Weekly News

IMPORTANT DATES
•    Thursday, May 3rd: Early Release, School ends at 12:30pm, Lunch will be served.

WORD WALL WORDS
say                   day            play            sister         brother     
This week we are focusing on the combinations of letters that make the long a sound. AY and AI make a long A sound.

ABSENCES
Please be sure to confirm all absences (planned for travel and unplanned due to sickness) with the office, as well as with me. An email or a note will be fine for the classroom. Please also send a note or an email, or call the main office to let them know of an absence. If they do not hear from you, you will receive a call inquiring about the absence.

END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR/ NEXT SCHOOL YEAR
If you know that you will be moving or leaving Devotion School (either before the last day of school on June 18th, or before the start of next school year), please let the office and the classroom teacher know. This can be done verbally or through writing with me. The office will need more information including your ending date and forwarding address. Please stop into the office to complete this paperwork.

MATH
We are continuing playing games and working in small groups to really strengthen our understanding and automaticity with facts through 12.  We are also beginning to work in Chapter 9,which further focuses on modeling addition and subtraction concepts.

SCIENCE
This week we welcomed mealworms and caterpillars into our classroom. We received mealworms in different stages of their life cycle, so we are able to observe larvae, pupae, and darkling beetles. We will observe them move through these stages and even lay eggs to being the life cycle. Our caterpillars arrived all in the caterpillar stage, so we will observe as they grow, move into a chrysalis, and emerge as Painted Lady butterflies. We will also read and discuss many other insects and characteristics of insects.

COMMUNITY
We began this week learning about Earth Day. We read and discussed ways in which we can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle to help make less waste and take care of our planet.

We also began our unit on Mexico. We’ve started by identifying Mexico on the map. We will learn much more about the geography and culture of Mexico.  

FIRE SAFETY DAY
Today, Fire Fighter Patty from the Brookline Fire Department came to talk with the first grade classes. She showed us her fire suit so we would know what a fire fighter looks like during a fire. She shared with us things to do if we hear the smoke alarm: crawl on hands a knees, touch a closed door with the back of our hand to see if its hot, and going to a window and shouting for help if you cannot leave through the door.  And we talked about what to do if our clothing caught on fire: Stop, Drop and Roll to put out the fire and cover your face. She stressed the importance of an outdoor meeting spot for the family in the case of a fire way. That, fire fighters can easily check in and make sure everyone is safe.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Please sign-up for Spring parent-teacher conferences outside the classroom. This will be an opportunity to share the spring conference report and discuss your child’s progress. Please let me know if the times do not work for you and we can find another time to meet.
*If you need to change your conference day or time, please try to do it at least 48 hours in advance. I prepare conference reports and will need enough time to have your child’s report ready for our meeting.

1MC WISH LIST…
We would greatly appreciate the following donations”
Glue Sticks 
Gallon sized Ziploc bags. 

ASK YOUR CHILD…
These questions can be conversation starters to discuss the week in school.
•    Describe the our mealworms.
•    What is one thing Firefighter Patty told us about Fire Safety?
•    What is one way that you can help take care of the earth?