Weekly Update: September 18, 2026

 

I sure love these goofballs!

Peek at the Week: 

We had a great 2nd week of school! We continue to practice the rules and routines of our classroom and school while we start specific curriculum lessons.  Please remember to send a snack with your child each day and return the Take Home Folder every Monday. Thanks for all your help and support at home! I know the transition back to school can be hard for everyone! 🙂

Literacy:

We worked to build our classroom reading community by listening to and discussing the story This is the Way We Go To School and the poem “New Friends.”   The students learned about IDR time (Independent Daily Reading Time) and worked to build their reading stamina. The students learned about the importance of working independently and practiced this skill throughout the week. Finally, the students took a one-on-one reading assessment with a teacher from the district screening team. We will use this information to help guide our instruction.

Phonics:

Our phonics curriculum is through Magnetic Reading Foundations. The components of each lesson include: Phonological awareness, phonics, high-frequency words and fluency. This week we worked on:

• Phonological Awareness: rhyming and phoneme skills work
• Phonics: Vowel: short a; Consonants m, t, b, c, n, s, p, r, h, d  
• Super Words (high frequency words): and, see, the, to 
• Fluency: At Bat and Can I Help?

A paper copy of the book Can I Help? will be in your child’s Take Home Folder as soon as they arrive from our district print center. It is a great way to have them practice reading at home!

Math: 

Students were introduced to “What is Math?”  They discussed math in their daily lives, worked on counting objects to 20, writing numbers correctly, and they played a few games to practice their numbers sense. We learned about math tools and how they are different than toys, and explored pattern blocks, unifix cubes, dice, and whiteboards.

Writing:

Based on the story This is the Way We Go To School, the students created a class book. Each child wrote a silly sentence about how they would get to school.  In addition, the students wrote an acrostic ABC poem and created a bus craft. Finally, they practiced writing sentences using this week's Super Words and phonics sounds (short a).

Social Studies:  

We read and discussed the Scholastic News “Friends Have Feelings Too.” Students also learned about Constitution Day (September 17th) and continued to build our classroom community!

    

Things to Know:

Math Homework:  

For homework this year, we are sending home this  Reveal Math Student Practice Book! Please keep this book in a safe place at home, as we will be using it throughout the entire school year. Here is what you need to know about using this book at home:

• Staying Informed: Our weekly emails will outline the math lessons planned for the upcoming week and keep you updated on what pages your child should complete. 

• It’s completely optional: Your child does not need to return completed pages to school. These pages are simply a tool to show you what we are learning and to offer extra skill practice.  However, any time you can spend on them makes a significant impact on learning retention, so please try if you can!

Next Week:

Upcoming Events/Reminders: 

September 24 - The first day of Library!

September 24th - aMath Assessments: We will use this information to learn more about your child’s skills.

Sept. 28 - Dodge Field Trip -  11:45 - 1:30 

Oct. 8 - 13 - Book Fair!

October 8 & 13 - Conferences - More information about signing up coming soon!

Picture Time!

As part of community building we read the story, Chrysanthemum, and crumpled up a paper heart every time the main character's feelings were hurt by others' actions. At the end, we tried to smooth out all of the wrinkles in the paper. We learned that - no matter how hard we tried - we could still see wrinkles. Then we read the following poem: 

We discussed how, even though we can't take back hurtful actions or words, we can try to repair damage by kind actions and words. To represent these kind actions, students decorated a bandaid and placed in on wrinkled and torn pieces of the heart. 

As one student mentioned, "If we can fix our class' heart, we can help fix a friend's, too!" 😍

Here is a bonus of Mr. Brignac and my daughter, Josephine (2), getting ready to cheer on the Vikes. SKOL! :-)

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Weekly Update: September 11, 2026

 Hello first grade families, 

Week one of first grade... check!! This crew already has a hold on my heart. In just our first week, they have shown so much kindness, empathy, and great listening skills. I don't know how many times I had to ask, "Are you sure you're first graders?" because of their wonderful listening and direction following. It certainly is going to be a year to remember!

Please take a minute to read about our upcoming events and also some first grade classroom routines.

Our FIRST Field Trip is Coming!

We will have our first field trip to Dodge Nature Center on Monday, September 28 from 11:45 - 1:30. Our topic of study will be Trees.  Please let me know if you would like to help chaperone. All chaperones need to complete a background check prior to volunteering--this has to be done every year! The district arranges and pays for this. You will need to fill out this short Background Check Form. 

Library Volunteer: 

We will go to the library to check out books every Thursday at 11:00 am. My class is in need of a volunteer(s) to help students with book check out. If you are interested, please let me know. 

End of Day Change in Routine:  

If you have any end of day transportation changes for your child that arise during the school day, please call Jacki Smith in the office (612-403-8200) so she can relay the information to me as I am not always able to check my email throughout the day.

Seesaw:

Students will use Seesaw off and on throughout the year to complete and post their work. Here is the link to sign up:  SEESAW LINK

Take Home Folders

Your first grader will take home a folder every Friday. It will mostly have their work from the week, but also some reminders and sometimes things that may need to be signed and returned. Please take a look at this each weekend and send it back every Monday. Thank you!

Classroom Schedule 

The first week of school is a time for us to get to know each other and begin to create our classroom family bond. We spent a majority of the week working on relationship building and learning routines. Next week we will begin our classroom academic schedule and kick off our literacy, math, and writing blocks. As the year progresses, changes might be made to fit our class' needs - I will let you know if that happens. Here is our class schedule as of now! 

Snack Time:

Please remember to send a healthy snack with your student every morning. A mid-day snack helps keep energy and focus high until lunch!

If bringing a snack from home isn't an option on any given day, no problem—all students can order a free school breakfast in the cafeteria and save an item (like a pack of crackers, fruit, or a muffin) for snack time later in the day.

Please note: To ensure consistency and respect our students' routines, our classroom does not accept or distribute general snack donations. Sending a snack directly with your child or having them grab a free school breakfast item are the two best ways to keep them fueled and ready to learn.

Thank you for your support in keeping our classroom running smoothly!

Picture Day-

SMILE! Picture day is on September 17th! Our pictures are most likely in the morning to avoid the food spills and messy hair that can happen during lunch and recess. :-) You can place your order on mylifetouch.com using your Picture Day ID: EVT8W2774. Your child can also bring their completed flyer with cash or check on Picture Day. Orders after Picture Day must be placed online only on mylifetouch.com. Order forms were provided at Meet and Greet.

Breakfast Reminder-

Breakfast and lunch are free of charge for students this year. Please discuss with your child before school each morning about whether or not they would like breakfast. (Doors open at 7:30 am, school day begins at 7:45 am). If your child is arriving closer to 8, school breakfast may be a bit rushed!

Important dates:

Sept. 17 - Picture Day!

Sept 15 - 1st/2nd grade Family Picnic 5:30-7pm Somerset Playground - This is a picnic that families can attend. Teachers will not be attending.  

Sept. 28 - Dodge Field Trip -  11:45 - 1:30  - Let me know if you would like to help chaperone.

PICTURE TIME!😎

Have an amazing weekend!