Thank you to everyone who came to Back to School Night on Thursday! We enjoyed meeting so many of our first-grade families, and we look forward to working together this year to help our students grow.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins this Tuesday, September 15. This year's theme is "Together We Are Stronger / Unidos somos más." Through October 15 we will be celebrating the cultures, languages, and stories that make our Bancroft community what it is, and the whole school comes together for a family celebration on Friday, October 9, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. We can't wait to share it with your children.
Also this month: our first 1st Grade Birthday Celebration is Thursday, September 24, for all our August and September birthdays. See Coming Up below for details.
First Grade
Weekly Newsletter
Week of September 14, 2026
Hello 1st Grade Families!
- Sep 15 Hispanic Heritage Month begins — September 15 to October 15. This year's theme: "Together We Are Stronger / Unidos somos más."
- Sep 24 1st Grade Birthday Celebration — Thursday, September 24. We celebrate our August and September birthdays! Birthday celebrations happen on the last Thursday of every month.
- Oct 9 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration — Friday, October 9, 6:00–7:30 pm. A schoolwide family celebration at Bancroft. More details to come!
- Oct 12 Indigenous Peoples' Day No School
- Oct 13 Parent-Teacher Conferences (No School for Students) No School
- Oct 30 Professional Development Day No School
- Nov 2 Records & Wellness Day No School
- Nov 3 Election Day No School
Specials Schedule
1:30–2:15| Monday Day C | Tuesday Day D | Wednesday Day E | Thursday Day F | Friday Day A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartagena | 🏀 PE | 🏀 PE | 📚 Library | 🎨 Art | 🎵 Music |
| Colombia | 🏀 PE | 📚 Library | 🎨 Art | 🎵 Music | 🔬 Science |
| España | 📚 Library | 🎨 Art | 🎵 Music | 🔬 Science | 🏀 PE |
| DR | 🎵 Music | 🔬 Science | 🏀 PE | 🏀 PE | 📚 Library |
| Managua | 🎨 Art | 🎵 Music | 🔬 Science | 🏀 PE | 🏀 PE |
| Venezuela | 🔬 Science | 🏀 PE | 🏀 PE | 📚 Library | 🎨 Art |
Math News
This week your child learns to count on to add. Instead of counting every dot on two dice, they start with the part they already know and count on from there: "Fiiiive, 6, 7." Starting with the larger part is faster, but counting on from either part gives the same total.
Key terms: count on, doubles (5 + 5), unknown (the number we are trying to find)
Try this at home — Let's Count On: Set out two small groups of objects, like coins or blocks, and ask:
• "How many are in this group? Can you count on from there to find the total?"
• "What if you start with the other group? Do you get the same total?"
For more details and at-home activities, see the Eureka Math Family Math letter: Topic B: Count On from a Visible Part
Literacy News
SLA: This week we are exploring maps of our city. Students will read fiction and informational texts, talk about what different cities look like, and write to answer the question: What does a map of my city look like? At home, keep practicing the names and sounds of the letters in Spanish, and have your child practice writing their first and last name.
ELA: This week we will take our ELA i-Ready test, the last of our beginning-of-year i-Ready assessments. In addition to i-Ready, we continue our unit on Maps, focusing this week on the seven continents. At home, talk about the continents together: Which one do we live on? Which one would you like to visit?
Reading at home: Please make time for your child to read to you for at least 20 minutes a day, in both English and Spanish, and ask them questions about what they read. Strong reading habits now will help them grow into confident learners.
Ask Your Child About...
Words of the Week
ROARS
Congratulations to this week's ROARS students for showing outstanding character!
Cartagena 
Colombia 
España 
DR 
Managua 
Venezuela