Week of August 29th

 Sneak Peek for Next Week!

Phonics Family Words: on, mom, not, spot, hop, top, stop, sob, job, from

Phonics- short o

Reading: Establishing Daily 5 Routines-Work on Writing/Word Work

L.Arts: Singular and Plural Nouns

Writing Workshop: Personal Narratives

Math: Exploring the 99s and 100s Chart; Comparing number charts to the Number Line; Practice Using Different Strategies to Solve Word Problems

Science: Weather Tools and States of Matter

 Homework 

1. Study phonics family words.

2. Practice your "Lightning Words".

3. Practice your sight word list.

4. Fill in the missing numbers on your 120 chart.

5. READ! 

It is time for the RBES Fall Book Fair!  

       The dates for this exciting event are September 9-15. The Book Fair will be open Friday -Thursday from 8:00 AM until 2:30 PM and Tuesday night for Chick-Fil-A /STEAM Night from 6:00-8:00PM. Grandparents and special friends are invited to lunch and the Book Fair any day Friday - Thursday, September 9-15. The Book Fair provides students, parents, grandparents, and special friends an excellent opportunity to purchase great books that your children will love to read.
       This is also a wonderful way to help support the RBES Media Center.  All proceeds go directly to the RBES Media Center.

1st Grade Curriculum Night was on August 23rd

Thank you to all that were able to attend. We hope that you found this evening to be informative about your child's year in first grade. 

If you were unable to attend you can see our presentation below at:

1st Grade Presentation

Scholastic News Donation

If you are able and have not already done so, please send in a $12.50 donation for your child's Scholastic News subscription. Thank you! 

Volunteer Training

The last volunteer training date is September 1^st at 9:00am!
We will need ALL volunteers to attend one of the training options in order for everyone to be able to continue to serve as a volunteer. Please know we appreciate you, your time, and commitment to RBES.

Snack Reminders

-Please send a healthy snack {low in sugar} to school with your child every day. 

-Due to having 5 minutes for snack time, please send in only one snack.

-Please only send a small water bottle for your child to have with his/her snack. (Preferably with a lid that does not have to screw on and off)

Upcoming Events

K/1 Picture Day- August 30^th 
PTO- August 30^th at 6:30pm

Volunteer Training- September 1^st at 9:00am

Labor Day- September 5th SCHOOL CLOSED

Book Fair- September 9-15

STEAM Family Night – September 13^th at 6pm

First Grade Parent Breakfast- September 22^nd

Character Day- September 

22^nd (Students and Faculty)

Have a great weekend!

Week of August 22 - 26, 2016

We had a fantastic week in first grade! Don't forget that our Curriculum Night is on Tuesday, August 23rd at 6:30 p.m. in the Media Center.We look forward to seeing you there! 

Here’s a peek at next week:

Phonics Based Words: it, sit, hit, six, his, this, kid, is, did, in

Phonics- short i
Reading: Establishing Daily 5 Routines – Read to Someone
L.Arts: Common and Proper Nouns
Writing Workshop: Personal Narratives
Math: Numeration: Exploring the 99's Chart and Number Line  
Science: Weather Instruments

 Homework 

1. Study phonics family words (short a, e, i)! 

2. Practice your "Lightning Words".

3. Practice counting and writing numbers 0-120.

4. READ! Scholastic News – Kevin Henkes

Don't forget that Picture Day is on Wednesday, August 26th! 

STEAM Family Night and Book Fair

at

Rocky Branch Elementary!

Tuesday, September 13th

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Take the night off from cooking and enjoy dinner from Chick-fil- A!

Come spend time with your Rocky Branch family for STEAM Family Night and shop for fabulous books at the Book Fair!

Prepaid Meals ONLY! Your choice of dinner for $6.00 per meal

1. Chick-fil- A sandwich, chips, drink, and dessert

2. Chick-fil- A nuggets (8 count), chips, drink, and dessert

Send the order form and money in an envelope labeled STEAM Chick-fil-A order by Wednesday, September 7th.

Make checks payable to RBES PTO.

Scholastic News Donation

If you are able, please send in a $12.50 donation for your child's Scholastic News subscription. Thank you! 

Upcoming Events

***K/1st Curriculum Night- Aug. 23 - 6:30 pm** 

Boy Scout Meeting - Aug. 25 - 6:30 pm

K/1st Picture Day- Aug. 30

PTO - Aug. 30 - 6:30 pm

Last Volunteer Training - Sept. 1 - 9:00 am

Book Fair- Sept. 12-16

STEAM Family Night - Sept. 13 from 6:00-8:00

Book Character Fair – October 28^th (no volunteers needed)

Have a great weekend!!

A note from Miss Julie

It is time for the RBES Fall Book Fair!

           The dates for this exciting event are September 9, and 12-16. The Book Fair will be open September 9 and 12-15 from 8:00 AM until 2:30 PM, Tuesday night from 6-8 during the STEAM Night/Ice Cream Social, and on Friday, September 16 from 8:00 AM until 10:00 AM.   Grandparents and special friends are invited to lunch and the Book Fair any day, September 9 and Monday-Thursday, September 12-15. The Book Fair provides students, parents, grandparents, and special friends an excellent opportunity to purchase great books that your children will love to read.  This is also a wonderful way to help support the RBES Media 

Center.  

All proceeds go directly to the RBES Media Center.

We need volunteers!  Please go to SignUp.com to sign up! http://signup.com/go/6h69t1

2nd Week of School

What a great first FULL week! 

We are working hard and learning so much in first grade! 

Here’s a peek at next week:

Phonics- short e
Phonics Based Spelling Pattern: let, get, pet, met, ten, then, went, bed, red, yes

Challenge: sentence, extra, measure, ready, never, guess, weather, heavy, second, excellent

We will not be taking spelling tests this year. Research has found that weekly spelling tests have not proven to help students be better spellers.  We will focus on phonetic patterns in words and individual student's misspelled sight word vocabulary.  The expectation is for students to be able to spell AND apply the spelling/phonics pattern for the week in their own writing. 
Need ideas for practicing spelling words at home? 
Check out Spelling City!

Reading: Establishing Daily 5 Routines- Read to Someone

L.Arts: Common Nouns

Writing Workshop: Personal Narratives - "Small Moments"

Math: Numeration- Counting and Comparing Numbers, Data, unitizing tens 

**Please practice counting and writing numbers to 120 at home.**

Science: Weather

Homework 

1. Study focus family words! (Short a from last week and short e for next week)

2. Complete Math About Me activity sheet (Due Friday)

3. Practice this week's Lightning Words (Due Friday)

*MAP TESTING * 

Math: Tuesday, August 17th 

Snack Reminders

-Please send a healthy snack {low in sugar} to school with your child every day.

-Due to having 5 minutes for snack time, please send in only one snack.

-Please only send a small water bottle for your child to have with his/her snack.

Shoe Tying Practice

If your child hasn't learned how to tie their shoes yet, 
please practice this skill with him/her at home. 

Upcoming Events

***K/1st Curriculum Night- Aug. 23 @ 6:30 pm** 

K/1st Picture Day- Aug. 30
Boy Scouts Info Meeting- Aug. 25 @ 6:30 pm

PTO- Aug. 30 @ 6:30 pm

Book Fair- Sept. 9-16

STEAM Family Night- Sept. 13

Have a great weekend!!

End of Week 1

               Yay! We have made it through our first “week” of first grade! We are getting off to a great start and getting routines established. I have enjoyed getting to know a lot about your children this week!

          As we look forward to next week, we will begin school wide MAP testing. Our class will take the MAP Reading assessment on Tuesday, August 9^th next week  at 9:30am. This computer based assessment allows us to see what your child’s academic level in reading is at the beginning of the year so we can decide on what goals we need to work on this year to improve. The MAP Reading assessment will be administered again in the winter and spring. 

         We will also take the MAP Math assessment on Tuesday, August 16^th at 9:30am. This assessment will also be administered in the winter and spring. You will want to make sure your child is well rested, has had a nutritious breakfast, and is here at school on time to be ready and prepared.

Just a few reminders…

Volunteers

If you haven’t attended one of the Volunteer Training Sessions with Mrs. Wages, you will want to do that. I have had many of you turn in the volunteer form I sent home and I can’t thank you all enough for being so willing to be active in our classroom. I can only allow volunteers who have been through the training to help with things in the classroom due to a Georgia law about mandated reporters, so as soon as you all have had a chance to attend a training session, I will contact you about volunteering. Remember you must also be volunteer trained to help with any class parties, DASH, Field Day, etc.

Remaining Fall Volunteer Training Dates (choose one):
Friday, August 5^th 9:00am-10:00am
Monday, August 15^th 9:00am-10:00am
Tuesday, August 16^th 9:00am-10:00am
Thursday, September 1^st 9:00am-10:00am

Snacks

Please remember that you may send in a small, nutritious snack and water daily for your child to eat during snack time.

Other Important Upcoming Dates:

K/1 Curriculum Night – Tuesday, August 23^rd 6:30pm-7:30pm

K/1 Picture Day – Tuesday, August 30^th

Welcome to FIRST grade!

Thank you all for coming out to Open House on Monday! It was so great meeting each of you and your sweet children! I know all of the information can be overwhelming, but please take the time to read over everything and return all of the paperwork in your child’s folder as soon as you can. Our blogs will be updated by the end of each week and will be your best friend when it comes to obtaining resources to help your child succeed in first grade this year.

Power School

Please be sure your address is up to date on Power School. This is very important to ensure your child is picked up and dropped off at the correct location if they use the bus as transportation. Also, please keep in mind that bus schedules may be off for the first few days of school while our bus drivers get used to their new routes.

Lunch Menu

Our lunch menu can be found on the Rocky Branch webpage. It will be updated online each month. If you do not have internet access, please let me know.

Volunteer Training

Georgia law regarding volunteers in non-profit organizations establishes that all volunteers are now mandated reporters. In order for all volunteers to understand the law and know the reporting protocols, volunteer training regarding the new mandated reporter law will be provided. Below are the dates for the RBES volunteer training. If you plan to volunteer or visit in a classroom (this includes attending class parties, field day, working with students, etc.) you MUST attend one of the volunteer training dates with Mrs. Wages.

Fall Volunteer Training Dates (choose one):

Friday, August 5^th 9:00am-10:00am
Monday, August 15^th 9:00am-10:00am
Tuesday, August 16^th 9:00am-10:00am
Thursday, September 1^st 9:00am-10:00am

Other Important Upcoming Dates:

K/1 Curriculum Night – Tuesday, August 23^rd 6:30pm-7:30pm

K/1 Picture Day – Tuesday, August 30^th

If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at cpierce@oconeeschoos.org.