Hello First Grade Families

Welcome to First Grade!!!

Hello there, new first grade families and friends! I am so, so excited that you are going to be in my class this year! I cannot wait to meet you and get to know you better! Below are some important dates and information that is going to help us get this year started off right. Please let me know if you have any questions. Can't wait to see you at Meet the Teacher Night!

Meet the Teacher Night
Tuesday, August 14th
6:00-7:30
*Please bring your school supplies and be prepared to spend enough time touring the classroom and filling out paperwork.
*As far as labeling supplies, please label your students pencil box and scissors. Everything else will be combined and  used as class supplies. Thank you!

First Day of School
Thursday, August 16th
8:40-3:30 (Students may start coming to the classroom at 8:20)
*Please make sure you have communicated with me about how your kiddo will be getting home this day as well as their regular schedule for dismissal.

Last Minute Details

Hello First Grade Families! Can you believe that next week is the last week of school?! This year has really flown by!  Here is a list of things to keep in mind for next week:

1) Tuesday, May 22nd is FIELD DAY!!!  First grade will have Field Day in the morning.  This will be a really exciting day.  Coach has planned some exciting activities. Make sure your kiddo wears tennis shoes that can get dirty or wet.  It is also a good idea to apply sunscreen before they come to school that day.  We will also eat lunch outside, so they should bring a sack lunch from home or buy a sack lunch from school. 

2) Our last Tiger Pride Assembly will be on the last day of school at 9:30.  

3) The last day of school (May 24th) is also a ½ day.  We will dismiss at 12:30.

4) We have already started cleaning out our cubbies.  Keep an eye out for items in your child’s backpack. I plan on sending home things a little at a time, so their backpacks do not get too heavy. 

5)  Next week I will be sending home a Summer Slide Packet your kiddo can do during the long summer break.  Keep an eye out for it!

I hope this helps keep all the craziness of the last week of school under control.  Feel free to let me know if I missed anything! 


Mrs. Happel :)

Field Trip

Just a reminder that our 1^st grade field trip to the Nature Center is THIS Thursday, April 19th.  We will be leaving WOHE at 9:00, so please make sure that your child arrives on time that day. Once we arrive at the Nature Center, each class will meet a naturalist who will take us on a hike and allow us to tour the exhibits at the Nature Center.  We will also be attending a program called Skin, Scales, Feathers, and Fur while we are there.  We are scheduled to be at the Nature Center from 9:30-11:30.  We will stop at Living Memorial Park located on Nature Center Way for lunch before returning to WOHE.  We are planning on being back to the school at 12:35 for our special classes.

It appears that we will have room for parents who are chaperoning to ride on the buses with us.  Remember that no siblings are allowed to ride on the school buses.  If you would prefer, you may follow the school bus in your car or meet us at the Nature Center.  Each parent will be given a small group of children to keep a close eye on.

Here are a few things that you can do for us to make our field trip successful.

·        * Dress your child in their WOHE shirt and tennis shoes.

·         *Send your child with a jacket if the weather is cool.

·         *Pack your child’s lunch in a disposable bag.

·         *Arrive at school on time.

If you have not returned your child’s permission slip, please do so ASAP.

April 9th- April 13th

What We Are Learning

Reading:

Book characters and how they compare to each other

Using a Venn Diagram to organize similarities and differences between characters

Comparing and contrasting characters from different books

Word Work:

Word Wall Words: couldn’t, they’re, while, thought, & either

Word Chunk: ew, ui, ue

Writing:

Realistic fiction stories

Making our stories come to life

Making our characters move by using action words

Making our characters talk with speech bubbles and quotation marks

Math:

Topic 13: telling Time

Telling and writing time to the hour and half hour on a analogue and digital clock

Theme:

How plants adapt to survive

Parts of a plant

Plant experiment

Wonder Table

Now that spring has finally arrived, I would love to update our wonder table.  Keep an eye out for spring time items that we can observe. Your child is invited to bring in budding flowers, interesting plants, and yes…even insects (no spiders please)! All I am asking is that you make sure all insects are in a secure container.  We will observe them and then release them outside.  Keep your eyes open for signs of spring!

Field Trip

First grade is going to the Nature Center April 19^th.  We will leave WOHE at 9:00.  Your kiddo needs to bring a sack lunch from home or get a sack lunch from school. Here are a few things that you can do for us to make our field trip successful:

•Dress your child in their WOHE shirt and tennis shoes.

•Send your child with a jacket if the weather is cool.

•Pack your child’s lunch in a disposable bag.

•Arrive at school on time.

Let me know if you want to come, enjoy the fun, and be a chaperone!

Dates to Remember

April 19^th: Field Trip to the Nature Center

April 26^th: WOHE Fine Arts Night

May 24^th: Make-up Snow Day

February 19th - February 23rd

What We Are Learning

Reading:

Reading with expression instead of reading like a robot

Scooping words together in phrases

Using punctuation to change voice

Word Work:

Word Wall Words: teacher, rain, out, favorite, quit

Word Chunk: ow & ou

Writing:

Opinion Writing

Picking out most convincing reasons for opinion

Having a beginning, middle, and end

Math:

Topic 10: Adding Double Digit Numbers

Adding double digits by tens then ones

Making a new 10 when adding

Review for test

Theme:

Why we celebrate President’s Day

Life of George Washington

Life of Abraham Lincoln

Spring Conferences

This year Spring Conferences will be March  27th and 28th. These conferences will be different from fall conferences in that they are not student-led but more conversation focused and a chance to look at data about your child’s growth this year. I am asking that your child does not attend. More information will be sent home soon. 

McTeacher Night

On Tuesday, March 6th from 4-8pm come and support Orchard Hills at the McDonalds on Chestnut Expressway and West Bypass.  WOHE gets a portion of the sales. The best part is that the faculty from Orchard Hills will be taking orders, selling cookies, and having fun!  I will be there from 4-5pm. Come, have dinner, and help support our school!

Dates to Remember

March 6th: McTeacher Night

March 8th: First Grade Musical

March 9th: Dismiss at 12:30

March 12th & March 13th: Make-up snow day

March 14th- March 16th: Spring Break

March 27th- March 28th: Spring Conferences

March 30th: NO SCHOOL

April 2nd: NO SCHOOL

April 19th: Field Trip to the Nature Center

May 24th: Make-up Snow Day

February 5th -February 9th

What We Are Learning

Reading: 

How to read non-fiction texts

How to decode tricky words in nonfiction text

How to determine the meaning of unknown words in nonfiction text

Word Work:

Word Wall Words: night, boy, animal, children, school

Word Chunk: ai

Writing:

Opinion Writing

Picking out most convincing reasons for opinion

Having a beginning, middle, and end

Math:

Topic 9: Place Value & 100’s Chart Skills

One more, one less, ten more, ten less on the 100’s chart

Comparing numbers (greater, less than, equal to)

Using symbols to compare

Topic 9 test

Theme:

American Symbols

Researching the Statue of Liberty, American Flag, US Capitol and the Bald Eagle

Valentine’s Party

Our Valentine’s Day party will be on Friday, February 16th.  For this day, your child is invited to bring valentines to pass out, as well as a box or bag to keep their valentines safe.

Your child can make a Valentine Box (or bag) at home.  They can be as simple as a decorated brown paper bag or as complicated as papier-mâché. It’s up to you!  Just make sure there is an opening for first graders to easily place their valentines into.

Your child needs to bring a valentine for each child in our class. These can be store bought or homemade! (If your family does not have the resources to provide valentines for your child, please let me know and your child can make some at school.)

Please be sure to send your child’s valentines and valentine boxes ON February 16th.  Our room can get really crowded, so please do not send them ahead of time.

Dates to Remember

February 16th: Valentine’s Day Party

February 16th: Dismiss at 12:30

February 19th: Make-up snow day

March 8th: First Grade Musical

March 9th: Dismiss at 12:30

March 12th- March 16th: Spring Break

March 30th: NO SCHOOL

April 2nd: NO SCHOOL

April 19th: Field Trip to the Nature Center

January 29th - February 2nd

What We Are Learning

Reading: 

How to read non-fiction texts

How to decode tricky words in nonfiction text

Word Work:

Word Wall Words: want, saw, house, give, & us

Word Chunk: ai & ay

Word Family: _aw

Writing:

Opinion Writing

Including three details in the middle

Adding reasons to convince out audience

Math:

Topic 9: Place Value & 100’s Chart Skills

One more, one less, ten more, ten less on the 100’s chart

Comparing numbers (greater, less than, equal to)

Using symbols to compare

Theme:

Goods and services

Creating a Goods and Services Poster

Valentine Boxes

On Friday February 16th, we will be having our Valentine’s Day Celebration! Your student is invited to create a Valentine’s box at home and then bring it to school on that day. I will be sending more information home about the party as time gets closer.

Coin Drive

Starting February 5^th, WOHE will be doing our annual coin drive to benefit Willard Children’s Charitable Foundation. Our challenge will be to use our little bit of loose change to make a BIG difference! Here is how the competition will work:

1. Each teacher will have their own jar to collect coins.

2. Only pennies should be placed in our classroom jar

3. All silver coins and dollars should be placed in other teacher’s jars. Silver coins decrease the total for our classroom.

4. The class with the highest overall total wins a PARTY!

Dates to Remember

February 16^th: Valentine’s Day Party

February 16^th: Dismiss at 12:30

February 19^th: Make-up snow day

March 9^th: Dismiss at 12:30

March 12^th- March 16^th: Spring Break

March 30^th: NO SCHOOL

April 2^nd: NO SCHOOL

April 19^th: Field Trip to the Nature Center