WEEKLY NEWS 

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 four 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.      Be kind to everyone.

2.   Be safe and respectful.

3.   Focus on your work.

4.   Have Fun!

ITEM DROP OFF

Please see the last page for the new policy on dropping off items for your students.

COMMUNICATION

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.

LIBRARY

We will begin out Library program on Wednesday. About every 3 weeks, we will go to the library and our librarian, Ms. McDonnell will read and discuss books and authors with us. We will begin our weekly Library Book check-out next Friday.

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. Other than “Writing” portions of homework, grown-ups may record children’s answers if writing and spelling are challenging, or children and grown-ups can share the writing process. We are focusing on the content, not necessarily the output at this point.

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, parents and children sharing the reading, or any of the activities on the READ-O section of the homework. Reading may also be done using texts in written in the language spoken at home.

LITERACY & MATH

We are working closely with the Literacy and Math Specialists 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 groups, 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:

·      Legos ~we would like to make a Lego center for Choice Time. If you have Legos that you are no longer using at home and would like to donate them to our class, we will put them to great use!

REMINDERS

Please wear sneakers in PE days: Mondays and Wednesdays. Your child may not be able to participate in some activities without sneakers. 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 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”? What do you have in common with some of your friends in our class?

·      What is one of our classroom rules? How will you help to follow this rule?