Ms. Heineberg's students : Our Collections

We began our Opinion Writing Unit. For their first lesson, first graders were asked to share a collection of objects or toys. Next, they had to rate which was the best in their opinion and justify with at least three reasons!

Lower School Update - January 30, 2018

Welcome Back

We were delighted to welcome all students and families back to school last Tuesday! We hope that 2018 will be a great year of learning and growth for us all!

Some big changes have occurred in the Lower School over the break. In particular, air conditioning is now set up in all classrooms. This is a welcome addition, particularly in the summer! We suggest having children bring a sweater to keep at school in case they feel cool in the classroom.

After School Activities

Another exciting semester of After-School Activities is on the horizon. Most of our Activities will remain with the same day/time, but there are a few exciting new options available. Here is the timeline for 2nd Semester Lower School After-School Activities:

Semester Two (revised) Activities Handbook	Sent to parents via email Thursday, February 1st
Online Registration	Opens: Friday, February 2nd at 4:00 pm Closes: Wednesday, February 7th at 8:00pm
Student Activity Confirmations sent to parents	Sent to parents via email by Friday, February 9th
Semester Two Activities Calendar	Begins the week of February 19th (After Carnival Holiday) Activities will finish the week of May 28th.

News from the Library

We look forward to welcoming British storyteller Clive PiG to Graded on February 9. He incorporates a huge collection of myths, legends, and fables into dramatic performances, often accompanied by music. He’s performed in schools in all corners of the globe, as well as sharing stories with children living on the streets and in a refugee camp. He’s also published two books of original tales and comic poetry. He’ll be sharing his love of stories with Lower School and Middle School students throughout the day. Parents are welcome to join performances at 8:15, 10:20, or 2:20.

Upcoming Important Dates

Feb. 9	LS Carnaval Assembly; Storyteller Assemblies
Feb. 12 - 16	No School - Carnaval
March 9	LS Community A Assembly (8:15am Auditorium)
March 16	LS Community B Assembly (8:15am Auditorium)
March 19/20/21	3rd Grade Field Trip to Republica do Lago
March 21	Half day of classes (students dismissed at 11:30am)
March 23	LS Community C Assembly (8:15am Auditorium)

Around the Lower School

Collections for Writing

As we begin our new unit on "Writing Reviews" the students should bring in a collection of small items in which they can talk about their favorite or least favorite. Having a collection allows the students to gather more reasons and details to explain their opinions. Starting this week students are welcome to bring in collections. Collection options could be pokemon cards, LOL dolls, TY stuffed animals, books, shoes, fun socks, movies, jackets, baseball cards, candies, spinners, sea shells, etc. If you have further questions please feel free to contact your teacher. We are excited to see what creative collections students will bring!

100th Day Project

Friday, Feb. 9th will be our 100th Day in first grade! Each first grader will make a 100th Day Project at home. (eg. 100 paper clips clipped together in groups, 100 favorite book titles grouped by genres, 100 math facts in columns of 10 on a poster board). All projects should have items that are grouped into 2's, 5's, 10's, 20's, or 25's.

This project is due Tuesday Feb. 6th so it can be displayed in the first grade hallway. Please keep in mind that although parents may help, this should be a child made project and small enough for the child to carry. On the  morning of Feb. 9th we will celebrate classroom rotation activities relating to 100.

Check out the examples below:

England's Writing On Demand

On Monday, the students will be taking a writing assessment which will help us identify our students strengths and needs for the next writing unit, Opinion Writing. Students will write an opinion piece about a topic they feel strongly about. They will write their opinion and give reasons why they feel that way. The students are allowed to bring in something from home (such as a favorite book or item) that they can use to write this piece. It is similar to the persuasive writing they did in kindergarten, if they attended Graded. Please help your child by discussing a favorite animal, food, toy, book, etc of theirs and have him/her give you reasons, to better prepare for Monday's assessment. Thank you for your continuous help and support.

Curriculum Update: Whats going on in First Grade

Literacy:  As we begin a new year, students will start with new reading and writing workshop units. The new reader’s workshop unit, “Readers have Big Jobs to do” has students focusing on fluency, phonics and comprehension. During writer’s workshop, “Writing Review” students will be learning to write opinion papers.

Math: Students will work on understanding and becoming ns proficient with addition and subtraction. They will investigate place value concepts for tens and ones, add 2-digit numbers, solve number stories, and be introduced to the “What’s My Rule?” routine.

Social Studies: Some students have completed the Social Studies Unit and had their Wax Museum. Other students are beginning to learn about the community workers at school

Science: Students will learn about living and non living things. They will learn that living things grow, breathe, need nutrients,reproduce, and die.

Portuguese PLA: Iniciaremos o projeto "Não Confunda", com o estudo da autora Eva Furnari e alguns de seus livros.

Portuguese PAL: We will conclude the study on vowel sounds and words in portuguese that start with vowels. Following that, we will read “Não Confunda”, by Eva Furnari and work with rhyming words.

Hello from Ms. Bobbie

Dear Families,

We hope you are doing well and enjoying the new year.  In October Graded hosted a parent coffee to discuss our school’s child protection policy.  At this presentation we shared that the school counselors would be delivering lessons on personal safety to all students in grades 1-12.  These lessons will be beginning in the upcoming weeks before Carnival.

The lessons are from the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA) Child Protection Program.  They are research-based, developmentally appropriate lessons designed specifically for the needs of students in international schools.  The lessons will cover age-appropriate information about personal safety, being assertive, and talking with safe adults.  These lessons will be delivered during regularly scheduled counseling classes by Ms. Bobbie Neubern (grades 1 & 2) and Ms. Heidi Pierce (grades 3-5). 

The curriculum will cover:

• Safe touch(es)
• Unsafe touch(es)
• Unwanted touch(es)
• Saying “no” and other safety steps
• Reporting to a trusted adult

These concepts are covered in a manner that allows for the depth of understanding and content to increase as students advance through the grades.  The information that is taught to your child will meet the developmental needs of your child’s age group to keep them informed and safe.

At Graded we realize that this curriculum is just a piece of what we all need to do to keep children safe. Research shows that young children retain skills when they are practiced and reinforced at home so please help your child review her/his learning by asking questions at home and reminding your child about safe and unsafe touch.

If you have questions or would like further information, please feel free to reach out to your child’s counselor for information. We can be reached at bobbie.neubern@graded.br or heidi.pierce@graded.br  We thank you for the continued support to keep Graded students safe both inside and outside the school setting.

Be well.

Bobbie and Heidi

Welcome Back

The First Grade Team would like to welcome everyone back from their Holiday break. We are all very excited to see everyone and we are ready for a great 2018 year! 

A few updates as we venture into the new year. 

• Tomorrow will be an A day so please make sure you check the specials. 
• We have new air conditioners! As the heat can be distracting this is a great improvement. The air conditioners can be an adjustment so please have students bring a jacket in case they get cold. 
• Thursday is a Brazilian Holiday so there is No School. 
• Friday we will continue school and it will be C day. 

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

The First Grade Team

Ms. Keane's December Events: Birthday and Restaurant

We had the chance to celebrate with Joao as his birthday was on December 15th. Happy December Birthday.

We also had the lovely time of putting on a picnic for our families. I know the students really enjoyed their roles of a restaurant community worker. Thank you to all those parents that attended.