Curriculum Update

Literacy: First graders are now in the flow of Reader’s and Writer’s workshops. They continue to work on building stamina while working independently. During reading students have added many new and exciting good reading habits while learning to drop bad reading habits. In writing students will focus on writing more and more and on revising their writing.

Math: Students are using tally marks to represent data, counting up by 1s, 2s, and 5s, counting up and back on a number grid, making small sums, using calendars, and completing number lines. They are discovering everyday uses of numbers.

Social Studies: Students are learning about cooperation and conflict. They are focusing on how we work together by sharing, listening, talking, and taking turns.

Portuguese: Os alunos estão terminando seu primeiro livro do ano, o livro “Eu”, e começando a trabalhar com o alfabeto e com palavras que começam com as letras dos seus nomes.

Reading Olympics

Congratulations to all the first grade readers who completed the Reading Olympics over the long break!

Reading Cup Challenge! Congratulations Peter and Nina (Ms. Heineberg's class)

Lower School Update - August 27, 2018

Math Explorations in Ms. Heineberg's class

Today students rotated through stations where they had the opportunity to explore and use math tools. Ask your child which exploration was his/her favorite one!

Geo boards

Using pattern block templates

Base 10 blocks

Making designs using pattern blocks

Access Your Library Wherever You Are!

You may have noticed flyers about the new LS Library website. All of our resources have been organized in one place, along with login information, to make life easier for our students, parents, and staff. Please bookmark this site at home and find out what's available. Look for print and eBooks in our library catalog. Check out Tumblebooks to access over 1000 online books (including read-alongs) at all different levels. Look up country information in Culturegrams. Read encyclopedia articles and play learning games through World Book. Watch short educational cartoons, take quizzes, and play games through BrainPOP. Read encyclopedia articles in Portuguese through Britannica Escola. 

Follow our library Facebook page @gradedlibraries for updates and information.

If you have questions, please contact Heather Purcell (heather.purcell@graded.br).

Curriculum Update

This year the first grade will update the blog every other week with curriculum updates. These updates allow you to have a better idea of what is happening in the classrooms.

Literacy: First graders have begun the school year by learning the routines for both Reader’s and Writer’s workshops. They are learning to build stamina while working independently. During reading students will work on building good reading habits. In writing students will focus on planning and drafting small moment stories.

Math: Students are establishing daily routines and discussing what math is and why it is important. They are practicing counting on the number line and shaping their numbers correctly. Students are being introduced to tally marks.

Social Studies: Students are learning about “The Eagle Way” and how to be respectful, responsible, and safe in the classroom, hallway, lunchroom, and recess.

Ms. Heineberg's Class First Learning Community Assembly

Dear Families,
Save the date! Our first assembly will take place on Sept. 14, at 8:10 am in the auditorium. Each class belonging to Learning Community B will have 5 minutes to showcase their learning on the stage!

Lower School Update - August 20, 2018

First Eagle’s Nest of the Year!

Today we gathered as a Lower School community for the Eagle’s Nest in the gym. The Eagle’s Nest is a weekly Lower School tradition in which all of the students and staff between K-3 and fifth grade gather in the gymnasium on Monday mornings to connect, reflect, and celebrate as a unified international community of learners. Highlights from this morning included recognizing students who demonstrated our core value of respect, a teacher dance off, and Mr. Braszell’s fourth grade class winning the Golden G for demonstrating respectful behavior throughout the school.

After School Activities Start this Week

Children who have registered for after school activities will be brought to the Lower School Playground after school to meet their activity leaders. If you are picking up your child, please arrive to the location of the activity at 4:00 pm. All students who will be taking the bus will be walked to that area by one of the activity leaders. If a child is not picked up, they will be brought to the Lower School Office to wait for their ride.

Reading World Cup

A total of 82 students completed the work to earn a Reading World Cup medal! We are so impressed with the work they’ve turned in, and how excited they were about participating. Students will be receiving their medals at the Nest next Monday (Aug. 27). We’ll take a photo of each grade level’s participants. We’ll be having an ice cream party for the last half hour of the day that same day. If you’d be willing to volunteer to help supervise, please email heather.purcell@graded.br.

Lower School Open House

We invite you to join us to learn more about our programs and meet our teachers on September 4 starting at 6:00 pm. Please mark your calendars. More information will be sent out next week.

Upcoming Important Dates

August 20	After School Activities Begin
August 24	Picture Retakes
August 31	LS Community A Assembly 8:15 am (auditorium)
September 4	Lower School Open House 6:00 pm
September 6	LS Brazilian Independence Day Assembly
September 7	No School - Brazil Independence Day Holiday
September 14	LS Community B Assembly 8:15 am (auditorium)
September 21	LS Community C Assembly 8:15 am (auditorium)
September 28	No School - Faculty Professional Development Day

Around the Lower School

Welcome from the PE team

Hello students!

We would like to introduce ourselves as your P.E. teachers.

Your classroom teacher will give you the schedule so you will know when you have classes.

Below you will find our PE dress code and assessment criteria. 

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions at: 
andrea.ramires@graded.br
enrico.pasquini@graded.br

Enrico and Andrea

We hope to have a great year together.

Human Tally Marks in Ms. H's Class

First graders having been using tally marks to play games and  graph our pets and siblings. Today we practiced by making human tally marks! Encourage your child to practice counting by 5s up to 100.

Ms. Keane's Reminders

Hi All,

Reminders for tomorrow:

• Picture day! Please make sure that students are dressed their best and ready to say, "cheese."

• Library day! Please have students return their library books as we need to send them in the morning back to the library

• Students also need to bring items for their collage. We will be making them on Friday and want students to have all their materials ready. 

Thank you,

Shannon Keane

Lower School Update - August 13, 2018

Week Two in the Lower School

After a great start last week, we are ready for week two. Thank you to everyone for a smooth transition in to the new school year! Just a reminder that all students should arrive on campus no later than 8:00 am and be ready for learning in their classrooms at 8:05 am.

Playgrounds Open Before School

Both our Pre-primary and our 1st to 5th grade playgrounds are open each morning starting at 7:45 am with supervision. At 8:00 am students transition to their classrooms. We encourage all students to arrive a little earlier so they can have some time to play before the school day starts!

Student/Parent Handbook

Parents, please be sure to review the Lower School Student/Parent Handbook and return the signed Student & Parent Handbook Receipt Agreement/Phone and Email Distribution Lists form to your child’s homeroom teacher this week.

Class Photos

This week we have individual and class photos on Thursday and Friday. Click here for the detailed schedule.  

Technology Use and Lower School Students

As a school, we remind students that devices (whether tablets/phones/iPods/laptops) are a powerful tool for learning. We teach students the skills to use the tools appropriately, and give reminders when necessary.

We are also reminding students (and ourselves!) of their digital footprint to ensure they understand the impact of their online actions. The rise in popularity of messaging applications like WhatsApp prompt us to face increasingly frequent challenges of students using unkind language, posting inappropriate content to each other, and in some cases targeting individual students. This note is meant to be a reminder of the responsibility that comes with using technology.  Social media platforms have minimum age requirements for use as well as guidelines for responsible use. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat are applications for youth aged 13 and above. If your child is below this age, you are encouraged to remove these applications from their personal devices. If you continue to allow your child to use these messaging and social network sites despite the age recommendation, we suggest you monitor your child’s interaction on a daily basis as you assume responsibility for their use.

Here are some things we are doing at school to promote responsible use of technology:

- limiting technology use to school appropriate tools and sites

- reminding students that personal devices are best left at home

- reviewing LARK policies found on pages 28 and 29 of our Lower School Handbook

Here are some things you can do at home to promote responsible use of technology:

- Reinforce the expectations for use of technology at school, including reviewing the LARK policies together

- Visit the Common Sense Media “Parent Concerns” section for a variety of resources on teaching your children how to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly

- Create a screen time agreement in your family.  Click here for steps to take and some examples.

Keeping our children safe is our utmost and collective responsibility. We are working at the school to teach the children the foundations of digital and online safety. We ask that you spend some time having similar discussions and routines in your own home if you haven't already.

Upcoming Important Dates

August 16	LS School Pictures
August 17	- LS School Pictures - PTA Welcome Coffee 8:15 am (cafeteria) - LS Activities Fair 9:30 am (student center)
August 24	Photo retakes
August 31	Learning Community A Assembly 8:15 am (auditorium)

Around the Lower School

1st Grade Music Program

As children become mature, they grow in their ability to make finer distinctions about the sounds they hear; consequently, their musical understanding increases. In the first grade, students are old enough to become familiar with music terminology, which enables them to develop a greater sense of consciousness over the musical material introduced in preschool. The primary goal of the first grade, thus, is to attach a name to the musical material taught previously. While the first section of the course is dedicated to distinguishing the properties of music (loud/soft, long/short, tone color, and high/low), later sequences teach the major pentatonic scale, ascending and descending diatonic scales, accurate singing of two-tone intervals 

(“sol-mi” solfege), greeting songs, music conversations, and echo games. 

First Week

We are off to an amazing start in first grade! Meeting new friends, agreeing on rules, and learning the many new routines. Everyone has already done an awesome job, and next week we are ready to begin some serious first grade work!

                                                              First Day of First Grade

This week we incorporated some team building by creating boats that could support the weight of a small piece of candy. It was fun determining items that can float versus those that sink. We also were able to show some of our creativity in the features of the boats we created.

One important way to get to know others in the class is learning everyone's names. To help us think about why names are important, and to appreciate our own names, we read Chrysanthemum and create our very own name flowers. You can come and see the finished product right outside our classroom!

This year we will continue on our reading journey using Reader's Workshop. Before we can begin mini lessons, everyone learned to find "just right books". Ask us at home how we can find a just right book (remind us of the 5 finger rule). 

After selecting our "just right books", we learned the routines for independent reading. Additionally, we learned about stamina, and how we are going to build our reading stamina this year. We enjoy our time reading.  

A special guest reader, Mr. Andrew, came and read to our class this week. He shared a very fun spin off about what happens to Humpty Dumpty after the fall. Everyone enjoyed Mr. Andrew's visit!

Not only did we learn the routines in our classroom, we spent a lot of time discussing the Eagle Way and how we behave around the school. 

The sun did come out eventually, and we got to enjoy the big kid playground!

We had such an awesome first week of school!! We cannot wait for all the fun and learning that will take place this year!