The Book Fair will be coming to our library....
October 29th through November 9th.
It will be open during school hours and
 during parent teacher conference times.

  We will be visiting the book fair during our library times.
  (Tuesday at 1:30 to 2:00)
 Our first visit will be to browse and create a wish list.
 Students can bring in some money to shop. 
If you send in money please put it in a baggie with child's name. 

Reminder......picture day is on Thursday October 11th.
Bring those beautiful smiles to school😀

 OCTOBER IN GRADE ONE

Dates to remember

*October 5th full day teacher inservice

*October 8th Columbus Day

*October 11th Picture Day

*October 24th noon dismissal   

READING

We will be continuing to review consonant sounds and short vowel sounds.  

Through reading texts we will be comparing and contrasting, and working with

cause and effect.  Our reading genres will be fantasy, realism and realistic fiction.

A main focus will be on story structure and elements.  Reviewing and working on high

frequency words will be done. Students will continue to read just right books daily.

WRITING

We are still working on small moments.  We are working on ways to bring

our stories to life, make our characters talk, move, feel, and think.

 We are working on telling our stories in steps. After we complete our

narrative unit, each student will publish their favorite small moment story.

MATH

We are still working on adding and subtracting  fluently within 10.

Once we complete topic 2 we will start addition facts to 20.  We will

work on lots of different strategies to add. Please take

some time to work with basic addition facts at home. Thank you:)

SCIENCE

Our second unit is Communication.  We will discuss how people

can communicate with people who are nearby and far away.

 Our discussions will be centered around how we communicate with others.

The students will practice communicating using light and Morse Code.  

They will also create a telephone using cups and string. They will need

to build, test, and explain their creation. It is always amazing to see how many “phones” do work!

OTHER

Please continue to check communication folders daily.  

The year has started wonderfully and the first graders are awesome!

September News From Grade One

We are off to a wonderful start!  The students are all so eager and anxious
to learn all about grade one.  We have worked on classroom and schoolwide
rules and expectations. Just a few reminders…..We do not bring toys to
school unless it is for a special day or a reward.  We can not heat up meals at lunchtime.

Here is a little bit about what we will be working on this month……..

MATH

We are ready to begin the first unit in our brand new math curriculum…..Envisions!
 We completed the review/readiness the first week of school. Unit one is focused on
solving addition and subtraction problems to 10.  The main emphasis of this unit is
to understand the meaning of addition and subtraction. Using various representations
and acting out will help students understand “add to,” “put together,” “take from,” “take apart,”
and “compare” situations.  This early foundation supports the deep understanding
that is essential as they move along in math.

READING

We have started our Back to School Review Unit.  In this unit we work with
introducing the reading strategies of prediction, retell/summarize, and question.
 We review rhymes, beginning sounds, and other phonemic awareness skills.
Letter formation and recognition is also a focus.  We will also review high frequency words
that were taught in Kindergarten. The students have started read to self time, and we are working
on increasing our reading stamina.  We are also working on selecting a “just right” or a “good fit book”.
Doing this will increase reading fluency and accuracy.

WRITING

Writing Small Moments with Independence is unit one!  
As writers they will be challenged to bring their small moments to life.
 They will make a beginning for their story, show what happens in order, use details to help
the reader picture the story, and make an ending for their story.  

SCIENCE

Coming up…...we will study the behavior of light.  Students will observe reflection of
light, and which materials allow light to pass through and which material block light.  

September will be a busy and fun month.  If you have any questions or concerns
please contact me. We are partners in this adventure called first grade!

Hello 1st Grader!

Welcome back to a brand new school year!  I hope your summer break has been

joyful and full of adventures with your family and friends. I can not wait to hear

all about it.   I am so excited to have you as one of my Fantastic First Graders.

We are going to do so many FUN things, and of course we will LEARN a lot.

I can not wait to get to know each of you and learn with you every day!

Want to know a little more about me?  Here are a few of my favorite things.

Color:       Blue and Purple

Food:      Pizza and Ice Cream

Book:       Charlotte’s Web…...I really have so many favorites:)

Drink:      Coffee and water

Hobby:     Reading, walking, watching Bryce and Mallory at their activities,

                             and spending time with family and friends

I am sure you are anxious to go back to school shopping.  I remember those days.

Here is a list of the personal supplies that each of you will need.  

• #2 pencils (they sharpen the best)
• Glue sticks (4-5 would be great)
• A box of crayons (no larger than a 24 pack)

Plastic containers and supply organizers will be provided for you to keep your school tools in.  

Here are a few helpful and useful items that are used everyday by all our class.

 These items are always greatly appreciated as donations to our classroom.

Thank you in advance for any of these items.

*more glue sticks *tissue *Clorox wipes

*Pencil top erasers *plastic spoons *black dry erase markers

As summer wraps up, I have a couple of things I want you to think about

and prepare for our first day together.

1. Please bring in something that tells about YOU!  Perhaps this is a favorite stuffie,

a souvenir, a picture, or a toy.  The possibilities are endless.

Please be prepared to share why you picked the item that you brought in.

        2.  Bring in your favorite book or a book you are reading.  We will do a book share.

I am so anxious to meet you and looking forward to this incredible journey called 1st grade.

 Enjoy the rest of your summer vacation!

I came upon a perfect quote today.  As I read it I had feelings of happiness/joy and sadness all at the same time....
"What makes teaching worth it?  When you get to the end of the year and see how much they've changed and grown.  That makes teaching worth it."  
That and so much more....the daily stories, hugs, laughs, challenges, and memories. 
I have truly enjoyed my fantastic first graders (soon to be super second graders) and I wish you all a fun summer. 

Some very important dates

*May 31st Wiswell Farm

• June 5th Field trip to Moose Point

Items students will need for the field trip:

- Bag lunch with plenty of water

- Sunscreen/bug spray

- Change of clothes (in case we get wet)

- boots/sneakers/water shoes that can get wet

- sweatshirt or coat (we are on the coast where it can be breezy)

- shovel/bucket (if you have one to explore the tidal pools)

* We are only taking two buses for all the students.

We will fill the buses, so parents will be asked to carpool.

 The park has asked for us to do this because of limited parking spaces.

• June 8th concert at 1:00
• June 14th field day
• June 15th last day of school & early release at 12:00