Week+of+Jan.+9th,+2012

Newsletter for Week of Jan. 9th, 2012 = Week in Review = Happy 2012! Wishing you and your family an abundance of happiness, good health, and God's blessings throughout th year. We enjoyed our little New Years celebration on Tuesday and we want to thank all those who helped us. The children were so happy to see each other once again. The children were ready to go without the usual review of skills and we got right back into the swing of things. Next week we are beginning our new Science unit. What's the matter, you ask? Solids, liquids, and gas. Investigations will abound as we proceed through the unit. Mad Minute continues once again and though to the next level. Bring out the flashcards for practice. Work on the memorization of the doubles and find quick moments to practice...even in the car. Many children are stuck on the second level which is addition from 10-20. Any additional help will be greatly appreciated. Lastly, please remember that we are outside for 2 recesses with the lunch recess being 20 minutes long. The children get cold if they have not come equipped with a warm hat and mittens. A hood is never enough to keep a child warm for this duration of time. Snowpants and boots are great insulators, even if there is no snow. = = =Reading = = = We absolutely loved the story "Rose Robot Cleans Up." The children would have loved to have any of the invention Rose constructed from recycled items. Next week we are on to a story about children from around the world. We will compare and contrast the children to us with the use of a venn diagram. We will see how we are the same or different from each other. We will also spend time on contractions and **scr-, spl-,** and **str- blends.** Our high frequency words continue to increase as well. I hope you enjoy our "WOW" words we learn each week. We work on their definitions and even how to pronounce them. You have to admit they can be quite the challenge for a First Grader. Each day our smartboard lesson will ask us to match them with a definition, use them in a sentence, or even play a game with them. The blue words below are our WOW words for the week.

** Vocabulary for "Kids Have Fun" **
culture...custom...skill...language...similar ...any...boy...by...does...friends...girl...water...after old...new...done...find...work...strike...string...split...splash...scrub...scrap

=Religion = The children have been learning that the Holy Spirit is to be our guide. This week we will continue to learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These 6 very special gifts from the Holy Spirit will help us along our journey. They are **wisdom**, **knowledge**, **understanding**, **courage**, **reverence**, and **wonder and awe**. We will also be receiving the parts for our next class Mass for January 18th. **Math** We have been working on comparing numbers using the terms greater than and less than with their corresponding symbols as well as counting 10 more or ten less. Both skills have taken more concentration because of their complexity. Later next week we may be able to move into skip counting with a review of counting by 5"s and 10's and then moving onto counting by 2's up to 100.  Vocabulary for Place Value ones...tens...hundreds...count forward...count backward...greater than...less than...ten more...ten less...before...between...after = = = =

=** Riddles of the Week ** = Your breath. Because it is two tired.
 * What can you catch, but cannot throw?**
 * Why can't a bike stand up?**

= =

**Important Dates ** Jan. 12th..........School Forum 7-8 p.m. LCT church Jan. 13th..........Pizza hut Hot Lunch Jan. 18th..........Class Mass/Birthday Blessings Jan. 19th..........End of Second Quarter Jan. 20th..........No School - Professional Development Jan. 26th..........Report Cards Jan. 29th-Feb. 3rd...............Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29th.........Open House at both campuses from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Feb. 3rd...........All School Liturgy - Mequon 8:15 Feb. 10th.........Conferences, no school Feb. 24th.........No School - Professional Development Mar. 7th...........Class Mass Mar. 17th.........SHAMROCK Mar. 23rd.........No School - Professional Development Apr. 25th.........Class Mass