First Grade Continuous Learning
March 30-April 3
Dear First Grade Families,
We appreciate all of your continuous support and effort in helping your child to learn at home. Below you will find information regarding suggested activities and information from our counselors while we are away from the school setting. During this time, we are available for you and your child.
Sincerely,
The First Grade Team
Contacting your Teacher
During this time, we will be available via our email or Remind App (Duquette, Saltmarsh, Fydenkevez). Both via email or Remind App messages, photos, voice recordings, or videos can be sent. Should you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.
You are welcome to email or text at any point throughout the day, but we will respond during our office hours. Our office hours will be Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to Noon.
- Miss Duquette nduquette@stgrsd.org
- Mrs. Fydenkevez ffydenkevez@stgrsd.org
- Miss Long slong@stgrsd.org
- Mrs. Saltmarsh dsaltmarsh@stgrsd.org
- Miss Angelica cangelica@stgrsd.org
- Mrs. Wheeler kwheeler@stgrsd.org
- Miss Bednardsky abednarsky@stgrsd.org
District Suggestions
The district suggestions for grades K-6 will be:
· 30-45 minutes of I-Ready reading daily
· 30-45 minutes of I-Ready math daily
We are aware that the I-Ready diagnostic testing takes some time, but once the placement testing is complete the lessons are at your student's level. It is important to note that if your child is in a lesson, then your child may want to finish the lesson before logging off, as the option to pick up where he/she left off is not there. If he/she should sign off before the lesson is complete, they will have to restart the lesson from the beginning.
Teachers will be checking in to see who is completing I-Ready tasks and will follow up with
students on their progress.
· 30 minutes of daily reading (can be independent, buddy reading, echo reading).
- Buddy reading is reading with a partner. Each partner takes turns reading a page aloud. After the book is read, partners can switch who read first and then read the book again. Another variation of buddy reading is partners take turns reading their book aloud to one another. For example, partner one reads and partner two listens. Then they switch roles.
- Echo reading is when the reader reads a sentence and the listener is their echo and repeats the sentence aloud. Both of these activities are fun for all!
- Please remember to ask your child questions about what they are reading for the various genres.
As always Lexia is also encouraged to use during this time.
Suggested Activities for the Week of March 30th
1. Using the phrase "Happy Spring First Graders" how many words can you make? Can you make two letter words, three letter words, four letter words or more?
- Think of word families, blends, digraphs, and spelling patterns to help you create words. Suggested ideas can be "sp___, _st, _it, _ad, _ade, st__".
- A suggestion to help with this is using paper to make individual letters for each letter of the phrase. This will allow children to manipulate the letter cards into words. Record the words you made.
- HAVE FUN!
2. Gather a collection of objects to be counted. The objects can include legos, beans, candy, cheerios, or any other set of objects you have. Count them anyway you choose.
- How many are there in all?
- How many groups of ten are there? Are any ones left over?
3. Make a thank you card for someone who has helped you learn while you are away from school. Be sure to tell them what they did that helped you. How did this make you feel? Give the card to the person and read it to them!
Any activities you complete can be emailed to your child’s teacher or via the Remind App (Duquette, Fydenkevez, Saltmarsh).
Once again, we thank you for your continued efforts and support during this time. We are here for one another and please reach out should there be any questions.
Thank you,
The First Grade Team
Counselor Corner
Dear Woodland School Families,
We truly hope this correspondence finds you and your loved ones all healthy and well.
Given the tremendous impact the global pandemic is having on our communities, our families and the world, our children may be experiencing strong unexpected feelings, worries, concerns, and behaviors despite your diligent efforts to shield them from the enormity of our current circumstances. We have included an attachment to help families with talking to kids about the coronavirus with some coping tools attached.
Discussing Coranvirus With Children
We know that you have all been providing your children with love, nurturance, stability, and TLC during these difficult moments. We can further support our children during these unexpected and unprecedented times by creating routines, structure, clear expectations, positive reinforcement, rewards, and praise. We have attached a great visual toolkit that includes choices, first/then, a token board and a visual schedule. It also includes all different kinds of activities such as sensory, academics, movement, leisure and life skills.
Counselors' Corner Videos:
Our first Woodland School COUNSELORS' CORNER video
Our second Woodland School COUNSELORS' CORNER video
These videos have been created to meet the concerns of our children and families in relation to COVID-19 and how it is affecting our lives right now. These videos contain developmentally appropriate health and safety tips for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade as well as coping strategies and calming skills we have learned and practice at school. Please preview and use your discretion when sharing videos and resources with your children.
We will continue to send videos to address pro-social skills, character development, and self-regulation. Each video plus relevant resources will be posted on each teacher’s SMORE Newsletter every Sunday.
Below, we have attached several emergency, parenting and support resources for this difficult time:
Massachusetts 211 Resource Guide, Coronavirus Support Information
Psychiatric Emergency Crisis: 413-733-6661
Springfield/Westfield and Surrounding Towns
Adults/Adolescents/Children
Crisis Text Line: 741741
If you text "Home" to 741741 when you are feeling depressed, sad or experiencing any emotional crisis, a trained crisis worker will text you back immediately and continue to text with you. This is a free service to anyone.
Domestic Violence HelpLine: 1-800-799-7233 or online at www.thehotline.org/help
Parenting Resources:
Comic for Explaining Coronvavirus to children
Mindful Gratitude Program: May Clinic
Creating Mindful Calming/Quiet Areas for Children
Office Hours:
Mrs. Pelletier mpelletier@stgrsd.org Office Hours: 9:00 AM -11:00 AM
Mrs. Rigby erigby@stgrsd.org. Office Hours: 9:00 AM-11:00 AM
You are in our thoughts. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Best,
Michelle Pelletier and Genie Rigby