First Grade February Newsletter

We hope everyone is staying healthy and that your 2025 is off to a great start!

This month we are looking forward to our Culture Museum on Monday, February 10th from 3:00-3:30. If you will be joining us, please make sure to pre-register by February 7th at noon so we can have you all set for check-in (if you miss the noon deadline, you still will be able to join and sign in). We hope to see you there! Pre-Register Link

The first graders successfully completed the first half of the school year and started marking period 3! We are proud of the students for continuing to work hard. We are beginning to discuss with them that it is time to start preparing for 2nd grade as we are halfway there!

Sincerely,

Dr. REMES 1st-Grade Team

Tuesday, February 4th: Report Cards available in Synergy

Tuesday, February 4th: PTA Meeting at 6:30 pm

Thursday, February 6th: Report Cards distributed

Monday, February 10th: First Grade Culture Museum in the Gym at 3:00 pm

Monday, February 10th: PTA Spirit Night at Panera Bread

Friday, February 14th: Valentine's Day Class Parties

Monday, February 17th: No School

Wednesday, February 19th and Thursday February 20th: Spring Picture Day

Friday, February 28th: Early Dismissal at 1:20 pm

Friday, February 28th: PTA Family Fun Night

Skills

This month, we continue our work in Skills 4. As a reminder, here are the components taught in this skills unit:

We will learn about r-controlled vowels:

• /er/ spelled ‘er’ as in her
• /ar/ spelled ‘ar’ as in car
• /or/ spelled ‘or’ as in for

We will also learn about multisyllabic words. It is important to know that every syllable has a vowel sound and we will first begin with listening for the syllables. We will encounter the following types of words:

• Compound words (foot-ball)
• Root words and suffixes (point-ed, jump-ing)

Weekly spelling tests will continue in Skills 4, so please continue to look out for the spelling lists and practice the words at home.

Writing lessons continue teaching descriptive writing. Students will practice thinking about the five senses to describe objects, and they will then describe and write informational text.

Knowledge

In February, we will begin Knowledge 7: The History of the Earth. Through daily Read-Alouds, students will learn about minerals and rocks. They will learn how rocks and minerals are taken from the earth's crust and how they are used by people. Students will also explore fossils and how they provide us with knowledge about the history of living things on Earth.

Students will have the opportunity to write friendly letters. They will share important information they learn during the Read-Alouds with both geologists and paleontologists they have met during the domain.

In math, we will start Module 4: Place Value, Comparison, Addition and Subtraction to 40. Module 4 builds upon Module 2's work with place value within 20, now focusing on the role of place value in the addition and subtraction of numbers to 40. We will use our fingers, linking cubes, dimes, and pennies to represent numbers to 40 in various ways-- from all ones to tens and ones. We will learn how to use place value charts to organize units. Lastly, we will compare quantities and begin using the symbols for greater than (>) and less than (<).

This marking period, we will use geographic tools to locate and describe places on Earth. We will also describe places in the environment using geographic characteristics.

• Share with your child something you love to do and have them share with you what they love to do. Take time to participate together in what you both love.
• Head over to the library and search for a snowy day read aloud.
• If there's any snow on the ground, practice writing addition and subtraction facts.
• Make a valentine for someone special.

What do you love to do in the winter? Read to find out what the first grade teachers enjoy and love doing during the season.