First Grade Teacher's Message
Dear Parents,
I am always impressed by the support and dedication of New Horizon parents. You have made this year a success, and when I look back at the year's accomplishments, I’m at awe by what we have achieved.
Our first graders are learning how to read and spell many new words. Their math skills are improving as well.
With those who are struggling, I will continue to provide on-going assistance as much as possible. At this point, I would like to refresh students’ minds with a brief review of the material learned so they will do well on the final tests. There is definitely much to be learned in the months to come, after the Winter Break. In Science, students will be learning about the weather and documenting changes in the weather in their Weather Logs. In Language Arts, students will continue with the writing process.
We will also be doing a lot more reading in the classroom. In order to bring students to the grade level reading fluency, please read with your child everyday. When students read a certain amount of books the coming new quarter, they will receive a Reading Certificate as well as a prize. So yes, read, read, read with your child!
Tamera Wong
Dear Parents, Welcome to a new school year! It is comforting to know that, like me, students are getting pleasantly adjusted to the classroom rules and school routine. They are also learning how to fill out their own Homework Log and have ready their school supplies, such as 3 sharpened pencils and an eraser. We are definitely getting off into a great start!
My goal is to bring our beginner readers to the level where they need to be at the end of 1st grade and to bring our more advanced readers to a more challenging level. I will surely need all of your support. Assisting your child with homework and reading daily with him or her will help take our whole group to a higher pedestal. I also believe that the minds of students are enriched when we provide learning with hands-on, minds-on activities, an integrated curriculum, and the use of technology.
Since I was here last year, I can see that New Horizon School uses all these things. I hope that my daily energy and passion will instill in our children a life-long love for learning. Tamera Wong
Dear Parents,
“It’s not over, til it’s over,” – This famous slogan definitely applies here in the 1st grade classroom of New Horizon School. The last day of school is fast approaching, but the 1st graders are not putting their pencils down just yet. We are working hard to prepare for the end of the year standardized testing, and parents can help as well!
Parents can contribute by making sure their child gets a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast every morning to ensure that his/her child will put forth his/her best effort. There are also commercial test taking booklets parents can purchase at bookstores to improve test-taking skills. Parents can also continue reading and asking comprehension questions to increase reading fluency and improve comprehension ability.
As for the teacher, I will continue to empower my students, encourage hard work, and practice more. The key to improvement is practice, practice, and practice. Thank you again, parents, for your dedicated support this year.
Tamera Wong
Dear Parents,
Spring season is fast approaching and the year is almost coming to an end. I want to thank parents, first of all, for helping their children with homework, encouraging good behavior, and supporting school fundraisers and events. When I see parental involvement, I know there is definitely a "new horizon." We will continue to need all parents' efforts in the last few months to come!
As for the students in the 1st grade, they will be working hard in all subjects to meet state standards. Students are currently learning how to write descriptively, using "colorful" words in their writing. For some who are struggling with the basics, we are spending more time on recognizing spelling patterns in words so that they may become better writers. We have just finished celebrating the 100th Day of School and learning place value in math. However, these concepts are not to end here. They will be carried more in depth in the chapters to come. I am very happy to have such a great group of children this year. I can see their motivation to learn, and I will continue to motivate them through positive reinforcements and making classroom learning an enjoyable experience.
Tamera Wong
The first graders have been busy learning about the many different dinosaurs. They all did a great job on their dinosaur reports. We have read many stories about friendship in reading. First graders are moving along with writing complete sentences and learning to write stories.
April will be another busy and exciting month for the first grade class. In Science we will sadly say our farewell to dinosaurs and begin a unit on ocean animals. We will also learn to write stories and make books. The first graders will work on Earth Day projects and learn how to take care of the earth. We will have a field trip to the Long Beach Aquarium in the month of May inshallah.
- Sharifa Mansoory