Liquids Exploration

This week in science we were engaged in some really fun stations.  We were studying and exploring the properties of matter with a focus on liquids! 

First Grade News September 11th - September 15th

What We're Working on This Week:

First Grade Curriculum:

Language Arts 

This week in Language Arts we will continue our spelling review of short vowels.  We will focus on words with the short i sound.  Look for your child's new spelling list to come home on Monday! In writing we will learn how to add a topic sentence and first, next, last to our writing.  We are also focusing on spelling our word wall words correctly and getting rid of "random capital letters" throughout our writing!  

Social Studies

In Social Studies we continue our unit on Citizenship and Rules! We will discuss the rules of home and school as well as being a good citizen! We have been working on our books about being a good citizen!

Math

This week we will be exploring our place value system and how to represent numbers. We will learn about the ones, tens, and hundreds place. This week our first graders will be exploring these concepts in small group guided math, partner math games, and math stations. We will also be starting to add some things to your child's SeeSaw account- so be on the lookout for some great learning! 

Science

 We will be exploring LIQUIDS this week! We will learn about how to classify liquids according to their properties. Some of the properties we will discuss are how liquids can be bubbly or foamy, how some liquids flow quickly and some are viscous, and how liquids can be transparent, translucent, or opaque. If you want to continue learning at home, ask your child about some of the properties of liquids around your home like soap, shampoo, milk, juice, etc!  

Important Dates:

September 1st - September 29th - TCE Write A Check Campaign
Friday, September 15th - TCE Spirit Event at TCBY Yogurt 3:30 - Close 

September 18th - September 22nd - Fall Book Fair in TCE Library
Friday, September 22nd - Special Friends Day 1st Grade Friends at 1:30 - 2:30
Friday, September 22nd - Fall Family Picnic at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, October 6th - Fall Parent / Teacher Conference Day (no school for students)
Monday, October 9th - Columbus Day -- No School!

From the Library:

Share your talents and join us in creating memories for our learners! Our TCE Book Fair is right around the corner and we're looking for volunteers to help make it a huge success. Please sign up at: tinyurl.com/TCEBF17

First Grade Curriculum Night

Curriculum Night - Presentation & Information

Hi Wonderful First Grade Parents!  We so enjoyed having so many of you come out last night to hear about the first grade curriculum and important information.  If you were not able to come please do not worry!  Below you will find our presentation and a handout that we gave that shared our contact information!  Please let us know if you have any questions!

We are truly looking forward to a great year!!

Click here to view the presentation

First Grade News September 5th - September 8th

What We're Working on This Week:

First Grade Curriculum:

Language Arts 

This week in Language Arts we will continue our focus on writing and working in our journals.  We are also starting our beginning of the year language arts assessments so that we can get students into reading groups and begin working one on one and in small groups to meet individual  needs.  Students have learned about Literacy Stations and have begun going to them each day!  This is a fun way for them to work together with others and have some independent practice on skills we have focused on in class! 

Social Studies

In Social Studies we continue our unit on Citizenship and Rules! We will discuss the rules of home and school as well as being a good citizen! We have been working on our books about being a good citizen! 

Math

This week we will be learning all about efficient ways to count. We will become experts in counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. We will also be diving deep into place value and our number system. This week our first graders will be exploring these concepts in small group guided math and math stations. 

Science

This week we will be continuing to explore all about matter! We are learning all about how to sort and classify solids according to their properties. We will also be taking a visit to our school garden to sort and classify solids we can find outside of the classroom! 

Important Dates:

Monday, September 4th - Labor Day- No School!

Thursday, September 7th- Fall Picture Day
September 18th - September 22nd - Fall Book Fair in TCE Library
Friday, September 22nd - Special Friends Day / Fall Family Picnic at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, October 6th - Fall Parent / Teacher Conference Day (no school for students)
Monday, October 9th - Columbus Day -- No School!

Service Learning Book Drive:

The 5th Grade Students are hosting a gently used book drive to collect books for schools and libraries that were impacted by Hurricane Harvey!  Please feel free to clean out your at home libraries and send in any books that you would like to donate! Thank you!

Math / Science Highlights

Here are a few pictures to highlight some of our free exploration opportunities in Math and Science during the first two weeks of school!  We hope you enjoy them!!

1st Grade News: August 28th - September 1st

What We're Working on This Week:

First Grade Curriculum:

Language Arts 

This week in Language Arts we will be reviewing some of the skills we focused on in Kindergarten! We have been talking about "What Good Writer's Do" and traits of good writers as well as reviewed our lowercase letter formations. We will continue to focus on these areas and begin writing in our journals daily. Below you will find the proper letter formations for our handwriting curriculum as well as a copy of our "Writer's Check List." Learners are responsible for re-reading their work and checking each item on the list.

 

We have also begun an author study on Author / Illustrator Kevin Henkes! He has written so many wonderful children's books! We have loved reading about Chrysanthemum and Lilly and all his other beloved mouse characters! We are discussing the elements of character, setting, problem and solution as we read!

Social Studies

In Social Studies we will begin a new unit on Citizenship and Rules! We will discuss the rules of home and school as well as being a good citizen!

Math

We will work on understanding our number system by subitizing, skip counting, and representing numbers. We will be applying this skills with a new number of the day and number talks each day. They will be working with partners and groups to explore these new concepts.

Science

This week we will continue our learning on science safety and science tools. We will also begin exploring all about the properties of matter. Our first graders will learn ways to sort and classify solids and liquids according to their properties.

Important Dates:

Thursday, August 31st - 1st grade Curriculum Night 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Monday, September 1st- Labor Day- No School!

Thursday, September 7th- Fall Picture Day

*Curriculum Night is a special night for parents only where we get a chance to share our curriculum with you and some school policies and procedures. We will also have a chance to answer some questions you might have! 1st grade will meet in the cafeteria at 5:30 p.m. 

Meet the First Grade Teachers!!

Welcome to Town Center Elementary 

First Grade!!!

Meet The Teachers: 

(from left: Lorri Brehm, Courtney Rice, Lauren Torti, Kim Becker)

Lorri Brehm -  Welcome to 1A!  I teach Math and Science to 1A and 1B.  This is my 18th year in Coppell ISD and my 21st year in education.  I grew up in Dallas, Texas and currently live in Carrollton/Farmers Branch with husband, Joe.  I am so excited to be teaching first grade and sharing TCE with my grandson, Callen, who is in kindergarten here this year!

Courtney Rice - Welcome to 1D!  I teach Math and Science to 1C and 1D.  This is my 5th year at Town Center Elementary and in education.  I am from Spring, TX originally, but I'm so happy to be here in Coppell! I've taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade here at TCE, and I am so happy to back in 1st grade! It's going to be such a great year! 

Lauren Torti - Welcome to 1B!  I teach Language Arts and Social Studies to 1A and 1B.  This is my 17th year in education and my 14th year at Town Center! I grew up in Plano, Texas and now I live here in Coppell with my family and I love teaching!

Kim Becker -  Welcome to 1C!  I teach Language Arts and Social Studies to 1C and 1D.  This is my 26th year in education and my 14th year at Town Center.  I am originally from Temple, Texas and my daughter Blaire and I moved to Coppell in 2004.  I am so happy to be back in the classroom for the second year in a row after being a literacy specialist for the previous nine years.  It's going to be a great year!