December News

Important Dates    

*December 6th report cards go home

*Book Day -

                Dec 16th and snow date Dec 18th

*December 19th K-4 Holiday Concert @1:00

*December 20th Noon Dismissal

We are still very busy reading and working on reading skills daily.  

We are working on building fluency and gaining comprehension 

as we read.  It is very important for children to read each evening.

  As your child reads to or with you have them retell what they have

 read, or answer questions you may prompt them with during/after 

reading.  We are working a lot with story elements (characters, setting,

 problem and solution).  You can also practice grammar using simple 

sentences.   We have been talking about nouns (person place o

r thing) and verbs (the action word a thing you can do).  We also

 are finding the naming part of a sentence( the who or what).

We are busily writing and working in our nonfiction unit.

  We are writers who teach with our words and pictures. 

 We are really working on handwriting and the correct 

formation of letters.  Using the lines and spaces correctly

 to form neat and appropriate letters.

Adding and subtracting and story problems ...Oh My! 

Students are working on strategies for solving addition

 and subtraction problems.  We are working on writing

 number equations.  In topic 6 we will be representing and

 interpreting data.  We will talk about surveys, tally marks,

and picture graphs.  To interpret the data the students

 will compare data and they will solve word problems

 to find the “unknown” data.

    Holiday Celebrations Around the World

Each and every student has different holiday traditions

 and ways to celebrate the season.  We are planning a journey

to see how children from Russia, England,Italy, Scandinavia.

 Australia, and Wales celebrate.  

It is getting colder outside and winter

 weather is approaching.  Please send your ch

child to school with the appropriate winter attire. 

 Also please talk to them about “keeping track” of

 their hats, mittens, etc.  We do our best to help

 with this process. Please encourage them to

 keep a pair of shoes here at school, or

remind them to send a pair daily. 

Thank you:) 

Looking ahead....The Holiday Concert is on Thursday
 December 19th.  It will be here before we know it ;)

November Newsletter

It is very hard to believe that we are entering the

month of November already.  Our first grade

friends have been super busy learning.

Just a reminder (if you have not signed up already)

we have parent teacher conferences coming up. 

The link to sign up is

https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Center_Drive_School

As we enter the new month we will also be starting

our theme 3 reading unit.  In this unit our reading

strategies are phonics and decoding words, evaluating

as we read, predicting/inferring, and questioning. 

For comprehension we focus on main idea and details.

This leads into summarizing what we have read.

We work on reading fluency daily, and have seen

much improvement. For grammar we are focusing

on what is a sentence, and the naming part of the

sentence or the who, and the action part of the sentence.

We begin Spelling words and tests in this unit.

Be on the lookout for a spelling list to come home.

The first graders will also bring home a Spelling

Contract each week. They will be responsible for

choosing 5 different activities to help them practice

the words on their spelling list. The children are

very excited to start having spelling tests…….just like the big kids!

We are beginning Topic 4 in Math…..Subtraction facts

to 20.  In this topic the students are introduced to

several key strategies for solving subtraction facts. 

These strategies include counting to subtract, making

10 to subtract, and using addition to subtract.

Please continue to practice those basic addition

and subtraction facts:)

  

Ask your child what a small moment story means

to them. The finishing touches (editing and revisions)

are being made to their favorite small moment story

as these blossoming writers are becoming published

authors.  Information writing is coming up next.

The students will be writing to teach about topics

that they are “experts” about. 

In Science we will explore sound.  The key learning

is that sound is caused by vibrations.   For Social

Studies we will discuss and read about the pilgrims

and how life was then.  We will also compare it to life now.  

**As the weather begins to cool down please dress

appropriately for recess.**

IMPORTANT DATES

Book Fair October  October 28th to November 8th

Parent Teacher Conferences  November 7th Noon Dismissal

Parent Teacher Conferences November 8th  No School

Veteran’s Day November 11th No School

Thanksgiving Break November 27th to 29th

On October 31st we will have PJ day.  We are not able

to wear costumes, so please do not come to school

with your Halloween costume on….save it for that night:)

If you would like to send in a treat to share with the

class you may do so. There are 17 students in our

room. Please do not feel you have to send in anything

for this day. We will have a normal day of learning with

a little bit of fun in the afternoon.  

Thank you

Picture forms are going home today. 😊
Picture day is on Tuesday, October 22nd.

We had some visitors today. The first graders have some news to share.....

"They taught us about stop drop and roll and if there
 is a fire we do not hide we get out.  We learned to stay
low.  We also have  to check smoke detector batteries
 every 6 months.  We know that we need to check door
handles to see if they are hot or cold.  If the door feels hot
 we need to find another way out.  It was fun!"

Students will be bringing home "Bag of Books" today. 
Each bag has the student's name on it, some books
inside, and a letter explaining this program.  Please
 take the time to read and reread these books throughout
 the week.  Send the bag and books back by Monday,
so your student can get some new books for the following week.

OCTOBER IN GRADE ONE

Dates to remember

*October 11th full day teacher inservice

*October 14th Columbus Day

*October 22nd Picture Day

  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 currently working on adding and subtracting

within ten.  One of the goals in first grade is to have

them become fluent with these facts.  So, any fact practice

at home would be really helpful. When we move into topic

3 we will be using strategies to add to 20.  

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.  

It is getting cooler, so please send a light jacket or

sweatshirt for recess time.

The year has started wonderfully and the first

graders are awesome!

Our library is scheduled for Mondays, so thank you for those who
returned your library book and bag.  Students will not be coming
home with a new book today.  We have our k-4 assembly during
our library time today.  We are very lucky to be able to have library
 rescheduled for Thursday (this week only).  So for this week we have a
 few extra days to get the book back to school.

We have placed orders for CDS Core Value tshirts for the students. 
Each student was asked to pick a color.  As soon as shirts come in
 they will be sent home.  We will be asking students to wear shirts on
 assembly days or maybe even on special occasions.

Have a great day:)

Each student will be coming home with a packet from the PTG. 
The packet is for the catalog sale fundraiser.  There is a letter inside
explaining it. Packets are due back by September 27th.

Here are some of our Fantastic First Graders!  It is going to be a great year!

  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 starting the year with solving addition and subtraction

problems to 10.  Our goal is to represent and solve problems involving addition.

We will be using the vocabulary words add, addend, sum, plus, equation, equals,

part, whole, difference, subtract, minus , more, and fewer.  We will also

be working on correct number formation.  

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!

Second grade here we come!
I am going to miss these fantastic first graders!
Thank you for sharing you kiddos with me.
Have an awesome summer:)

Balloon pop....Count down to summer vacation! Each balloon has a little surprise inside. Balloon number 10 had a dance party inside.

Wiswell Farm Trip with some Fantastic First Graders

First Grade News for June

Important Dates to Remember

    June 7th - Spring Concert - 1:00 p.m.

    June 14th - Field trip to Moosepoint State Park -   

          8:45-2:30

    June 17th - Field Day K-4 (more info will come home soon)

    June 18th - Last student day - 1/2 day

These last couple of weeks in first grade are going

to be so busy! We still have things that we are

trying to finish up before we send the children

off to second grade.

We will wrap up our reading working on making predictions,

summarizing, and sequencing of events.  Our grammar focus

is on describing words (adjectives) and comparing using -er and -est.

Continue to read and talk to your child about what they are reading.

We will be working on our last math unit this week.

This unit is on fractions and students will be determining

whether shapes are divided into equal shares.  They will divide

shapes into 2 or 4 equal shares.  A goal is to understand that

more equal shares of the same whole create smaller shares.

We end our math program with a step up to grade 2 topic.

In Writing Workshop we are working very hard to finish our

last writing unit, which is writing realistic fiction. We just

started writing a new realistic fiction series, and these

will be chapter books! Hopefully we’ll have time to get our

last series all finished. If the children work hard

I’m sure they can do it!  

    

Dear Parents,

On June 14th the entire kindergarten, first, and

second grades will be taking a field trip to Moose

Point Park in Searsport.  We will be leaving at 8:45

in the morning and returning to school at 2:30.

 Please remember you are required to complete the volunteer

training and have a background check before you are

able to volunteer. This can take up to 3 days so if you

haven't completed this you will need to contact the

office as soon as possible.  

Items students will need for the field trip:

- Bag lunch with plenty of water

- Sun screen/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.

**Chaperones will need to pay a $3.00 fee at the gate.  

This is due to a change in park policy.