January 13 to January 17 2014

International night will be February 11, 2014.  We will be studying Chile!!! We will begin learning about this country this week.  I will be posting information weekly about what we are learning etc. to be discussed at home.  We will do projects at school , and there will be a project that will be assigned to do at home.  This will need assistance from parents.  Please check the blog for new info to come :)

The first grade is responsible for the Ash Wednesday Mass Students will be practicing songs, and some students will be reading in the mass. Please note that there will be more info to come soon.

Catholic Schools Week will begin Sunday , January 26- students and families are asked to attend this mass -in uniform- to kick off the week!!! Also this is our annual OLM Pancake Breakfast fundraiser!!

Here is a list of events:

Monday 1-27- afternoon movie 

Tuesday 1-28 - blue & white free dress, Buddy Day, and afternoon spirit rally

Wednesday 1-29 -Cherish Luncheon

Thursday 1-30 - Faith Family Feud Game

Friday 1 -31 - All School Mass at St. Patrick's Church( students are dropped off AT church that morning, we will need parent volunteers to drive students back to school after mass). Permission slips going home this week. That afternoon. Is the 8th grade vs. Teachers Volleyball game that afternoon.

There will be more info sent home soon. 

Vocabulary this week:

swin

farther

drink

expect

built

hawk

grit

vacuum

edge

enough

clutch

gizzard

afternoon

everywhere

Spelling this week:

Topics we are studying:

Religion- we will be learning the parts of the Mass, reviewing the Eucharist as a special meal.  Forgiveness and The Golden Rule

Nouns/naming words, verbs/ action words, and Adjectives/ words that describe

Proper sentences- start with capital letters, and end with punctuation- many keep forgetting this.  We are practicing sentence writing- " the three w's". Must contain who, what, and where.

Science- types of weather, clouds, causes of weather, seasons

Math- fact families, subtraction starting with large numbers up to 19.  

We will be beginning long vowels, rules etc

*****we will begin sending home short readers a couple times a week.  They will go home in an envelope.  Student will need to write the title of the book, and parents must sign the envelope each night a reader is sent home.  This will be in addition to the story of the week. 

I am so proud of my students. I see so much growth both academically and spiritually!!! Keep it up first graders!! :)

Happy New Year 2014 !!!

Welcome Back !!! I hope everyone has enjoyed their much needed rest, I sure did.  I really appreciated all the thoughtful gifts that so many of you gave me for Christmas.  I loved the thoughts and prayers that my family received over the loss of my father in December.  It was a sad time, but I was so grateful for the vacation to spend with my family.  Again your love and support was so heartfelt :-)

Now it's back to work we go!!! 

Info for the week:

Report cards go home this Friday, January 10

Friday, January 10 is a minimum day, with Friday mass. 

I will be conducting vocabulary assessments this week.

Vocabulary

fourth

fifth

sixth

seventh

strange

whole

elephant

pillar

turn

moral

agree

great

Spelling this week will concentrate on the short vowel "u".  Also the challenge portion of the spelling test will continue to be dictation sentences .

up

us

but

hut

fun

cut

nut

run

rut

sun

In the next few weeks I will be sending home more reading .  Remember that some things may seem too easy, but reading isn't just about learning vocabulary words.  It is also important to become a fluent reader.  So when I assign reading assignments, I am focusing on the complete reader.  Vocabulary is very important, and should be continuously reviewed at home on a regular basis.  Please review the words from the year, not just for that week.  Thank you.  Teaching your child to read is a cooperative effort between school and home.  When we support each other , your child WINS !! 

December 16- December 20

Important reminders for the week:

Wednesday morning we will be having the Christmas program dress rehearsal at St. Patrick's Church. Your child must be dropped off at the church by 7:50AM.  I will be there at 7:30 if You need to drop them off earlier.  I'll be watching for my students.  When the rehearsal is over, parent volunteer drivers will be driving them back to the school.  

Wednesday night your child will need to be at St. Patrick's Church by 6:15 PM.  The first graders will be singing from the choir loft ( on the right side of the alter).  Please walk them over where I will be waiting for them.  You should sit near the choir loft so you can watch the first graders sing.  When the show is over, you will need to come over to get your child.  I will Not dismiss your child/ children until you come to get them, thank you for your support.  

Clothing for the program:  Your child must wear their best clothes.  Girls should be in dresses or skirt outfits and nice shoes.  Boys should be in dress pants and collared shirts or sweaters and nice shoes. Please no jeans or shorts! Thank you :-)

Vocabulary for the week

try

hard

rest

play

sing

please

thank

word

first

second

third

Spelling for the week

twigs

went

of

bend

still

fresh

dish

planted

going

spelling

**** last week we started sentence dictation as the challenge part of the test.  They need to have all the words spelled correctly, as well as proper punctuation to get the sentence correct.  Practice with them at home- remind them that a sentence always starts with a capital letter and ends with end punctuation.  We have been practicing this at school quite a bit; this is not a new concept- they need to work on listening and remembering to check their work.  :-)

Friday we will be having our class Christmas party.  The room mothers are organizing pizza, snacks, and a treat.  We will be having lunch and playing games.  This is sure to be a great party!!!!!  The party will begin around 11:00.  If you would like to help in some way, please give Mrs. McParland a call , 

Thanks to all my wonderful parents who have chipped in one way or another this year !! You truly are a blessing to me and my students!! Thanks again for all your love and support you have given, or continue to give !  May God bless you !! Thanks !!!!!

December9 - December 13

Vocabulary this week

return

should

old

pair

clothes

cook

knight

small

bring

Spelling this week 

for

they

shed

have

help

pet

sled

jet

test

net

******Starting this week the spelling test will now include dictation sentences as the challenge portion to the test.  The sentences will start off as simple sentences with words they have had, and/ or words they can sound out.  They need to begin with a capital letter and end with punctuation.  

1.  A permission slip went home for next Wednesday 12/18.  We will be having a dress rehearsal for the Christmas program at St. Patrick's Church that morning.  Please drop your child/ children off at the church by 7:50 AM.  We will rehearse for the program and then go to school when we are done- we will head back to school around 9:45 AM.  We will need parents to volunteer to drive my students back to school after we rehearse.  Please sign the permission slip and send it back to school, please note whether or not you will be able to transport students back to school.  Thank You :-). You MUST have fingerprints done and in the office and have taken the safe environment class.  

*****A note with other important details will be sent home by Friday concerning the times and information concerning what the students should wear that night to the program - remember this is a formal event and students should be dressed accordingly .

Thanks again!

11/18 to 11/22

This week:

Vocabulary words:

forget

show

smart

pencil

best

read

school

time

being

place

sometimes

goes

Spelling words-short e sound:

red

bed

fed

led

wed

ten

men

hen

nest

tent

** practice test Thursday, final test Friday 

Wednesday is our Thanksgiving Feast with kindergarten .  There is a sign up at the classroom door for the items we need for that day.  

Other events to come:  we are in the Christmas program this year!!! This is such a wonderful event.  They will need to wear nice clothes , maybe a Christmas outfit?  No jeans or shorts please.  Girls should wear a dress and boys should be in dress pants and a collared shirt.  We will be starting the program practices this week.  First graders will be singing 4 songs.  I will be sending the song sheets home for your child to practice over the break.  They need to learn the words for these songs.  

Friday - progress reports will go home this day.  They must be signed and returned the Monday we return from Thanksgiving Break.  Please do not lose them :)

November 11 to November 15

Hope everyone is enjoying the 3 day weekend!!! It's been relaxing for sure. :)

It's a short week, but very full.

*****Reminder- shoebox items need to be in by this Thursday, November 14, 2013.  We will be packaging the items with our Faith Families this Friday.  

 Another reminder,  we have had many students who have been late to school.  I realize that getting children up and ready is a big task, especially when there's more than 1. However, the beginning of the day is very important.  Students use this time to get organized and ready for the day.  Planners are filled out,  lunch & roll is taken, and bags are unloaded.  When your child is late, they start the day in a frenzy.  When students are on time, this time is valuable and gives the child time to get settled so we can start the days lessons without delay.  I really appreciate your support and understanding on this matter.

Another important issue of concern is about absences.  Unless your child is running a fever or really coughing, please make sure child comes to school.  First grade is so important- there is much to learn.  

There are many new concepts introduced each day.  Even when the work is sent home to complete, they are missing the lesson or the review of a concept.  Please remember that school/ academics should be the priority.  And not only that, I miss them when they are out :). Please remember that your child's best interests are always my number one concern! Thanks again for the support :)

This is some of what we will be learning:

Reading / phonics

~ review if digraphs- ch, th, sh, wh. Please review these sounds with your child.  Go over beginning and ending sounds. chop, with, shop, wish for example.

~ review of short vowels: a, i, o

~ words endings - ing, s,es,ed

~ r blends: tree, brick, crab for example

*****There will be no new vocabulary this week.  There will still be spelling words .  These

 are the words:

branch

think

wasn't

trash

block

trick

print

stamp

spill

shock

Math

~review place value: ones, tens.  

~One less, one more, and numbers in between.

~ greater than, less than, equal to

~ numbers 1-100, number words

Religion

~ forgiveness and sin

Science

~ types of animals- mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish

Social studies

~Native Americans, early settlers to America 

Upcoming events:

Thanksgiving feast with kindergarten. Wednesday, November 20, 2013.  First graders will be dressed as Pilgrams.  It should be lots of fun.  We will be having a snack together starting at 10 am.  If you would like to join us, please do! Mrs. McParland is in charge of organizing the snack for that day.  There will be more info to follow next week.

First week of November ! Feel the chill outside!!

Along with this beautiful , but cold and crisp weather, comes the dreaded cold and flu season.  Please remind your child about washing their hands after they sneeze or blow their nose.  They can raise their hand to leave their seat to get a Kleenex and then they may either use our sink to wash their hands with soap or use the antibacterial lotion. I will provide the soap and antibacterial lotion for them to use.  My goal is to keep everyone as healthy as I can. We will also wipe our desks down often too.  Please remind them about these healthy hygiene habits.  I'll remind them at school :-) Thank you !  Remember that shorts are no longer allowed until May.

This week we will start meeting with our 8th grade reading buddies.  This is another way for them to listen to good reading skills and to practice their reading fluency skills too.  My students are so looking forward to this, So are the 8th graders!

Timed math facts tests- we will start taking addition tests of sums to 12.  Start practicing subtraction facts of ten and lower ex 10-7 =  or  6-5=.  We will start those after Thanksgiving break.  

Vocabulary this week:

pond

count

called

silly

morning

beautiful

put

tomorrow 

today

book

belongs

Spelling this week

wasn't 

block

saw

moth

didn't

chop

spot

with

cloth

frogs

We have two events coming up to help those less fortunate:  

Catholic Charities food drive 

First graders are being asked to bring 2 cans of cranberry sauce each- this needs to be brought in any time before Friday, November 15.  

Operation shoebox

First graders are asked to bring in miscellaneous items such as t- shirts, socks, ball, cap, sunglasses, hair clips , toy jewelry, watches, flashlights ( with extra batteries) etc...  Please check the family envelope for the flyer that went home to see what age range your faith family is buying for.  We will write the faith family number in your child' s planner this week.  These items also need to be brought in anytime before Friday , November 15.  

This is just another way we can get our children involved in becoming an Active Faith-Filled Citizen!!!!

This Friday we will be hosting a Veteran's Day Assembly @ 8:30.   If you are a veteran or you know someone who is - this event is for you !!! Please extend this invite to friends, family , or neighbors who you know are veterans .  This is a wonderful event!!