We are continuing to enjoy first grade and build our community of learners. Students are becoming more comfortable with school and the routines.
CLASSROOM RULES
We considered our “Hopes and Dreams” for first grade and identified some rules we would need for our class so that everyone could reach their goals and enjoy first grade. We came up with a very long list. We grouped rules together into three main rules that would cover everything and be easier to remember. We signed our rule sign to show that we all think these rules are important and we will all try to follow these rules and help our friends follow them.
1. Take care of other people’s feelings.
2. Take care of your body and be safe with other people.
3. Take care of our classroom and our school.
COMMUNICATION & EMAIL CORRECTION
I check email regularly (Katrina_McNamara@brookline.k12.ma.us) and will reply as quickly as possible. You may also leave a message on the classroom phone (617.879.4430) or with the Devotion School office (617.879.4400). Keeping the lines of communication open is a priority for me, and I am happy to work together to make this a successful year for your child. I will send a weekly newsletter, sharing our themes of the weeks and including important updates and reminders.
In an effort to cut down on paper, and to increase the sharing of information, I have created a class blog. This is a private blog (meaning I will invite families from our class only), in which I will share the newsletter, school and classroom news, as well as links to interesting, educational sites. If you would like to be “invited” to the blog please let me know. I can invite you through the email address you provided through the family information sheet, or a different email address. If you opt to sign in to the blog, I will not send you a paper copy of the newsletter. If you prefer the paper copy, I will put it in your family mailbox each Thursday.
LISTENING CONFERENCES
Please let me know if any of these times did not work for you, and we can find another time to meet. Or I can give you a form with space to share questions, concerns, and your child’s strengths.
LIBRARY
We will begin our weekly Library Book check-out this Friday. Students will receive a library card, which will stay in the library between our Friday visits. Our library cards also double as spot-holders for books that we take off the shelf to look at. Students slide their library card into the spot that they took the book from. If they decide not to get the book, they know exactly where to put the book back.
We will go to the library every Friday morning for book exchange. Students are allowed to check out 1 book, as long as their previous book gets returned. For the first few weeks of book exchange, we will keep the library books in the classroom, rather than bringing them home. This way, we will always have them to return on Fridays.
Students can visit the school library after school with a parent, babysitter, grandparent, etc. The library is open until 3 pm. At this time, students do not need their library card, are able to check out more than 1 book, and may take those books home.
HOMEWORK
Homework will come home every Friday. Homework will be due back the following Thursday. In first grade, homework is a parent and child experience. Please help your child succeed with these tasks and let me know if an assignment is particularly challenging for your child. In first grade, we want homework to be a positive experience and a chance for students to further connect with the classroom material and topics.
Another expectation is that students and families read for at least 15 minutes every night. This can be parents reading to children, children reading independently, or parents and children sharing the reading. Reading may also be done using texts in written in the language spoken at home. We will begin to record daily reading later in the year, but this is a great routine to start now.
LITERACY & MATH
We are working closely with the Literacy and Math Specialist to assess students’ current knowledge and comfort level in both areas. In the coming weeks, we will use this information to create small reading groups, math lessons, games and centers. We are continuing to build our classroom community and explicitly practice our daily routines, so that we are ready to add in the academic pieces soon.
WORD STUDY
We began to study the names of the children in our class. We are also sorting names by beginning sounds, number of letters, and other characteristics. Many students already recognize other students’ names. We will identify, explore and practice color words next week. As a class, we were able to match students’ pictures with names and alphabetize our list of first names. We will continue to observe the beginning sounds of words.
SNACK
We will have a morning snack every day. Please pack a nutritious, filling, low-sugar snack for your child each day. We eat lunch at 12:40pm everyday, so our snack is very important to keep us energized during our long morning. Please encourage your child to eat his or her entire snack so they do not get too hungry before lunch.
FIRST GRADE WISH LIST
We welcome donations of the following items for our classroom:
• Zipper sandwich bags
• Bottles of hand soap
• Markers
REMINDERS
Please wear sneakers in PE days: Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a great idea to wear sneakers everyday in first grade.
ASK YOUR CHILD…
These questions can be conversation starters to discuss the week in school.
• What books did we read with Ms. McDonnell in the Library?
• What songs and games did we learn in Music?
• What did you notice when you sorted our class names by the number of letters in each name?
• What did you learn about one of our friends during “Friend Questions”?
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