Week of 9/21/26
Dear First Grade Families,
We had another ROAR-some week in first grade! 🐻💙💛 It is hard to believe we have already completed almost three weeks of school! Our first graders continue to learn our classroom routines, make new friends, and grow as learners each day.
Here is a look at what we have been learning and doing this week:
🧩 Soft Start Mornings
Our mornings continue to be a wonderful time to build friendships and practice working together. Students have been enjoying Legos, Magna-Tiles, Brain Flakes, and other building activities while learning to share, take turns, and solve problems together.
☀️ Morning Meeting
Our Morning Meetings continue to be one of my favorite parts of the day! We practice greetings, sharing, listening, and learning how to be a caring classroom community. Students have also enjoyed continuing our Me Bag sharing and learning more about their classmates.
❤️ Catch Kindness
We are continuing to learn about kindness, active listening, and our feelings. Students are practicing how to be good listeners and how their words and actions can make others feel. We are working hard to be bucket fillers and show kindness throughout our school day.
🔤 Phonics
We are continuing to practice our phonics skills and review letter sounds. Students are working on hearing and identifying sounds in words and using those sounds when reading and writing. We are also continuing to practice our Heart Words.
📚 Reading
Our first graders are becoming stronger readers every day! We are practicing reading fluently, reading with expression, and building our reading stamina. Students are enjoying listening to stories and spending time reading books independently.
Please continue to encourage your child to read at home each evening. Even a few minutes of reading together makes a big difference!
➕ Math
We are continuing our work with addition and subtraction. Students are learning to solve different types of problems, including adding to, putting together, taking away, taking apart, and comparing. We are using hands-on activities and math tools to help us explain our thinking.
🔬 Science
Our classroom has been transformed into a group of scientists! 🔦 We are exploring light and how it helps us see. Students have been making observations, asking questions, and learning how light interacts with objects. We are having fun investigating how light and shadows work!
🏠 Social Studies
We are continuing our unit about families and our school community. Students are learning that families can be different in many ways while also sharing things in common. We are also talking about how our classroom is a family where we support, respect, and care for one another.
🎨 Specials
This week our first graders enjoyed Art, PE, and Library. They are doing a great job learning the routines and expectations for each of our special-area classes!
📝 Homework
Please continue to check your child's homework folder each night. Thank you for helping your child develop independence by encouraging them to read the directions, complete their work, and remember to put their name on their papers.
📖 Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is taking place this week! 📚 This is always an exciting opportunity for our students to discover new books and build their home libraries.
📅 Dates to Remember
September 22–25 — Scholastic Book Fair
September 24 — Public PTO Meeting
October 10 — Clothing Sale & Playdate
October 12 — No School
October 21 — Public PTO Meeting
October 30 — Halloween Hoot 🎃
❤️ Thank You, First Grade Families!
Thank you for all of your support as we begin this school year. I have truly enjoyed getting to know your children and watching them become more comfortable and confident in our classroom.
I am so proud of the way our first graders are learning to ROAR—being Respectful, On Task, Achieving, and Responsible. 🐻
I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your families!
Love,
Mrs. Fornaro ❤️