Category Archives: 1st Newsletter

First Grade News for the week of January 30th to Febraury 3rd

By Lisa Gearen | Published: January 29, 2012

Religion:  This week in Religion we will be preparing and practicing for the all school Mass.   We will also be concluding our chapter about Baptism.

Reading:  This week’s story is “The Kite” featuring Frog and Toad.  If your child has any Frog and Toad books in their library they are welcome to bring them to school.  This week’s vowel sound is long i when paired with  y, gh and e.  The skills that will be worked on this week are comprehension as we work to identify and visualize  the plots in “The Kite.”  The students will also learn that if verbs end with a consonant followed by y they need to change the y to i before they add -ed.  (ie fry becomes fried). 

Our vocabulary words this week are head,  never, should, ball, shout, meadow, perhaps.

Spelling:  This week’s spelling words contain the blend wh.  The students will learn that the blend wh is found at the beginning of words. 

Our spelling words are:  did, what, when, cut, whenever, white, twin, whisper, whale, any. 

Grammar:  This week the students will learn that when a verb talks about the future it does not take on a suffix like -ed or er.  Instead an auxiliary verb like to be, shall, or will is placed in front of the verb.  (I shall jump.  He will jump.)

English:  Story writing, editing and illustrating will continue this week.

Math:  Our units on money and time will continue this week. 

Science/ Social Studies:  The students will continue to learn about the four different types of bears: black, brown, grizzly and polar. 

Important information for this week:

Sunday, January 29th:  Thank you to all who came to visit at open house on Sunday.  It was a wonderful way to begin Catholic Schools week.

Monday, January 30th:  Report cards go home.  Please remember to sign the yellow copy of the report card and send it back to school as soon as possible.   Also if you have not sent back your conference sheet please do so by Monday, February 6th. 

Tuesday, January 31st:  All school Mass at 10:30.  Please join us if your schedule allows.  Third, fourth and first graders have been preparing the Mass. 

Wednesday, February 1st:  Student appreciation day – Roll out of bed and come to school in your jammies.  Bed head  is acceptable too but please remember to brush your teeth before coming to school.  Hot lunch from Chipotle.  Please remember to send a healthy snack for morning break.  

Thursday, February 2nd:  It’s Groundhog Day!!  How many more weeks of winter will we have? 

Friday, February 3rd:  DRESS DOWN DAY!  Red and White volleyball game.  Room 108 wears red and room 107 wears white.  We begin playing at 9:10 and end at 9:40.  You are welcome to watch us play in the gym. 

 

 

 

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First Grade News for the week of January 23rd to 27th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: January 22, 2012

Religion:  This week in the first graders will continue learning about the sacrament of Baptism.  We will be meeting with one of the Priests to stage a pretend ceremony.  By doing this the students will be able to see all aspects of Baptism and will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the sacrament.

 Reading:  Our story this week is “Cesar Chavez”.  The skills that we will be learning this week are the sound of long o when paired with a, w, and e.  how to sound out a two syllable word, finding answers using context clues, and finally using a telephone directory.  The skills that we will be revisiting this week are retelling a story using the words first, next and last.

 The vocabulary words for the week are better, buy, change, difficult, move and ripe

 Spelling:  Our words this week will contain the long u silent e combination.    Our spelling words this week are: bus, pot, swim, cube, tune, used, excuse, little, down and useless.

 Grammar:  This week the students will be learning that the endings we add to words such as –ing, and  -ed, are called suffixes.

 English:  The student’s story writing continues this week.

 Math:  The students will continue working on their knowledge of telling time and using money.

 Science/Social Studies:  Our unit about bears continues this week.

 Important dates and information to remember this week: 

 

Wednesday, January 25th:  Hot lunch from McDonalds.  Don’t forget to send a healthy snack for morning break.

 

 

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First Grade News for the week of January 16th to 20th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: January 13, 2012

Religion:  We will be learning about the sacrament of Baptism.  The students will be learning that when they received this sacrament they became members of the Catholic Church.  We will be learning about the different things that are said and done during the ceremony.   Please send in a picture of your child on the day of their Baptism.  If it is possible please be sure that the Godparents are also in the picture.  Please remember to put your child’s name on the back of the picture so that they are returned to the right people. 

 Reading:  The students will be reading the story of Gram and Me”.  This week we will be learning the sound of long e when paired with e, a and i in words.  We will be working on determining the setting and characters in stories this week along with learning about compound words.  The students will to write numerical lists.  Finally The students  will learn realistic fiction. 

Our Vocabulary words this week are: pretty,says, about, give, write, were. 

Grammar/ Spelling: This week in spelling we will be working with words that contain the long o sound with a silent e at the end. 

Our Spelling words this week are:  cod, lot, snap, bone, nose, home, globe, live, give, and tadpole. 

This week the students will learn that verbs often change to show when an action takes place.  So far the verbs that we have been working with have been used in the present tense which means they describe actions taking place now

English:    During first grade the students become authors, illustrators and editors of their own books.  This week the students will create a list of thing that they want to write about.  Finally this week we will be learning the different elements involved in writing a story. 

Math:  This week we will be learning about the different values of money.  Our main focus during this unit will be the four different coins.  

 Science:  This week we will begin a unit on bears.    

Social Studies:   We will learning about the life of Martin Luther King.    

Important information for the week:

Monday, January 16th:  No School

Tuesday, January 17th:  All school Mass at 9:00.  Please join us if your schedule allows.

Wednesday, January 18th . First grade will meet in Church at 7:50.  Please remind your child to enter quietly.  Please join us if your schedule allows.  Hot Lunch from Subway.  Please send a healthy snack for morning  break.

Friday, January 20th: End of second quarter. 

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First Grade News for the week of Jan 9th to 13th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: January 7, 2012

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Religion:  We will be learning about three very important roles in the Catholic Church this week.  The first role we will be learning about is that of an Apostle.  The students know that an Apostle was a follower of Jesus when he was alive.  They will now learn that an Apostles in today’s Church acts as a Cardinal.  Their job is to chose Bishops to lead and care for the Church.  Next we will learn about the role and responsibilities of the Bishop.  A Bishop’s job is to lead and care for the people in his diocese.  Lastly we will learn about the role and responsibility of the Pope.  We will learn that the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and teaches what Jesus taught.     

Reading:  The students will be reading the story of “Drake’s Tail”.  This week we will be learning the sound of long a when paired with i and y in words.  We will be working on our predicting and questioning skills this week along with adding the inflectional endings -er and est to words.  The students will learn that when a sentence talks about two people, places or things they will add the two letters -er to compare them.  They will also learn that when they are comparing three or more people, places or things they will add the three letters -est.  Lastly this week we will be learning that some words have many meanings to enhance this skill the students will be working with dictionaries to look up words. 

Our Vocabulary words this week are:  once, upon, carry, eight, across, saw, and walked. 

Grammar/ Spelling: This week in spelling we will be working with words that contain the long i sound with a silent e at the end. 

Our Spelling words this week are:  six, pad, smell, bike, time, smile, prize, like, have, and bridesmaid. 

This week in grammar the students will be conjugating verbs.  We will begin by reviewing what pronouns are (ie. . .  I, we, he, she, it).  Next we will add a verb to the pronoun (ie. . . to eat).  Finally the students will learn that the pronouns  he she and it are third person singular and when using these words they must add an s to the verb they pair with the pronoun.  (ie. . . He eats.)   

English:    During first grade the students become authors, illustrators and editors of their own books.  This week the students will begin this process as they write about their Chirstmas break.  These stories will be made into a class book.  Also this week the students will create a list of thing that they want to write about.  Finally this week we will be learning the different elements involved in writing a story. 

Math:  This week we will begin our unit on telling time.  The students will learn to read both digital and face clocks.  We will begin with telling time on the hour, then half hour.  

 Science and Social Studies:   We will be reviewing the similarities and differences of landforms.  Then we will be looking at the effects of water on different land forms.    

Important information for the week:

Wednesday, January 11th .  Hot Lunch from Pisa Pizza.  Please send a healthy snack for morning  break.

Friday, January 13th:  Monthly spirit wear dress  down day. 

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First Grade News for the Week Of December 19th to 22nd

By Lisa Gearen | Published: December 18, 2011

This week we will be doing many activities centered around the holiday season. 

Over break please ask your child how their markers, crayon, scissors and colored pencils are holding up.  These items make GREAT stocking stuffers.

Religion:  We will continue talking about the meanings behind this very special time of year.

Reading:  The students will be reading Christmas stories and reporting about their favorite part of the story.  If your child has a favorite story at home and would like to share it with the class please send the book to school (be sure that their name appears on the inside cover).

Grammar/ Spelling:  We will be reviewing nouns and verbs and their jobs in sentences.

English:    We will practice labeling words in sentences this week.

Math:  We will continue working with numbers that contain tens and ones.

Science and Social Studies:  We will be learning about different Christmas traditions around the world.

Important information for the week:

Wednesday, December 21st:  Please bring your child to Church instead of school at 7:50 with a reminder to enter quietly and respectfully.     If your schedule allows please join us for Mass.  Hot Lunch from Dino’s.  Please send a healthy snack for morning  break.

Thursday, December 22nd:  We will be attending 9:00 am Mass as a school.  Please join us if your schedule allows. 

Friday December 23rd to Monday, January 9th:  Christmas Break. We ask that during the holidays that you encourage your child to read for a short time each day.   Enjoy and relax during the holidays.  Travel safely. 

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First Grade News for the Week of December 12th to 16th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: December 11, 2011

Religion:  This week the students will continue to learn about the Christmas  season and the symbolism behind the celebrations. 

Reading: We have come to the end of the third book in our reading series.  This week the students will review the skills taught throughout the book.  They will also read Christmas stories and do projects that will enhance the enjoyment.

Spelling and Grammar:  The students will be reviewing verbs, nouns, and pronouns.  As well as identifying words that contain the long vowel sound of e in words.

 Our spelling words this week are: ran, hat, scar, came, grape, name, cake, only, old, and baseball.

English:  The students will be learning about sentence fragments and practicing classifying sentences. 

Math:  The students will be learning to regroup groups of tens and ones to represent large numbers while learning about place value.

Science/Social Studies:  The students will begin learning about Christmas traditions around the world. 

Important dates and facts about the week:

Monday December 12th:  First Grade has dress down day from St. Nicholas.  Please remember to follow guide lines in student handbook concerning dress down policy.

Wednesday, December 14th:  Hot lunch from Little Joe’s.  Don’t forget to send a healthy snack for morning break.  We will be attending a Christmas band concert today.

Thursday, December 15th:  Christmas Concert tonight in the church at 7.  Please follow the dress requirements that were sent home recently.  Please be sure to bring your child to their classroom by 6:40.   Please take your child’s coat with you into church.  All students will be released to you in the church after the program.

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First Grade News for the week of December 5th to 9th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: December 5, 2011

Religion:  This week the students will learn about the Christmas  season and the symbolism behind the celebrations.  We will also talk about the journey that Mary and Joseph took before Jesus’ birth.   

Reading: Our story this week is ” Kids Have Fun”    The skills that  we will be working on are:  Three letter blends scr, spl, thr,  and where they are used in words.  We will be reviewing how to add -ed and -ing to the end of words.  The students will use a venn diagram to compare how things are alike and the ways they are different.    This week we will also be revisiting the concept of nonfiction when reading a story.  Lastly the students will practice rereading stories to work on comprehension.

The vocabulary words for the week are boy, does,any, girl, by, friend and water.

Spelling and Grammar:  The students will be reviewing short vowel sounds in words. 

 Our spelling words this week are: sad, let, trip, blue, orange, gray, black, one, by and color.

This week in grammar we will be working with putting words in alphabetical order.  The students will also be using dictionaries to help them put words in ABC order. 

English:  The students will continue learning about prepositions and object of a prepositions.  Also being reviewed this week is the concept of subjects and predicates in complete sentences.

Math:  The students will review these concepts probability, plotting points on a grid, geometrical shapes, patterning, symmetry, fractions and other skills that we have covered in this chapter. 

Science:  We will continue our unit on landforms.      

Social Studies:  The students will continue learning about the Nutcracker ballet and the music that we will hear at the performance on December 9th.   

Important dates and facts about the week:

This week room 108 is leading school prayer.  Please keep a look out for an email with your child’s part attached.  Please help your child learn to read their parts smoothly.  They do not need to be memorized.  Room 107 will be leading prayer next week.  Mrs. Schaefer will be assigning parts soon. 

Wednesday, November 7th:  Hot Lunch is from Arby’s.  Please remember to send a healthy snack for morning break.  Mrs. Schaefer and Miss Gearen will be out today at a First Grade Conference.

Thursday, December 8th:  Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  The all school Mass is at 9:00.  Please join us if your schedule allows. 

Friday, December 9th:  First Grade field trip to see the Nutcracker.  We will be leaving school at 9:00am and returning around 12:30.  Please be sure that your child dresses in the dress uniform and wear the St. Cletus red sweatshirt. 

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First Grade News for the Week of Nov. 28th to Dec. 2nd

By Lisa Gearen | Published: November 27, 2011

Religion:  This week the students will learn about the season of Advent.   We will talk about Advent being the start of the Church year and that it is also known at the season of waiting for Christ’s birth.   The students will discover what each candle on the Advent wreath represents.  The first purple candle stands for hope that Christ was bringing.  The second purple candle is for Love that God has for us to send His only Son.  The third candle is pink and represents the joy we have in our hearts as we wait for Christ’s birth.  Lastly the fourth candle is purple and represents the peace we feel in our hearts at Christ’s birth. 

Reading: Our story this week is ” Rose Robot Cleans Up”    The skills that  we will be working on are:  reviewing the long sounds of  the vowels o,u, and e when paired with a silent e at the end of a word.  We will be working with the silent letters  at the beginning of words kn as in knight, gn as in gnat, and wr as in write.  The students will begin using inference and conclusion charts to enhance their comprehension skills.  This week we will also be revisiting the concept of fiction when reading a story.  Lastly the students will learn to read a floor plan to find items in a room. 

The vocabulary words for the week are find, after, old, and new.      

Spelling and Grammar:  This week our spelling words contain the blend “ck”.  Students will learn that this blend can be found in the middle and at the the end of words.

 Our spelling words this week are: bed, wet, prod, duck, neck, clock, lick, so, my and backpack. 

This week in grammar we will be working with these initial blends sp, sm, dr, sk, sn, gr, sw, fl, cl, bl, sl, gl, st, cr, tr,  and fr.  Working with these blends will help the students develop their awareness of initial consonants blends for reading and writing.

English:  The students will review what a preposition is (a word that shows the relationship if its object to other words in the sentence.  Ex: The little boy walked beside his mother)   and then they will learn what  an object of a preposition does in a sentence (the noun after a preposition in a sentence.  Ex She rode with her friend.)

Math:  The students will review the  simple fractions they were working with before the Thanksgiving break.  These fractions are 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and a whole.  The students will also be introduced to the concept of probability.   

Science:  We will begin our unit on landforms.  The class will explore the five different kinds of landforms that make up the earth (mountains, hills, valleys, plain and beaches.).  Also in this unit we will examine the four different kinds of water resources that are available to us (streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.)  Lastly we will find out about the three different things that can cause significant changes to the earth’s surface (flooding, droughts, and erosion) .      

Social Studies:  The students will begin learning about the Nutcracker ballet and the music that we will hear at the performance on December 9th.   

Important dates and facts about the week:

Monday, November 28th:  Welcome back to school.

Wednesday, November 30th:  Hot lunch from Chipotle.  Room 108 will have their dress down day today. 

Friday, December 2nd:  Children’s FSA Christmas Party.  The party starts at 5:30 in the gym.

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First Grade News for the week of Nov 14th to 18th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: November 12, 2011

Religion:  This week the students will be discovering what it means to be a member of a parish family.  They will learn that as a parish we come together to celebrate God’s love for us.    During this chapter we will also be discovering who the people are that run a parish and what their specific jobs are.   

Reading: Our story this week is ” Masks! Masks! Masks!”    The skills that  we will be working on are:  the sounds of the digraphs ch, tch, wh and ph, adding the ending -es to words to make them plural, listing details in a story and determining the main idea from those details this will help us with our comprehension. The vocabulary words for the week are your,into, people, soon, every and from.      

Spelling and Grammar:  This week our spelling words contain the blends “zz and ss”.  Students will learn that when a small word with a short vowel has an s or a z at the end these letters will be doubled.

 Our spelling words this week are: hop, fit, grin, buzz, cross, less, miss, go, no and classroom.

This week in grammar we will be working with these initial blends sp, sm, dr, sk, sn, gr, sw, fl, cl, bl, sl, gl, st, cr, tr,  and fr.  Working with these blends will help the students develop their awareness of initial consonants blends for reading and writing.

English:  The students will review all the jingles for the different parts of speech that they have been introduced to this year.  We will also continue working on labeling sentences and determining if it contains all five parts that make is complete. 

Math:  The students will begin learning about simple fractions.  During this unit the students will learn to identify these fractions 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and a whole. 

Science and Social Studies:  The students will be learning about pilgrims and Indians and the hardships they faced daily. 

Important dates and facts about the week:

Wednesday, November 16th:  First grade at 8:00 am Mass.  Please bring your child to Church by 7:50 reminding them to enter the building quietly.  Please join us for Mass if your schedule allows.   Hot Lunch will be from Mc Donalds.  Please remember to send a healthy snack for morning break. 

Friday, November 18th,  Room 108 has a dress down day awarded to them for the most MANNA orders placed in October.  GREAT JOB!!

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First Grade News for the Week of Oct. 31st to Nov. 4th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: October 30, 2011

Religion:  The first graders will host an all school Mass on Tuesday, November 1st celebrating All Saints Day at 9:00 am.  Please join us if your schedule allows.  In addition to hosting the Mass we will continue with the Second Step curriculum.  This week we will identify our feelings while dealing with different types of situations.  As a class we will talk about the different ways to communicate how we are feeling. 

Reading: Our story this week is ” On My Way To School”    The skill that  we will be working on are:  the sound of long a when a silent e is at the end of the word, our vocabulary words are away, school, today, way and why,  adding -ed and -ing to the end of words, and retelling events that happen in a story.  The concepts that will be introduced this week are alliterations and rhyming stories.    

Spelling and Grammar:  This week our spelling words contain the blend “ll”.  Students will learn when “l” is at the end of a short vowel word it is ususally  doubled.

 Our spelling words this week are: ox, run, from, will, bell, doll, skull, there, they and windmill.

This week in grammar we will be reviewing the concept of pronouns that we were introduced to in our Shurley English curriculum

English:  The students will create their own sentences and share them with the class.  These sentences will then be labeled by the class. 

Math:  The students will conclude their work with geometric shapes and lines of symmetry.  Then they will be introduced to plotting places on a grid.  The students will learn how to read directions in order to locate places on a grid.  When the students have grasped this concept, they will then learn to write directions so that others can place objects on a grid. 

Science and Social Studies:  The students will be learning how to find places on simple maps after reading directions.  The classes will create town maps using paper buildings and other objects found in the classrooms. 

Important information and dates to remember for the week

Monday October 31st:  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  The students are encouraged to wear their costumes to school.  Please read the school scoop for costume guide lines below

Halloween Guidelines for Pre-K through 8th Grade: Halloween is always a time for great fun.  For the past few years, all of us at St. Cletus have been dressing up for Halloween in fun costumes.  Halloween parties will begin at 1:50 PM on Monday, October 31st.  Please follow the guidelines below, and come dressed for the day in your costume: 

       1. To promote healthier eating, this year is healthy snacks for Halloween!  Room parents and volunteers: please refrain from bringing in candy, cookies, or cakes and choose healthier snacks such as popcorn, pretzels, fruit, etc.  Thank you.

       2. Pre-school students: please see guidelines and information sent home by your pre-school teachers.

       3. K-8 grade students: costumes must be comfortable for all-day wearing–learning continues throughout the day.

       4. Leave all props at home: wands, gloves, brooms, whistles, etc.

       5. No masks, please–they can block vision; instead, try make-up, hair coloring, or wigs.  Remember, the children will be wearing make-up all day.

       6. Wear comfortable shoes–gym shoes are preferred.  We will still have physical education and recess.

       7. Costumes must be school appropriate.  No violent costumes, such as Freddy, Jason, etc.

       8. Skeletons, witches, Dracula, etc., are fine.

A special thank you to all volunteers for hosting the Halloween parties.  We know a lot of time and effort goes into the planning of these parties and we really appreciate all of you.

Tuesday, November 1st:  First Grade hosts an all school 9:00 am Mass to celebrate All Souls Day.  Please join us if your schedule allows.

Wednesday, November 2nd:  Hot lunch from Pisa Pizza.  Please send in a healthy snack for morning break.

 Friday, November 4th:  Congratulations room 107 for winning the door decorating contest during RED RIBBON WEEK.  Your class had a dress down day today. 

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First Grade News for the Week of Oct 24th to 28th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: October 23, 2011

St. Cletus will be honoring RED RIBBON week.

The activities for the week are as follows:

Monday, October 24th:  Shade out drugs.  The students are encouraged to wear their craziest sunglasses to school. 

Tuesday, October 25th:  All students are encouraged to bring in a red labeled food item for the food pantry.

Wednesday, October 26th:  Red punch will be served for lunch.  (Milk will be served at lunch as usual.)

Thursday, October 27th:  Crazy sock day.

Friday, October 28th:  Bring in a banana to school today and make a banana split.  Ice cream and toppings will be provided.

Religion:  The first graders will be hosting an all school Mass on Tuesday, November 1st celebrating All Saints Day at 9:00 am.  Please join us if your schedule allows.  This week we will be preparing for the Mass.  If your child was given a speaking part last week (These were sent home in homework folders on Thursday, October 20th) please take time each night to read it over with your child.  These parts DO NOT need to be memorized only read smoothly. 

Reading:  This week we will be concluding our work in the first book of our reading series.  The students will work in small groups to re-read the stories contained in the book.  They will review the skills that they learned or reviewed through out the book.  

Spelling and Grammar:  This week our spelling words contain the blend “ff”.  Students will learn that they can remember the difference between of and off by listening to the sound at the end of the word.  If it is a /f/ sound, as in “off”  they must use /ff/, but if they hear a /v/ sound, as in”of ” they only need one /f/.

 Our spelling words this week are:  red, win, drum, off, cliff, stiff, cuff, said, here and puffin. 

This week in grammar we will be learning how to make the plural form of words.  The students will learn the name of a noun when describing one of something is a singular , and the name of nouns which describe more than one is a plural. 

English:  The students will continue to recognize the different parts of speech in sentences.   This week students will begin labeling proper and common nouns in the sentences that they are working with.

Math:  The students will continue working with geometric shapes as they identify their faces, edges, and corners.  They will also be learning about lines of symmetry.

Science:  The students will be learning about the different places where animals make their homes.  

Social Studies:  The students will be learning how to find places on simple maps.  We will also be talking about Halloween safety as we prepare the our trick or treating adventures on October 31st. 

Important Dates to remember for the week from our regular calendar:

Tuesday, October 25th:  All school Mass at 9:00.  Please join us if your schedule allows.

Wednesday, October 26th:  Hot lunch from Dino’s.  Please send in a healthy snack for morning break.

Friday, October 28th:  Mr. Mc Andrew (father of 8th grader Michael)will be visiting room 108 to talk about Fire safety.  Earlier in the month Mr. Crammer paid a visit to room 107.  We appreciate both men spending time with each class. 

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First Grade News for the Week of October 17th to 21st

By Lisa Gearen | Published: October 16, 2011

Religion:  The first graders will begin working with the  Second Step curriculum.  This curriculum, has the class working on their empathy towards others, controlling  impulses, learning to problem solve and anger management.   Much of the work that the class will be doing with this program will be whole class discussion and role playing.

Also this week the first graders will be attending Mass on Wednesday at 8:00.  Please bring your child to Church at 7:50 instead of school.  After Mass we will be meeting with Father Clark to learn about the different items used during the Mass as well as learning when to kneel, stand, and sit.  The First graders are doing this because we will be hosting Mass in November (more information about this will be coming home soon) and feel that the students should have a better understanding of the Mass.

Reading: This week our story will be “Beth and the Band”.  Our vocabulary words will be all, want, under, put, show and together.   The skills that we will be working on this week are the sounds digraphs th, sh and -ng in words, learning about compound words, working on filling out a retelling chart after reading a story.  reading and following direction,

Spelling/ Grammar:  This week in spelling we continue our short vowel sound review.  During grammar we will be learning when to use the words ” a and an”.  The students will learn when a word follows an it begins with a vowel.  If a word follows a it starts with a consonant.

Our spelling words this week are up, man, crab, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, today, come, some and  weekend.

English:  This week the students will be introduced to plural nouns.  The students will learn that a plural noun means more than one.  They will also learn that a plural noun ends in either s or es.

Math:  The students will continue working with geometric shapes.  We will also add working with shapes that are opened, and closed, as well as shapes that are solid.  We will also be determining if shapes can flip, slide and do turns.

Science:  This week we will be looking at leaves.  Added to this we will be learning the different parts of a plant.  We will be learning how to group plants.

 Social Studies:   This week we will be learning our addresses and phone numbers.  As a class project we will be creating a directory that includes this information.  Next week we will be creating a book about our favorite places in the towns we live in.  In preparation for this project, please take a picture of your child in front of their favorite store, restaurant, library, park sign, or any other place they like to go.  Please send these pictures in with your child by Monday, October 24st.

 Important dates for the week:

Wednesday, October 19th:  Meet at Mass at 7:50.  Meet with Fr. Clark to learn about the Mass.  Hot Lunch from Little Joe’s.  Dining for dollars at Chipotle 40 N. La Grange Rd.  Don’t forget to mention that you attend St. Cletus school when you buy your dinner. 

Friday, October 21st:  Dress down day for Breast Cancer awareness. 

Next week is red ribbon week look for more information to be sent home later this week.

Please take time over the weekend to take a picture of your child infront of their favorite store, restaurant, library, post office, park sign or any place they really like going in your town.  Please print these pictures and send them in at the beginning of the October 24th week. 

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First Grade News for the week of October 10th to 14th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: October 10, 2011

Religion:  The first graders wil begin the week attending an all school Mass on Tuesday at 9:00 am.  If your schedule allows pleas join us at Mass.  As the week proceeds the class will learn about those who were followers of Jesus and believed He was the son of God.  We will learn about the different ways these followers were taught to pray.  We will take a closer look at the Our Father. 

Reading:   During the weeks around the holidays and long weekends we do not have  enough time to complete a story in our reading series so we do literature groups instead.  This week we will be reading in small literature groups.  Each group will read a story each day and complete different activities to enhance their comprehension of the story.  Some activities that the students will be completing are filling out a story web, doing a book report and creating a new cover for the book that they liked the most.

Grammar / Spelling:  Our spelling words this week will have us learning to spell the days of the week correctly.  The students will see that each day begins with a capital letter.    The students will also learn that the days are proper nouns and should be capitalized when they use them in their writing.  The first graders will also brain storm words that contain the different short vowel sounds. 

Our spelling words this week are:  it, dog, bran, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, you, your, and   yesterday.

This week in grammar the first graders will learn about putting words in alphabetical order.   

English:  This week the students will be revisit the concept of a complete sentence.  The students will labeling and editing simple sentences.  They will do this by checking sentences for the five items that should always be in them.  These five things are,(1) start with a capital letter, (2)contain a subject/ noun, (3) verb, (4) make sense and (5) have an ending mark.    

Math:  The students will begin classifying, sorting and comparing different objects.  We will be using shapes to examine their different attributes and then group them accordingly.      

Science:  We will  preper for our field trip at the end of the week by learning how a pumpkin goes from a seed to a big orange pumpkin.   Then the  first graders will take a trip to Siegel’s Cottonwood farm where they will feed animals, take a hay ride and learn the history behind the family farm.     

 Social Studies:  We will finish learning about Christopher Columbus and the important discovery he made that effected all of our lives. 

Important dates for the week: 

Tuesday, October 11th:  All school Mass at 9:00.  If your schedule permits please join us in church.

Wednesday, October 12th:   Hot lunch from Arby’s.  Please remember to send a healthy snack for morning break. 

Friday, October 14th.  Field trip to Siegel Cottonwood Farm.  We will be leaving at 9:00 and returning around 12:40.  We will be going rain or shine.   Please remember to send you child in their gym uniform.  Send their lunches in a bag with their names on them instead of their normal lunch box.  Please include a drink as well.  Please do not send your child with any money.  Each child will be given a small pumpkin at the end of our day at the farm.   

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First Grade News for the Week of Oct 3rd to 7th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: September 30, 2011

Religion:  The first graders will talk about the Church Year.  Throughout the Church year each season is represented by certain colors.  Purple for Advent and Lent.   White for Christmas, Three Days and Easter.   Green for Ordinary time which comes two times during the year, after Christmas and Easter.       

Reading: This week our story will be “Too Big For One and The Pigs, the Wolf and the Mud “.  Our vocabulary words will be again, could, make, one, three and then.   The skills that we will be working on this week are the sounds of short u in words such as cup and mud, learning about contractions using -‘s, working on filling out a plot chart after reading a story.  looking at pictures to tell a story, and lastly looking at the cover of a book or magazine to find out what the title is, and who the author and illustrator of a story are.

Grammar / Spelling:  Our spelling words this week will have us beginning to learn about  R vowels.  The first one we will work with is “or”.  The students will see that ”or” can be found in the middle of words.  The class will brain storm a list of words that contain ”or” and then illustrate them. 

Our spelling words this week are:  at, yes, slug, fork,storm, horse, forty, are, all, and morning. 

This week in grammar the first graders will learn about common nouns.  Common noun not as important as proper nouns so they do not begin with a capital letter.       

English:  This week the students will be revisit the concept of a proper noun that was introduced  in grammar last week.  The students will also learn how to edit simple sentences.  They will do this by checking sentences for the five items that should always be in them.  These five things are,(1) start with a capital letter, (2)contain a subject/ noun, (3) verb, (4) make sense and (5) have an ending mark.    

Math:  The students will review and strengthen their knowledge of the  differentostrategies  used for adding and subtracting.   

Science:  The first graders will look at the different ways an animal changes and grows through out their lives.   

 Social Studies:   As a class we will take a look at different customs and traditions that families have when celebrating holidays, birthdays and other important events. 

We will also be learning about Christopher Columbus and the important discovery he made that effected all of our lives. 

Important dates for the week: 

Wednesday, October 5th:   Hot lunch from Chipotle.  Please send a healthy snack for morning break.

Monday, October 10th:  No School in observance of Christopher Columbus’ birthday. 

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First Grade News for the week of September 26th thru 30th

By Lisa Gearen | Published: September 24, 2011

Religion:  The first graders will talk about the many people who wanted to be followers of God.  We will talk about what it means to make new friends and keep the ones we have had for years.  As we do this we will talk about the things we like about these people.    Lastly we will talk about the Commandments that  God gave us to live by.   

Reading: This week our story will be “On the Map “.  Our vocabulary words will be live, many, out and place.  The skills that we will be working on this week are the sounds of r and s blends in words such as grass and crab, learning what a nonfiction story is, adding -ing to the end of words, identifying the main idea in stories as we pick out details and summarize our story, and how to  use a dictionary.

Grammar / Spelling:  Our spelling words this week will have us learning how to read words that contain “qu”.  The students will see that ”qu” can be found in the beginning  of words.  The class will brain storm a list of words that contain ”qu” and then illustrate them. 

Our spelling words this week are:  on, but, plum, quick, quiz, queen, squid, to do and squirrel.   

This week in grammar the first graders will learn about proper nouns.  The students will learn that Proper nouns are give to people, places (stores, roads, schools etc…) and things (holidays, months etc…) to show their  importance.  Because these nouns are proper, they are also capitalized.    

English:  This week the students will be introduced to  words that are article  adjectives.  These words are a, an and the.  They will learn that an article adjective helps  to identify nouns. The students will also be  reviewing the jingles for sentences, nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives.  

Math:  The students will review reading different types of graphs such as bar, and picture.  We will also review using tally marks to count by fives. 

Science and Social Studies:  Johnny Appleseed also known as John Chapman was born on September 26th, 1774.    This week we will spend time in both of these subjects learning about his life and the apples he liked to spread around the county.  

Important dates for the week: 

Monday, September 26th:  Johnny Appleseed’s birthday.  Lil Cardinal Night 6 to 7:30pm.

Tuesday, September 27st:  9:00am all school Mass.  Please join us if your schedule permits. 

Wednesday, September 28th:  Field trip permission slip and money are due today.  Please let us know if you have misplaced your copy of the permission slip we would be happy to send a new one home.    Hot lunch from McDonald’s.  Please send a healthy snack for morning break.

Friday, September 30th:  Teacher In-service – NO SCHOOL for students.  Enjoy the long weekend.

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