2 / 28 / 2025

📣 ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Students need to bring a water bottle with name on a daily basis for proper hydration!
• Please make sure they have utensils in their lunchboxes. 
• Reminder about lunch drinks - please no glass bottles, soda cans, Kool-Aid, or fountain drinks. Thank you.

💡DATES TO REMEMBER

March 5th: Half Day Dismissal (1st Grade Athletic Field Day)

March 7th: Half Day Dismissal 

Mar 10th - 14th: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break) 

March 22nd: Daddy/daughter dance 

💡REMINDERS:

1. Please double check your child's uniform to make sure they still have the right length.

2. The scholars should bring the following daily:

• Water bottle with name
• Healthy and dry snacks in front pocket
• Take Home folder (please make sure it is emptied out at home)

*Your child may use the small backpack-shaped checklist of the things they need to bring to help them pack their things. 

3. Please review the Driveline procedure here: directionsforparentsdrivelin.docx We have also attached the file in the resources on the right side of this webpage. 

All first-grade classes are in need of reading volunteers! Please use the sign up located under your teacher's page. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer at a different time, please contact your teacher.

💡WHAT WE ARE LEARNING THIS WEEK 

📕LITERATURE: We read Chapters 1-3 of My Father's Dragon, where we find Elmer going to Wild Island. 

📕 SPALDING: Continue practicing at home the phonograms they haven't mastered yet. Check out the Spalding resources on this website to review letter formations, spelling/Spalding rules and phonogram list.

               

                               Jobs of silent final e:
                Job 1: Silent final e jumps over the consonant and makes the vowel say its name.
                Job 2: English words don't end in u or v.
                Job 3: c and g will say their second sound.
                Job 4: Every syllable needs a vowel.
                Job 5: No job (silent final e does not do anything, it just has to be there).

                  

                      rule 1: q is always followed by u, and together they say /kw/. (queen)
                      

                       rule 2: c before e, i, or y says /s/. (cent, city, cycle)

         rule 4: Vowels say their name at the end of a syllable

rule 5: I and y may say /i/ (si lent, my)                                           

rule 6: y, not i, is used at the end of an English word. (try, fly)                  

rule 8:  /er/ can be found in "Her first nurse works early".

rule 9:  1-1-1 rule: One syllable words with one vowel followed by one consonant need to double its last consonant before adding an ending beginning with a vowel. (hop + p + ed)

rule 11: Words ending with a silent final e are written without the e when adding a vowel ending. (come - com + ing)                       

                   rule 13: sh is used at the beginning or end of a base word 

                  rule 17: Double f, l, s after a single vowel that says its short sound 

rule 18: "ay" is used to say a at the end of a base word 

rule 19: i and o will say their name if followed by two consonants

rule 20: s never follows x.                                                                   

         rule 25:  ck is used after a single vowel that says its short sound.

sick
block 
rock, back, neck

rule 26:  Capitalize proper nouns.                                                      

                rule 27: Words beginning with the sound /z/ are always spelled with z never s. (zoo)

                rule 28: ed has three sounds and is added to form the past tense of regular verbs.

                 rule 29:  divide words between double consonants

📕 SAYINGS: 

• A.M./P.M.

• Never leave 'til tomorrow what you can do today. 

• The more the merrier. 

• Land of Nod

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

• Sour grapes 

• Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. 

• It could always be worse. 

• Let the cat out of the bag. 

• Wolf in sheep's clothing   

• Practice makes perfect.

• If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

• Fish out of water

📕POETRY:

Washington by Nancy Byrd Turner

He played by the river when he was young.

He raced with rabbits along the hills, 

He fished for minnows, and climbed and swung,

And hooted back at the whippoorwills.

Strong and slender and tall he grew - 

And then, one morning, the bugles blew.

Over the hills the summons came,

Over the river's shining rim.

He said that the bugles called his name,

He knew that his country needed him,

And he answered, "Coming!" and marched away

For many a night and many a day.

Perhaps when the marches were hot and long

He'd think of the river flowing by

Or, camping under the winter sky,

Would hear the whippoorwill's far-off song.

Boy or soldier, in peace or strife,

He loved America all his life!

📕MATH: We started with 2-Digit Subtraction this week -- learned different ways to decompose the numbers to subtract, and subtracting with/without regrouping using the tens/ones chart. 

📕HISTORY:  We continued talking about Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, and why this is important in our history. Students continued to learn about Benjamin Franklin, and made a kite foldable about his inventions.

📕SCIENCE:  Continuing in our Ocean Unit, students learned about the giant squid and the sea turtle this week. They learned that Giant Squids are large predators. They also learned about their unique features and how there is little known about them. They learned that the sea turtles live near the coasts but don't go into the open sea. They also learned the life cycle of the sea turtles.

   

Every year we ask parents for feedback on their child's academy and Great Hearts as a whole.  We hope you will take the time to fill out this year’s survey. It should only take a few minutes and we very much want to hear your perspective.   The class with the highest percentage of survey's returned will win a popsicle party. I know of a bunch of first graders who would love that prize. We would love to see 100% participation. Thank you parents! The survey will remain open until Tuesday, March 4th.

You may also use this QR code.

 

Have a great weekend!

1st Grade Teachers

2 / 21 / 2025

📣 ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Students need to bring a water bottle with name on a daily basis for proper hydration!
• Please make sure they have utensils in their lunchboxes. 
• Reminder about lunch drinks - please no glass bottles, soda cans, Kool-Aid, or fountain drinks. Thank you.

💡DATES TO REMEMBER

February 23rd: PSO Mother/son kickball

March 5th: Half Day Dismissal (1st Grade Athletic Field Day)

March 7th: Half Day Dismissal (12:30pm)

March 10th - 14th: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break)

March 22nd: Daddy/daughter dance 

💡REMINDERS:

1. Please double check your child's uniform to make sure they still have the right length.

2. The scholars should bring the following daily:

• Water bottle with name
• Healthy and dry snacks in front pocket
• Take Home folder (please make sure it is emptied out at home)

*Your child may use the small backpack-shaped checklist of the things they need to bring to help them pack their things. 

3. Please review the Driveline procedure here: directionsforparentsdrivelin.docx We have also attached the file in the resources on the right side of this webpage. 

All first-grade classes are in need of reading volunteers! Please use the sign up located under your teacher's page. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer at a different time, please contact your teacher.

💡WHAT WE ARE LEARNING THIS WEEK:

📕LITERATURE:  We finished the Beatrix Potter tales with "The Tale of the Two Bad Mice", who learned from their mistake of handling their anger. We also read the first two chapters of My Father's Dragon, and learned how the boy's father began his rescue mission of the dragon.

📕 SPALDING: Continue practicing at home the phonograms they haven't mastered yet. Check out the Spalding resources on this website to review letter formations, spelling/Spalding rules and phonogram list.

               

                               Jobs of silent final e:
                Job 1: Silent final e jumps over the consonant and makes the vowel say its name.
                Job 2: English words don't end in u or v.
                Job 3: c and g will say their second sound.
                Job 4: Every syllable needs a vowel.
                Job 5: No job (silent final e does not do anything, it just has to be there).

                  

                      rule 1: q is always followed by u, and together they say /kw/. (queen)
                      

                       rule 2: c before e, i, or y says /s/. (cent, city, cycle)

         rule 4: Vowels say their name at the end of a syllable

rule 5: I and y may say /i/ (si lent, my)                                           

rule 6: y, not i, is used at the end of an English word. (try, fly)                  

rule 8:  /er/ can be found in "Her first nurse works early".

rule 9:  1-1-1 rule: One syllable words with one vowel followed by one consonant need to double its last consonant before adding an ending beginning with a vowel. (hop + p + ed)

rule 11: Words ending with a silent final e are written without the e when adding a vowel ending. (come - com + ing)                       

                   rule 13: sh is used at the beginning or end of a base word 

                  rule 17: Double f, l, s after a single vowel that says its short sound 

rule 18: "ay" is used to say a at the end of a base word 

rule 19: i and o will say their name if followed by two consonants

rule 20: s never follows x.                                                                   

         rule 25:  ck is used after a single vowel that says its short sound.

sick
block 
rock, back, neck

rule 26:  Capitalize proper nouns.                                                      

                rule 27: Words beginning with the sound /z/ are always spelled with z never s. (zoo)

                rule 28: ed has three sounds and is added to form the past tense of regular verbs.

                 rule 29:  divide words between double consonants

📕 SAYINGS: 

•  Never leave 'til tomorrow what you can do today. 

• The more the merrier. 

• Land of Nod

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

• Sour grapes 

• Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. 

• It could always be worse. 

• Let the cat out of the bag. 

• Wolf in sheep's clothing   

• Practice makes perfect.

• If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

• Fish out of water

📕POETRY:

Washington by Nancy Byrd Turner

He played by the river when he was young.

He raced with rabbits along the hills, 

He fished for minnows, and climbed and swung,

And hooted back at the whippoorwills.

Strong and slender and tall he grew - 

And then, one morning, the bugles blew.

Over the hills the summons came,

Over the river's shining rim.

He said that the bugles called his name,

He knew that his country needed him,

And he answered, "Coming!" and marched away

For many a night and many a day.

Perhaps when the marches were hot and long

He'd think of the river flowing by

Or, camping under the winter sky,

Would hear the whippoorwill's far-off song.

Boy or soldier, in peace or strife,

He loved America all his life!

📕MATH: This week, we practiced how to add two-digits with regrouping / renaming. For first grade, we stress on adding the ones place first. If it's more than ten, we regroup and rename it to the tens. (Nine or less, let it rest. Ten or more, move the tens up next door). The children should also be familiar with adding by decomposing numbers (making a ten to add). This is a good foundation for mental math. Reinforcing the skill of making a ten at home would really go a long way too. 

📕HISTORY:  We reviewed how the American Revolution started with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and made a sequencing accordion book of the timeline of those events. We learned that the colonial leaders finally wanted to be free from Great Britain, and declared their independence. We pretended we were like Thomas Jefferson making our own Declaration of Independence.

📕SCIENCE: This week for our Ocean unit, students learned about the jellyfish, seahorse, and starfish. They learned the jelly fish is an invertebrate creature, and that seahorse is considered a fish.

The annual parent survey went out via email to families on February 17th. The survey helps us know what we are doing well and what we can improve. The grade level with the highest participation percentage will win an extra 30-minute recess and popsicles. The survey will be open until March 4th. Thank you for your participation.

You may also use this QR code.

 

Have a great weekend

1st Grade Teachers