Back to School!

Dear Future Parents and Students, 

Can you believe it is almost that time again? My absolute favorite day of the school year, Celebration of Learning, is almost here (August 1st from 5-7)! I cannot wait to meet you as we begin an exciting new year of learning and growing together in first grade! Please feel free to explore this website for useful information about the school year. Our classroom blog will be the BEST way to stay connected to what your child is learning and experiencing at school, as it will be updated regularly. Please Bookmark this site so that you and your child may easily access it from home.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer with your child and I look forward to seeing you soon!

All the best,

Jean Peake 

May 5-9

Hello Everyone!

Next week will be jam packed with exciting and enriching activities for your child as we travel to the beautiful country of BRAZIL for International Travelers Week! A huge thank you to our very own, Robyn Vassar, for her major efforts in organizing IT Week for both campuses! Also, thank you to those of you who have volunteered your time and will be joining us this week!

Please make sure to ask your child about his or her experiences in Brazil each day! 

Also, please remember that our Mother's Day Tea is scheduled for this upcoming Friday morning, March 9th at 10:30 and will last until 11:30. We are looking forward to celebrating you and hope that you are able to join us!

April 21-25

Hello Everyone!

I hope this latest blog post finds you well and that you are enjoying this fabulous Sunday weather as much as I am. We have a very exciting week ahead of us in first grade as we will be finishing our Heroes Unit! Thursday, April 24th will be our culminating activity: our Heroes Parade and paragraph presentation. I look forward to seeing our children show their creativity and the connections that they have made throughout this meaningful unit of inquiry. Please make sure that your child comes to school prepared to read his or her paragraph by allowing them to practice for you. 

Also, this upcoming Wednesday, April 23rd, beginning at 8:10 sharp, our class is scheduled to take a section of the Computer Adaptive Test  to show their progress in Reading. Please make sure your child  is well rested, eats a healthy breakfast, and arrives to school no later than 7:50 so that they will perform to the best of their ability. 

Here's a look into the curriculum this week:

Spelling:

/oi/ and /oy/

oi- boil, coin, point  oy: boy, toy, oyster

red words: give, most, very

Grammar:

Reviewing Proper Nouns

Writing:

Children will choose an American Hero that they respect the most and provide evidence to support their thinking.

Social Studies:

Introducing American Heroes: Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington Carver. Reflecting upon our unity of inquiry and answering student questions.

Math:

Continuing our study of fractions and counting coins. Reviewing for Unit 8 Post Assessment.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

• Hero Parade is April 24th beginning at 8:10.
• CAAS testing is April 23rd beginning at 8:10. 
• Please email me with the Mother's Day Tea date that works for you. An email was sent last Friday with two choices.

Thank you for your amazing support!

Mrs. Peake

April 14-18

Hello Everyone!
   I hope that you have all had an enjoyable and relaxing Spring Break! I still cannot believe we are this far into the school year and that we only have a few more precious weeks together in first grade. It has been a tremendous honor teaching your child and I look forward to helping your child reach his or her goals in the weeks ahead. We still have a lot to learn! As small groups have come to an end, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to be with us. Your dedication to our class has been outstanding and I truly canot thank you enough. I want to especially thank our amazing room mom, Ashley Welcher, for her tireless efforts in rallying volunteers on a weekly basis. We could not have done it without you! These next weeks will be important as we will be learning new content as well as reviewing a years worth of information. Please make sure your child comes to school ready to learn. As always, I will do my best to ensure that our classroom is as engaging as possible for your young learner.

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

Spelling:

 /au/ and /aw/

ex: au: August, haul, Auburn   aw: paw, crawl, hawk

Red Words: no, years, live

Grammar: 

Identifying the subject of a sentence.

Reading: 

Analyzing how illustrations add to the meaning of texts. 

Comparing and Contrasting Fiction and Non-Fiction texts.

Writing: 

Students will write a personal narrative about a time when they have been a hero or have acted in a heroic way.

Math: 

Introducing the concept of equal parts and fractions.

Social Studies:
Reviewing American Heroes: Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Introducing the explorations and discoveries that were made by Lewis and Clark, and Sacagawea.

At this present time, I do not have any Important Updates or Reminders :)

Thank you for your support!

Mrs. Peake

March 31st-April 3

Hello Everyone!
    Last week was another productive and fun-filled week in first grade! This week will also be an exciting time as we will introduce our new Unit of Inquiry titled "Heroes". We will be studying the cultural influences of some of our American Heroes such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and many more.

Here's a look into other parts of the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Compare and Contrasting two separate texts.

Spelling: 

/oo/ as in boot and /oo/ as in foot.

ex: look, took, pool, tool, stool

Red Words: only little work

Grammar:

Identifying Synonyms and Antonyms.

Social Studies:

Introducing the American Heroes Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and inquiring into how they have impacted our culture through their discoveries.

Math:

Identifying the value of coins and making exchanges.

Important Updates and Reminders:

CONGRATULATIONS to our newest Star Student, Max Williams! Max is curious about the world around him and loves learning new things! We are proud of our new Star Student and look forward to learning more about what makes him so special this week. Way to go, Max!

March 24-28

Greetings Team Peake!
    It's hard to believe that we have completed three fourths of the school year together. I guess time flies when you are having fun! I am so proud of our children for the progress that they have made in first grade and look forward to helping them to achieve their goals during the next nine weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting with some of you at your Spring Conference and look forward to meeting with the rest of you in the near future. The next two months will be dedicated to making sure your child reaches his or her highest potential! Please encourage your child to do his or her best during the last nine weeks as we still have a lot to learn.

                  Here's a look into the curriculum this upcoming week:

Spelling:

/igh/ ex: night, bright, sight

Red Words: new, over, come

Reading:

Analyzing and discussing JGB Story "King of the Frogs."

Making Inferences using text clues.

Grammar:

Using number words as adjectives.

Writing:

Editing, revising and publishing a writing piece about our world travels.

Math: 

Reviewing 2D and 3D shapes, telling time and interpreting graphs.

Social Studies

Studying the geography and culture of France.

Important Updates and Reminders:

• I will not be at school on March 25th as I will be participating in my last day of Common Core Mathematics Training. Please make sure to make any transportation changes with the Front Office as I will be away.
• Our new Book Fair Purchase day and time is March 25th from 12:45-1:15. 
• Our class will be visiting the Atlanta Symphony on Wednesday March 26th. Please pack a sack lunch for your child and make sure he or she wears a Sarah Smith tshirt.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake 

March 17-21

Hello All! 

  

I hope you are enjoying the rest of your weekend! Once again, we had a busy and fun-filled week in first grade last week. The children were very excited about filling up the Big Bucket of Fuzzies for the second time and chose to have an ice-cream party to celebrate! We also had a fiesta on Friday as we reached an end to our study of Mexico. 

 

We have had a great time studying the different two dimensional and three dimensional shapes in math. It has been exciting to see the children so engaged in hands on learning as we begin to understand the basics of Geometry. This past week we mostly studied the 2D plane shapes and will continue to explore with 3D shapes this upcoming week. Please encourage your child to look for these shapes at home and wherever else you may be traveling.

Many of you have signed up for Spring Conferences which are beginning this week on March 18th. Thank you! Please make sure that if you have not signed up for your conference that you do so before March 24th. The children have worked hard to share their portfolios with you and are each looking forward to sharing their progress. I will also be available for any questions that you may have and look forward to us continuing to work as a team to create goals for your child. If you have not signed up for your slot, please click on the link below and find a time that is convenient for you.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E44ADA728A02-spring

The Spring Book Fair is coming soon! We will "preview" the books this upcoming Thursday, March 20th from 8:15-8:45. Please discuss with your child a limit of books you would allow them to purchase on the purchase date so that they can create their Wish Lists. 

Our Purchase Day is exactly a week later from the Preview Day and is scheduled for the same time: March 27th from 8:15-8:45. Please feel free to join us in the Media Center or send money in an enclosed envelope with your child.

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

Spelling: 

/ou/ and /ow/ 

ex: ouch, cow, now, plow, loud

Red Words: find, long

Grammar: 

Identifying and using adjectives to make our writing more descriptive.

Reading:

Cause and Effect

Math: 

Identifying the attributes of 3D Shapes ex: spheres, cylinders, rectangular prisms, pyramids, cones and cubes. Identifying symmetry in shapes.

Writing: 

Writing a paragraph about what it would be like to go on an African safari.

Social Studies/Sciences:

Exploring the culture of Tanzania, Africa.

Important Announcements/Reminders:

• March 20th- Spring Book Fair Preview
• March 21st- Atlanta History Center Field Trip If your child is bringing his or her lunch, please make sure that it is in a disposable sack.
•  March 24th- Deadline to sign up for Spring Conferences. Please email me if you are unable to find a time that suits your schedule and we will find a time that works.
• March 27th- Spring Book Fair Purchase Day from 8:15-8:45 in the Media Center. 

Congratulations to our new Star Student, Marie Rojanets! We are thankful to have Marie as a part of our classroom community! Her friends think that she is always kind to others and they look forward to learning more about her this upcoming week. Congratulations Marie!