Welcome To First Grade

Welcome to First Grade! I am looking forward to working with your children and helping them meet their full potential! I believe a good parent-teacher relationship is necessary for success in school. Throughout the year I will communicate with you through weekly newsletters, notes, telephone calls, and parent teacher conferences. I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns as they come up. We also have a class website with information, pictures, and fun educational web links. Check us out at http://afton.lcsd2.org/teachers/. Look for my name and click on it. Discipline Every child is expected to be safe, responsible, and respectful at school. We will be learning what these words mean and practice applying them to all areas of the school. The children are able to spend tickets that they earn for good behavior. Of course there are consequences for failing to follow the school rules as well. Children are first given a warning and reminded what the rule is. Second, they will be removed from the situation and sit quietly until I can talk to them about what they did wrong. The child may miss a recess, write an apology or visit Mr. Allred depending on the situation. For the start of the school year (probably through September) each child who successfully completes a day at school without a "time out" (a warning is o.k. -everyone makes mistakes) will receive a stamp on their hand to let you know they had a great day at school. If your child comes home without a stamp, you'll know to

ask them what happened. You’ll also receive an “oops” slip when your child has a problem at school I think you should know about. Please sign and return the slip the next day. Attendance It is very important that your child arrive to school on time and attends faithfully unless they are ill or your family has an emergency. School will run from 8:002:40 this year, except for Thursdays when the children will be released at 1:40. Show and tell We will not do show and tell until September. In September your child will be assigned a day they may bring 1 item to share. Please do not allow toys on other days. It is against the school rules to bring toys from home as they can get lost or stolen. Remember, no electronic devices unless someone brings it just for show and tell and then takes it back home. First of the year stuf If you bring your child on the first day, please don't plan on staying for a long period of time. Let's make the bridge from home to school as easy as possible for your child to cross. Parents are always welcome to visit our class or better yet come volunteer. However, please allow us two weeks to get adjusted to the school routine and rules. Bussing Please check the bus schedule to make sure I've got your child going to the right place. Be sure to send a note if your child has a change in routine. They

cannot ride a diferent bus or go with another adult/child without one. Please encourage your child to wear (or attach to their backpacks) their bus wristband. It will help them and any substitutes to get the children on the right bus. Other items Please let me know if you'd like to be a parent volunteer in our room or do jobs at home like cutting, coloring etc. Science centers are Friday mornings at 8:00. AR reading is daily at 11:00. Please look at the lunch menu with your child and try to send a lunch on days they don't like what is on the menu. P.E. days are Tuesdays and Fridays. Please wear sneakers on these days and dress appropriately. Library is on Tuesdays. First graders are allowed 2 books each week as long as they bring the old ones back. Birthdays are an exciting time for the children and will be celebrated in our class. You are welcome to send a treat if you'd like. Please remember that we no longer can give out homemade treats. The kitchen can make treats at a great price if you let me know in time! Please set up a time with me when it gets close to your child's B-day. Summer B-days will be scheduled too. Please remember that shorts and skirts should touch the knee and that tank tops and flip-flops are not

allowed at school. Book orders I will send home several book orders each month. Try to have money back within a week of receiving an order but books can be ordered anytime. These magazines have great prices! Homework 15 minutes of home reading is expected each night. The children are rewarded when everyone reads! At first, each child has a Home Reading note. This is for their “Practice" book. Hopefully it is not too difficult (it may be easy at first and that is o.k.) If a book is too difficult, simply write a note on the slip to let me know. Please fill in the page # your children read to and sign it each night. Children will also be bringing home Blue Dot notes and books as well. Many children find these books more rewarding as they get to test on them and earn points and rewards. Since these books are rewarding, some children will want to take them home before they can read them themselves. It is o.k. to simply read it to them a time or two, even as a bedtime story. Also remember that since the children choose these books, sometimes they can be too easy or way too hard. Use your judgment and help your child get through a long book. I don’t want anyone to be sad because their book took them an hour to read after school. I know families are busy and sometimes you may miss a night of reading. However, when a child misses 2 nights in a row, they are asked to miss

some recess time to read a book. We practice math facts everyday. The children are expected to practice each night for 1 or 2 minutes. They will begin on level A and will not get B until they pass A at school. Passing criteria is individualized. More information will be coming. As the year goes on spelling will be part of your child's homework routine as well. I will give you a list of words that the children are expected to spell correctly in their writing. There are not weekly lists to study. Thanks so much for all you do to help your child be successful in 1st grade. I can be reached by email [email protected] or by phone, 885-4654 at home or 885-8002 at school. Thanks again!