April Newsletter

First Grade

Mrs. Kathy Moore

The end of April is right around the corner! Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe how quickly the year has flown by! What a terrific year it has been! The children have grown both in their friendships with one another and in their learning! As their teacher, it has been truly rewarding to see the end result of their hard work and effort. I am very proud of them and of what they have accomplished this year. First grade is a wonderful place to be!

There are a lot of important dates coming up for our first graders that you will want to be aware of. Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22nd the students will dance their hearts out at the Dance Demo which begins around 1:15 p.m. The students are allowed to wear nice free dress. On Wednesday, April 23rd, the Bishop will be visiting. The students must wear their full uniform. We will celebrate mass with the Bishop at 10:00 a.m. Fine Arts/Pasta Night will be Friday, May 2nd. Classrooms will be open, starting at 5:30 p.m. with a lot to share. On Wednesday, May 7th the annual Jamboree will take place on campus. Students will be allowed to wear free dress. On Friday, May 9th we will honor our Mothers in our classroom with a celebration dedicated to them. It will be at 2:00 p.m., be sure to be on the look out for your uniquely handmade invitation! And finally on Wednesday May 14th , First Grade and Kindergarten will celebrate prayer for the entire school community. We will lead the school in a very special procession and crown our Holy Mother Mary. This will take place at 8:15 a.m. in the gym. You won't want to miss anything! So mark your calendars now and we will see you then!

READING AND WRITING

We are finishing our 4th reader and will bring it home this week to share with you. Please sit down with your child and listen to him/her read. They are so very PROUD of themselves and they should be! Next week, we begin our 5th and final reader of the year. The stories have become more challenging and yet the students are enthusiastic with each new beginning! The students continue to read          independently, once or twice a week, on individual levels and report on the books in writing. The March reading logs will be coming home this Friday with the progress reports. And of course, we have “quiet reading” every afternoon, where the children choose a book of their own choosing to read quietly at their desk. Sometimes with a friend, sometimes by themselves.

We are writing more and more now. Short story books are written during “Writing Workshop”. Ask your child about his/her latest creation. They are so much fun to read and share. Journal writing continues daily also. What a keepsake these journals are becoming. They will be on display at Fine Arts Night.

This week we will begin our Interview Books. Each student will be partnered up with a friend in the classroom, a friend they don’t usually “hang” out with. Each student will have a turn at being an “interviewer”. The “interviewer” will come up with their own set of questions and record them. The “interviewer” will also illustrate the book for their friend. These will also be displayed at Fine Arts Night.

We have made some new class made books for our classroom collection. One is our illustrations of the Stations of the Cross. Another is about rainbows and what we would do if we owned one! And finally we made a book titled “Our Golden Rule Book”. It is interesting to see what one rule in life is important to each child. Be sure to check these books out as well at the Fine Arts Night!

MATH

We are currently exploring the unit on money. Please keep in mind that it is only an introduction and your child will be counting and adding coins for many years to come! We are also well into the chapter on place value and counting to 100. Fact families are also reviewed daily. The EXCEL pages provide a consistent drill of computation. We will soon be learning about double digit Math!

Please continue to practice the Math facts, addition and subtraction facts to 10 at home. We continue to have the daily “speed tests”. These Math facts must be mastered for second grade.

RELIGION

We will be devoting the month of May to Mary our Blessed Mother. The children will be making books about Mary and learning a little bit more about her life and her great love for all. Our classroom statue of Mary will be crowned daily with flowers. Each child will have the opportunity to crown Mary with homemade crowns. A May classroom calendar will be going home next week with an assigned day for each child. A simple crown of real or pretend flowers can be made. We do have a few crowns in the classroom ready for those who wish not to make a crown at home.

In our Religion book, we are learning about the sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation, being a Christian and belonging to the Catholic Church. We are also learning more about the celebration of the mass. We are learning that the Holy Spirit plays a very important role in our lives, especially when it comes to making the right choices.

SPELLING

I commend each and every child on their weekly spelling contracts. The work turned in, shows consistent effort and thoroughness. I encourage the children to use old and new spelling words as much as possible in their daily writings. I also remind them that along with the Friday spelling test, come the dictated sentences. These sentences reflect what they are actually retaining in the spelling assignments. They deserve a great big pat on the back for all their hard work.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We are currently exploring unit 3 which covers our country’s symbols and celebrations. We have had some very interesting conversations about the Statue of Liberty, the American Flag, the Bald Eagle and some very important monuments. Ask your child about what he/she is learning. I am finding that we are very patriotic in the first grade and the children always seem to surprise me with what they know!

We went on a field trip last week with our 4th grade buddies. What fun we had! We saw the play “Goodnight Moon” and enjoyed it immensely! I am sure that you heard about the tooth fairy in the tutu! HE was the highlight of the play!

NOTES…….

Progress Reports will be going home this week. If you feel the need to conference with me, please do not hesitate to contact the office to make an appointment. Please sign and return ASAP. Thank you for all that you do!