Our Mother of Consolation School
17 E. Chestnut Hill Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
September 2011
Dear Parents,
I would like to welcome you and your child to Grade 1 at Our Mother of Consolation School. I will be your child’s First Grade teacher, Ms. Maryanne Tobin. It will be my pleasure to assist you in teaching your child in the coming year. I am looking forward to a happy, joyful year for all of us. This information that will help us get off to a good start.
SUPPLIES: I ask that you purchase the following supplies from school so that all of the children will have the same kind. This makes it easier for the children to follow when directions are given and also easier to find the right book. Thanks. Please check your fall letter for any updates to the price list. As of now:
2 Parent Communication/Studysheet Copybooks $3.00
3 Dotted line copybooks for writing $4.50
Pencil grips for Penmanship $1.00
TOTAL $8.50
These supplies will be brought to the First Grade room and given out when ready/as needed. STATIONERY MONEY can be sent to school IN AN ENVELOPE MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME, GRADE, AMOUNT AND STATIONERY ON THE FRONT in September. Bottles of glue ($.50) and glue sticks ($.25) are also available for purchase from Ms. Tobin. Indicate on the front of the envelope that you are also paying for some of those.
THE FOLLOWING SUPPLIES MAY BE PURCHASED ANYWHERE:
4 Very Sturdy Pocket Folders (laminated type with pockets on the bottom-not the sides)
1 ---pair of children’s scissors (put name on with marker or on tape)
1---8-oz. bottle of Elmer’s Glue (This will be labeled and kept in school)
2---glue sticks (put name on using tape and permanent marker)
8—SHARPENED # 2 pencils with erasers (put name on each with a permanent marker)
1---box of 12 to 24 crayons (no larger—when dropped they are a mess to clean up)
1---12 inch ruler with inches on one side and centimeters on the other side (please print child’s name on back with a permanent marker)
3--- large erasers (print name on 1 side)
3---rolls of paper towels
3---boxes of Kleenex
2--- lg. plastic containers of antibacterial wipes for cleaning/disinfecting desks
CLEAR CONTACT PAPER---to cover all books (Keep at home)
1---Art box---plastic shoe box type- 4 inches high is the perfect size (or less to fit in desk)
Many of these items are also available at school. If you want a complete school stationary list in the Fall, send me a note and I’ll glue one into your PARENT COMMUNICATION COPYBOOK.
Children will also need a sturdy schoolbag and a lunchbox. Also, an absorbent towel for snacktime and lunchtime to put on the desktop (these have saved many a lap from spills and are much cheaper to use than constantly having to request more paper towels). Please label all of them clearly with your child’s name and grade in permanent marker (you can put this information on the inside of the schoolbag and lunchkit if you would rather not have strangers see it). Towels can be packed in the lunchbox on Monday and usually go home on Fridays (unless a spill sends it home sooner).
Please send a note with your child on the first day letting me know how your child will go home. Our dismissal lines are: BUS-( children need to be pre-registered for this)-they go out in line to the schoolyard and board the buses; CAR-children go to schoolyard and meet parents at their car; AFTERCARE-usually begins the 2nd week of school; WALKERS LINE-children leave by the front door and are walked up to Germantown Avenue.
OTHER INFO:
SHARPENED PENCILS-EVERY CHILD SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 5 SHARPENED # 2 PENCILS FOR SCHOOL EACH DAY WITH NAME ON THEM. PLEASE SHARPEN PENCILS AT HOME EACH NIGHT. Pencils that break will be sharpened at Recess time or whenever I can get to them. If one breaks, your child should put it away and use another one, then at recess, lunch or at the end of the day, PENCILS WITH NAMES can be left in the TO BE SHARPENED can by the pencil sharpener and will be put in the FINISHED can as soon as they are sharpened. Your child can then go back and reclaim the pencil. This is to cut down on the wear and tear on the electric sharpener since youngsters tend to jam the pencils in too hard and then the machine doesn’t work at all. It also cuts down on the number of students running back to the pencil sharpener. Thanks.
PRETZELS MAY BE ORDERED BY THE WEEK ON MONDAYS (Tuesdays if we should have Monday off). Children can buy small pretzels for 35 cents ($1.75 for the week) or the regular large pretzels for 50 cents ($2.50 for the week). (Unless the price has changed from last year). Again, money must come in an envelope marked with your child’s name, grade, amount and PRETZEL MONEY on the front. Please do not send in any loose money because it is so easily lost.
BATHROOM-Children will go to the bathroom with the class at recess. If they need to go earlier or later, there will be a BOY’S PASS and a GIRL’S PASS available in the classroom. To use it, the child should silently raise 1 fist in the air and I will give a nod. He/she can go and take the right pass and replace it when finished. If the pass is missing, the child will know to wait until it comes back. In case of a real emergency, I will tell the child to wave both hands for an EMERGENCY SIGNAL and I will nod for him/her to go fast. If you child has any condition that would make repeated trips to the bathroom necessary, please let me know and I will make sure he/she knows how to use the EMERGENCY SIGNAL, if needed. Thanks.
SNACKS-Children who do not order pretzels may bring in their own snack. This should be 1 item, a bag of something, etc. (not 3 or 4 different things) and a bottle of water or carton of juice that they can open easily(and close if needed). NO SODAS PLEASE! If your child usually finishes a bottle/box of juice/drink at a sitting, you should send 2 of those—one for snack and one for lunch. Any juice that is left after lunch will have to be poured down the sink, since we have no way of “saving” it safely. Also, please, THINK HEALTHY when choosing snacks and please try to avoid foods that can get messy or drippy or that are full of sugar. PLEASE DON’T FORGET THE ABSORBENT TOWEL FOR UNDER THE SNACK. PLEASE REMIND YOUR CHILD NOT TO SHARE THEIR SNACK WITH ANY OTHER STUDENT WHO MIGHT HAVE AN ALLERGY. THANKS!
SCHEDULE- Special Subjects schedule will be as follows for 1st Grade:
Monday-Good Shepherd Religion in half groups (1/2 8:30-10:00; other ½ 1:00-2:30)
Tuesday-Music 1:45-2:35
Wednesday- Spanish-10:25-11:00
Physical Education (Gym)-2:00-2:40 Students come that day wearing their Gym uniform.
Thursday-Computer and Library in half groups 9:15-10:15
Friday-Art 11:15-12:00
HOT LUNCHES—I do not have any information on these yet.
KLEENEX AND PAPER TOWELS-I would ask that each child bring in 3 large rolls of paper towels, 3 large boxes of Kleenex and 1 plastic container of LYSOL WIPES (that we can use to clean/disinfect desktops) sometime during the month of September. You can send them in starting next week. That should cover sniffley noses and clean-ups through the first part of the year. When we start to run out, I will again ask you to send in more of whatever is needed. KEEPING A CLOTH TOWEL IN THE DESK FOR SNACK AND LUNCH CUTS WAY DOWN ON THE AMOUNT OF PAPER TOWELS THAT WE USE! Thanks.
HOMEWORK is important to review the day’s lessons and to reinforce vocabulary recognition, Math concepts, etc. It will be given most weeks Monday through Thursday but not Fridays. It may include both written work and study. Homework assignments will be glued into the PARENT COMMUNICATION COPYBOOKS each week and studysheets will go home in the STUDYSHEET COPYBOOK as needed. Children must bring these two copy books and their PARENT FOLDER home EVERYDAY, INCLUDING FRIDAY (They will not have homework, but you may want to review something or write a note). Please sit down with your child each night as he/she does the assignments. Children will not be able to read the homework sheet on their own and doing this will insure that the right homework is being done on the right night. It will also be a good indicator for you as to how your child is doing in school and will enable you to see first-hand any problem areas and give any necessary reinforcement as needed.
WRITTEN COPYBOOK HOMEWORK-Written Work Copybooks are being set up with SPELLING in the FRONT END and HANDWRITING (practicing the correct formation of letters) in the BACK.
1st GRADE WEBSITE-I will also post homework, parent notes, class information on our 1st Grade website. To log-on, type in: www.teacherweb.com. Go to FIND YOUR TEACHER at the top and click on it. Then choose your STATE; then your SCHOOL; then click on GRADE 1 and you will be at my web page.
I will try to put weekly homework and other information and hope to be able to update it at least weekly—usually Sunday or Monday night. This is a new website that the whole school is using so I am just learning how to use it and the features. Be sure to check the Information page (1st one) and the Homework each week.
CLEAR CONTACT PAPER-PLEASE COVER ALL COPYBOOKS, TEXT BOOKS, FOLDERS, ETC. WITH CLEAR CONTACT PAPER AS SOON AS YOU CAN SO THEY WILL HOLD UP TO DAILY WEAR AND TEAR FOR THE WHOLE YEAR. I know this is a big job and a real pain but it really does help. I will go light on homework for the first week so that you will have time to get this done. MANY THANKS FOR DOING THIS. ALL OF THE BOOKS HAVE COME IN FOR THIS YEAR!
LABELING- PLEASE TRY TO LABEL IN SOME WAY, EVERYTHING YOUR CHILD BRINGS TO SCHOOL! Often children can have the same lunchkit or pencil or almost anything else and having a name on it usually means you’ll get it back. ESPECIALLY LABEL ANY GYM CLOTHES THAT YOUR CHILD MIGHT TAKE OFF WHEN IT GETS HOT. I had a coatroom full of unclaimed sweatshirts and sweaters—AMOST ALL WITH NO READABLE NAMES at the end of last year!
NOTES TO TEACHER-should be written in the PARENT COMMUNICATION COPYBOOK ON THE NEXT EMPTY PAGE. Each morning, I will call for NOTES IN COPYBOOKS AND MONEY SO PLEASE BE SURE YOUR CHILD KNOWS IF THERE IS A NOTE IN THERE SO THAT HE/SHE SHOWS IT TO ME. I WILL EITHER STAMP IT SO YOU KNOW I READ IT OR ANSWER IT ON THE SAME PAGE. IF THE NOTE COMES HOME WITHOUT A STAMP OR NOTE FROM ME, REMIND YOUR CHILD TO SHOW IT TO ME THE NEXT DAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I NEVER SAW IT. PLEASE SIGN ALL NOTES THAT ARE SENT HOME, ALL HOMEWORK AND TEST PAPERS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WHEN THEY COME HOME AND ARE READ. THIS WILL LET ME KNOW YOU ARE READING EVERYTHING CONCERNING YOUR CHILD.
EMAIL-YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT ME BY EMAIL AT mattobin@juno.com . I check email at least once a day, most days, more often. Please fill in your email address on the Information Sheet coming home so that I will be able to contact all 1st grade parents that way. Thanks.
CLASS LIST AND BIRTHDAYS-Class lists (Student names only) will come home next week. I no longer send home a list with names, addresses and phone numbers because of privacy issues. We will celebrate birthdays and will also be having a “SPECIAL STUDENT OF THE WEEK” starting in September. I will send home a separate letter with all the details next week. Thanks for reading all this. There will be more coming home but this will do for now.
Sincerely,
Maryanne Tobin, Grade 1 Teacher
MORE INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN OUT ON “BACK TO SCHOOL” NIGHT.