November+Newsletter

Dear Families,

Sorry for the delay in this November newsletter. Between the hurricane and snow, I am behind on everything! I still can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! Time flies! We are now getting ready to go on our first field trip. We will be heading to Aaron Manor to sing Thanksgiving songs to the residents.

It was so nice to see all of you for parent conferences to discuss your child’s progress. They have grown so much already in such a short amount of time. First grade is an amazing year! They change so quickly.


 * 1) The students have continued to meet daily in guided reading groups. Each group is working on similar skills but in different ways. Making Meaning, our school wide comprehension program, is teacher-scripted that involves working with a read aloud book two times per week. The children are enjoying the stories and making connections to the characters. Some other skills involve retelling the story, visualizing, activating prior knowledge and questioning. We will be reading fiction and non-fiction stories.

We are in the beginning of a new math unit. We are learning about making shapes. It is the first unit of two that discusses geometry in first grade. This unit develops ideas about 2-D and 3-D shapes. We discuss their characteristics, attributes, how to sort and categorize them, and their names. We also will be using the Shapes computer software. Students will put together shapes to make patterns and designs to make other shapes. We will be using the computer lab for this part of the unit! The students really love it!

During SELF-lessons, we have been working on using Stop, Think, and Go. Our class talk it out chairs will be introduced soon. These are used to solve problems independently, rather than always having to rely on a teacher. We also have been working on listening and telling the truth. Two books we have read are called __Listen Buddy__ and __Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie__. Both books have taught us important lessons on how to be a good listener and to always tell the truth.

Last week in Science, we discussed stars and the importance of them. We read fiction and non-fiction books all around the subject of stars. We learned about constellations, how the sun is our biggest star, and our galaxy, the Milky Way. We will be heading to the Children’s Museum in December to watch a show in the planetarium called Amazing Stargazing. More details will follow regarding this field trip.


 * //__ Upcoming Events: __//**

__ Monday, November 19th : __ Field trip to Aaron Manor

__ November 21st-23rd __ : NO School!

Happy Thanksgiving!

__ Thursday, November 29th __ :

Cultural Arts program: 2:00

Have a great month of November!

Sincerely,

Keri Sciuto