Mrs.

Desrochers ‘FUN’damentals of First Grade Newsletter ~ Room 3

Issue 4- December 2019

Seasons Greetings Room 3 Parents/Guardians and Students!

I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving. It was such a sincere pleasure to meet with so many
of you during our scheduled Nov. conference to discuss your child’s academic and
social/emotional progress thus far in First Grade. I look forward to meeting with a few of
you next week in Dec. at our assigned times as well.

Curriculum Update: For the month of December, one of our primary focuses for the Social
Sciences will be centered around the holiday season. The children will be learning about
various cultures, customs, and celebrations that take place during this time of year. I’ll
also embed holidays in an interdisciplinary manner to keep it engaging & motivating!

*Don’t forget…..Please be sure to review your child’s report card and end of term Addition
and Subtraction fact fluency assessment scores (both being distributed the afternoon of
Fri. 12/6) and sign & date the outside of the large report card envelope and return that
with your child this month before the holiday break. I hold onto the envelope year-round
because the Term 2 and Term 3 report cards will also go home in the same envelope. There
is an optional comment space available if you’d like to include any feedback (for either the
First or Second Term.) Otherwise simply a signature will suffice.

Cookie Bake: Calling all Volunteers: Sign-up Form preferentially due tomorrow, 12/6!

I am still looking for volunteers for the annual Gr. 1 cookie bake, which is our community
service project for the year. We will be making cookies for the Foxboro Discretionary
Fund. We hope to instill a sense of joy and holiday spirit in the students for making
something for others at this time of year and relishing in the pride of giving.

When: Mon. 12/16 at 9:00 a.m. (You must have a CORI on file)

*Please be sure all recipes are NUT FREE.

What to bring: your favorite nut free cookie recipe, ingredients, and any tools you need
(bowls, cups, spoons, etc.) We do not need cookie sheets.
Recess Protocol During Winter:

We will be going out for recess throughout the winter months as long as it is above 25
degrees and/or it has been deemed safe for us to be outside. (We do take the windchill
factor into effect). Please make sure your child comes to school prepared in the event
that snow is on the ground, so that they are able to utilize the entire outdoor play space
an maximize their outdoor fun! A warm winter jacket is required daily, along with
gloves/mittens, hats, and scarves. When it snows: snow pants and boots are needed and
should be brought in a reusable tote labeled with your child’s name. Student change into
their snow gear right after lunch before recess. The tote bags go home each day and can
be brought back in the following day. They are not to be left at school. Please don’t send
your child into school wearing their snow pants.

Academic Updates:

Literacy:

A great suggestion for nightly HW is to dictate to your child at least one of the provided
sentences (that are given weekly) per night. Recite a sentence aloud a few times and have
your child write it down and check for proper capitalization, punctuation, and correct
spelling- for both sight words (trick words) and rules that follow an applied pattern that
we’ve been studying. (i.e. digraphs, glued sounds, bonus letter)

We’re focusing on plural words for Fundations Unit 6, using the suffix ‘s’. We’re
distinguishing nouns that are plural vs. verbs in the present tense. We’re distinguishing
plural words that end in /s/ vs. /z/ sounds.

Math:

We just wrapped up our unit on the Relationship between Addition and Subtraction
through problem solving. We have been using the part-part-whole model and number bonds
to help students visualize the properties of addition and subtraction (ie. Fact families and
the Commutative Property). We’ve enjoyed “Number Talks” with Neighboring Nearby
Numbers, using number strings.

Our next Unit is centered around the following: Skip Counting, Comparing, and
Reading/Writing numbers within 120.

Important Dates to Remember:

Fri. 12/6: Term 1 Report Cards Distributed

12/9- 12/12: Book Fair (Our class is scheduled for first block in the a.m. on Thurs. 12/12)

(Other Dates listed on the next page)

Thurs. 12/12: Holiday Make and Take, Movie (5-7 p.m.) Must Sign up to reserve spot. 30
students maximum can attend total & there are already enrolled students.

Mon. 12/16: First Grade Cookie Bake 9:00-10:30 a.m. (volunteers needed).

Fri. 12/20: Winter Wonderland Room Party w/ the Room Mothers. Mid-Morning 😊

12/23-1/1: No School, December Vacation.

Thurs. 1/2/20: School Resumes. Happy 2020 New Year!

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Respectfully Submitted,

Mrs. Brigid Desrochers

desrochersb@foxborough.k12.ma.us

check out my classroom Weebly page: mrsdesrochersgradefour.weebly.com