St. Frances Cabrini Academy > Academics > Teacher Pages

1st Grade Links

A great place to create puzzles to help children learn spelling and sight words:

www.puzzlemaker.com

A fun website for beginning readers:

www.starfall.com

A great website for all sorts of literacy activities:

www.abcya.com

Ms. Kathy Torrington (1st grade)

First Grade boasts the biggest class in school this year! We have 23 students--19 girls and 4 boys. We're a busy, energetic community of learners.

Latest News

HOMEWORK: First graders take home a homework packet every Monday (or on the first school day of the week if we have no school on Monday). The homeword packet is in the Blue Homework Folder in our Red Books. The completed homework packet is due on Friday (or on the last school day of the week). Saxon Math homework is given daily except on test days and Fridays. This Math homework is due back the following day.

A "Words to Read"/"Words to Spell" paper goes home in the Blue Homework Folder along with the weekly homework packet. Students are tested on Words to Read are six times during the school year. Students are given written tests on Words to Spell each Friday. Please help your child review both the reading words and the spelling words every day--this is one of the most important steps you can take to help your child develop literacy skills this year!

Week of May 14-18

Words to Read

almost

knew

thought

took

picture

Words to Spell

pretty

little

puppy

happy

kitten

better

took

almost

about

round

1st Grade Happenings

There's lots of writing going on in first grade! Every day after lunch, the children have been writing stories in their journals and sharing them in front of the class. This "writer's workshop" has become a favorite part of the day for many of the students, and they are learning not only good writing habits but good listening habits, too! Be sure to ask your child what stories he or she has been working on writing this week!

Teacher Profile

Ms. Kathy Torrington

Teaches: First Grade

Years at Cabrini: 2

Years of Teaching: 14

Previous Teaching Positions: Taught first grade for 12 years at St. Sabina in Florissant

Degrees: BSEd, University of Missouri St. Louis; MSEd, Southern Ilinois University Edwardsville

Teaching Certificates: Early Childhood Education (Birth-3rd Grade)

Why do you enjoy teaching at Cabrini? I love the diversity of our student population, the friendly, highly-skilled faculty, and the busy city environment. Cabrini is truly a family!

What do students learn in 1st grade? Students learn to be fluent readers, gain the skills to express themselves in writing, and become competent in basic math processes. They learn about our loving God and about our call love and serve others. They gain experience observing the world around them, and are introduced to the skills they will use in Social Studies and Science classes as they progress in school. They get better at getting along with others, and learn more about what making good choices for their own behavior means. Hopefully, they gain a love of literacy and learning that will last a lifetime!

How would you describe your teaching style and methods? Ecletic: I use a variety of techniques and methods in order to best teach each child.