First Grade

Monday Note
If you want your children to be
intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you
want them to be more intelligent, read
them more fairy tales. Albert Einstein
Marisa Capellan
Tuesday September 6, 2015

Coming Soon:

Monday, September 12th-Thursday, September 15th: Baby face guessing game! Please send in a
photograph of your child when they were a baby. Make sure you write their name on the back of the
photo. I will hang photos up the week of the 14th without student names (please talk to your child how
this is a guessing game and to not tell friends who is who!). Throughout the week, parents and students
will get a chance to guess who each baby is. Answers will be revealed Thursday afternoon! If you could
please drop off your photo (or even email it to me) no later than the morning of the 12th, I would
appreciate it!
Monday, September 12th: First spelling test
Tuesday, September 13th 5:00pm: Back-to-school Night (meet at 5pm in the classroom)
Thursday, September 22nd: Creekside Walk-a-Thon
Monday,October 3rd: School Photos (make up day is October 4th)
Monday, October 10st, 10:30am: Field Trip to Humane Society Truckee Tahoe *If you are available
to chaperone and you are fingerprinted, please let me know! If you prefer to drive your own child and
meet us at the shelter, please let me know. Be on the lookout for a permission slip the first week of
October.

Curriculum Updates:
Spelling Words: Short Vowel Review

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

cat
hat
pet
him
win

Literature

This month we are celebrating the work of Mo

Willems! We will be reading Dont Let the Pigeon
Drive the Bus, Knufflebunny, I am a Frog! and much
more! We will be completing Mo Willems themed
crafts, learning how to write speech bubbles and will
close our Author Study with a popcorn party.
We will read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by
Roald Dahl this month in honor of his birthday on
September 13th.
Social Studies (begins 2nd week of school)

Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed
Science

Physical Science: Solid, Liquid and Gas

Socioemotional Learning

-What is mindfulness? How can I be mindful?

-What are thoughts
-The Golden Rule

6. top
7. hug
8. mug
Bonus word: chip

Classroom Updates
Music and Spanish begin this week! We will have Music with Ms. Jenny on Mondays and
Tuesdays and Spanish with Seora Monica on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Please make sure you label your childs personal belongings. All lunch boxes, water bottles,
jackets, sweaters, backpacks, etc. should be labeled with your childs first and last name.
If your family is planning a family vacation while school is in session, please notify myself and
the office. I will assemble an IS work packet appropriate for your child. Children who are
absent for vacations are still responsible for spelling tests.
During the school year I will be serving various healthy snacks during classroom parties (i.e. a
freshly popped popcorn snack for a Compliment Party or fresh fruit for our Mo Willems day).
Children may also bring in healthy treats for their birthday celebrations. If your child has food
allergies/sensitivities or if you prefer for your child not to eat these snacks, please send in a few
back-up snacks for your child in a labeled baggie that I can offer them to enjoy during these
events. You can bring these snacks in anytime and simply drop them off on my desk.

Assessments
We are about 50% completed with our Reading Assessments (DRA2 and Core) and 20% through our
math assessments. All 3 assessments are given one-on-one. Until all assessments are completed, all
students will receive the same homework and for the most part, similar classwork (group games and
hands-on activities will be differentiated based upon authentic assessments). I expect for assessments to
be completed by the end of this week.
If you are curious about our assessment process in 1st grade, please dont hesitate to ask!