January 6, 2026

Dear Parents,

          Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a nice vacation! Thank you to our Room Parents Mrs. Tamika Francis and Mrs. China Sheffield for organizing a wonderful winter craft and also Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. McPhilemy who came in and helped. The students listened to two winter stories and then molded and decorated snowmen. We are in need of some tissues. Any donation is greatly appreciated.

          Our reading workshop is going strong! We are continuing our second unit titled: Word Detectives. Rasheed has been leaving surprise missions and different tools to use to help solve words in their books. The students have earned their Official Word Detective badges from the SSDA! Congratulate your child for working so hard, accepting the new challenges and earning their official badge.

          During writer’s workshop we are still working on our Small Moments writing unit. The students have been unfreezing their characters by making them move and talk. They have been introduced to adding quotation marks within their writing. The students are also trying to bring out the inside of their characters. They have been adding how the characters feel and what they are thinking. 

          In math we will finish up our Unit 5 in Reveal titled Subtraction within 20: Facts and Strategies. Please refer to the December Newsletter for more information. Later this week we will begin Unit 6 titled Shapes and Solids. Please refer to the Reveal parent letter that is in the Grade 1 Important References folder you received at Open house as well as the one sent home in your child’s folder. Students will learn how to identify 2- and 3-dimensional shapes. They will also learn how to build new shapes and composite figures. I hope you have been enjoying the different math facts games that have been sent home over the last few months!

          We are continuing to work on our Physical Science Waves: Light unit from OpenSciEd. The children have been engaging in science explorations, making observations, recording, and creating our Growing and Ideas chart.  Our essential question for the unit is How can we read under cover when it is dark?. Ask your child if it was easier to read under a shower curtain, white sheet or blue blanket. Have fun discussing science!

          We are scheduled for a first grade field trip on Friday, May 8th. Each classroom usually takes a few chaperones. If you are interested in being a chaperone, you must have filled out a CORI form AND have gotten your fingerprints done. If you want to be considered, you will need to have the paperwork filled in by the end of March. More details about the trip will follow.

          We are off to the races! The children are learning at a great rate.  Thank you for all the support and time you have given to your child’s schooling. If you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call and we can discuss them.                                                     

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gaspa