9/30

 Hello Families:

Parent Action Items:

1. September homework was due today. If your student forgot please have them bring it in on Monday. October homework was sent home today and will start on Monday. The calendar lists the assignments. Along with the homework is a scholastic magazine packet. These are apart of your students homework for the month. Also, a Bridges Home Connection workbook and flyer came home. The workbook will be used for homework. Please store in a SAFE and SECURE spot. The workbook will permanently live at home, your student will tear out and return the assigned pages at the end of the month.
2. Purple folders are coming home today. Please empty them and return the folder to your student's backpack. We use our purple folders often each day so it is important to have them back at the start of the week.
3. Conferences: I will be holding conferences soon. This is a great way to check in on how your student is doing. I have a class of 30 students and have provided time slots for 30. Each student gets one conference. These meetings will be held in person in my classroom so please be here on time (or even a little early) so I can stay on schedule. Click HERE for the link and please enter your name and comment with your child's name. Please mark this in your personal calendar as well.
4. Book Fair is coming! It will be open Oct. 10-12. Our class will sign up for a time slot to go shopping during the day. The book fair is also open during conferences. To help make shopping easier you can click the link https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/lmreads to create an Ewallet. This makes the process smoother. If you plan on letting your student shop please fill out this survey so I know how much they are spending. Book Fair Survey

Important Dates:

* Always check the Landmark Lead as well!

• October 7th Half Day! Pick up at 11:30, NO lunch provided
• October 13th NO SCHOOL
• October 14th NO SCHOOL
• October 17th NO SCHOOL
• October 31st Early Release! 1:30 pm pick up, lunch is provided.
• October homework due!

Academics:

Moral Focus: October is the month of Respect. Our definition is 'treat people and things around you with care.' We will be exploring how we can do this at school.

Phonics: We will be working on r blends. The following are r- blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, and tr. R blends tend to come at the beginning of a word. A few examples are brick, crab, drip, frog, grill, press, and trip.

Comprehension: We are going to continue to look at fairytales and identify the problem in stories. This builds upon our discussion about characters and settings. If a student identify the problem of the story it helps them recall and retell the story details.

Writing: Students will continue to develop their writing stamina and skills by writing a more detailed personal narrative. Writing time has been very engaging lately and students are excited to be the author!

Math: We will continue to work on strategies to solve word problems. I like when students have a vast number of math strategies to help them solve problems. This often builds confidence in math.

Social Studies: This is our final week in social studies before switching to science. We will be wrapping up our family and community unit by creating some art that shows off what we learned. We will also be completing some internet safety lessons.

9/23

 Hello Families!

Parent Action Items:

1. Please email me if you are planning on having your student do picture retakes on September 28th. This will be uniform only.
2. Purple folders are coming home today. Please empty them and return the folder to your student's backpack. We use our purple folders often each day so it is important to have them back at the start of the week.
3. Conferences: I will be holding conferences soon. This is a great way to check in on how your student is doing. I have a class of 30 students and have provided time slots for 30. Each student gets one conference. These meetings will be held in person in my classroom so please be here on time (or even a little early) so I can stay on schedule. Click HERE for the link and please enter your name and comment with your child's name. Please mark this in your personal calendar as well.

Important Dates:

* Always check the Landmark Lead as well!

• September 30th: September homework due and PJ day!
• October 7th Half Day! Pick up at 11:30, No lunch provided
• October 13th NO SCHOOL
• October 14th NO SCHOOL
• October 17th NO SCHOOL
• October 31st Early Release! 1:30 pm pick up, lunch is provided.
• October homework due!

Academics:

Phonics: We will be looking at s-blends. S blends are the following: sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, and sw. These come at the start of a words. 

Comprehensions: We will be exploring a variety of text and looking for characters. These are people, animals or things that talk in the story.

Writing: We are going to work on our first narrative draft. We will also explore different types of punctuation marks.

Math: Students will focus on comparing numbers while using the symbols and phrases greater than, less than (<,>). We will also be looking at story problems and how to use the information in the story to solve the problem.

Social Studies: We will be looking at how people's differences and talents can add to the community and make it a better place. 

9/16

 Hello families!

Parent Action Items:

1. Help your student participate in our fundraiser, APEX! Your student came home with a orange and blue tag with a QR code. Follow the code via smartphone or type the web address into a web browser. It will show you how to do the rest. This fundraiser really helps our school out each year we do it. A lot of money is put back into classrooms. Over the years I have been able to purchase so much for my room due to the Apex fundraiser!
2. Picture retakes are on September 28th. If you want retakes, you must return the pictures you were already given. Please also email me if you are wanting your student to retake their picture so I can have a head count.

Important Dates:

*Always check the Landmark Lead for dates as well!

• September 23rd: APEX FUN RUN and Stuffed animal day!(must fit in student's backpack)
• October 7th Half Day! Pick up at 11:30, No lunch provided
• October 13th NO SCHOOL
• October 14th NO SCHOOL
• October 17th NO SCHOOL
• October 31st Early Release! 1:30 pm pick up, lunch is provided.

Academics:

Moral Focus: We going to explore how to show wisdom as leaders in each subject area.

Leader in Me: Students will look at the 'Circle of Control,' this is a good visual to help students understand what is in their control is what is not.

Phonics: Students will learn about l blends. These are words with fl-, bl-, gl-, sl-, cl-, etc. Examples of these would be flip, blend, glad, slip, clap, etc. Students will also have new high frequency words, they are the following: many, thing, you, these.

Comprehension: Students will be looking at setting. Setting tells the reader about the time, place, when, and where a story takes place. 

Writing: In our next unit of writing students will work on narratives. First students need to know the parts of a narrative and then they will move into writing their stories.

Math: Students have been working hard on their math strategies and we have also been working on subitizing. Subitizing is when you can automatically see a visual and know how many there are. For example, on a game dice we don't typically have to count the dots, we automatically know how many there are.

Social Studies: Students will explore the difference between wants and needs. They will also discuss what their responsibilities are at home and at school. 

9/9/2022

 Hello families!

Parent Action Item:

1. Purple folders: These are coming home today. Please check/empty and please return them on Monday.
2. Dismissal: Please have your dismissal number ready to go! Whether you pick up at the side door, or in a car please have your number ready. If an older sibling picks up your student please have that sibling know the dismissal number as well. Also, if you change up your pick up routine, please prepare your student for the change (also send me an email, cause its hard to remember where all 30 go at the end of the day!). 
3. Check in with your student about their school supplies (pencil box, headphones, folders). Ask if they need anything. I know its early in the school year but some students are rough with their supplies so frequent checks are great!
4. Computers: There are two charge ports on your student Chromebook. If it is not charging on one side, try the other side. A helpful trick some students taught me!

Important Dates:

*Always check the Landmark Lead for dates as well!

• October 7th Half Day! Pick up at 11:30, No lunch provided
• October 13th NO SCHOOL
• October 14th NO SCHOOL
• October 17th NO SCHOOL
• October 31st Early Release! 1:30 pm pick up, lunch is provided.

APEX Fundraiser:

The Apex fundraiser will start next week! I will be sending you much more information about it on Monday! It is a very fun way to raise money for our school! On a personal note, I am very competitive and classes compete for the most money earned per class! My class has been in the top 5 since we have started this fundraiser and one year my class even won! I hope you join me and help support our school and put the 'fun' in fundraiser!

Academics:

Moral Focus: Next week we will be discussing how we can show wisdom at home and around our community. This is a great time to review home expectations and what wise choices are versus unwise choice would look like at home.

Leader In Me: Students are learning about Habit 1: Be Proactive. This means we will be responsible for ourselves. Students should take responsibility for their learning, voice, body, emotions, and things.

Phonics: Next week will will be looking at words with the short e sound like sled, pen, bed, mess, and leg. I have been asked to share the high frequency word list. I will send a hard copy of all of first grade's words. High frequency words are words that should be recognizable and known by your student. Some are harder to decode and others just appear often in text. Next week's words are: give, come, some, for.

Comprehension: Students will work on making wonderings and asking questions. This is an important process to practice while reading. This helps us make predictions and remember information. 

Writing: We will create an All About my Family paper this next week. We will be learning about the writing process and will create a full paper.

Math: We will be exploring making combinations of 10 with a missing addend. This would be a problem that looks like 2+ __=4.  

Social Studies: We will continue to explore what makes our family and community special. We will specifically look at some food traditions. You can discuss any traditions that your family has with your student and they can pass it on. One of my family traditions is on New Years day we eat cabbage and black eyed peas. The cabbage is representing money or wealth for the year while the black eyed peas signify luck and good fortune. 

9/1

 Happy Short Week!

NO SCHOOL tomorrow or Monday!

Parent Action Items:

• September homework is coming home today. I would encourage you to make a safe spot to store the homework packet at home. Students should complete a task each night. This will be turned in by students on the last day of the month. You may assist in reminding your student but they should have the responsibility of doing it and turning it in.
• School Library Volunteers are needed! Please email Tamara Leavitt (75.tleavitt@nhaschools.com) or Jenna Reeves (75.jreeves@nhaschools.com) if you are interested.
• Remind your student to charge their computer and bring it everyday. Please check in with your student and ask about their headphones. 

Important Dates:

• No SCHOOL tomorrow (9/2) and on Monday (9/5)
• Half day on Oct. 7th (11:30, no lunch)
• No school on Oct. 13, 14, and 17
• Oct. 31st is Early Release (1:30)

Academics:

Moral Focus: Wisdom is knowing the difference between right and wrong. We will discuss how we can show wisdom in the class, hallway, and playground.

Phonics: We are going to be discussing words with the short u sound. Words like sun, bus, gust, etc.

Comprehension: Students will work on retelling. This next week will be the intro and retelling will be revisited over the next several weeks. You can ask your student to tell you what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of stories at home.

Writing: We are continuing to work on handwriting. One way you can work on this at home would be find fun "how to draw ____" videos. There are a ton online. Be sure to preview it! Students love to draw and it works on fine motor skills! For a challenge have them draw on a post it note!

Math: We are going to work on our adding and subtraction within ten strategies. This will set us up for success for the rest of the year.

Social studies: We are going to look at the attributes of a good citizen.