Classroom News

Welcome to our Classroom News 

I hope you will return each month to  see what we are up to. It is the place to find out what we did the previous month and get an idea of what will be happening in the month to come. After our September news, I will leave the previous months' news up in case you are a new visitor, and hope you will return often and see what we're about!

January

January was not the usual snowy weather we think of at this time of year! We did a lot of looking at weather patterns and what the air felt like each day as we went out for recess. We started a unit in Science on Matter and learned all about solids, liquids and gases. It was fun to freeze balloons, fill them with water, and blow them up with our air to see the states of matter. We spent time before and time after Martin Luther King Day learning about this great American and what he brought and taught to our country. We learned that we can be peacemakers right here in our school by how we speak to and treat each other. We began a unit on animals this month. We are learning about the special characteristics of the different animal groups and even had a special visit from Jeff Stewart's Reptile Theater. He combines humor and knowledge about these animals as the turtles race, ride around on his hat, and do their reptilian thing. Students got to hold a corn snake and loved it! February looks to be another great month as we look forward to our celebration of 100 days in first grade. Come back next month please!

December

December was a great month for our class. We worked very hard to prepare for the small baby Jesus to come into our hearts. The small baby who would, and continues to change the world. We spent time with our Buddy grade, (Ms. Frank's class), reading Christmas stories together throughout the month. We learned about the meaning of the Advent Wreath and celebrated the meaning of each candle as Christmas approached. We learned about Mary's saying "yes" to the angel Gabriel and tried to remember to say "yes" when asked by others to do things. We had a birthday party for Jesus and we made red and green patterned necklaces. We wrote about the present we would take to the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Our Christmas present for Sr. Katherine Ann was our performance as the Angel Chorus in the First and Second Grade Play. Parents helped us to make it a wonderful gift for a wonderful principal and we could tell she was pleased.

October and November

Well just where did October and November go!!! We are preparing for our Pilgrim and Indian Thanksgiving Feast and prayer service on Wednesday, and then it will be Thanksgiving Vacation already! 

We spent a lot of time learning about rules and laws and how our classroom has its own "laws". We learned that when you agree to vote, you are expected to obey the laws voted upon, and that there are sometimes consequences when one doesn't, as it is in our classroom too. We learned about the American Symbols, and really liked learning about our soldiers and how we must honor and respect their dedication for helping us to have the freedoms we do.

        We have learned all about the reasons the the Pilgrims came to America and how hard it was for them to find a place where they could worship God the way they wanted to. How lucky they were to make it to Plymouth, find friends and survive that first winter. Thank you for our very First Thanksgiving.

October was just full of new things. We are well into our math with +1 facts, -1 facts, +0 facts, and of course the doubles facts which we are pretty good at since we learned the Doubles Rap. We are also learning about short vowels, and with those under our belts, we are on to r-blends, and l-blends. It is a challenge as more and more difficult words show up in our stories and daily work, but we are up for it, that's for sure. We had a special visit by the Webster Fire Dept. to learn about fire safety. We wrote thank you notes telling and drawing pictures of what we really loved about the visit.

We had a great Halloween celebration, with lots of activites to do and make. We made centerpiece cats, pumpkin and monster bell necklaces, pumpkin windsocks, and some serious stamping going on everywhere. We wore our costumes and went to visit friends throughout the school. We are learning about God's world, how He made it and how He wants us to care for each other and for His creation. we learned that we can sing praises as a way of praying, and especially liked the tambourines we made. Mr. Fredricks graciously let the students bring them to Music, and a good time was had by all. 

We are off to a great year. Come again in December, when we will be learning about Mary, Advent, Gabriel, saying "yes" to others (even when we may not want to), and learning about the birth and wonder of our Lord Jesus.

Please come again.

September

If you are new to our website, welcome! We are off to a great start and getting used to working hard in first grade.

The very first thing we did was to pray for a happy, healthy year. First grade is a big change from Kindergarten and we asked God to help us always do our best.

We then began to talk about the wonderful way God makes us special and unique. We started on our I Am Special posters which we will put out for our Curriculum Night, when parents come to visit. That night they will attend a special presentation by our librarians to hear about our AR Reading program. 

We have already started reviewing letter sounds and have new "Glue Words" going home this week. Students will review them nightly to make sure they "stick like glue" when we read our stories throughout the year. We have had our first homework assignment and look forward to learning lots of new math skills. We will soon begin talking about the weather and how we "predict" the weather each day. We will learn about the seasons and special ways we dress and play throughout the year.

Our class mascot this year is Clifford. He is everywhere! He is ready to help us learn about this great world we live in. He will sit on our weekly God Drop's desk then travel home with him or her for the weekend. The next week, our God Drop will share his or her adventure with classmates, and give Clifford to the next God Drop.

COME AGAIN!

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