March Newsletter

CALENDAR EVENTS

2/26 Lunar New Year Assembly, Photo Album Link
3/1 Lower Form Assembly, Dress Uniform: No Singing Practice Today
3/5 Spirit Day: Mardi Gras Theme
3/6 Ash Wednesday Services, Dress Uniform

3/8 Coed Wood Shop Classes Begin

3/13 Field Trip, Regular Uniform & Lunch from Home!

3/15 Celebrate Spring Events - Modified Hot Lunch Service Today...
3/18 Safety Week

3/19 Grade 1 Parent Coffee, 8:30 AM in the Reception Room

3/24 Pinewood Derby, Gym - 10:00-1:00

3/28 & 3/29 Parent Conferences, ASP Open

LANGUAGE ARTS

In language arts, the girls are busily learning word study, writing, and comprehension skills.
• Word study skills are continuing with vowel teams and suffix: add _ed at the end of a word. 

• Our next reading unit introduces short stories (posters), big book selection - "Three Shapely Pigs", and Reader's Theatre -"Lunch with Little Miss Muffet". Girls are learning comprehension strategies:

• Retell story events
• Make predictions using clues in pictures, text
• Make inferences

WRITING  

In Writing Workshop, first graders are using planning sheets completed with Ms. Whatmore's 7th graders for writing reviews about books and restaurants. Girls have had warm-up writing with collections and opinions. They are applying many strategies to convince their reader to go to one of their favorite restaurants and read a favorite book.     

Pre-Planning Sheet - 2-sided
     

Mrs. Whatmore's 7th Grade Class

First Graders Chatting About Ideas

7th Graders Writing: Titles of Books,
Names of Restaurants & Main Ideas

SOCIAL STUDIES & ART
Congress passed a law in 1987 to designate March as National Women's History Month. First graders will learn about women who have made significant contributions in their professional fields. Biographies introduce girls to: Sonia Sotomayor (Supreme Court Justice), Georgia O'Keeffe (artist), Lena Horne (singer, actress), Maya Lin (architect/design), Barbara Jordan (politician), Katherine Johnson (African-American mathematician - saving Apollo 13), Sally Ride (astronaut), and others.
• Throughout the month, career presentations by first grade parents have been scheduled. If you have not yet signed up but would like to come in, please contact teachers for a list of dates that are still available.
• Ms. deYoung's art classes will feature Georgia Keeffe's art and techniques used in her paintings.

SCIENCE  

Our Sound and Light study concludes with an investigation on "Lights and Mirrors". Lessons focus on: Mirrors and Light Beams, Reflections, Eyes and Seeing, and Designing with Light. 
Earth Science lessons will begin mid-March.

MATH

Our math lessons continue with Numbers to 40. In class, girls are applying strategies and increasing fact fluency with games: Strategy Spin (+1, +2, +3, doubles), Race to Zero! (subtraction), and Five-in-a-Row. Please continue to play math games at home to reinforce fact fluency (Partners to 10, Two Card Draw!, Doubles).

Strategizing to Get 3 in a Row