Mrs. Teresa Pierce
Mrs. Pierce was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington. As a youth and young adult member of All Saints Parish in Puyallup, she was active in the C.Y.O., religious education program, and the folk choir. She earned her A.A. degree from Pierce College and her B.A. degree from Western Washington University. As a substitute teacher, Mrs. Pierce worked with students in Pre-K through 8th grade, with a focus on the primary grades. She is happy to be teaching first grade at Our Lady Star of the Sea School. Mrs. Pierce lives in Gig Harbor with her husband. She enjoys singing, cardmaking, scrapbooking, and reading new children’s books.
First Grade News
May 2012
Here are some of the topics we’ll be studying this month…
Religion: Mary, being followers of Jesus, Heaven, Mass
Reading: Our current theme is Being Afraid. We’ll continue to work on a variety of vowel combinations in words (oo, ea, ow, oa, aw, ough, etc.), fluency, comprehension strategies and skills, parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives), contractions, rhyming words, and other reading skills.
Math: Addition and subtraction facts through 20, addition of two-digit numbers.
Social Studies: Symbols of our country, Australia
Science: Sea life, with a focus on fish and sharks
Dates to remember:
May 13 Happy Mother’s Day!
May 24 Field trip to Pt. Defiance Zoo
May 28 Memorial Day – No School
Library:
We only have a few more check-out days at the library. All books are due on May 30, our final library visit. Please help your child remember to return his or her books each week. Thank you.
Field Trip:
We are scheduled for a field trip to Pt. Defiance Zoo in Tacoma on May 24. Permission slips were sent home with more details. Please return them promptly with the correct payment of $7.88. This is the school discount rate for this time of year. You may pay cash or write a check made out to Our Lady Star of the Sea School. * I can take 8 drivers/chaperones. Several people have already expressed an interest in driving or being an extra chaperone. I do my best to combine everyone so that no one is driving on their own. This keeps the class together and makes it much easier to manage overall. Thanks for understanding.
Like any school field trip, this is just for the students in our class, so no siblings or guests are to come along. This is school policy. I will let you know as soon as possible if you will be needed as a driver/extra chaperone. After you are confirmed as a volunteer, you will also need to pay the cost of $7.88 before the field trip. Again, remember that all volunteers need to have a background check, proof of the Safe Environment Program training, and driver information sheet (if driving) on file with the office. Proper insurance coverage is required for those who drive. Keep in mind that we will be crossing the Narrows Bridge, which has a $4 toll (if you don’t have a Good To Go pass).
We plan to leave Bremerton at 9am and return by 2:30pm. All participants will need a fully disposable lunch on that day. We will not be buying food there. The students may wear jeans or the uniform shorts, but they need to wear their uniform shirts, uniform sweatshirts, and comfortable walking shoes. Let’s hope for nice weather!
This can be a fun and educational field trip, since it is an extension of our animal units that we studied this year. We will be representing Our Lady Star of the Sea School, so we MUST use appropriate behaviors at all times. We will talk about this often before May 24! Your help in this area will also be appreciated.
Australia Unit:
We’ll be learning about Australia for a Social Studies unit. For the school’s Cultural Fair (June 4-6), our class will be presenting some of this information about (and doing activities related to) Australia on June 6. If you have any creative ideas or items that can be displayed, please let me know later in the month. Thanks.
March 2012
Happy March! Here are some of the topics we’ll be studying this month…
Religion: The Ascension, the Holy Spirit, Lent
Reading: Review of short and long vowels, antonyms, pronouns, fluency; continue to work on comprehension strategies and skills.
Math: Addition and subtraction facts through 12
Social Studies: “Everything Changes” – Learning About the Past, The First Americans, Family Life: Past and Present, Going to School Long Ago
Science: Air and Weather (FOSS kit)
We will continue to review contractions, compound words, ABC order, vowel pairs, and word endings. We have daily opportunities for reading silently and aloud. We’ll be trying to increase our use of the Accelerated Reader Program. Students read a leveled “AR book” (usually from the school library or our classroom), then take a short comprehension quiz about it on the computer.
This is the last month to earn Pizza Hut certificates for the Book-It Program, as their program ends each year on March 31. Students are still expected to read as part of their homework each day and record the book titles on the homework sheets. I will have another monthly “reward” for those students that turn in their completed and signed reading logs (on the homework sheets) during the remaining months of this school year.
Dates to Remember:
March 2 End of Second Trimester
March 9 Report Cards go home (please sign, date, and return the empty envelope)
March 23 No School (Teacher In-Service)
First Grade News
February 2012
Happy February! Many blessings to you all during this month of friendship and love. Here are the highlights for what we’ll be learning and doing this month…
Curriculum Notes:
Religion: Our textbook chapters will be: We Believe in Jesus, Jesus Dies For Us, Jesus Was Raised To New Life, Jesus Begins the Church. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22.
Reading: The new unit’s theme is Journeys. The Phonics lessons will focus on words with oo, aw, kn, -er, -est, oi, and wr. We will have lessons on commas and contractions. There will be continued practice in comprehension strategies and skills, rhyming, classifying, alphabetizing, and other skills. We have many opportunities for silent and oral reading practice each day, but the children should still be practicing at home as well.
Math: Topics this month include counting and writing numbers 0-120, telling time to the hour and half hour, and counting money.
Science: We will focus on dental health, healthy habits, and nutrition.
Social Studies: We’ll continue with the unit on World of Work, and learn about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Catholic Schools Week: January 29 – February 3: There was info about this week’s events in the Friday Folder last week. We’re collecting food for St. Vincent’s (with a challenge to earn a free dress day for all). Today was Slipper Day. The school concert is Tuesday night at 6:30pm. We expect everyone to be on their best behavior. At 2:30pm on Wednesday we’ll watch the staff vs student volleyball game. Thursday is Hat Day, Tag Day (free dress for $1), and the end of the food drive. On Friday at 2pm we’ll watch the spelling bee. It will be a busy and fun week!
We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, February 14. If you choose to send valentines with your child on this day, please include one for everyone in the class. We have 16 students total. Your child should sign his/her own name on the valentines. Here is the class list:
Ava Joshua Alex Eme Mrs. Pierce
Bryce Thomas Sean Robbie Maggie
Catherine Brock Gavin Karrington
Layla Brooke Miles
The 100th Day of School will be celebrated on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Please see the attached note for important information about this special day. We will be doing extra counting, sorting, and graphing. There is a homework assignment and an afternoon event with fun activities planned.
Field Trip: We have a field trip scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 7. We are walking to Bremerton High School to see the Bremerton Symphony Youth Concert. Grades 3-8 are also going. We’ll leave school about 9:15 and return around 11am. I can have 3 parent volunteers walk with us and stay for the performance. If you’re interested in attending, please let me know in writing as soon as possible. Permission slips were sent home last week and are due by this Thursday. Thank you.
Reminders:
Library books are due every Wednesday!!
Feb. 10: Grandparent’s Day. They may visit the classroom after 9am Mass.
Early dismissal at noon. No lunch will be served.
SCOPE Auction tonight!
There is no school on Friday, Feb. 17 and Monday, Feb. 20.
As always, read the Friday Folder notes and homework sheets for additional info and details about upcoming events. Thank you.
First Grade News
January 2012
Happy New Year! I hope you had a safe and fun holiday season. Thank you again for the nice cards and gifts. May you find peace and joy in the year ahead.
Here is just some of what we’ll be learning this month:
- Religion: We’ll talk about Epiphany this week. Our textbook chapters for January are: Jesus Grows Up, Jesus Begins His Work, Jesus Tells the Good News, and Jesus Does Wonderful Things.
- Reading: The new unit’s theme is Weather. The Phonics lessons will focus on words with long vowel combinations such as ee, ea, oa, ai, ay, and igh. We’ll review adjectives, verbs, and compound words. Silent and oral reading opportunities are still a part of our daily schedule.
- Math: Topics for the month include place value to 100, ordering and comparing numbers, and number patterns. We’ll also begin taking one and two-minute timings on addition facts.
- Science: Our big unit for January is penguins.
- Social Studies: We’ll learn about Our Country, Our Country’s Neighbors,Needs and Wants, Goods and Services, Martin Luther King, Jr., and India.
Student of the Week:
- January 9-13………….Joshua
- January 17-20………..Brock
- January 23-27………..Maggie
- January 30-Feb. 3…..Gavin
Reminders: There is no school on Monday, January 16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day).
Catholic Schools Week is January 29-February 3. There will be a pancake breakfast on Sunday and the school’s Winter Concert on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Please watch for more details regarding these and any other special events that may be taking place that week.
The cold and wet weather is upon us! Please make sure your child wears a coat to school, as sometimes we are outside during a light rain.
Library books are due on Wednesdays (our library day), but I encourage the students to return them to class on Tuesday. Our class seems to have about four missing books every week (one week it was seven!). I’m still hoping for the day when every child has his/her library book to return on time. Please help your child remember to return his or her book each week so others may check out the book. This will also aid in avoiding library fines for lost books. Thank you.
First Grade News
November 2011
Here is just some of what we’ll be learning this month:
- Religion: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, the saints
- Math: Addition and subtraction facts through 10
- Science: Continue the FOSS kit on “Pebbles, Sand, and Silt”
- Social Studies: Our Earth, land, and water, Pilgrims, Native Americans
- Reading/Phonics: Unit 3 – “Things That Go”; singular, plural, and possessive nouns; short vowel sounds; words with ch, sh, th, or wh; and other reading skills
Student of the Week:
- Nov. 7-10 – Bryce
- Nov. 14-18 – Ava
- Nov. 28-Dec. 2 – Catherine
The Saints Museum was a successful event overall. Thank you again for your time and help in getting the students ready for this big event. The costumes were great! I’m very proud of how well the students did on reciting their scripts. Everyone I talked to seemed very impressed as well. Bravo!!
Thanksgiving Basket: Each class will be collecting food for a “Thanksgiving Basket” that will be donated to a local family in need. We should be receiving more information about this project very soon. Thanks, in advance, for your generous support of this school-wide project.
Fall Weather: Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate clothing for the cold and/or wet weather (sometimes we are outside during a light rain), and that all daily attire follows the uniform code. Names should be in all sweatshirts and sweaters, etc.
School Calendar: There is no school on Friday, November 11 due to Veterans Day. Students will be dismissed at noon on Wednesday, November 23. There is no school on Nov. 24-25 due to Thanksgiving.
As always, read the Friday Folder notes for more information about upcoming events, service projects, reminders, etc. This is always a busy time of year!
May God bless you and bring you peace,
Mrs. Pierce
October 2011
Here is just some of what we’ll be learning this month:
- Religion: Adam and Eve, Mary, the Rosary
- Math: Addition and subtraction facts through 10, data and graphing
- Science: Owls, pumpkins, bats, rocks (FOSS kit)
- Handwriting: Letter practice, fall poems
- Second Step: Identifying feelings (our own and others’), communicating feelings
- Phonics: Beginning and ending sounds, short vowels a, i, o, u
- Reading: Unit 2: Animals; adjectives, continued practice with beginning reading skills, language development, comprehension skills, and more opportunities for individual reading practice.
Living Saints Museum: A class information sheet about this event was sent home almost two weeks ago. Each child chose a saint from the list we were given. They are to research this saint and come up with a script, following the guidelines given on the info sheet. More information from the event’s coordinator was also sent home in the most recent Friday Folder. Again, please have your child return his or her script to me by October 5. Once approved, a typed copy will be sent back home so the student can start memorizing the script. We will have some practice time in class as well. Remember to have an appropriate saint’s costume for your child on Nov. 1, the day of the Living Saints Museum. Thank you for your help and support of this special event.
Saints Project: In addition to preparing a script and costume, the students have been asked to do a project about their chosen saint. The projects will not be displayed at the Saints Museum, however. The first graders will draw and color a picture of their saint, which will then be displayed in the hallway. We will make these pictures in class.
Student of the Week Schedule:
- Oct. 3 – Thomas
- Oct. 11 – Karrington
- Oct. 17 – Sean
- Oct. 24 – Layla
- Oct. 31 – Alexander
Thank you for putting your child’s name in his or her uniform sweatshirts and sweaters. If you haven’t done this yet, please do! It sure helps when we’re trying to figure out who owns the sweatshirt that was found on the floor or was left outside by mistake. Thanks.
Books: If you wish to order any books from Scholastic this month, please return the order form and a check (payable to Scholastic Book Clubs) by Friday, Oct. 7. If you choose to order online and pay by credit card, the due date is the same. Books should arrive in about two weeks. There will be a Scholastic Book Fair at school, October 12-14, so make sure you check that out as well. Happy Reading!
Book It! Program: This reading incentive program begins this month. Your child can earn a free pizza certificate from Pizza Hut if he/she completes the required amount of reading each week. The minimum requirement is four books (or the equivalent in chapter book form) per week (about 20 min. a day). Students are encouraged to read beyond this, of course. It is ok to count some of the books read by an adult to the child, but we want to see that the child is also doing some of the reading aloud. Since the decodable books that are sent home are so short, it will take 2-3 of these to count as one book for the reading requirement. I use the homework sheet to keep track, rather than using another log sheet. Book titles need to be written on the weekly homework sheets and the sheet needs to be signed by a parent in order to be counted for that month. At the end of each month (Oct.-Mar.), I will distribute the Pizza Hut award coupons (certificates) to the students who have reached the reading goal for that month.
Coin Challenge: We are collecting coins this week for the One for Books program. All donations benefit non-profit literacy programs. There is a challenge between the classes to bring in the most change. The winning classroom will receive $25.00 in free books for their classroom. Thanks for your support. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated.
- Monday – pennies
- Tuesday – nickels
- Wednesday – dimes
- Thursday – quarters
Some dates to remember:
- Wednesday, Oct. 5: Picture Day! Info went home in the recent Friday Folder. Every child gets his or her picture taken, even if a package is not purchased. Full uniforms required.
- Wednesday, Oct. 5: Saint scripts are due. Use the worksheet that was sent home on Sept. 21. Yes, parents can write out the script that you helped your child put together.
- Monday, Oct. 10: No school today, in observance of Columbus Day.
- Wednesday, Oct. 12: Noon dismissal. No lunch will be served. First day of parent – teacher conferences and the Scholastic Book Fair. Please sign up for a conference time in the office if you haven’t yet. Thank you.
- Wednesday, Oct. 12: McTakeover at McDonalds on Kitsap Way, 6-8pm. Our school earns money for the SCOPE Auction.
- Thursday, Oct. 13: Noon dismissal. No lunch will be served. Second day of parent – teacher conferences and the Book Fair.
- Friday, Oct. 14: Noon dismissal. No lunch will be served. Last day of the Book Fair.
