First grade is the beginning of an exciting journey in reading, writing and spiritual growth. Our year is filled with continued emphasis on academic excellence in the areas of math, handwriting, social studies, history, geography, maps, globe skills, and citizenship. In science, we learn about living things, matter, weather, and seasons. Our science and social studies are enhanced with various enrichment units and labs.

Our first graders are involved in the “Accelerated Reading” (AR) program, which is a computer based reading program where they read books, and take quizzes on our classroom computers. AR assesses the comprehension of the read material. The children enjoy counting the number of book they read as a class in a year. Last years class read 794 books!

Our “Blessing of the Crosses” has become a sixteen year tradition for our first graders. Each year, the children handpaint Jesus on a small wooden cross, which is then blessed at a special ceremony during the Easter season. Some of the crosses are then given to local charities such as, Toby’s House, a home for homeless, pregnant women and their children under the age of five years old.  These outreach programs helps aid in the spiritual healing of many families. For our first graders and their families, this is the most memorable part of our school year and something the student will always cherish in their homes.

For the third year in a row, the First Grade class will be collecting Pull Tabs for Ronald McDonald House as their Service Project. The money earned-100 percent of it-goes to off-set the costs of running the Orange County Ronald McDonald House. Our class has reached out to the school community and family members to help with this collection.  This outreach project has given MPS students a wonderful lesson of giving of themselves.  They understand that through our work other families are able to have a warm home environment while their child is at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.