1A Classroom Update 3
October 13, 2017
Dear 1A Families,
Many exciting things have been happening in our second month of first grade! We would like to thank those who made it to Back to School Night. We know work schedules are hectic and we appreciate the unconditional support from your end. For those of you that were unable to make it, we missed you but have attached the power point of our presentation that night for your reference. Here are some of the exciting things that have been happening in 1A.
Important Dates:
- Thursday, October 19 | Stomping Ground Photo Picture Day
- Friday, October 27 | NO SCHOOL
- Tuesday, October 31 | BPCS Halloween Parade
- Friday, November 17 | Curriculum Share
- Please send us family recipes (refer to Inquiry section for more details)
- If you haven't already, please send in an extra change of clothes for your child in a Ziploc bag.
- We are a nut-free classroom due to allergies in our classroom. This includes tree nuts, peanuts or other foods containing nuts. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thank you for your support in making sure that all our students remain happy and healthy.
Note About Halloween Parade
For Halloween, children are prohibited from bringing costumes with weapons, blood, or anything portraying death. As a school, we make it a point to discourage violence of any kind, particularly in this day and age, when children are becoming increasingly desensitized to violence. With the natural disasters occurring all over the world, we also want to avoid anything that may traumatize members of our community.
We look forward to having a wonderful day, together as a community!
Literacy
In literacy, we have reviewed the sounds and correct letter formation of all the lowercase letters. In reading, we have been practicing our Reader's Workshop routines, our 1A friends have been enjoying reading with a partner to not only support each other but share about their reading. Continue to read with your child every night! We will begin our unit on making predictions and connections next week. Our 1A writers have continued to work on their heart map stories. As a part of our Writer's Workshop routine, we brainstormed what "when you think you're done, you've just begun" means. Students worked with a partner to ask questions that prompt them to go back to their writing and adding details to their pictures and words by ensuring that they have the components of "who is in the story," "where is the story taking place," and "what is happening in the story." We also used the acronym COPS (capitalization, organization, punctuation, and spelling) to help us independently edit and revise our work. Next week, we are starting our first unit in writing: narratives or "small moments" in which students will write true stories from their lives. At home, please discuss this with your child and brainstorm some favorite family memories that they could write about for this unit. We will be "zooming in" on a small part of their life story and will tell the story across our 3 fingers (beginning, middle, end).
Literacy
Block
Centers
Math
Inquiry
To facilitate our discussion in Inquiry regarding different family cultures and support our Curriculum Share project, if there is a family recipe that represents you and your family, please send it to us at dtes1a@brooklynprospect.org We encourage you to cook or bake this with your child and also send a photo to document the process!
Learner Profile of the Month: Caring
As an IB World School, BPCS strives to foster the growth of students both academically as well as internationally minded citizens who are aware of the world outside of their local environment. To do this, the school incorporates the IB Learner Profiles into the classroom. The IB Learner Profiles describe a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities and, in turn, embody traits of a well-rounded individual. The Learner Profiles are: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective. Throughout the year, we will be discussing the Learner Profiles in the classroom as a way to bring to life the traits.
For the month of September, our school focused on how a person demonstrates they are caring. Our caring friends are Douglin and Isabella!
Take a Break
Town Hall Meeting
Join Us At the Park
Every Friday, 1st grade will be at Fort Greene park from 9:30-10:30. We take the bus from school at 9:30 (will arrive around 9:45), and parent volunteers meet us at the park to help chaperone the trips. Parent volunteers are essential to keep these visits fun and safe! And the kids LOVE seeing their family members there!
If you are available during this time to join us on a park trip, our class parents have created a sign up sheet. Additionally, here is some more information about park and notes on volunteer protocol. Please note that if the weather is bad (rain), we will not be going to the park. You can always call the school on the day of if you are unsure if we will be going. We will go every Friday until the weather turns unsafe (usually until snow is on the ground), so also make sure to dress your child appropriately for an hour of outdoor play on Fridays!
Amazon Wishlist
Specials Update
¡Hola Familias de 1A!
It has been a great few weeks for the Spanish class in 1A. They are always eager and happy to get immerse into the Spanish language and as the days go by they keep becoming better at understanding, speaking, reading and writing in Español. We have been learning to introduce ourselves in full sentences. Moreover, we have been using fun emoji’s to identify feelings and emotions in Español. Currently we are diving into discussions about familias and how they are all different. We are leaning new vocabulary words such as: mamá, papá, hermana, hermano, abuelos, tíos, amigos, primos etc., in order to identify who are the members of our families. 1A is learning a lot through the use of theatre conventions and fun activities that keep the learning process exciting and magical. We keep working hard towards mastering the Spanish language and are looking forward to all the adventures this semester have in store for us.
Gracias,
Maestra Nivia