Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We had fun reading a nonfiction story about ants.  We also read a fiction story about ants.  We had to decide if we would step on the ant or not!

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will be talking about ways to praise God. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about corn.  My favorite kind of corn is popcorn so we will be tasting various kinds of popcorn and graphing our favorites!  We will also be reading some books to prepare for our upcoming field trip to the pumpkin patch.

Science – We will be talking about keeping healthy. We will be talking about taking care of our teath and eating healthy food.

Math – We will begin our next unit on addition and subtraction

Social Studies – We will continue working on our Citizenship unit.  We will also be learning about Johnny Appleseed.  We will list ways he was a good citizen.

Remember as the weather begins to change that we go out for recess two times as day and jackets may be needed. Also, it is always a good idea to label your child’s clothes with a name. It is amazing where sweatshirts and jackets turn up!

Our field trip to Vala’s is right around the corner.  Earlier this week I sent home the permission slip for this trip.  Those were due today.  If you have not sent the form back with payment please do so on Monday.  More information will be sent next week about this trip.

Don’t forget our School Fundraiser will be Saturday, October 21st.

          Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We read a story about a runaway hat and two friends working together to get the hat back!  We made a puppet show that your child can use to retell this story. We talked about staying healthy in Science.  We are talking about being good citizens in Social Studies.

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will talk about the Bible.  We are also enjoying visits from Fr. 

Craig on Wednesday afternoons. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about ants.  

Science – We will be talking about using soap when we wash our hands. 

Math – We will finish up our unit on number sense

Social Studies – We will continue talking about being a good citizen.

The date for our upcoming field trip to Vala’s Pumpkin patch is Monday, October 2. Last week I sent a note home asking for parent volunteers.  We could use a couple more volunteers.  If you are able to go please let me know.  Next week I will be sending home the permission slips.  Watch for them in Go Folders on Monday.  They will need to be returned by Friday, September 22nd.

Today you will find your child’s word list pages.  These are the high frequency words we have been working on this week.  Attached to the packet are some flash cards.  These are for you to continue practicing at home.  At the end of the quarter I will test your child on their ability to read the words.

You will also find your child’s first spelling test in the Friday folder.  You will notice a couple markings.  There will be a +  /10.  This is the number of words they spelled correctly.  You will also find a HW written in the top right corner.  This is their handwriting grade.  I will be looking for letter size, letter formation, and general neatness.  You will see an M- most of the time, P- part of the time, or N- not yet.  If you have any questions please let me know.

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow! What a week!  It may have been a short week but we were very busy!  We had so much fun reading the alphabet story about school.  Be sure to ask your child about this story and the other interesting ABC books we read this week. In Science we have been talking about staying healthy.  We talked a lot about germs this week.  Next week we will learn about why we use soap to wash our hands.  In Social Studies we continued our unit on Citizenship.  This week we talked about rules and why we have rules.   In Religion, we talked about our church community.  Next week we will be talking about the Bible.  In Math, we continued working on numbers.  We talked a lot about number lines this week.    

Today you will find a paper in your child’s Go Folder.  This is your homework for the weekend.  We are making a class book about 1D.  Please help your child fill in the boxes on this sheet.  In the box that asks for a picture please leave the box empty.  We will add a picture at school. They can color and decorate the borders and pictures on the page. Please return these by Friday, September 15th.

Next week we will begin Spelling.  Your child will bring home a list of words to practice on Monday.  The test will be on Friday.  There will be a note sent on Monday with more details and suggestions for how to practice the words at home.

Yesterday your child brought home a note requesting parent volunteers for our upcoming field trip to Vala’s.  I need these returned by Wednesday, September 13th.  Please remember you must have Safe Environment Training to volunteer.   If you have any questions please let me know

      Things to remember…

*Monday, September 11th is Picture Day.  This is a dress up day.  We will take pictures before lunch!

*Don’t forget we go to the library on Mondays.  Books are due each Monday.

*We still need wood cut for a special project.  Let me know if you can help with this.

*Math Homework will begin on Monday, September 11th.

*St. Leo Parish festival is this Sunday from 11-6.        

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week!  It was a packed week.  We went to Mass on Wednesday!  We read about Superheroes.  We talked about how we could be a superhero in our classroom and school.  We also read a book about a bear who loves books! On top of all that, Fr. Craig visited our classroom!

Thank you to all the parents who were able to come to the parent meeting Tuesday night.  If you were not able to attend or if anyone has any questions please let me know.  It is easiest to get a hold of me by email.  [email protected].  

Here are some of the things we were working on this week and will continue next week.  In Social Studies we are talking about being a good citizen.  In Science we are learning about staying healthy.  We have been exploring numbers in Math using graphs. 

Remember…

*There is no school on Monday, September 4th and Tuesday, September 5th.

*We will attend Mass on Wednesday, September 6th.

*School pictures are on Monday, September 11th.  Order forms were sent home this week and are due by Friday, September 8th.

*Our first field trip will be to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch on Monday, October 2nd.  Mark your calendars.  More information to come!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Well, we survived our first full week. It was a hot one, but everyone worked so hard.  We spent a lot of time this week learning the procedures for first grade.    

Next Tuesday, August 29th is our First grade parent meeting.  The meeting will begin at 7:00 in the Parish Center.  I will spend time during this meeting going over what a day is like in first grade.  This is an adult only meeting.  I look forward to seeing you Tuesday.

I am sending this newsletter in hard copy and I am also sending it in an email.  If you did not receive the email please let me know.  I may have your email address entered incorrectly. 

Things to remember…

• We will attend the 1-4 Mass on Wednesday, August 30th.
• Make sure your child has a water bottle each day.
• Please return your child’s Friday folder and Poetry book on Monday.  These are both sent home on Fridays.
• In Your Friday folder you will find a Math and Religion home connection paper.  These will be sent at the beginning of new units so  you know what we are working on and what you can do at home!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Welcome to 1D!  We are in for a fun school year!  I look forward to learning and growing together this year.  Here are just a few items that will help our year go smoothly.  Please know that things may change as the year goes on.  I will do my best to keep you informed. Please make sure your child has a water bottle each day. 

 On Fridays, your child will be bringing home their work in their Friday Folders.  Please review the activities that are sent home with your child so you have an idea what we are working on in the classroom.  This is also an excellent review for him/her.  The folders should be emptied and returned to school on Mondays so we can begin filling them again!!

In addition to the “Friday Folder” your child also has a “Go Folder” This folder will remain in your child’s backpack and daily notes will travel to home and to school in this folder.  There will be reminder notes, special notes from the office that needs to go home that day, and homework.  Please plan to check this folder every day.  There will be many days when it is empty!  If you need to send a note to the office or to me, please send it in the “Go Folder”.  Your child should have this folder in his/her backpack every day!

 Please be sure that all school materials and items of clothing are clearly marked with your child’s name.  This way if something is misplaced we can return it to the correct owner.  This includes sweaters, sweatshirts, and girls’ jumpers.  You would be amazed at how easily sweatshirts get mixed up! 

 For one week during the year, your child will be the “Important Person” for our class.  Your child will bring home a checklist of things to bring and some questions to answer the week prior to his/her turn.  Your child’s things will be on display for the entire week and they will have a chance to tell the rest of us about themselves.  We also have an artist of the week.  This student gets to decorate the board with their artwork.  A note will come home the week before to let you know it’s your child’s turn.  They will display their work and tell us about it during the week!

 Birthdays are announced over the intercom in the office.  Treats are welcome, but not required, on your child’s birthday.  There are 22 students in our class. If your child’s birthday ends up on a weekend they will be announced the Friday before.  Weekend birthdays can either send treats Friday or Monday.  Summer birthdays are announced in May, but as long as you let me know ahead of time, you can celebrate anytime.  When you are deciding on a treat please keep in mind that your choice should be easily distributed and easily cleaned up! If you have questions about what to bring please ask!!  Donuts are a great treat. Cookies, or pre-packaged treats are also great ideas.  Cupcakes with lots of frosting are not a great idea!!! 

 We plan to have multiple recess times each day.  We do have some community recess equipment, but students can also bring toys from home.   Toys from home must fit in your child’s backpack.  If the toy has multiple pieces like Legos or Polly Pockets they should be in a ziplock bag. 

 It will be very important that I am able to be in contact with you this school year.  Please fill in the attached sheet with your emails and phone numbers.

 Dates to Remember. . .

  **Tuesday, August 29th – 7:00 – 8:30 pm 1st Grade Parent Meeting in the Parish Center

      We spend a great deal of time at this meeting letting you know what your child does in school.  This time can be used to answer some of your questions.  This will also give you the opportunity to meet the parents of your child’s new friends.  I hope to see you there!!

 I know I have thrown a lot of information at you at one time.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions whenever they come up!  It is easy to get a hold of me by note, phone (402-551-6667), or email [email protected] .

Sincerely,

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had another wonderful week in 1D.  Spirit Week was a lot of fun.  We ended the week with our School Race For Education.  I think the snow cones were the highlight of the afternoon.

Next week we will begin finishing things up and cleaning out our desks.  Please check your child’s backpack each night.  Your child should be able to tell you what should be left at home.  It is very helpful if your child’s backpack is cleaned out each evening.

This week we talked a lot about Mary.  We were able to crown Mary on Thursday morning.  We wrote prayers to Mary this week on the back of flowers.  We placed the flowers by the statue.  

Next Friday, May 19th, will be a special day in First grade.  We will be celebrating our growth in reading by having a day of reading.  Your child can bring a sleeping bag, pillow and books.  A note with more information will be sent next week.

              Dates to remember… 

*First grade cleaning day will be Monday, May 22nd.

*1st grade Fun Day will be Tuesday, May 23rd.

*The last day of school is Wednesday, May 24th.

I would like to wish all of the mothers a very Happy Mother’s day.  As we worked on our Mother’s Day projects this week I loved hearing them talk about their moms.  I hope you have a wonderful day.  You all deserve it!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    What a week!  Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Memories and Munchies.  They all worked so hard on their Readers’ Theaters.  I am so proud of them all.  We had a great week.  Our Zoo field trip was amazing.  We had great weather.  Our Buddy Mass with our 7th grade buddies and donuts after was so much fun.  To top the week off we had an amazing Mission Day.  Be sure to ask your child about our day. 

Next week is going to be just as busy.  It is Spirit week.  You should have received an email about the special dress for each day.  We will finish the week off with our School Race for Education.  Friday is a dress down day!

In Religion we have been learning about our Circle of Grace.  There is a note in your child’s Go folder today with more of the details.  We will finish this up next week.  Then we will be learning about Mary, Mother of Jesus the rest of the week.  May is the month of Mary so the first graders will be crowning the statue of Mary that is located in the entryway to the Parish Center.  

Due to the short week this week Friday folders will not be sent home.  As we get closer to the end of the year please make sure to check backpacks and Go Folders every day.  We will begin sending things home as we finish them up.  Next week will be our last week of Math Facts testing.   

Next week we will be doing our last high frequency test for this year.  Today you will find a list of the words to practice at home.

There is no school on Friday, May 5th.   

Enjoy the weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      How can it be May already!  I cannot believe we are only a few weeks from Summer vacation.  We are going to fit as much as we can into the next few weeks.  This week we learned about the author/illustrator Janet Stevens.  In Math we finished up our unit on money.  We will be learning about graphs and data next week.  

      Next week is going to be a busy one!  First of all we will be going to the zoo on Monday for our field trip. This is a dress down for the students.  It is a good idea to have a jacket/sweatshirt for the morning.  We will leave right at 9:00 Monday morning.  Every student needs to bring a disposable lunch.  It is also a good idea to send a disposable water bottle.  

  We will also be preparing for our Memories and Munchies program.  You are invited to attend the program in 1D on Wednesday, May 3rd.  We will begin right at 2:35.  I hope you can all attend.  We have been working so hard on our Readers’ Theaters.  

      We will be attending Mass with our 7th grade buddies on Wednesday, May 3rd.   I am still in need of a couple people to send donuts for our get together after Mass.  I will attach the Sign up with this newsletter. 

As if that is not enough going on we will be celebrating Mission Day on Thursday, May 4th.  We will be working with our 7th Grade Buddies to learn about how to take care of the environment.  We will be talking about ways we can help around our school, and neighborhoods.  One of the projects we have planned is to use recyclable items to create an art project.  We need items to be sent to school for this project.  Thank you for your help in this!  

As the weather warms up we have lots of thirsty first graders.  Please remember to send water bottles with your child every day.  

There is no school on Friday, May 5th.  

    Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      It was another wonderful week in 1D.  We started working on our Readers’ Theaters for our upcoming Memories and Munchies.  We practiced counting money.  In Literature we read a story about maps!  We will continue talking about maps in our next Social Studies unit.  In Science we will be learning about ways to take care of the Earth.  

      Next Monday is our Science Olympics.  Be sure to ask your child about this on Monday.  The students will move through 9 Science stations.  There are lots of hands-on activities at each of the stations.  It is one of my favorite days!  I am so glad that we are able to do this again this year!  Thank you to everyone who sent supplies and those that are coming to help on Monday morning. 

Wednesday, April 26th is a big day for 1D.  We will be the ministers at Mass on this day.  Mass begins at 8:30.  I hope many of you can attend!

      Here is what we are working on …

Religion – The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Literature – We will be learning about our next author, Janet Stevens.

Phonics – We will be talking about the -ing and -ang

Math -We will continue counting money!  We will then be learning about reading graphs.

Social Studies – We will be learning about maps

Science – We will be talking about taking care of the Earth

Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Memories and Munchies.  This will be held in 1D on Wednesday, May 3rd from 2:35 – 3:25.  The students will perform 4 readers theaters and tell about their favorite memories of first grade. I hope you will all be able to attend. 

May 3rd is not only our Memories and Munchies, it is also a special Mass day.  The first graders will attend Mass with their 7th grade buddies.  After Mass we would like to invite the 7th graders back to our room for donuts and juice.  You should have received an email with a link to sign up to help with this by sending donuts, juice boxes, or napkins.   

If you have not sent the zoo permission slip and $13 please send it on Monday

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  We had a busy but short week.  We read a story about Maps.  We will continue learning about maps next week.  We talked about living and nonliving things in Science.  In Math we started our Money unit.  You can help with this unit by counting money at home.  Pull out your change and start counting, identifying the coins, and telling you their value.

Last week your child brought home a note asking for help with our upcoming Science Olympics.  We are still in need of volunteers to help at school during the Olympics on Monday, April 24th from 8:45 – 11:00.  We also need help purchasing the supplies for the various activities.  If you can help in either way please let me know.

Our upcoming Field trip to the zoo is fast approaching.  This week your child brought home a form asking for parent volunteers for the field trip.  Monday your child will bring home the permission slip for them to go on the field trip and request $13 to pay for the bus and admission to the zoo.

Next week we will be celebrating Teacher and Staff appreciation.  On Thursday, April 20th we would like to celebrate our amazing Teacher Assistants, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Baldwin.  They do so much to help all of us every day.  Hopefully your child can take some time before Thursday to write a note, make a picture, or bring a small gift to celebrate our awesome TAs.  

Important Upcoming Dates in 1D

*Friday, April 21st is an Optional Dress Down day.  The money donated will support our parish festivals.

*Thursday, April 20th Celebrate our Amazing TAs

*Monday, April 24th Science Olympics

*Wednesday, April 26th 1D will be ministers at Mass.  Mass begins at 8:30.

*Monday, May 1st Field Trip to the Zoo

*Wednesday, May 3rd Memories and Munchies 2:35 – 3:20 in 1D.  Parents are invited to attend.

*Thursday, May 4th Mission Day – We will be spending the morning with our 7th Grade Buddies doing service.

We are running low on Kleenex in 1D.  This spring/winter up and down weather is causing a lot of runny noses.  If you have some extra boxes please send them with your child.  

    Have a wonderful weekend!

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week!  We had so much fun reading and learning about Fables.  Be sure to ask your child about these stories.  Next week we will be doing various Easter Activities.  We finished up our Math unit on Time and Measurement.  Next we will be working on counting money.  You can help with this by counting change at home.   In Science we will begin our plant and animal unit.  We will be finishing up our Stations of the Cross books.  On Tuesday we will be going to the Church with our 7th grade buddies to do the Stations of the cross.

Next week is a short week as well as the week after Easter There is no School from Thursday, April 6th – Tuesday, April 11th.  So…  I will send a spelling list and a math facts list next Monday, but we will not test until Friday April 15th.  Due to the short week I will not send a newsletter next week.  I will also wait to send Friday folders until April 15th.

There are some important dates coming up for 1D.  I wanted to share those dates with you so you can mark your calendars…

*Monday, April 3rd is the first day uniform shorts can be worn.

*Monday, April 24 will be our First Grade Science Olympics.  Watch for a note 

to go home next week asking for volunteers for this fun morning!

*Wednesday, April 26th 1D will be ministers at Mass

*Monday, May 1st is our field trip to the zoo.  

**If you would like to volunteer for some of these events you must have completed the Safe Environment Training.

*Wednesday, May 3rd will be a special afternoon in 1D.  We will be 

celebrating our year with a special program in our classroom.  We call it Memories and Munchies.  This will be a short program in our classroom from 2:35 – 3:25.  More information will come.

If you have not returned your child’s portfolio and report card please send it on Monday.  I would like to take this time to wish you all a Blessed Easter.  I hope you have a wonderful time with your families during this break!  

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow!  Barnyard Moosical was a huge success.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot keep from singing Funky Chicken!  It just takes one student to start humming a song and they all break out in song.  They all did an amazing job!  They were so excited to share it with you!  

We had a great week.  We spent time reading a story about two friends.  Next week we’ll be learning about Fables.  We have been working on telling time to the hour and half hour.  We will also be working on measurement in Math.  In Religion, we continue to work on our Stations of the Cross books.  In Science we will be talking about light waves.

    Last Friday marked the end of the third quarter.  I cannot believe we are in our last quarter!  Monday your child will bring home their portfolio and report card.  Please take some time to go through the portfolio with your child.  You will find their report card in the portfolio.  Please sign the report card and return it along with everything in the portfolio to school by Friday, March 31st.  If you have any questions please let me know.

    Next week we will have a Book Fair at our school.  There have been many communications from the library with details about the events that go along with the Book Fair next week.  We will go to the book fair as a class on Tuesday during our library time.  You can send money or add money to their e-wallets to purchase books during this time.  We will not be checking out library books this week.  You can shop at our school’s book fair online (online shopping will run from March 24 – March 31) at this link:   https://www.scholastic.com/bf/spsl 

Have a wonderful weekend!

     Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Happy Spring! Today marks the end of the 3rd quarter. Monday, March 27th your child will bring home their portfolio and report card.

      This week we had a lot of fun learning about Kevin Henkes.  We have a couple projects left so we will finish up this author study next week.  If you did not send a baby picture you can still send it on Monday.  Today you will find a homework assignment to go along with this author study.  There is a note attached with all of the directions.  Please return these on Monday.

Next week we will be reading a story about 2 friends who help each other out.  In Math we have been talking about telling time.  We are working on telling time to the hour and half hour. We will continue working on our Stations of the Cross books in Religion.  

Next week is a big week for first grade!  We will be getting ready for our Program Barnyard Moosical.  I will be attaching the letter from Mrs. Fleming with the costume details, but basically first grade girls need to wear any combination of black and white.  First grade boys need to wear a white t-shirt and blue school uniform pants.  The rest of the costume will be here at school.  We will perform for half of the school on Wednesday afternoon and the other half on Thursday afternoon.  And finally we will perform for our families on Thursday evening.  On Thursday evening your child should report to our classroom at 6:40.  They will leave jackets with you.  After the performance you will pick your child up from the risers.  If you have questions just let me know!

    Things to remember…

*An optional dress down day will be next Friday, March 24th.    

*Name homework should be sent back on Monday.

*Wear costumes to school on Wednesday and Thursday.          

                                 Have a great weekend!

                                 Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week! We had a very busy week!  Can you believe we are almost to the end of the 3rd Quarter? I don’t know where the time is going? We spent a lot of time writing a story for our portfolios.  Everyone had fun writing about a Leprechaun in 1D.  We also read a biography about Dr. Seuss and enjoyed some of his stories.   We finished up our Math Unit on Geometry and Fractions. When we return from Spring Break we will begin working on Time and Measurement.  We continued talking about Lent and we began our Stations of the Cross books.  When we return from break  we’ll be learning about our next author/illustrator, Kevin Henkes.  He is best known for his “Mice Books” Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse is one of my favorites.  One of our projects requires a baby picture.  Please send a baby picture by Tuesday, March 14th.  This picture will be glued to a book. 

    Next week is spring break.  I hope you enjoy the week.  School will resume on Monday, March 13th.

    Thank you for helping with our Math Fluency project.  A new list will be sent home on Monday, March 13.  This doesn’t mean you can’t continue practicing math facts while we are on break.

Things to remember…

*No School March 6-10

*End of 3rd Quarter is Friday, March 17th

*Daylight Savings begins 3/12/23 *1st and 3rd grade musical is Thursday, March 23rd.  Mark your calendars!

        Have a wonderful spring break!

                                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,                                     

    I hope you enjoyed the extra long weekend.  Due to the short week we will continue working on the long E teams for spelling again this week.  So keep practicing those words this week!  This week we will be reading a play about a runaway dog. We will be learning about 3D shapes in Math. George Washington will be our topic in Social Studies this week.  We will continue talking about sound waves in Science.  In Religion we will be talking about Lent.

Today you will find a note about our new Math fact project.  Please read the note and begin practicing Math Facts this week. Your child will no longer get a paper worksheet for Math homework.  Rather, the homework will be practicing math facts.

Tomorrow Your child will be bringing home a note and labels to be filled out for our upcoming Race for Education.  If you have questions please let me know.  Labels are due by Friday, March 3rd.

This Friday we are very fortunate to attend a special program with the Omaha Symphony.  A note was sent earlier with suggestions for making instruments at home.  If you have time to make one of these instruments please have them at school by Thursday, February 23rd.

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week! It was a fun week celebrating the 100th day of school.  We finished up our unit on American symbols.  Next week we will begin learning about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.  In Science, we will continue learning about sound waves.  In Math we finished up our chapter on numbers to 120 in Math.  Next we will begin our unit on Geometry and Fractions.  We will be working on writing great sentences next week.

Next week is a short week.  We will have a noon dismissal on Thursday, February 16th.  Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held Thursday afternoon.  If you are scheduled for a conference a note was in your child’s Go folder yesterday with your scheduled time.  If you have any questions or the time does not work please let me know.

We are running low on a couple supplies in 1D.  We have had a lot of runny noses lately and our Kleenex supply is running out.  We have also been trying to keep the germs that are going around by cleaning our desks daily.  Our supply of Clorox wipes are also running low.  If you are able to help by sending these items I would appreciate it.

One of our school goals for the past few years has been to increase Math fluency.  We want students to know their math facts consistently.  Beginning February 20th your child will bring home a strip of facts for your child to practice for the week.  There is a note attached for you to sign each night they practice.  The last day we have school each week we will take a test on those facts.  If the student passes the test they will get a new fact strip for the next week.  If they do not pass the test they will have the same strip to practice for another week. 

    Don’t forget…

*Valentines should be brought on Tuesday, February 14th.

*There is a noon dismissal on Thursday, February 16th.

*No School Friday, February 17th.

                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    Wow what a week!  It was a great Catholic Schools Week.  We continued learning about American symbols in Social Studies.  We will continue talking about sound in Science. In Math, we will be working on numbers to 120.  This will help us get ready to celebrate our 100th day on Thursday, February 9th.  We spent time this week preparing for our 100th day. Next week we will do many activities to celebrate our 100th day.  Just a reminder that in first grade we do not dress up on the 100th day.  

    Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  I hope your child has been working on their valentines for their classmates. Please make sure the Valentines have their classmates’ names on them.  It makes it so much easier to pass them out when their names are on the cards.  Remember your child does not need to make or bring a box.  We will be decorating a bag at school to collect our 

    Today you will find a conference request form in your child’s Go Folder.  This set of conferences is by request, either teacher or parent. Please mark the form and return it by Wednesday, February 8th.  Please make sure to write a time, and form of conference.If you have any questions, please let me know.

   Things to remember…

*We do try to go out to recess each day the temperature is above 10 degrees, so please send hats, gloves, and boots with your child. 

           Have a great weekend! 

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had a fun full 5 day week!  We explored sound in Science.  In Social Studies we are learning about American symbols.   In Math we continued exploring numbers to 100.  This is perfect timing as we prepare for our 100th day of school.  In Religion we talked about the Golden Rule and forgiveness.  Next week we will be reading a nonfiction story about fish.  We have a special project to go along with this story.  Each student will need a shoe box.  Please send boxes next week.  We plan to do the project on Tuesday, January 31st.  If you have extra boxes please send them!  Thank you in advance for your help with this!

      Valentine’s day is right around the corner.  We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, February 14th.  Valentines should be sent on Tuesday, February 14th.  We will be decorating Valentine bags in class so you do not need to make a Valentine box at home. 

Next week is Catholic Schools’ Week.  It is going to be a very fun week!  Monday is a dress down day.  We will be spending some time with our 7th grade buddies on Monday.  Tuesday we get to see the Amazing Arthur.  Wednesday we will be attending Mass with you!  Students with the last name beginning with A-L will attend Mass at 8:30.  Last names beginning with M-Z will attend Mass at 10:00.  Thursday we will pray a decade of the rosary.  We will also be celebrating the Servants of Mary, the founding religious order of our school. Friday we will be attending the Drama club’s play.   

As we get ready to begin a special week at our school I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for making the choice to send your child to a Catholic School.  As a product of 16 years of Catholic Education I know the sacrifice you have to make.  I love teaching your children and being a part of St. Pius X / St. Leo School. 

Things to remember…

*Collections of 100 things need to be sent next week.

*Mark your calendar for our next field trip.  We will be going to Henry Doorly Zoo on Monday, May 1st.  We are sharing the date now so you can make arrangements if you would like to go with us!

      Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families

      Even though it was a short week we kept very busy! We had so much fun learning Jan Brett this week.  We will continue learning about her next week..   We will continue learning about Martin Luther King Jr. next week.  We will continue our Math unit on place value.  In Science we will be learning about sound waves.  In Religion we will be talking about forgiveness.

Due to the short week this week we did not have a spelling test today.  We will test on these words next Friday.  I will be adding a dictated sentence on next week’s test.  Each week I will dictate a sentence that includes many of the spelling words.  This is a way for the students to see the words are not just words on a list, but words we should be using in our daily writing.  I will mark a plus by each spelling word that is spelled correctly and a plus if they started the sentence with a capital letter and another if they remembered the punctuation at the end.

Catholic Schools’ Week is coming up very soon.  We spend the week celebrating our school.  One special way we celebrate is by going to Mass.  On Wednesday, February 1st you are invited to attend Mass with your child.  We will not be going as a class, but rather you will go with your child.  Students with the last name beginning with A-L will attend Mass at 8:30.  Those with last names beginning with M-Z will attend the 10:00 Mass.  I hope you will all be able to attend.  If you are not able to attend if you have a grandparent or family friend who would be able to attend that would be wonderful!

It is very hard to believe, but our 100th day of school is right around the corner.  I would like each student to bring a collection of 100 items.  Today your child is bringing home a ziploc bag and a note with all of the details.  Please have the collections to school by Wednesday, January 25th.   If you have any questions please let me know!  

Valentine’s day is also quickly approaching.  We will decorate bags at school.  We will provide everything for this project.  So you do not have to create a valentine box for this year.  We would like the students to give valentines to each other so…  you can either buy cards or make cards for the students in 1D.   I will be sending a link to a class list so that the students can write their classmates names on the valentines as well as their own name.  It makes it easier to pass out the valentines when they have names on them.  I have another secret reason for asking them to write their classmates names, it is great handwriting practice!  Valentines will need to be at school by February 14th.   If you have any questions please let me know.  

Things to remember…

*Portfolio and report cards should have been returned today.  If you have not returned yours, please send it on Monday.

*100 collections are due Monday, January 24th.

*Valentines are due on Thursday, February 10th.

*Catholic Schools Week Mass is Wednesday, February 1st.

      Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break. It was so great to see all their smiling faces last week.  They all did a great job jumping back in this week.  They all worked so hard.

      This week we learned about Martin Luther King Jr.  We will continue this next week.  In Science we wrapped up our space unit by planning a trip to space.  We blasted off this afternoon!  In Math, we will be working on numbers to 100.  Our 100th day is right around the corner! We will be learning about sound waves in Science.  We read a story called We Are All Wonders.  The new year is a great time to remember what makes us each unique and special.  We want to celebrate and be proud of ourselves.  It is also a wonderful time to remember to be kind to each other and celebrate our differences!

Next week we’ll be learning about our next author/ illustrator, Jan Brett.  She has a wonderful website www.janbrett.com .  She is also really good about emailing or writing back to you if you write to her.  

Last Friday marked the end of the 1st semester.  Where is the time going?!?! Before Christmas break we wrote stories for our portfolios.  I cannot wait for you to get to read them!  On Tuesday, January 17th I will be sending your child’s portfolio and report cards home.  Please take some time to go through this with your child.  You need to sign the report card and return the portfolio with all the work in the portfolio and the signed report card by Friday, January 20th .  If you have any questions, please let me know.

  I would like to remind you that we try to go out for recess each day. Please make sure your child has gloves and a hat. It is also a good idea to send boots. If your child wears boots please make sure they have shoes to wear in the school.  If you have extra hats or gloves that you would like to donate to our extra supply of gloves and hats for those that forget theirs please send them with your child. 

Enjoy the long weekend.  Remember there is no school on Monday, January 16th.

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    We have been so busy this week.  We worked on Christmas crafts all week. In Religion, we have been working on a special book about the real meaning of Christmas.  In Math we finished up our chapter on relating addition and subtraction!

Christmas break begins Tuesday, December 20th at 12:00.  We will resume classes on Thursday, January 5th.  I am sure you will be looking for things to fill your time during break, may I suggest working on tying shoes and zipping coats!!!!!  Due to the short week next week I will not be sending a newsletter or Friday Folders next week.

Even though next week is a short week it will be busy.  Monday we will be getting together with our 7th grade buddies.  We also have board games and bubble gum with the administration.  Students are asked to bring board games.  We will also use these games with our 7th grade buddies.  Please do not send games with lots of little pieces!  Make sure your child’s name is on the game. 

It is hard to believe, but the week we return to school will end with the end of the first semester.  I cannot believe how fast this year is going.  We spent some time this week working on stories for our portfolio.  We also tested sight words.  

   Before you throw away your Christmas cards please consider sending the religious pictures to school so we can use them next year for our stable projects.

    I would like to wish you and your families a very blessed Christmas.  I love hearing about your family traditions and all the excitement of this time of year.  May you all have a safe and fun break!  See you in 2023!

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    What a fun week!  We read a story about a superhero dog.  We learned about planets in Science.  We talked about Advent in Religion.  In Math we continued to work on relating addition and subtraction. 

Next week will be Gingerbread week.  We will be spending the week comparing various versions of the Gingerbread stories.  Be sure to ask your child about this next week.  In Religion, we will begin a special book about the real meaning of Christmas. In Science, we will be talking about what our needs and wants would be for a trip to space.   We will finish up our chapter on addition and subtraction chapter in Math.  

    Here are some things to remember for next week. . .

*We have our Christmas bulletin board up in our classroom.  Our family traditions are so important so we would like to add our families to the board.  If you have a family Christmas photo or card, you would like to add to the board please send it with your child next week.

*Thursday, December 8th we will be attending the 10:00 am Mass to celebrate the Immaculate Conception.

* There is no school on Friday, December 9th.

* Yesterday your child brought home a form with many requests for our upcoming Christmas activities.  Please look that over so you know what we need for projects, and what you can do to help at home or at school.  Thank you in advance!

*First grade is hosting a diaper drive.  Donated diapers are due on Monday, December 5th.

*We are in need of reams of paper.  If you are able to send a ream or 2 it is greatly appreciated!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had another great week!  We talked about giving thanks to God in Religion.   We continue working on  relating addition and subtraction in Math.  We learned about the first Thanksgiving in Social Studies.   We had so much fun learning about Mo Willems.  I keep finding Pigeons drawn all over the place!!!!  Be sure to ask your child about this author/illustrator.

Our food drive is extended to Tuesday, November 22nd.  We talked about how this was a way we can help people in our school parishes and our city.  Thank you in advance for helping with this project.

Next week is a short week.  We have school on Monday and Tuesday.  The rest of the week is off for Thanksgiving.  Due to the short week there will be no spelling list next week.  I will not be sending a newsletter or Friday folders next week.  

We have a lot of fun projects planned for Christmas.  There are a few items we will need.  If you are able to send any of these it is much appreciated.  We need Religious Christmas cards.  We will be cutting the picture out so they can be new or used!  We need buttons – small red and white buttons, and larger buttons of any color. 

      I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I feel like I know all of your families because your children tell me so much about your family traditions. Please have a safe and happy holiday. Enjoy your wonderful children. They are definitely on my list of things to be thankful for this year!

      Things to remember…

*No school November 23 – 25.  

*Tuesday, November 22nd is a Dress Down Day

*We are still collecting non-perishable food items until Tuesday, November 22nd.

*Book orders must be turned in or completed online by Tuesday, November 22nd

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow!  What a great week.  We started the week by welcoming a new student to 1D.  John is fitting right in.  Everyone in 1D could not be more excited about a new friend in our class!  It was fun to celebrate kindness week with the whole school.  We will continue our food drive and winter clothing collection next week.  We will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to food banks during the holiday season. More information will be coming to you from our student council.

We had a fun time reading different versions of the Little Red Hen this week.  Be sure to ask your child about these stories.   We even made bread!  We talked about Veterans in Social Studies.  In Science we continued talking about the sun.   We continued with our chapter on relating addition and subtraction in Math.  Next week we will be talking about the first Thanksgiving.  

We will be doing our next author study next week!  We will be learning about Mo Willems.  He is the author of the Pigeon books and the Elephant and Piggie books as well as many other funny books.  Be sure to ask your child about this author next week!

Next week is an exciting week for 1D.  We will be ministers at Mass on Wednesday.  Each first grader will have a job at Mass.  If they are doing a reading it was sent home on Thursday so they can practice at home.  We will practice in the church on Tuesday.  I hope you will be able to join us for Mass on Wednesday.  If you do come please sit in the side pews or the very back of the church.  The first graders through fourth graders sit in the center pews.

We will be having a Friendship feast on Monday, 21st.  Please watch for an online sign up form to send items for this feast.  

Today you will find a special project for Science in your child’s Go Folder.  We will be learning about the phases of the moon and the best way to observe this is to watch the moon.  There is a note attached with directions.  If you have questions just let me know!  The moon watching begins on Sunday, November 13th.

       We got a rude awakening today with the cold weather.  Please remember to send hats and gloves every day!  This is also a great time of year for first graders to be tying their own shoes.  Please continue to work on this at home.

There is no school on Monday, November 14th.   Enjoy the long weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      It was a wonderful week in 1D. We had so much fun learning about Eric Carle.  We have lots of our Eric Carle artwork hanging in our hallway.  We hope you will take a look when you visit for conferences next week.  Be sure to ask your child about this author and illustrator!  

      There is no school Friday, October 28th for conferences. Conferences will be from 9:00- 6:30. I will be in 1D during this time. Please come at your designated time. I hope to visit with all of you then. We will be limited to about 10 minutes per conference. I have many back to back conferences so we will have to stick to the 10 minutes and need to start each conference on time.  If you have any questions, please let me know.   

      On the school calendar, you will notice that report cards are to be sent home on Monday, October 24th.  First grade does not send report cards the first quarter.  There will be one sent the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter.  We spend so much time during the first quarter reviewing and screening the students that we feel our portfolios show more of their growth during this quarter. I will share your child’s portfolio with you at conferences on Friday.

      Even though next week is a short week we will still have a spelling test.  The list will come home on Monday and we will test on Thursday.  I will send Friday folders home next week on Thursday.

Things to remember…         

*No School on Friday, October 28th, Monday, October 31st or Tuesday, November 1st

*Last day to wear uniform shorts is Thursday, October 27th.   *Thursday, October 27th has been designated as a Dress down day.  We will be attending an all school pep rally and volleyball game.  Costumes should not be worn for this dress down day.

      Enjoy your weekend!

                                                   Miss Buttell                                          

Dear Families,

      It was a wonderful week in 1D. We had a lot of fun creating our fall collages.  I hope you enjoy them.  Next week we are going to spend the whole week learning about the author/ illustrator Eric Carle.  We try to plan a week each month to learn about an author.  Eric Carle is a very well known author.  We will be spending a lot of time learning about his art style, collage.  Be sure to ask your child about this author next week. We will wrap up our week with a special project of texture painting.  Please see the note in your child’s Go folder with more of the details.  In addition to all of our author study next week we will be working on our Creation books in Religion.  We will continue learning about nouns and being good citizens.    

Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner. Earlier this week I sent a note with your scheduled time.  If you have not already done so, please return the bottom portion of the note to confirm your time.  I look forward to seeing you all on the 28th.  As was stated at our parent meeting, we do not send a paper report card for the first quarter in first grade.  We spend so much time evaluating students and reviewing during the first quarter we did not feel the report card was needed.  Your child does have a portfolio with work to show their progress this quarter.  When we meet for conferences we will go through your child’s portfolio and their work this quarter.  All of the materials in this portfolio should remain in the folder when you return it to school by Wednesday, November 2nd.   We will add to it each quarter.  If you have any questions please let me know!

         It is hard to believe but today marks the end of the first quarter.  I am not sure where the time has gone. Your child brought home their last Word List page for this quarter.  We made a review game called Fumble that may help with your review!  Please take some time this weekend to review the words.  Your child will be asked to read these words next week. There is a list of all the words in your child’s Friday folder as well.

Remember that we try to go out for recess each day.  Please make sure your child has a jacket.  I have 2 school sweatshirts that have been hanging on our class hooks for a few weeks that no one claims.  If you are missing a sweatshirt let me know.  It is very helpful if you write your child’s name on school sweatshirts.

Things to remember… 

*School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 22nd. 

*Our class book will be available to purchase as well as breakfast with me or being the teacher for the day.  

 *Don’t forget I need help with ideas for my Halloween costume for this year.  These papers are due on Tuesday, October 18th

           Enjoy the weekend

Miss Buttell                                            

Dear Families

      We had a great pumpkin week.  We could not have asked for a better day for our field trip on Monday.  It was so fun learning about pumpkins all week.  There are many pictures on our facebook page from this week.  Enjoy!   Next week we will be reading a story about a little boy who collects things from nature while on a walk with his mom.  We will be doing a special project on Wednesday to go along with this story.  Today there is a note in your child’s go folder with the details about this project.  Fall collections should be sent to school on Wednesday, October 12th. 

      It is so hard to believe we will be at the end of the First Quarter on Friday, October 14th.  We will be spending some time next week working on end of the quarter evaluations.

      Next week we will be finishing up our Social Studies unit on Citizenship.  We will also finish up our Health unit in Science.  Then, we will be talking about the sun, moon, and stars in Science.  In Math we will finish up our chapter on addition.  We will also be learning about nouns.  We will be making a noun town!

In Spelling next week we will begin offering a challenge list.  On the first day of the week we will all take a pretest.  If your child gets 90% on the pretest I will send home the challenge list.  Our challenge list has the regular list spelling words in it.  For example the word might be hot, but the challenge word would be shot.  If a student struggles with the challenge words they may not be able to have the challenge list the following week.  If you have questions please let me know.

Things to remember…

      *No School Friday, October 7th.

      *Fall items are due on Wednesday, October 12th.      

      *Our School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 22nd.

      *Friday, October 14th is an optional dress down day to help           

        support our school fundraiser.

   Have a wonderful weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

We had a great week learning about corn.  We tasted a lot of popcorn this week. We were pretty divided on what was the favorite flavor.  One thing was pretty clear though, Cinnamon was not a favorite!!!  We popped our own popcorn and wrote about making popcorn.  We are working on retelling using the words First, Next, Then, and Last.  Be sure to ask your child about this

      Next week is PUMPKIN WEEK!!!  We will be learning about pumpkins all week.  Thank you so much to those that volunteered to send items for our pumpkin taste test.  Those that volunteered should have received a note in your child’s Go Folder on Wednesday please send the item marked by Tuesday, October 4th.  

Monday is our field trip to the Vala’s Pumpkin Patch.  Your child can dress down on Monday.  Please remember no sandals, backless shoes, sleeveless shirts.  Watch the weather.  It is usually cooler out there in the morning.  Your child needs to bring a completely disposable lunch and drink.  There was a note that went home in yesterday’s Go folder with all of the details for Monday!   

We have a special project next week and we need your help!  Each student needs a candy/snack wrapper.  Maybe you can celebrate how hard your child has been working and they can eat the treat and bring the wrapper to school.  We do not need the snack, just the wrapper!  Please send the wrapper by Thursday, October 6th.

Things to Remember…

*Last week a note was sent home asking for you to pick times you are available for parent teacher conferences.  These forms were due today.  If you have not returned the form please do so on Monday.  If you lost the form let me know and I will send a new form.  Parent Teacher Conferences are Friday, October 28th.

*There is no school on Friday, October 7th.

*Due to the short week we will not have a new spelling list next week.

*Don’t forget to send jackets on the colder days ahead. 

*Please make sure your child has a water bottle every day.  There is not a drinking fountain available to just get a quick drink.  All of our drinking fountains are filling stations. 

*Our school Fundraiser is Saturday, October 22nd at Creighton Prep

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We had fun reading a nonfiction story about ants.  We also read a fiction story about ants.  We had to decide if we would step on the ant or not!

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will make a book about the Creation story. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about corn.  My favorite kind of corn is popcorn so we will be tasting various kinds of popcorn and graphing our favorites!  We will also be reading some books to prepare for our upcoming field trip to the pumpkin patch.

Science – We will be talking about keeping healthy and why we use soap when we wash our hands. 

Math – We will continue working on addition

Social Studies – We will continue working on our Citizenship unit.  We will also be learning about Johnny Appleseed.  We will list ways he was a good citizen.

Remember as the weather begins to change that we go out for recess two times as day and jackets may be needed. Also, it is always a good idea to label your child’s clothes with a name. It is amazing where sweatshirts and jackets turn up!

Our field trip to Vala’s is right around the corner.  Earlier this week I sent home the permission slip for this trip.  Those need to be signed and returned with payment by Monday, September 26th.  More information will be sent next week about this trip.

Today you will find a note about our upcoming parent teacher conferences.  Please fill in the form with your availability for conferences.  These forms are due on Friday, September 30th.  If you have any questions please let me know.

      Things to remember…

*No school on Friday, September 23rd.  Enjoy the long weekend!

*Our School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 22nd.

*Book orders are due Monday, September 26th

          Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We read a story about a runaway hat and two friends working together to get the hat back!  We made a puppet show that your child can use to retell this story. We talked about staying healthy in Science.  We are talking about being good citizens in Social Studies.

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will talk about the Bible. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about ants.  

Science – We will be talking about using soap when we wash our hands. 

Math – We will begin working on addition

Social Studies – We will continue talking about being a good citizen.

The date for our upcoming field trip to Vala’s Pumpkin patch is Monday, October 3. Earlier this week I sent a note home asking for parent volunteers.  This form needs to be returned by Wednesday, September 21st.  Next week I will be sending home the permission slips.  Watch for them in Go Folders on Tuesday.

Next week you will find a book order.  I usually send these about once a quarter.  You are not required to buy books. I just like to offer them.  They are usually pretty cost friendly.  I will be sending the paper flyers home.  You can order using those with a check payment or you can order and pay online.  As always if you have any questions just let me know.  These orders will be due on Monday, September 26th.

      Things to remember…

*No school on Friday, September 23rd.  Due to the short week we will have our spelling test on Thursday

Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Well, we survived our first full week. It was a hot one, but everyone worked so hard.  We spent a lot of time this week learning the procedures for first grade.   

Due to the rain and wet conditions we are rescheduling our beach party for Monday.  If you forgot to send beach towels please send them on Monday.  If you sent them today just leave them in the backpacks for Monday.  

Next Thursday, September 1st is our First grade parent meeting.  The meeting will begin at 7:00 in our classroom (1D).  I will spend time during this meeting going over what a day is like in first grade.  This is an adult only meeting.  I look forward to seeing you Thursday.

I am sending this newsletter in hard copy and I am also sending it in an email.  If you did not receive the email please let me know.  I may have your email address entered incorrectly. 

Things to remember…

• We will attend the 1-4 Mass on Wednesday, August 31st.
• Make sure your child has a water bottle each day.
• Please return your child’s Friday folder and Poetry book on Monday.  These are both sent home on Fridays.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Welcome to 1D!    We are in for a fun school year!  I look forward to learning and growing together this year.  Here are just a few items that will help our year go smoothly.  Please know that things may change as the year goes on.  I will do my best to keep you informed.

This envelope is packed with your homework!!  Please look through all of the papers and cards.  It is very important that these be filled in and returned to school ASAP!!!!!!

Please make sure your child has a water bottle each day. The water bottles should be a squeeze type of bottle or a bottle with a straw.  These should be filled when they come to school each day.  Our drinking fountains are no longer community drinking fountains, but refill stations.

On Fridays, your child will be bringing home their work in their Friday Folders.  Please review the activities that are sent home with your child so you have an idea what we are working on in the classroom.  This is also an excellent review for him/her.  The folders should be emptied and returned to school on Mondays so we can begin filling them again!!

In addition to the “Friday Folder” your child also has a “Go Folder” This folder will remain in your child’s backpack and daily notes will travel to home and to school in this folder.  There will be reminders notes, special note from the office that needs to go home that day, and homework.  Please plan to check this folder every day.  There will be many days when it is empty!  If you need to send a note to the office or to me, please send it in the “Go Folder”.  Your child should have this folder in his/her backpack every day!

Please be sure that all school materials and items of clothing are clearly marked with your child’s name.  This way if something is misplaced we can return it to the correct owner.  This includes sweaters, sweatshirts, and girls’ jumpers.  You would be amazed at how easily sweatshirts get mixed up!

For one week during the year, your child will be the “Important Person” for our class.  Your child will bring home a checklist of things to bring and some questions to answer the week prior to his/her turn.  Your child’s things will be on display for the entire week and they will have a chance to tell the rest of us about themselves.  We also have an artist of the week.  This student gets to decorate the board with their artwork.  A note will come home the week before to let you know it’s your child’s turn.  They will display their work and tell us about it during the week!

Birthdays are announced over the intercom in the office.  Treats are welcome, but not required, on your child’s birthday.  There are 20 students in our class. Treats need to be prepackaged or nonedible treats.  If your child’s birthday ends up on a weekend they will be announced the Friday before.  Weekend birthdays can either send treats Friday or Monday.  Summer birthdays are announced in May, but as long as you let me know ahead of time, you can celebrate anytime.  When you are deciding on a treat please keep in mind that your choice should be easily distributed and easily cleaned up! If you have questions about what to bring please ask!!

We plan to have multiple recess times each day.  We do have some community recess equipment, but students can also bring toys from home.   If your child would like to bring a toy from home, they can as long as it fits in a gallon size Ziploc bag.

It will be very important that I am able to be in contact with you this school year.  Please fill in the attached sheet with your emails and phone numbers.

Dates to Remember. . .

*Picture day is Monday, August 22^nd.  This is a dress up day.  You will receive an email with the details on Dress Code for this day!

**Thursday September 1st – 7:00 – 8:30 pm  1^st Grade Parent Meeting 

I spend a great deal of time at this meeting letting you know what  your child does in school.  This time can be used to answer some of your questions.  This will also give you the opportunity to meet the parents of your child’s new friends.  I hope to see you there!!

know I have thrown a lot of information at you at one time.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions whenever they come up!  It is easy to get a hold of me by note, phone (402-551-6667), or email [email protected] .

Sincerely,

Miss Buttell

Welcome to 1D.  I cannot wait to see you all at open house on Tuesday, August 16th.  Looking forward to a great year beginning on August 18th.

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had a great last full week of school.  We read a story about a Veterinarian.  We continued working on counting money.  We also learned about maps in Social Studies.  We learned about adjectives and lots of fun celebrations of our Lasts!

  I know this is hard to believe, but this will be your last newsletter from me this year!!!  I have loved having your child in my class this year.  We have become a little family and it is hard to believe they are moving on.  I hope you all have a wonderful summer.  Stop by and see me next year.

Today your child is bringing home their Friday Folders and Poetry books.  They can be kept at home.  They do not need to be returned next week.  Portfolios will be sent home on Tuesday.  You can keep these at home.  Report cards will be sent home on Wednesday.

      Here is the schedule for next week…

Monday, May 23th Cleaning Day

We will be cleaning out desks on this day.  Your child should bring a rag to clean with and an additional bag (grocery style) to help get all their stuff home!! 

Tuesday, May 24th – Fun Day

Students may dress down on this day.  We will be spending most of the day outside .  Please put sunscreen on at home.  Make sure your child has their water bottle on this day.

Wednesday, May 25th – Last Day

We will be attending an all school mass in the parking lot on this day.  The first graders need to bring a towel to sit on. We will dismiss at 11:00 for the summer.

Thank you for a wonderful year!

                                    Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow!  For a short week we fit a lot in.  Our trip to the zoo was so much fun. Our Pep Rally on Wednesday was so much fun.  To wrap up the week we had an awesome Mission day.  We spent the day with our 7th grade buddies learning about taking care of the Earth.  Then we took care of our own school grounds by picking up trash.  

Next Monday your child will be tested on their sight words for this quarter.  I am sending a list of the words in your child’s Go folder today.  Please take some time this weekend to practice these words.

Next week we will begin finishing things up and cleaning out our desks.  Please check your child’s backpack each night.  Your child should be able to tell you what should be left at home.  It is very helpful if your child’s backpack is cleaned out each evening.

This week we talked a lot about Mary.  We were able to crown Mary on Wednesday morning.  We wrote prayers to Mary this week on the back of flowers.  We placed the flowers by the statue.  

Next Friday, May 2oth, will be a special day in First grade.  We will be celebrating our growth in reading by having a day of reading.  Your child can bring a sleeping bag, pillow and books.  A note with more information will be sent next week.

              Dates to remember…

* no school tomorrow, May 13th.  

*First grade cleaning day will be Monday, May 22nd.

*1st grade Fun Day will be Tuesday, May 23rd

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      How can it be May already!  I cannot believe we are only a few weeks from Summer vacation.  We are going to fit as much as we can into the next few weeks.  This week we read a story about homes around the world.  We planned our dream homes!!!  In Math we finished up our chapter on Time.  We will be learning about counting money in our next chapter.  You can help with this at home by practicing counting change to $1.00.  

      Next week is going to be a busy one!  First of all we will be preparing for our Memories and Munchies program.  You are invited to attend the program in 1D on Thursday, May 5th.  We will begin right at 2:35.  I hope you can all attend.  We have been working so hard on our Readers’ Theaters.  

      We will also be attending Mass with our 7th grade buddies on Thursday, May 5th.  This is a tradition we have missed the last 2 years.  I am so excited we will be able to do it again this year.  I am still in need of a couple people to send donuts for our get together after Mass.  If you are able to help with this please let me know by Tuesday, May 3rd.

Next week is spirit week.  Watch for communication from the Student Council with all the details.  We will wrap up Spirit Week with our School Race For Education on Friday, May 6th.  Friday will be a dress down day.  We will be racing at the end of the day.

As the weather warms up we have lots of thirsty first graders.  Please remember to send water bottles with your child every day.  Also remember that Zoo permission forms and $10 are due by Tuesday, May 3rd.  

    Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell            

Dear Families,

      It was another wonderful week in 1D.  We worked on our Delightful Destination brochures.  We practiced telling time to the hour and half hour.  In Literature we read a story about maps!  We will continue talking about maps in our next Social Studies unit.  In Science we will be learning about ways to take care of the Earth.  

      Next Monday is our Science Olympics.  Be sure to ask your child about this on Monday.  The students will move through 12 Science stations.  There are lots of hands-on activities at each of the stations.  It is one of my favorite days!  I am so glad that we are able to do this again this year!  Thank you to everyone who sent supplies and those that are coming to help on Monday morning. 

      Here is what we are working on …

Religion – The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about homes around the world.

Phonics – We will be talking about the Bossy R for the next few weeks. (ar, er, ir)

Math -We will finish up our chapter on telling time, then it is onto counting money!

Social Studies – We will finish up presenting our Delightful Destination brochures and begin our Maps unit.

Science – We will be talking about taking care of the Earth

Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Memories and Munchies.  This will be held in 1D on Thursday, May 5th from 2:35 – 3:25.  The students will perform 4 readers theaters and tell about their favorite memories of first grade. I hope you will all be able to attend.

May 5th is not only our Memories and Munchies, it is also a special Mass day.  The first graders will attend Mass with their 7th grade buddies.  After Mass we would like to invite the 7th graders back to our room for donuts and juice.  If you would like to  help by sending either a dozen donuts or juice boxes please email me.  I will let you know what to send.   Also, watch for permission slips for our upcoming field trip to the zoo to be sent home on Tuesday, April 26th.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow!  The first and third graders did a wonderful job in our program this week.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Throughout the week we broke into song.  It only took one person to hum a song from the show and before long everyone was singing.  I hope you enjoyed the show.

We also spent a lot of time this week working on our Social Studies assessment, Delightful Destinations.  We will finish them up next week and then we will present them to the class.  I cannot wait to learn about all of these delightful destinations.

Here is what else we have been working on…

Religion we will be finishing up our Stations of the Cross book.  Math – We finished up our chapter on fractions.  We will be learning about time next!

Science – We are continuing our plant and animal unit.

Social Studies – We will be working on our maps unit and our Delightful Destination Brochures.

Literature – We had fun learning about Janet Stevens.  When we return from Easter break we will be reading a story about maps.

Next week is a short week as we prepare for Easter.  There is no school Wednesday, April 13 – 18. Due to the short week next week we will not have a spelling list or Math Facts.  I will not send home Friday folders or a newsletter next week. 

We are running low on Kleenex in 1D.  This spring/winter up and down weather is causing a lot of runny noses.  If you have some extra boxes please send them with your child.  

    I wish you all a blessed Easter!

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week!  We had so much fun reading and learning about Fables.  Be sure to ask your child about these stories.  Next week we’ll be learning about our next author/illustrator, Janet Stevens.  In Math we will be talking about fractions.  In Science we will continue our animal and plant unit.  We will be finishing up our Stations of the Cross books.

We will be working on our Social Studies Assessment called Delightful Destination.  Earlier this week your child brought home paper asking for you to write a destination your child has been to.  We will use that destination to create a brochure.  If you have not returned that form please do so by Monday, April 4th.  

Next week is our big Program week.  I already have the songs going through my head!  We will have rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.  Wednesday and Thursday we will perform in the afternoon for the rest of the school and then Thursday night we will perform for you.  Your child should wear their program attire both Wednesday and Thursday to school.  Boys should wear black, brown, or white or a combination of those colors.  Girls should wear black or white or a combination of the two.  Blue uniform pants can be worn if you wish.  If you have questions about this please let me know.  Thursday evening the door will open at 6:40.  Your child should come to our classroom 1D.  Please keep their jackets with you as we will not return to the classroom after the program.  You can then head to the gym and find a seat.  I will bring them to the gym for the performance.  After the program we will wait on the risers for you to come and pick them up.  

Due to the crazy week next week I will not be sending Math facts.  There will be a regular Monday Math homework sent home on Monday.  

As if that is not enough going on next week… 1D will be the ministers at Mass on Wednesday.  You are all invited to come to Mass to see your child.  This is so exciting and I am so happy that you will be able to attend Mass.  Mass begins at 8:30.

If you have not returned your child’s portfolio and report card please send it on Monday.  Also if you would like to help with our upcoming Science Olympics either in person or by sending supplies please have your form returned by Tuesday, April 5th.  I will be in touch after Easter to let you know what to send.  Thank you in advance for your help with this!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    We had a great week.  We spent time reading a story about two friends.  Next week we’ll be learning about Fables.  We finished up our Geometry chapter in Math.  We will be talking about Factions next.  In Religion, we continue to work on our Stations of the Cross books.  In Science we have started our plant and animal unit.

    Last Friday marked the end of the third quarter.  I cannot believe we are in our last quarter!  Monday your child will bring home their portfolio and report card.  Please take some time to go through the portfolio with your child.  You will find their report card in the portfolio.  Please sign the report card and return it along with everything in the portfolio to school by Thursday, March 31st.  If you have any questions please let me know.

    There are some important dates coming up for 1D.  I wanted to share those dates with you so you can mark your calendars…

*Thursday, March 31st we will be celebrating our amazing Teacher 

Assistants.  I don’t know what we would do without Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Baldwin.  Please find a way to celebrate them this day!

*Friday, April 1st is the first day uniform shorts can be worn.

*Wednesday, April 6th 1D will be ministers at Mass

*Wednesday and Thursday, April 6th and 7th will be program days 

for the 1st and 3rd grade program “Arf”.  Look in your child’s Friday folder for a letter from our Music teachers with more information.

*Monday, April 25 will be our First Grade Science Olympics.  Watch for a note to go 

home next week asking for volunteers for this fun morning!

*Thursday, May 5th will be a special afternoon in 1D.  We will be 

celebrating our year with a special program in our classroom.  We call it Memories and Munchies.  This will be a short program in our classroom from 2:35 – 3:25.  More information will come.

*Monday, May 9th is our field trip to the zoo.  

**If you would like to volunteer for some of these events you must have completed the Safe Environment Training.

We are continuing our Penny Wars.  We are collecting change that will be donated to Jimmy Moran’s family to help his family with any expenses they find during his medical journey.  It has been a lot of fun watching the kids get excited about putting pennies in other classes’ jars.  We want to put all other coins and bills into our jar and put the pennies into others’ jars.  Thank you for your support.

Next week is our School Book Fair.  Please click on the link for more information https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=spsl Or if you would like to donate money to buy books for our classroom click on this link.  https://shop.scholastic.com/ewallet/fund?lang=en_US&walletId=4844338 We will be going to the book fair during our library time on Tuesday, March 29th.  There are also times available on Sunday and Tuesday evening if you would like to shop with your family.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Happy Spring! Today marks the end of the 3rd quarter. Monday, March 28th your child will bring home their portfolio and report card.

      We worked on writing stories for our portfolios this week.  Watch out Leprechauns!  Our stories were about how to catch a Leprechaun!   We have also been working on rhyming and writing complete sentences.  

Next week we will be reading a story about 2 friends who help each other out.  We will finish up our Geometry chapter in Math.  We will continue working on our Stations of the Cross books in Religion.  

      We do try to go out for recess each day.  I know the weather is changing and the afternoon recess is usually pretty warm.  The lunch recess can be a little chilly so please make sure your child has appropriate coats.  Layers are great!!!!

      Things to remember…

*An optional dress down day will be next Friday, March 25th.  The money brought in will support our school book fair.          

*The first and third grade program will be Thursday, April 7th.  You will be getting more information from our Music teachers soon.

*Our school is doing a penny war beginning next week to support a 4th grader in our school who has some health issues.  Watch for 

        more information soon!    

                                 Have a great weekend!

                                 Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week! There is nothing better than getting to go to recess with no coats!  It was a busy week.  This week we read a biography about an author from a migrant farming family.  We also read a biography about Dr. Seuss and enjoyed some of his stories.   We finished up our Science unit on light.  We talked about Lent in Religion.  We will begin our Stations of the Cross book when we return from Spring break.  We finished up our Math chapter on reading and making graphs.  Next we will be talking about 2D shapes in our Geometry chapter.

    Next week is spring break.  I hope you enjoy the week.  School will resume on Monday, March 14th.

    Can you believe we are almost to the end of the 3rd Quarter? I don’t know where the time is going?  Today your child is bringing home the last word list pages for the quarter.  They also made a game yesterday called Hot Potato.  I will be testing your child on these words the week they return from Spring Break.

When we return from Spring Break we will be working on a writing project for our portfolios.  We will be writing stories about how to catch a leprechaun!  

    Thank you for helping with our Math Fluency project.  I will keep the math bags at school and send them home Monday, March 22nd.  This doesn’t mean you can’t continue practicing math facts while we are on break.

Things to remember…

*No School March 7-11

*End of 3rd Quarter is Friday, March 18th

*Daylight Savings begins 3/13/22 *1st and 3rd grade musical “Arf” is Thursday, April 

7th.  Mark your calendars!

        Have a wonderful spring break!

                                   Miss Buttell        

Dear families,

      What a week!  We had so much fun learning about Kevin Henkes.  Be sure to ask your child about this author/ illustrator.  Next week we will be reading a biography about Tomás Rivera. He was from a migrant farming family who became an author.  We will also read some Dr. Seuss books to celebrate his birthday.  We will be talking about reading and making graphs in math.  We will be talking about Lent in Religion.  We will attend Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday.

        We are beginning to plan for our Spring field trip to the zoo.  We are planning for early May for this trip.  If you would like to volunteer for this field trip it is required that you have attended the Safe Environment training.  If you have not had this training you can sign up to attend  through the archdiocese website, archomaha.org.  

Our paper supply is running low in first grade.  If you are able to donate white copy paper we would appreciate it.  Thank you in advance for your help in this.

      Don’t Forget. . .

*Race for Education labels are due by Friday, March 4th.

*Look for Math Facts to practice on Monday!

                                 Have a great weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,                                     

    For a short week, we were very busy. We had fun reading a play about a runaway dog.   Next week we’ll be learning about our next author/illustrator, Kevin Henkes.  He is best known for his “Mice Books” Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse is one of my favorites.  One of our projects requires a baby picture.  Please send a baby picture by Tuesday, February 22nd.  This picture will be glued to a book. We will be learning about graphs in Math. George Washington will be our topic in Social Studies next week.  We will continue talking about light waves in Science.  In Religion we have been talking about prayer.  We will be talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit next week.

Today you will find two important notes in your child’s Go Folder.  One note is about our upcoming Race for Education.  If you have questions, please let me know.  The other note is about our new Math fact project.  Please read the note and watch for math facts to come home on Monday.  Your child will no longer get a paper worksheet for Math homework.  Rather, the homework will be practicing math facts.

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    Even though it was a short week we were very busy. It was a fun week celebrating the 100th day of school.  We finished up our unit on American symbols.  Next week we will begin learning about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.  In Science, we will be learning about light waves.  In Religion we will be talking about praying using Bible stories.  Next week we will finish up our chapter on numbers to 120 in Math.  Then we will begin our chapter on graphs and data.  In Literature next week we will be reading a play about a lost dog!

Today you will find an envelope in your child’s Go folder for Soda bread.  There is a note about this on the envelope and you also should have received an email.  Please return this envelope on Tuesday, February 15th. 

      One of our school goals for the past few years has been to increase Math fluency.  We want students to know their math facts consistently.  Beginning February 21st your child will bring home a bag at the beginning of each week.  It will have a strip of facts for your child to practice for the week.  There is a note in the bag for you to sign each night they practice.  The last day we have school each week we will take a test on those facts.  If the student passes the test they will get a new fact strip for the next week.  If they do not pass the test they will have the same strip to practice for another week. 

    Don’t forget…

*No School Friday, February 11th.

*No School Monday, February 14th.

Enjoy the long weekend!

                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    Wow what a week!  It was a great Catholic Schools Week.  We continued learning about American symbols in Social Studies.  In Math, we will be working on numbers to 120.  This will help us get ready to celebrate our 100th day on Tuesday, February 8th.  We spent time this week preparing for our 100th day.   We will be talking about light in Science.

    Thursday, we will be celebrating Valentine’s day.  Your child should bring their valentines by Thursday, February 10th. Please make sure the Valentines have their classmates’ names on them.  It makes it so much easier to pass them out when their names are on the cards.

    Next week will be a short week. There will be a noon dismissal on Thursday, February 10th.  There is no school on Friday, February 11th and Monday, February 14th. Even though it is a short week next week we are still planning on having a spelling list next week.  I will not be sending home Friday folders next week.

Things to remember…

*We do try to go out to recess each day the temperature is above 10 degrees, so please send hats, gloves, and boots with your child. 

           Have a great weekend! 

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had a fun full 5 day week!  We explored sound in Science.  In Social Studies we are learning about American symbols.   In Math we continued exploring numbers to 100.  This is perfect timing as we prepare for our 100th day of school.  Next week we will begin the celebration.    In Religion we are learning about the gift of Eucharist.  

      Valentine’s day is right around the corner.  We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 10th.  The 10th is a noon dismissal.  Valentines should be sent to school on Thursday, February 10th.  

Monday you will find a conference request form in your child’s Go Folder.  This set of conferences is by request, either teacher or parent. Please mark the form and return it by Friday, February 4th.  Please make sure to write a time, and form of conference (in person or virtual). If you have any questions, please let me know.

Next week is Catholic Schools’ Week.  Although we cannot celebrate as we have in the past, we will do our best!  Monday is a dress down day.  Tuesday we will be participating in an all school rosary (1 decade) for our first responders.  Wednesday we will be attending a performance from Omaha Street Percussion.  Thursday we will attend Mass and have donuts after Mass.  We will also be celebrating the Servants of Mary, the founding religious order of our school. Friday we will be attending the Drama club’s play.   

As we get ready to begin a special week at our school I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for making the choice to send your child to a Catholic School.  As a product of 16 years of Catholic Education I know the sacrifice you have to make.  I love teaching your children and being a part of St. Pius X / St. Leo School. 

      Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families

      Even though it was a short week we kept very busy! I’m not sure what we will do next week going to school 5 days in a row! We had so much fun learning about frogs this week.   Next week we will be reading another nonfiction story about fish.  One of our projects requires a shoebox.  Every student will need a shoe box.  Please send the boxes by Tuesday, January 25th.  If you have any extra boxes please send those as well.  

We spent a lot of time learning about Martin Luther King Jr. this week.  Be sure to ask your child about this amazing man.  We will be talking about American symbols next in Social Studies.  We continued learning about sound in Science.  We are working on numbers to 120 in Math.  In Religion we will be talking about the gift of Eucharist.

This week you will find a dictated sentence on your child’s Spelling test.  Each week I will dictate a sentence that includes many of the spelling words.  This is a way for the students to see the words are not just words on a list, but words we should be using in our daily writing.  I will mark a plus by each spelling word that is spelled correctly and a plus if they started the sentence with a capital letter and another if they remembered the punctuation at the end.

It is very hard to believe, but our 100th day of school is right around the corner.  I would like each student to bring a collection of 100 items.  Yesterday your child brought home a ziploc bag and a note with all of the details.  Please have the collections to school by Monday, January 24th.   If you have any questions please let me know!  

Valentine’s day is also quickly approaching.  We will decorate bags at school.  We will provide everything for this project.  So you do not have to create a valentine box for this year.  We would like the students to give valentines to each other so…  you can either buy cards or make cards for the students in 1D.   I will be sending a link to a class list so that the students can write their classmates names on the valentines as well as their own name.  It makes it easier to pass out the valentines when they have names on them.  I have another secret reason for asking them to write their classmates names, it is great handwriting practice!  Valentines will need to be at school by February 10th.  This will be the day we celebrate Valentine’s day because we are not in school on the actual day!   If you have any questions please let me know.

Things to remember…

*Portfolio and report cards should have been returned today.  If you have not returned yours, please send it on Monday.

*100 collections are due Monday, January 24th.

*Valentines are due on Thursday, February 10th.

      Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break. It was so great to see their smiling faces this week.  They all did a great job jumping back in this week.  They all worked so hard.

       Next week we’ll be learning about Martin Luther King Jr.  In Math, we will be working on numbers to 100.  Our 100th day is right around the corner! We will be learning about sound waves in Science.  This week we read a story called We Are All Wonders.  The new year is a great time to remember what makes us each unique and special.  We want to celebrate and be proud of ourselves.  It is also a wonderful time to remember to be kind to each other and celebrate our differences!

Next week we’ll be learning about our next author/ illustrator, Jan Brett.  She has a wonderful website www.janbrett.com .  She is also really good about emailing or writing back to you if you write to her.  

Today marks the end of the 1st semester.  Where is the time going?!?!  We wrote stories for our portfolios this week.  I cannot wait for you to get to read them!  Next week I will be testing your child on their sight words.  Today we made a game called Snowball Splat.  It has all the words in the game so it will be a fun game to play this weeked to review the words!  Portfolios and report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, January 18th.

 I would like to remind you that we try to go out for recess each day. Please make sure your child has gloves and a hat. It is also a good idea to send boots. If your child wears boots please make sure they have shoes to wear in the school.  If you have extra hats or gloves that you would like to donate to our extra supply of gloves and hats for those that forget theirs please send them with your child. 

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    What a fun week!  We read a story about a superhero dog.  We learned about planets in Science.  We talked about Advent in Religion.  In Math we worked on measurement.  

Next week will be Gingerbread week.  We will be spending the week comparing various versions of the Gingerbread stories.  Be sure to ask your child about this next week.  In Religion, we will begin a special book about the real meaning of Christmas. In Science, we will be talking about what our needs and wants would be for a trip to space.   We will finish up our chapter on measurement in Math.  

    Here are some things to remember for the next week. . .

*We have our Christmas bulletin board up in our classroom.  Our family traditions are so important so we would like to add our families to the board.  If you have a family Christmas photo or card, you would like to add to the board please send it with your child next week.

* Friday, December 10th is a noon dismissal.

* We still need empty toilet paper rolls.

*First grade is hosting a diaper drive.  Diapers can be brought until Thursday, December 9th.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had another great week!  We talked about giving thanks to God in Religion.   We finished up our chapter on relating addition and subtraction in Math.  We learned about the first Thanksgiving in Social Studies.   We had so much fun learning about Mo Willems.  I keep finding Pigeons drawn all over the place!!!!  Be sure to ask your child about this author/illustrator.

We have decided to cancel our Friendship Feast on Monday.  Due to the increase in Covid cases we will postpone the feast until a later date.  If you were signed up to send items for the feast you do not need to send them.  I will let you know when to send them in the future.  I apologize for any inconvenience.  If you already sent your items I will hold onto them until we reschedule!

Next week is a short week.  We have school on Monday and Tuesday.  The rest of the week is off for Thanksgiving.  Due to the short week there will be no spelling list next week.  I will not be sending a newsletter or Friday folders next week.  

      I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I feel like I know all of your families because your children tell me so much about your family traditions. Please have a safe and happy holiday. Enjoy your wonderful children. They are definitely on my list of things to be thankful for this year!

      Things to remember…

*No school November 24 – 26.  

*Tuesday, November 23rd is a Dress Down Day

*We are still collecting non-perishable food items until Tuesday, November 23rd.

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow!  1D did an amazing job at Mass this week.  I know they were all wearing masks, but their eyes couldn’t hide the smiles and pride.  I was so proud of them.  

We had fun reading a story about good friends wanting to make their friend happy.  We talked about Veterans in Social Studies.  In Science we continued talking about the sun.   We continued with our chapter on relating addition and subtraction in Math.  Next week we will be talking about the first Thanksgiving.  

We will be doing our next author study next week!  We will be learning about Mo Willems.  He is the author of the Pigeon books and the Elephant and Piggie books as well as many other funny books.  Be sure to ask your child about this author next week!

Next week our school will begin a food drive.  We will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to food banks during the holiday season.  Items may be brought from November 15- 23. More information will be coming to you from our student council.

Earlier this week I sent a note about our upcoming Friendsgiving Friendship Feast.  If you would like to help with this please make sure the forms are returned by Monday, November 15th.  I will send emails letting you know what to send.  We will celebrate this feast on Monday, November 22nd.

       We got a rude awakening today with the cold weather.  Please remember to send hats and gloves every day!  This is also a great time of year for first graders to be tying their own shoes.  Please continue to work on this at home.

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow!  What a great week! Even though it was a short week, we fit a lot in!  We read a story about a little boy who had a pet hen.  If you read a story about a hen you cannot help but think of the story of the Little Red Hen.  We read a bunch of different versions of this story to compare them.  We even made bread.  Be sure to ask your child about this story!  We worked on relating addition and subtraction facts in Math.   In Science, we talked about the sun.  We talked about Baptism in  Religion.

      Next week We will be reading a story about someone who outgrows their favorite shoes.  Luckily her friends want to share their favorite shoes with her.  One project we will be doing with this story is to write about our favorite shoes.  Your child can bring their favorite shoes on Wednesday, November 10th.  If the shoes fit with our school uniform they can be worn all day.  If they are  not a part of our uniform then they can bring the shoes in their backpack and we will wear them in our classroom for a part of the day.  If you have questions just let me know.  

 We will be talking about Veteran’s Day in Social Studies.   We will continue talking about the sun in Science.  Today you will find a special project for Science in your child’s Go Folder.  We will be learning about the phases of the moon and the best way to observe this is to watch the moon.  There is a note attached with directions.  If you have questions just let me know!  The moon watching begins on Sunday, November 7th.

        We enjoyed as much of the beautiful weather this week as we could.  But, as we all know Nebraska weather can keep us on our toes!   It is a great time to remind you that we do try to go out for recess every day. Please send warm clothing each day. Hats and gloves are greatly appreciated. Girls who wear skorts or skirts may wear sweat pants under their skirts for recess. They will be asked to take them off while we are in school. Make sure everything is labeled with your child’s name!!!! Remember that our dress code says that girls may wear tights or leggings that are navy, white, or red. If you have extra hats or gloves at home that you would like to donate, please send them with your child. We have a basket of extra gloves and hats that students can borrow if they forget theirs.

Next Wednesday is a special day for 1D.  We will be the ministers at Mass.  If your child is doing a reading they brought those home this week so they can practice them. The rest of the students will be in the choir or a greeter.  Tuesday we will be practicing in the Church.  Thank you for your help with this.  I will try to take lots of pictures and post them on our Facebook page.  They are so excited!

      Things to remember…

*There is no school on Monday, November 8th.

*If you have not returned your child’s portfolio please do so on Tuesday.

*Disguised Turkeys are due on Wednesday, November 10th.

                                                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      It was a wonderful week in 1D. We had so much fun learning about Eric Carle.  We have lots of our Eric Carle artwork hanging in our hallway.  We hope you will take a look when you visit for conferences next week.  Be sure to ask your child about this author and illustrator!  

      There is no school Thursday, October 28th for conferences. Conferences will be from 9:00- 6:30. I will be in 1D during this time. Please come at your designated time. I hope to visit with all of you then. We will be limited to about 10 minutes per conference. I have many back to back conferences so we will have to stick to the 10 minutes and need to start each conference on time.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  Also, there is no school on Friday, October 29th and Monday, November 1st.  

      On the school calendar, you will notice that report cards are to be sent home on Monday, October 25th.  First grade does not send report cards the first quarter.  There will be one sent the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter.  We spend so much time during the first quarter reviewing and screening the students that we feel our portfolios show more of their growth during this quarter. I will share your child’s portfolio with you at conferences on Thursday.

      Due to the short week, next week there will not be a newsletter or Friday folders sent home. We will not have a new spelling list next week.  Also, there is no Mass scheduled for Wednesday, October 27th.

      Next week we will continue practicing subtraction in math.  We will begin our next Science unit on space.  One project we do during this unit is to watch the moon.  On Tuesday, November 2nd your child will bring home a calendar that they should use to observe the moon.  There will be a note attached with more directions.  Please watch for this in your child’s Go Folder.

Things to remember…         

*No School on Thursday, October 28th, Friday, October 29th, or Monday, November 1st.

      *Last day to wear uniform shorts is Wednesday, October 27th.

      Enjoy your weekend!

                                                   Miss Buttell  

Dear Families,

      It was a wonderful week in 1D. We had a lot of fun creating our fall collages.  I hope you enjoy them.  Next week we are going to spend the whole week learning about the author/ illustrator Eric Carle.  We try to plan a week each month to learn about an author.  Eric Carle is a very well known author.  We will be spending a lot of time learning about his art style, collage.  Be sure to ask your child about this author next week. In addition to all of our author study next week we will wrap up our Math chapter on subtraction.  We will continue learning about nouns.  In Religion we will be talking about the Creation story.  

      Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner. Today you will find a note in your child’s Go folder with your scheduled time.  You will need to confirm this time by sending the bottom portion of the note back with your child on Monday.  I look forward to seeing you all on the 28th.  As was stated at our parent meeting, we do not send a paper report card for the first quarter in first grade.  We spend so much time evaluating students and reviewing during the first quarter we did not feel the report card was needed.  Your child does have a portfolio with work to show their progress this quarter.  When we meet for conferences we will go through your child’s portfolio and their work this quarter.  All of the materials in this portfolio should remain in the folder when you return it to school by Wednesday, November 3rd.   We will add to it each quarter.  If you have any questions please let me know!

         It is hard to believe but today marks the end of the first quarter.  I am not sure where the time has gone. Your child brought home their last Word List page for this quarter.  We made a review game called Fumble that may help with your review!  Please take some time this weekend to review the words.  Your child will be asked to read these words next week. There is a list of all the words in your child’s Friday folder as well.

For our upcoming class Halloween party we are not going to have parents help at the party.   We will still have a party, but it will be planned and led by yours truly!!!!! I do need a couple items sent for the party.  Not all of you that signed up to help with our pumpkin taste test got to send items.  I will request items from families that did not send items for the taste test.  You will get an email next week requesting items.  If you are unable to help just let me know and I will go to the next name.  Thank you for all your help so far this year.  I am so lucky to have such amazing families in 1D!

Things to remember… 

*School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 16th 

*Our class book will be available to bid on as well as breakfast with me or being the teacher for the day.  There is also an extra recess available for our class.

 *Don’t forget I need help with ideas for my Halloween costume for this year.  These papers are due on Tuesday, October 19th

           Enjoy the weekend

Miss Buttell                                            

Dear Families

      We had a great pumpkin week.  We could not have asked for a better day for our field trip on Monday.  It was so fun learning about pumpkins all week.  There are many pictures on our facebook page from this week.  Enjoy!   Next week we will be reading a story about a little boy who collects things from nature while on a walk with his mom.  We will be doing a special project on Wednesday to go along with this story.  Yesterday there was a note in your child’s go folder with the details about this project.  Fall collections should be sent to school on Tuesday, October 12th. 

      It is so hard to believe we will be at the end of the First Quarter on Friday, October 15th.  We will do one more list of word list packets.  We will be testing your child on these words the week of October 18th.  Please take some time to practice these words over the weekend. They will need to read the words only. They will not have to write them.  You will find a list of all the words for this quarter in your child Friday folder.  If you have any questions just let me know.

      Next week we will be finishing up our Social Studies unit on Citizenship.  We will also finish up our Health unit in Science.  Then, we will be talking about the sun, moon, and stars in Science.  In Math we will begin our chapter on subtraction.  We will also be learning about nouns.  We will be making a noun town!

In Spelling next week we will begin offering a challenge list.  On the first day of the week we will all take a pretest.  If your child gets 90% on the pretest I will send home the challenge list.  Our challenge list has the regular list spelling words in it.  For example the word might be hot, but the challenge word would be shot.  If a student struggles with the challenge words they may not be able to have the challenge list the following week.  If you have questions please let me know.

Yesterday your child brought a form home about our upcoming conferences.  Please fill out the form and return it to school by Wednesday, October 14th.  I look forward to communicating with you however I can! 

Things to remember…

      *No School Monday, October 11th.

      *Fall items are due on Tuesday, October 12th.      

      *Our School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 16th 

      *I’m still missing a number of candy/snack wrappers.  Please send them ASAP.

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

We had a great week learning about corn.  We tasted a lot of popcorn this week and came to the conclusion that cheese popcorn is 1D’s favorite.  We popped our own popcorn and wrote about making popcorn.  We are working on retelling using the words First, Next, Then, and Last.  Be sure to ask your child about this

      Next week is PUMPKIN WEEK!!!  We will be learning about pumpkins all week.  Thank you so much to those that volunteered to send items for our pumpkin taste test.  So many of you volunteered that I didn’t need you all to bring something.  If you received a note in your child’s Go Folder on Wednesday please send the item marked by Tuesday, October 5th.  If you didn’t receive a note I will save your name for our next event.  

Monday is our field trip to the Vala’s Pumpkin Patch.  Your child can dress down on Monday.  Please remember no sandals, backless shoes, sleeveless shirts.  Watch the weather.  It is usually cooler out there in the morning.  Your child needs to bring a completely disposable lunch and drink.  Also, please send a couple extra masks in a ziploc bag with your child’s name.  The parent volunteers will carry the bags just in case they need to switch their masks.  They will need to wear a mask while inside buildings, and when they are in close contact with others.  There was a note that went home in yesterday’s Go folder with all of the details for Monday!   

We have a special project next week and we need your help!  Each student needs a candy/snack wrapper.  Maybe you can celebrate how hard your child has been working and they can eat the treat and bring the wrapper to school.  We do not need the snack, just the wrapper!  Please send the wrapper by Thursday, October 7th.

Things to Remember…

*We will be attending Mass on Wednesday, October 6th.

*Last week a note was sent home asking for you to pick times you are available for parent teacher conferences.  These forms were due today.  If you have not returned the form please do so on Monday.  If you lost the form let me know and I will send a new form.  Parent Teacher Conferences are Thursday, October 28th.

*Don’t forget to send jackets on the colder days ahead. 

*Please make sure your child has a water bottle every day.  There is not a drinking fountain available to just get a quick drink.  All of our drinking fountains have been changed into filling stations. 

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We had fun reading a nonfiction story about ants.  We also read a fiction story about ants.  We had to decide if we would step on the ant or not!

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will make a book about the Creation story. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about corn.  My favorite kind of corn is popcorn so we will be tasting various kinds of popcorn and graphing our favorites!

Science – We will be talking about keeping healthy by taking care of our teeth. 

Math – We will continue working on addition

Social Studies – We will continue working on our Citizenship unit.  We will also be learning about Johnny Appleseed.  We will decide if he was a good citizen or not!

Remember as the weather begins to change that we go out for recess two times as day and jackets may be needed. Also, it is always a good idea to label your child’s clothes with a name. It is amazing where sweatshirts and jackets turn up!

Our field trip to Vala’s is right around the corner.  Earlier this week I sent home the permission slip for this trip.  Those need to be signed and returned with payment by Monday, September 27th.  More information will be sent next week about this trip.

We will spend the whole week of October 4th-8th exploring, learning about, and enjoying pumpkins.  Today in your child’s Go folder is a form about one of these activities.  We will be doing a pumpkin taste test.  The form asks you to let me know if your child cannot eat some of these items and if you would like to help by sending one of the items.  These need to be returned by Tuesday of next week.  I will then let you know what to bring.  Thank you in advance for help in this!

Today you will find a note about our upcoming parent teacher conferences.  Please fill in the form with your availability for conferences.  These forms are due on Friday, October 1st.  If you have any questions please let me know.

      Things to remember…

*No school on Friday, September 24th.  Enjoy the long weekend!

*Our School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 16th. 

          Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We read a story about a runaway hat and two friends working together to get the hat back!  We made a puppet show that your child can use to retell you this story. We talked about staying healthy in Science.  We are talking about being good citizens in Social Studies.

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will talk about praising God. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about ants.  

Science – We will be talking about using soap when we wash our hands. 

Math – We will continue working on addition

Social Studies – We will continue talking about being a good citizen.

We have finally set the date for our upcoming field trip to Vala’s Pumpkin patch.  We will head to Vala’s on Monday, October 4th.  Earlier this week I sent a note home asking for parent volunteers.  Next week I will be sending home the permission slips.  These need to be returned by September 27th.

      Things to remember…

*Book orders are due on Thursday, September 23rd.

*Thursday, September 23rd is an optional dress down day.  The money brought in will go toward our upcoming school fundraiser.

*No school on Friday, September 24th.  Due to the short week we will have our spelling test on Thursday

Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow! What a week!  We had so much fun reading the alphabet story about school.  Be sure to ask your child about this story and the other interesting ABC books we read this week. In Science we have been talking about staying healthy.  We talked a lot about germs this week.  Next week we will learn about why we use soap to wash our hands.  In Social Studies we started our unit on Citizenship.  This week we talked about rules and why we have rules.   In Religion, we talked about our church community.  Next week we will be talking about the Bible.  In Math, we started our introduction to addition.    

Today you will find a paper in your child’s Go Folder.  This is your homework for the weekend.  We are making a class book about 1D.  Please help your child fill in the boxes on this sheet.  In the box that asks for a picture your child should draw their self portrait. They can color and decorate the borders and pictures on the page.

Next week we will begin Spelling.  Your child will bring home a list of words to practice on Monday.  The test will be on Friday.  There will be a note sent on Monday with more details and suggestions for how to practice the words at home.

Yesterday your child brought home their Word List pages.  Each week we work on a set of sight words.  On Thursdays we practice these words by writing sentences with them, reading them to friends, making flashcards, and writing the words.  Your child will be asked to read these words at the end of the quarter.  Each week they will bring the flashcards home with the pages.  These can be collected and practiced throughout the quarter. 

       Things to remember…

*We will attend Mass on Wednesday, September 15th

*The School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 16th at Creighton Prep

         Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week!  It was a packed week.  Monday’s Beach party was so much fun! Picture day on Tuesday was a success.  We went to Mass on Wednesday!  We read about Superheroes.  We talked about how we could be a superhero in our classroom and school.  

Thank you to all the parents who were able to come to the parent meeting last night.  If you were unable to attend you will find the packet that was given out at the meeting in your child’s Friday folder.  I will also be emailing everyone the slide show I showed last night. 

Yesterday I sent an email with a link to join our Facebook page.   I will close the page and make it private on Wednesday, September 8th.  I also sent a form for you to fill out with some of the details about our page.  Please sign and return the form by Wednesday.

If you have not sent headphones for your child please send them next week.  We will begin using them in the classroom next week.  We will also use them the following week to take the Early Star test.

Remember…

*There is no school on Monday, September 6th and Tuesday, September 7th.

*We will attend Mass on Wednesday, September 8th.

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Well, we survived our first full week. It was a hot one, but everyone worked so hard.  We spent a lot of time this week learning the procedures for first grade.  What is more fun than eating lunch in the cafeteria!!!!  

To celebrate all of our hard work we will have a beach party on Monday, August 30th!  We will keep the beach towels at school that you sent for our outside Mass.  On Monday your child can bring books to read outside at the beach (aka the grassy area by the Parish Center).  They can also bring sunglasses or other beach accessories.  They do need to be in uniform on this day.  We will spend some time outside reading and playing games.  If you have any questions please let me know.

Next Tuesday, August 31st is picture day!  Yesterday your child brought home a note with all the details.  If you would like to order pictures please return the envelope by Monday, August 30th.  This is a dress up day please read the form for details about what attire is acceptable on Tuesday! We do have PE Tuesday afternoon so please send tennis shoes with your child!

Next Thursday, September 2nd is our First grade parent meeting.  The meeting will begin at 7:00 in our classroom (1D).  I will spend time during this meeting going over what a day is like in first grade.  This is an adult only meeting.  I look forward to seeing you Thursday.

I am sending this newsletter in hard copy and I am also sending it in an email.  If you did not receive the email please let me know.  I may have your email address entered incorrectly. 

Things to remember…

• We will attend the 1-4 Mass on Wednesday, September 1st.
• Make sure your child has a water bottle each day.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Well we survived the first couple half days!  I so enjoy getting to know your children.  We fit as much into these half days as we could.  We will spend next week continuing to learn about the routines in first grade and explore a little more each day!  

Here are a few things to remember for next week…

• We have PE on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Please make sure your child has tennis shoes on these days.  Girls who wear jumpers should have shorts under their jumper.  We will leave the jumpers in the classroom during PE class.  If they wear skorts they do not need shorts.
• Our Multimedia (Library) days are Tuesday as well.  We will not start going to the library until August 31st.  Please remember to have library books returned on Tuesdays.
• We will begin eating lunch at school next week.  We get to eat in the cafeteria!  When your child arrives in the morning they will need to let me know if they are having the main option(A), the alternate option (B), Yogurt and cheese (c), or cold lunch.  Once they tell me their choice I place the order and they cannot change their mind.  It is a great idea for you to go over the lunch options with your child before school.  You can find the menu on our school website.  www.spsl.net.
• Please make sure your child has a water bottle every day.  We do not have drinking fountains, only filling stations.   

Each week I will be emailing you a newsletter as well as posting it on our school website.  This is a way for me to keep you informed about what we are working on each week and also to let you know what is coming up!  If you have any questions just let me know.  It is easiest to get a hold of me by email.  [email protected]

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Welcome to 1D!    We are in for an interesting school year!  We are really going to have to work as a team.  I look forward to learning and growing together this year.  Here are just a few items that will help our year go smoothly.  Please know that things may change as the year goes on.  I will do my best to keep you informed.

This envelope is packed with your homework!!  Please look through all of the papers and cards.  It is very important that these be filled in and returned to school ASAP!!!!!!

Please make sure your child has a mask, individual size bottle of hand sanitizer, and water bottle each day.  It is a good idea to have extra masks available in your child’s backpack. The water bottles should be a squeeze type of bottle or a bottle with a straw.  These should be filled when they come to school each day.  Our drinking fountains are no longer community drinking fountains, but refill stations.

On Fridays, your child will be bringing home their work in their Friday Folders.  Please review the activities that are sent home with your child so you have an idea what we are working on in the classroom.  This is also an excellent review for him/her.  The folders should be returned to school on Mondays so we can begin filling them again!!

In addition to the “Friday Folder” your child also has a “Go Folder” This folder will remain in your child’s backpack and daily notes will travel to home and to school in this folder.  There will be reminders notes, special note from the office that needs to go home that day, and homework.  Please plan to check this folder every day.  There will be many days when it is empty!  If you need to send a note to the office or to me, please send it in the “Go Folder”.  Your child should have this folder in his/her backpack every day!

Please be sure that all school materials and items of clothing are clearly marked with your child’s name.  This way if something is misplaced we can return it to the correct owner.  This includes sweatshirts and girls’ jumpers.  You would be amazed at how easily sweatshirts get mixed up!

For one week during the year, your child will be the “Important Person” for our class.  Your child will bring home a checklist of things to bring and some questions to answer the week prior to his/her turn.  Your child’s things will be on display for the entire week and they will have a chance to tell the rest of us about themselves.  We also have an artist of the week.  This student gets to decorate the board with their artwork.  A note will come home the week before to let you know it’s your child’s turn.  They will display their work and tell us about it during the week!

Birthdays are announced over the intercom in the office.  Treats are welcome, but not required, on your child’s birthday.  There are 24 students in our class. Treats need to be prepackaged or nonedible treats.  If your child’s birthday ends up on a weekend they will be announced the Friday before.  Weekend birthdays can either send treats Friday or Monday.  Summer birthdays are announced in May, but as long as you let me know ahead of time, you can celebrate anytime.  When you are deciding on a treat please keep in mind that your choice should be easily distributed and easily cleaned up! If you have questions about what to bring please ask!!

We plan to have multiple recess times each day.  We do have some community recess equipment, but students can also bring toys from home.   If your child would like to bring a toy from home, they can as long as it fits in a gallon size Ziploc bag.

It will be very important that I am able to be in contact with you this school year.  Please fill in the attached sheet with your emails and phone numbers.

Please Remember. . .

Thursday September 2^nd – 7:00 – 8:30 pm    1^st Grade Parent Meeting

**I spend a great deal of time at this meeting letting you know what your child does in school.  This time can be used to answer some of your questions.  This will also give you the opportunity to meet the parents of your child’s new friends.  I hope to see you there!!

I know I have thrown a lot of information at you at one time.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions whenever they come up!  It is easy to get a hold of me by note, phone (402-551-6667), or email [email protected] .

Sincerely,

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had a great last full week of school.  We continued our author study of Eric Carle.  We learned about contractions and lots of fun celebrations of our Lasts!

         I know this is hard to believe, but this will be your last newsletter from me this year!!!  I have loved having your child in my class this year.  We have become a little family and it is hard to believe they are moving on.  I hope you all have a wonderful summer.  Stop by and see me next year.

Portfolios will be sent home on Monday.  You can keep these at home.  Report cards will be sent home on Wednesday.

      Here is the schedule for next week…

Monday, May 24th Fun Day

Students may dress down on this day.  We will be spending the morning outside .  Please put sunscreen on at home.  Make sure your child has their water bottle on this day.

Tuesday, May 25th – Cleaning Day

We will be cleaning out desks on this day.  Your child should bring a rag to clean with and an additional bag (grocery style) to help get all their stuff home!! 

Wednesday, May 22nd – Last Day

We will be attending an all school mass in the parking lot on this day.  The first graders need to bring a towel to sit on and help with distancing.  We will dismiss at 11:00 for the summer.

Thank you for a wonderful year!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow!  1D is amazing.  We have practiced our Readers’ Theaters all week.  We recorded them on Thursday.  As soon as I have the video ready I will send the link to you.  They did an amazing job.  It is called Memories and Munchies so we enjoyed the munchies today.  Plus we had so much fun with Spirit week.  Watch for photos on our Facebook page.

We also had a great week learning about the author/illustrator Eric Carle.  We will continue this next week.  Monday we will be doing our texture painting.  Don’t forget to send items with your child on Monday.  These items will be thrown away after painting.  The items are usually covered in paint by the end.  

Next Monday your child will be tested on their sight words for this quarter.  I am sending a list of the words in your child’s Go folder today.  Please take some time this weekend to practice these words.

Next week we will begin finishing things up and cleaning out our desks.  Please check your child’s backpack each night.  Your child should be able to tell you what should be left at home.  It is very helpful if your child’s backpack is cleaned out each evening.

This week we talked a lot about Mary.  We will be crowning the Mary Statue by the parish center on Monday morning.  We wrote prayers to Mary this week on the back of flowers.  We will place the flowers by the statue.  

Next Friday, May 21st, will be a special day in First grade.  We will be celebrating our growth in reading by having a day of reading.  Your child can bring a sleeping bag, pillow and books.  A note with more information will be sent next week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    For a short week, we were very busy.  Today was an awesome Mission Day!  We spent time working on projects for our police officer that we have been praying for all year.  We also decorated placemats for the Servants of Mary.  It was fun to spend time today thinking about our community.

    We read a story about a vet this week in Literature.  It was a fun story to read because it was written as an interview.  In Social Studies we continued learning about and reading various maps.  In science we talked about how plants are living organisms and like animals they have traits that make them the same.  In Religion we learned about the first Christians.  Next week we’ll be learning about Mary.  Next Wednesday will be our turn to attend Mass in person.

Next week is Spirit Week.  Watch for an email with all the details.  We will wrap up spirit week with our Race For Education on Friday.  First grade will be walking/running from 10:05 – 10:55.  Please watch the weather.  It can be chilly up on the Soccer field.  Friday is a dress down day!  

We will be learning about our last author for the next 2 weeks.  We will be reading many of Eric Carle’s books.  He is a fun author/illustrator.  We will create some projects using his collage style of art.  

We will also be practicing our Readers’ Theaters.  Hopefully your child has been telling you about their parts 

    I would like to wish all of the mothers a very Happy Mother’s day.  As we worked on our Mother’s Day projects this week I loved hearing them talk about their moms.  I hope you have a wonderful day.  You all deserve it!

Remember there is no school tomorrow.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      How can it be May already!  I cannot believe we are only a few weeks from Summer vacation.  We are going to fit as much as we can into the next few weeks.  This week we read a story about a robot.  We designed our own robots.  Boy, our robots have lots of great skills!!!!  In Social Studies we continued learning about maps.  We talked about traits we got from our parents in Science.  Next week we’ll be learning about plants.  In Math we will finish up our chapter on counting money.  Please continue working on this as home.  Next we will work on adding 2 digit numbers.

      Next Thursday, May 6th is our school Mission Day. We will spend this day working on a couple projects for important people in our community.  We will be making placemats that will be delivered to the Servants of Mary.  Our school was started by the Servants of Mary many years ago.  We usually have a Servite helping in our school, but this year they were not able to be in the school due to Covid.  We also have a police officer that we have been praying for all school year.  We will make cards for him on this day.  This day will be an optional dress down day.  The money donated will be given to St. Pius X Parish and St. Leo the Great Parish.  We are looking forward to a great day of service.

      One event we usually have in 1D at the end of the year is Memories and Munchies.  This is an afternoon where we invite parents to come to our classroom and watch a couple Readers’ Theaters.  We share our favorite memories of first grade and of course enjoy some munchies.  I was so sad to think that this was not going to be possible this year.  I decided, like other things this year we don’t have to miss out on it, we just need to figure out how to make it work.  So….  we are going to do our best to make it happen.  Since you are not able to come to school we are going to create a video of our Readers’ Theaters and share our favorite memories on the video.  Once the video is ready I will send you the link so you can enjoy it at home.  It isn’t the way we want it, but we are going to do our best.  Next week we will spend some time in the classroom working on our Readers’ Theater scripts.  Watch for more information in upcoming newsletters.

There is no school next Friday, May 7th. 

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell   

Dear Families,

      It was another wonderful week in 1D.  We spent most of our week learning about ways to take care of the Earth.  Be sure to ask your child about what they learned this week.  We are working very hard to make choices in our classroom to help reduce, reuse, and recycle.

      Next week we will be celebrating Staff appreciation.  We have so many people who help make our school a wonderful place.  We have 2 very special staff members who help the first grade every day.  Please find a way to celebrate our wonderful TAs  Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Baldwin.  I do not know what I would do without them.  Please have your child make a card or something to thank them.  Staff appreciation day is Wednesday, April 28th. 

      Here is what we are working on …

Religion – The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Literature – We will be reading a fantasy story about a robot.

Phonics – We will be talking about the Bossy R for the next few weeks. (ar, er, ir)

Math – We will continue working on counting and identifying money.  Please continue practicing this at home.  Just grab a handful of change and have your child count the money and identify the coins.

Social Studies – We will finish up presenting our Delightful Destination brochures.

Science – We will be talking about traits that we get from our parents! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell 

Dear Families,

      What a week!  We were very busy this week.  We worked on our delightful destination brochures.  Next week we will be presenting them to the class.  Ask your child to tell you about their brochures this weekend.  That will help them prepare for presenting to the class.  We finished up our Math chapter on Time this week.  Next week we will begin our chapter on money.  Please help your child practice counting change at home.  Pull out a handful of change and have your child sort the coins.  Tell you the names of the coins and their value.  Then count the change.  This is the best way to practice this skill.  

We also had a great week learning about Janet Stevens.  Be sure to ask your child about this author and illustrator.  I loved watching them work this week.  They have grown so much in the last few months!  They are looking more and more like second graders every day!

Next week we will be talking a lot about taking care of the Earth.  We will be reading stories about the Earth.  Listing things we can do to take care of our planet. We will create some fun projects.  And of course we have an Earth Day snack planned.  Be sure to ask your child about this next week.

Remember there is no school on Monday, April 19th.  Our virtual book fair ends on Thursday, April 22nd.  I would also like to take this time to remind you that students should be coming to school with a mask on and have a couple extras in their backpacks.  As the weather warms up sometimes our masks need to be changed after recess.  The school is also in need of extra masks.  When a student does not have a mask when they arrive at school the school provides one for them.  Our supply is running low.  Thank you for any help you can provide 

          Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell  

Dear Families,

    We had a great week!  It is very exciting when the weather starts to warm up.    We read a fun nonfiction story about homes around the world.  Of course we had to write about our dream homes. Their ideas for dream homes are awesome and I hope I get invited to visit in the future!!!!!  In Religion we talked about Easter.  In Math we finished up our geometry chapter and are moving on to learning about telling time.  In Science we talked about how animals are like their parents and how they are different.  In Social Studies we have been talking about maps.  

Next week we will be working on our Social Studies assessment.  For this project the students will make a brochure about a place they have visited.  After we make the brochure we will present them to our class. 

Next week we’ll be learning about our next author/illustrator, Janet Stevens.  We will use her books to talk a lot about story elements like character, setting, plot, problem and solution.  Be sure to ask your child about this author next week.

Wednesday, April 14th will be our turn to attend Mass in the Church.  Usually on Wednesdays we watch the live stream of Mass.  We are still having only one grade in the Church at a time.  The first graders have been very patient.  Here is a link if you would like to watch the mass.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LstQkqsCJog&list=PLaEK4oTNO5fdeMZgLMXUAPXSwG4pI0hrY 

Don’t forget our virtual book fair began today.  If you have any questions about the fair please check our school website.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  

                                Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    It was so wonderful to have everyone back in the classroom this week.  The students were so excited to play with their friends from other classrooms at recess.  Unfortunately we had to wait until the rain passed.  There were a lot of smiling faces on Wednesday!

This week we read a story about maps.  We had a lot of fun looking at maps and finding our place on them.  We will carry this over to our next Social Studies unit on Maps.  We also have our Archdiocese Social Studies Assessment coming up.  If you have not sent back your Delightful Destination form please do so by Monday.

    Last Friday marked the end of the third quarter.  I cannot believe we are in our last quarter!  Monday your child will bring home their portfolio and report card.  Please take some time to go through the portfolio with your child.  You will find their report card in the portfolio.  Please sign the report card and return it along with everything in the portfolio to school by Wednesday, March 31st.  If you have any questions please let me know.

    Here is what we are working on…

Religion we will be finishing up our Stations of the Cross book.  We will be going to the Church to do the Stations of the Cross.

Math – We will be talking about 3D shapes.

Science – We are beginning our plant and animal unit.

Social Studies – We will be working on our maps unit and our Delightful Destination Brochures.

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about houses around the world.

Next week is a short week as we prepare for Easter.  There is no school Thursday, April 1 – 5. Due to the short week next week we will not have a spelling list.  I will not send home Friday folders or a newsletter next week.  When we return to school on the 6th students can begin wearing uniform shorts.

    We are in need of a few supplies in 1D.  If you are able to send any of these items, it is greatly appreciated!  We are out of glue sticks.  And we are also running low on Clorox wipes. 

    I wish you all a blessed Easter!

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

What a week! There is nothing better than getting to go to recess with no coats!  It was a busy week.  We wrote stories for our portfolios about pesky leprechauns in 1D.  I can’t wait for you to read them!  We talked about 2D shapes in Math.  We finished up our Science unit on light.  We started our Stations of the Cross book in Religion.  We read a story about being a good friend.

    Next week is spring break.  I hope you enjoy the week.  There is no school March 8th – March 15th.  Monday, March 15th is a work day for teachers.  March 16th – 19th will be a week of remote learning.  You will find a yellow folder in your child’s backpack with the work for the week of remote learning.  The material and assignments will also be posted on Google Classroom.  We will have daily Google Join meetings.  The schedule is included in the folder.  In Person learning will resume on Monday, March 22nd.

    Can you believe we are almost to the end of the 3rd Quarter? I don’t know where the time is going?  Yesterday your child brought home Word List pages.  This will be the last list of words for this quarter.  Please take some time to practice them.

    March 21st is World Down Syndrome day, but since we are not in school that day we will be celebrating this day on Monday, March 22nd.  Students can wear fun socks on this day with their regular school uniforms.

Thank you for helping with our Math Fluency project.  I will keep the math bags at school and send them home Monday, March 22nd.  This doesn’t mean you can’t continue practicing math facts while we are on break

        Have a wonderful spring break!

                                   Miss Buttell     

Dear families,

      What a week!  We had so much fun learning about Kevin Henkes.  Be sure to ask your child about this author/ illustrator.  Next week we will be reading a story about 2 friends who help each other out. We will also read some Dr. Seuss books to celebrate his birthday.  We will be talking about Geometry in math.  We will also be writing a story about how to catch a leprechaun for our 3rd quarter writing project.  I cannot wait to read them! 

        As we found out this week, Spring is hopefully right around the corner.  When it is warmer outside we sometimes let the students only wear a sweatshirt for recess.  It is helpful if your child has a lighter jacket or sweatshirt in their backpack for these days!!!  Let’s hope for more nice weather.

      Don’t Forget. . .

*Race for Education labels are due by Friday, March 5th.

*Look for Math Facts to practice on Monday!

                                 Have a great weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,                                     

    For a short week, we were very busy. Our 100th day was so much fun!  We celebrated all week.  Next week we’ll be learning about our next author/illustrator, Kevin Henkes.  He is best known for his “Mice Books” Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse is one of my favorites.  One of our projects requires a baby picture.  Please send a baby picture by Tuesday, February 24th.  This picture will be glued to a book. We will be learning about graphs in Math. George Washington will be our topic in Social Studies next week.  We will continue talking about light waves in Science.

It was so nice to get outside at the end of the week.  Please remember that we try to go outside each day when the temperature is 10 degrees or warmer.  Please make sure your child has a hat and gloves.  Thank you for your help in this!

       Today you will find two important notes in your child’s Go Folder.  One note is about our upcoming Race for Education.  If you have questions, please let me know.  The other note is about our new Math fact project.  Please read the note and watch for flash cards to come home on Monday.  Your child will no longer get a paper worksheet for Math homework.  Rather, the homework will be practicing math facts.

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    Even though it was a short week we were very busy. We read a biography about Tomas Rivera.  We learned about Abraham Lincoln in Social Studies. Next week we’ll be learning about George Washington.  In Science, we started talking about light waves.  In Religion we read about the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We will finish up our chapter on number to 120 in Math.  Then we will begin our chapter on graphs and data.

    Wednesday, February 17th will be our 100th day of school.  We will spend a lot of time exploring the number 100.  We will eat 100 snacks!  We will read various books that have the number 100 in them.  We will attempt to write 100 words. We will explore the number for the whole week.  We cannot fit it all into one day so we get to celebrate all week.

    Wednesday, February 17th is also Ash Wednesday.  Since we are unable to all be in the church on this day the Priests are planning to visit each of the classrooms.  They are currently working on a schedule for this day. 

One of our school goals for the past few years has been to increase Math fluency.  We want students to know their math facts consistently.  Beginning next Tuesday your child will bring home a bag at the beginning of each week.  It will have a set of flashcards for your child to practice for the week.  There is a note in the bag for you to sign each night they practice.  The last day we have school each week we will take a test on those facts.  If the student passes the test they will get a new set of flashcards for the next week.  If they do not pass the test they will have the same cards to practice for another week. 

    Don’t forget…

*No School Friday, February 12th.

*No School Monday, February 15th.

Enjoy the long weekend!

                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    Wow what a week!  It was a great Catholic Schools Week.  We learned about Abraham Lincoln in Social Studies.  In Math, we will be working on numbers to 120.  This will help us get ready to celebrate our 100th day on Wednesday, February 17th.  We read a story in literature that was set up as a play.  We made puppet shows to help retell this story.  Next week we will be reading a biography.  We will be talking about light in Science.

    Thursday, we will be celebrating Valentine’s day.  Your child should bring their valentines by Monday, February 8th. We decorated Valentine bags today.  They are all ready for our party next week.

    Next week will be a short week. There will be a noon dismissal on Thursday, February 11th.  There is no school on Friday, February 12th and Monday, February 15th. Even though it is a short week next week we are still planning on having a spelling list next week.

Things to remember…

*If you have not sent your child’s collection of 100 things please send it on Monday, February 8th.

*Our supply of clorox wipes is running low.  If you are able to send wipes please send them next week.  Thank you!

*We do try to go out to recess each day the temperature is above 10 degrees, so please send hats, gloves, and boots with your child. 

           Have a great weekend! 

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Well we put as much as we could into our 3 day week.  We explored sound by using cups and rubber bands.   Next week we will be talking about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington in Social Studies.  In Religion we learned about St. Joseph and started talking about the Holy Spirit.  We are exploring numbers to 120 in Math.

      Valentine’s day is right around the corner.  We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 11th.  The 11th is a noon dismissal.  Remember Valentine’s need to be at school by Monday, February 8th.

Today you will find a conference request form in your child’s Go Folder.  This set of conferences is by request, either teacher or parent. Please mark the form and return it by Wednesday, February 3rd.  Please make sure to write a time, date and form of conference. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Next week is Catholic Schools’ Week.  Although we cannot celebrate as we have in the past, we will do our best!  Monday is an optional dress down day. Your child can dress down if they bring money.  The money will be donated to a charity in our community.  Tuesday we will be participating in an all school rosary.  Wednesday we will be a part of a virtual presentation of Wildlife Encounter.  Thursday we will watch an interview with our Pastors to celebrate vocations.  Friday we will be playing Panther Family Feud.   

With all the snow we got this week we discovered the parking lot we have recess in is very wet and slushy.  Please send boots with your child to help keep their feet dry during recess.

As we get ready to begin a special week at our school I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for making the choice to send your child to a Catholic School.  As a product of 16 years of Catholic Education I know the sacrifice you have to make.  I love teaching your children and being a part of St. Pius X / St. Leo School. 

      Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families

      Even though it was a short week we kept very busy! I’m not sure what we will do next week going to school 5 days in a row! We had so much fun learning about Jan Brett this week.  I hope you had a chance to explore her website janbrett.com.  Next week we will be reading a nonfiction story about fish.  One of our projects requires a shoebox.  If you have already sent a shoebox, thank you!  We are still short a couple boxes so if you have not sent one or have an extra box we will need them by Wednesday.

We spent a lot of time learning about Martin Luther King Jr. this week.  Be sure to ask your child about this amazing man.  We continued learning about sound in Science.  We are working on numbers to 120 in Math.  

This week you will find a dictated sentence on your child’s Spelling test.  Each week I will dictate a sentence that includes many of the spelling words.  This is a way for the students to see the words are not just words on a list, but words we should be using in our daily writing.  I will mark a plus by each spelling word that is spelled correctly and a plus if they started the sentence with a capital letter and another if they remembered the punctuation at the end.

It is very hard to believe, but our 100th day of school is right around the corner.  I would like each student to bring a collection of 100 items.  There is a ziploc bag and a note with all of the details in your child’s Go Folder.  Please have the collections to school by Friday, February 5th.  This will give us time to let the items sit before we take them out to measure.  If you have any questions please let me know!

      It sounds like next week is going to be cold and snowy.  Please make sure your child has a hat, gloves, boots etc.  We hope to get to go outside each day.

Things to remember…

*Portfolio and report cards should have been returned today.  If you have not returned yours, please send it on Monday.

*Our school is having a paper drive.  If you are able please send a ream of copy paper.

*100 collections are due Friday, February 5th.

*Valentines are due on Monday, February 8th.

      Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Happy Snow Day!  I hope you are enjoying an extra day to our already long weekend.  Remember there is no school on Monday, January 18th.      

On Tuesday, January 19th I will be sending your child’s portfolio and report cards home.  Please take some time to go through this with your child.  You need to sign the report card and return the portfolio with all the work in the portfolio by Friday, January 22nd.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

      Next week we’ll be learning about one of my favorite author/illustrators, Jan Brett.  She has a wonderful website janbrett.com that you will find lots of activities.  Be sure to ask your child about this author next week.

      Valentine’s day is right around the corner.  I wish we could celebrate with lots of candy and decorated boxes, but we have to do things a little differently this year.  We will decorate bags at school.  We will provide everything for this project.  So you do not have to create a valentine box for this year.  We would like the students to give valentines to each other so…  you can either buy cards or make cards for the students in 1D.  We ask that you do not send candy or treats.  I will be sending a link to a class list so that the students can write their classmates names on the valentines as well as their own name.  It makes it easier to pass out the valentines when they have names on them.  I have another secret reason for asking them to write their classmates names, it is great handwriting practice!  Valentines will need to be at school by February 8th.  This will give them time to sit before they are passed out on the 11th.  If you have any questions please let me know.

      With winter weather finally here, it is a good time to remind you that we do try to go out to recess each day.  Please make sure your child has gloves, hats, and boots for recess.  If your child is wearing boots they need to have other shoes to wear in the classroom.

      Have a wonderful extra long weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break. Thank you for all your help this week with remote learning. I cannot wait to see their smiling faces on Monday!

       Next week we’ll be learning about Martin Luther King Jr.  In Math, we will be working on numbers to 100.  Our 100th day is right around the corner! We will continue learning about sound in Science.  We will also be reading the story We Are All Wonders.  The new year is a great time to remember what makes us each unique and special.  We want to celebrate and be proud of ourselves.  It is also a wonderful time to remember to be kind to each other and celebrate our differences!

We will be writing a story for our portfolios next week.  I will also be testing your child on their sight words.  I will attach a list of the words to my email.  You also have the words in the Snow Splat game your child made today.  Portfolios and report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, January 19th.

 I would like to remind you that we try to go out for recess each day. Please make sure your child has gloves and a hat. It is also a good idea to send boots. If your child wears boots please make sure they have shoes to wear in the school.

We have a special project coming up and each student will need a shoebox.  Please send a box with your child by Friday, January 22nd.  If you have extras please send those as well.  Thank you for your help in this!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    We have been so busy this week.  We worked on Christmas crafts all week. In Religion, we have been working on a special book about the real meaning of Christmas.  In Math we started our chapter on numbers to 100.  

    Here are some things to remember. . .

*Christmas break begins Today, December 18th at 3:25.  We will resume classes on Tuesday, January 5th with remote learning.  Remote learning will occur Tuesday, January 5th – Friday, January 8th.  You will find the work for that week in your child’s backpack.  The assignments and material will be posted on Google Classroom Sunday, January 3rd at 5:00pm.  The schedule will be the same as last time for live Google Meets.  There is more information in the yellow folder in your child’s Backpack.  We will return to live learning on January 11th.  If you have any questions please let me know!

I am sure you will be looking for things to fill your time during break, may I suggest working on tying shoes and zipping coats!!!!!

When we return to school on January 11th.  We will have a new student in 1D.  Elsie Long will be joining us for the 2nd semester.  She is pretty lucky to be joining this group.  

   Before you throw away your Christmas cards please consider sending the religious pictures to school so we can use them next year for our stable projects.

    I would like to wish you and your families a very blessed Christmas.  I love hearing about your family traditions and all the excitement of this time of year.  May you all have a safe and fun break!  See you in 2021!

                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Can you believe it is almost Christmas?  I know 14 first graders cannot wait.  I love hearing about your Christmas traditions.  We have been so busy this week.  We had fun comparing Gingerbread stories.  

      Next week we will be busy with Christmas activities! We will be reading books and doing projects to get ready for Christmas.  Things may be sent home daily so be sure to check backpacks! 

      Here are some things to remember for the next week. . .

*Next week we will have a special list of Christmas words for our spelling list. This will not be graded so just have fun with it. 

*It is a dress down day on Friday, December 18th.  We will have a small Christmas party on Friday.  If your child would like to wear their pajamas this day they are welcome to do so.  We will be having hot cocoa and playing some games.  We do have PE on Friday afternoon so please make sure they have their tennis shoes for PE and recess.

*Christmas break begins Friday, December 18th at 3:25.  We will have remote learning beginning on Tuesday, January 5th–through Friday, January 8th.  In person learning will begin January 11th.   I am sure you will be looking for things to fill your time during break, may I suggest working on tying shoes and zipping coats!!!!!

*We are running very low on Clorox wipes.  If you see some at the store and are able to purchase them and share them with our classroom we would greatly appreciate it!

*Remember there is no school tomorrow, Friday, December 11th. 

      Have a wonderful weekend!  We are sure enjoying this amazing weather.  Recess in December with no coats is something pretty special!

                                 Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

    Well, we survived our week of remote learning.  I am so thankful to all of you and your help with activities at home.  I felt like the students did a great job in our Google Meetings.  They seemed to really get the hang on mute and unmute by the end of the week.  Please let me know if you had any issues this week and we can try to fix them for the week after Christmas break when we are remote again!  

Please make sure that you send all of the material I sent home before Thanksgiving.  We will be using the material for in person learning next week. 

Next week will be Gingerbread week.  We will be spending the week comparing various versions of the Gingerbread stories.  Be sure to ask your child about this next week.  In Religion, we will continue working on our special book about the real meaning of Christmas. In Science, we will be talking about what our needs and wants would be for a trip to space.  In Social Studies we will continue talking about American symbols.  We will finish up our chapter on measurement in Math.  

    Here are some things to remember for the next week. . .

*Make sure all materials sent home for Remote learning are returned on Monday, December 7th.

*We have our Christmas bulletin board up in our classroom.  Our family traditions are so important so we would like to add our families to the board.  If you have a family Christmas photo or card, you would like to add to the board please send it with your child next week.

*There is no school on Friday, December 11th.  We will take our spelling test on Thursday.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      We had another great week!  We talked about forgiveness in Religion.   We finished up our chapter on relating addition and subtraction in Math.  We learned about the first Thanksgiving in Social Studies.   In Science we learned about constellations. It was fun to see each other’s favorite shoes while we read the story about Beth who outgrew her favorite boots, but her friend offered her their boots and ended up surprising her with a new pair of boots.  We ended our week with a friendship feast!

Yesterday I sent a note both paper and electronic with details about our plan to go to remote learning the week after Thanksgiving.  If you have any questions please let me know.  

Thank you for all the donations for diapers.  We will purchase the diapers and make the donation for our first graders.  

      I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I feel like I know all of your families because your children tell me so much about your family traditions. Please have a safe and happy holiday. Enjoy your wonderful children. They are definitely on my list of things to be thankful for this year!

      Things to remember…

*No school November 23 – 27.  

*Remote learning begins Monday, November 30th.  Our first Google Meet will begin at 9:00 am

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

I am sure you have all read the recent email about our plan to go to remote learning.  I so wish we could stay in person, but I know this plan is proactive and hopefully will allow us to stay in person longer in the future.  We are working on plans for the week of November 30 – December 4th.  Today you will find a form in your child’s Go Folder that will help us prepare for our remote learning.  Please take some time this weekend to fill this form in, and return it as soon as you can.  Next week we will be sending work and books for our week of remote learning.  If you have any questions please let me know.  With this new plan there is no school remote or in person planned for November 23 or 24.  We will dismiss for Thanksgiving break on Friday the 2oth.  Remote Learning will begin on Monday, November 30th.  I hope we will all stay healthy and be able to return to in person learning on Monday, December 7th.

We had a great week this week.  We read so many versions of the Little Red Hen.  We compared, created puppet shows, and baked bread.  We talked about Veterans in Social Studies.  In Science we talked about the moon. We finished up our chapter on relating addition and subtraction in Math.  We will be testing next week.  We will then move onto measurement!  Next week we will be talking about the first Thanksgiving.  

In Literature next week, we will be reading a story about favorite shoes that no longer fit.  To celebrate this story we will spend the day wearing our favorite shoes!!!  On Tuesday, November 17th your child can bring their favorite shoes to school.  If your child’s favorite shoes do not follow the school dress code please send them in your child’s backpack.  They will change into them while they are in our classroom, but for recess they will have to switch back.  They can bring flip flops, boots, dressy shoes, sports shoes!

       We got a rude awakening this week with the cold weather.  Please remember to send hats and gloves every day!  This is also a great time of year for first graders to be tying their own shoes.  Please continue to work on this at home.

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow!  What a great week! Even though it was a short week, we fit a lot in!  It was fun to learn about the author/illustrator Mo Willems.  Be sure to ask your child about him. We worked on relating addition and subtraction facts in Math.  We learned about elections and voting in Social Studies.  In Science, we talked about the sun.  We talked about sharing the “Good News” of the Bible in Religion.

      Next week We will be reading a story about a little boy who had a pet hen.  If you read a story about a hen you cannot help but think of the story of the Little Red Hen.  So we will also compare versions of the Little Red Hen.  We will be talking about Veteran’s Day in Social Studies.   We will explore the moon in Science.  Thank you for all that are still checking out the moon each night.  We will be finishing up our chapter on relating addition and subtraction in Math.

        We enjoyed as much of the beautiful weather this week as we could.  But, as we all know Nebraska weather can keep us on our toes!   It is a great time to remind you that we do try to go out for recess every day. Please send warm clothing each day. Hats and gloves are greatly appreciated. Girls who wear skorts or skirts may wear sweat pants under their skirts for recess. They will be asked to take them off while we are in school. Make sure everything is labeled with your child’s name!!!! Remember that our dress code says that girls may wear tights or leggings that are navy, white, or red. If you have extra hats or gloves at home that you would like to donate, please send them with your child. We have a basket of extra gloves and hats that students can borrow if they forget theirs.

Next week we will begin watching weekly Mass on Wednesday mornings.  We are not able to go to celebrate Mass as we would like with other grades.  Each week a different grade will be the ministers at Mass and will actually go to the Church.  First grade will be leading Mass in December.  So many things are different this year, but I am so happy we get to celebrate Mass in whatever way we can.

      Things to remember…

*If you have not returned your child’s portfolio please do so on Monday.

*Disguised Turkeys are due on Wednesday, November 11th.

                                                   Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow!  Pumpkin week was a blast.  We learned so much about pumpkins.  We cut open, painted, measured, weighed, tasted, and explored pumpkins this week.  Please check our facebook page for lots of photos!  

      Next week is a short week.  There is no school Thursday, October 29th, Friday, October 30th or Monday, November 2nd.  Many of you have conferences scheduled next week.  I look forward to talking to all of you.  Yesterday your child brought home their portfolio for the first quarter.  I will be talking about some of the items in this folder during our conference.  Please take some time to go through this folder with your child.  Then return all of the papers in the portfolio to school by Thursday, November 11th.  I am so proud of all of 1D and their hard work during this first quarter of our unusual school year.  They amaze me every day!

Due to the short week next week we will not have a spelling list.  Also, I will not send Friday folders  or a newsletter!  So… Here is what we will be working on next week and the week after… In Math we will continue talking about relating addition and subtraction.  In Religion we will be talking about giving thanks.  Voting is what we will be learning about in Social Studies.  Space is our topic in Science.  We talked about shadows this week.  We will be talking about the moon phases in the next couple weeks.  The best way to study the moon phases is to observe them.  Here is where I need your help.  You will find a project in your child’s Go Folder today asking for your child  to observe the moon for the next month.  If you have questions please let me know!     

         Our Halloween party will be Wednesday, October 28th.  Costumes are not to be worn for this party.  In the past some students have brought treats for the class.  Please remember that we are asking students not to bring treats for holiday parties or birthday treats.  We will use money that was donated to buy treats for our party!  

      Things to remember…         

*No School on Thursday, 10/29, Friday, 10/30, or Monday, 11/2.

*Last day to wear uniform shorts is Wednesday, October 28th.

*Portfolios should be returned by Thursday, November 5th.                                Enjoy the weekend!

                       Miss Buttell               

Dear Families,

      It was a wonderful week in 1D. We had a lot of fun creating our fall collages.  I hope you enjoy them.  Next week we are going to spend the whole week learning about pumpkins.  Usually the first graders get to go on a field trip in the fall to Vala’s Pumpkin patch, but due to this crazy year we are not able to go.  Well we decided to bring the pumpkin patch to school! Be sure to ask your child about our activities each day next week.  

In addition to all of our pumpkin activities next week we will begin our next Science unit on Space.  We will be working on relating addition and subtraction in Math.  In Social Studies we will finish up our Citizenship unit and then we will be talking about voting and elections.  In Religion we will be talking about giving thanks.  This week we learned about St. Kateri.  Be sure to ask your child about her.

      Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner. Last night I sent emails to all the families that requested a virtual conference or a phone conference.  Please respond to that email.  This will confirm the time I scheduled and that I have the correct phone number or email address.  If you did not receive an email please let me know.  My email is [email protected].  I look forward to meeting with you in whatever way we can.  If you request an email conference an email will be sent out on Thursday, October 29th by 9:00 am. 

As was stated in the virtual parent meeting, we do not send a paper report card for the first quarter in first grade.  We spend so much time evaluating students and reviewing during the first quarter we did not feel the report card was needed.  Your child does have a portfolio with work to show their progress this quarter.  It will be sent home on Thursday, October 22nd.  During my conference with you I will talk about some of the materials in this folder.  Please have it with you when we meet.  All of the materials in this folder should remain in the folder when you return it to school by Wednesday, November 4th.   We will add to it each quarter.  If you have any questions please let me know!

         It is hard to believe but today marks the end of the first quarter.  I am not sure where the time has gone. Your child brought home their last Word List page for this quarter.  We made a review game called Fumble that may help with your review!  Please take some time this weekend to review the words.  Your child will be asked to read these words next week.

Things to remember…  

*Recess toys should fit and be brought in a gallon size ziploc baggie.

*Virtual School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 24th. 

 *Please look in your child’s Go Folder today for a special homework assignment due on 

Tuesday, October 20th.

           Enjoy the weekend

Miss Buttell                                            

Dear Families

      We had a great week reading and learning about how corn gets from the farm to our homes. We tested different flavors of popcorn. We popped popcorn in our classroom and wrote about how to make it!  Next week we will be reading a story about a little boy who collects things from nature while on a walk with his mom.  We will be doing a special project on Wednesday to go along with this story.  Today there is a note in your child’s go folder with the details about this project.  Fall collections should be sent to school on Wednesday, October 14th. 

      It is so hard to believe we will be at the end of the First Quarter on Friday, October 16th.  We will do two more list of word list packets.  We will be testing your child on these words the week of October 19th.  Please take some time to practice these words over the weekend. They will need to read the words only. They will not have to write them.

      Next week we will be finishing up our Social Studies unit on Citizenship.  We will also finish up our Health unit in Science.  Next, we will be talking about the sun, moon, and stars in Science and voting in Social Studies.  We will finish up our introduction to subtraction next week. 

In Spelling next week we will begin offering a challenge list.  On the first day of the week we will all take a pretest.  If your child gets 90% on the pretest I will send home the challenge list.  Our challenge list have the regular list spelling words in it.  For example the word might be hot, but the challenge word would be shot.  If a student struggles with the challenge words they may not be able to have the challenge list the following week.  If you have questions please let me know.

Yesterday your child brought a form home about our upcoming conferences.  Please fill out the form and return it to school by Wednesday, October 14th.  I look forward to communicating with you however I can! 

Things to remember…

      *No School Monday, October 12th.

      *Fall items are due on Wednesday, October 14th.      

      *Our Virtual School Fundraiser is Saturday, October 24th 

      *I’m still missing a number of candy/snack wrappers.  Please send them ASAP.

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

We had another great week. We had so much fun learning about ants.  After learning about these insects, some changed their opinion about them.  As we waited outside after dismissal an ant walked across the parking lot.  One of our classmates said “Watch out for the ant!  Don’t step on it!”  The other students then carried on a discussion about ants!  I love teaching 1st Grade!!!!

Next week we will read a story about how corn gets from the farm to the store. We might even have to taste some popcorn! 

      We started our next Math chapter on Subtraction. We are making a Creation book in Religion.   We worked very hard this week on our Writers’ Workshop books.  We learned that it is always a good idea to write about things we know about.  That is why our special items were a great topic for our first books.  As the students finish these books next week we will start sending them home.  Have your child share their book with you then sign the back of the book and send it back to school.  We will then get a chance to read each other’s books.  I will make sure to send all books home at the end of the year.     

We have a special project next week and we need your help!  Each student needs a candy/snack wrapper.  Maybe you can celebrate how hard your child has been working and they can eat the treat and bring the wrapper to school.  We will need these wrappers by Thursday, October 8th.

Things to Remember…

*Contributions for our fall pumpkin activities are due by Friday, October 9th.  Thank you for any help you can send.  Details of this were sent yesterday in your child’s Go Folder.  If you have any questions let me know!

*Your child can check out library books.  If you need a refresher on how to do this go to our school website www.spsl.net and click on Mrs. Vogel/Library page.  The books will be brought to our classroom and I will send them home.  If you have questions just let me know!

*Don’t forget to send jackets on the colder days ahead. 

*Beginning Monday, October 5th there will be another option for lunch.  Please look over the menu with your child.  They will need to tell me their lunch choice as they come in.  They cannot change their minds once I put the order in.

*Please make sure your child has a water bottle every day.  There is not a drinking fountain available to just get a quick drink.  All of our drinking fountains have been changed into filling stations. 

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We had fun reading a story about friends helping each other.  We made a puppet show to go along with this story.   I hope you will take some time to have your child retell this story.  That is a skill we work on a lot in first grade.  

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will make a book about the Creation story. 

Literature – We will be reading a nonfiction story about ants.

Writers’ Workshop – Next week we will spend a lot of time learning about Writers’ Workshop.  There is a note in your child’s Go folder asking for your child to bring a favorite item to school so we can write about it.  Each student will make a book about their special item.  These books will come home as the students finish them.  Please read the story and sign the back of the book.  Then the book should be returned to school so we can enjoy them.  I will make sure you get it at the end of the school year.  These little books will continue to come home during the year.  Please sign them and return them to school. 

Science – We will be talking about keeping healthy by taking care of our teeth. 

Math – We will continue working on addition

Social Studies – We will continue working on our Citizenship unit.

Remember as the weather begins to change that we go out for recess two times as day and jackets may be needed. Also, it is always a good idea to label your child’s clothes with a name. It is amazing where sweatshirts and jackets turn up!

Today you will also find our first spelling test.  You should find the tests marked with how many correct over 10 as well as a handwriting (HW) grade in the upper right corner.  For this grade I am looking for letter direction, size, and general neatness.  M- Most of the time, P-Part of the time, and N- Not yet.

Mrs. Engesser is teaching art in our classroom on Fridays during the first quarter.  She has asked that each child have an empty cereal box for a project they will begin on Friday, October 2nd.  Please send a box with your child next week.  If you have extras please send those as well.  Thank you for your help in this.

      Things to remember…

*No school on Friday, September 25th.  Enjoy the long weekend!

*Continue to watch for emails with information about our virtual fundraiser. 

          Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Wow! What a week! We had so much fun learning about the author illustrator Leo Lionni! We talked about staying healthy in Science.  We are talking about being good citizens in Social Studies.

      Here is what we will be working on next week…

Religion – We will talk about the wonderful things God created. 

Literature – We will be reading a story about 2 friends who help each other out when the wind blows Pam’s hat away!

Science – We will be talking about using soap when we wash our hands. 

Math – We will continue working on addition

Social Studies – We have been talking about being a good citizen. Next week we’ll be learning about Johnny Appleseed. We will talk about how he was a good citizen.

Next week we will start spelling.  Watch for the list of words to come home on Monday.  There will be a place for you and your child to pick 2 bonus words.  These should be words they want to learn to spell like a family member’s name or a favorite color or food.  We talk about how it should not be a word they already know how to spell. On Friday when we take our spelling test I will simply say to the class please write your bonus words.  Since everyone’s bonus words are different they will have to remember what their bonus words are.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  Our test will be on Thursday next week because there is no school on Friday.

      Things to remember…

*Tuesday, September 22nd is Godfather’s Pizza night from 5-9 on 108th and Maple

*No school on Friday, September 25th.

Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow! What a week!  We had so much fun reading the alphabet story about school.  Be sure to ask your child about this story and the other interesting ABC books we read this week. In Science we have been talking about staying healthy.  We talked a lot about germs this week.  Next week we will learn about why we use soap to wash our hands.  In Social Studies we started our unit on Citizenship.  This week we talked about rules and why we have rules.   In Religion, we talked about the Bible.  Next week we will be talking about praising God.  In Math, we will continue our introduction to addition.  

      Next week we will be doing our first author study.  About one time a month we take a week and learn about an author.  We read lots of books by this author and do projects to go along with this author.  Next week we’ll be learning about Leo Lionni.  Be sure to ask your child about this amazing author and illustrator during the week.

      Today you will find a ziploc bag with supplies.  I have gone through the supplies you sent at the beginning of the year and have prepared a bag of supplies to send home.  These supplies can be used if we go to remote learning.  I hope we don’t need those supplies at home, but just in case…  There is also a purple folder that has handwriting paper that could be used during remote learning.  If we don’t use the supplies at home you can send them back in the spring.

      Today you will find a paper in your child’s Go Folder.  This is your homework for the weekend.  We are making a class book about 1D.  Please help your child fill in the boxes on this sheet.  In the box that asks for a picture your child should draw their self portrait. 

      Things to remember…

*First Grade Virtual Parent meeting slide show will be sent Monday.  Please take some time to look over the slides.  If you have any questions please let me know.

*Book orders are due by Tuesday, September 15th. 

      Have a wonderful weekend!

                        Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

         It was a wonderful week.  Be sure to go through your child’s Friday folder.  We read a story about Moonbear and his books.  Next week we will read an ABC story about a school.  In Math, we began our addition chapter. We are in year 3 of a new Math series.  This series has lots of extra pages.  Some days we will do all the pages that go with the lesson and some days we will not do the pages.  The extra pages will be put in your child’s Friday folder.  These are pages that can be completed at home, but do not need to be returned.  On Mondays I will send math homework home and it will be a photocopied paper. This will be on the return to school side of the Go folder and should be returned to school the next day.  In Science, we will begin our unit on health.  In Social Studies, we will be talking about citizenship.  In Religion, we will be talking about the Bible. 

Today we learned about St. Teresa of Calcutta.  We will have a different Saint each month that we will learn about.  Be sure to ask your child about this amazing Saint.

Today your child is bringing home their wordlist packet.  THis will come home each week.  It has our sight words that we worked on during the week.  There is a note attached with more details.  If you have any questions please let me know.

      Usually we would have a parent meeting to start the year.  We share information about our day at school.  We are unable to gather this year.  We will be sending a slideshow/video with the information we would have shared in the meeting on Monday, September 14th.  Watch for this to come in an email.

      Don’t Forget…

*No School Friday, September 4th and Monday, September 7th   Enjoy the Long weekend!

*Make sure your child has a water bottle each day.  We no long have drinking fountains, we only have bottle filling stations.

                 Have a wonderful weekend! 

                                          Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

      Well, we survived our first full week!  We were very busy this week.  You will see all that we have done in your child’s Friday folder.  Don’t forget to empty them out and return them on Monday.  Thank you for all of your patience as we figure out how to do school while following all the safety precautions! 

I will be sending a weekly newsletter.  This week I am printing the newsletter for each of you.  Beginning next week the letter will be emailed to you, not printed.  It will also be available on the school website www.spsl.net under the classroom tab.

Today you will find a folder full of paperwork for you to fill in and return on Monday.  Thank you for taking the time to get these filled out this weekend.  

We will be doing lots of testing in the next few weeks to see what your child knows and where we should begin our instruction.  One of the  tests we do is a digital test.  Your child will need to have headphones for this test.  If you did not send headphones or earbuds with your child’s supplies please send them next week.

      Next week …

*In Math we will continue working on our Kindergarten review.

*In Religion we will be talking about celebrating Mass. 

*In Literature we will be reading about a bear who loves to read.  We will be going on a book hunt.  We will also talk about opposites! 

          Today your child is also bringing home their poetry book.  We will glue a poem in each week.  Your child will draw an illustration to go with each poem and then bring it home to share the poem with you.  This is another opportunity to listen to your child read!

      You will find a sheet of paper in your child’s Friday folder from our Religion book.  I will send these home for each chapter.  This will let you know what we are working on. 

      Don’t forget …

*Facebook permission forms will be due on Monday, August 31st.  To join the page please go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/3350278465197905.  This page will become private on August 31st. 

*Picture day is Wednesday, September 2nd.  There is a form for ordering in the folder with the other paperwork to fill out this weekend.

*No School on Friday, September 4th.

Enjoy the weekend!

              Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Welcome to 1D!    We are in for an interesting school year!  We are really going to have to work as a team.  I look forward to learning and growing together this year.  Here are just a few items that will help our year go smoothly.  Please know that things may change as the year goes on.  I will do my best to keep you informed.

Attached to this letter if your homework!!  Please look through all of the papers.  It is very important that these be filled in and returned to school ASAP!!!!!!

Please make sure your child has a mask, individual size bottle of hand sanitizer, and water bottle each day.  It is a good idea to have extra masks available in your child’s backpack. The water bottles should be a squeeze type of bottle or a bottle with a straw.  These should be filled when they come to school each day.  Our drinking fountains are no longer community drinking fountains, but refill stations. When your child comes in the building each morning they should be hands free.  Eveything should be in your child’s backpack so they can stop and have their temperature taken and get hand sanitizer before heading to the classroom.

On Fridays, your child will be bringing home their work in their Friday Folders.  Please review the activities that are sent home with your child so you have an idea what we are working on in the classroom.  This is also an excellent review for him/her.  The folders should be returned to school on Mondays so we can begin filling them again!!

In addition to the “Friday Folder” your child also has a “Go Folder” This folder will remain in your child’s backpack and daily notes will travel to home and to school in this folder.  There will be reminders notes, special note from the office that needs to go home that day, and homework.  Please plan to check this folder every day.  There will be many days when it is empty!  If you need to send a note to the office or to me, please send it in the “Go Folder”.  Your child should have this folder in his/her backpack every day!

Please be sure that all school materials and items of clothing are clearly marked with your child’s name.  This way if something is misplaced we can return it to the correct owner.  This includes sweatshirts and girls’ jumpers.  You would be amazed at how easily sweatshirts get mixed up!  Also, be aware of the fact that supplies run out rather quickly, especially glue, pencils, and crayons.  We are very busy workers!! We are going to try very hard to keep our supplies separate this year.  You will be getting a Ziploc bag with at home supplies to use if we go to remote learning!  If they are not needed you can send them back later in the year.

For one week during the year, your child will be the “Important Person” for our class.  Your child will bring home a checklist of things to bring and some questions to answer the week prior to his/her turn.  Your child’s things will be on display for the entire week and they will have a chance to tell the rest of us about themselves.  We also have an artist of the week.  This student gets to decorate the board with their artwork.  A note will come home the week before to let you know it’s your child’s turn.  They will display their work and tell us about it during the week!

Due to the crazy situation we are in, we have some new rules about recess.  At this time, we will be keeping the students in classroom groups for recess.  I know some of their friends are in other classes, but at this time we feel this the safest plan.  We will have some recess equipment that will be sanitized between recesses.  If your child would like to bring a toy from home, they can as long as it fits in a gallon size Ziploc bag.  Please remind your child this toy will be for only them to play with.  They cannot share toys with their friends.

It will be very important that I am able to be in contact with you this school year.  Please fill in the attached sheet with your email and phone number.

I know I have thrown a lot of information at you at one time.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions whenever they come up!  It is easy to get a hold of me by note, phone (402-551-6667), or email [email protected] .

Sincerely,

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

We can’t believe this is it for the year. It’s been so strange these last months and we’ve all missed you so much.

When you pick up your student materials please be sure to look in the bag for your child’s portfolio, report card, Math Summer Solution book, and photos.  Be sure to look through everything.

On Thursday, May 21st you will receive the Distance Learning Exit Report for your child. It will be emailed to you.

Thank you again for all of your work with your children this year in First Grade! Our hope is that you will continue some routine learning over the summer months. This will help your child transition to Second Grade with much more confidence. Below, we hope you can find some activities that you can use. In addition to these, please take any and all opportunities for your child’s learning on a daily basis. There are many teachable moments in which you can include your child. Cooking together, playing games, taking turns, practicing good manners, talking math,

*Freckle

You will be able to continue this until July 1st.

*EPIC-you can continue using this throughout the summer.

*Education.com     Offers learning packets to download and some online games

https://www.education.com/home-learning/?cid=10.177

*Learning Without Tears  90 day free trial

https://www.lwtears.com/programs/distance-learning?utm_source=EMAIL&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=COVID_20200424_PACKETS&pc=COVID_20200424_PACKETS

*This mom posts lots of free things and fun ideas!

https://frugalfun4boys.com/best-summer-activities-for-kids/

*Scholastic Learn at Home

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

*Summer Solutions Math Book (This will be in the bag of items you will need to pick up from school with all of your child’s items.)  Your child will need to return the completed book in the fall.

*Work on memorizing basic addition and subtraction facts. (You will be able to continue using Freckle until July 1st if you wish.)

*Practice counting money and telling time.

*Read silently and aloud daily.  

*Journal about their day or write stories. Encourage correct letter formation, letters between appropriate lines, finger space between words and capitalization and punctuation.  

*Make sure your child can tie their shoes.

*Students should know their home address and a phone number to contact parents.

We hope you have a healthy and safe summer!  We hope you will stop by to see us in first grade when we can return to school in the fall. God bless and keep you!

First Grade Teachers

Dear Families,

It was so nice to see so many of you on Wednesday night at the “Drive by and say Hi!”  We miss you all so much.  

Next week is our last week of distant learning.  We want to have some fun so each day there is a special activity planned.  Monday is a Read-In.  Spend the day reading.  Tuesday is Stay in your PJs all day.  Wednesday is an all first grade dance party on Flipgrid.  Watch for an email Wednesday morning with instructions to join.  Thursday is paper airplane day.  Friday we would like to do a final zoom meeting with our classes.  If you have not filled in the permission form please do so by Thursday.  Here is the link https://forms.gle/RKQRPv8XAGt55zLp9 .  If you have not given permission your child will not be able to join the meeting.  A parent must be present with the student during the meeting.  An email will be sent to the parents who have given permission with the link to join the meeting.  

Next week will be our last newsletter for the year.  We will include some ideas for summer activities.  This crazy school year has been so unusual and it is even more important that your child continues to learn over the summer months.

 We want to take this opportunity to wish all of the moms a wonderful Mother’s Day.  You are very important to your children.  Thank you for all that you do! 

Have a wonderful weekend!  Remember there is no school tomorrow, May 8th!

First Grade Teachers

Dear Families,

Happy May Day!

Monday would have been our field trip to the zoo. We have planned  virtual zoo field trips for you to explore on your own. There are some really amazing sites to look at. We know it’s no fun to sit and stare at the screen all the time, so break up this time with some fun games; such as animal charades, animal pictionary, or animal 20 questions.

SPSL mission day would have been Thursday, May 7th. We would have spent this day with our 7th grade buddies learning about taking care of the Earth. We also would have spent time cleaning up the park near our school. So, since we can’t be together for that, we will spend next week learning about taking care of the Earth remotely. 

Teacher Drive-By and Say Hi. 

Wednesday, May 6 from 6:00-7:00 at St. Leos parking lot

*Parents will enter from 102nd St. at the north entrance,  drive through primary, continue up by the circle and Admin and Priests will direct you to the other side to see intermediate/middle school. You will then exit out the south 102nd exit right turn only encouraged.

*You are not allowed to leave your car (parents or students) and teachers can only wave and say hello from a distance.

*We hope to see you all on Wednesday! We’ve missed seeing you so much!

There is no school on Friday, May 8th.  This is a scheduled day off and you will find no plans for that day. 

First Grade Teachers

Dear Families,

Hello everyone! We hope you are all hanging in there. Just like every year, this time becomes much more challenging to stay focused on learning. Be sure to keep posting your work for us. Remember the balance of work/play and KEEP UP THE GREAT JOB YOU’RE DOING!!! 

We hope you’ve enjoyed the Map activities. Next week we are going to study animals. There are some interesting books to read and videos to watch. May 4th would have been our field trip to the zoo, and we usually have the children look for the animal they studied. Have fun choosing an animal to study and then next Friday on Flipgrid the children will share the information they learned! 

In Religion we have been working on prayer books.  When we finish our prayer books we will begin talking about Mary and the Rosary.  As the need for prayer in our world increases we hope you and your family find time to pray together.

Continue working in Freckle on Math and ELA.  In math we would like you to work on Geometry and Measurement.  On ELA we would like you to work on Capitalization and Punctuation.

If you have questions or need help with anything just let us know.

Watch for emails about Spirit Week (which is next week)!  

Enjoy your weekend!

First Grade Teachers

Dear Families,

We hope you are all staying well through these weeks. We are all fine and staying home to stay safe! We miss your children so very much and we love seeing them on Flipgrid and looking at their activities on Google Classroom. Please remember that if there is anything we can do to help, let us know!! 

Next week in Freckle we have added Measurement in Math and Skills Practice- Capitalization and Punctuation. We would like the children to start with the From Your Teacher button and spend most of their time in that area. These are skills that we would have covered at school and we’d like them to be exposed to them before 2nd grade. We also added an option to work on, Reading Fiction or NonFiction area that we’d like them to have the option to practice. 

Today we are adding some resources for you and your family. 

Explore More!

*The Boystown website is a great resource for families. You can follow them on Facebook and/or go to 

https://www.boystown.org/parenting/Pages/csp-resources.aspx

*Free resources for handwriting can be found at

https://www.lwtears.com/programs/distance-learning

https://1plus1plus1equals1.net/2015/06/choose-your-own-writing-paper-printable-pack/

*If there is a silver lining to COVID-19 closings, it’s that our favorite children’s book authors are now doing virtual storytimes! 

 https://coolprogeny.com/2020/03/operation-storytime/

*These are card games you can play that also help with Math skills

https://drive.google.com/a/spsl.net/file/d/1X7K1JHtMkhHLjRkSwNY1z1C0PzuJtipY/view?usp=drivesdk 

*As the world asks more of families and teachers, TIME for Kids salutes you, and we’re here to support you! TIME for Kids is in the unique position to help kids understand this unprecedented moment. Turnkey teaching tools, with worksheets and quizzes for families or teachers.

 Timeforkids.com

First Grade Teachers

Dear Families,

We made it through another week!!!  We hope you are staying well and enjoying your time with your kids.  We miss seeing them in person, but love seeing their videos on FlipGrid.  Next week one of our assignments is to record a video on FlipGrid. If you have not joined yet please do so.  If you have questions just let your teacher know!

Next week is a short week.  We will only have lesson plans for Monday – Wednesday.  We are on Easter break from Thursday 4/9 – Monday 4/13. Lessons will resume on Tuesday 4/14.  There will be no newsletter next week. Lessons for the week of April 14-17 will be posted on Google Classroom on Sunday April 12th at 5:00.  We hope you and your family have a blessed Easter.

You will be receiving your child’s Progress report by email today.  There is a paragraph at the top of the form that explains why we are doing progress reports rather than report cards.  If you have any questions let your teacher know.

Don’t forget to check the daily announcements on our school website.  It will give you links for our weekly prayer services and special prayers on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Have a wonderful weekend!

First Grade Teachers

*Please see below for additional resources

Explore More

*mysteryscience.com/live – Mystery Doug will be live on Wednesday, April 7th at 12:00pm.  He will answer real kids’ questions about the current situation we’re all dealing with, as well as share a few fun surprises. Can’t make it live? View the recording at mysteryscience.com/live after the event.

*Dav Pilkey (author of Dogman series and Captain Underpants) can be found onloc.gov/engage.  He is giving drawing lessons like Mo Willems.

*For Extra Math work you can go to

 https://www.sadlierconnect.com/sadliermath

This is the Math book that we use at school.

On the left you will see a list of the book’s chapters. 

Click on the chapter you’d like to look at.

Each chapter is broken into lessons and each lesson has  

The Essential Question for the Chapter

Problem of the Day (interactive)

Mental Math (interactive)

Practice/Additional Practice (printable)

Cloze Reading in Math (printable)

Games and Study Aids

Parent Resources

You are welcome to use any of these at home for your child.

Dear Families,

Well we survived our first week of Distant Learning.  Thank you for all of your patience and cooperation. If you have any questions just let us know.

Google Classroom will look a little different this week. Instead of everything in one folder, we have listed the materials and assignments under each subject. Start by looking at the weekly plans at the top. Everything you need will be under the subject headings. If you are not able to print the pages, go ahead and write the information on a piece of paper. We are definitely learning as we go!  Work will be posted Sunday evenings at 5:00.

We would like you to TRY to return work to us via Google Classroom, if possible. Watch for an email with specific directions for posting work on Google Classroom. In the long run, this will be easier for everyone. You can turn in work all at once on Friday or daily if you choose.

For math, we will be using an app called Freckle. Please see below for instructions on signing in. Our hope is that you’ll have to print less, but we can keep moving forward with our Math concepts. We would also like the children to continue focusing on the flashcards sent each week as well.

To sign onto Freckle go to student.freckle.com.  It will then ask you to put in your class code.

1A use code 5b7g6w

1B use code kurteb

1D use code ybj3m7

Once you have put in the code find your name and select that pig.  Then select Math and either choose Number Facts or Fact Practice. Follow the online directions from there.  We are planning for you to d0 1-2 sessions each day

We are also using Flipgrid in our classroom. I would love to see all the students. I try to post a video each morning. I go over the assignments for the day. Then ask a question or ask the students to share something. They can create a video and share it with us. The best part is the students can respond to each others videos. I try to respond to each video, but the students can respond as well. If you have questions, just let me know.

You all remain in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you are staying healthy and enjoying your time with your kids. I miss them very much!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

We hope this finds you all well!  We have been working very hard to get distance learning set up for everyone. It’s been quite an adventure for us and we know it has been for you! Thank you for your support and understanding as we endure this together!

If you have not joined your child’s Google classroom or EPIC, please do so by Sunday. The plans for the week will be posted on Google classroom on Monday mornings at 8:15 a.m.  The assignment will have a page that is called week 1 plans. This is a guideline for daily assignments.  If you are able to print the assignments great, but if not just do the best you can on a piece of paper (but don’t use toilet paper.  You may need that). You will see that there are some assignments we ask you to take a picture and email it to your teacher.

These plans should take about an hour each day to complete.  We have also included a sheet of extra resources that you can use to fill other times during the day. 

We hope you will use this time to connect with your family.  Enjoy your time together. Play games, watch movies, talk to each other, create, sleep in.  Have fun!

If you have any questions please let us know. We will do our best to help you, or find someone else who can!  Also, please know that we are praying for you, our school/parish communities and our country daily. 

First Grade Teachers

Dear Families,

Bugz was a hit! Do you have the songs from the program stuck in your head?! It only takes one student to hum a song and they all break into song! They did a great job last night. It was a fun week of practicing!

Next week is spring break. I hope you enjoy the week. There is no school March 9^th – March 16^th. Monday, March 16^th is an in-service day. School will resume on Tuesday, March 17^th.

Can you believe we are almost to the end of the 3^rd Quarter? I don’t know where the time is going? The week we return from spring break we will be working on writing stories about Leprechauns for our portfolios. The words that are in your child’s Word List book are the words I will be testing your child when we return from break. Please take some time to practice them.

In Social Studies, we will begin working on our archdiocese assessment. If you have not already sent your child’s Delightful Destination please send it March 17^th.

Remember …

*Daylight saving begins Sunday, March 8^th. Move those clocks ahead!

*K-4 Mass is Wednesday, March 18^th.

Have a wonderful spring break!

Miss Buttell

Dear families,

What a week! We had a lot of fun learning about Dr. Seuss this week! Be sure to ask your child about this author and illustrator.

Here is what else we have been working on…

Religion – We talked Lent.

Math – We continue working on writing and counting numbers to 120. Next week we will be moving onto studying graphs.

Social Studies – We finished up our unit on presidents.

Literature – We learned about Dr. Seuss and we read a biography. Next week we will be reading a story about some friends who help each other out!

Next week you will find a note explaining our upcoming Social Studies assessment. Each child will need to have a delightful destination to make a brochure about and present to the class. Watch for the note to come home on Monday and the destination will need to be returned by Wednesday. If you have questions, please let me know.

Next week is a big week for the first and third graders. We will be preparing for our big show “Bugz!” The songs are already stuck in my head. Last week a note and email was sent about the details. Just to review the note… Wednesday and Thursday your child should wear their program clothes. Boys should wear their blue uniform pants and a white t-shirt. Girls should wear their black leggings and black t-shirt that will be sent home Tuesday. We will perform for the school Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening, we will perform for you! Your child should meet me in room 4A (This classroom is behind the gym) at 6:40. We will not return to the room after the show so you should keep coats with you. The show choir will perform first and then we will take the stage! After the play your child will stay on the risers and you will need to come and get them.

Don’t Forget. . .

*Mass on Wednesday, March 13^th.

*Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, March 4^th.

*Race for Education labels are due by Friday, March 6^th.

*Look for Math Facts to practice on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

For a short week, we were very busy. We learned about sound waves in Science. We talked about George Washington in Social Studies. We read a play about a lost dog in Literature. Next week we will be reading and learning about Dr. Seuss! In Math, we talked about writing numbers to 120. We also looked at patterns in numbers. We will continue working on this next week.

Next week our school will host a Scholastic book fair. If you would like to send money with your child we will go to the book fair on Wednesday afternoon during our Library time. Please keep Library books at home this week. Thursday night the Pancake man is coming to help us celebrate the book fair from 5:00-7:00.

Today you will find two important notes in your child’s Go Folder. One note is about our upcoming Race for Education. If you have questions, please let me know. The other note is about our new Math fact project. Please read the note and watch for flash cards to come home on Monday. Your child will no longer get a paper worksheet for Math homework. Rather, the homework will be practicing math facts.

Things to remember…

*Grade K-4 Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday, February 26th

*1D visits the Book Fair on Wednesday, February 26^th.

*Our next field trip will be on Monday, May 4^th to Henry Doorley Zoo.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Even though it was a short week we were very busy. We read a nonfiction book about fish. Next week we will read a play about a lost dog. We learned about Abraham Lincoln. In Science, we started talking about sound waves. We walked around school listening for different sounds. It is amazing the sounds you hear upstairs with the “big” kids!

Next week we will be learning about George Washington. We will be continue talking about sound waves in Science. In Math we will continue counting and writing numbers to 120.

Our School Book Fair is right around the corner. Next Friday will be an optional dress down day. The money brought in will go to the library to help with the Book Fair. Your child brought home information about this in their Go Folder yesterday. Here is a link you can also visit. https://www.scholastic.com/bf/spsl

Don’t forget…

*No School Friday, February 14^th.

*No School Monday, February 17^th.

*Grade K-4 Mass on Wednesday, February 19^th

*Optional Dress down day on Friday, February 21^st. The money will help our book fair.

*Grade 1 and 3 musical is Thursday March 5^th.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Miss Buttell

Dear Families,

Wow what a week! We had fun celebrating the 100^th day on Tuesday. We learned about Abraham Lincoln in Social Studies. Next week we will read a nonfiction book about fish. In Math, we will be working on numbers to 120. We will be talking about soundwaves in Science.

Thursday, we will be celebrating Valentine’s day. Your child should bring a box or bag to collect their valentines. If they would like to decorate it, please do so at home. If you signed up to send items for our party a note is in your child’s go folder today. Please send those items on Thursday. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Next week will be a short week. There will be a noon dismissal on Thursday, February 13^th. There is no school on Friday, February 14^th and Monday, February 17^th. Due to the short week, we will not have a spelling list next week.

Thursday afternoon are parent/teacher conferences. These were by request. If you have not returned the request form, please do so by Monday so that I can schedule conferences. Conferences are from 1:00-6:00. I will be in 1D.

Things to remember…

*Grade K-4 Mass on Wednesday, February 12^th.

*We do try to go out to recess each day the temperature is above 10 degrees, so please send hats, gloves, and boots with your child.

Have a great weekend!

Miss Buttell