Newsletter for May 9, 2013

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Dear Family,
Wowee!  Where did this year go?  We can't believe it is already time to count down until the last day of school.  It is time to put the pedal to the medal and crank it up! 

Here are some dates to remember as we complete this mad rush called "The End of the Year!" 


May 10th Friday PEMay 13th GLAS Testing Begins - This is 'Grade Level Assessments.'  We will be testing for the following: Reading Fluency using the normed DIBELS assessement; Phonics Spelling Test; Year-End Math Test; and Writing Assessment;
May 16th Science Day at Shaver Lake - All students must wear long pants and closed toe shoes or they will not be allowed to attend.  Also, please send your child with a water bottle that is easy to carry or strap onto their clothing.  Sunblock should be applied before coming to school that day.
May 22nd Talent Show 
May 27th Memorial Day - no school
May 30th Last day of school - lots of tears from Mrs. Badella, Mrs. Cunningham, and Mrs. Dunn

Chaperones for Aquarium Field Trip

DearFamily,                                                                                    March 20, 2013

 



          We are planning our field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for April 26, 2013.  This is a fantastic field trip that we have taken very successfully several times with our first grade classes.  For many students, it is their first time ever seeing an ocean! 

         

We are beginning the planning for this wonderful field trip.  If you would like to be a chaperone and can commit to this date, please complete and return the form below.  It is important to understand two criteria if you are interested in being a chaperone.  One, all chaperones will have to provide their ow





n transportation.  Our room is very limited on the bus because of our large class sizes and we are already three to a seat.  Two, there is a mandatory chaperone meeting that all chaperones MUST attend.  This is a trip we take very seriously for the safety of our little first graders, and we want to be sure we all are fully informed.  The meeting will be held at two different times to accommodate parents as much as possible.

April 10^th at 3:05  and  5:30    (this is also the same night as the Book Fair Parent Night)

Most of all… Please remember that this is a trip designed to be an educational and fun trip for your first grade child, and not a trip to be a vacation-style trip for family.  We want this to focus on the first grade students’ experiences.  Thank you for your support to make this possible!

Please complete and return by Friday, April 5^th   

I would like to be considered a chaperone for the first grade field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on April 26^th.  

My Name: _________________________________ Phone # ____________________

Child’s Name: __________________________ Child’s Teacher: ___________________

I understand that I will have to provide my own transportation and attend the mandatory chaperone meeting on April 10^th. 

Newsletter for the Week of March 18, 2013

Dear Family,

Please remember to send in 5 candy-filled Easter eggs to your child’s classroom soon.  The teachers are trying to determine if we have enough for Friday’s egg hunt. 

Phonics/ Spelling

This week we are practicing color words.  All students will have the same spelling lesson this week.  This lesson is appropriate considering it is time to get our Easter eggs ready!

Math

In math we will continue to practice our new math facts ‘sums of ten.’  We will also practice drawing congruent shapes (same size same shape), drawing line segments and measuring to the nearest inch, counting nickels, and finally counting nickels and pennies together. 

Science/ Social Studies

We are continuing our study of where we live.  We will be using the book Me on the Map to springboard many of our activities, including literature maps, geography maps, and a student book.  It is a little difficult for the students to try to comprehend the “big picture” of where we are in this great big world!

Dates to Remember:

Mother/Son Dance – This Thursday from 6:00 to 7:30

Vacation next week – March 25 through April 1 (Monday)

Newsletter for the Week of March 11, 2013

 

Dear Family,

Spelling

This week in spelling we will be focusing on /n/ spelled kn. We will review short vowels followed by ck. The tricky red word this week is their- Please help your child use this word in sentences. Ex: It is their dog, their cat, their house, their car.

Math

Students will add 10 to a number, compare and order numbers to 100, counting by 100’s, estimate and measure length using nonstandard units; paperclips, blocks, etc.

Social Studies

We will start our “Me on the Map” unit.  Students will learn how to read a map key, look at different maps, and make maps in class.

Art

This week we will be making a globe. Students will draw the continents on the globe.

Students will also make a 2-D and 3-D map of our classroom.

Save the date!

We will be going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a field trip on April 26. You can go to www.morntereybayaquarium.org/ to see live web cams of the animals.   

Late start this Friday 

* Please send in tissue boxes for our Easter Basket project.

*Please send in 5 wrapped-candy filled eggs with your child by next Friday for our Easter Egg hunt.  Thank you!

Newsletter for March 4, 2012

Dear Family,

Spelling:

We will be reviewing the red words that we have learned this year. All of these words have to be memorized because they can’t be sounded out.  Tapping the words out on their arm, writing them with colored pencils or crayons, writing them on a surface in shaving cream with their finger are all great ways to practice these words at home.

Math:

Students will learn two-digit addition, how to tell time to the Half Hour, dividing shapes into fourths, and adding 10 to a number.

Social Studies:

Students will be learning the symbols of America this week. We will read about our symbols and talk about the importance of each one. We will focus America’s Flag, The Statue of Liberty, The Bald Eagle, and The Liberty Bell.

Art:

This week we will be doing a directive draw of the Statue of Liberty. We will also be working on a book, America the Beautiful.

Save the date!

We will be going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a fieldtrip on April 26. You can go to www.morntereybayaquarium.org/ to see live web cams of the animals.  

 Father-Daughter dance will be Thursday

 * Please send in tissue boxes for our Easter Basket project.

Newsletter for the Week of February 11 - 15

Dear Family,

Grades Postponed:

Due to the number of absences, we are going to postpone report cards one week.  This will allow time for students to get well before completing our trimester assessments.

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week we will learn the spelling ‘kn’ for the sound /n/.  The rest of the week will be review of our previous sounds and rules.

Our red words for the week are:

great, where, there, many and any.

Math:

In math we will begin to practice adding two digit numbers without regrouping, identifying how many more using a graph, identifying and making congruent shapes, counting large collections and counting by tens, and comparing two digit numbers for greater than and less than. Wow!  That’s a lot!

Social Studies:

We will read about Abraham Lincoln whose birthday is on Tuesday. 

We will also continue to practice our seven continents. 

Science:

We will continue our study of solids, liquids and gases.  We will read the Dr. Seuss story, Bartholomew and the Oobleck and make oobleck – it isn’t a solid, it isn’t a liquid!  Hmmmmmm...

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Late Start on February 15th

Vacation is coming!  No school February 18 – 22

Father/ Daugter Dance “Fairies and Stardust”  February 28th

Newsletter for the Week of January 28 - February 1

Dear Family,

Phonics:

This week we will be learning dipthongs! A dipthong is when two vowels come together and make a completely new and unexpected sound! We will learn /oo/ as in tooth, and /oo/ as in foot. 

This week’s red words are would, very, does, friend, and great

Math:

In math we will be learning our new math facts, “doubles plus one.”  We will also be focusing on all our math facts to help the students become more automatic.  Math facts should be memorized and be recalled automatically.  We will begin new math fact pages to support this practice.

Social Studies:

Penguins are a-poppin’! We will be reading to learn about penguins and all the different locations they can live.  Did you know all penguins are native to below the Equator?

Science:

Since so many penguins do live where it is cold, (but not all penguins as we will learn!), we will use ice to help us learn about solids, liquids and gas.

Special Days:

Congratulations!  Your first grader is 100 days smarter on Tuesday!  We will celebrate our 100^th day of school.  Please have your child bring in 100 snack items to share, such as 100 Cheerios, 100 gold fish crackers, 100 chocolate chips, etc.

Newsletter for the Week of January 22 - 25

Dear Family, 

Phonics / Spelling:

This week the students will be introduced to new spellings of long vowels:  Long vowel ‘o’ spelled oe and ow, long ‘u’ spelled ue and ew, and long ‘i’ spelled final y and ie.

The red words for this week are should, would, could, does, and very,

Ask your child to sing the song we sing to help us spell should, would and could!

Math:

On last Friday’s math test many students struggled with the question, “How many socks, vs. how many pairs.”  This has been taught intensely in class , however it is still difficult for the students to understand.  This is an easy concept to reinforce at home with laundry placing shoes away in the closet, etc.

This week we will practice adding 2-digit numbers together (without regrouping) using dimes and pennies as if we were buying items in a grocery store.

Social Studies:

We will read about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We will also introduce Ruby Bridges and Rosa Parks.  Ruby Bridges was the 6 year old girl who was the first child to attend an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960.  The students should be able to relate to Ruby since she was their same age at this time in her life.

Science:

Although we had the best intentions, we have not begun penguins.  We will begin this unit at the end of the week.

Important Notes:

The Christmas Program DVD’s are ready for purchase in the office! 

This Friday is a delayed start day!  School begins at 9:25!

January 29^th – 100^th Day of school!  

Newsletter for the Week of January 14, 2013

Dear Family,

:

This week in spelling we will focus on: the vowel teams ee and ea.  In phonics students will learn that ay and ai say a; igh says i. Our red words for the week are:

could, should, would, give, live

Math:

Students will continue to work on writing number words. They will be counting coins and reviewing even and odd numbers.  Students will work on time to the hour.

Science:

We will continue to learn about penguins and their different habitats. Students will learn that penguins live all over the world below the equator! They will also learn that there are several different kinds of penguins ranging in size from 12 inches to 4 ½ feet tall!

Social Studies:

This month students will learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We will read about M.L.K. and learn how important he has been to our world.

Reminders:

No school Jan. 21^st- MLK Holiday * Late Start Jan. 25^th

We will not send book bags home this week. Look for paper books in their folders.

 

 

Newsletter for the Week of January 7, 2013

Welcome Back! We hope all of our families had a wonderful and restful vacation!  January is a exciting month for learning!! The students return ready to learn in the new year! 

A look at our week...

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week in spelling we will repeat lesson 13. The focus is: the letter g makes the /j/ sound when followed by e, i, or y. Our red words for the week are:

once, who, from, give, live

Math:

Students will work on writing number words, counting by pairs, and reviewing even and odd numbers.

Have your child help put pairs of socks together and count by twos. Students should be able to identify how many pairs and socks there are all together.

Science:

This week we will dive into Winter! In the next few weeks we will be learning about penguins and their different habitats. Students will learn that penguins live all over the world!

Social Studies:

We will be learning a fun song about the seven continents.

Art:

Friday we will be doing a fun snowman art project to go along with a fun snowman story.

Special Dates Coming up:

Progress reports go home this Friday

No school Jan. 21^st- MLK Holiday * Late Start Jan. 25^th

Newsletter for the Month of December 2012

Dear Family,

Due to our very busy December schedule, we are sending home one newsletter with important information and dates so you can mark your calendars.

Important Dates:

December 10^th- Secret Santa’s workshop and the Salvation Army food drive begins. We will send home reminders when your child’s classroom is scheduled for Santa’s workshop.

December 14^th- Foothill students will travel by bus to Sierra High School to watch the S.H.S.  Winter Program. Students will load the bus at 8:45 and will arrive at 9:15. A slip will be sent home for you to sign if you don’t want your child to go on this trip.

December 19^th- The K-1 Winter Program was changed to this Wednesday. The program will begin at 7:00. Our classroom doors will open at 6:30. Please bring your child to his/her classroom at 6:30. You will be required to pick your child up in our classrooms after he/she performs. Please do not pick them up in the cafeteria after they sing. It gets very busy and we want to make sure your child is safely returned to you and checked out with us.

December 20^th- This Thursday will be our last day of school before vacation.  It is a late start day. First Grade will wear pajamas to school and have breakfast in our classrooms for our party. We will be reading the book Polar Express. More information will be coming home regarding our parties.

January 7^th- Back to school!                             

Math: This month we will be learning and practicing even and odd numbers.  Students will be practicing time to the hour. We will be introducing adding and subtracting 2. Students will also be learning about pairs. Ask your child to help you with sorting socks at home to reinforce pairs. Students will be using the word symmetry and symmetrical in math lessons to describe objects that are the same size and shape.

Science/Social Studies: Due to our busy schedule this month with learning our Christmas songs and working on gifts and art projects we will continue science in January. We will be talking about different Christmas traditions which are part of our Social Studies curriculum.

Some parents have showed interest in IPAD and IPHONE apps. Here are some suggestions we have for you: Splash Math, Mathmateer, Hangman Math, Pocket Zoo (This supports our science standards), and Storybuilder.

A fun website on the computer is Starfall.com. This is a great website for reading at different levels.

Our First Grade Team, mrs. Badella, mrs. Cunningham, and Mrs. Dunn, would like to wish all of you a wonderful and loving Christmas filled with happiness and blessings.  Thank you for the joy your children bring to us every day.  Merry Chrismas.

 

Newsletter for November 26,2012

Dear Family,

Phonics/ Spelling:  This week in phonics we will introduce the sounds: i_e and o_e. In spelling our focus will be the cedilla c-( ce and ci make the /s/ sound.) Our red words for the week are:  once, come, here, Mr., your

Math:  Students will continue to tell time by the hour this week.  We will be working on using manipulatives to help for concrete understanding of addition and subtraction math facts.

Science: We will start our study on raccoons. Students will learn what raccoons eat, where they live, and what they look like. The science objective is to learn the needs of raccoons and their habitat. Look up some fascinating facts about raccoons on the computer with your child.

Important Dates:

December 14- Students will travel to S.H.S. to attend the High School Music program.

December 20- K-1  Christmas Program: 7:00

December 21- Vacation starts

Important Reminders: Don’t forget to send a white t-shirt with your child for our Christmas program. J



Newsletter for the Week of November 13, 2012

Dear Family,

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week in phonics we will introduce the sounds: a_e,s, ce,and ci,.

In spelling our focus will be sk, qu, y, _ing, _ang, _ink, and _ank. Our red words for the week are:  some,come, were, Mr., here

Math:

Students will learn to tell time by the hour this week. We will finish our math lessons to 50. We took our math benchmark test for the first trimester last week and will now resume regular lessons.

Science:

We will continue our study on owls. Students are finishing their owl reports after our wonderful visit with our guest speaker Steve Byrd.

Gobble- gobble- gobble, I heard the turkey say-When Thanksgiving comes around-I think I’ll run away!!!!

Important Reminders:

Thanksgiving vacation Nov. 19- 23.

Late Start Day Nov. 30.

 

Newsletter for October 25, 2012

Dear Family,

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week we will be reviewing red words that were introduced this first trimester.

Math:

We will be working on math facts and subtracting this week. We will practice a lot using manipulatives and fact families:

4+1=5, 1+4=5, 5-1=4, 5-4=1

Homework will be math facts and fact family worksheets.

Science:

We will introduce owls this week. We will cover science standards of what animals need to live and what they need in their habitat.  Students will learn what owls eat, where they live, and what they look like. This month we will have a guest speaker coming to teach us about owls.

First Grade will have their Halloween parties on Wed. at 1:30.

We will be testing this week and report cards go home Nov. 9^th.

Important Reminders: Late start Friday- Nov. 2^nd

Time changes over the weekend

Thanksgiving Vacation is Nov. 19^th-23^rd.

 

Newsletter for October 22, 2012

Dear Family,

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week in phonics we will introduce the sounds: wh, er, ir, and,  ur .

In spelling our focus will be ch, _tch, and ar. Our red words for the week are:

one, two, four, said, were

Math:

 Students will learn their take away   one math facts and adding 0 this week. Practicing math facts at home with manipulatives such as pennies or beans, helps children to see how they can add 1 more with better understanding.

Science: 

We will continue our study on bats. We will cover science standards of what animals need to live and what they need in their habitat.  Students will learn what bats eat, where they live, what they look like, and other fascinating facts. We will also compare bats and birds.

Halloween Parties:

Your child’s teacher will be sending a note home about classroom Halloween parties. The Halloween parade for K-2 will begin at 8:45 in the quad.

Newsletter for the Week of October 15, 2012

Dear Family, 

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week in phonics we will introduce the H brothers; th, sh, ch, and ar like in armadillo.  In spelling students will learn the ZLFS rule: When a one-syllable word has a short vowel sound followed by the sound /z/, /l/, /f/ or /s/, it is usually spelled zz, ll, ff, or ss. Our red words for the week are:  one, two, four, they, do.

Math:

Students will learn their plus one math facts this week. We will be measuring the weight of pennies and other objects with a scale. We will also be reviewing the concept of shortest to tallest.

Science:

We will begin our study on bats. We will cover science standards of what animals need to live and what they need in their habitat.  Students will learn what bats eat, where they live, what they look like, and other fascinating facts.

Art connecting to Literature:

We will be reading the book Stellaluna and doing a directive drawing as our art project.

Home Support:

Thank you for listening to your child read each night! They are so excited to bring new books home each week. 

Dear Family,

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week in phonics we will introduce x and z.  In spelling we will review j, f, short vowel e, long vowel e, and x.

Our red words for the week are:

one, they, he, what, do

Math:

Due to minimum days we will only have math facts for homework this week. Please have your child practice the doubles rap and complete both sides of the math fact sheet for homework each night.

Science:

Students planted seeds last Friday. This week we will watch them grow in our windows and write about the process.

Important Reminders:

School will be released Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday two hours early.  There will be school next Monday on October 15.

Thank you for reading with your child at home. It is the key to their success!  

Newsletter for the Week of October 1, 2012

Dear Family,

Phonics/ Spelling:

This week in phonics we will introduce f, e, and, j spelled j and dge.  In spelling we will review that short vowel sounds are followed by ck. We will focus on the blends: tr, cr, gr, pr, br, and dr.

Our red words for the week are:

put, you, are, what, do   Thank you for working with your child to practice their red word rings.  Please keep those rings in their homework folder!

 Math:

This week we will start our fact homework. Students should complete side b just like they do on their Guided Practice. Please practice the doubles rap that we sent home last week. It is a great way for students to learn their double facts and they love singing it!

Science/ Social Studies:

Last week students learned the parts of a plant and their function to help the plant grow. They completed an art project of a flower and labeled it.

This week students will learn that plants need water, soil, and sun to grow.  We will do three science experiments to discover those basic needs of plants.

Reminders:

There is no school for students Next Monday, October 8^th. The First Grade Team will be meeting with parents that day for conferences.

Newsletter for the Week of September 24, 2012

Dear Family,     Happy Fall!

Phonics/ Spelling:

Review of the c, k rule and final digraph –ck (after a short vowel).

After we administered our prespelling test last Thursday, we met and decided the students do not have full understanding of this phonic's rule and need more practice.  We felt the students were memorizing the spelling words vs. applying the rule for when to use a 'c' and when to use a 'k.'  Therefore, we are going to have the same spelling lesson again this week, and spend more time practicing this rule. 

Math:

We began our first set of math facts last week, “the doubles.”  This week we will focus on completing this set of facts, “doubles to 18.”  Your child will bring home a set of flash cards to keep and use at home.  With each new set of facts introduce, we will  continue to send home a set of fact cards with which to practice at home.  

Science/ Social Studies:

We will take our knowledge of what we learned is required of living things from our last unit, and apply it to our new unit on plants this week. 

Red Word Ring:

We are starting something new this week…The Red Word Ring! It is a quick practice for your child to perform each night, but a practice that will pay off in big ways!  Please read the note about the Red Word Ring that was sent home in your child's homework folder! Thank you!

Reading Log:

Thank you for signing your child’s reading log.  Please keep this log in your child’s homework folder so that we are able to check your child’s weekly reading for the homework grade.  If your child is absent, simple write absent so we do not count that day. 

We are trying to help the children build personal responsibility.  The students understand the routine and are aware of their homework responsibilities.  We encourage you to help your child to ultimately develop his/her responsibility to be sure all the homework is in the folder, and the folder makes it into the backpack.  These are big steps, we know!