First Grade News

February 19 - 23

A Glimpse at Our Week...

ELA:

Module 8: Tell Me a Story
- - - Text Features
    - Theme
    - Create Mental Images
    - Characters
    - Writing Form: Personal Narrative
    - Grammar: Possessive Pronouns
    - Generative Vocabulary: Words About Actions and Directions
    - Spelling: Inflectional Suffix -ed

Social Studies:

Making Economic Decisions

Math:

Problem Solving Using Addition and Subtraction to 20

Science:

Interdependency

Mark Your Calendar

2/19..............No School - Professional Development Day

2/22.............Library Books Due

2/23.............Math Homework Due

2/23.............Spirit Day (wear a blue, green or a Silver Lake shirt)

2/26.............Send a Plain White T-shirt to School

2/26.............Experience Week: SPACE (see dress up themes for each day below)

3/5...............Open House 6-7pm

3/8................Field Trip Permission Slips & Money Due

3/11-15........Spring Break - No School

3/19.............Telescoping Information Meeting 5:30pm in the Learning Commons (library)

3/27.............Dallas World Aquarium Field Trip

We will be reaching out for field trip chaperones very soon.

White T-Shirts Needed for Experience Week

Our SPACE themed Experience Week is almost here! The first grade team has lots of out of this world fun in store. In order to make the week extra exciting, we are asking for each first grader to bring a plain white t-shirt to school by Monday, February 26. We plan to "transform" the shirts so please note that the shirts will not return home in their original state. The t-shirts will be worn over your child's school clothing each day so a t-shirt that is a bit bigger than his or her regular size may work best.

Experience Week Dress Up Days

The only thing that could make our Space themed Experience Week more fun are dress up themes for each day! Your first grader is invited to follow the special dress themes listed to the left during the week of February 26 - March 1.

*Please note that the dress up themes are optional

Volunteer Opportunity

Would you love to share your passion for reading and learning with our first graders? We have the perfect opportunity for you! We are looking for several volunteers to come to Silver Lake during STAR time (2:10-2:50) to practice with students. Activities may include listening to readers, building words, practicing math or playing an educational game. All volunteers must have an approved Volunteer Background check. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your child's teacher.

Reading Tip: Ways to Help Your Child Become a Better Reader

Practice reading with expression. Have some fun by reading in silly voices. Remember to pay close attention to punctuation.

Experience Design Week: Space

Our next experience design week is quickly approaching! The school wide theme is SPACE. The experience will take place during the week of February 26 - March 1. We are already planning some out of this world opportunities for our first graders. We are looking for a group of parents that would be willing to come to school prior to experience week to help transform the "neighborhood" on the walls surrounding our classrooms by adding a space twist. If you are interested in lending a hand, please email your child's teacher. We will be selecting a date or dates soon. All skill levels are welcome. We love to have the students create items to add to the existng "neighborhood decor" so you will not be starting from scratch.

*If you are unable to help in the hallway but you are willing to donate needed items for the classroom, we'd love that, too!

News from the Counselor: Play It Safe

GCISD offers the "Play It Safe" program for all students in grades K-5. The GCISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC is a volunteer council comprised of parents and community members that reflect the values of the district and community) has previewed and recommended these programs for all GCISD elementary schools. The curriculum and presentations are aligned with district philosophy. This program is a personal safety program and does not address human sexuality. Play It Safe is a child abuse prevention and awareness program that incorporates individual grade level, age-appropriate scripts and movies to teach children how to reduce the risk of sexual and physical abuse, and sexual assault. It teaches them to recognize potentially abusive behavior, provides the tools to respond to threatening situations, and encourages them to report abuse to a trusted adult.

The Women's Center of Tarrant County, Inc., uses trained employees to present a fact-based personal safety program for students. The presentations are classroom-based so that children are in a familiar environment, and feel comfortable to interact with the trainer. A video is shown, followed by a question and answer time.

We must have your permission in order for your child to participate in this program. Please indicate OPT IN if you would like your child to participate. We need parents to provide an OPT IN or OPT OUT for their child. Click here to view instructions on how to Opt In/Out from your Family Access.

Please use the link below to see more information we were asked to share:

PLAY IT SAFE PARENT LETTER

Play It Save Preview link: Play it Safe Preview

Reporting Attendance

If your child needs to miss school, please report the absence to Tyla, Aguilar, our Student Data Secretary. She will code your child's absence for school record keeping purposes. You may report the absence by phone our email using the contact information below.

email: tyla.aguilar@gcisd.net
phone: (817)251-5661

*You are welcome to include your child's teacher in any communication regarding absences, too.

If you visit the doctor or dentist with your child and receive an office visit/return to school note, send it to school upon your child's return. Your child's teacher will be sure it gets delivered to the office for updating attendance records.

Spirit Day

Every Friday is Spirit Day at Silver Lake! Students are encouraged to wear a blue, green or Silver Lake shirt each Friday. A classroom spirit count is collected each week. We would love our first grade classes to win the Spirit Stick to display in their classroom each week. Let's go, Shooting Stars!

Practice Ideas

Are you looking for ways to support your child's learning? Here are a few practice ideas that you may try at home:

Read 20 minutes daily
- - - homework books
    - library books
    - Kids A - Z app

Practice addition and subtraction facts to 10
Practice skip counting by 2, 5 and 10 to 100
Write a note or friendly letter
Practice identifying coins and their value
Count sets of like coins
Observe the moon each night and draw a picture of how it appears on paper
Bake something together

Save the Date: First Grade Field Trip

The first grade team is excited to announce that plans for our big field trip are underway! First graders will be going on a field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium on Wednesday, March 27. Each classroom will need several chaperones so we wanted to let you know in advance so you are able to plan accordingly. All chaperones will need to complete a GCISD Volunteer Background Check.

Checklist Items

Read homework books nightly
Record minutes spent reading on the Read Across Texas recording sheet
Math homework is due each Friday
Return library books each Thursday
Send a fully charged iPad to school each day
Send a healthy snack to school each day
Place "just in case" clothing in your child's backpack
If you plan to attend school events such as class parties, family picnics, awards, grade level programs and more during the school year, you will need to complete a GCISD Volunteer Background Check. GCISD Volunteer Background Check

Schedule Information

School begins at 7:40 each morning
Lunch will be at 10:15 - 10:45
Recess will be at 10:45 - 11:15
First graders will go to Specials (PE, Music and Art) from 1:25-2:10
Walkers will be dismissed from the courtyard doors. Please carry your car tag so teachers are able to identify you quickly.
Car riders will be dismissed from the back of the school. Remember to display your child's car tag on the dashboard or in a front window if your child is a car rider.

Meet the First Grade Teachers

In order of appearance...

Top Row: Emma Ackels, Amy Hisel & Sheri Thompson

Middle Row: Valeria Carrasco (Dual Language)

Bottom Row: Valeria Hernandez (Dual Language)

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