Merry Christmas!

I want to wish a very Merry Christmas to every one of you and your families!  I pray that you all enjoy the wonder of the season and remember that Jesus is the reason that we celebrate each year.  
I look forward to seeing my first graders refreshed and ready to continue a wonderful year on January 5, 2015.
With much love and appreciation for each of you,
Jackie McClure

December 2014

I trust everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving holiday.  It is nice to be back in school again, and hear the different activities that your children enjoyed during the school break.  Thank you all for taking the time to come out for conferences.  I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with each of you.

Please continue to listen to your child read his/her reading homework week.  We are making great progress in our readers, and the at-home practice makes such a difference.  It is very important that the children are reading these assignments aloud to an adult; this helps catch inaccuracy in the reading.

Thursday, December 11 will be Medieval Day.  Have fun dressing up for school!

During the month of December, we will be discussing the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Our memory verse for this month will be John 3:16-17.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

This memory work will be tested on Friday, December 19.

We will be having a book exchange on December 18.  Each child is asked to bring one book, costing no more than $5.  Girls should bring a book for another girl; boys should bring a book for another boy.  Each book should be wrapped and labeled as follows: 

                                                            To:  A Girl/Boy

                                                            From:  Your Child’s Name

Please send the book to school by December 18; we will have our book exchange early in the day.  

We will have our Christmas party on Friday, December 19, from 1:45-2:45.  Thank you to Lisa Patrick for planning a special time for us.  Please let us know if you can provide any of the items on the emailed list.

There will be no school from December 22-January 4.  Classes will resume on Monday, January 5, 2015.

 If you have any questions regarding any of our classroom information, please contact me at your convenience.  I pray that you have a beautiful Christmas season!

In Him,

Jackie McClure

November 2014

Dear Parents,                                                                          

As the days begin to get cooler, I’m realizing that the year is progressing very quickly.  We have been very busy in first grade, and time seems to be flying!  

With the weather growing colder, please keep in mind that children should be dressed appropriately.  We do go outside on cold days; children should be wearing coats that can button or zip, and a hood or a hat.   

We are celebrating a birthday in our class this month!

Alexis will turn 7 on Thursday, November 27.  Happy birthday, Alexis!

On Friday, November 7, we will have our first field trip.  We will be visiting Ashland Nature Center to participate in the Seasonal Delight program.  We will use our senses to enjoy the different things God has given us in the fall.  This is an outdoor program, and it will be rain or shine.  Please dress your child appropriately.  We will be walking quite a bit, and we will most likely encounter muddy areas.  We will return to school for a normal Friday lunch time.

Each year, our students participate in a can drive for Operation Brotherhood to help provide Thanksgiving dinner to those who cannot afford it.  Each class has been assigned a specific food item.  More information will be sent home in white envelopes.  Please mark your cans with a ‘B’ from a boy and a ‘G’ from a girl.  We will be lining the halls with the cans, and we will see if the boys or the girls bring in more cans. 

Report cards will be sent via RenWeb on Tuesday, November 4.  Conferences will be held on Monday, November 24 and Tuesday, November 25.  Dismissal for the students on these days will be at 12:30.  We do not eat lunch at school on half-days, but children will need to bring a morning snack.  There will be no aftercare on these days.  I am very much looking forward to this opportunity to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress, and to get to know you as well.

Scholastic orders for November are in your child’s white envelope.  Please return these by Monday, November 10.  Make checks payable to Jackie McClure.  If any items are gifts, please let me know, and we will arrange for you to pick up the order in the office. 

We will be having a small Thanksgiving celebration on Friday, November 21, with Mrs. Ingiosi’s first grade class.  Our class will be dressing as pilgrims, and making butter.  To help in our preparations, the first grade classes are in need of the following items:

          ~small plastic jars with lids that fit tightly or clean baby food jars

          ~wooden beads with holes to string (any colors)   

The annual Book Fair will be set up during conferences.  Your child will have an opportunity to preview the book fair and make a list of books that interest him/her.  Students will not be given an opportunity to buy books.  You will be able to browse the shelves at the Book Fair during conferences, and make any purchases then.  

           

There will be no school from Wednesday, November 26 to Friday, November 28, for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Classes will resume on Monday, December 1. 

          As always, feel free to contact me at any time with questions or concerns. 

In Him,

Jackie McClure

October 2014

Thank you for helping to get our school year off to such a wonderful start!  I have been enjoying my time with your children thus far, and am so very glad that we have the rest of the year to spend together.   

Grandparents’ Day is on Friday, October 10.  Please keep in mind that this is a half-day of school.  Our day will end at 12:30.  We will not be having lunch at school on half-days.          We will have a snack time in the classroom.  Please be sure to send a healthy snack to school with your child.

Grandparents Day letters are coming home today. Please be sure to deliver them to your child's grandparents as soon as possible, so that they can make plans to join us for a fun day!

Saturday, October 11 is the Fall Fun Fair.  I know that more helpers are needed to make this day a success.  Please contact the office if you are able to help, and for more information.

There will be no school on Thursday, October 16 and Friday, October 17.

Sunday, October 19 is Church-School Day.  Kindergarten, First and Second grades have been invited to participate in the Sunday service at Bethany Presbyterian Church.  We will be singing our Grandparents Day songs for the congregation, as a thank you for their support of our school.  Please make plans to attend if possible.  The service begins at 10:45, but we will be meeting in the big room downstairs earlier.  More information will be sent home as the day approaches.

The first quarter ends on Tuesday, October 28.  Report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, November 4.  Conferences will be held on Monday, November 24, and Tuesday, November 25.  More information will be sent home regarding this.    

Our Bible memory work for October will begin with Psalm 119:11

“I have stored up Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

This will be due on Friday, October 3.

Our second verse for October will be Genesis 1:1, 31a:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth....  And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good."

This will be due on Wednesday, October 15.

Our classroom is full of excited learners this year!   We have been reading Colors Glowing, our first story reader of the year.  The students are having a good time reading about the Miller and Lopez families, and we have had a few good laughs together at some of the silly situations that the characters find themselves in! 

We are working on many interesting things in math class this year, and Mrs. Ingiosi and I would like to ask for your help.  We would like each child to spend some time at home practicing math flash cards for addition and subtraction.  These can be bought (they are available at Wal-Mart, as well as well as many other stores) or made with index cards or poster board.  Children should practice addition and subtraction facts up to 20.  This will help your child as concepts become more difficult in math class, as well as when we begin administering timed tests.

Please be sure that your child is returning all homework in a timely manner.  Math homework is sent periodically, and should be returned on the date indicated on the paper.

We are working out a system for reading homework, and will be sending information as soon as possible.  Thanks! 

Important Dates to Remember for October:

~Friday, October 3 - Psalm 119:11 due

~Tuesday, October 7 - Boxtop Day!

~Friday, October 10 – Grandparents Day; ½ Day of School

~Saturday, October 11 - Fall Fair Day
~Wednesday, October 15 - Genesis 1:1, 31a

~Thursday, October 16 & Friday, October 17 - No School

~Sunday, October 19 - Church-School Day

~Thursday, October 23 - Twin Day

~Tuesday, October 28 - First Quarter Ends

Again, thank you for your help thus far, and I look forward to continuing to work with each of you as our school year progresses!  

 In Him,

                                           Jackie McClure

August/September 2014

Welcome to First Grade at Bethany Christian School!  I am so glad that God has placed your child in my class for the upcoming school year!  For those of you who were able to make it out to our Open House, it was a pleasure to meet you.  If you were unable to attend, I look forward to meeting you sometime soon. 

My name is Jackie McClure, and I am a 2001 graduate of Pensacola Christian College, in Florida.  This will be my tenth year teaching first grade at BCS, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to teach your child.  I am blessed to already know many of these happy faces from my time volunteering in Kindergarten last year.   

There will be no school on Friday, August 29, and Monday, September 1.

Our initial time together in first grade will be spent getting to know each other, and helping your child become familiar with the new environment, as well as the routines and rules that he/she will be expected to follow throughout the year.   

I will be sending a form to those who volunteered as homeroom parents, as soon as I can get all of the necessary contact information together.  If you did not get to sign up at Open House, but are interested in serving as a Homeroom Parent or Helper, please let me know so that I can include your contact information on the list.  Thanks!

I would like each child to keep one silent reading book in his/her desk at all times.  This book may be brought from home, or it may be one of the school library books.  Please send a silent reading book to school for your child as soon as possible.  Thank you.

           

Each day, your child will be participating in a special class.  Our schedule for the year is as follows:

Monday – Computer

Tuesday – Music

Wednesday – Art

Thursday – Gym (Please dress your child appropriately, in comfortable clothing and sneakers.  No jeans, please.)

Friday - Library (Please be sure to return all borrowed books.)

I will let you know if the schedule changes at all during the course of the year.

Every Wednesday, your child will be attending a Chapel service in the church sanctuary.  It is our goal to not only teach your child more about God and His love and plan for them, but also to train him/her to behave in a reverent and respectful manner while in a church building.  Children are expected to bring their Bibles to Chapel, and to be attentive throughout the service.  Each year, there is a theme verse for all of the students at Bethany.  This year, our theme verse is Proverbs 16:24-"Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."  All Bethany students will be expected to commit this verse to memory.  I will test the students on the theme verse on Friday, September 26.

In addition to weekly Chapel services, our class will have a daily Bible lesson in the classroom.  As a part of Bible class, children will be given Bible memory work throughout the year.  Our first Bible verse for the year is I John 3:1 – “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”  I would like to quiz the students on this verse on Friday, September 12. 

Our annual banquet will be held on Friday, September 19 at 6:30 pm at the Hartefeld Country Club in Avondale, PA.  Please be sure to send in your RSVP for the Banquet as soon as possible.  I hope to see you there!

If you do not have access to the internet, please let me know before the second week of school, if you have not done so.  In the future, parent letters will be posted on the internet, on the Bethany Christian School website (www.bethanychristian.org).  Please check our blog often for more class information (http://jmcclurebcs.blogspot.com).  Those families without internet access will receive a copy of each month’s parent letter in their child’s white folder on the first Tuesday of the month.

Once again, welcome to our first grade class!  If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, you may contact me by calling the school office, at (610) 998-0877, and I will return your call at my earliest possible convenience.  You may also send a note with your child, and I will contact you in the way that best suits your schedule.

If you prefer to email, my email address is jmcclurebcs@gmail.com.

 My home telephone number is (610) 467-0622. 

I am very much looking forward to getting to know your child this year, as they grow and learn in a Christ-centered environment.