If you ever have any questions or concerns please e-mail me @ [email protected]
December 19, 2024
Friday, December 20th is our
1st Grade Prayer Service @ 10:30AM
It is also Christmas Dress up day.
We provide the costumes for the prayer service.
Please wear flat shoes (not slippery or heals).
Tomorrow's seating arrangements are:
The parents will sit on either side of the main aisle while grandparents and other fmily members are asked to please sit on the left elevator side of the church. This is to ensure that all parents have a seat for their children's prayer service. Thank you so much!!!
December 16, 2024
Wednesday, December 18th is our annual Christmas Play. Doors will open at 6:15PM so please be sure to arrive on time. Students WILL NOT be allowed in earlier than 6:15. Play will start at 7:00.
December 12,2024
Hi Everyone and Happy Friday! Just wanted to hop on here and mention the reading tests and the skillset we saw on this last one. We are officially now in the thick of the year and beginning to work on more difficult skills while also asking the kids to be more independent with their work. This is a time of transition and can certainly affect grades as well as confidence. We are at the point in the year when reviewing the phonics skills within spelling words, decodables and the skills practice pages that come home each day is a crucial practice in order to achieve success. It is important to review the high frequency words for the week as well as the vocabulary word definitions and the grammar skills that are on the refrigerator copy. These tests will continue to progress and become more difficult as well as call for more independence. In about a month or so the kids will begin reading their own tests. Reviewing at home will truly benefit them. We simply want to set them up for success 
.
December 2, 2024
Giving Tuesday is December 3rd this year.
'Giving Tuesday is a time to show how much we care by working together to support something important- like new playground equipment, art supplies, or technology for our school. Just as we learn to take care of one another in our classrooms, Giving Tuesday reminds us taht we can make a big difference by helping others and contributing to our community.' Diocese of Trenton
November 27, 2024
New Report Card Grading Explanation:
November 26, 2024
Some important dates to remember:
November 27th-November 29th
School Closed for Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, December 4th- 12PM-12:30
1B Children's Christmas Corner
Friday, December 6th
Half Day, Cafeteria is Closed
Christmas Sock Day
Saturday, December 7th
SLG Christmas Bazaar
Monday, December 9th
Mass - Immaculate Conception 9 AM
Wednesday, December 11th
Picture Retakes (optional)
Friday, December 13th
Polar Express Day
Pajama Day with sneakers
Christmas Hats and Headbands
Wednesday, December 18th
Christmas Concert @7PM in the AAC
We provide the Angel Costumes
(Dress nicely but comfortable with flat shoes.
We don't want the kids to overheat)
Friday, December 20th
1st Grade Prayer Service @ 10:30AM
Christmas Dress up Day
We provide the costumes for the prayer service.
Please wear flat shoes.
November 18, 2024
Thank you to the Tasy family for their generously donating the turkey <3
November 14, 2024
Our class has been blessed with the opportunity to provide a Thanksgiving meal for a family of 4 in need. Each child has been assigned a specific item to bring to school on/before Wednesday, November 20th. Please be on the lookout for a small piece of paper with a turkey picture on it. Please refrain from sending in any glass containers.
We also need one special family to donate a 12lb turkey on November 22nd. Please email me if you are able to donate.
Thank you for your support!
November 11, 2024
This Thursday the cafeteria will be closed in preparation for our Turkey Feast on Friday so please send a lunch from home. Friday is our Turkey Feast. If you have not pre-ordered the turkey feast, please make sure you send in a lunch on Friday as there will be no ordering on Friday as well.
There will be no Mass this Friday.
November 9, 2024
1B will be going to the Scholastic Book Fair on Thursday, November 21st at 11:40AM. You are welcome to join us in shopping or send money with your child and a shopping list. In either case, we are excited for the Saint Leo Scholastic Book Fair! 
November 8, 2024
In honor of the season of Thanksgiving, we are sendng home a thankful plate project. We are askign that you and your family decorate the plate together with pictures of who and what you are grateful for. The project will be due back by Friday, November 15th. The kids will have an opportunity to share them in class. Thank you in advance.
With the Christmas season quickly approaching, we begin to prepare for our Christmas Prayer Service, which will take place that last day before Christmas break. We have received a number of graduation gowns but need them to be tinseled around the arm holes and the base of the gown. If any mom/moms would be able to take on this challenge, we would be so grateful. Thank you so much and please reach out as soon as you're able.
Thanks again!
November 5, 2024
Important Dates:
Wednesday 11/6: Half day, send in lunch
Monday 11/11 First Grade Dress Down Day
Thursday 11/7 Anti-Bullying Assembly
Thursday 11/14: Cafeteria closed in preparation for the Thanksgiving Feast, send in lunch
Friday 11/15: Mass at 9:00, Thanksgiving Feast
11/18-11/22 Scholastic Book Fair week
Tuesday 11/26 Thanksgiving Prayer Service 10:15
11/27-11/29: School Closed
Congratulations! First Grade came in second place in our Color Run and will have a
Dress Down Day on Monday, Nov. 11
October 29, 2024
Thursday, October 31st, is a half-day schedule. Please remember that students will only need a lunch- no snack. The cafeteria is closed. Please be aware that students will be eating lunch in the classroom on Thursday, so please DO NOT send anything related to nuts for lunch. I appreciate your understanding.
Costumes: Students are allowed to wear their costumes to school, but please be mindful about how they will be using the bathroom and sitting in class. Students cannot bring in weapons of any kind.
Treats: As per the students handbook, no food may be distributed on Halloween.
October 24, 2024
Beginning next week, we will start giving out Spelling Challenge Lists. A challenge word list will be given to students who get all of their pre tests words correct. The goal is to effectively challenge the students who find the spelling material to be easy. If at any time you feel that a challenge list is too overwhelming or difficult for your child, please let me know and we can discuss. The goal is never to cause anxiety but to challenge the kids who thrive off being challenged. When given the challenge list, your child's homework will be based on that list as well as their test on Friday. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me.
October 16, 2024
Tomorrow is a dress down if you bring in a donation for the victims of Hurricane Helene and Milton.
Friday, October 18th is picture day.
Hello everyone! I just wanted to check if everyone was able to get their child's teams information and add their child's email address to their email. Last year when we had the unexpected snow day that turned into a virtual learning day we felt it was very stressful as it was unexpected and as a grade level we were not prepared as we had not set up teams. I vowed that would never happen again and got us all set up with teams this month. It's another place where I can post information. The great thing about teams is that it is closed to our class so I can share permission slips, class photos and other things relevant to the class. When I post something on Teams it will send an instant notification to your child's school email address so you know something has been posted. If you need help getting anything set up you are always able to reach out to tech support.
October 5, 2024
Just some important upcoming dates to remember:
Monday, Oct. 14 - School Closed for Columbus Day
Wednesday, Oct. 16 - Half Day for Students
Wednesday, Oct. 16 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Friday, Oct. 18 - Picture Day/PTA Trunk or Treat
Thursday, Oct. 24 - Half Day for Students
Thursday, Oct. 24 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Friday, Oct. 25 - SLG Color Run & Parish Bingo Night
Thursday, Oct. 31 - Half Day for Students
October 2, 2024
Progress Reports
Dear Parents,
On Friday, October 4, 2024 your child will be receiving a progress report for the first trimester. A progress report is a way to communicate about your child’s ongoing progress. Please be mindful that we are only a month into the school year. The First Grade Progress Report is a skills-based report that assesses first grade ONLY. This report is a representation of your child’s growth. Each child is assessed individually. Please keep in mind that this is not a traditional grading scale. Our Progress report also looks at all of the skills your children will be learning THIS year, not the skills that they should have come in with.
The first section “Approach to Learning” looks at how your child’s work study habits and behavior affect your child’s learning. If your child received a “+”, “*”or “^”, it is an indication that your child has a strength or weakness in this area.
Each child develops at different rates in different times. Academic areas are assessed according to skills taught at the current time of the report. If a skill is not assessed, it has not been formally taught or assessed.
The assessment key represents how your child demonstrates that given skill. If your child receives a four, this is an indication that your child needs teacher guidance to perform this. If your child receives a three, your child is performing this skill with minimal guidance from the teacher. If your child receives a two, your child is capable of performing this skill independently without assistance.
These skills are introduced this year and then revisited next year in second grade. We do not expect kids in first grade to truly 'master' anything. Many of the skills they will continue learning in the upcoming years. We hope that by the end of first grade they will be able to accomplish many of these tasks with minimal guidance or independently.
Fondly,
Mrs. Dorothy Paul
September 30, 2024
Week of Respect
Monday, September 30th Mismatched Uniform Day
Respecting Others Students are invited to mismatch their uniforms to help represent that we all are unique and to celebrate those differences that make our school community so great! Students will begin to complete kindness acts starting today and the rest of the week. *Throughout the week, our Student Council will host a donation drive for the Monmouth County SPCA. The following donations will be accepted from 9/30-10/4: PRE K-Grade 3: Nylabone brand small dog chew toys Grade 4: Pedigree or Science Diet WET dog food (small cans) Grade 5: Friskie brand WET cat food (Non-seafood) Grade 6: Milkbone dog treats Grade 7: Dryer Sheets Grade 8: Unscented Baby Wipes
Tuesday, October 1 st Respecting Ourselves and Others
Affirmation Wall Students will help create an affirmation wall in the cafeteria with messages of respect and encouragement.
Wednesday, October 2 nd Respecting Our Maintenance Staff
Notes of Gratitude Students will create notes of gratitude for our Maintenance Staff to Honor National Custodian Day to honor the work of our custodians and maintenance staff who keep our School clean and organized.
Thursday, October 3 rd . Respecting Our School Community
Lion Strong Dress Down Day Students are invited to celebrate Saint Leo the Great school community and our resiliency by dressing down in their school spirit wear. Together, we are Lion Strong!
Friday, October 4 th Respecting Our World
Blessing of the Animals All are invited to mass (9:00 a.m.) and a blessing of the animals (1:00 p.m.) to celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, which recognizes his devotion to God’s animals. Today is the last day of our MCSPCA donation collection.
September 13, 2024
It was such a pleasure meeting everyone yesterday! Thank you for entrusting your most prized little humans to my care. I truly believe that teamwork makes the dream work and I look forward to being on your team. I also made a copy of the phone number list and sent it home in everyone's red folder so be on the lookout for it.
Today we took our first set of tests. The kids took a spelling test and an auditory reading test. They did great following lots of directions and wrote in their nicest and neatest handwriting. Please be sure to give your kids lots of praise today to help grow their confidence. It can be scary to take tests for the first time. It will only get easier as time goes on because they will feel more comfortable. They really did a great job and I'm very proud of them.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
September 11, 2024
Tomrrow is our first school wide mass. Tomorrow evening is back to school night at 6:30PM, I look forward to meeting everyone :-).
Friday, the kids will take their first set of tests. The spelling test is based on the words from the h book which most kids were able to sound out on Monday's pre test. Going forward always make sure your children are sounding out the spelling words and not attempting to memorize. Using sounding out skills will not only help in spelling but also in reading words. The reading test is based on skills that we have been working on this week: the phonics sounds that are listed on the refrigerator copy (short a, s, m and t), the high frequency words am, can and and on and just a few of the vocabulary words listed on the refrigerator copy. We learn these words while reading our in class stories. The early tests are pretty simple and they are all auditory, meaning I read them to the class.
September 3, 2024
Hello 1B families!!! Today was an exciting first day in first grade :-).
Your child's red folder will be their homework folder. This will go back and forth daily. On the inner left side please write how your child will be getting home daily. If you have a bus pass, please tape it in the left side of their folder (I taped in a few today.)
The kids also have homework planners that they will be writing in daily. Please check their planners and initial. The boxes on the right hand side are a great place to write a note if you choose. Today their homework assignment is their ice breaker bag which is due Friday. The parents also have some homework in the red folder :-), a parent questionnaire. If you can please send this back in tomorrow, I would greatly appreciate it. The paperwork form the office is due back asap.
Specials begin tomorrow, Please glance at our specials schedule to know what to anticipate.
If you have any questions for me, feel free to email me anytime.
August 28, 2024
Hello and welcome to a new school year! I can hardly believe that the summer is winding down and on September 3rd we will be starting an exciting year in first grade (1B to be more precise)! In just a few short days we will be exploring a new classroom and making lots of new friends! I'm so excited to be returning to school and I hope you are too!
Our first day of school is Tuesday, September 3rd
(it is a half day and the remainder of the first week are full days).
Prior to the first day of school, please label all of your child's school supplies, including their backpack, lunchbox, waterbottle and fleece.
Please click on the New School Year link, in the menu, for important information about transportation, food, our specials schedule and classroom procedures. Feel free to check out the website. Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you real soon!
