Newsletter Updates for the Week of September 8th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tuesday, September 9th—Picture Day

-Monday, September 15th—Delayed Start (10:00)

We had a busy first week getting to know each other and beginning to establish our classroom routines.  It will take a few weeks to get the routines down.  Friday was an especially busy day as we chased the Gingerbread Man all around the school.  We visited many places and met several important people who work at our school.  We   finally found our Gingerbread Man back in our classroom and we quickly gobbled him up before he could run away again.  The students were very excited; I hope you had a chance to hear all about it.  Here are a few photos from our day:

PICTURES:

Our picture day is tomorrow—Tuesday, September 9th.  ALL students WILL be photographed for the yearbook and library cards.  If you’d like to purchase pictures, please be sure to send in your payment and completed envelope by tomorrow morning.  Don’t forget your SMILE!

SPECIALS:

This week we will begin our normal schedule for specials:

Tuesday & Thursday—GYM

Friday—Music

BOOK BOXES: 

We will begin reading from our own book boxes by the end of this week.  We will learn 3 ways to read a book—reading by looking at the pictures, retelling a familiar story from memory, & reading the words.  Students will begin seeing themselves at ‘readers.’

READING:  

The next three weeks we will be focusing on learning our letters by studying the letters in our names.  We will introduce 1-2 letters each day and do several activities with the focus letter(s).  Once we’ve made it through the entire alphabet, we will then start an in-depth study of each letter, spending a week on each letter.  This week our reading lessons will focus on the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G & H.  We will also introduce our first sightword—I.  We will spend time learning the parts of a book and practice tracking print reading from left to right.

WRITING: 

This week we will complete a couple of journals about ourselves—a self-portrait, our favorite snack, and what we like to do at school.  Students will be practicing writing their names on paper and their ipads, handwriting the letters A-H, & writing simple sentences using the sightword I.

MATH:  

We will be learning how to identify and write the numbers 0-9 and practice counting items by sight, sound, and touch.  We will also work on building numbers using different manipulatives.  When practicing at home, please refer to the Number Rhymes handout that you received in your ‘First Day of School’ folder.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will continue to read many books about starting school and what it means to be a ‘good friend.’  We will also continue to learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly, as all of our caterpillars have spun their chrysalis’s.  We will honor Patriot’s Day, as we learn about the American Flag and learn the Pledge of Allegiance.