St. Christopher School

     Mrs. Durant's First Grade class has had a very busy fall.  We are enjoying the wonderful autumn weather and are having so much fun on our fantastic playground.  The new landscaping looks great!  I wish I had a fraction of the childrens' energy!

     We enjoyed many fun activities in October.  Halloween is such an exciting time for children!  I would like to thank the generous parents who supplied our healthy treats on October 30th.  In November, we are learning about saints and the importance of being thankful for the truly special things in our lives.  We are learning that it's the immaterial things in our every day lives that we should appreciate most.  December is almost here.  This month proves to be the most exciting month for children.  We are practicing hard for our Christmas concert.  I just love the sound of the childrens' voices!  We will be sharing our music skills at our Christmas show on December 10th at 10:30 A.M.  Please set aside an hour to share this special time with your child.  We will also be participating in many fun Christmas activities in the classroom.  A few special items will be making their way home next month.  I hope that you enjoy them.

     Deacon Al has visited both first grades three times, with another visit planned for mid December.  He shares such meaningful stories with us.  We truly enjoy his monthly visits.

     We are working very hard on our newly acquired reading skills.  I am very impressed with how well we are doing with our reading vocabulary.  We have come so far in just a few short months.  We should keep practicing our words and continue reading for fun at home. In math, we are concentrating on learning our addition facts.  The children love participating in math games.  We will continue to perfect this skill throughout the year.  In December, I will introduce subtraction and the skill of "counting back" instead of "counting on".  This will be a bit more challenging.  To reinforce your child's newly acquired skills, keep working on flash cards at home.  I will be sending home subtraction flash cards in January.

     I will be updating our "news" in January.  I truly wish you all a wonderful holiday season.  These are special times you can never duplicate - so enjoy every "now" moment.

     Happy Thanksgiving  and  Merry Christmas !!      Mrs. Durant

     Mrs. Durant's class is adjusting extremely well to First Grade. We have been very busy and are trying to remember our rules and schedules.

     Nightly homework is a challenge but most of us are doing quite well with this responsibility. We must try to remember to pack our homework assignment each afternoon and return it to school the next day! Remember parents -- this should be your child's responsibility.

     We have started our Reading classes and Spelling lessons. Nightly review is a must! Parents -- I suggest purchasing a small plastic bin (approximately shoe size) to store the numerous materials that I will be sending home throughout the year. These items are important in maintaining the skills taught in first grade.

     The weather has co-operated with our enjoying the outdoors. We have truly enjoyed making new friends and playing on our new playground. Not only will we be able to use it on Thursdays (our regular day), but Mr. D. said that we can now share it on Wednesdays with Mrs. Moore's class.

     I am looking forward to a wonderful year with your children. Please feel free to contact me (via the homework sheet) with any concerns. Remember to contact me if you have not signed up for the November conference.

     Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!