December 1, 2015
Dear Parent(s),
November has flown by! The children are busy preparing for their Christmas program and all the
other business that goes along with the month of December. Information about December follows.
Religion
We will spend the month of December focusing on Advent as we prepare for the birth of Jesus at
Christmas. As a school community we will gather at 2:00 in the Gym for a Las Posada Prayer Service
followed by a sing-a-long. The students will also attend a Divine Mercy Prayer on Dec. 7th at 9:00 in
Church. We will also celebrate mass on the 2rd, 8th (Celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)
and 16th all at 8:50. We hope you are able to join us.
Reading
We will soon begin Theme 4-Family and Friends. We will continue to work on phonemic
awareness by blending and segmenting the individual sounds in a word. In addition, we will work on the
following Phonics skills: clusters with l, r, s, and triple clusters, words with short o, e, and u, contractions
with ‘s and silent letters kn, wr and gn. We will practice the following comprehension strategies: drawing
conclusions, summarizing, compare and contrast, and sequence of events. With practice in class, it is our
hope that the children will begin to use these strategies when reading independently. The children continue
to build their list of vocabulary words. At home we encourage the children to study vocabulary nightly so
they are able to recognize the words with ease. Besides being able to read the word, children should also
know the meaning of the word and be able to use it in an oral or written sentence. For those children that
learn the words quickly, we suggest having them learn to spell them and do some sentence or story writing.
The children have been working hard to reach their AR goals, please continue to encourage them. A big
thank you for all the practice you do at home with your child.
Spelling / Writing
The first graders are getting used to the idea of having a weekly spelling list to study that they keep
in their reading folders. We work on these words during the week at school.
We have been working on writing sentences, making sure they are complete with a naming part
and an action part. The children are also taking care to make sure they begin sentences with a capital
letter and have the correct ending mark.
Math
We have finished our chapter on addition strategies. The children learned many different ways to
find the answer to an addition problem. In Chapter 4 we will begin work on subtraction strategies and see
the relationship between addition and subtraction. We encourage the children to work on their addition and
subtraction facts at home to improve accuracy and fluency.
Science
We are finishing our study of Materials and Properties. Children have one final project to work on.
This will involve tracing family member’s feet. This will be coming home soon. Thank you in advance for
your help with this. Once the feet are traced and returned to school, we will complete the project.
Social Studies
During December we will finish up studying Americans Long Ago. Our next unit of study will be
‘Where We Live’.
Other
 A reminder to please send your child’s home folder back to school each day and to check your
child’s folder nightly looking over and removing any work they have brought home.
 This would also be a good time to ask your child how their supplies are holding up. They may
need to replace crayons and erasers.
 We would like to see the children get into the habit of doing some homework each school day. We
think you will find it more manageable and enjoyable for you and your child if you limit it to one 1520 minute session or two 10-15 minute sessions. You can vary what is studied nightly, choosing
from studying vocabulary words, reading books that are sent home or from your family library, and
practicing addition and/or subtraction. This might also be a good time for students to put their
writing skills to practice by using their vocabulary words in written sentences or stories. We are
seeing many students working hard to set aside time for work on TenMarks. Please continue to
encourage your child with this.
 The children are looking forward to performing their Christmas Program for their families on Dec.
17th at 1:45 and 6:30.
 The cold and snow are here. Please help your child dress properly for the weather. Check for
hats, gloves, and boots as the snow and cold arrive. Please label all items, but especially boots,
as many children have the same style. Children will also need to have snow pants or snowsuits to
play in the snow. You may also wish to tuck an extra pair of socks in their book bag in case their
first pair gets too wet to wear.
 A big THANK YOU for all those that volunteered to make play dough for the Advent Wreaths. We
couldn’t have done it without you
We wish many blessings to you and your family during this very joyous time of year.
Mrs. Burke and Mrs. Weig