Room 116 Classroom Procedures
Attendance
Regular attendance is very important! We are super busy in first grade and your child will miss important instruction if they are absent. While daily attendance is expected, please do not send your child if they are sick (has had a fever within the past 24 hours, is/has vomiting/diarrhea, has a communicable disease such as pink eye or strep). If your child is going to be absent please you must call the attendance line at 440-283-2177. You can call this number any time, day or night, to report an absence.
Birthdays
We do celebrate birthdays here at school. If you would like, you may send in a small treat to share with the class such as donuts, cookies, etc. There are 23 students in our class. If your child's birthday falls on a weekend, you may choose a day within the week prior or the week after their special day to send in a treat. Students with summer birthdays will have the opportunity to celebrate their special day during a month where there are no or very few birthdays. I will let you know in a newsletter which month summer birthdays will be celebrated.
Bucket Fillers
At the start of the year, we will read the book "Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?" This book is a great tool to use in encouraging positive behaviors. It teaches that each person carries an invisible bucket with them. When the bucket is full (of good thoughts and feelings), we are happiest. It teaches that we can help to fill other people's buckets by being kind, helpful, a good friend, etc... Therefore, we try very hard to be a "bucket filler" rather than a "bucket dipper."
Class Schedule
Please remember that your child MUST wear tennis shoes on gym days!!! Mondays-, Tuesdays-, Wednesdays-, Thursdays-, Fridays-
Healthy Snack
We will be having HEALTHY snack each morning. Every student is responsible for bringing in his/her own snack each day. Some suggestions for a HEALTHY snack are yogurt, cut up vegetables, fruit, crackers, pretzels. During healthy snack, the children will NOT be permitted to eat unhealthy snacks such as chips, candy or cookies.
Holiday Parties
There will be three parties throughout the school year (Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day). A sign-up sheet will be available at Meet the Teacher if you're interested in contributing items for a party. All parents willing to volunteer for a party are welcome... we can always use the extra hands!
Home Folder
Your child will have a "Home Folder". This folder will contain their nightly homework as well as their Daily Log (we use this to log nightly reading minutes as well as their daily behavior). All important papers will be sent home in the Home Folder as well. Please check their Home Folder nightly and return it to school with your child daily.
Homework
I ask that your child completes 15-20 minutes of nightly reading practice (this should be recorded on their Daily Report Log). Your child will also typically bring home math homework (Monday-Thursday) and phonics homework (two-three times per week). The purpose of homework in our classroom, is to teach your child organizational skills, responsibility and to reinforce skills taught during that day's lessons. It is also a time to involve the parents in the academic process. Please support your child by assisting with directions if needed as well as providing needed supplies (sharpened pencils, crayons, scissors, etc.). All homework is expected to be completed and returned the following morning.
Lunch & Recess
First graders eat lunch from 11:35-11:55 and have recess from 11:55-12:20. Students may purchase a lunch (includes milk) for $2.85. Milk may be purchased for $0.50. Lunch tickets can be purchased online at PayForIt.net. A link to this website can be found under the Parent tab at www.weschools.org. Please dress your child appropriately for outdoor recess. They will be outside when it's not raining and the temperature is above 20 degrees (with the wind chill). Indoor and outdoor recess is supervised by noon-aides.
Meet the Teacher Night
Meet the Teacher Night for the 2014-2015 school year has been scheduled on Thursday, August 28th at 7:00pm. We ask that you do not bring your children with you to Meet the Teacher as space is limited. I will be giving parents a brief and quick overview of the school year during this time.
Mystery Reader
Every Friday afternoon, we have a "Mystery Reader" visit our classroom to do a read aloud! We will have a variety of family members, faculty and community members sign up to be a "Mystery Reader." The students in our room will have no idea who will be coming in each Friday to be our surprise reader. I will give them clues throughout the week and we will see on Friday if anybody guessed the "Mystery Reader." Who knew reading could be so exciting and suspenseful!?!
Newsletters
Newsletters will be sent home on the first Monday of every month. These newsletters will contain important information about the happenings in our classroom. I will also send email reminders on an as needed basis throughout the month.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held at the end of the first grading period. During our conference we will discuss your child's progress in first grade as well as any strengths and/or weaknesses they may have. If you have any concerns I am willing to have a conference with you at any time throughout the school year. Please sign up for your Parent-Teacher Conference at Meet the Teacher night in August. A reminder will be sent home as our conference date gets closer.
Popcorn
Popcorn is sold at Jefferson every Friday for $0.50 a box.
Rules & Consequences
Rules are as follows- 1. Listen when someone is talking. 2. Follow directions the first time they are given. 3. Treat everyone with kindness and respect. 4. Take care of our school and our classroom. 5. Work and play safely and with an appropriate level of voice. Consequences are as follows- We begin on green. Three verbal warnings moves to yellow. Five verbal warnings moves to red and receives a 5 minute time-out and a note home. More than five verbal warnings will receive a phone call home and a possible visit to the principal. Daily behavior will be reported on their Daily Report. If there were no major behavior problems that day, your child will color the day's square green. If they had to move to yellow they will color the day's square yellow. If they had to move to red they will color the day's square red and you will see a number. This number is the number of the rule in which your child had difficulty following (the rules are written on the Daily Log for easy reference).
Scholastic Book Club Orders
Book orders will be sent home monthly. This gives you the opportunity to purchase quality books at a low price for use at home. THIS IS STRICTLY OPTIONAL! Please do not feel as though you ever have to purchase anything. There are two ways you can order books from Scholastic. 1. Send your order to school with your child by filling out the order form t hat I send home and return it with your payment attached. Checks should be made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. 2. Order online by logging on to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. Our class code is GL32F.
School Supplies
Please send in your child's school supplies on the first day of school. Please note... some supplies will need to be replenished as the year goes on. Here is a link for the needed supplies for the 2014-2015 school year.
Sending in Money
A lot of money passes through the classroom. If you are sending in a check or cash ALWAYS place it in an envelope with your child's name and the purpose of the money written on the outside. This envelope should then be placed in your child's home folder. It is VERY important that these steps are followed.
Special Friend
"Special Friend" is the teacher's helper for the day. Each day we will have a different "Special Friend" and all will have the opportunity to hold this special position several times throughout the year. When it's your child's turn to be "Special Friend" for the day, they will take things to the office as needed, be the line leader
Star Student of the Week
Each student will have the opportunity to be our Star Student of the Week. I will send home your child's Star Student information the week before it's their turn. This is a favorite of the kids and a great opportunity for us to learn about each other.
Regular attendance is very important! We are super busy in first grade and your child will miss important instruction if they are absent. While daily attendance is expected, please do not send your child if they are sick (has had a fever within the past 24 hours, is/has vomiting/diarrhea, has a communicable disease such as pink eye or strep). If your child is going to be absent please you must call the attendance line at 440-283-2177. You can call this number any time, day or night, to report an absence.
Birthdays
We do celebrate birthdays here at school. If you would like, you may send in a small treat to share with the class such as donuts, cookies, etc. There are 23 students in our class. If your child's birthday falls on a weekend, you may choose a day within the week prior or the week after their special day to send in a treat. Students with summer birthdays will have the opportunity to celebrate their special day during a month where there are no or very few birthdays. I will let you know in a newsletter which month summer birthdays will be celebrated.
Bucket Fillers
At the start of the year, we will read the book "Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?" This book is a great tool to use in encouraging positive behaviors. It teaches that each person carries an invisible bucket with them. When the bucket is full (of good thoughts and feelings), we are happiest. It teaches that we can help to fill other people's buckets by being kind, helpful, a good friend, etc... Therefore, we try very hard to be a "bucket filler" rather than a "bucket dipper."
Class Schedule
Please remember that your child MUST wear tennis shoes on gym days!!! Mondays-, Tuesdays-, Wednesdays-, Thursdays-, Fridays-
Healthy Snack
We will be having HEALTHY snack each morning. Every student is responsible for bringing in his/her own snack each day. Some suggestions for a HEALTHY snack are yogurt, cut up vegetables, fruit, crackers, pretzels. During healthy snack, the children will NOT be permitted to eat unhealthy snacks such as chips, candy or cookies.
Holiday Parties
There will be three parties throughout the school year (Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day). A sign-up sheet will be available at Meet the Teacher if you're interested in contributing items for a party. All parents willing to volunteer for a party are welcome... we can always use the extra hands!
Home Folder
Your child will have a "Home Folder". This folder will contain their nightly homework as well as their Daily Log (we use this to log nightly reading minutes as well as their daily behavior). All important papers will be sent home in the Home Folder as well. Please check their Home Folder nightly and return it to school with your child daily.
Homework
I ask that your child completes 15-20 minutes of nightly reading practice (this should be recorded on their Daily Report Log). Your child will also typically bring home math homework (Monday-Thursday) and phonics homework (two-three times per week). The purpose of homework in our classroom, is to teach your child organizational skills, responsibility and to reinforce skills taught during that day's lessons. It is also a time to involve the parents in the academic process. Please support your child by assisting with directions if needed as well as providing needed supplies (sharpened pencils, crayons, scissors, etc.). All homework is expected to be completed and returned the following morning.
Lunch & Recess
First graders eat lunch from 11:35-11:55 and have recess from 11:55-12:20. Students may purchase a lunch (includes milk) for $2.85. Milk may be purchased for $0.50. Lunch tickets can be purchased online at PayForIt.net. A link to this website can be found under the Parent tab at www.weschools.org. Please dress your child appropriately for outdoor recess. They will be outside when it's not raining and the temperature is above 20 degrees (with the wind chill). Indoor and outdoor recess is supervised by noon-aides.
Meet the Teacher Night
Meet the Teacher Night for the 2014-2015 school year has been scheduled on Thursday, August 28th at 7:00pm. We ask that you do not bring your children with you to Meet the Teacher as space is limited. I will be giving parents a brief and quick overview of the school year during this time.
Mystery Reader
Every Friday afternoon, we have a "Mystery Reader" visit our classroom to do a read aloud! We will have a variety of family members, faculty and community members sign up to be a "Mystery Reader." The students in our room will have no idea who will be coming in each Friday to be our surprise reader. I will give them clues throughout the week and we will see on Friday if anybody guessed the "Mystery Reader." Who knew reading could be so exciting and suspenseful!?!
Newsletters
Newsletters will be sent home on the first Monday of every month. These newsletters will contain important information about the happenings in our classroom. I will also send email reminders on an as needed basis throughout the month.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held at the end of the first grading period. During our conference we will discuss your child's progress in first grade as well as any strengths and/or weaknesses they may have. If you have any concerns I am willing to have a conference with you at any time throughout the school year. Please sign up for your Parent-Teacher Conference at Meet the Teacher night in August. A reminder will be sent home as our conference date gets closer.
Popcorn
Popcorn is sold at Jefferson every Friday for $0.50 a box.
Rules & Consequences
Rules are as follows- 1. Listen when someone is talking. 2. Follow directions the first time they are given. 3. Treat everyone with kindness and respect. 4. Take care of our school and our classroom. 5. Work and play safely and with an appropriate level of voice. Consequences are as follows- We begin on green. Three verbal warnings moves to yellow. Five verbal warnings moves to red and receives a 5 minute time-out and a note home. More than five verbal warnings will receive a phone call home and a possible visit to the principal. Daily behavior will be reported on their Daily Report. If there were no major behavior problems that day, your child will color the day's square green. If they had to move to yellow they will color the day's square yellow. If they had to move to red they will color the day's square red and you will see a number. This number is the number of the rule in which your child had difficulty following (the rules are written on the Daily Log for easy reference).
Scholastic Book Club Orders
Book orders will be sent home monthly. This gives you the opportunity to purchase quality books at a low price for use at home. THIS IS STRICTLY OPTIONAL! Please do not feel as though you ever have to purchase anything. There are two ways you can order books from Scholastic. 1. Send your order to school with your child by filling out the order form t hat I send home and return it with your payment attached. Checks should be made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. 2. Order online by logging on to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. Our class code is GL32F.
School Supplies
Please send in your child's school supplies on the first day of school. Please note... some supplies will need to be replenished as the year goes on. Here is a link for the needed supplies for the 2014-2015 school year.
Sending in Money
A lot of money passes through the classroom. If you are sending in a check or cash ALWAYS place it in an envelope with your child's name and the purpose of the money written on the outside. This envelope should then be placed in your child's home folder. It is VERY important that these steps are followed.
Special Friend
"Special Friend" is the teacher's helper for the day. Each day we will have a different "Special Friend" and all will have the opportunity to hold this special position several times throughout the year. When it's your child's turn to be "Special Friend" for the day, they will take things to the office as needed, be the line leader
Star Student of the Week
Each student will have the opportunity to be our Star Student of the Week. I will send home your child's Star Student information the week before it's their turn. This is a favorite of the kids and a great opportunity for us to learn about each other.