November 2025

November 4th - Election Day- NO SCHOOL

November 6th- Parent Teacher Conferences- HALF DAY OF SCHOOL

November 11th- Veterans Day- NO SCHOOL

November 12th - Student of the Month (October)

November 20th - Hispanic Heritage Celebration (More information to follow)

November 21st - Spirit Day! - Career Day!

November 26th - Tiger Family Morning (Upper)

November 27th and 28th - Thanksgiving- NO SCHOOL

Book of the Month 📚

This is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyqghheog-s

Native American Heritage Month!

Native American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the rich cultures, traditions, and achievements of Native Americans.

Click on the link below to teach your child about Native American Heritage Month:

https://youtu.be/QXBNCX4Och8

Fundations

In Unit 3, First Graders will learn to read and spell words with consonant digraphs sh, ch, th, wh, and ck. These digraphs have two letters that "stick together" to make one new sound. They will also continue to learn about sentence structure with capital letters at the beginning of the sentence, finger spacing and ending punctuation.

Sound Drill

Estrellita (CLASS 103 ONLY)

Dual Language students will continue working with syllables with a (ma, ta, sa..) to form two and three syllable words.

Sonidos iniciales

Reading

First Graders will continue to focus on the essential question: How does everyone in my family and community make them special?

First graders will continue reading and analyzing texts about communities and how the people who live there, including family members, work together to make it better for everyone. Some reading skills they will continue practicing are text organization, retell, setting, summarization, as well as text features.

Writing

As they prepare to publish, First Graders will continue learning how to write descriptive essays about various places they know in their community/world using sensory words and their five senses. Students will continue to revise their writing piece , edit their written work, as well as publish a final essay.

Math for Classes 102, 104, and 105

First Graders are learning about using strategies such as counting back to solve a subtraction equation. They are also learning about using strategies such as counting on, counting all, and/or using a number line to solve an addition equation.

Math for Classes 101, 103, and 106

First Graders in 101, 103, and 106 will continue to explore and solve addition and subtraction story problems. Students will solve Compare and Difference Unknown story problems, reinforcing their understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction. They will also revisit problems comparing quantities using the language "how many more?" and "how many fewer.?"

Try This! Near the end of the unit, ask your first grader to solve the following word problems:

Clare has 8 pencils. Andre has 10 pencils. How many more pencils does Andre have?

Diego has 6 pens. His mother gives him some pens. Now he has 9 pens. How many pens does Diego's mother give him?

Read at home!

Make sure your child reads for 20 minutes a day. Ask your child about the stories they read; who are the characters, what is your favorite part, what was the story about?

Students in class 103 should be reading in English and in Spanish!

Check your child's homework folder!

Check your child's homework folder every day for important notices.

Wear sneakers from gym!

Students should be wearing sneakers for gym. If you're not sure, double check with your teacher(s) which day your child has gym.

Try at home

Talk with your child about the things they do in school. Have them speak in a complete sentence, "In school, I _________."

Have your child practice writing simple sentences, remembering to capitalize the first word and end the sentence with punctuation.

Count forward and back 1-20.

Mr. Schorr (Music): November is "Guitarvember" in The Chamber of Rock. We will learn about the role of guitars in different music styles and traditions. We will also be learning about accents (making some rhythms louder) and crescendo/diminuendo (music getting gradually louder and softer). We will explore our voices, and how to make long and short, low and high sounds with them. We will explore the pitches 'do re mi.'

Ms. Gursoy & Mr. Meehan (Physical Education): This month, we will begin our Basketball Unit. We will work on skills such as dribbling, passing, shooting, and some defense. We will practice these skills in a variety of group games.

Mr. Hanratty (Art):First graders will be looking at and making art that portrays families and communities. Students will learn to portray people in different materials and will make their own family or community scenes.

Ms. Brill (Art): First grade artists will learn about animals how their bodies help them (camouflage, warmth, etc.). Elements of art like texture will be studied to represent characteristics such as scales and fur.

Ms. Bakalac (Science): 1st grade scientists have started the first unit of study called Structures and Behaviors in Living Things. Students are learning about living and non-living things. We are talking about plants, the parts of plants and how these parts help them grow. To support your child at home, read books together about plants and be on the lookout for flowers growing in gardens when you are outside.

Mrs. Birshtein (Technology): In technology we will be continuing to learn about Digital Citizenship and how we can be great digital citizens.

Mrs. Randazzo, Mrs. Palanca, Mrs. Kalin, Mr. Díaz, Mrs. Messineo, Mrs. Groll, Ms. Harrilall, Ms. Cai, Ms. Mainolfi

November 2025