Dear Parents and Students,
First, I would like to give a huge thank you to all
parents and students for working so hard
getting to school on time, being prepared with
school supplies, giving great "ready to learn"
effort and attending the Parent Back to School
Day. We had a fun packed week in first grade
and are really bonding and making great
connections as a group of learners.
There are a couple of things that I did not have
time to mention at the back to school
presentation so I apologize if this is a lengthy
newsletter. I have added the Back to School
powerpoint to this website, so if you were not
able to attend the meeting, please review the
powerpoint. If you returned the forms I
distributed at the meeting, thank you for
returning them. I would really like to collect
them all by the end of next week. I want to
move forward in setting up a volunteer schedule
and confirm that all students have computer and
internet access. Additionally, I really
appreciate the parents that filled out the
"Learning about your child" form. You know your
child best and I love learning about them
through your eyes. This week I also sent home
the Avaxat Learning Contract that needs to be
signed by parents, students and returned to me.
It would be very helpful if you can begin
teaching your child how to tie their own
shoes. I am seeing a lot of untied shoes and this
creates a safety issue. Once mastered I notice
these students have a lot of confidence and
enjoy helping others. This is a great Mindset
lesson that can be practiced at home by trying
daily and not giving up until they reach their goal
of completing the task successfully.
If you want to bring in birthday treats for your
child's birthday, please make arrangements with
me a few days in advance. I carefully plan out
our week and it is helpful if I know in advance if
I need to schedule time for a quick birthday
celebration. I usually like to serve the treats
towards the end of our day. If your child is
allergic to anything or you do not want them to
participate in birthday treats, please let me
know.
Finally, this coming week we are going to really
begin to jump into the first grade
curriculum. In Language Arts (Journeys) our
phonics skills will focus on short a and the
letters n, d, p, and f. Our comprehension skill
will focus on main idea. Students will be
bringing home a new Decodable Reader each
night, Monday through Thursday. In class I
read this book to them, we read it together, and
they practice reading it on their own several
times. At home they should try to read it three
times. If they are struggling I would
recommend you read it to them once first and
then encourage them to read it on their
own. Most words in the books can be sounded
out. Students get to keep these books and may
color them if they want. So that I can monitor
that this extremely important homework
assignment is being completed I request that
you sign/initial the back of the book and
return it. I will then initial it as well and
return it to your child to keep at home.
In math (Go Math) we will begin chapter one
which focuses on addition strategies. On
Monday they will bring home an
overview/practice booklet with problems and
activities that will help prepare them for the
chapter. I just request they try and complete
what they can and then return it to class. The
remaining days will be regular homework
lessons. I will also send home the completed in
class lesson to support how to complete the
homework. Please follow the directions on the
homework and contact me if you have any
questions.
Our library day is Thursday. Students may
bring their books home but need to bring them
back every Thursday morning.
At this point students have all the school
supplies they will need. If you are interested in
making any donations, we could really use
Treasure Box toy donations. Many items can be
purchased at the dollar store. If you child likes
the toys then the rest of the class will probably
like it too.
Thank you for your support and please contact
me if you have any questions.
Mrs. Oldham