First Grade

St. Aloysius First Grade provides a positive and caring learning atmosphere for children. Our program takes a “hands on” and developmental approach to learning which enables every child to achieve a high level of success. We believe in firm, fair and caring discipline.

We encourage positive parent involvement as a strong link to a child’s education at school. Parents are encouraged to accompany the class on field trips, join their child for lunch, volunteer in the classroom and attend Mass with their child on Wednesdays.

The curriculum is based upon the Diocese of Madison Standards and the Wisconsin State Curriculum Standards.

For Math, we use workbooks from Singapore Math. Singapore math is about drawing connections, supporting the thinking process, and instilling comprehensive understanding. It encourages perseverance and naturally gives students confidence as they become equipped to solve problems using many different tools.

We use Superkids by the Rowland Reading Foundation, for our reading/ language arts program. The stories and activities include a cast of characters that children love and have known since Kindergarten. In first grade, students learn more complex letter-sound relationships. They continue to develop their decoding and encoding skills and read longer stories where comprehension and fluency are emphasized. We have Music, Art, Physical Education, Computer and Spanish class weekly. Also, we have an opportunity to learn library skills and check out books from our school library. In addition, we meet with our Reading Buddies, the fifth grade class, to partner read and do various activities.

Once a week, Father Jerry visits the class to enlighten the students about God. We attend an all school Mass each Wednesday morning where we participate by serving as greeters and gift-bearers. Our religion curriculum is based upon the seasons in the church using the Faith in Life series by Ignatius Press.