FIRST Days in FIRST Grade!

We are extremely excited to welcome you back to the 2012-2013 school year. This will be a year of fun as well as tremendous academic growth for your children. We have been very busy getting to know the routine, our materials and our classroom. Kindergarten into first grade is a big transition. We must say….your children are settling in well!!!

Lots of BIG things happen in First Grade at St. Paul's Episcopal Day School and the teachers are always excited to watch the change and growth your child will experience this year. Learning to read is our main emphasis. Your child will learn to incorporate phonics skills, reading strategies, and sight words to read with understanding and fluency.

Speaking and listening are important skills for a First Grader. Your child will learn to express themselves in a clear, concise way. First Grade students will also learn to follow multiple step directions, and become active learners.

First Graders will explore all areas of math with the use of manipulatives. Your child will learn to write, count, and compare numbers, and solve addition and subtraction facts.

Learning to tell time, reading graphs, measuring and patterning will be taught in First Grade. Your child will have a busy, exciting year in First Grade!

Our spelling program will begin in late October or early November. We will focus on word families and the 100 most frequently used words in First Grade.

We will conduct some informal assessments of each student as we progress through the year to determine mastery.

REMINDERS: Please make sure you have taken the yellow homework folder out of your child's backpack and read all of the notes carefully.  Return the pink sheet back to school that tells us all about your child.  If your child has a reading log from books they read over the summer, please send it with your child so we can recognize these students during chapel. If you have lost the sheet you can just write the titles of the books on a piece of paper and bring it to us. Last, if you still need to send in a picture of your child please do this as soon as possible so we can get it up on our bulletin board that is right outside our classroom.

P.E. Reminder: On the days that your child has P.E., please have them wear (or bring to school) appropriate shoes so they can fully participate. Due to safety concerns, your child will not be able to participate if they do not have safe shoes on. Examples of shoes that are not appropriate: Sandals, Crocs, flip-flops, boots with heels, shoes with wheels. All shoes must have skid resistant soles, cover the entire foot and be properly secured to the foot. If you have any questions about what kinds of shoes are permitted, please do not hesitate to email Mrs. S: cshurtleff@speds.org

Here are some pictures of our FIRST days in FIRST grade!!!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Cool Slices of Summer!

Each student is important and precious to us. You can be assured that we are committing ourselves fully to this significant year in your child's life.

We are enjoying getting to know your children and we are excited for a successful year in first grade! We will communicate with you through email, our blog that comes out every Friday and with take home notes.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email us.

Sincerely,

Your First Grade Teachers

Miss Fate & Mrs. Waller