August 27th - August 31st

What We Are Learning

Reading: Setting up Daily 5 reading structure

·         How to do “Work on Writing”

·         Continuing to build reading and writing stamina

·         What writers write

·         Spelling strategies for unknown words

Word Work

• Sight words: the, of, and, in, to
• Word family: -at    Blend/Digraph: ch
• Strategy: Writing one word or each word said

Writing: Narrative Genre/Stories from our Lives

·         Introducing narrative genre and differentiating between true and fake details

·         Steps to planning a book

·         How to share and listen during Author’s Chair

·          

Math: Unit 1-lessons 6-8

·         Solving addition and subtraction problems within 10 using various strategies and knowing equations are made up of“part, part, whole”

·       Counting on

·       Missing addends

·       Putting together

·       Taking from

·         Introduction to math stations for fluency practice

Theme: Growth Mindset

·      Determining the difference between a fixed and growth mindset

·      There is no “can’t”, but there is “I can’t…yet”

·      Goal setting for something we can’t do YET

Family Photo

I would love to have every student bring a small family photo to display in our classroom.  This will help your kiddo feel more at home, and I know they will be super excited to show off their family.

Math Homework

I am not a big supporter of having homework every night.  I am a firm believer that your child has worked hard all day at school, and they need a break at home.  Also, as a mother, I know how important family time is.  Because of this, I will not be making homework mandatory. It will be sent home but you have the option of completing it with your child.

 My hope is that you can use this as a resource to help your child and to understand what we are learning in the classroom. If you complete the homework with your child, that is FANTASTIC! Simply place it back in your kiddo’s folder, and I will celebrate them for continuing to learn at home

Dates to Remember

August 31^st –September 3rd: No School

September 21st- Willard Homecoming Parade (all students attend by bus) and dismiss at 12:30

October 5^th – WOHE Fall Carnival  

August 20th - August 24th

What We Are Learning

Reading: Reading: Setting up Daily 5 reading structure

·        How to do “Read to Self”

·        How to build our stamina

·        3 ways to read a book

Writing: Setting up Writer’s Workshop Structure

·        How to set yourself up for successful writing by picking a good spot to work

·        Using what we love as inspiration for writing topics and stories

·        Decorating writing folders with inspirational visuals

·        How to share and listen during Author’s Chair

Math: Unit 1-lessons 1-5

·        Solving addition and subtraction problems within 10 using various strategies and knowing equations are made up of “part, part, whole”

·          Counting on

·          Missing addends

·          Putting together

·          Taking from

Theme: Helpful vs. Hurtful Words

·        The difference between helpful and hurtful words

·        Why the words we choose are important in our classroom

Snack Time

In 1st grade, we do not have an official “snack time”, but I do allow students to have a snack if they bring one or have leftovers from their lunchbox at the end of the day.

Family Photo

I would love to have every student bring a small family photo to display in our classroom.  This will help your kiddo feel more at home, and I know they will be super excited to show off their family.

Special Class Schedule

Monday- Computers

Tuesday- Music

Wednesday- Art

Thursday- Library.

Friday-P.E.

Special Thanks

I want to send out a special thanks to all who donated items from our classroom wish list!  We greatly appreciate your generosity.  These items will help us have a productive year! Feel free to frequently view our classroom website where I will post items throughout the year as we need them.   

Dates to Remember

August 31^st –September 3rd: No School

September 21st- Willard Homecoming Parade (all students attend by bus) and dismiss at 12:30

October 5^th – WOHE Fall Carnival  

Useful Classroom Information

Hello First Grade Families!  We had an absolutely amazing first two days! I have been
so impressed with how responsible and respectful everyone has been!  How did I get
so lucky?!

Now that the craziness of the first week is over,  I thought I would send out a quick
email with some useful classroom information.

Math Homework

I am not a big supporter of having homework every night.  I am a firm believer that
your child has worked hard all day at school, and they need a break at home.  Also,
as a mother, I know how important family time is. Because of this, I will not be making
homework mandatory.  It will be sent home but you have the option of completing it
with your child. My hope is that you can use this as a resource to help your child and
to understand what we are learning in the classroom. If you complete the homework
with your child, that is FANTASTIC! Simply place it back in your kiddo’s folder, and
I will celebrate them for continuing to learn at home.

Also, you will notice that your child will be coming home with a lot less math papers
than they did in kindergarten.  Now that they are big enough to locate the page
numbers themselves, we will be keeping most of the papers we do inside our math
books.  I will tear out only their homework pages and math assessments. The math
homework will keep you up to date with the math concepts we are studying.

Snack Time

We do not have a traditional snack time in first grade.  However, I know that their
little tummies get super hungry by the end of the day.  Your child is invited to bring
an individual snack to enjoy while I read our chapter book at the end of the day.  
This could also be an item from their lunch box that was leftover. If they do not
bring a snack, it will not be a big deal.  They will simply enjoy hearing the chapter
book without a snack. Let me know if you have any questions!

Water Bottles

Your kiddo is welcome to bring WATER to school in a water bottle. I will just have
them keep it safe in his/her cubby.

Monday Early Release

Every Monday, WOHE releases at 3:00, so teachers can participate in professional
development.

Take Home Folders

Your kiddo will come home EVERY day with a green Take Home Folder. In this folder
you will find important notes, your child’s work, and your child’s behavior chart.  
Please check these folders each night, take out what needs to stay at home, and
send them back to school the next day. Also, they are responsible for signing it,
placing papers inside, and then putting it inside their backpack.  Please be a little
patient. :) It sometimes takes them a little while to remember all of the
responsibilities while packing up every day.

Family Photo

I would love to have every student bring a small family photo to display in
our classroom.  This will help your kiddo feel more at home, and I know they
will be super excited to show off their family to their new friends.

Emails

If you are not receiving emails from me, let me know.  I will have the ladies in
the office update your email address.

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