Welcome to First Grade! Check back periodically for updates. I am looking
forward to a wonderful year.
Oct. 7, 2009
NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 12th!
•Field Day is on October 16th. The P.E. department has requested that
students wear super hero costumes. The first grade teachers are concerned for
your child’s safety, bathroom needs, and overall comfort. Please have your
child were our maroon Class Shirt on this day instead of a super hero
costume. We don’t want costumes to end up lost, stolen or broken.
Thanks so much for your help.
In the Tuesday folder a parent note and rubric came home about career day in
first grade. All you need to do and is have your child choose a career.
Both of you can look for information regarding what the career consists of.
On the day of career day your child will need to bring in a change of clothes
if they would like to dress as the career they chose or props to explain the
career. We will be presenting these to the entire class after lunch. Before
we begin presenting I will send the students to change into the needed
attire. Dressing up like the career professional is just an option. If you
have any questions please don’t hesitate to call or email me.
Oct. 2, 2009
Guided reading groups have begun. When your child brings their guided
reading book, fodler, and bag home, please remember to have them read aloud
and then tell you the events to the story. Return the book, folder, and bag
the next day.
Sept. 25, 2009
Please remember that Tuesday is picture day. If you have not sent in the
order form for pictures, Tuesday will be the last day to do so. Also,
Thursday is our Parent Academic/Conference night at 6pm in the cafeteria.
Plan the presentation by all first grade teachers regarding what to expect
during the first grade year to take about 30 minutes. Following that
presentation you all will come back to the class and I will share your
child’s beginning of the year assessments and conference form. This will be
done as a group. If you have questions by the end of the night and want to
meet one on one, there will be a place for you to indicate that.
Sept. 15, 2009
Today in your child's Tuesday folder there will be a sheet for you to fill
our regarding how you feel about your child academically. Please complete
the sheet and return it tomorrow. This year we will be combining parent
academic night and conferences. The conferences will be a little different
than what you had last year. With our school's calendar this year there are
not dates allocated for Fall or Spring conferences. So as a team we decided
to combine these nights so that we could still have some form of conference
in the fall informing parents of where their child is performing
academically. After academic night, you will be asked to come to the
classroom. There I will have a folder with all your child's beginning of the
year samples. I will be explaining during that time what each sample is and
what the expectations were. With no time allocated it would be very
difficult to get all conferences in after school hours, so we had to devise a
new plan. I think this is a step in a good directions. Please know that
this does not mean that if you need an individual conference to discuss
concerns that those will not exist anymore. I am always available to
schedule an individual conference to address any concerns you may have;
academically, behaviorally, etc. Thank you all for going down this new road
with me. I look forward to the changes.
Parent academic/conference night is Thursday, Oct. 1st 6-7pm.
August, 28, 2009
Today your child is bringing home their behavior folder. Inside the folder
is a page explaining the first grade behavior system. Please, each Friday
review your child’s behavior and then sign below the week’s boxes. Your
child will then need to return the folder on Monday. For a few weeks I am
going to let you all get use to the idea of returning the folder on Monday.
After several weeks I will give your child a warning and then if their folder
is forgotten again, they will then move their behavior clip. I am trying to
help you teach your child responsibility. I have stressed to them that it is
their responsibility to get the folder back in their backpack after you sign
it. If learning to take responsibility doesn’t start now, it might be too
hard to learn at a later age. Most kids will get the hang of it and
remember the folders each Monday. Practice just makes perfect. If a parent
forgets to sign it, that’s different story. I am not going to make your
child move their clip because a parent might have forgotten to sign it. As a
parent I understand how some little things can be forgotten every once in a
while. The same rule applies to the homework and Tuesday folder. Speaking
of the homework folder, you will see that come home on Monday. Every Monday
your child will bring their folder home and then return it on Friday. Your
child is expected to read at least 20 minutes every day. On Monday I will
explain to the kids that they can ask you to tell them how long they read
each day and write it down in the folder. I will not make them move their
clip for no parent signature, only if they forgot the folder or no reading is
indicated. Again, I am going to give you all time to adjust to the change in
homework folder requirements.
FIRST GRADE t-shirt orders were due TODAY (Aug. 28th)! Please return your
child's order form with the needed size and correct cash.