Newsletters

1A Newsletter May 27, 2025

It sounds like everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Lots of brave children went into the cool water to unofficially start summer!

ILA- We are reading about Pool Safety in our Non-fiction Readers for the next 2 weeks.  We also read Jabari Jumps, a story about a brave little boy who worked up the courage to jump off the diving board. In ILA we are working on possessive nouns, and reviewing sounds such as -ow, oa (low, boat, float…).

In science we released our beautiful butterflies and ants!  We enjoyed sharing our class pets with 1B but decided they should be set free as God intended.  We placed them far from the playground so they could be safe.

On Thursday we celebrated the Ascension of Our Lord and enjoyed a Holy Day Recess!  Thank you so much to those who volunteered to watch the students! On Friday we went to the Sending Forth Mass. That was very beautiful, and I know we will all be praying for our graduating 6th graders (and all our SJY students).  In our religion books we are reading about Moses and how God calls Moses to save his people.  We have been reading the Children’s Bible daily after lunch. We are almost at Easter, and I am trying to read quickly to finish the whole Bible before the end of the year! Many children have asked where I bought this Bible and the answer is Ollies (they have lots of great books for affordable prices, lots of summer activity books too!).

Math- We continue our geometry unit with two- and three-dimensional shapes.  We are studying the different and similar attributes of the shapes. A special congratulations to Gabriella and Abriella on completing Rocket Math Subtraction!  They are now working on Rocket Math addition up to 20!

Summer Packets, Math Workbooks, and Acadience Benchmark assessments came home this week.  This work is optional and does not have to be returned. 

I cannot thank all of you enough for such a wonderful year!  I was so afraid to come back to teaching after taking off for so many years.  Everyone made me feel welcomed and gave me so much grace.  Thank you! It has been a pleasure teaching your children this year.  God bless all of you and your amazing families.

Upcoming Events (Please be sure to read In the Loop for more information):

Monday, June 2- Mrs. Freed will be in for me. I will be attending the 8th Grade Award Ceremony at YC for my daughter, Ava.

Friday, June 6- Noon Dismissal and Summer Vacation!

1A Weekly Newsletter May 19, 2025

We started the week with an amazing Field Day!  We had so much fun at every station!  Your children were polite, great sports, and amazing friends!  You should be proud of them, I sure am! I am also thankful to all our SJY volunteers that made this day happen- thank you! https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

Ava won an opportunity to be the principal of SJY for the day!  She did a fantastic job.  She gave the teachers a dress down pass and the whole school no homework over the long weekend! Thanks Ava!

Reading/ILA- We enjoyed Naughty Mabel by Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott. We discussed character traits, synonyms, and shades of meaning (rest, doze, sleep). We continue our morning writing papers, and I always look forward to reading what they wrote.  So many students are adding many details to their writings now.

Science- Our class pets are doing well and transforming before our eyes!  We now have 3 painted lady butterflies!

Math- Congratulations to Lily who passed Rocket Math Subtraction!  We are working on geometry.  We are having fun exploring the different attributes of shapes and what they have in common. We completed our final 5 Minute Addition Test this week too.  I am sending home some math books that I was using as additional practice for students.  You are welcome to complete the pages throughout the summer, but you do not have to. 

Religion- We are reading about the virtue of faith and learning how God had a plan for Moses to save the Chosen People known as the Israelites. 

Upcoming Events (please read In the Loop):

Summer Packets- Will be coming home for you to use with your child to practice.  They are not required to be completed and will not be collected.  They are just an option to help keep your son/daughter active and to try to avoid the summer slip. 

Monday, May 26-  No School- Happy Memorial Day!

Wednesday, May 28- Uniform Exchange

Thursday, May 29- Ascension of Our Lord Mass 8:30- Holy Day Recess

Thursday, May 29, 1:45- Parent Conversation about raising kids in this digital world

Friday, May 30- 9:00 Sending Forth Mass (Last day of school for pre-k, kindergarten, and 6th grade only)

Friday, June 6, 12:00- Last day of school!  Dismissal at 12:00… Happy Summer!  I am so thankful to have been your teacher this year. God bless all of you!

1A Newsletter May 12, 2025

The end of the year is quickly approaching, but we are not slowing down!  See for yourself on our class website… https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

ILA/Science- We worked on our first research report.  We were researching alligators. It was simple, and we did most of it together, but it gave the students the opportunity to look things up in books, on safe websites, and using their non-fiction readers.  My goal was to show them that research is not difficult. They are great writers and can easily research and share facts they learned. Our research and alligators are hanging in the hallway. Everyone did a fantastic job! We also worked on learning the difference between facts and opinions this week.

Religion- On Tuesday we celebrated Our Lady of Fatima by reading about the Miracle of the Sun. We also enjoyed hearing our band and chorus perform their concert for the whole school. It was a beautiful day!  On Thursday we filled the birthday bags and wrote cards to bring some love and faith to those in need.  Thank you for sending in the cake mix, frosting, and candles.  We participated in the Eucharistic Procession and Rosary.  Our class did a beautiful job using our Rosary beads.  Lily even had a speaking role in church and did a fantastic job!  Finally, on Friday we enjoyed a Mass dedicated to our brave first responders. God bless all our first responders, and may they bring comfort and hope to all they encounter.

Math- We started addition with regrouping! We are using many manipulatives to make the process easier to see and comprehend.  This is more of a second-grade skill, so if your child is having trouble, it is not a concern right now, I was simply introducing the skill.  Congratulations to William and Jacob who passed Rocket Math Addition to 20! Also, congratulations to Olivia who passed Rocket Math Subtraction!

Upcoming Events – Always read In the Loop

Monday, May 19- Field Day and a visit from the Ice Cream Tuck!  (Send an extra pair of socks and shoes in case we have too much fun playing water games). Please apply sunblock at home.

Wednesday, May 21- YC Senior Walk through

Monday, May 26- Happy Memorial Day!  No School!

Thursday, May 29, 8:30am- Ascension of Our Lord Mass and Holy Day Recess

Friday May 30, 9am- Sending Forth Mass for 6th graders

Summer is coming: Many have asked what you can do this summer to help your children.  The easy answer is to read!  At this stage and age reading is the most important thing you can make your child do.  It would be nice if they could write one sentence about the story you read to practice writing.

Consider making a memory book!  Just take a picture each day (or once a week) of your son/daughter having fun this summer. Print it out and have your child write 2 sentences about the picture. It will be a great keepsake of your summer! Children love to write about themselves, so that makes it easier to motivate them.  You can also tell them that Mrs. Thoman would love to see what they did this summer, so please make a memory book and share it with me either through email or when I see you in August.

I will also send home all our workbooks that you can also work on if you choose to. We did not complete every page in every book.  I hope you know it was because we were so busy doing other supplemental educational activities.

Your child does have access to i-Ready Math on your computer at home.  For most children:

Username: is their first initial last name@sjy.org  ex. gthoman@sjy.org

password: Sjysjy2030

This unfortunately is not the case for every child.  I may have written their username in their agenda if it is different. Most common is first initial, dot, last name @sjy.org

g.thoman@sjy.org

password: Sjysjy2030

New students to St. Joe’s this year: full first name. full last name@sjy.org ex. Gerri.thoman@sjy.org  password: Sjysjy2030

Email me if you can’t get on and I will try to help you! 😊

1A Newsletter May 5

Thank you for all the extra appreciation this week!  I felt loved and appreciated.  The flowers, notes, gifts, lunch, and breakfast were all such kind gestures. Thank you and God bless all of you!

We started our week with our beautiful May Procession to crown Mary.  The students did a beautiful job signing. On Tuesday it was our classroom Saint’s Day.  We had fun making some homemade whipped cream to dip strawberries in.  We enjoyed this snack while learning about St. Dominic Savio, patron saint of altar boys, juvenile delinquents, and the falsely accused.  

What a surprise on Thursday afternoon as we left Adoration to hear the church bells ringing!  We learned of the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, from the USA, as our new Pope! God bless Pope Leo XIV.

ILA- we read a fun story Chicks and Salsa written by Aaron Reynolds. We practiced describing characters and their character traits.  We even worked on “giving proof” from the text. Students were introduced to homophones (words that sound the same but mean different things). They are amazingly talented at this! Ask your child for an example.  We also worked on writing beautiful Mother’s Day notes. I hope you enjoy them and happy Mother’s Day!

Math- Congratulations to Jack, Emmett, and Wyatt for passing Rocket Math this week! Way to go boys!  Melanie also passed Rocket Math this week- way to represent the girls!  We are working on adding 2-digit numbers without regrouping (16+22=38). Next week we will begin regrouping.  We also completed our Math STAR testing. If you would like me to send home a copy of the report (reading and math), please email me. 

Science- our class pets are growing, digging, and keeping us entertained (as much as ants and caterpillars can entertain us).  We enjoy feeding them and watching them crawl around their cages.  I’m a little afraid we ordered the butterflies too late, and they won’t come out of their chrysalises until school is over… we’ll deal with that later.  Sorry!

Upcoming Events- Please read In the Loop

Check out our website for some fun pictures: https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

Tuesday, May 13- The last day to donate cake mix, icing, and candles for our school wide birthday bag service project. If you donate you get a dress down day!

Tuesday, May 13- Spring Concert 1:15 in the gym

Thursday, May 15- Eucharistic Procession and Rosary. Make birthday bags in our classroom (whole school service project)

Friday, May 15- 8:30 Mass for First Responders

Swim Lessons: If anyone is interested my children teach swimming lessons in my backyard (I live very close to St. Joe’s). Lexi is 21yrs old and has been doing this for years (charges $15 ½ hour).  Lexi only has group lessons and has limited availability, but feel free to try. Ava is 15 yrs. old and is lifeguard certified. She charges $10 for a ½ hour private lesson.  They begin June 9 and run through August 14.  Most people do 1 or maybe 2 lessons a week. Please feel no pressure to participate, I’m just sharing the information.  Ava’s cell number is 717-852-5400, Lexi’s cell number 717-472-2063.

1A Weekly Newsletter Week of April 28

Another fun and exciting week in the books!  We started the week with a lovely retreat where Fr. Rettig spoke to us about the praying the rosary.  We then came back to class and used our stickers to complete the rosary.  It was beautiful.  The whole class did an amazing job!

Wednesday was our closing assembly for our Knight Reader book, Mystery in Rockey Mountain National Park.  It was a fun day camping in the classroom! We had many giggles camping in our desk tents- see some pictures on our class website. https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

I hope you all enjoyed the book as a family as much as I did.  I loved the vocabulary Aaron Johnson used in his story.  It is the first book in a series of stories that take place in other National Parks.  I hope your child is inspired to keep reading!  It is the most important thing you can do with your first grader. 

Thursday, we had our May Procession practice to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The whole first grade did a beautiful job respecting Mary and giving her our prayers to take to Jesus. On Monday there will be the official May Procession at 1:30.

Friday was Grandpal’s Day!  The children shared some of their Scaredy Squirrel Readers’ Theater scripts with the grandparents.  I am so proud of them! The Grandparents and friends were amazing guests. I’m so happy our room was full!  Thanks be to God.

We completed the STAR Reading Testing this week.  While doing all of this we were able to squish in some Rocket Math, because the children beg to do it!!  Steven finished Rocket Math Addition to 20!  He is moving on to mixed addition and subtraction to 10. Way to go!

Finally, have you heard about our class pets?  We have ants and caterpillars that we are sharing with 1B! It is fascinating watching them move, especially the ants!  They are as busy as we are!

Upcoming Events (please read In the Loop):

Friday, May 2- Progress Reports Came home today. Check your child’s backpack. If you did not get one you may owe some money to the school.

Monday, May 5- May Procession 1:30pm

Tuesday, May 6- Our class saint day St. Dominic Savio Feast Day

Wednesday, May 7-9- STAR Testing for math

More information coming soon: Send in a box of cake mix, frosting, and candles for a whole school service project (and a dress down day)!  Items due: May 13

Next week FYI- I am helping in kindergarten a few times next week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday).  Mrs. Bowen will be in 1A until I get back. We might not be able to do Rocket Math as often as I want because it is too difficult to do when I’m not in the room.

1A Weekly Newsletter April 22

I pray everyone had a blessed Easter! We are continuing to rejoice this Easter Season!

The end of the year is coming too quickly. Please keep in mind that all the amazing extra fun activities that pop up this time of the year do disturb our routine.  I don’t mind at all.  As a matter of fact, these fun extras are what make St. Joseph’s a beautiful, well rounded, educational environment.  My caution is that all the excitement does throw some children off.  If your child is more emotional or has different behaviors pop up, it is normal (in my experience).  Just keep the rules you have in place, and I will do the same.  They need extra love, sleep, and outdoor play!  We will finish this year strong!  God bless all of you.

ILA- We loved reading Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller. It is a cute story about a caterpillar and a goose that make friends.  We used the story to work on expanding our description words from “nice” to a stronger word like compassionate, loyal, or delightful. We also introduced using quotations to know a character is speaking. We also worked on rhyming words and writing post cards. 

Math- Congratulations to Evangeline who passed Rocket Math Subtraction last week. In math we practiced comparing (greater than and less than) and ordering numbers (least to greatest). We have expanded our Rocket Math time!  Once we finish our one-minute Rocket test, we mark how far we got and then continue practicing for 2-3 more minutes. This has been very helpful to many students (wish I thought of it sooner). We had the MOST fun at our Rocket Math Party!  You must check out the website for amazing pictures!  Thank you again to everyone who contributed and came in to help. 

https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

Religion- We have been praying for Pope Francis. We are also discussing the fall and promise of the Savior.  We are learning that only through Jesus Christ will we be able to become closer to God and receive the graces needed to overcome sin and attain eternal life in Heaven- Word of Life religious education book is one of our favorite lessons of the day. 

Science- Butterflies!  Our non-fiction reader is about the lifecycle of the butterfly.  We are hoping to raise and release some butterflies of our own in class.  Coming soon…

Upcoming Events: (Always read In the Loop)

Next week- STAR assessments in Math and Reading

Saturday, April 26- SJY Easter Egg Hung

Monday, April 28- 1st Grade Retreat to church.  We will walk over and pray with Father Sahd and Father Rettig.  We will pray the Rosary. We will also have a prayer service for Pope Francis at 1pm.

Wednesday, April 30- Enjoying a Camp-in day in the classroom! We will have fun activities all day to go along with our Knight Reader, Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park . The cafeteria will be serving a special snack today!

We will end the day with a closing assembly to read the last chapters 23-24.

Friday, May 2- Grandpal’s Day!

1A Weekly Newsletter April 7

This was an exciting week!  We had a great time on our field trip to Wildwood Park in Harrisburg.  Please check out our website to see some fun pictures.  It was nice to get out and enjoy God’s gifts in nature with your well behaved, curious, intelligent children!

In ILA this week we read a true story entitled Wangari’s Trees of Peace. It is a story about Maathai Wangari who brought trees back to Kenya. The students learned to look for the “Central Idea” of a story and the “Key Details” that support the idea.  We read stories and watched some short videos on saving water and bees to practice finding the central idea. We also reviewed contractions (and, but) and used them to combine 2 sentences into one. In phonics we practiced thr words (throw, throb, throat) as well as ew/ue/ui pattern words (glue, blew, fruit). We will continue this next week (for our very short week of school).

We love the Knight Reader puzzles we are solving as a whole school!  Our class solves a page in the workbook together, then passes it to second or third grade to use what we solved to help answer their puzzle.  Please keep reading at home!  You should be on chapter 14.  A paper came home today in case you want to buy another copy of the book or the puzzle book.  We also enjoyed a Critter Assembly to check out some animals we might hear about in our Knight Readers story.  Photos on our class website. 

In math this week we are continuing our place value practice and adding/ subtracting 10 to numbers up to 120. Congratulations to Aidan who passed Rocket Math Addition! Summer, McKenna and Jillian passed Rocket Math Subtraction! Our class is doing fabulous work!  We also took a practice 5-Minute test this week.

Did you know that our WHOLE class passed Addition Rocket Math??  We decided to plan a small math party (snacks and fun math stations) to celebrate!  Let’s plan for a tentative date of Friday, April 25 after lunch 12-1pm?  Let me think about this, and if you have any math station ideas, please let me know.  I will make a Sign Up Genius soon.  What an accomplishment!  Way to go 1A!

Have a blessed weekend,

Mrs. Thoman

 Upcoming Events: More information In The Loop:

Tuesday, April 15- Living Stations of the Cross 1:30

Wednesday, April 16- Tuesday, April 22- Easter Break!  Welcome back on Tuesday, April 22!

Friday, April 25- Math Party in 1A to celebrate everyone passing Rocket Math Addition! 12-1pm

Saturday, April 26- Easter Egg Hunt

 1A Newsletter March 31

Happy April!  We started off the month with Knight Readers and some laughs. Knight Reader information came home on Monday. The students will be writing what chapters to read every day in their agenda.  We also enjoyed an assembly with a National Park Ranger.

We had a fun day on April Fool’s Day!  The children were treated to some brownies (and brown Es).  We also had some terrible behaviors to address… ha ha. They are such amazing children!  I really enjoy laughing with them! I hope you laughed too! 

ILA- We read a funny story entitled I Don’t Want to be a Frog, by Dev Petty.  We discussed the author’s purpose of writing a story (entertain, inform, or persuade). We practiced writing our opinions in our daily writings. The class was also introduced to contractions (a word made by combining two words with an apostrophe). Our phonics lessons focused on “Tricky -Y, the robber guy steals the sounds of e and i.”

Math- We are practicing our place value and counting to 120. We are adding and taking away 10s using a 100 chart to help us see how place value is important.  Packets have been coming home for extra practice. The students are not required to complete them, but they are great practice (and they earn a Thoman Buck when they complete them and turn them in). Congratulations to Evelyn who passed Rocket Math Subtraction this week!

Religion- We love watching our Brother John Lenten videos and counting the days of Lent. We discuss how we are sacrificing things during Lent to bring us closer to Jesus. We are also learning to prepare for the Savior in our Word of Life Religious Education books.

Upcoming Events: (Always read In the Loop): 

 I know it is a lot this time of the year!  I appreciate your help and support and if I can do anything to make things easier for you at home- please reach out and let me know.  God bless all of you.

Thursday, Apil 10- Field Trip to Wildwood Park Olewine Nature Center!

 Students need: a packed lunch, gym uniform, sneakers, disposable water bottle, appropriate weather layers (raining and 53 degrees predicted), sunscreen, bug spray should be applied at home before school. No money please! Please let me know if you have any questions. My cell phone number in case you need to get ahold of me for any reason that day 717-318-3335

Tuesday, April 15 – Living Stations of the Cross 1:30pm

Wednesday, April 16- 21- Easter Break- Rejoice!

Tuesday, April 22- Spring Uniform (refer to handbook)

Thursday, April 24- Lunch Bunch at 11:15 for 1st grade (sign-ups are In the Loop)

Knight Readers- Please make sure you are reading Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park with all your SJY children (should have read chapter 8)! We are having a great time solving mysteries in the Coloring and Activity Book at school!  While reading, if your family comes up with a question for the author can you please send it to school (an orange paper came home today)?  I will give your child a Thoman Buck! 😊

Saturday, April 26- Easter Eggstravaganza and Egg Hunt 11am-2pm (please donate a bag of candy to help fill our eggs)

Friday, May 2- Grandparents/ Grandpals Day- Information came home today. RSVP due April, 22

Tuesday, May 13- Epex Soft Pretzel orders are due!

1A Newsletter, March 24

We had such an educational week!  In ILA we read The Mermaid, by Jan Brett.  We discussed fairy tales and compared it the Three Little Bears.  We took the opportunity to practice a fun STEM challenge of making chairs for the Three Bears (or Three Octopuses) to sit on.  We tested our creations to see how they would hold up.  See some fun photos on our class website.  https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

We also learned about compound words. The class did an amazing job putting words together to create compound words. We practiced -ow and -ou (clown, loud) words that say -ow!  A handful of students read to preschoolers again this week!  This is a great experience for everyone- I tried to get photos.

In math we practiced place value and writing numbers up to 120. It was a challenge for some and came naturally to others.  If you child is struggling, it’s an easy thing to practice at home or in the car.  Simply have them write the number you say, or write the numbers 1-50, then later 50-100, 100-120… keep it fun!  Call out numbers and have them write them.  Call out a number in the 10’s place, then the 100’s place, and finally the 1’s place. Could they write that number?  For example, I have a 3 in the tens place, a 1 in the hundreds place, and a 9 in the ones place, what number am I? Can you add 10 more to that number?  Our class continues to do amazing things in Rocket Math!  This week Avery and Colin passed subtraction Rocket Math!

We completed STAR testing last week. If anyone wants me to send their child’s results email me and I will send them home.

In Religion we discussed how we are gifts created by God.  God is love.

In Science we continue reading our Oviparous Animals packet. This is a longer packet, and we will use it again next week. These nonfiction packets are challenging to read, but very informative. Once they come home feel free to use them as your nightly reading and just mark it in your child’s orange folder.

Some spring things we may need for the classroom to make it through the year…

Glue sticks- if each family could send in about 5, that should get us through the year.  We glue many vocabulary words and other things into our ILA books daily.  We share the glue sticks as a class.  I simply open the packages and put them in my desk. When a child runs out, I just reach in and give them a new one. There is no need to label them. Thank you!

Chalk, jump ropes (our jump rope handles are breaking- but so many kids love jump roping and became quite talented at it), bases (like baseball bases)- I was thinking those rubber ones the children could use for kickball (not a need, just a thought).  Please email me if you are sending in jump ropes, chalk, or bases- so if I get multiple donations, I can let others know it is taken care of.  Thank you!

Spring uniforms begin after Easter break on Tuesday, April 22.  Please read the school handbook to make sure you are following the uniform guidelines. 

Upcoming Events- Read In the Loop for more information and details…

Monday, March 31- SJY is introducing our 2025 Knight Reader Book!!  This book will be read by the entire school!  We have planned fun activities, field trips, and assemblies around this story.  You will read the story at home with your family each night.  A calendar, instructions, bookmark, and the book will come home on Monday with your oldest SJY child! 

Monday Knight Reader Opening Assembly – Students will hear Chapters 1 and 2 of our Knight Readers book!

Tuesday, April 1- you read chapter 3 at home with your child… there is a calendar in the bag that tells you what to read each night. We will write it in our Agendas as well.

Thursday, April 10- Full day field trip for 1-3rd grade to Wildwood Lake in Harrisburg!  Information came home today!

Tuesday, April 15, 1:30- Living Stations of the Cross (I used to pull my children out of public school to watch this. I am so happy God brought me here to now watch it as a teacher).

Thursday, April 17- Monday, April 21- Easter break

Tuesday, April 22- Spring uniforms may be worn (refer to handbook for guidelines)

Friday, April 25- Carlo Acutis Saint Canonization Process

1A Newsletter March 17

We certainly started the week off with some excitement! Monday morning, we joined 1B for some St. Patrick’s Day fun.  We made Fruit Loop rainbow snacks and enjoyed a few games of St. Patrick’s Day BINGO.  We also listened to some silly St. Patrick’s Day stories.  It was a great way to kick off the week with our friends. 

Some children used their Thoman Bucks to read to a preschooler!  That was amazing! There are pictures on our website under “What’s Happening”. https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/home

In ILA- we read about Nursery Rhymes and worked in groups to find the answers to some nursery rhyme trivia!  We then moved on to reading our story of the week After the Fall -How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again, by Dan Santat.  We used this story to work on our story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution).  When you read with your children at home ask them these questions. Or ask them what happened in the beginning, middle and end of the story. Discussing what your child reads is one of the best ways to help them learn to read and comprehend the story. It works because they get to chat about it with you- the most important, valued person in their life.  😊

We continue to learn about bossy R in phonics, specifically -or words (fort, storm), and the str- trigraph (strawberry). In grammar we worked on conjunctions (and, or, but). The students wrote amazing long stories in the ILA notebooks using these words. I was impressed! We had a bunch of run-on sentences, but that is easy to fix in later years of schooling.  I want them to practice getting their ideas on paper without worrying about every rule.  My goal is for them to love writing or at least not be afraid of it. 

In our new Non-fiction reader, we read about oviparous (o-vip-a-rous) animals- ask your very smart children what that means.

In Religious Education we discussed St. Patrick, and of course St. Joseph!  Thank you to anyone who volunteered to watch the students at Holy Day Recess!  It is always a treat to have some time to chat with my fellow teachers. We are also discussing how God created us in His image, and we were created out of love. We continue our Lent stories and discussing how Jesus died for us and forgives us when we say we are sorry. We also had a special assembly discussing the Blessed Carlo Acutis!

In math we practiced place value.  Congratulations to Gabriella and Ava who passed Rocket Math Addition! Congratulations to William, Wyatt, Emmett, and Jacob who passed Rocket Math Subtraction!  

Upcoming Events: Please read In The Loop for accurate information and details

-            I’m afraid to type this, but this upcoming week looks quiet…

Wednesday, March 26 -There will be no ala carte snacks for sale. Lunch will still be served, just not the extra snacks.

-            Stations of the Cross - Fridays at 2pm

1A Newsletter March 10

This week we continued our folk tale theme and read Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion, written by Alex Smith. We enjoyed comparing it to Little Red Riding Hood. We practiced identifying the characters, setting, problem, and solution. The students were introduced to adverbs of time (they answer the question of when?). Some examples are now, tomorrow, already, early, today, and soon. We had fun working to find them around the room and identify if they are an adverb or not.  I do not expect the children to know all this information, I’m just introducing it to them in a fun way so they can be exposed to things they will learn in later grades and maybe, just maybe, recall a fun 1st grade activity.

In our non-fiction readers we are finishing up our Wolf book. We are learning so many fun facts about wolves!  This book will be coming home very soon.  Feel free to read it as your nightly reading book, but please know there are many difficult words in these books and most students will need some help to read and enjoy the information.

God and religion are in all our lessons. However, in Religious Education specifically, we have been learning about the Lenten Season and will continue to do so.  The class looks forward to our 5-minute videos on Formed called Lent with Brother Francis.  We are counting the 40 days of lent together and discussing how we can become closer to Jesus during this time.

In math we started subtraction using teen numbers; like 13-7=6. The class is excellent with this when using their whole bodies to be a part of the example.  They are also pretty good when using manipulatives to help them.  When they just have to solve a problem with a pencil and paper it is difficult for many.  This is completely normal.  We keep using our bodies and blocks to solve these subtraction problems. 

Congratulations to Libby, Dominic, and Abriella who passed Rocket Math Addition this week!

This week I sent home the math progress reports for the student’s Five Minute Test (should have signed and returned). At this point in the year the goal is to get 60 problems in 5 minutes.  By the end of the year, they should have 90 problems.  You can practice this at home when you do your Rocket Math. Keep it simple and fun (just set a timer for 5 minutes and see how many Rocket Math problems they can solve).  Hopefully, with practice, that number keeps increasing.  I sent home some blank 100 problem tests that you can copy or put in a plastic sleeve and use a dry eraser to practice. 

In first grade it is very important to get outside and play!  Please don’t let homework take more than 20 minutes! If you have any questions or concerns, I am here to help!

Upcoming Events: Please read In The Loop for more information

Friday, March 14- No School

Monday, March 17- St. Patrick’s Day, students may wear green accessories to celebrate (headbands, hats, beads, sweaters, and socks)

Wednesday, March 19- Feast of St. Joseph! Mass at 8:30, followed by Holy Day Recess from 9:30-10:00, dress down day (follow non-uniform guidelines)

Thursday, March  20- Carlo Acutis Assembly

Last Lunch Bunch April 24, 11:15 lunch time- A volunteer badge is not required for this activity. More information is available by reading, In the Loop

We are still helping the upper hall ambassadors collect money for first responders. Your donations are appreciated. They came around today and collected the money already donated.  They will update the school on their total amounts collected next week. It is beautiful to see children getting the opportunity to lead and collect things for a great cause. 

1A Newsletter week of February, 24: 

Happy Friday everyone! 

ILA (Integrated Language Arts): 1A had a fun week reading an inspirational story about Kevin the Koala who was too afraid to try anything.  We talked about having a growth mindset and knowing that God is always with us, and we can try (safe) new things without being scared.  We also worked on learning the Central Message or the Lesson the author wants us to learn. My favorite was -If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! We also practiced adding -ed ending to words, th digraphs, and -ar word practice. We did all this while enjoying 2 fun snacks- Koala ice cream and crocodile cookies!!  Yummy fun!

https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

Writing: We finished our Cloud stories, and everyone did a fantastic job! I will send home their “graded” rough drafts. The final copies will be hanging outside the classroom, and then they will come home. Thank you to my volunteers who helped me get everyone’s story completed. I could not have done it without you!

The students have been doing a wonderful job on their morning writing papers!  I love reading them!  Please take the time to have your child read what they wrote to you. It will reinforce their excellent work and help them see where they made mistakes and can learn (growth mindset). 😊

Religion:  We continued to talk about people who God put in our lives to help us become saints.  We made a cute bouquet of people who are helping us grow into saints, but it was kind of a Pinterest failure.  I’m still proud of all the students’ hard work and patience.  Take a peek at our website to see our attempt (and then envision a beautiful bouquet of your family on pipe-cleaners- lol!!). We are also beginning to discuss Lent and Ash Wednesday. Starting next week we will attend Stations of the Cross on Friday afternoons at 2:00.

Math: We are practicing making 10 to add on. This is tough for some first graders to comprehend, but working on adding bigger numbers would be great practice at home. We are adding up to 20. I have a few students who will soon pass subtraction Rocket Math!  Wow! They will then work on addition to 20 math facts. 

Upcoming Events: Please read In The Loop!

Monday, March 3- Hat Day (Dr. Suess Read Across America Week)

Tuesday, March 4- Socks Day (Dr. Suess fun again)

Wednesday, March 5- Ash Wednesday 8:30 Mass

Friday, March 7- Stations of the Cross 2:00 (Mrs. Thoman leaving at 11:30am for a ½ personal day.  Mrs. Green will be our substitute).

1A Newsletter Week of 2-18

Crazy weather in 1A!  We had a fun time being meteorologists in our room this week!  We continued to learn about the different kinds of clouds and what they mean and created a funny weather segment that you must go to our class website to enjoy 😊! A few are still missing, but I will add them tonight!

  https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

We also made progress on our Cloud Stories- many are working on their final copies!  If you have extra time- I would love to send home some stories to be typed “published” just for the fun of it, or come into the classroom and help some students finish their final copies with some extra kindness and support.

While I’m asking for help…  have you heard about Thoman Bucks?!?  They are our new classroom reward system.  Everyday your child will either get a Thoman Buck for having a great day, or a Strike form so we all know what behaviors we need to work on.  We will collect the Thoman Bucks for about a week, then I will have a store where the students can spend their bucks on a reward of their choice that they can afford (sit at the teacher desk for 15 minutes, have a teacher chair, take your shoes off, sit with a friend, free time, pretzels, pencils, stamps, erasers…).  We will be discussing money, change, saving, proper handshakes and making choices.  I’m hoping it will be a fun and positive experience for everyone.  Even if you get a Strike or 2 you can still earn Thoman Bucks to buy something fun!  If you are cleaning out at home and have any small things you could donate to our store, it would be appreciated!  I can’t guarantee your child won’t come home with the same stuff you tried to get rid of, but it will be fun!

In math we are working on place value and teen numbers, and always practicing those number bonds (similar to fact families).

A special congratulations to Evangeline, Summer, and Olivia for passing Rocket Math Addition!  Way to go girls!

In Religious Education we are discussing how we are growing into saints.  We are discussing who around us brings us closer to Jesus and how can we help others become closer to Jesus.

Upcoming Events- Please read In the Loop for more exciting things happening at SJY and YC!

Friday Feb 28th- Mardi Gras! Class with the most participation gets a donut party!

Friday Feb 28th- Students may bring a Stuffed Animal to School (please make sure the stuffed animal can fit in your child’s backpack)

Monday March 3rd -Cat in the Hat - Wear your favorite hat to school (with your child’s regular uniform)

Tuesday March 4th- Fat Tuesday Wear fun socks to school (with your child’s regular uniform). On Fat Tuesday the cafeteria is doing something with pancakes.

1A Newsletter January 27 😊

This was a fun week!  Thank you all for your support of Catholic Schools Week!  The students and I had a blast all week.  It was very special, and we felt the love of God with us always.  I am thankful to be teaching here. I am especially appreciative of the lunch and break on Tuesday afternoon.  All the teachers had so much fun chatting and enjoying a delicious lunch together!  It was a blessing. Thank you to all who contributed.  It was appreciated!

On Monday we had an all-school weather assembly and then some amazing YC students came and read The Grasshopper and the Ants fable to the class.  They also brought an adorable ant craft. Tuesday was holy recess and Mass. Wednesday we had a school minute to win it assembly!  Wyatt, Gwenevere, and Jacob represented us well! On Thursday we played BINGO!  It was such an exciting week for St. Joseph’s students and staff- thank you!

Our book of the week was Chameleons are Cool by Martin Jenkins.  We learned many interesting facts about chameleons. We talked about the main idea of the story and the details that support the main idea.  We had fun making main idea pizzas!

In math we are learning what the equals sign means (same as).  The hard concept has been 3+4=6+1  or 5+5=9+1 Any review of this at home would be helpful.  Congratulations to Melanie, Winston, and Jacob who passed Rocket Math Addition this week!  Photos are on our website https://sites.google.com/d/1bwuogC1lvoec-4VbILr2W6muDFbY3q7v/p/1QxesBuzOVhgERgn8LS1UiUpl8wTBi3CL/edit

In science we predicted if Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) would see his shadow??  We read about shadows and even tried to trace our shadows, but the sun was not as cooperative as we would have liked! Most of our class thinks Punxsutawney Phil will not see his shadow and Spring is just around the corner….

In religious education we started learning about Blessed Carlo Acutis. Pope Francis will canonize Carlo Acutis on April 27, 2025. He was a gamer, soccer player, and computer programmer who loved the Eucharist, he will be the Church's first millennial saint.

Please consider signing up to help with the Valentine’s Day party if you haven’t already!  If you are unable to make it, you are welcome to send in a craft/game that your child and an adult can help them run the station.  We are still in need of a St. Valentine station. It can be another game that introduces St. Valentine (I’m not asking you to do a deep dive, just share a Saints love with our class). You must have your clearances to come into the school.  

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4EACAF2FAAF5C61-54543174-1avalentine#/

Have a blessed weekend,

Mrs. Thoman

1A Weekly Newsletter January 21

Burrrr… That was a cold week of indoor recess (and too many germs)!  We continue to discuss good handwashing practices and wiping our desks every day.

This week we read a nonfiction autobiography The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield (a Canadian astronaut). It was fascinating learning how he went from being a little boy afraid of the dark and afraid of sleeping in his own bed, to working hard to become an astronaut who walked on the moon. We discussed autobiographies, how fears should never hold us back from our goals, and how praying always helps!

In math we are flying through the unit on making addition problems to equal an amount because everyone seems to understand this concept (10= 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6….). Of course we are still practicing it.  Congratulations to William who completed the Rocket Math Addition this week!

Mrs. Bushey-Steinkamp (Emmett’s mom) has started Junior Achievement lessons in our classroom.  We are lucky to have her!  They will be happening most Thursday afternoons.  We look forward to learning about our community and how we all have an important role in making our families, school, and neighborhoods a great place to live!

We are going to have a daily behavior chart for a bit because so many first graders are having a tough time focusing on themselves and their work.  My goal is to make everyone aware of their behaviors and help us stay on task. It will be taped in their agenda for you to see/sign when it was a tough day. If your child did not need any strikes, it will just be in their white St. Joe’s folder (with no news on it).  Please continue to sign the agenda nightly.  Thank you for your support.

I am looking ahead to Valentine’s Day… please check out the Sign-Up Genuis.  As you know this is my first year here, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4EACAF2FAAF5C61-54543174-1avalentine

We will also have a fun day celebrating the 100th Day of School!  I believe it will be Tuesday, February 4 (FYI- 5th graders will be celebrating their 1000 day of school- how cool is that?!?). Our celebration will be in school.  You do not have to do anything extra at home.

Upcoming Events: Always read In The Loop for important information:

Week of Jan. 27- Catholic Schools Week- lots of fun things happening! Please send in applesauce and other donations for the needy.  Thank you!

Saturday 1/25- Battle of the Buildings at YC- come cheer me on!  I will do my best to represent SJY 1st grade!

Sunday 1/26- SJY Open House- send anyone you know that may be interested in a faith filled education our way!  I will be here 12:30-2:30. Feel free to visit if you are in the area. 😊

Monday 1/27- Buy school lunch to join the Beach Party!  See flyer below…

1A Newsletter January 13, 2025

It was nice to have a full week, and boy were we busy!   Unfortunately, we ended up with 6 children absent with illnesses.  We wiped the desks and pencils with Clorox wipes. Hopefully we will all have a nice long weekend and the germs leave!

This week we read a story called Penguin in Peril.  We studied the difference between fiction and non-fiction stories.  We also laughed reading Tacky the Penguin. Our weekly nonfiction reader was about Penguins.  As if that was not enough reading concepts we also learned about synonyms (not cinnamon buns).

We completed all our STAR Testing for math and reading. Progress Reports are coming home soon.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

In math we are practicing making number partners for numbers up to 10.  For example, if the number is 10- 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6... The children were given 10 red/yellow chips and had to make all the sums.  They loved it and did very well! Next week they will learn more about number bonds. They are given one large number in a box, then have to come up with 2 smaller numbers that add up to that number (like fact families, but called a number bonds). 10= 9+1 or 10= 5+5

In religion we talked about the Old and New Testament, faith, hope and charity. Your beautiful children are full of the Holy Spirit!

In science we read about penguins and did a fun science experiment testing our hands in ice cold water, one with blubber, one regular hand!  We now know how those cute penguins stay warm in the arctic oceans.  We also know a little bit about the Scientific Method- so smart!

I would like to congratulate our first few 1st graders who completed all the letters of the addition Rocket Math!!  Congratulations to Steven, Emmett, and Wyatt! They practice hard every night, and it shows- way to take off!!  I look forward to more students passing the addition math soon.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Bowan will not be coming back to school for a while. If anyone is available to come on Tuesdays (9-10 ish), Wednesdays (12-1ish), and/or Thursdays (12-1ish), I would love help marking/filling Rocket Math folders, updating their orange reading folders, and running book clubs (listening to them read, asking them questions, leading fun discussions to get them engaged in reading). Please email me and I will happily accept any help I can get. You must have your clearances. Thank you!

Upcoming Events: Always read In the Loop

Monday, January 20- No School Martin Luther King Day

Saturday, January 25- Battle of the Buildings at YC (come cheer for our SJY teachers including- Mrs. Thoman who volunteered to play! I will do my best to represent you well- imagine me stretching and jumping up and down).

First Grade is helping collect individual apple sauce donations and warm gloves for our school wide service project. Thank you to those who already sent in donations!

Catholic Schools Week coming soon... January 25 🙂

Week of December 9 1A Newsletter (printed and emailed it too) 😊

We are in the second week of Advent- Peace! I feel the excitement of Christmas in the classroom, peace is not always here but it is beautiful and innocent (and sometimes loud and emotional).  We will all be ok! Hence, we started a gingerbread reward system- a paper came home about it (sum up- send a can of white icing, and one bag of decorating candy to share).

This week we talked about adding doubles and doubles plus one (8+8=16, 8+9=17). We talked about how this will help us with our Rocket Math! FYI our Rocket Math range is from H-T (if your child is closer to H- please practice more, if your child is near T- Wow!!). We also introduced place value (one’s place, tens place, hundreds place… for bonus I did show them tenths (.4) because why not?).  

We are reading about Advent and hibernating animals. We also read Over and Under the Snow- and practiced with the vocabulary from that story. We are filling in many smaller stories and thank goodness Mrs. Bowman is back, so book clubs were happening all week! That has been such a blessing!  The students seem to love them and it’s a nice time to have a small group to really hear them reading and discussing books.

We stated the next unit in Word of Life Religious Education book- Knowing and Loving God. Next week we will read Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon.

Mark your calendars and always read In the Loop!

January Show and Tell Calendars came home today too.

Monday, December 16- Winter Party in the cafeteria!  For students only! See flyer below…

Tuesday, December 17 1pm and 7pm -Christmas Concert!

Friday, December20- Mass Las Posadas

Monday, January 6, 2025- Send in one can of white icing and candy to decorate

Tuesday, January 7, 1:45-2:30- Gingerbread houses in the gym (parents with clearances welcome, you may not sign your child out of school when we are done.  You must go to the car line). 

Happy Thanksgiving Newsletter!

Enjoy this wonderful time with your family and friends! May God bless all of you!

We cleaned out our desks inside and out.  All the papers came home on Monday.  This short week we enjoyed learning about turkeys and their snood (ask your children if they remember what that is). Our handprint turkeys, hidden turkeys and turkey stories came home in time for you to use them as an adorable decoration.

Snow plans came home- put them somewhere safe and do not do them unless directed.

Flashlights (with fresh batteries)- we will need them for our Christmas show.  I believe you will send them to school (please put your name on it) by December 6. For the show most of our class is on the right side of the altar when you walk in the church.  I put a picture on our webpage- to try to help you see where they stand. It’s not the best picture, but it gives you an idea. I will try harder next week!  https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

I am happy to say it again, I am thankful to be working here at St. Joseph’s School!  It continues to be an amazing experience.  You have all been so generous, kind, helpful, and supportive.  I am thankful to God for leading me here after all those cherished years at home.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Mrs. Thoman

1A Newsletter Week of November 18

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?  It is late this year but feels like it is too soon!

This week we finished our Turkey stories- just in time for Thanksgiving.  I will send them home with your child’s turkey before Thanksgiving break, so you have a beautiful decoration for your home (most stories came home today, turkeys will follow). 

Speaking of sending home… I am sending home SNOW Day Plans!  They are in a white folder.  They are very important!  Please put them somewhere safe (like on top of the refrigerator- but don’t let your child climb up there!) so you know where they are.  Tell someone where you put them if you’re like me and those “safe spots” randomly move.  Please do NOT complete them ahead of time.  If we don’t use them this year, I will collect them (in the Spring) and use them next year.

We have been reading The Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman. It is a funny story, and we have been practicing being good readers by predicting what will happen next, asking questions while reading, and making connections to our own experiences.  We also touched on adjectives (describing nouns).

In math we are using subtraction to compare 2 numbers.  The class is doing great at this! We are also doing well on computers with i-Ready math to meet their individual needs in math.  It starts slowly, but many are beginning to progress to more challenging math problems. 

We had a beautiful Holy Hour on Thursday. It is amazing how well behaved and attentive your children are at Mass.

Play practice happens a few times a week and our first couple have gone well. The show should be a fun one to watch! The children need a white shirt (a school uniform shirt would work fine). The rest of the information is in the letter that came home.

Have a blesses weekend,

Mrs. Thoman

Upcoming events: Always read In the Loop: 

11/27-12/2 No School~ Happy Thanksgiving! I am Thankful to have your beautiful children in my class this year!

12/5 Picture Retakes-if anyone was absent on picture day they need to get their picture taken

12/6 Saint Nicholas Day-students may wear Christmas socks! 

12/17 Christmas Show 1:15PM and 7PM

12/20 Las Posadas 

1A Weekly Newsletter for November 11

I LOVE the turkeys you made with your children!  They are fabulous, creative, and hysterical!  They are all safe from the farmer and will not be eaten for Thanksgiving this year! Check out the pictures of them on our website https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a  We did not complete our turkey stories, but we finished editing and most of us are on their final copy!

Our book clubs are up and running!  The groups are doing well, and they love the beanbag chairs (that is my early Christmas gift for the class). We could not have our amazing 1A students sitting on a cold floor!  Unacceptable! 😊

Next week we begin the Christmas Show rehearsals.  The show is on December 17 at 1pm and 7pm (times may change a bit). This weekend have your children wear their uniforms to Mass and bring me a bulletin -that will be their pass for a dress down day on Thursday (always fun).  We are reading the Bible stories everyday and this week learning about the 10 Commandments.  This was nicely reinforces as school Mass today when Father talked about obeying your Mother and Father. 

In Math we worked on our individual needs with both Rocket Math (we are taking off now) and i-Ready (on the computers).  We are also still focusing on fact families in our math workbooks.

We finished our week with a delicious breakfast snack (thank you Hamberger Family)!  It was a fantastic week of learning, praying, playing, and growing closer to Jesus together. 

Next week is Catholic Schools week- lots of exciting events to celebrate our wonderful school! 

Upcoming Events (Always read In The Loop for more information)

Wear your uniform to Mass this weekend!  Bring in a copy of the bulletin as your “pass” and get a dress down day on Thursday, November 21!

11/18- School Wide Service Project- wear your gym uniform to bag up potatoes for the needy. If you would like to donate $1 as well as a non-perishable food donation to the Catholic Harvest Food Pantry it would be appreciated.

11/20- Shadow Day- for any student who is interested in learning more about our school. Contact Kellie Frattone to confirm.

11/21- Book Fair Shopping for 1A

11/21- Holy Hour in Church 1:35 (parents are welcome)

11/22- Pastries with Parents 9:30-10:00 (after Mass) & Panera Bread Spirit Night 4-8pm

11/23- Bookfair open 4-7pm in the School Library

11/24- Bookfair open 10-3pm & Open House 12:30-2:30

1A Week of November 4, Newsletter

The weeks are certainly flying by!  This week we had a wonderful and educational visit from the Springettsbury Township Fire Department. We wrote thank you notes, and the firefighters loved them!  We are working on our next big story about our Thanksgiving turkeys trying to hide from a farmer. The creative juices are flowing in 1A!

In math we went on nature walk to collect a fact family and appreciate God’s beautiful works.  We then practiced making a fact family with our items (1+3=4, 3+1=4, 4-1=3, 4-3=1). We used our fact families to find missing addends in our math workbooks.  We also got to Rocket Math a couple of times this week.  It is supposed to be daily.  We are working towards daily, but a lot happens in this room every day, and sometimes something has to give!  😊

Handwriting- We are working on using the handwriting skills we know in our daily writing.  This is challenging for most. Correct letter formation is very important.  I will keep working with them to print the properly.

We enjoyed discussing a more serious book, Maddi’s Fridge this week. Maddi is a fast little girl who does not have enough food in her fridge.  Her best friend Sophia (and family) helps her.  We discussed ways to be charitable. You have such amazing children.  God is certainly with them, when they share their ideas about being charitable.  We also started “Book Clubs” in school.  The extra book will come home in your child’s orange leveled reading book folder (I’ll work on that name). You are welcome to practice reading them at home too. These books may be “too easy” for your child.  I am aware.  I want them to practice reading with fluency, expression, confidence and comprehension. The whole class has not started Book Clubs, but it is coming very soon!

Reminder: Please make sure snacks are healthy.  Doritos, chips and Cheetos are not good snacks. They are unhealthy, messy and turn their fingers greasy/orange. Please try to send fruit, granola bars, small bags of pretzels, small bags of Goldfish or other neat, easy, healthy snacks. Thank you!

Finally, a very thankful and warm welcome to Mrs. Bowen and Mrs. Mullen who are assisting in our classroom daily!  They are incredibly helpful!  Thank you, St. Joseph’s school, for seeing the need and sharing them with our beautifully full classroom.  I pray all grades are full so we can share the love of God and learning with more and more children.  

Upcoming Events (Always read In The Loop)….

Friday, November 10- School pictures came home!

Monday, November 11, 8am- Veteran’s Day flag raising (singing You’re a Grand Old Flag, and the Star-Spangled Banner)

Tuesday, November 12- Turkeys due

Friday, November 15- 1:00-1:30 breakfast snack – Thank you Dominic Hamberger’s family for their generous donation to the Race for Education! Volunteers (with clearances) welcome from 12:00- 1:30 (we will do stations for the first hour). Please email me if you can make it.

Jamaican Mission Team- looking for NEW socks, underwear and undershirts for men, women, and children. The donation bin is located in the lobby next to the gym.

Wreath and Poinsettia Sale- Order forms due 11/15

November 17-24- Catholic Schools Week: See In the Loop for details

November 18- Dress in gym clothes day for in-school service potato project (counting, sorting, bagging potatoes).

November 21- 1A Book Fair Shopping 9:05-9:40am

November 22- Pastries with Parents after Mass

Weekly Newsletter for the week of October 28

Happy All Saint’s Day! We celebrated all week! 

In ILA (Integrated Language Arts) we read books about Saints, pumpkins, and of course Pumpkin Soup!  We even tasted pumpkin soup on Friday, and I am so proud that first graders are willing to taste something new. We graphed the taste tasing results and I was shocked that most children liked the soup! 17 liked it, and 6 did not (2 said no thank you). This week we also worked on cards to our veterans and a beautiful American flag to hang in our hallway. God bless America and we wouldn’t be America without our brave veterans- thank you to everyone who serves our country.  Did you see the fun turkey assignment?  Please help that poor turkey hide from the farmer.  The children have already been sharing their creative ideas to disguise their turkey.  Next week they will write a story about their turkey.

In math we have been working on missing addends and fact families.  Fact families are a little challenging for a few students.  If you have time to practice at home (take a look at the papers coming home (look like houses) and give your child 3 numbers to make a fact family (1+3=4, 3+1=4, 4-1=3, 4-3=1). 

We really enjoyed celebrating All Saint’s Day!  We learned about St. Dominic Savio our classroom Saint, as well as so many more! We also had the opportunity to visit the Living Saint’s Museum to listen to the upper hall present their Saints.  They did a fantastic job! We also enjoyed our All Saint’s Day party on Friday afternoon!  It was a blast! Thank you to everyone for your generous donations and support. Teaching at St. Joseph’s is truly a gift. Please check out the website for pictures. https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

We are also the lucky hallway that will be participating in the Christmas show this year! I look forward to participating in “Behind the Manger Scenes” as a whole class.  Only a few speaking roles are available.  Abriella, Ezekiel, and Colin have accepted these parts.  I believe the rest of us are in the chorus. “There are no small parts, only small actors,” Konstantin Stanislavski.  We will rock the chorus!

Have a blessed weekend with your family!  Don’t forget to change the clocks back!

Upcoming Activities: Always Read In The Loop (they know more than I do)…

November 4- Fire Safety Program 1-3rd graders

November 5- Election Day -Please vote!

November 11- Veteran’s Day (family members who are veterans are welcome to join us 8am

November 12- Turkey Project Due (email if you have questions)

Weekly Newsletter for October 21

Whoo, Whoo had fun dissecting owl pellets today?! 1A is sure full of amazing scientists! It was fascinating to find those tiny bones in there.  Check out our website for photos! God is amazing! https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/home

This week we were not only scientists, but also mathematicians.  We worked on word problems, Rocket Math (let’s not talk about that confusion on my end- sorry, it’s all worked out now), and touched on algebra (yes, you read correctly). Ask your child if 2+A=3 what is A?

We also have talented authors in this room!  I hope you had an opportunity to read their rough drafts of their Exciting Autobiography! It came home for you to see the story and rubric – please sign and return it.  Our final copies are hanging in our hallway.  1A whips out stories in no time!  Our next writing assignment will be based on Thanksgiving and using an onomatopoeia (they love these too).

On top of all that, you are also raising saints.  In religion we are reading about God being a loving Father.  It is important for kids to learn and practice the art of grace.  We all make mistakes, and all deserve grace.  Your children are beautiful, forgiving, loving students! May God continue to bless them all.

Next week we are reading Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, celebrating All Saints Day, practicing math fact families, and taking a practice STAR tests (I need parent volunteers please, must have clearances). Our classroom saint is St. Dominic Savio. He consciously resolved to become a saint, and deliberately lived his life with sainthood in view. We will talk about him next week.

Thank you again for sharing your precious children with us at St. Joseph's School!  They are wonderful!  Have a blessed weekend with your family.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Thoman

 Many Upcoming events (check out In the Loop for accurate and up to date information)

10/25- Fall Fest tonight- 6:30-8:30pm

Jamaica Mission Team Collection: We are helping the team by collecting NEW socks, underwear, and undershirts for men, women, and children. Please send them to school with your children.

Disciple Maker Index Survey

If you are a parishioner of Saint Joseph Parish, please take the survey at this link. If you are a parishioner at a different Catholic Parish, you should use their direct link to take the survey.

 https://portal.catholicleaders.org/d/b832x5

10/29 STAR Testing – Math 10:00-10:55 – Volunteers appreciated! -Please let me know

10/31 STAR Testing -Language Arts 12:25- 1:15- Volunteers appreciated! - Please let me know

11/1 All Saint's Day Mass, Holy Day Recess

11/11 Veteran's Day Service at 8AM (family members who are veterans may attend)

11/15 End of First Trimester

11/17-11/24 Discover Catholic Schools Week

11/18 Potato Project and Dress Down (jeans and race shirts only-if students don't have jeans, they can wear their GYM PANTS)

11/21 Holy Hour

11/21 Book Fair Shopping for 1A

11/22 Pastries with Parents-for 30 minutes immediately following Mass in Homeroom

11/24 Open House at St. Joseph’s

Week of September 30 (Welcome October)1A’s Newsletter

Greetings!  We had a catch-up week this week.  We reviewed many skills in reading and completed many assignments that were in our “Finish Later” folders.  The most important accomplishment this week was writing our fist story about an apple. The stories were an introduction to the writing process.  The students brainstormed, drafted, revised, conferenced, and wrote a final copy.  I look forward to sharing them with you at conferences. Speaking of conferences, I look forward to sharing how your children are doing next week. I have a lot of information to fit in our time slots, so if you have any specific questions/concerns you would like to discuss please email me, so I can be prepared with that information.

In math we completed our second unit on Using Addition to Solve Subtraction Problems.  To be honest, it was not my favorite unit in this textbook.  It was difficult for most if not all first graders to grasp.  It’s always nice to expose students to different and challenging math concepts, but we are moving on to word problems in the next unit.  I love teaching word problems! 

Although there was no Mass or Adoration this week that certainly didn’t stop us from praying, learning new prayers, celebrating our guardian angels, learning new songs, and thanking God for all our blessings. We talked about God giving us rules (Ten Commandments) to follow so that we can all live happily with grace. We enjoyed learning about St. Frances of Assisi with our stuffed animal friends on Friday.  We also talked about perseverance during tough times and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Next week will be a short week and we will continue to practice skills we learned and read stories about fire safety. No lunch will be served on Wednesday or Thursday (noon dismissal), but we will have a snack time at around 11, so please send in a healthy snack. The following week we will be starting our FUN (Firing Up our Neurons) Time.  Your children have been placed in groups based on how they did on their assessments and what skills they need to focus on.  This information will be shared with you at our conference.  FUN time will occur for a ½ hour every morning Monday- Thursday and includes everyone in first and second grade (with additional learning support teachers so our group size can be smaller and more concentrated).  We will do the same idea with math skills soon.  God bless St. Joseph’s School for creating such an individualized program for our primary students. I love this school and more importantly my students!  Thank you for sacrificing to send your children here. 

Finally, thank you again to all the parents and volunteers who helped set up and support our Race for Education Day. What a huge success!  The children had a blast!  It was a great way to end a rainy week(s). It was also beyond exciting that Dominic won a fun breakfast party for our class! I will let you the details once I know them!  Thank you, Dominic, and the Hamberger family for sponsoring this party.  More pictures will be on our website soon. https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/whats-happening-in-1a

As always refer to the In The Loop for any clarifications or important information I may have missed:

They are selling snacks in the cafeteria occasionally.  These treats cost extra money.  Please make sure your child knows if and when they are allowed to buy extra snacks (some of these snacks are expensive).

10/9- Early dismissal at noon (no lunch served, send a healthy snack) Parent/teacher conferences

10/10- Early dismissal at noon (no lunch served, send a healthy snack). Parent/teacher conferences

10/11 – no school- Teacher in-service

10/14- no school- Columbus Day

10/15- Regular Uniform

Weekly Newsletter for 1A 9/13/2024

Happy Friday!  The class made it through their first full week of school and did it with great success! We do have some germs passing around and will continue to wipe our desks and wash our hands.  

I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during my daughter’s knee surgery.  It could not have gone better!  The surgeon said her body has done an amazing job fixing a huge hole in her cartilage.  She is on crutches for a bit but will be back to normal activities in just a couple of weeks!  I could not have prayed for a better outcome.  Thank you, God!  Amen. If you ever need prayers, please reach out to us or ask your child to share with us and we are always happy to pray together. God is the way.

We read about cowboys, horses, and wrote about them too.  I tried to individually conference with each student about their writing and how they can improve.  I am excited to start writing with this class.  They are very positive and have a lot to say- we will work to get it on paper and will start one sentence (with some details) at a time!

Math continues to practice addition.  Some students get it, and some need help.  This would be an easy thing for you to help them with at home, in the car, at dinner (maybe flash cards or just ask them) … Please have them practice writing the numbers too.  It’s ok to have reversals at this point in first grade.  Point them out, have them correct them, but then move on. The addition is more important than the number formation at this moment in time.  

We had our first official school Mass, and the students did very well.  They truly are a blessing! When you go to Mass, have them practice finding the page numbers in the music books- that is challenging.

Next week we are going to try STAR testing.  I’m planning on doing it between 10-10:50am M-F (no school on Wednesday).  If you have your clearances and are available, I would love your help!  We tried signing in today with the help of some parents that attended Mass.  It was difficult and frustrating, but most of us were successful. Your job as a volunteer (if you choose to accept this mission) will be to help me get them signed into STARS and walk around and supervise. Obviously, we can’t help them. 

Have a great weekend! Thank you again for your support and prayers.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Thoman

STAR Testing- week of 9/16 and 9/23

No School- Wednesday, 9/18

School Mass- 9/20 8:30am

Please send in your Race for Education donations and papers!

Dear 1A Parents,

Although the week was short, it sure was packed!  It was nice seeing you at Back to School Night. If you missed it, most of the information is on my website. https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/home?authuser=0

I am very grateful to the parents and grandparents who were able to come in and create our bright and beautiful hallway of sunflower glyphs! Thank you again (we even made the SJY Facebook page)! I will be asking for volunteers throughout the year. Please make sure you have your clearances if you want to help. Coming up we have STAR testing. I have not given this test before, and may ask for a couple of parents to help me walk around and make sure everyone is on task as much as possible.   

Spanish Class: Mrs. Mullen is asking each student to please send in a spiral notebook (that’s why your child wrote “notebook” in their agenda book.  If you happen to have saved the 2 pictures I sent home from Spanish class, please send them back. If not, it's not a problem, I will give them new ones.  I did not realize they were to glue those pictures in their Spanish notebooks.  I’m learning!

This week we read The Bad Seed by Jory John and focused on what a character is.  We created characters and discussed some of our favorites characters from books, movies, and of course the Bible. Next week we will be reading about cowboys and continuing to work on reading and comprehension skills. It will be a fun week!

A few students asked to borrow the Beach Toys Vs. School Supplies story to read with their families.  Every night a different family gets a turn.  Please enjoy it when it comes to your house, then send it back to school the next day so the next family can get a turn.  

This week we also focused on capitalizing the first letter of each sentence.  “Capital letter, capital letter, starts a sentence every time.”  It's a great jingle- ask your child to sing it with you!

In math we are working on problem solving by combining different groups together. We also enjoyed a Fun Friday with various STEM stations for the children to explore! 

In religion we discussed why the Bible is so special.  We also read a beautiful story called The Animal Hedge, by Paul Fleischman.  It helped us understand more about God’s creations and how special everything He created is. God is good!

Upcoming events: Always read the In The Loop- they are extremely informative

September 11: Guidance lesson in the classroom.  Mrs. Thoman will be absent.  Mrs. Freed (a dear friend of mine) will be our substitute teacher. I will be back after lunch on September 12.

September 13: 8:30am school Mass. Adult paint night- have a fun night with your friends!

September 18: No school for students

1A Newsletter August 29, 2024

 Hello 1A Families!  It was another busy week in first grade. There are some pictures and a video on our class website! You can also see our special schedule (Gym is on Wednesdays).

https://sites.google.com/sjy.org/1awebsite/home

In reading this week Mrs. Thoman was able to pull most of the students to hear them read individually and to give a quick beginning of the year ‘site word’ survey.  I would like to start sending home some leveled books nightly for your child to practice. It will take a little time, but we are getting there quickly (thanks to your amazing children). We also read “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” together as a class.  The students worked on knowing the important details of the story.  We even tied in a STEM lesson, and they built a bridge for the goats to cross.  I think we have some future engineers here!

In math we completed the review packet and will be moving to the textbook next week. We talked about making 10 different ways. I also quickly showed the class when you add a number to 10 (just take the 0 away and place that number in its spot).  I was shocked how many caught on!  We have some math wizards in 1A.

In religion we were busy!  We had our first whole school mass event.  It was the Eucharistic Procession, and we said the rosary. To prepare for this event we read and learned about praying the rosary.

In social studies we have been learning to pay attention, practice positive self-talk, and following directions. 

We have also enjoyed getting to know each other with their adorable All About Me posters.  They are so proud to share their information with the class!  They speak very clearly too. Nice work!

Please remember to sign their agenda (planners) every night.  It's a nice way for us to communicate and as time goes on the students will be writing in them daily. We do have any homework yet.  When we do it will be written in the agendas and/or sent with a letter to explain the assignment.  Please continue to read with your child every night.

Upcoming Events (Always read “In The Loop”- they know what’s going on better than I do) 🙂:

Aug. 30 and Sept. 2: Happy Labor Day!  No school!

Friday, September 13, 8:30am : School mass (parents and family members are welcome). Our class is seated in the front left side if looking at the altar.

Friday, September 13, 6-8:30pm- Adults only Back to School Paint Night (flyer sent home)

September 4, 6:30-8:30: Back to School Night (adults only)

September 11: My daughter, Ava, is having knee surgery.  Mrs. Freed will be our substitute.  I will return on 9/12 (after lunch). Prayers appreciated.

1A Aug 23, 2024, Newsletter

Welcome to first grade! We had a blessed and busy first few days.  We are getting to know each other and learning our daily routine. Your children are amazing! I can’t believe how quickly they are getting into the groove. I am doing my best to keep up!

We have enjoyed many stories about friendship, sang Happy Birthday in Spanish (Feliz Cumpleaños a ti), and worked together to create our beautiful classroom rules based on MARY. We also started our beautiful religious program called Revealed God’s Plan for the Human Person.  The first lesson is that God created everything, and God said that it was good!  Amen! We also started our math program: i-Ready.

Today we talked and filled out a self-evaluation based on our first week and our Mary rules.  Your children are so amazing and know when they are working hard, and when they have to improve. I believe that having them evaluate themselves will motivate them to keep improving.  Remember, we are in 1st grade, and we all make mistakes, and we all deserve grace.  Everyone is off to a great start!  If there is a real concern, I will be in touch with you. 

Next week we will start sharing their All About Me posters, and I can’t wait to learn more about your children!  If their poster is finished, you're welcome to send it to school and I can store them for you. 

Ask your child to play our Morning Meeting game, Buzz!  It’s a lot of fun and works on math skills!  Jillian won both games on Thursday!  Go Jillian!  We also talked about being good winners and losers. 

I am hoping to start some reading/literature centers next week, as well as our handwriting program.

As always, I’m here for you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns.  Check out our website to see photos!  I’ll post some so you can see the action in 1A. 

I know- longest newsletter ever… sorry!  Do any parents make or have playdough?  I am hoping to have 25 individually bagged bags of about a 1/3 cup of playdough each bag.  Color does not matter (all the same would be best).  The children will use them as morning work to shape letters and improve their fine motor skills (pencil grip).  I would need a new batch every week (maybe if there are a few of us we can take turns).  After a week the germs make me worry, so we will toss them.  If you are interested, please email me and let me know. 

Have a blessed weekend with your family.

God bless you all,

Mrs. Thoman