Dear Parents,

We had a wonderful week in First Grade. We hope you enjoy a well-deserved three day weekend with your families. Below you will find some important reminders.

 

STEM
First Grade started their next STEM unit on Chemical Engineering today. This is a reminder that because of STEM, math and literacy blocks will be shortened for the next week. Due to the shortened class time, please make sure students are practicing their facts, phonograms, and spelling words at home.

 

Parent Teacher Conferences
We will be having Math parent teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday, January 23rd and 24th. An email from your child’s math teacher has been sent out with a sign-up for you to select a time slot. We will discuss how your child is progressing in math this school year. Please note these will only be math conferences, so we will not be going over literacy or homeroom academics.

 

Specials

Art
First grade students will learn new clay techniques and use them to create their very own clay fish that they get to take home. These fish will teach students how to connect two pieces of clay, how to roll clay into a pancake and how to create textures within the clay using the texture tools.

 

Music
First grade students will be focusing on instruments and families this week. We will start by breaking down the difference of each family and how the members are the same and how they are different. We will then use this knowledge to help us identify characters from Sergei Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf' and discuss why he might have chosen each instrument for each character. Favorite songs of the week: 'German Instrument Song', 'Herman the Worm', 'Swim Little Duck', and 'Duck, Ducky'. 

** Check out Music Website links for 'Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' for more instrument family fun!

 

Physical Education
Students will practice underhand and overhand throwing to a target, as well as catching a tossed ball.  We will work individually, with partners, and in small groups.  We will also use these skills through game play!  Students will utilize responsibility, safety, and perseverance this week.

Kids Heart Challenge! (Formally Jump Rope for Heart)
We will soon be starting our Kids Heart Challenge!  We are hoping to get 200 students from our Castle Pines campus to register and take the Heart Challenge Pledge online.  We are also hoping to raise $15,000 to donate to the American Heart Association!  There will be a variety of rewards for students, so check back for more details!

 

Technology
We will begin the week by working on typing skills and move into learning how to use Kid Pics 3D, a fun graphics program. They will choose from 4 different designs (restaurant, fashion, pet or vehicle) and create what they imagine it will be like in the future.

 

History
We will be wrapping up our focus on the Maya Civilization and will begin learning about the incredible Aztecs who built their city in a lake! If you would like to review at home, please refer to the contents in WYFGNTK.   

 

Science
In Science next week, we will continue our new unit on Earth’s Place in the Universe. We have been focusing on patterns we see during the day and comparing them to patterns we see at night. We will soon start safely tracking the Sun and seeing how it travels throughout a 24 hour day.

 

Literacy
Next week in Literacy we will be focusing on some of our most beloved Core Knowledge stories. Be sure to ask your child what Issun Boshi and Tom Thumb have in common!

If you have any questions, please ask your child’s homeroom teacher. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely, the 1st Grade Team
Mrs. Anthenien, Mrs. Curl, Mrs. Miller, and Mrs. Valentine