Happy short week! There is no school on Monday, October 12 (Indigenous Peoples' Day), and Tuesday, October 13 is Parent-Teacher Conferences (no school for students). We look forward to meeting with you! If you have not picked a time yet, please use the sign-up sheet your child's teachers sent.
Mid-term progress reports went home in backpacks on Friday, October 9. Many first graders received one, because first grade is the first year many students are taught certain subjects in English. Conferences are a great time to bring your questions. Our short guide explains what the report means.
The Book Fair opens Thursday, with a family shopping night on Thursday, October 15, from 4 to 6 pm. Details are under Coming Up below.
First Grade
Weekly Newsletter
Week of October 12, 2026
Hello 1st Grade Families!
School Year at a Glance
8/44
Week
146
school days remaining
This Month's Strong Start Theme
Respecting Differences
Coming Up
- Oct 13 Parent-Teacher Conferences — Tuesday, October 13. No school for students. Please use the sign-up sheet your child's teachers sent to pick a time.
- Oct 15 Book Fair — Thursday, October 15 to Thursday, October 22. Family shopping night: Thursday, October 15, 4:00–6:00 pm.
- Oct 20 Math Data Project Showcase — Tuesday, October 20. Families are invited to a science-fair-style showcase: first graders stand by their posters and answer your questions (in Spanish). Your child's teachers will send an invitation with the time on Friday, October 16. About the project
- Oct 29 1st Grade Birthday Celebration — Thursday, October 29, 2:45 pm. We celebrate our October birthdays! Healthy snacks to share are welcome (no candy, please).
- Oct 30 Professional Development Day No School
- Nov 2 Records & Wellness Day No School
- Nov 3 Election Day No School
- Nov 11 Veterans Day No School
- Nov 25–27 Thanksgiving Recess No School
Specials Schedule
1:30–2:15| Monday No School | Tuesday No School | Wednesday Day E | Thursday Day F | Friday Day A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartagena | | | 📚 Library | 🎨 Art | 🎵 Music |
| Colombia | | | 🎨 Art | 🎵 Music | 🔬 Science |
| España | | | 🎵 Music | 🔬 Science | 🏀 PE |
| DR | | | 🏀 PE | 🏀 PE | 📚 Library |
| Managua | | | 🔬 Science | 🏀 PE | 🏀 PE |
| Venezuela | | | 🏀 PE | 📚 Library | 🎨 Art |
Math News
We finished Module 1! This week starts a math data project: each team asks a question (favorite animals, colors, sports, or fruits), first in its own class and then in a partner class, and keeps track with tally marks. On Friday, teams draft a bar graph with questions about it. On Tuesday, October 20, teams present, and families are invited.
In the teacher's example, 10 students chose football and 5 chose baseball. How many more chose football? 10 − 5 = 5.
Key terms: data, tally marks, total, bar graph, more, fewer
Try this at home:
• Family survey: ask everyone at home one question ("Apples or bananas?") and keep score with tally marks.
• Count on a walk: tally cars by color. Which color has the most? How many more?
Day-by-day plan and more ideas: our Data Project family letter
Coming up, October 21: Module 2, Topic A, add-to and take-from word problems. Topic A Family Math letter
Module Module 2: Addition and Subtraction Relationships
Topic Data Project: Tally Charts and Bar Graphs
Lesson Project Days 1–3
Literacy News
SLA: This week students look back at the writing they have done in our maps unit, about their home, neighborhood, city, and country, and learn to revise and edit it. They reread each sentence to check that it makes sense, then check for a capital letter at the start, spaces between words, punctuation at the end, and spelling. At home, when your child writes anything (a list, a card, a note), ask them to read it back to you and check it the same way.
ELA: This week we zoom in on a country: Uganda, in Africa. We read This Is How We Do It, by Matt Lamothe, which follows one day in the lives of seven kids around the world, and focus on Daphine, a girl who lives in Uganda. Then students make their own "This Is How We Do It" page (how I go to school, how I learn, how I play, and what I do in the evening) and write one way their life is the same as Daphine's and one way it is different.
Reading at home: Please have your child read to you for at least 20 minutes a day, in both English and Spanish, and ask questions about what they read.
Ask Your Child About...
What question did your team ask for the data project? What did most kids choose?
When you check your writing, what do you look for?
What is one thing Daphine does that you do too? What is one thing that is different?
Words of the Week
Math
data datos tally mark marca de conteo total total bar graph gráfica de barras fewer menos
SLA
revisar revise editar edit mayúscula capital letter puntuación punctuation ortografía spelling
ELA
country país continent continente world mundo compare comparar contrast contrastar
ROARS
Congratulations to this week's ROARS students for showing outstanding character!
Cartagena Oscar L.
Colombia Melanie N.
España Noemy P.
DR Alanna P.
Managua Paloma G.
Venezuela Genesis T. S.