First Grade News

February 2, 2015
Letter From Ms. White
Dear Families,
Happy Groundhog Day!! Staten Island Chuck is due to
come out around 7:30 am today! Will we see a shadow?
Or is spring upon us?
I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and are ready to
start a wonderful week of learning!
Over the last couple of weeks, there have been a few
changes made to our classroom systems. The rest of our
letter will address a few of those changes.
Spelling Lists: Our spelling lists are no longer being
sent weekly! Each list will be sent by the month.
February and March lists will go home today! They will
be behind the homework calendar in GOLD folders.
Class Dojo: This is such an exciting addition to our
classroom! Class Dojo is a classroom management
system that allows children to earn points for positive
behavior. The purpose of the tool is to reinforce positive
behavior in our classroom!! We want students to see
how well they are doing during the day! The system also
allows students to see areas where they need to
improve. Feel free to access your childs account to
monitor their progress and to communicate with me
about their behavior. The access codes were sent home
last week. If you need the access code again, please let
me know! I look forward to how Class Dojo helps
encourage and reinforce positive behavior in our class!
Book-in-the-bag: On our homework calendars you all
have seen something called a Book-in-a-bag. These
are books that will be sent home with students today!
The purpose of the bags is so that students get extra
practice with their books to build fluency and
comprehension. I will include all of the information
needed for the books and how we will use them.
Thank you to the families who were able to contribute
snacks to the classroom! Snacks are like a revolving door
in our room and we are currently out! If you can, please
send some in.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please
do not hesitate to ask. Mrs. Headley-Allen and I are here
to help!
Sincerely,
Ms. White

Monday Folders
Starting this Monday, we will have a new system in
place for Monday folders. Our new system will
include a bright yellow or gold folder. The folders will
be sent home bi-weekly on Mondays. It will include
finished and unfinished work. Each folder is due the
Friday of the week that it is sent home, with
unfinished work completed. I will send home our old
Monday folders with work from 2nd quarter, by the
end of this week! It is my hope and goal that
feedback will improve 3rd and 4th quarter with our
new system!

What Were Learning About

Reading- main topic and key details,
ask and answer questions about a
text, fluency, conjunctions
Writing- using appropriate
capitalization, spacing, using periods,
All About Books
Math- shapes (attributes, composing
and decomposing shapes)
Unit of Inquiry- How the World Works
Science: rocks, pebbles, and silt,
balance and motion
Spelling: silent magic e/long vowel O
(o_e)

Important Dates

Feb. 4- Cultural Arts Assembly

Feb. 5- 100th Day of School
Dress Like You Are 100!
Feb. 6- Go for the GOLD Celebration
**NO SPECIALS**
Feb. 9-Feb. 13- Bus Driver Appreciation
Week
Feb. 11- Rock Show
Feb. 13- Early Release 1:15 p.m.