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Welcome to the News page!
Communication is a key to any class. Under this section, you may find current and archived news and newsletters, upcoming events and important dates. The information will be ordered from the most recent to the oldest news.
September 15, 2014: 1st grade letters to parents (Red Words)
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This week we have begun working with “Red Words” during reading. “Red Words,” are non-phonetic words that do not follow the common rules of the English language and cannot be sounded out (i.e. are, the, as and what). We call them “Red Words,” as a warning to tell students not to try and sound them out. Therefore, we will be practicing memorization techniques in the classroom in order to memorize these tricky words. The “Red Words” will be on flashcards and kept in a plastic baggy inside your child’s reading folder that should be coming home every day. No more than 5 words will be introduced per week. The more familiar your child is with “Red Words,” the more pleasant their reading experience will be. I ask that you practice these words with your child at home as often as possible. The amount of flashcards will grow over the year but it is important to practice small amounts at a time not to overwhelm your child with too many words. There should be lots of repetition and review each week. Please contact me at j.steele@hackensackschools.org with any questions or concerns.
September 12, 2014: Reading Log Letter
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I have attached the reading log that I will be sending home for your child. It is very important that children get adequate reading time inside and outside of school. I ask that you try and read with your child or have your child read for at least 15 minutes per day. I will be allowing time in class for my students to use the classroom library to sign-out their books of choice for this daily assignment. They can also choose their favorite books from home. As for the reading log, please fill in the title of the book, the author’s name, the date, the time your child started and the time they ended, as well as initial under parent signature. I have printed an example on the attached form. Please contact me with any questions.
September 3, 2014: Welcome letter
Dear 1st and 2nd
graders, I am Ms. Steele and I will be your teacher this year for Literacy and Math. For some of you, I was your teacher last year and I was so happy to hear that I could have you in my class two years in a row. For those of you that are new to my class, I am very excited to get to know you and spend a wonderful school year together. I expect this year to be magnificent with a group like you. I would like my classroom to be fun, friendly, and comfortable. My hope is that each of you are excited to come to school and to my class every day. We will have a ton of fun this year with games, centers, explorations, celebrations, partner and group work, and more. We will work hard as well. We will work hard to become better readers, writers, thinkers, mathematicians, problem solvers and creators! This school year’s theme is, “Setting a course for Success,” and that is just what we are going to do in my class! Not only will I be teaching you, but you will be teaching me all year how I can become a better teacher. We will be working and learning together as a team and I hope that we can all help each other to be the best that we can be. I look forward to having each and every one of you in my class and hope that we can make this the best school year yet! J
Sincerely,
Ms. Steele
