Information

When a child is absent, a note or e-mail explaining the absence should be sent on the day he or she is absent or when he or she returns to school.  The absence will be marked as unexcused until the documentation is received.  According to CMS policy, parent contact will be made after 3, 6, and 10 unexcused absences in a given school year.  For more information about attendance, please contact our school secretary, Adriana Hall: adrianap.hall@cms.k12.nc.us

We are not allowed to distribute any treats for birthday celebrations.  Please do not send a class treat or goody bag to celebrate your child’s birthday.  Thank you for your understanding!  We will celebrate your child’s birthday in our classroom with our own fun traditions!

School breakfast is free for all students.  Breakfast is served from 7:15-7:40 AM.   Students will eat breakfast in the cafeteria.  If you would like for your child to eat breakfast at school, please have your child arrive before 7:30.

Module Lesson

During our Module Lesson, we provide opportunities for every student to read, write, and practice speaking and listening skills each day.  CMS utilizes the EL Education curriculum, which is a comprehensive, standards-based core literacy program that engages students through compelling, real world content and builds equitable and inclusive learning opportunities for all students.  The EL Education curriculum addresses an expanded definition of student achievement—building students’ academic knowledge and skills, habits of character, and high quality student work.  Please click here to learn more about our Module units in first grade.

Skills Block

During our Skills Block, students work in small groups to learn and apply reading foundational skills such as how to read & spell high-frequency words, how to decode & spell multi-syllabic words, and how to recognize & apply spelling patterns among words.  Students also practice oral reading fluency, comprehension, and writing during this time.

Math

In Math,  we begin our math time with a problem of the day that encourages “math talk” and deeper thinking.  This allows us to share ways we solve problems differently and also challenges us as a group.  Math concepts are taught with concrete understanding of concepts through hands-on activities.  Once the skills are mastered, we move on to a symbolic understanding and representation of the ideas.  In first grade, students use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve math problems, solve word problem with three addends, work with unknown addend problems, and demonstrate fluency with math facts up to ten.  We count and write numbers to 150, work with tens and ones, compare two digit numbers, and add and subtract multiples of ten.  Lastly, we order objects by length, tell time to hours and half hours, represent and interpret data, compose 2D and 3D shapes, and divide circles and rectangles into fourths, quarters, halves.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, we study citizenship and changes in our neighborhood.  We also discuss the importance of rules at home, in school, and in the community.  In first grade, students learn how to use of geographic tools to identify landforms and bodies of water.  Our study of geography takes us around the world while our study of economics helps us develop a better understanding of the differences between wants and needs.  We discuss jobs in our community and the goods and services they provide.  We locate places on a map, read symbols, and measure distance in blocks.  We discuss national holidays and why they are celebrated.  We discuss different cultures and explain how the environment impacts where people live.

Science

In Science, we study force and motion to explain the importance of a push or pull, explain how some objects can be used to make objects move without touching them (magnets), and predict the effect of a given force.  We also explore Earth in our universe by recognizing the features and patterns of the Earth/moon/sun system as observed from Earth, recognizing the difference in the features of the day and night sky, and noticing patterns of changes in the moon. We learn about rocks, soil, and natural resources and we spend several weeks learning about animal habitats where the students will recognize that plants and animals need air, water, light, space, food and shelter (and that these needs are met by their environments).

CMS has scheduled several Early Release Days for students.  On these designated days, students will dismiss at 11:45 and go home their regular way unless you make alternate transportation arrangements with your child's teacher.  Lunch on these days will be a bag lunch, "grab and go" style.  These dates can be found on the calendar.

Please read to and with your child for 15-20 minutes each day.  During Curriculum Night, we will provide additional information about supporting your child at home.

School lunch costs $2.75 per day.  Families may apply on the CMS website to be considered for free or reduced price lunch.  Families may set up an online payment account at paypams.com.  Students are also welcome to bring lunch from home.

Every student and staff member at McAlpine is sorted into a "House" when they first join us.  Once they are sorted, this house is theirs for the remainder of their years at McAlpine.  They also are assigned a sub-house which is a smaller group of approximately 30 children and 2 or 3 adults.  This is the group they meet with at our quarterly house meetings.  Please click here for more information.

This year, McAlpine will continue to use the ParentSquare app for daily and weekly communication. ParentSquare is a two-way private communication platform. It provides a safe way for administrators, teachers, staff, groups, and parents to connect and communicate effectively.  All school, grade level, and classroom information will now be sent from one centralized place to your computer or mobile phone via email and/or text or you can download the free app.  Please join here: https://parentsquare.com/signin

We will go outside every day unless it is raining/too wet or too hot/cold.  Please be sure to dress your child appropriately for the weather and make sure he/she is wearing safe shoes.  Sneakers or shoes with rubber soles are preferred, but sandals with back straps are acceptable.  For safety reasons, flip-flops or backless shoes will not be allowed on our playground equipment.

Please supply your child with one small nut-free snack each day.  Please note that we are a nut-free classroom.  We encourage you to send your child’s snack in a separate bag or container from his/her lunch or ensure that your child knows which part of his or her lunch is for snack.  

Please click here to view the 2024-2025 school supply list for first grade.

Transportation changes must be in written form (note, message, or email) and submitted to your child's teacher the morning the change is to occur.  Please do not email or send a message during school hours on the day of the change (7:15-2:45), as we may not be able to access our computer before dismissal.  If you need to make a change to your child's dismissal plan during the school day (7:15-2:45), please call the front office at 980-343-3750. 

Any visitor to the school must be approved as a CMS volunteer.  Please register as a CMS volunteer at least one week before your scheduled visit.  You may register by going to https://www.cmsvolunteers.com/ 

Visitors and volunteers must also complete a McAlpine Confidentiality Form.  Please know that younger siblings may not attend parties or events during school hours.

Please send a small, reusable water bottle (preferably with a push/pull top) to school with your child.  The water bottle will sit atop his or her desk throughout the day and can be refilled during snack time if needed.  If you choose to use ice or freeze your child’s water bottle, please send the water bottle with a neoprene bottle sleeve.  Please note that we do not allow any drinks other than water in the classroom.