First Grade News!!

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Mrs. Mitchell                                                                                                                                                                                        April 2011                       

Dear Families,

Happy Spring to you all!!  I just realized this is the second to last newsletter this year!!  This school year has gone by very quickly – must be because we are having so much fun in first grade!  This month is an exciting time for your child.  Here are a few things your child will be learning and experiencing in April.

Bible- We will be discussing the death and resurrection of Jesus this month.  Bible memory for the month is Colossians 3:12-14. Who Has Seen the Wind by Christina Rossetti will be our poem.

Math- We will be working on arrays, 3-D shapes, In and Out Boxes, Fact Families and much more! 

Spelling- We will continue to test on the 10 words most weeks.

Reading- Reading comprehension and reading with expression will be our focus.  These two components go hand in hand.  While reading with your child, ask him/her to read questions like a question and exclamation sentences with excitement.

Social Studies- We will be finishing our Social Studies for the year soon after we talk about Australia.  It has been so fun to watch your fist grader learn about our country and many countries of the world.  The remainder of the school year will be spent in Science.

Science- We are learning about vertebrates and invertebrates.  We have been focusing on mammals and will now turn our attention to birds and fish and then the amphibians and reptiles.

We have caterpillars in our classroom that just entered the pupa stage.  In a day or so they will harden into an iridescent chrysalis. Ask your child about their development.

Testing- Your child will be taking the Stanford Test during the week of April 27th.   Please make plans to have your child well rested and in school on those days.  This test helps us determine our strengths and areas of improvement in our teaching methods and curriculum.

Clothing- The next few weeks will be hard to dress for, but here are some suggestions: Bring extra socks, and gloves and a light weight jacket .

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

April 6^th                                                     Field Trip

April 22^nd  and 25th                                 Easter Break

April 27^th- 29th                                        Standardized Testing

April 30^th                                                   Memory Work Due

Blessings to you all,

Mrs. Mitchell

Memory Work

Colossians 3:12-14

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and 

dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,

Kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear 

with each other and forgive whatever grievances

you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord

forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which 

binds them all together in perfect unity.

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you;

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I;

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by

Christiana Rossetti 

First Grade News!

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March 2011                                                   Mrs. Mitchell

Happy March to all of you!  I look forward to spending time with each of you at conferences.  What a wonderful time to celebrate your child!    

Here is a look at what we will be doing this month:

Bible:  Heaven has been a topic of conversation and a few 1^st graders made decisions for Christ!!  This is absolutely the best perk of my job!  I am including a prayer calendar with this newsletter to give you another tool as you intercede for your child/ren.  We will also be learning about the life of Elijah.  Our character traits are contentment and responsibility.  Colossians 3:12-14 is our Bible memory and Helping Hands by Dawn Watkins will be the poem we memorize.

Reading:  We will be working on some tricky vowel Digraphs (ie, igh,y,ey,etc.) and using several different comprehension strategies including retelling asking questions and visualization.

Math:  This month your first grader will learn subtraction facts, work on geometric solids, how to identify and draw polygons, and much more!  Thank you for your continued support with homework. 

March 2^nd -We had so much fun celebrating Dr. Suess’ birthday.  We loved eating the green eggs and ham for snack and enjoying learning about the life and writings of Theodor Seuss Geisel.

School Spirit Week- More to come on this fun week starting March 21^st!

Friendship Gorp:  We will be making Friendship Gorp on March 18hth to extend a math lesson on measuring with quarts, cups, and gallons.  Please send a snack to school that can be added to other snacks.  We will be mixing, measuring, and eating!   Some good ideas include pretzels, mini marshmallows, small sized crackers, etc.

Upcoming Events:

March 3^rd and 4^th            Conferences

March 18^th                     Friendship Gorp (bring in a snack to share)

March 21^st                       Spirit Week (More info. to come)

March 24^th                     Fruit Delivery Day!

March 25^th                     Early Out – Buses will be running/ No Hot Lunch

March 31^st                      Memory Work Due

Thanks,

Mrs. Mitchell

Memory Work

Helping Hands

I picked up my clothes;

I swept the floor;

I took out the trash;

I held the door.

I came when Mom called;

I said, “Yes, please”;

I cleaned up my plate;

I ate those peas.

I told Mom “Good night”;

I heard her say,

“How happy you’ve been,

All smiles all day!”

So my helping hands

Helped Mom, you see;

But know I know they

Really helped me.

Dawn L. Watkins

Mark 12:29b,30, and 31

“The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no commandment greater than these.”

First Grade News!

February 2011

Dear Families,

          Things are clicking right along in 1^st grade!  We have lots of exciting events planned.  Please take note of the activities for your first grader this month. 

          In February I will be putting a bulletin board up that will display baby pictures of each first grader.  Would you please send a baby/toddler picture of your child to school by February 9th?  A snapshot (4X6) would work just great and the pictures will be returned to you at the end of the month.

          On Friday, February 14^th, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day.  We will distribute and read our Valentine’s cards and have time for a few games. Our class took a vote and almost every child wanted to make a Valentine box at home and then bring it to school.  Have fun with this and be creative!  FamilyFun.com usually has some fun ideas that might inspire you.  I am including a class list to help your child with his/her Valentine cards they will write at home.  Your child can bring in their cards to pass out after the 10^th.  Please have the Valentine Box to school by that day as well. 

The 100^th day of school is on the 15^th.  Our morning will be spent with many 100-related activities.  Please have your child bring a collection of 100 items.  We are also dressing up to look like we are 100 years old!   

Attached to this newsletter is the reading log for February.  Thank you so much for helping your child read most days outside of school.  This reading log will be due February 25^th.

Our Bible class this month will include learning more about the life of Jesus.  Jesus told many stories called parables and performed many miracles.  We will learn more about the ways of God from these parables.  We will also talk about Christ’s divine/human nature and his life giving mission from the miracles.  The character qualities we are studying are diligence and patience.  Bible memory for February is I Corinthians 13:4-7 and poetry will be another silly poem by Edward Lear; There Is a Young Lady, Whose Nose.

          Thanks so much for your good attention to the weekly homework. I am thankful for such a wonderful group of parents to work with this year.

          Conferences are not scheduled until the beginning of next month so if you have any questions about your child’s report card, please let me know and I would be happy to talk with you about it. 

Upcoming Events:

Feb. 3^rd                ½ day of school (no lunch or busing) noon dismissal

Feb. 14^th              Valentine’s Day Party 1:00

Feb. 15^th              100^th day of school!

Feb. 21^st              No School (President’s Day)

Feb. 25^th              Early Out

Happy Valentines Day to all of you!

In Christ’s love,

Mrs. Mitchell