First Grade News

October 2008

Hello Fabulous First Grade Families,

Your children have adjusted into first grade very nicely and are working well with their peers. We are proud of how the students are trying their best each and every day and are working hard to keep their behavior at level C or D! We are working well as a team and are learning each day from each other. Thank you to all the families who attended the Cole Academy Open House. We enjoy the opportunities we have had getting to know you and if you ever have any questions or concerns, just jot us a quick note or we are always available before and after school if you would like to set up a time to meet.

What’s Happening?

The students have been assessed in reading and are now placed in guided reading groups. Some students will be receiving extra instructional support in addition to their scheduled reading group time to help bring them up to grade level. A note went home regarding this issue. The students have also been transitioning in centers and will rotate Monday through Thursday. Some of the centers your child will be working at are computers, spelling, listening center, science, reading corner, Star center,” math, desk time and word work.

In Social Studies, we have been talking about families. We worked on describing what makes families alike and different, characteristics of our own families, how they change and stay the same, how families work together, activities families do together, as well as creating our own family trees. We enjoyed sharing our “Family Memories” with the class. It was great to see all of the precious memories the children brought.

Our first Spelling test will be this Thursday October 2nd. There is a note that went home describing details about this as well as the first list of words to study. Please practice words at home! This will help build confidence in your child’s test taking ability as well as raise those test scores! Spelling tests are given on Thursdays unless otherwise noted. If your child receives a score of 100%, their test will be posted outside our classroom in the hallway.

In Math, we have been working on number recognition and counting to 100, as well as sequencing numbers. We are getting great at using a number line to help us add numbers. Please have your child continue to practice numbers at home. Counting by 1,s, 5’s, and 10’s as well as making sure they can write all of their numbers correctly to 100. This gives them a great background for all of our future units of study! We will soon begin creating and describing patterns as well as using and making picture graphs. Some children will be leaving the classroom daily to work with Mrs. Brown for math challenge or extra math support depending on their need.

Important Dates

October 2nd – News 10 Weather Lab van visits Cole Acadmey

October 9th - SMILE! It’s Picture Day

October 17th- Professional Development/NO SCHOOL!

October 19th – Ms. Eingle running in the Detroit Marathon! 26.2 miles

October 23rd -Field Trip to Peackock Road Tree Farm 10:30-1:30 (Students need a sack lunch)

October 24th – Family Fun Night Sponsored by the PTA

October 31st- Boo! It’s Halloween (Halloween party note will be sent home in a couple of weeks)

Happy Birthday!

We would like to wish happy birthday greetings to the following:

Ms. Eingle on October 7th! (It’s the big 30th birthday). Just a note that Ms. Eingle will be leaving out of town for a couple of days to the Upper Penninsula to visit Tahquamenon Falls for her birthday. There will be a sub in the room along with Ms. Murine on Monday Oct 6th and Tuesday Oct 7th. Ms. Eingle will return to school on Wednesday the 8th. There are no other birthdays to announce this month.

Things That Are Going Great

Morning Meetings are phenomenal. We hold morning meetings everyday from 8:30-9:00. This is a time where the students greet each other, share with classmates based on our weekly topic, do a group activity, and tell about our news and announcements. This is proving to be a great way to get to know all of our friends, show respect, and work together to accomplish goals.

Homework is given out on Wednesdays and Fridays and is due back the following school day. Reading logs are sent home on Mondays and are due back the following Monday completed. We are starting a new program through Pizza Hut which will entitle your child to a free personal pan pizza coupon (1 per month). The way they earn this is when they bring back a COMPLETED READING LOG each week of the month. When they return 4 reading logs for the month, they will receive a coupon for a free personal pizza. This program will run from October through March. In addition, we expect that your child is practicing spelling words at home nightly in addition to assigned homework. We appreciate homework being brought back to school on time. Responsibility is something we are trying to instill in our first graders, and this is one such way to do so. We understand circumstances arise in which homework can’t be brought back. Please let a teacher know verbally or send in a note. “I left it at home in my backpack” is not an excuse. Thanks for your help. Classroom cash is also helping students remember to bring back all homework complete and on time.

Star of the Week continues to be a huge success. We have enjoyed getting to know our past stars Ashonti and N’Jaya. Our next upcoming star is Ian. Remember, when your child is the Star they get to bring in lots of pictures and fun items to jazz up their board.

We have 5th grade Buddy Readers who come to our class and read with our students every Friday morning. We will also do special seasonal projects with our 5th grade buddies, and this partnership will last throughout first grade.

A Few Last Reminders

Fall is officially here. The children go outside each day, so please send a jacket or sweatshirt to school for your child to wear on chilly days. Children who do not have proper shoes or are not dressed for the weather may have to stay inside.

The first grader teachers,

Ms. Eingle and Ms. Murine