News & Notes for the Week!

Last Week:

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and spring break! The weather was beautiful and I hope you all had a chance to recharge for the end of the year! 

This Week:

• Can you believe we only have 9 weeks left of first grade!?! That's crazy!! If you are already planning your summer, like me, and are interested in signing your child(ren) up to work with me this summer here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepxyaEv-NqyInmfH4UrJNIXLY7Qu4gOCiN32wAbD3hxjGQ0Q/viewform?usp=header These summer tutoring sessions are open to any age SCJN students, so even siblings can sign up! Tutoring sessions can be used to complete summer work, review skills students were struggling in, used as enrichment sessions to push advanced students, & help prevent that summer slide! (Especially with the few extra weeks of summer we have this year!) I like to create small groups for summer tutoring with kids in the same grade level and academic level. It helps to make summer work more fun and engaging. There are also more opportunities for games and group work. Unfortunately, we are unable to tutor at school this year, so summer tutoring will be held at my house. I live in Havertown, right near the Haverford Middle School, and am only 8-10 minutes from SCJN. Due to construction restrictions, we believe we will not be allowed on campus at all. If this changes and we can return to school, I will let you know! If you are interested please sign up to save your child's space! (Also, please note, I know kids do camps and vacations. Please just mention when they would be unable to attend in the link so I can create groups based on dates kids are around.) Thank you! 

• We are completely finished our first grade research paper on animals and I am so proud of all the hard work the kids put into these projects! It is truly amazing to see how far they have come as writers! 

• We have a winner! Did you hear what book won the 2026 March Madness Book Competition? Go Bananas! written by Emily Cole. This book is about a little girl who has born without a hand. Her classmates don't think she is capable of doing things because she is different than them. The little girl learns to embrace her uniqueness, build her confidence, and find the inspiration she needed at a Savanah Bananas baseball game. It teaches her classmates a valuable lesson in a fun filled way! 

• Coming home today is a list of all the first grade sight words. I highlighted any of the words that your child missed on the last sight word check. I made them each flash cards to review and we have been practicing these at school. If you could also work on them at home, it will be very helpful! In first grade, half of reading is sight words; so the more sight words they know, the more words they can read! If your child did not get a sheet then they got all of the words correct, or they only missed 1-2. 

• In Science this week we will be beginning our weather unit. That means each day make sure to tune into our photo album to see the meterologists of the day report on the weather! 

• Thank you all for the extra glue sticks! This should helps us end the year! I truly appreciate it! 

• A bunch of friends have reached 1,000 on their scrolls! Special congrats to Nora N, Aubrey, Violet, Elizabeth, Lila, Tommy, Henry, & Annie! We are all working hard and very determined! 

• We will be reaching out regarding a raffle for the Phillies game extra tickets. We are just finalizing hearing from a few more people. 

• Religion: In religion this week we will talk about Jesus sending the Holy Spirit to us. Next week we will begin our Baptism chapter and there is a small project that comes with it. Please look for a Baptism picture of your first grader for next week. You do not need to any photo in yet, I am just giving you a heads up!

• Math: In math we will begin with chapter 13. This chapter introduces shapes! It is a fun chapter that the kids enjoy! 

• Spelling & ELA: This week we will practice the /er/, /ir/, /ur/, and /or/ vowel team. It is a tricky chapter as this vowel pattern all makes the same sound. We will not take a test, instead we will take a comprehension test. Please practice the skill anyway, and work on the sight words! 

• Phonics: We will begin chapter 11 in phonics. This chapter introduces long vowel words and magic e, which they have already learned, so hopefully it will be a review for them. 

• Writing: We will be writing our favorite place to go! 

Extra Reminders: 

• Note: Our classroom is considered 1A. :) 

• PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE write your child's name on all their sweaters and sweatshirts! Etsy even makes iron on labels that are very helpful since it is sometimes hard to write on the tags. 

• Water bottles: All water bottles must have a closure on them. Water bottles with open straws are not allowed. (example: Stanley's). All water bottles get thrown in a basket after lunch and those cause spills on everyone else's lunch boxes. Thank you for understanding.

• We will have gym on Thursday's. Please make sure to wear your gym uniform on this day and sneakers. :) 

• Please return library books on Wednesday's! 

• If you would like to see what first grade is all about, join our photo album for sneak peeks of our daily adventures! Use this link to join my album in Google Photos. https://photos.app.goo.gl/nbj97BpsueNKwVE98

• First Grade is looking for some mystery readers! If you are interested in coming into our classroom to read to us, sign up here! This year, mystery readers will be on Thursday's from 2:15-2:30. If this does not work with your schedule, feel free to reach out to me and I am happy to make another day/time work. A link to sign up will be coming soon! Please note, you coming in to read is a treat in itself, please refrain from bringing any kind of snack or treat, as this takes away from the joy of reading, and causes the kids to focus more on what they are getting at the end of the story. :) 

• If your child is ever going to be late/absent please include Mrs. McCormick in the emails as well! Thank you! melissa.mccormick@scjnschool.org 

• Scholastic news comes home bi-monthly. This is a fun way to encourage reading at home. When ordering please use code PXVKP to help our classroom earn points! 

• Please make sure anytime you are sending in money it is in an envelope or baggy. Please also include your child's name and what/who it is for. 

• Students are only permitted to wear the SCJN quarter zip or navy SCJN sweater when cold during the school day, with the exception of gym days. On gym days they can wear any SCJN sweatshirt.

• Please keep in mind we are a nut free school. 

• In order to volunteer in school you must have your clearances on file at school. It is always a great idea to start the process now! 

Weeks to Come:

• April: 

  • April 17th: Chick Fil A Lunch