Avid Golfers, Tennis Players, Teachers, Clergy, Business Owners, Corporate Executives. For e.g. if you’re a VP of a company, you could give a five minute presentation of what you do and highlight Debra Lee of BET Network or Kenneth Chenault of American Express. If you are a semi pro Tennis player you could talk about your game and highlight Venus & Serena Williams. The parent share time frame can be five (5) to (15) fifteen minutes so as to avoid disrupting class time." 

If you are interested in sharing, please email me and we can select a date/time.

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