First Grade News

March 4 - 8

A Glimpse at Our Week...

ELA:

Module 8: Tell Me a Story
- - - Point of View
    - Synthesize
    - Central Idea
    - Characters
    - Writing Form: Personal Narrative
    - Grammar: Contractions
    - Generative Vocabulary: Suffix -ly
    - Spelling: Vowel Teams ee, ea

Social Studies:

Making Economic Decisions

Math:

Problem Solving Using Addition and Subtraction to 20

Science:

Animal Life Cycles

Mark Your Calendar

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

3/7................Library Books Due

3/8................Math Homework Due

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

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

3/18.............Return to 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.

School Aged Photo of Parents Needed

Next week we will begin exploring animal life cycles during science time. We will be investigating how young animals resemble their parents. If possible, we would love for students to bring a picture of a parent when they were younger. We would like to explore the ways that our students resemble their parents when they were younger. Please send pictures in a baggie or envelope labeled with your child's name. All pictures will be returned after our activity is complete. Pictures are needed for our science lesson on Tuesday.

Field Trip Money Due

All student and chaperone field trip money is due by Friday, March 8. The cost of the field trip for each student is $16. The chaperone cost is $19. If you plan to chaperone and pay at the Dallas World Aquarium you will not receive the $19 group rate (the cost at the door will be $29.95 + tax.

You're Invited to Mission Control

Open House is Tuesday evening from 6pm - 7pm. We would love for you drop in and visit your child's classroom to see all the great things we have been working on.

During your visit you will be able to…

check out student work on display in the classroom
make memories with your child

Field Trip - Chaperones Needed!

Our first grade Shooting Stars are going on a FIELD TRIP to the Dallas World Aquarium on Wednesday, March 27. A visit to the aquarium aligns perfectly with our upcoming studies of interdependency, life cycles and animal characteristics. Each classroom will need several parent chaperones to join us. All chaperones are required to complete a background check before attending. GCISD uses Volunteer Tracker for background checks. Use the link below to complete your background check: GCISD - Volunteer Tracker It often takes several weeks for background checks to be cleared so if you are interested in joining us, please complete your background check asap. Please email your child's teacher to let him or her know if you plan on being a chaperone.

*Chaperones are welcome to meet at the school and carpool or follow the buses to the Dallas World Aquarium. Your chaperone duties will be complete when students load the buses and head back to Silver Lake to complete their school day.

*Please keep in mind that chaperones will need to provide their own transportation to the Dallas World Aquarium. For safety purposes, chaperones may not bring younger siblings.

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

Encourage you first grader to build fluency by reading with expression. Model using silly voices to make the pages come alive. Encourage your child to try reading with silly voices, too.

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.

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

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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