1st Grade - Northwood Elementary School

Weekly Email Blasts

The kids learned about long e silent e words, read books about insects, and got to explore different types of severe weather on PebbleGo. We finished the week with our January PBIS celebration of Cosmic Bowling and visited the PBIS Shop.

Valentine’s Day Celebration: We will have a small celebration for Valentine’s Day on the 13th. A letter is attached. Please do not address individual Valentine’s, just have your child sign their name. This will make distribution faster. You may send in individually wrapped candy or other treats if you choose. We have 20 students in our class.

Reading Skill Groups:

Students will participate in flexible reading groups across the grade level to receive instruction that best matches their individual reading needs. This means your child may work with different teachers during a small portion of the reading block, depending on the specific skills they are practicing or have already mastered. These groups change as students grow, ensuring they get the right support or enrichment at the right time. This will not change your child’s homeroom class, and your child will be with their teacher of record for the remainder of the ELA block. Flexible grouping simply helps us provide more targeted, effective reading instruction for every learner. Please reach out to Mrs. Imhulse if you'd like more information about reading skills groups imhulse@fultonschools.org.

IN CASE OF REMOTE LEARNING: Attached are home remote learning plans to be used IF/WHEN an inclement weather remote day is needed. Please see the attached PDF for remote learning options and continue to check the district website or the Northwood website for up to date information.

Calendar Dates:    

February 13 - All Pro Dad

February 16 - Presidents' Day (Teacher Workday; Students No School)

February 17 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

February 19 - FCS Board Meeting

March 13 - All Pro Dad

March 16 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

Reporting Absences: For absences please email, northwoodattendance@fultonschools.org, you can send information about attendance and doctors' notes.

Curriculum Notes: What’s Coming Up?

Math: Students will continue learning strategies for two-digit addition and subtraction problems. (Practice and Homework Journal pages 43-44)

Math 2.1: Students will use base ten and decomposing strategies to solve 3-digit addition problems. (Practice and Homework Journal pages 111-112)

Reading and Phonics: In phonics students will continue learning the silent e pattern by working with the long o silent e. In reading, students will read a variety of nonfiction texts as they explore the essential question, “How do people work with animals?” They will read for understanding, visualize, retell stories, and make text-to-text connections.

Writing: Students will use text evidence to respond to nonfiction text.

Science/Social Studies: We will begin to learn all about George Washington Carver and his contributions to our country.

Student Success Skills: Students will identify how others can help them solve a problem.

Reminders

· Don’t forget to send ONE healthy snack and reusable water bottle with your child each day.

· Please sign your child’s agenda each night.

· Please read and return library books.

· Remember to wear gym shoes on PE days!

Have a wonderful weekend,

February

Tabs

2-6-26

Dear Families,

We had another busy week in first grade. It was 5 days of fun and learning! We had so much fun on Wednesday for World Read Aloud Day. Please read below for some important upcoming information. 

Valentine’s Day Celebration: We will have a small celebration for Valentine’s Day on the 13th. A letter is attached. Please do not address individual Valentine’s, just have your child sign their name. This will make distribution faster. You may send in individually wrapped candy or other treats if you choose. We have 20 students in our class.  

Calendar Dates:     

February 13 - All Pro Dad

February 16 - Presidents' Day-Teacher Workday (Students No School)

February 17 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

February 19 - FCS Board Meeting

March 13 - All Pro Dad

March 16 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

Reporting Absences: For absences please email, northwoodattendance@fultonschools.org, you can send information about attendance and doctors' notes.   

Curriculum Notes: What’s Coming Up?

Math 1: Students will continue learning strategies for two-digit addition and subtraction problems. They will also explore growing and shrinking patterns.

Math 2: Students will solve subtraction problems using the base ten and decomposing strategies.

Reading and Phonics: Next week we will learn about long u silent e words. In reading, students are completing Unit 4 in Wonders, and they will read both online and science texts.

Writing: As we finish our Wonders Unit that focused on animals, the students will write an expository piece about dogs. They will write a topic sentence, share facts about dogs, and then finish the piece with an ending sentence.

Social Studies: We will continue learning about George Washington Carver next week.

Student Success Skills: Students learn how apologies can help us solve problem

Reminders 

· Don’t forget to send ONE healthy snack and reusable water bottle with your child each day.    

· Please sign your child’s agenda each night.    

· Please read and return library books.     

· Remember to wear gym shoes on PE days!    

Have a wonderful weekend!

2-13-26

Dear Families,

This was a fun-filled week! The kids loved exchanging Valentine’s with their class on Friday. Everyone felt very loved and appreciated. Thank you for the sweet notes and treats for me as well. 😊 The students enjoyed a variety of activities for Cranium Day on Friday. They worked together to build the tallest building, designed sculptures, and used their imagination at creation stations! Reminder there is no school for students on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Calendar Dates:    

February 16 - Presidents' Day (Teacher Workday; Students No School)

February 17 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

February 19 - FCS Board Meeting

March 13 - All Pro Dad

March 16 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

March 31 - Spring Pictures

April 6-11 - Spring Break

March Madness: Coming Soon!  

Reporting Absences: For absences please email, northwoodattendance@fultonschools.org, you can send information about attendance and doctors' notes.   

Curriculum Notes: What’s Coming Up?

Math 1: Next week we will use strategies to add and subtract within 100. (Practice and Homework Journal pgs. 161-162)

Math 2: Students will solve two-step word problems using addition and subtraction as well as add up to 4 two-digit numbers. (Practice and Homework Journal pgs. 113-114)

Reading and Phonics: Next week in phonics we will review the long vowel silent e pattern. Students will read fantasy texts as they explore the essential question, “How can we classify and categorize things?”

Writing: Students have been doing a great job responding to stories. After reading, A Lost Button, they will share their opinions about whether Frog or Toad was a better friend.

Science: We will begin a new unit about plants.

Student Success Skills: Students will practice positive thinking to overcome challenges.

Reminders 

·       Don’t forget to send ONE healthy snack and reusable water bottle with your child each day.  

·       Please sign your child’s agenda each night.  

·       Please read and return library books.   

·       Remember to wear gym shoes on PE days!  

Have a wonderful LONG weekend,

2-20-26

Dear Families,

This week was short but packed with learning. We loved hearing all about what the students did over their break. We started a new science unit about plants. They learned the different parts of a plant and their jobs. They are looking forward to planting seed next week and watching them sprout.

Calendar Dates:   

March 13 - All Pro Dad

March 16 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

March 31 - Spring Pictures

April 6-11 - Spring Break

PickUp Patrol

Starting Monday, February 23, 2026, we will be using a system called PickUp Patrol to help us track dismissals. PickUp Patrol provides families with a convenient way to make changes to your child’s dismissal plans and helps ensure that students are accurately dismissed each day.

How It Works:

Your child’s regular dismissal plan will be entered into the system. This is considered their Default Plan.
Whenever your child is doing something other than their Default Plan, you’ll submit a Plan Change via PickUp Patrol.
Examples of a Plan Change:
- Your child normally rides the bus but needs to switch to carpool for the day.
- Your child is getting picked up by someone other than yourself (must be an emergency contact in Infinite Campus).
- Your child has a doctor's appointment and will be leaving early.
When the change is submitted, a notification will be sent to the front office and their teacher.

REGISTER: Today, Friday, February 20, 2026, you will receive a registration email from PickUp Patrol with a link to set up your account. The parent portal is free to parents and can be accessed from your phone or computer. The link in your registration email will be live for 48 hours. As soon as you receive it, please log in and confirm your child’s default plan.

Thank you for using PickUp Patrol to make safety a priority and to ensure our dismissal process is efficient for all! Parents can access all of their children in the same account as long as the same email address is used. Once you are registered you do not need to re-register for each child, you will simply log out and back in again to view all children in the app.

If you have any questions, please first check the PickUp Patrol Parent Guide & if you need additional assistance, please reach out to Mrs. Lorraine Robertson at Northwood's front desk, robertsonl1@fultonschools.org. Please note, starting Monday, the Northwood Dismissal email will no longer be utilized.

Reporting Absences: For absences please email, northwoodattendance@fultonschools.org, you can send information about attendance and doctors' notes.

March Madness: Coming Soon!  

Upcoming Field Trip:

First grade students will be taking a field trip to Warbington Farms located in Cumming, Georgia on April 27th.  

Curriculum Notes: What’s Coming Up?

Math 1: Next week we will finish Unit 5 by learning about bar graphs. Students will have a unit review before taking the math test. (Practice and Homework Journal page 63 and 64)

Math 2: Students will continue adding up to four two-digit numbers and look at bar graphs. They will review and take the Unit 6 test at the end of the week. (Practice and Homework Journal page 147)

Reading and Phonics: In phonics, we are reviewing phonics patterns and taking a phonics assessment. In reading, students will be reading different fantasy stories including Kitten’s First Full Moon as they explore the essential question, “What can you see in the sky?”.

Writing: Students will write a response to a Kitten’s First Full Moon. They will use test evidence and illustrations as they write how the author showed Kitten was curious.

Science/Social Studies: Students will identify the needs of plants and learn the life cycle of plants.

Student Success Skills: Students will practice self-efficacy, believing in themselves, to reach a goal.

Reminders 

·       Don’t forget to send in ONE healthy snack and reusable water bottle with your child each day.  

·       Please sign your child’s agenda each night.  

·       Please read and return library books.   

·       Remember to wear gym shoes on PE days!  

Have a wonderful weekend,

2-27-26

Dear Families,

This week was packed with learning. We continued our plant unit by learning what a plant needs and the life cycle of a plant. We read fantasy stories about what we see in the sky. It’s hard to believe that March rolls in next week. Included in this week’s blast is information on First Grade’s version of March Madness. We are looking forward to a month of fun and friendly competition! In addition to the Math March Madness, we will have a reading bracket with a variety of books to determine our classes favorite read aloud.

Calendar Dates:

March 2 – March Madness Begins (See attachment for more information.) 

March 2-6 – Read Across America Week (see the schedule of daily activities below)

March 13 - All Pro Dad

March 16 - Professional Development Day (Students No School)

March 31 - Spring Pictures

April 6-11 - Spring Break

Read Across America Week: Please see the schedule of activities below and here is a link to sign up to be a Mystery Reader. Ms. Dutton's Mystery Reader Sign Up

Reporting Absences: For absences please email, northwoodattendance@fultonschools.org, you can send information about attendance and doctors' notes.

Upcoming Field Trip:

First grade students will be taking a field trip to Warbington Farms located in Cumming, Georgia on April 27th.

Curriculum Notes: What’s Coming Up?

Math 1: Next week we will begin Unit 6 where the students will look at repeating patterns and time. The Unit 6 Family Letter is attached.

Math 2: We will begin Unit 7 next week. Students will start by exploring the attributes of 2-D shapes. The Unit 7 Family Letter is attached.

Reading and Phonics: In phonics, we will begin learning about phonograms (ex. ang. Ing, ong). In reading, we will be reading about different inventors. Students will compare inventions and find the main idea and key details of a text.

Writing: Students will be writing a response to a text about an inventor. They will be using test evidence and illustrations as they are writing.

Science/Social Studies: Students will take a quiz on plants. They will need to know the parts of a plant, the job of each part, plant needs, and the life cycle of a plant.

Reminders 

·       Don’t forget to send in ONE healthy snack and reusable water bottle with your child each day.  

·       Please sign your child’s agenda each night.  

·       Please read and return library books.   

·       Remember to wear gym shoes on PE days!  