Wednesday, May 1, 2024

First Grade News: May 3rd, 2024

Peek at the Week:

Want to hear about our week? Ask your child the following questions:

MATH:

What times do these clocks show?

Can you tell me about "Baby Hour" and "Momma Minute"? (Here's a video from Mrs. Brignac's Distance Learning days!)

READING:

Can you spot these Non-Fiction Text Features in a book from home?

Can you read these words? (Sorry I don't know why they're sideways and I can't figure out how to fix it!

WRITING: We continued OPINION writing! Ask: What part of the school day did you write about this week? Can you show me on Seesaw?

OTHER FUN THINGS: We made May Day baskets with our 3rd grade buddies and delivered them to the nearby houses in our community! We also took a field trip to Dodge Nature Center to learn about the sounds of nature!

Things to Know:

LIFE CYCLE LEARNING: Through our reading curriculum, Being a Reader, first graders have been learning about life cycles in our non-fiction text unit. We have studied how various animals change from baby to adult, including house spiders, turtles, elephants, and butterflies. We also examined a non-fiction text about the life cycle of seeds.

Dating back to our previous Foss Science curriculum (that we no longer use), it has become a tradition in first grade to study the life cycle of a chicken - in real life! Even if our science curriculum has changed, we welcome the opportunity to tie our new literacy curriculum with hands-on learning and continue the tradition! Every year, we incubate chicken eggs in our classrooms and watch the magic happen. We have been so fortunate to have also gotten the opportunity to incubate duck eggs in the last few years, as well! We currently have 12 duck eggs incubating in the first grade commons area for 28 days. The other first grade classrooms have 6 chicken eggs each, incubating for 21 days. They are set to hatch SOON!

BOOK FAIR: The bookfair is coming! Our class will be shopping on Monday, May 6th at 9:30 am. Please see the letter below for more information:

A NOTE FROM MS. PETERSON:

April 30, 2024

Dear Somerset Families,
Your children are busy preparing music to share with you in our spring evening concerts. What
fun we are having! The joy of singing and dancing is in the air!

Due to finding that I have a treatable form of cancer, I recently cancelled extracurriculars like 4th
grade choir to make my new life manageable for the time being, yet planned to complete evening
spring concerts for Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. I recently learned the district needs to convert the music
room into two classrooms for next year. Packing up the music room is a new project that is taking
after-school time.

After careful time management assessment, I need to cancel all Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 evening
concerts. Kindergarten day concert will continue.

To share the children’s music with you in lieu of an evening concert, I will:
• video Grades 1-4 singing and dancing in the music room.
• post these videos to you.
• send you a printed program.

And of course, you can always ask your child for a special personal performance at home!
Kindergarten spring concert will continue as scheduled because it is during the day.

Spring Concert Schedule updated 4-26-24
Thursday • May 9, 2024

Grade 2 • Evening Concert for Parents 6:00-6:30 p.m. CANCELLED
Grade 3 • Evening Concert for Parents 7:00-7:30 p.m. CANCELLED

Thursday • May 16, 2024

Grade 1 • Evening Concert for Parents 6:00-6:30 p.m. CANCELLED
Grade 4 • Evening Concert for Parents 7:00-7:30 p.m. CANCELLED
Choir • Evening Concert for Parents 7:30-7:45 p.m. CANCELLED

Kindergarten Spring Concert for Parents

Tuesday • June 4, 2024 • 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Kindergartners will give a spring concert for their parents during the school day.

My apologies for disrupting your plans of evening concerts with your children. I know many of you have
invited grandparents and family members, and have made arrangements to be present at the concerts.
After treatment, I look forward to returning to a robust concert schedule next year!

Kari Peterson

Important Dates:

5/6- Class book fair shopping

5/7- Our chicks hatch!

5/14- Our ducklings hatch!

Picture Time!

Sunday, April 28, 2024

First Grade News: April 28th

Peek at the Week:

Want to hear about our week? Ask your child the following questions:

MATH:

What are the names of these shapes?

READING:

Do all children around the world have a Tooth Fairy? What other tooth traditions exist in communities around the world? How are they the same or different than the Tooth Fairy?

Can you read this poem?

Can you read these -ed words?

What do you remember about these vocabulary words?

WRITING: We began learning about OPINION writing! Ask: What food did you write about last week? Why do you think it is the best food?

Things to Know:

NUMBER SCROLLS: Thank you so much for helping us gather the materials to start our number scroll project! We were able to begin our projects and have already had some mathematicians join the "1,000 Club!" Take a look:

SOMERSET PROJECT FAIR AND STEM NIGHT:

Mark your calendars and get your curiosity flowing - the Somerset Project Fair and STEM night is coming on May 2nd, 2024 from 6-8pm! This fun evening for kids of all grades and families will be a mix of hands-on STEM activities and the chance to display a project that YOU make. Projects can be about anything that gets you interested or excited: a science topic, a hobby, or an answer to a question you’ve always wanted to know. You are welcome to attend and have fun whether you choose to make a project or not! If you want to participate with a project, please sign up here.