First Grade Newsletter and Pics 8/29/25

 Hi! What a great first three days! Your kids are amazing. They are getting the hang of their new routine very quickly which is exciting to see. Our first unit of the year is School Routine and Friendship. Hopefully, you will hear lots of talk at home about our school family and how we work to make sure everyone in our class feels safe and happy.

You might have heard about our GEM boxes! The kids earn gems for being kind, listening, trying their best, following directions, using an appropriate voice level, walking in the hall and more. We count our gems twice a day (during snack and during afternoon break). When they have 10 gems they can choose to trade them in or keep saving. 10 Gems will one of the following things: Treat Box or a coupon for one of the following:  Pajama Day, Hat Pass, Stuffy Day, Show and Tell Day or Read to another class. If your child comes home with a coupon, the item those chose will be circled on the back. It is good for the next day or next day you remember. 

We started learning some of the Secret Stories! We learned that when a and u are together, au, they are in love and love everything. All they can do is say, "auuuu". We will add aw to that next week. These little stories help the students remember the sounds. 

In UFLI we are doing a review of the vowels. This week and next will be the short a sound. After, the kids get used to the UFLI routine, I will be sending home homework for it. Most likely, Sept. 15th. 

We've played many number and letter games already! Hoping the dust off those summer cobwebs and get those sounds solidified. We read two big books and worked on many ELA skills: directionality (which way we read), words vs. letters, making sure what we say makes sense with what we are reading in the story and the actual letter/sound combination. They will get tired of me saying, "Does that make sense? Does it look right? Does it sound right?" If not, we reread. 

Some other key first grade phrases that we've started are: Boss your brain. We make our own choices, good or bad. We are working on bossing our brain to do the right thing in learning and play. Eye Glue. We make sure our eyes are glued to the letters, words or numbers we are working with. This helps with the next phrase, Muscle Memory. By glueing our eyes to what we are doing, we create more muscle memory!

We started reading from our book boxes. We went over the three ways to read: read the pictures, read the words and retell the story. By taking a picture walk, the kids can get their minds ready for the vocabulary that will be in the story.

We got to use many of our STEM materials. What creative builders we have! It's also great to see the kids working cooperatively as they invent!

Handwriting is an important skill in first grade. Letters and numbers should always start at the top and work toward the bottom. We are working on using all lowercase letters unless it is supposed to be a capital. We are also working to make sure letters are going in the correct direction. It will come!

We've had every special this week already! Ask your child what they enjoyed about each one.

We started reading Pixie Tricks! It's a great chapter book series by Tracey West. Ask your child about it.

I know how exciting birthdays are! It is okay to send in a special snack for your child's birthday. We just ask that it is store bought so we can see the ingredients. Also, if you get cupcakes, PLEASE, get the mini ones. They never eat the entire big ones and they are so messy. You do NOT have to send something in. The kids know they do birthdays at home so they don't expect it. However, I know some like to. We have 13 students and 2 teachers. If you send in party invitations, there has to be one for every child. If not, you will need to send them out from home.

I like to give lists of dates for as far in advance as I can. I will continue to update and remind you each Friday. I know how busy life gets. You can also always check the blog!

Some Upcoming Dates to Remember

* Monday, September 1 - No school. Labor Day.

* Friday, September 5 - Book Orders are Due. You can order online anytime at www.scholastic.com and our Class Code is DV68C.

* Monday, September 8 - Peer Helpers Begin

* Friday, September 12 - Baby Picture and Name Day (you will get more info next week)

* Wednesday, September 24 - School Picture Day (info coming soon)

* Thursday, September 25 - Field Trip to Conant's Apple Orchard. Bus leaves at 8:50. Parent chaperones are welcome. Permission Slips will come home next week.

* Friday, September 26 - Cooking!!

Pictures from the Week!

Feel free to screenshot any of your children. I don't mind at all!

Happy Long Weekend!

First Day Letter 8/27/25

  Hi! We had a wonderful first day of school! I’m really excited to be back!  We are going to have a super year! Ask your child about our scavenger hunt!

I have enclosed our specials schedule and class list. Please note the days that the specials are on. Sneakers should be worn or brought for Phys. Ed. Library books can be returned on or before Library day. We will eat snack at 9:20 and lunch at 11:55 each day. Children are allowed to grab a working snack in the afternoon if they are hungry.  We go outside twice each day. Feel free to put an extra bag of clothes or keep a sweatshirt in your child’s locker in case of mishaps or changing temperatures. Students can change anytime during the day.

I will be emailing home newsletters each week.This will keep you informed of what is going on in grade one. You can also check my blog for information at:  www.http://vcslk1.blogspot.com. Everything I send home, including homework, will be placed in your child’s folder. There will be no homework the first three weeks of school. Please make sure your child brings his/her folder each day. This is a good way for you to send in notes. I check folders first thing each morning. Another good way to reach me is by email, lkimball@veaziecs.org. I check my email throughout the day. I also check it at night and on weekends. 

Reminder about transportation schedules...if your child’s schedule is going to change, I need a note or phone call from you. I cannot accept a verbal message from your child for safety reasons. Also, the earlier you can let the school know, the better. Last minute changes are hard when trying to get classes packed up and out.

Once again, I am really looking forward to this year. Together, we can make this a great year for your child!

Some pics from our first day together!

It was a great first day!