Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the second half of first grade.  We have been very busy since returning from winter break. We are sorry that it has been so long since we entered a post on this blog though we have been in communication in other ways!

We want to highlight a few things that will be coming up.

- Please check out our computer teacher, Kirsten's, blog.  It is full of useful information and links that you can follow to find all matter of interesting programs for your child.
Kirsten's blog

- In two weeks we will be sending home a major homework project for your child.  It is an African-American biography book report project and they will have one month to check out a book, read the book, write the paper and create a project of some kind.  All of the instructions will be coming home and there is no need to panic.  This is a heads up.  Please know that we all have many first grade appropriate biographies that are available for check out, as does our school library.

- Fluency will be a part of our next unit test in Treasures which will be given in about three weeks and will begin to be a part of their reading report card grade.  Please keep practicing the weekly fluency passages to help them prepare.

We watched a video in class that showed an elephant painting!  We had read a book that told about elephants learning to paint and they have written about elephants these past two weeks.  We've included a link to this video here.
Elephant painting

Have a great week!

Kathi, Sherry & Tracy

Friday, November 8, 2013

Crisps, Conferences and Upcoming Events

We had a blast this week during our rotations.  Many of you were up here and shared the excitement of making apple crisps in science with Kathi.  The crisps were delicious and the children learned so much while measuring and mixing!  They had enriching experiences in social studies, painting their Statue of Liberty torches and coloring their crowns.  In art they began to explore surrealism and were inspired to create a piece of art of their own.  They will continue with a study of Rene Magritte over the next month.

The new enrichment schedule starts next week.  Tracy's class will have Art with Emily on Mondays, Sherry's class will have Music with Mary on Mondays and Kathi's class will have Dance with Nicole on Tuesdays.

As a reminder, we have two minimum days coming up on the 13th and 14th for parent conferences. Please communicate with your teacher if your child is staying at school or taking the bus.  There will be a Scholastic Book Fair up at school for you to explore with your child after your conference if you have time.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday, November 22 at the end of the day.  You will find information on the Shutterfly site and in your child's folder soon.

Hope you have a fabulous week.

Kathi, Sherry & Tracy

Thursday, October 24, 2013

End of October


  • As the Parade of Masks approaches, we wanted to share Carla's request that children not bring candy to school on Halloween.  There will be lots of treats at the event and many students will collect more sweets when they go treat-or-treating later that day.  Thanks for your cooperation.



  • We have our first "Free Mixing" on Halloween between recess and lunch.  During "Free Mixing,"  we have Halloween themed activities and crafts set up in each classroom and children may freely move from classroom to classroom completing activities in each.  They really enjoy this choice time.  We do this at various times throughout the year.



  • We will not be running our regular rotations on Friday, November 1st due to Halloween on Thursday.  We will schedule our regular science, social studies, and art mixing at that time.  If you are signed up to come in on Friday and you would still like to come in, you are more than welcome to help out during our regular mixing.

  • It is time to send in ten dimes for your child's money box.  It was mentioned in the family note on the Homelink 3.8 that went home on Thursday, October 24 and will be mentioned again on the Homelink 3.10 as we will need the dimes in class by Wednesday, October 30.  Thank you so much for your help.

As always, we appreciate your support and enjoy working with all of the first grade families.

Kathi, Sherry & Tracy


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

October 7 Updates

Today's Getty Center field trip was a lot of fun. Thanks to all of our chaperones!  Ask your child to tell you about something interesting they saw. 




We look forward to seeing some of you up here on Friday for Pump It Up.  Make sure your child wears comfortable walking shoes and either apply sunscreen or send some with them.  It's always a fun event!

Our new 5-week enrichment block started this week.  Tracy's class now has Dance on Tuesdays, Sherry's class has Art with Emily on Mondays, and Kathi's class has Music with Mary on Mondays.  

Please check the Shutterfly site for some recent volunteer sign-up opportunities we've posted.  

Friday, September 27, 2013

Hi First Grade Families,

Some you have asked for clarification of the homework schedule. Here it is:
  • The 4-6 page language arts packet goes home on Monday and is due back by Friday
  • The Soul Book goes home on Wednesday and is due back by the following Monday
  • Everything else is due the next day
We will be giving our Unit 1 Treasures (language arts) test the week of  September 30.  Look for the graded assessment to come home in your child's homework folder the following week.  

The week of October 7th is a busy week!  
  • Our first field trip is on Tuesday, October 8th.  We are visiting The Getty Center.  We will be leaving shortly after school begins.   Let your teacher know if you are interested in being a chaperone.
  • Friday, October 11th is Pump It Up.   Be on the lookout for more details as the event gets closer.
We are still in need of toilet paper rolls for an art project that Tracy is doing in Social Studies.  Thank you to those who have already brought one in. 

Tracy, Sherry & Kathi

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Welcome to our first grade blog!  

We will use this site to share curriculum, schedules, tips for working with your child, and anything else we think might be useful information for you and your first grader.  We hope that this will allow us to be in better communication with you.  

Invitational parent conferences will be held next week.  We will see some of you up here and the rest of you later in the fall.  

We are in the middle of our second unit of Math.  We are introducing the concept of complements of ten.  We're listening to a song by Ron Brown called "Partners for Ten" in class.  Nickels are being introduced and we will need 5 nickels sent in to class from each child for their money boxes.   Be sure to refer to the Unit 2 Everyday Math Family Letter for more detailed information on this unit. The Homelinks also offer good information about daily work in class.  

Our language arts units are usually six weeks long, including five weeks of direct instruction and one week of review and assessment.  On September 23rd we'll begin week 5 of Unit 1 "All About Us". 

Your children have enjoyed their first two weeks of "mixing."  In science they have begun a unit about Air & Weather.  You may want to ask your children to tell you something they've learned about air.  In social studies they are learning about U.S. Symbols. Ask your child to tell you something about our country's flag.  In art we have begun discussing lines and creating art using different kinds of lines.  Ask your child what kinds of lines they can make and show you.  They brought home a pipe cleaner and can show you different kinds of lines using it. 

We look forward to communicating with you in this new way.

Kathi, Sherry & Tracy