FIRST THINGS FIRST

–School meals will no longer be free this year, you can submit an online free/reduced meal application through your parental Aspire account.  It is a super quick process, only taking a few minutes of your time.
—Breakfast will be served in the Q1 lunchroom.  Price will be $0.40 for students that qualify for the reduced price and $1.50 for full pay students.
—Lunch will cost $0.40 for students that qualify for the reduced price and $2.00 for all full pay students K-9th grade. 
–If you have a child with allergies, contact Madeline Chestnut, Kitchen Manager so she can make sure everything is documented.  You can email her at mchestnut@questac.org

It has been so fun to see these responses come in from the last Blog Post!

Writing is a key skill for all children to develop and master. For the soon-to-be first graders, they have learned a complete mastery of their alphabet. They have also learned how to write many new words.

In Kindergarten, your child learned to write her first and last name if she was not already doing so. She likely also learned how to label pictures, write short words, and begin writing sentences. Keep up this momentum at home as you prepare for First Grade. 

NOW, IT IS TIME for them to refine the skills of forming sentences. A fun and engaging way for them to do this is through writing. Encourage them to express their thoughts via the written word. Keep in mind – all the words she writes do not need to be spelled correctly right now. Invented spelling, or spelling words phonetically, is absolutely fine at this age. As she learns more phonetic rules in First and Second Grades, correct spelling will follow. At this time, writing by sounding out words is developmentally appropriate and encouraged.

Here is an idea to get started. Gather some fun writing supplies: different types of paper, markers, crayons, pencils. Have your child think of an answer to the prompt: If you worked in a zoo, what animal would you want to take care of? …. . If they just give you a one word answer ask them again and say this time I’d like you to tell me with a sentence. Then show them the fun supplies you gathered and let them choose how they would like to WRITE out the sentence they just told you. You may want to write it out on another paper for them to copy, maybe they will want to try to write the words on their own by sounding them out or maybe if they feel overwhelmed by this task you can write it with a yellow marker and they can trace over what you wrote. No matter how they do it …. THEY WILL BE WRITING!! Encourage them also to illustrate their writing as well.

**I would love to hear what animal my new First Grade Friends would choose. If they would like to share it with me, snap a picture of their paper and send it to me at jwallace@questac.org

While some children leave Kindergarten already reading proficiently, others don’t become true readers until First Grade. If your child is not already a confident reader, he should have these pre-reading skills in order to become a successful reader in First Grade:

• Recognizes all uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as the sounds they make. 
• Can tell whether a pair of words have the same beginning or ending sound
• Can identify rhyming words
• Knows at least 25 Sight Words and can read them automatically (Check with your child’s Kindergarten teacher for a list of words)
• Can sound out short three-letter words such as “cat” or “man” by blending the sounds together

The best way to help your child become a reader is to read to him and with him! Make reading together an important part of your routine, whether it is at bedtime, in the morning, or throughout the day. Reread familiar books and incorporate new ones.

 As you read, talk about the characters and what they are doing. Ask your child questions, such as “What do you think will happen next?” or “Why do you think they did that?” Making reading interesting and fun will help build excitement around reading.

I am looking forward to this new year!! In preparation for the upcoming 2022 – 2023 school year, please subscribe to the class blog by clicking on the RED SUBSCRIBE BUTTON (found on the right sidebar)- make sure to complete the subscription process by clicking on the link in the email that you will receive. Subscribing will notify you when the blog is updated.

In addition to subscribing to the blog, Here is some important information you may want to look over. Clicking on the names of the two documents will be a quick way to access the Class Supplies/Donations list and Classroom Disclosure form.

IMPORTANT DATES:

AUGUST 15TH: BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

AUGUST 17TH: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

*My best advice …

*…share with others and to give a smile. -Adi

*…is never give up.  Be a friend.  Think before you act. -Scarlett

*…is look for silent e words.  Learn to count by 10’s and 1’s.  BE NICE to others. – Aria

*…is be nice to others.  Be respectful to your teacher.  Don’t bring toys to school.  Be good to your teacher. – Aleena

*…help them if they need help. – Logan

*…try to not break your crayons and pencils.  Be nice to others.  Be kind. – Rubee

*…be nice to others. – Cage

*…if you get something from the teacher don’t ask for a different color. -Kaycie

*…be nice to others. – Brexlie

*…be nice to others.  Love books.  To be kind. -Chandler

*…be nice to others.  Be good in class. – Abi

*…to be kind and do not break your crayons. – Alexis

*…Love books.  Learn to count 10’s and 1’s.  Learn to sound out words. – Abel

*…my best day was when we eat food.  You will have the best class. – Quinnley

*…be nice to others and do not throw a fit. – Annaleigh

*…learn to sound out words.  Be nice to others. – Fenton

*…don’t break the rules.  Be nice to others.  Be kind. – Jessie

*…do not break your crayons.  Be nice.  Love books.  I like first grade. – Shelby

*…Learn to count by 10’s.  Learn to count by 1’s.  Be kind. – Luke

*…if you get something from the teacher don’t ask for a different color. – Tayven

*…take care of your books. – Kylar

*…be kind to all kindergarteners. – Jackson

*…be kind. – Jaxton

*…practice high frequency words there are 195 to learn!  1^st grade is hard but don’t throw a fit.  Don’t move your chair away from your desk. -Luke