Welcome to First Grade!
I am THRILLED that your child is in my class! It is going to be a fun year full of learning and new adventures and I can’t wait to see what the year has in store for us!
What is your child going to learn in First Grade?
Religion
Your child will be experiencing through role-playing, music, whole group instruction and interactive online activities that Jesus is the one around whom each of our lives is centered. The Christ Our Life Program encourages prayer and teaches children how to live out their faith in their daily lives and in communion with the Church.
Reading/Language
We love our SuperKids! Reading is taught through a systematic, phonics-based program published by the Rowland Reading Foundation called Adventures of the SuperKids. This is a wonderful program that integrates reading with spelling, handwriting, grammar and written expression.
Your child will visit Literacy Stations whereby they will work cooperatively and independently, rotating through various literacy-based activities that provide your child with opportunities to explore and practice writing, manipulating sounds and spelling patterns, reading, developing vocabulary, retelling and summarizing stories, and building fluency and comprehension.
Guided Reading Instruction will provide your child with various reading strategies needed to become fluent, independent readers. They will build their reading fluency and comprehension and practice phonemic and print awareness.
Spelling is an integral piece of the SuperKids program. Through weekly hands-on word work and the exploration of spelling patterns, your child will manipulate sounds, along with recognizing and decoding/encoding spelling patterns. Weekly spelling lists, nightly homework and Friday spelling tests will be introduced within the coming weeks.
Writing
In First Grade, we do a lot of writing! Developing and refining grade appropriate writing skills such as basic capitalization, correct punctuation and spelling will be incorporated in all lessons. We will work on the writing process; planning, revising, editing and publishing our work along with improving our fine motor skills and handwriting.
Math
Working both cooperatively and independently, your child will be honing fundamental skills in addition and subtraction, problem solving, estimating and predicting, graphing, telling time, fractions, counting coins, comparing, measuring, sorting, sequence, place value and number sense. The children will be expected to memorize and show mastery of math facts for addition and subtraction to 12.
Science
Through hands-on exploration and monthly science centers, we will be exploring the scientific process, along with living and non-living things, plants, vertebrate animals, forces, space, and weather. These concepts will be integrated within the Math, Reading and Writing curriculum.
WeDo
Designed for children grades in grades 1-5, WeDo is a project-based activity included in the curriculum to help build science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) knowledge while incorporating lessons in language arts. Working in pairs, your students will utilize their skills to create moving models, all while enhancing their creative and problem-solving abilities.
Social Studies
The students will be introduced to the topics of family, neighborhood and community. They will learn about our nation’s history, use mapping skills, and understand how rules and laws are implemented. Personal responsibility in these areas will be inter-related to topics in Religion.
First Grade This and That!
Rise and Shine First Graders!
Welcome and Good Morning! Students are welcomed into school beginning at 7:55 a.m. The school day “officially”begins at 8:15 a.m. however I encourage the children to be unpacked, seated and ready tobegin their day by 8:10a.m.,
(if possible) Dismissal is at 3:15 p.m. All scheduled early dismissals will be at
11:30 a.m.
Supplies
Thank you for assisting your child in coming to school prepared for the week! Every Monday supply boxes and the accompanying supplies are brought into school. Boxes are kept at school throughout the week and are sent home on Friday, for a quick inventory check and replenishment. Each supply box should include: 8 sharpened regular pencils with workable erasers, sharpened colored pencils, a minimum of the 8 basic crayon colors, scissors, glue stick, glue bottle and a black Sharpie marker. Individual pencil sharpeners, mechanical pencils, ink pens and pencil top erasersshould remain at home.
Please be certain that your child has three“independent reading”books to read during designated times throughout the day. The books can be changed weekly if desired by the student.
Homework Anyone?
Homework will be assigned on a daily basis. Thank you for checking your child’s homework assignments for neatness and accuracy.Each Monday your child will receive a Homework Sheet, outlining the week’s homework. Please keep this sheet in your child’sHomework Folderduring the week as a reference guide. Homework will also be posted on the school website.
Absent? We missed you!!!
All make-up work and any classroom announcements and notices will be sent home with your child upon his/her return to school. When your child misses school, it is school policy that you send in a written excuse upon your child’s return to class.
Communication – Together We are Better!
I look forward to sharing this year with your child… and YOU! First grade is a big transition year and as such, you may have questions along the way. Please feel free to email me at . I will do my best to get back to you within a reasonable time frame.
Take Home Folders
Every other week your child will bring home their Take Home Folder, chock full of classwork and assessments for your review. Please go over this work with your child, sign the evaluation cover sheet and add any thoughts if you wish. Then have your child return theTake HomeFolder, along with the cover sheet and any papers stapled to the evaluation. Classwork placed in the Keep At Home side of the folder should remain at home.
Parent Teacher Conferences
I would love to meet with you at any time during the school year to discuss your child’s progress! Formal Parent Teacher conferences are scheduled once a year, in November, after the first quarter has ended however I am available to meet during the day while the children are participating in any Encore class, should you want to touch base. Please send me an email requesting a conference.
Is it Lunch Time Yet??
The first graders will enjoy a 25 minute recess followed by lunch beginning at 11:10 a.m. A quick, re-energizing small afternoon snack is also part of our day. Please send in fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, a small juice or water, etc., along with a napkin (and spoon, if needed). If sending snack in the same container as your child’s lunch, please be sure to identify which food items are snack items.
Encore Classes
The Encore class schedule can be found on our class website.
Physical Education - Children are to come to school dressed in their P.E. clothes on P.E. days. If Mass is scheduled on a P.E. day, please have your child wear their regular, dress uniforms and their sneakers.
Happy Birthday To You!
Everyone loves to celebrate – and first graders are no different! Please feel free to send in a non-food treat for the class on your child’s birthday. (Please note that sending in a treat is completely optional!!) Birthday treats (individually packaged, please) will be distributed to the children at the end of the day.
Students may “dress out” on their birthdays provided their birthday falls on a non-Mass day. Please have your child wear appropriate school attire. Jeans are not permitted.
To avoid hurt feelings, birthday invitations brought to school for distribution must include either everyone, or all boys in the class, or all girls in the class, as the case may be.
Dress Out Days
School wide Dress Out Days are offered throughout the school year for a variety of reasons – from a Shout Out for outstanding achievement to serving others in need through a fundraiser effort. Respectful attire is required. Typically jeans are not permitted unless otherwise directed.
Book Orders
Each month, your child will be given an opportunity to order books through the Scholastic Reading Club. If you are interested in placing an order, please complete the order form sent home and include a check payable to Scholastic Reading Club.
Pizza Hut Book-It Program
The Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program motivates children to read by rewarding their reading accomplishments with praise, recognition and pizza!The program runs every school year from October through March. A reading goal of ten books per month for each child will be set. A tracking chart will come home each month. Please complete and return the chart by the first week of the next month.
Mark Your Calendars!
One of the many wonderful traditions we have here at St. Joseph School is the annual Thanksgiving Program, presented by our First Graders. The Thanksgiving Program is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 20th. All parents and any adult relatives and friends are welcome!
Volunteering
We LOVE our volunteers! Without your support and dedication, many of the daily activities which the children experience would not be possible!
As per the Diocese of Arlington, all volunteers who interact directly with students mustmeet the standards set forth in the VIRTUS Program. This includes chaperones for field trips. Training sessions are available throughout the year.Please visit additional information.