Week of February 4th

Dear Parents,                                                                                February 3, 2013

What a wonderful, FUN-filled Catholic Schools Week!  I applaud you all for the commitment to your children to a faith-filled education!  I am most appreciative for all of the love showered upon me last week!  You and your children are my daily gifts!  Thank you!

OB Hardware LOVED our combined K/1 visit and their cookies!  We were treated like dignitaries!  Ask your child about their visit and do a drive by to see their cute cards in the front window! 

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

Virtue of the Month: *Perseverance (Enduring Adversity)

Saxon Math: Lessons 66-69: Write the numbers 60-63; Addition, Subtraction; Number sentences; Written Assessment #12; Place values- tens and ones; How many dimes and pennies?; Counting by tens; Time to the hour; Even and Odd numbers- writing and counting up/aloud from random numbers, Math centers in the classroom (Pennies, Dimes, Working with Zero, Measurement with linking cubes and pennies, Telling time to the hour; Scales/Weight, Geo-boards, Pattern block diagrams, Shapes)

History/Geography: * Egypt – Queen Hatshepsut- The Woman Who Was King; The Gifts of the Pharoahs

Religion: Session 16 – Jesus in Our Lives; Wednesday - Class Mass @ 8:00

(Saving Session 14 – God Chooses Mary for the month of May)

Science: * The planet song (learning the planets order and planet facts); The Sun- finish booklet and The Phases of the Moon, including student observation of the night time and daytime sky; Characteristics of the Earth

Literature: *Teacher “February-themed” selections;  *February Writing Journal

Sayings: * “ Love is ...” - First graders will make up their own February sayings.

Reading: Reading Centers: Individual and Group Reading with the teacher, Saxon booklet #22 – It Helps to Have a Big Brother; Open Court Reading Anthologies- Book 1; 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

Saxon Phonics: Worksheet 63: er- butter, two letter combinations, sight words- “another,” “brother,” “mother,” “other” and Worksheet 64: igh- light, trigraphs make one sound, sight word “only;” Worksheet 65- Assessment 12; Worksheet 66: Compound words- two words make one word, sight word “something.”

Spelling:  Spelling List #13, ABC word order, Rainbow words, Around the World (sight word and spelling words) in class and/or Sight word /Spelling word Bingo for Spelling List(s) #1-13 and Kindergarten/First grade sight words from Saxon booklets

Language Arts: Journal writing, Sentence punctuation-capitals, periods, question marks and exclamation marks.  Handwriting Lesson 6

Socratic: What makes a “heart print?” and “How does one leave them?”

Art: * February Art projects- Valentine hearts- symmetry

News to Know:

Weekly Reading logs and Book Reports are due Friday.  Free choice this week!  (We are covering Space, Egypt, Valentine’s themed books in class.

Please have your child bring in one empty water bottle, with cap, and one shoebox, with lid, by Friday.  The water bottles must be able to fit into the shoebox, if even at an angle. Extras are appreciated J 

This Friday, First grade will be walking to Clay Time to add their personalized touch to their own tile for our Gala auction project!  We will leave SHA at approximately 9:00 a.m. and return by 11:30.  Thank you, walking chaperones! 

Friday is also a Free Dress Day.  Please remember that your child will be doing a painting craft at Clay Time!

Classroom Wish List:  (Thank you for your consideration)

Non-fading red, pink, purple and white construction paper packs

Foam puffy self-stick Valentine decorations

Assorted Valentine stickers