Week of October 1st

Sacred Heart Academy

First Grade Curriculum Update

Dear Parents,                                                                                   September 30, 2012

Please make sure that your fabulous first grader goes over these areas of study with you this week.

Virtue of the Month: *Self-control and Self-discipline

Saxon Math: Lessons 17-20: Write the numbers 16 through 19; Addition and subtraction, Counting up from a random number; More than/less than; Left/right; Ordinal numbers- 1^st, 2^nd, last, etc.; Most/more than; Problem solving – dogs and dog beds; Math assessment #3; Pennies and Math centers in the classroom

History/Geography: *Ocean habitats on a map; *Maps and map legends

                                   

Religion: God Gives Us Peace; Wednesday-Class Mass @ 8:00

Science: *Missing letter Rainforest booklets; *Desert habitat booklets and introduction of *Ocean habitats

Literature: *The Frog Prince, How Anansi Got Stories from the Sky God and teacher “October-themed” selections;  *Poetry- My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson

Reading: Reading Centers: Individual and Group Reading with the teacher, SSR – Student Silent Reading, Buddy Reading (with other 1^st graders and with our 4^th grade Reading Buddies) and Listening Center

Saxon Phonics: Worksheets 16-19: Trace/Print consonants Ff (fish), Hh (hat), Gg (goat – hard Gg) and Rr (rabbit); schwa pronunciation of a (/u/); Identify letter sounds and code vowels and consonants; Identify and/or match pictures with corresponding sound of each letter and/or matching letter. 

Spelling:  Spelling List #1; Rainbow words, ABC order; Spelling Pre-Test on Thursday; Spelling test on Friday (IF 100% score on Thursday – free choice silent read or free draw during Friday’s test;) Around the World (sight word and spelling words) and/or Sight word /Spelling word Bingo

Language Arts: Capitals, periods, question marks and exclamation marks – “Oh my!!!”

Art: * October themes art and crafts

News to Know:

First Field Trip (1^st/3^rd grade classes) –

San Diego Natural History Museum - Habitats

Wednesday, October 10^th

*Any outstanding field trip permission slips and/or field trip payments are due October 3^rd.

I will be contacting drivers/chaperones by the afternoon. Of Monday, October 1^st.  Thank you for offering to volunteer. 

ITBS testing: 1st graders will be taking the ITBS this year from October 8^th to the 17^th.  (We will have a break in testing in October 10^th for our field trip.)  PLEASE have your child well rested and fed and to school on time.  These are the best ways in which to prepare your child for standardized testing.  IF a child is late, they will not be able to be admitted into class until a natural break in the testing process – end of a whole class test or for snack/recess.  Parents, please note that any doctor’s appointments, etc. should be not planned during this time.  I appreciate your support.

Continued gratitude for the class wipes.  I think we are good until 2013, or the next request/call out for more! 

A BIG thanks you to the FitzMaurice family for their donation of more Apple computers.  We are hoping these will bring us up to speed with our class computer center. 

I put a request in for the “Sharky Snack Shack” to be stored in 1^st grade after our fun movie night on Saturday!  We will now have a store in which to count out our pennies for Math and for our future practice store for all coins and dollar bills.  Please “Pardon Our Dust” as we make space for our classroom additions!

Last, but not least, MANY heartfelt thanks to all of you for making my birthday so very wonderful!  Your child and your families are the true gifts in my life!  I am sincerely moved by your generosity and warmth. XO

Week of September 24th

Sacred Heart Academy

First Grade Curriculum Update

Dear Parents,                                                                                   September 23, 2012

Please make sure that your fabulous first grader goes over these areas of study with you this week.

Virtue of the Month: *Respect and Responsibility

Saxon Math: Lessons 13-16: Write the numbers 12 through 16; Shapes and Colors; How many? Graphing; Left, Right and Middle; Ordinal numbers (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd); Towers and Trains; Angles of a triangle; Addition and Subtraction; Pennies and Math centers in the classroom

History/Geography: * Desert habitats on a map; *North, South, East and West on a map; *Map legends

                                   

Religion: God is Our Father; Wednesday-Class Mass @ 8:00; Thursday- All School Mass @ 8:00 (P.E. uniforms ok for Thursday mass)

Science: *Finish Rainforest booklet; Introduce *Desert habitats; Desert booklet

Literature: * Jack in the Beanstalk, Teacher selections;  *Poetry- I Know All the Sounds the Animals Make by Jack Prelutsky

Reading: Introduction to Reading Centers: Individual and Group Reading with the teacher, SSR – Student Silent Reading, Buddy Reading (with other 1^st graders and with our 4^th grade Reading Buddies) and Listening Center as a class until individual headphones are available to each student

Saxon Phonics/Spelling: Worksheets 12-15: suffix “-s” and sight words the, end, Blends and Activity sheet review, Write letter Dd (dog), Assessment #2. Identify and/or match pictures with corresponding sound of each letter and/or matching letter.

Language Arts: Capitals, periods and question marks

Art: * Paul Cezanne – Still Life apples/fruit, continued

News to Know:

First Field Trip (1^st/3^rd grade classes) –

San Diego Natural History Museum - Habitats

Wednesday, October 10^th

1st grade needs 3 live scanned driver/chaperones for this Core Field Trip

(Designated drivers will drive their own child.  I will plan the riding groups throughout the year and will not be able to accommodate special requests, as I rotate children according to many different factors.) 

Permission slips are coming home Monday, September 24^th and drivers will be selected in order received.  Thank you, in advance, for your interest.

Drivers will rotate throughout the various field trips for the year, when locations do not allow for all available parents to attend.

Mrs. Tollefson joined in with the 1st grade Apple Feast, celebrating Johnny Appleseed last Friday J

First grade has a new CD player thanks to Leah McGonigle and family!  We love listening, signing and dancing to our music selections!

Thank you, Frankie FitzMaurice and family for your Prize Box goodies!

Many thanks to all of you for offering items to keep our class and hands clean, our noses wiped and our insects in their own habitats!

Off to a Great Start!

Dear First Grade Families,

I am so amazed at how quick the children have gotten in to the swing of things!  They take their responsibilities seriously and are awesome about putting their best foot forward in remembering their school items (snack, lunches, red folders, white envelopes, etc. when needed.)

The last weeks were in prep for the current week.  This week, I will be inputting class grades on a daily basis and need all homework the next day.  Your teamwork is most appreciated, as these grades will formulate your child’s report card grades.  In the case of illnesses, please have your child complete work in a timely manner, typically the next school day unless in the case of a lengthy illness.  Please feel free to email me or discuss if needed.

I would like to thank Shaun DuCharme and family for donating our class fan!  It has been a blessing in these rather warm days!

I would like to put a “shout out” for the following wish list items: a CD player, as mine has “kicked the bucket,” Baby Wipes for a quick hand cleaning and Clorox Wipes for keeping our desks clean and our germs away!

It was a blessing seeing many of you at 11:00 Sunday mass!  Thank you for your blessings upon the S.H.A. staff!

 Below is our weekly schedule of specialty classes:

Subject	Day(s) of the Week	Time
Class Mass	Wednesday	8:00 am (7:45 am drop off)
P.E.	Monday and Thursday	8:15 – 9:00 am
Computer	Tuesday	9:15 – 10:00 am
Spanish	Thursday	9:15 – 10:00 am
Library	Thursday	11:00 - 11:45 am
Music	Thursday	1:15 – 2:00 pm

Your child may wear their S.H.A. physical education clothing beginning this Monday and Thursday.  They will remain in P.E. clothing for the whole day.

We will celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday as a class on Friday, complete with apples, applesauce, apple pie and a themed movie. (My treat J)

I am so excited about the year ahead!  Your children are awesome!

Blessings,

Ms. West

Sacred Heart Academy

First Grade Curriculum Update

Dear Parents,                                                                                    September 17, 2012

Please make sure that your fabulous first grader goes over these areas of study with you this week.

Virtue of the Month: *Respect and Responsibility

Saxon Math: Lessons 9-12: Write the numbers (0,6,8,9,10 and 11); Shapes and Colors; How many? Graphing; Left, Right and Middle; 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd; Towers and Trains; Written assessment #1; Problem solving word challenge and Math centers in the classroom

History/Geography: * Equator; Rainforest locations

                                   

Religion: Chapter 2- God Cares for Us; Wednesday All Class Mass @ 8:00

Science: *Forest habitats; Rainforest booklet; Introduce Desert habitats

Literature: Teacher selections  *Johnny Appleseed, *God Bless America and *The Boy at the Dike; Poetry – Hope by Langston Hughes

Reading: Introduction to Reading Centers: Individual and Group Reading with the teacher, SSR – Student Silent Reading, Buddy Reading (with other 1^st graders and with our 4^th grade Reading Buddies) and Listening Center as a class until individual headphones are available to each student

Saxon Phonics/Spelling: Worksheet 8-11: Write the capital and lower case letter Aa(long and short vowel), Zz – zebra, Assessment #1 and Ss/Sz – sun and rose.  Identify and/or match pictures with corresponding sound of each letter and/or matching letter.

Language Arts: Capitals and periods

Art: * Paul Cézanne – Still Life apples 

Our First Full Week!

Dear Parents,

We are off to a great start on our first full week of full days!

Our morning routine is in place, with the children unpacking their items and placing them in their designated areas.  Our first 15 minutes of class is currently designated as “S.S.R.,” with the children using that time as student silent reading at their desks.  They are reading book selections from our class library that they keep in their desk.

At 8:00, we roll into the full swing of the day with prayer, flag salute and singing and signing “God Bless America!”  Attendance follows and then a read aloud by me! 

Classroom rotations of jobs have been occurring and all students will be assigned weekly jobs beginning next week.

Our group class photo was today and individual pictures will be tomorrow morning.  Please remember to send your child in school uniform and with their smile J!

Thank you to all of the parents that were able to attend our In-Home meeting!  If you were unable to attend, I do have handouts that were passed out for you.  Please see me and I will give them to you.

Thank you to the Wieczorek family for their hospitality for hosting our first grade gathering. 

Thanks, Team One (parents and children working together) for returning Monday – 

Thursday homework folders/homework and white envelopes to school on the scheduled days!  You are awesome!

Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

Ms. West

Sacred Heart Academy

First Grade Curriculum Update

Dear Parents,                                                                                    September 10, 2012

Please make sure that your fabulous first grader goes over these areas of study with you this week.

Virtue of the Month: *Respect and Responsibility

Saxon Math: Lessons 5-8-Write the numbers; Shapes and Colors; How many? Graphing; Left and Right and Number Trains; Math centers in the classroom

History/Geography: * Our World, Continents and Oceans and Forest areas

                                   

Religion: Chapter 1- God Makes Everything, continued

Science: * Living and Non-Living Things, Forest habitats

Literature: Teacher selections about friendships and teamwork  (Ex: Mr. Monkey’s Classroom, Johnny Appleseed, The Pledge of Allegiance, etc.)

Reading: Introduction to Reading Centers: Individual and Group Reading with the teacher, SSR – Student Silent Reading, Buddy Reading (with other 1^st graders and with our 4^th grade Reading Buddies) and Listening Center as a class until individual headphones are available to each student

Saxon Phonics/Spelling: Worksheet 4-7 Write the capital and lower case letter Tt, Pp, Ii (long and short vowel) and Ll. Identify and/or match pictures with corresponding sound of each letter and/or matching letter.

Language Arts: My Memory Book and Me Bags

Art: * My favorite forest animal and “Save the Forest” poster

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Fabulous First Grade Families,

I am so excited about this new school year!  We will be learning lots of new things.  First things first, we will be learning about each other.  One way to do so will be to fill "Me Bags" about ourselves to learn more about each other.  White sandwich-sized bags will be coming home on Tuesday and are due next Monday, September 10th. The children are to decorate (color, glue a picture of themselves, put stickers on, etc.) their bag and then fill it with at least 8 small items that will help them introduce themselves to each other and me!  This is a great ice breaker.  Your children may put pictures of their family and themselves in their bags, as well as small "trinkets" that express what they like best.  (No food items, please!)

We are off to a great start, having had our first assembly of the year.  Bravo to the awesome class behavior in welcoming our new principal, Mrs. Tollefson.

Please join me in welcoming our new student, Noah Raimondi to our class.

The focus of this coming week (Tuesday through Thursday) will be learning the new school rules, our class rules and assessing what we currently know.  Friday will be a minimum day, beginning with Friday assembly.  Mrs. Zapata, our school librarian, will be my substitute on Friday.  She will be reviewing library rules and the how to check out books from our school library.  In addition, Mrs. Zapata will follow class lesson plans for Friday.

Our In-Home meeting is being graciously hosted by the Wieczorek family.  Please plan to attend September 6th.

Blessings to all for the year ahead.  I am honored to have your children in my class this year.

Sincerely,

Ms. West

Sacred Heart Academy

First Grade Curriculum Update

Dear Parents,                                                                                     September 3, 2012

Please make sure that your fabulous first grader goes over these areas of study with you this week.

Virtue of the Month: *Respect and Responsibility

Saxon Math: Lessons 2-4- Color the towers; Lesson Worksheet-Write the numbers 1,4 and 5; Guided Class Practice-Write and trace the numbers 1,4 and 5 and color the train; Guided Class Practice- Write the numbers 1, 4 and 5 and color (graph) the towers; Math centers in the classroom

History/Geography: * Our World, Continents and Oceans

                                   

Religion: Chapter 1- God Makes Everything

Science: * Living and Non-Living Things

Literature: Teacher selections about friendships and teamwork  (Ex: A Rainbow of Friends, Swimmy, etc.)

Reading: Introduction to Reading Centers: Individual and Group Reading with the teacher, SSR – Student Silent Reading, Buddy Reading (with other 1^st graders and with our 4^th grade Reading Buddies) and Listening Center

Saxon Phonics/Spelling: Worksheet 1-4- Write the capital and lower case letter Nn, Oo (long and short), and Tt.  Identify and/or match pictures with corresponding sound of each letter.

Language Arts: My Memory Book

Art: * Self portraits- use of color and lines