Dear Families,
Welcome to the world of first grade. This will be an exciting year for you and your child. The first grade students will work on building skills that help them in reading, they will write stories and learn many different math skills. There will also be computer experiences and social studies activities built into the day. We have 3 science themes to cover over the year that include kit activities, along with other themes that fit in during the year, such as seasonal changes. I will briefly outline in this letter our daily schedule and the expectations of first grade students.
Each day we begin with a routine of seat work as students enter the class. While attendance is taken and notes are collected, students will be reading or working on review of math skills. We then move to writing time and spelling. After writing, we have a block of reading time that lasts until lunch break. First grade started a program years ago that involves students working in different rooms on specific skills at their level. This has been very successful. As part of the program, students will be having reading homework that will consist of nightly reading/listening with an adult. This work comes home in a book bag with a log that needs to be signed. The book bags will be sent home next week. During the afternoon we have a daily special such as music, art or P.E. The afternoon is also when math is covered along with particular social studies or science topics. Writing activities will also be included in afternoon activities. Students will be typing stories at this time and sharing writing. September journals will be shared at Open House.
Finally, I would like to include some general information about our day . We do have snack every morning, please send in one snack for your child only. Also, we send lunches to the cafeteria in the morning. If you could bag the snack separately that would prevent students from having to go and get snacks from lunch bags. I’ve attached a schedule of days that our class has specials to help you know when to return library books and what day sneakers are needed for P.E. Student schoolwork is sent home in a red folder that needs to be returned the next day. This folder is intended to be used all year. Please encourage your child to be responsible about getting it home and back to school.
If you should have any questions, please send a note or you can email me through the Chariho website, pjlil@chariho.k12.ri.us. I look forward to working with your children this year and helping them become successful in first grade.
Sincerely,
Polly Lilly
