1 / 30 / 2026

📣 ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Students need to bring a water bottle with name on a daily basis for proper hydration!

💡DATES TO REMEMBER
February 6th: Half Day Dismissal (GHA In-Service)
February 10th: Spring Photo Day
February 16th: NO SCHOOL (President's Day) R&R weekend
February 21st: Medieval Faire
March 3rd: Field trip to Herberger Theater to see Childsplay' s Hare and Tortoise
March 5th: K - 5 Athletic Field Day
March 6th: Half Day Dismissal (12:30pm)
March 9th - 13th: Spring Break - No School

💡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.

💡WHAT WE ARE LEARNING THIS WEEK 

📕 LITERATURE: We continued our Beatrix Potter tales this week, particularly The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck and The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. We are learning that these fun stories can teach us life lessons.

📕 SPALDING: Continue practicing at home the phonograms the scholars 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).

       

: c before e, i, or y says /s/ 

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

rule 5: i and y may say 'long' i. 

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

 

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 on ending beginning with a vowel. 

rule 11: Words ending with a silent final e are written without the e when adding a vowel ending.

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

                                         

                  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 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

ap ple

lit tle

Key:

new rules covered 

rules covered this week

rules covered in the past

📕 SAYINGS: 

•  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: 

There Once Was a Puffin 

by Florence Page Jacques

Oh, there once was a Puffin 

Just the shape of a muffin, 

And he lived on an island

In the bright blue sea!

He ate little fishes,

That were most delicious, 

And he had them for supper 

And he had them for tea.

But this poor little Puffin, 

He couldn’t play nothin’, 

For he hadn’t anybody 

To play with at all.

So he sat on his island,

And he cried for awhile, 

and He felt very lonely,

And he felt very small.

Then along came the fishes, 

And they said, “If you wishes, 

You can have us for playmates, 

Instead of for tea!”

So they now play together,

In all sorts of weather,

And the Puffin eats pancakes, 

Like you and like me.

The Swing 

by Robert Louis Stevenson 

How do you like to go up in a swing, 

Up in the air so blue?


Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing, 

Ever a child can do! 

Up in the air and over the wall,


Till I can see so wide,


Rivers and trees and cattle and all, 

Over the countryside – 

Till I look down on the garden green, 

Down on the roof so brown –

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down! 

📕 MATH: This week, we learned how to count coins (penny, nickel, dime and quarter). They practiced different ways to use coins to come up with a certain amount. We will have a test on Thursday of next week. 

📕 HISTORY: We started our next unit on how the thirteen colonies will fight for their independence from Great Britain. We studied why the Boston Tea Party happened and how it is important in our unification as America. We had a fun coloring page where we pretended to "dump the tea" like how the colonists did it in protest.

📕 SCIENCE:  We continued our unit on exploring light and sound. Through reading, discussion, and a flashlight game, scholars continued to build understanding of the role light plays in our lives. We also reflected on the location of a closet and compared what is visible in a dark closet versus a lighted closet. 

Have a great weekend!

1st Grade Teachers

SaveSave

1 / 23 / 2026

📣 ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Students need to bring a water bottle with name on a daily basis for proper hydration!

💡DATES TO REMEMBER
January 24th: Reading under the Stars has been cancelled due to impending weather forecast
January 26th: Book fair pre-sale from 3:30 - 6pm in the library.
January 27th - 29th - Scholastic Book Fair (see specific times in Friday's teacher email)
February 6th: Half Day Dismissal (GHA In-Service)
February 10th: Spring Photo Day
February 16th: NO SCHOOL (President's Day) R&R weekend
March 3rd: Field trip to Herberger Theater to see Childsplay' s Hare and Tortoise
March 4th: Kindergarten/First grade Athletic Field Day - Half Day Dismissal
March 6th: Half Day Dismissal (12:30pm)
March 9th - 13th: Spring Break - No School


💡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. 

💡WHAT WE ARE LEARNING THIS WEEK 

📕 LITERATURE:  We started our Beatrix Potter tales this week, particularly The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. The scholars have been working on reading aloud with the class. 

📕 SPALDING: Continue practicing at home the phonograms the scholars 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 2: c before e, i, or y says /s/ 

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

rule 5: i and y may say 'long' i. 

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

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

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

                                         

                  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 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

ap ple

lit tle

Key:

new rules covered 

rules covered this week

rules covered in the past

📕 SAYINGS: 

• 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: 

There Once Was a Puffin 

by Florence Page Jacques

Oh, there once was a Puffin 

Just the shape of a muffin, 

And he lived on an island

In the bright blue sea!

He ate little fishes,

That were most delicious, 

And he had them for supper 

And he had them for tea.

But this poor little Puffin, 

He couldn’t play nothin’, 

For he hadn’t anybody 

To play with at all.

So he sat on his island,

And he cried for awhile, 

and He felt very lonely,

And he felt very small.

Then along came the fishes, 

And they said, “If you wishes, 

You can have us for playmates, 

Instead of for tea!”

So they now play together,

In all sorts of weather,

And the Puffin eats pancakes, 

Like you and like me.

The Swing 

by Robert Louis Stevenson 

How do you like to go up in a swing, 

Up in the air so blue?


Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing, 

Ever a child can do! 

Up in the air and over the wall,


Till I can see so wide,


Rivers and trees and cattle and all, 

Over the countryside – 

Till I look down on the garden green, 

Down on the roof so brown –

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down! 

📕 READING: Thank you to our parent reading volunteers! We still have slots for the month. We need volunteers every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:10-11:45. Check your teacher's page on top for the reading volunteer signup. 

Sight Word Bookmarks will be on a ring in your child's reading bag or in a binder sleeve. We will be testing for sight word knowledge once a week. During this time, we will be moving students to the next sight word list if they have mastered the previous one. (Please do not mark off sight words at home- we will do this in class). 

📕 MATH: We learned more about numbers to 120 such as identifying the place value of the digits, comparing, ordering, and solving more or less of a number. 

📕 HISTORY: This week, scholars learned about the Puritans who sailed to America and started the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The scholars finished a mini book to outline the main ideas of the journeys of the Pilgrims and Puritans. We wrapped up our unit on the Early Explorers with a game.

📕 SCIENCE: The scholars continued in our current science unit Exploring Light and Sound. The class observed and investigated the vibrations that occur with sound by creating kazoos. The scholars also began to investigate light in several ways.

Have a great weekend!

1st Grade Teachers