First Grade

Class Schedule

2026-2027 First Grade Supply List

Please label the following supplies with your child’s name:

2 plastic two pocket folders (NO PRONGS PLEASE).   Plastic is more sturdy for daily use.   (Pockets across the bottom rather than right to left sides please.

1-1 inch binder (hard cover, will be sent home at the end of the year)

Binder dividers (Please insert them into the binder).  

2 packs of 24 count Crayola crayons 

1 pair of student scissors

Headphones (sent in a ziplock bag for storage)  Please no ear buds.  

1 coloring book AND 1 activity book with mazes, word searches, dot to dots, etc that students can complete independently

2 containers of play dough 

1 change of clothes including socks and underwear in a gallon size ziplock (gym uniform preferred)

The following items should not be labeled with name:  

2 Expo Markers (FINE TIP POINT/Skinny; similar thickness of beginner pencils, NOT ULTRA FINE PLEASE)

1 pack of napkins **

1 box of tissues  **

1 container of disinfecting wipes  **

1 container of Wet Ones or baby wipes  ** 

**Notice will be sent home if any of the above items or other things need to be replenished during the year.  

**In addition to the supplies listed we ask that each family send in $9.00 for our Scholastic News and Science Spin magazines.  Please send cash rather than checks.   

Things suggested for home:  

crayons

beginner pencils

scissors

glue sticks

dry erase markers & small dry erase board

Here is a list of information for parents to keep in mind about the school year. It will be edited/updated if needed throughout the year.  These are topics that will be discussed at Open House in the event that someone is unable to attend.

Uniforms:  Students must wear their BDMS school or gym uniform daily.  On school uniform days shirts are to be tucked in per the school uniform policy.  I will give students reminders about this as needed.  The best way to help your child adjust is to practice at home with tucking in shirts and buckling/unbuckling belts, which are also required on school uniform days.  

School Day: Children must be in school on time to avoid being marked late and miss out on class activities as we start with academics right away.  Running late occasionally happens, but please have students here on time.

End of the day: Dismissal will begin at approximately 2:25 pm.  We do work right up until the end of the day, so please try to schedule appointments after the school day is over. Any work missed because of an early pick up will be sent home the next day with a due date noted, and needs to be completed and returned. 

Snack time: We will have a morning snack around 8:15 am, based on our daily schedule. It is important that the children have a nutritious snack. Cookies, cakes, potato chips, etc. are not healthy snacks, especially at that time of day. Please choose fruit, yogurt, crackers, and other appropriate morning choices. Juice, water, or milk are allowed. Glass containers, candy, and soda are not allowed.

Dismissal changes: Please make sure information is up to date with School Dismissal Manager.  This is where all dismissal changes must be entered.  

Lunch Time: We eat lunch from 11:35-11:55.  It is extremely important that you remind children at home to eat in a timely manner.  Students are expected to eat at least half of their main item before switching to snacks.  

Birthdays Acknowledgements:  Birthdays will be celebrated at the end of the school day.    A small treat may be sent into school with your child, or dropped off at the front desk. A staff member will bring the items to the classroom.  Examples of birthday treats include:  cupcakes, brownies, cookies.  Other items that families should consider based the birthday child's preference should be items that are single packs per child for example:  fruit snacks or ice cream cups.  We do not use candles in the classroom for safety purposes.  We will enjoy the treat at the end of the day, to allow for academics to be completed without distractions.   Per school policy goody bags are not allowed to be given out.  Please keep goody bags for celebrations held outside of school.  

Absence from school:  Please keep absences limited to illness, or otherwise unavoidable reasons.  All absences may be entered into the School Dismissal Manager app that families use for dismissal reports.  By entering the absence through SDM, a note is not required to be sent in to school.  If you do not use SDM to report the absence, please send a note explaining your child's absence upon his or her return.  ***Vacations are an illegal absence.  Classwork missed during this time will not be sent home in advance.  It will be gathered for the student for his or her return.  Any makeup work we don't have time for in class will be sent home with a due date noted.  

Newsletters: A newsletter will be sent home monthly with information on events coming up, academics being covered, and other important information. This information will also be posted online. They will usually be sent home by the 5th of a month. Occasionally if there are special events or changes, an additional note or emails will be sent home when necessary.

Folders: Each child will have a folder for all papers, communication, etc. between home and school. All graded/completed assignments will be sent home in this folder. Homework packets will be sent in this folder. Any notes to school should also be included in the child's folder so that they are easy to find.  ***If sending in money for a dress down day in student folders, please have it in an envelope/ziplock style bag with the child's name and what they money is for.  Please do the same for any other school events such as bake sales.  This avoids money ending up lost or in the wrong place.  

Homework: Homework will be sent home in a packet format.  Packets will include reading/language arts, math, and spelling homework weekly. Some weeks may also include social studies or science review work.  The cover page will include all details about the assignments within the packet.  Please note I'm not perfect, if there are errors in the homework I'll send home notification regarding changes as needed.  If there is an error in the date, please remember that homework  is always due on Friday of each week unless otherwise noted.  This avoids making unnecessary copies, as homework is routinely due on Friday.  

Please do not have children complete the whole packet in one night, that is not what they are designed for. They are set up as a packet so that a little work is done each night. Homework assignments will cover material that has already been presented in class, so they are used as a review and should mostly be completed independently by children after directions have been read/explained.  No textbooks will need to go home for homework.  Homework in first grade is meant to be a way for students to build their confidence, and feel independent.  It is also meant to build stamina for students as they will have to complete homework in each grade.  

Behavior Management: There is a schoolwide set of expectations that are broken down into the BDMS rules.  They are displayed in every classroom setting that students use.  Our classroom follows these rules, and I explain them in grade one friendly language: 

Listen carefully. Follow directions the first time. Keep hands and feet to yourself at all times. Raise your hand and wait to be called on before speaking. Be respectful. Use kind words and actions with friends and adults.

For long term behavior monitoring, we have sticker charts in the classroom. For each day that a student is present and makes good choices, he or she will receive a sticker on his or her chart.   The focus is on making good choices.  When the sticker chart is full, the student will get to choose a prize from the box.  The toy is kept in the student's backpack and should not return to school.  

I will reach out to families via email or telephone if there is a concern regarding behavior.  If the issue occurs while the student is in a special or lunch, the teacher supervising will reach out via email, and will CC me so I am aware in the event that a family reaches out to me.  

If you ever have a question, please reach out via email.  I will respond as soon as I can.  Usually during the school week, you will hear back within 24 hours.  On weekends or holiday breaks the response may take longer, as I will not check as frequently.  

I truly look forward to forming a lovely class community with the children this year!

We are very excited about continuing with the Super Kids reading program that the children worked with in Kindergarten! The program includes a brief review of skills learned during the previous school year to help students recall information presented in the past. This review program also gives children who are new to our school a chance to meet the wonderful characters who help the students stay motivated and make real life connections to their learning.

This year, the students will be working on exciting new spelling patterns and developing comprehension, fluency, and grammar skills. They will be learning more about the Super Kids in our first grade units: Adventures of the Super Kids and More Adventures of the Super Kids. Another fantastic feature to this program is a new writing program that will help students connect to the characters and their experiences.

Students will be given various opportunities to work in a whole group setting as well as small groups so that individual learning needs and styles are addressed. Core curriculum will be presented in a large or whole group setting so that all students are able to enjoy the stories, activities, and lessons together. After core curriculum is presented, students will be given opportunities to work in smaller groups with guidance from the teachers to review presented sounds and skills in ways that help the students learn.

Small reading groups will be used to provide more individualized instruction to children using the Super Kids decodable readers. These mini lessons will focus on the Science of Reading components, needed to help students become successful independent readers.   Students will have opportunities to practice reading a text with expression independently as well as in groups. Small groups work with the teachers, while the other groups complete a series of tasks that involve reinforcement and enrichment of previously taught skills.  Other small groups will be focusing on writing instruction.  Students in neither group will be enjoying play time with motivating enrichment activities, centers, and games.  At this age play is very important to the learning process.  

The great thing about the reading program is that students are exposed to fiction and nonfiction literature. We will be incorporating the SUPER DUPER magazines into the curriculum to further develop reading skills as well as social studies and science. Students will discuss ways to identify differences between fiction and nonfiction text. These magazines are a great way to meet New York State Core Curriculum requirements involving expository text! Students will often be given writing assignments to reflect on information learned from SUPER DUPER magazines.

Writing is a huge part of the first grade curriculum. Everyday we will develop our writing skills, as they are so closely related to reading skills. Students will be writing daily through the use of handwriting practice, creative, and expository writing. We use journals to allow them to share what they have done on the weekends, for a nice warm up to each week. Students are also given a variety of expository writing assignments, based on current science, social studies, religion, or math topics. The class works as a team to complete graphic organizers to assist with getting ideas generated.   Topic and closing sentences are also discussed throughout the year.

Grammar becomes a big focus this year. We will learn the various parts of speech such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Use of apostrophe for contractions and to show possession is also focused on throughout the year. Students will practice editing sentences for basic things such as beginning capitalization, ending punctuation, and eventually move onto more complex corrections such as use of subject verb agreement.

Our approach to Math is "hands-on." We will use manipulatives to explore math concepts whenever possible. Some manipulatives we will use are unifix cubes, base 10 blocks, counters, and many other objects to count, estimate, problem solve, and develop math skills. Advanced skills in money and time will be covered as well as two digit addition and subtraction.  We have a strong focus in problem solving and complete "Problem of the Day" and "How Do You Solve It?" story problem activities that review skills worked on in class and help with enrichment in already mastered skills.

In Religion, we'll get to know the Holy Trinity, through first learning about God, and his creation.  We'll learn about the concept of 3 persons in 1 God.  Students will learn about the Holy Family and Jesus as a teacher and healer.  We'll practice and learn new prayers.  Prayers covered include:  The Sign of the Cross, The Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Guardian Angel, and others as appropriate to current learning.  We'll spend time learning about important church times such as:  Advent and Lent.  Students will learn through use of our Alive in Christ series, as well as through Bible stories and other appropriate sources.  

Our Science lessons involve the use of hands on activities whenever possible. We will study the various areas of science within the disciplines of life, earth, and physical science. Some specific topics covered: animals, weather, plants, and taking care of our planet.

Our Social Studies curriculum involves topics such as getting ready for school, families, communities, our country, work, and our world. Scholastic news publications will also supplement our Discovery Education curriculum.  Focus on geography, holidays, and other appropriate topics will be part of the curriculum this year.  

Below please find links that will assist with review at home:

http://www.abcya.com/

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/math/mc_practice.cfm?grade=1&

http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/phonics/student.cfm#grade1

http://more2.starfall.com/m/welcome/first-demo/play.htm?www=first_grade&

https://www.ixl.com/standards/common-core/math/grade-1

Spanish Links:

https://www.duolingo.com/

https://www.hellotalk.com/?lang=en

https://www.gusonthego.com/

https://www.learnsafari.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/spanish-animals-read-aloud-book-spanish-set-one/id1223256846?mt=11

http://Spanishdict.com

Suggested books:

The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing
First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
First Grade Here I Come by Nancy Carlson
If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

Most of these texts are suggested as ways to help the children as we adjust to changes from Kindergarten to first grade as they will be able to make connections to the literature. Please do NOT feel the need to purchase these books. Simply borrowing them from a local library or reading them at the bookstore is sufficient.

First Grade Writing Rubric