Dear Parents,

Here's hoping you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends! With the arrival of Advent, we have much to look forward to. We will be doing all sorts of activities to prepare our minds and hearts for the coming of Jesus.

As you know our school is accepting donations for the Open House Outreach Center. Your gifts will go to low-income senior citizens and handicapped persons living alone. What a great opportunity to teach your child about the gift of giving to those who are less fortunate!

We visit Santa's Secret Shop tomorrow, at 1:00 p.m. Every year I watch my first graders give a great deal of thought to their selections. To help them with their shopping, please make use of the envelope that was sent home last week indicating how much your child is allowed to spend and on whom.

We are very excited about our trip to see The Wizard of Oz this coming Friday. I trust that you all received the note that was sent home last Friday regarding chaperones. Unfortunately, we can only take eight parents with us, two of which will ride the bus. All others will follow in cars. Parents are to meet us at school by 8:45 a.m. The children are to wear their uniforms and don't forget to pack gym clothes. We will have gym immediately after lunch.

Have a great week!

Ms. Kopilchack

Now, for a look at this week's activities:

Reading/Writing
We begin level three of our reading series this week. The stories we'll read are more challenging, as are the skills we are introduced to.

So far we've published two class books. We'd love to share them with you next time you visit our classroom.

Phonics/Word Wall Activities
We continue with the short vowel u this week. Next week we'll start on short o followed by short e. We should complete our short vowel sounds before Christmas break.

Our word wall continues to grow and has become a valuable resource for our writing activities.

Math
We continue learning subtraction facts and strategies. Please practice both addition and subtraction facts at home.

Science
This week we'll take a look at water as a solid, liquid, and gas.

Religion
Like Jesus as a young boy, we are curious about many things. We are writing, "1st Grade Questions for God," which will be published as a class book.

We will also learn about Advent in order to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Homework - Study spelling words, attached activities.