August 2008

Dear First Grade Parents,

I am thrilled to welcome you and your child to first grade.  It is my goal to establish a learning environment that allows each child to work at a developmentally appropriate level, challenging each child to reach his or her greatest potential.  Strong parent and teacher communication is crucial to achieving this goal, thus building relationships with each of you and your children is of utmost importance to me.   Please know that I welcome your suggestions, questions, and concerns at any time.  I look forward to working together to make this school year the best it can be!

Communication

·      Email – kwilson@thesummitprep.org

·      Phone  - 869.8077

Schedule

·      Please look over the class schedule.

·      School starts at 8:45 and students are allowed to come into the classroom at 8:30.  Anyone arriving before 8:30 will go to Fun Zone.

·      First graders will have art once a week for 45 minutes, Spanish for 30 minutes everyday, and P.E. and music for 30 minutes 3 days a week.  While students must wear tennis shoes on P.E. days, I strongly encourage tennis shoes everyday.

·      Students need to bring their backpacks and planners to school each day.  Remember to dress appropriately for the weather.

·      While not listed on the schedule, students will be given frequent bathroom breaks, drink breaks, time to wash their hands before lunch and snack.

·      Reading, writing, and math instruction will occur in a mini-lesson or workshop format.  This type of instruction allows the teacher to present a topic to the class and then conference with students individually.

Curriculum Overview

·      Please look over the curriculum overview.

·      Our units of study this year will focus on three major topics:  First Trimester:  Our Community and the Environment, Second Trimester:  Economics and Inventions, and Third Trimester:  Places in Our World

·      Reading this year will consist of many components including individual reading, shared reading, familiar reading, and partner reading.  Students will learn skills and strategies to aid in decoding, comprehension, and fluency with the overriding goal being to develop a love of books and reading.

·      Writing in first grade will also be taught in a workshop format, with most of the allotted writing time devoted to student writing.  Following the 6 traits of writing, students will focus on developing ideas, sentence fluency, organization, word choice, voice, and conventions.  Through our author of the month we will make connections between reading and the writing process. 

·      Handwriting for first grade will be a review of D’Nealian letter formation.  D’Nealian writing allows for an easier transition into learning cursive in the second grade.

·      Math for first grade students will focus on exploration of new concepts, memorization of basic facts, application of principles in problem solving situations, and hands on manipulation to increase conceptual understanding.

·      Spelling and word work activities will be taught in literacy and writing workshops.  Students will have a weekly spelling list and a weekly spelling assessment, which will begin after Labor Day. 

·      Science and social studies topics will be integrated into reading, writing, and math workshops as they drive the major themes that we will be learning about in first grade.

·      Character education occurs through everyday interactions as we work to build a classroom community in which each member is respected and valued.  We will also follow the chamber of commerce word of the month.

·      The first grade classrooms have aligned their schedules in order for students to collaborate on grade level projects relating to some of the major themes of study.

Homework

·      Homework in first grade will mainly consist of nightly reading.  After Labor Day, monthly reading logs will be sent home for your child to record the books he or she reads.

·      Students will have weekly spelling lists and spelling assessments on Fridays.  These lists will consist of words related to phonetic rules, content vocabulary, as well as individual words determined by the student and teacher.  The student will record these words in his or her planner at the beginning of each school week.

·      Additional homework may be assigned on an individual basis.

Snacks

·      Each child should bring his or her own healthful snack each day.  Examples of a healthy snack include a piece of fruit, veggie sticks, crackers, pretzels, and a drink.

Birthdays

·      While we do not have classroom parties, we would like to acknowledge your child’s birthday by allowing him or her to bring in a special snack to share with his or her classmates.  Please talk with me ahead of time so that we can arrange a day to celebrate.  We will have birthday snacks during our regular snack time, so please bring items that are easily distributed individually such as cupcakes or popsicles.

Parties

·      We will have two class parties this year, a Winter Holiday party and a Valentine’s Day party.  Our room representatives will be coordinating these events.

Website

·      Be sure to check the website frequently (at least once a week) as it will contain the weekly newsletter and keep you informed of what your child is learning in the classroom.

Friday Folders

·      Friday Folders will be sent home each week.  They will contain a copy of the newsletter as well as your child’s work.

Fieldtrips, Guest Speakers, and Service Projects

·      Fieldtrips (one per-trimester), guest speakers, and service projects serve to enhance your child’s learning experience.  Please fill out the parent survey with each of these activities in mind.  We would love for you to help drive on fieldtrips, come in and speak to the class, or assist in organizing service projects.