AMERICAN ACADEMY: Classrooms

WOW! What a great turn out we had for Back to School Night! Thank you to everyone for attending. If you were not able to attend, the Back to School Night PowerPoint presentation has been posted on the First Grade webpage. Please feel free to email your child’s teacher with any questions.

Science

SCIENCE: Please remember to complete the pasteurization homework this weekend. The assignment is due on Tuesday, September 7th. Your child will present their findings and a grade will be given. We will be wrapping up our Healthy Me unit next week. Please review pages 290-291 in the “What Your First Grader Should Know” book to assist your child in reviewing for the Healthy Me assessment which will be given on Wednesday, September 8th. There are five components to taking care of your body that your child should know. They are: Bathing regularly, eating healthy, exercise, sleep and washing hands often. Our Animal Habitat unit will begin on Thursday, September 9th. This is always a favorite for students!

History

HISTORY: Students will conclude our unit on Maps and Globes next week. Please look for a map and globe study guide in your child’s red homework folder that will be sent home on Tuesday, September 7th. Your child will be responsible for naming the seven continents and four major oceans for the assessment which will be given on Friday, September 10th. We have been singing a fun globe song with students this week to help them prepare for the assessment.

Reading

READING: Reading classes have started and we are happy to report that the children are doing great with transitioning from room to room! You will be hearing from your child’s reading teacher soon. It has been a very busy week for teachers with Back to School Night and Spalding Training this past week so we apologize for the delay in getting emails out to all of you. All first grade reading classes will be requiring that your child read at least 20 minutes every night. A monthly Reading Log will be posted to our web page monthly. The September Reading Log is posted now on the first grade webpage. You have the option of saving the document to your computer or printing it and having your son/daughter log the time read each evening. Reading Logs will be due at the end of the month and are expected to be turned in at to their reading teacher for a homework grade. We apologize that not all teachers covered this at Back to School Night. We will NOT deduct points for missing the first few days in September but do expect Reading Logs to begin on Tuesday, September 7th. We cannot stress how important it is for you to be reading with your child each and every night during this important developmental stage. We would ask that you keep the activity fun and please know that it can entail a number of things: reading to your child, having your child read to you, shared-reading, sight word practice, books on cds, and more. Be creative!

Silly Bands

SILLY BANDS: What a great concept and how fun they are for children to collect and wear! Unfortunately, nationwide they are becoming a problem for educators. The kids love to trade them, pull them off and play with them and melt down when they lose them. The first grade team has decided that silly bands will no longer be allowed in the classrooms and we ask that you please refrain from allowing your child to wear them to school. We have found them to be a distraction to learning and appreciate your support. We would like to wish all of you a safe and happy Labor Day. Enjoy the weekend and we will see your children Tuesday morning!

(posted by Molly Templin; 08/27/10)

FIRST GRADE NEWS - 8/27/10

And we’re off! Taking everything into consideration…carpool…entering a new classroom…meeting new teachers…a full day for some…the first week couldn’t have been better! We truly appreciate everything you did on your end to ensure a smooth beginning to the school year!!!

Before moving onto new “News” we would like to address an item posted in last week’s newsletter.

ALLERGIES

It was posted in the newsletter that the first grade area would be “peanut free.” What it should have said, and has since changed, is that the first grade area is a “NUT free” zone. This means that afternoon snacks, birthday snacks, or anything that entails the classroom will need to be “nut free.” The lunchroom does have a “nut free” table for kids to eat at so if you choose to send in an item with nuts for lunch, you may do so.

As it is, nut allergies are not the only allergies in the first grade rooms; though they are without a doubt the most severe. If you have a child with any allergy, it would be extremely helpful if you would send in treats for your child to choose from when a special occasion arises. (i.e. birthdays, holiday parties) Parents have already sent in bags including treats for them to choose from and we truly appreciate this proactive approach.

We appreciate everyone’s assistance in making our classrooms a safe environment and while it would be helpful to designate classrooms an < insert your allergy here> free room, there’s simply more allergies than there are first grade rooms.

One last thing to note…room moms will be notified of allergies within the classrooms so that they can prepare for classroom parties throughout the year.

HISTORY

Each class will continue learning map skills. Some highlights include what a compass rose is and the most common directions it entails…North-East-South-West. We'll also discuss the difference between a globe and a map and the use of a compass rose in following directions.

SCIENCE

We will continue learning about healthy bodies and good/bad germs. In addition, the kids will be learning about two scientists that made incredible discoveries regarding germs and vaccinations...Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. An assignment will be coming home later in the week regarding pasteurization. It will be due on Tuesday, September 7th. While directions will be given in class your assistance in completing the assignment will be greatly appreciated.

READING

Reading class will begin on Monday and teachers will notify you ASAP regarding classroom assignments and what their classroom will entail.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We’ll begin teaching the structure of simple sentences (Subject – Verb) as well as the answer – flow process to identify each part. As the year goes on the kids will be building upon this simple structure and you’ll be amazed at what they will be able to accomplish by the end of the year.

CARPOOL NUMBERS

How about earning a homework pass? Next week, the first grade team will be “quizzing” students for their car pool numbers. Students that know their number will earn a “homework pass”. The pass will be good for any math homework assignment that your child chooses to “skip”. Our hope is that all children will know their family carpool numbers to aid with carpool procedures especially on days when we have inclement weather, early release and more importantly in the event of an emergency. Our hope is that our students will be prepared and safe!

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

First grade Back To School Night will be Wednesday, September 1st from 6-7 pm in your child's homeroom. Please remember that this evening is for parents only. We look forward to seeing you and sharing more about 1st grade.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

*Please assist your child in learning to tie their shoes if they have not learned already. *Please label all clothing, backpacks, lunchboxes and water bottles as it's often difficult to decipher items when several kids within a classroom own the same item. THANK YOU!!!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteering for your child's lunch and recess time is a great way to get involved at American Academy and a great way to check in and see your child during their busy school day. This year we are asking that you sign up to volunteer in shifts by grade level. Please note that when you sign up you will be covering each grade level that you sign up for throughout the entire lunch AND recess period (45 min). Feel free to sign up for more than one grade level at a time. To sign up log on to: www.mysignup.com/aalunch

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!

(posted by Chris Todd; 08/21/10)

FIRST GRADE NEWS - 8/21/10

It was great meeting everyone Wednesday night at the annual “Open House” and we all appreciate your patience with parking, getting supplies into the classroom, and getting everything labeled. It’s hard to believe that school begins in two days…but we’re all looking forward to getting to know you and your kids and to having an awesome year!

We’re sure you are excited as well and have a ton of questions about what the year will entail. Please note that “Back to School Night” is right around the corner at which we hope to answer all your queries. We will be posting additional information regarding “Back to School Night” soon.

We also wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone that volunteered this past week with organizing classrooms. We couldn’t have done it without you!!

While the upcoming week will be busy with getting classrooms organized, establishing rules/policies, and going over classroom procedures, please note that teaching will begin in all subjects. This is what we have planned:

LANGUAGE ARTS

The kids will learn two of First Grade’s important Saying and Phrases: Practice Makes Perfect and The Golden Rule. We’ll also read a Core Knowledge favorite, The Frog Prince, and compare it to variations of the story while working on some fun activities to enhance these stories.

MATH

We’ll begin math on Wednesday and homework will soon follow. Side B of the homework sheets should be completed at home and we ask that you check over your child’s work and initial at the top of the paper that you did so. We’ll go over this more at “Back to School Night.”

HISTORY

Children will begin working on map skills this upcoming week.

SCIENCE

Our first unit will entail lessons regarding “Healthy Bodies.” More specifically…we will be talking about germs and ways to take care of our bodies to keep them healthy. The kids will spend a day in the science lab learning in further detail about good and bad germs. We’ll also be swabbing various items to see if and what, kinds of germs are growing on everyday items, which is always an interesting experiment…and by “interesting”…I mean gross! : ) While visiting the science lab, details regarding upcoming STEM and Engineering units will also be discussed.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

*The entire first grade has been designated as a “NUT Free” zone due to allergies in every classroom. Your assistance in keeping our classrooms a safe place will be greatly appreciated. *Please send in a healthy snack and water bottle each day as we will have an afternoon snack break…just make sure it’s NUT free. : ) *Please make sure your child knows his/her carpool number. Knowing this will help everyone involved with carpool and make unexpected glitches seem less of an issue. *In addition to reading the weekly newsletter, please check your homeroom/math/reading teacher’s website for additional information regarding specifics in their classroom. You should be hearing from math and reading teachers soon.

That’s it for now! We hope you enjoy your last weekend and look forward to a great year!!!!

The First Grade Team

Reading support for incoming and returning families. (posted by Chris Todd; 08/11/10)

Mrs. Christy created several phonics and sight word activities utilizing PowerPoint and Word for you to utilize at home and are located in the download section of our site. Note that some of these will need to be saved to your computer before opening. Additional help with phonics and sight words can be found at < www.spellingcity.com > and < www.starfall.com >.

Below are some fun phonemic awareness activities you can do with your child, in the car, at the dinner table, etc.

Alliteration: words that begin with the same sound. Choose a sound /m/ for example. Take turns rattling off words that begin with that sound. (man, moon, marble, marvelous, mink, my)

Rhyming: words that end with the same sounds. Choose a word and take turns rattling off words that end with the same sound. (bat, cat, fat, rat, mat) Do not worry if your child says words that are not "real" words. The idea is to develop the ability to recognize and identify words that sound the same.

Sight Word Concentration: Choose five sight words and write them on index cards (in pairs). Play concentration/memory. Make sure your child turns over two cards, READS the words on both cards, and decides if they match. Do not let them just see if they match visually, make them read. When it's your turn have them read your cards as well.

Rhyming Concentration: Same idea....make pairs of cards with words that rhyme. They need to find pairs that rhyme...again make sure they are reading all the words.

For additional reading activities, please check out the following website. < http://www.adrianbruce.com/reading/games.htm >

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