Week+4

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Newsletter for Week of Sept 23rd, 2013 =Week in Review = Throughout each and every day we are learning the general routine of First Grade. Each day is brand new for us and we are beginning to be able to get our books out, raise our hands, contribute to our class  discussions and work with our friends as we complete our work. We are trying to become like the big kids by accepting additional responsibilities and working quietly. Thank you for all of the parents who have volunteered to help us with their time and talents. Soon an updated **Read and Treat Schedule** will be posted on our wiki. If you would like any link posted on our wiki, please let me know. I want you to have access to everything at your fingertips. Also check our quick link to access the electronic copy of the weekly [|Thursday Folder.]below and to the left on the navigation panel. On Friday we celebrated the birthday of the invention of the ice cream cone by incorporating it into our reading and writing. We thank our parents who generously contributed our ice cream and cones for this annual celebration. Thank goodness they ran out of dishes at the 1904 World's Fair. We love birthdays!

The children will be reading the main selection **"Flip"** this week. We are working on fluency as well as stopping at the periods as we read. This week we will be working on story structure once again focusing on the plot as it travels through the beginning, middle, and the end of the story. We will work on "l" blends such as cl...fl...sl...fl...bl...pl. We have now begun our little daily homework readers with the children, of which they are familiar with from kindergarten. Everyone has adapted very well to the way we record books in First Grade. I am asking that you **listen** to your child read each selection as it comes home. As in class, I ask that you help your child build their vocabulary, but also encourage them to read with fluency, pause at punctuation, and even incorporate expression, but most importantly asking questions that promotes the understanding of the story. Comprehension is our major priority this entire year. Each child has had their level selected for the best possible fit without it being too difficult. If you have any specific question, please never hesitate to ask. Thank you so much for sending the baby pictures. We loved looking at them and comparing ourselves to when we were so little.
 * Reading **

Vocabulary for __Flip__
adorable...dear...needs...sensible...train ...need...living things...care...come...down...pull...good...be...ride...run...clip... plan...slip...flag... black...flip

Religion  Next week the children will be presented with the concept of the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick's idea of using the shamrock will be incorporated to help us, as he taught the people of Ireland to remember God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I will emphasize how the "Sign of the Cross" and the "Glory Be" remind us of God each time we pray them. This concept, though very easy to say, is so difficult to understand. We have reviewed both prayers this year and we have learned a new morning prayer. We are also going to pray the "Hail Mary," the "Our Father," and the "Angel of God" prayers. Please incorporate these prayers into your child's prayers at home. **Please don't presume your child remembers the prayers they have been taught.** In a couple of weeks, your child will be given a part for our first Mass on October 9th. I always give the children a //**permanent copy**// //to keep at home to practice//, if they have a specific reading part. Then, we will be going to church each day and learn about the parts of the Mass and the general responses we should begin to know. Please remember that the children **are** old enough to participate in the Mass. Encourage them to do so during the weekend liturgies. You are their primary teachers of their faith. They will do.... what you will do. Each day during calendar information we work on graphing, counting money, and a skill I call... Incredible Equations, in which we are always ready to challenge our young minds to think of a math equation to equal the date. The children have been given their first assessment on addition and next week we will begin subtraction. We will be concentrating on problem solving strategies. We continue to be working on our addition fact fluency through our daily Mad Minutes. Practicing math facts daily is an important component of strengthening your child's math fluency. If you would like specific ideas on how to proceed, please feel free to contact me. ** Vocabulary for Addition and Subtraction Concepts ** sum...plus...equal to...addition equation...part...whole...add...counting on...counting all...adding to......the same amount as...addition ...order...first second...putting together...taking from...minus...subtract...taking apart comparing...unknown...less than...subtraction...counting back...true...false = Riddles of the Week = What day of the week is best for boys?  Son-day What comes to your door but never comes in?  A sidewalk.
 * Math **

Sept. 25th........[|Chancery Give-Back] Sept. 26th........Johnny Appleseed's Birthday Sept. 27th.........Pizza Hut lunch, no hot lunch. Fruit and vegetable bar available. Oct. 4th............Out of Uniform Oct. 4th............Picture re-take Oct. 9th............**OUR** first prepared class Mass Oct. 16th..........Schlitz Audubon filedtrip 11:30-1:30 Nov. 2nd[|Soles for Education walk, 8 a.m.] (registration free through Oct. 1) Nov. 2nd..........Trivia Twilight, 7 p.m.
 * Important Dates ** [[image:leaf.jpeg height="108" align="left"]] [|Thursday Folder] Sept. 20th-Oct. 9th......[|2nd Grade Coat Collection] Sept. 25th........Early Release