Elementary School

Welcome to First Grade!

TEACHERS:

Julie Oaks
Kim Strickland

We wish to thank you for visiting the first grade website. Your children are going to learn so much this year. Step back and wait to be impressed. If there is any advice that could be given to the parent of a 1 st grade student, it would be to READ, READ, and READ some more. It doesn’t matter if you read or your child reads to you just so your child reads something every night. You will be amazed at how well he/she will read after doing this for only a few nights. The students will have homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday night, but please do not just use these nights to read to them. Below are a few suggestions that will aid your child and to give him/her an academic edge.

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

STUDENT NOTEBOOK: Your child will bring home a notebook each day. This notebook may contain a class newsletter, classwork, and graded tests. Please sign or initial each test and return only the tests in the notebook. On Monday through Thursday of each week the notebook will contain homework assignment(s). Please sign in the space marked Parent Signature for each day the notebook is sent home. There is also a parent comment section for you to communicate with me if needed.

Note: The school newsletter will be sent home on every other Tuesday.

HOMEWORK: Homework assignments will be listed in the student planner and on the weekly newsletter. There will be no homework on Wednesday nights. If homework is assigned on Friday, it will be an activity that will be family oriented such as reading a book with the family, making a leaf collection, etc. Daily reading homework will consist of fifteen to thirty minutes of reading. Each assignment should be read twice to themselves and once aloud to a parent. Parents should sign the assignment in the planner.

Once a week students will be asked to copy their spelling words one time.

*****Please note that homework will not be given until the third week of school.*****

CLASSROOM RULES: These are the rules we will follow in the classroom. Please review these rules and the consequences with your child at home.

1. Obey your teacher.
2. Raise your hand to talk.
3. Respect others and their property.

Consequences:

1. First offense – Warning.
2. Second offense – 5 – 10 minutes off of recess.
3. Third offense – behavior report and contact the parent.

Note: Three behavior reports on a student will constitute a referral to the principal.

TEST SCHEDULE:

Tuesdays: Penmanship
Wednesdays: Arithmetic
Thursdays: Phonics/Spelling

ATTENDANCE: Students are encouraged to be in class on time each day. Our class begins promptly at 8:00 a.m. If your child arrives at school after class begins, please obtain a tardy slip from the office before coming to class.

GRADING SCALE:

PENMANSHIP: Your child will learn or continue to learn cursive writing this year. I have enclosed a formation guide in the folder for your child to have at home. Please encourage your child to follow these letter and number formations when writing at home. We will also be teaching manuscript letters and numbers using the Modern form.

P.E. CLASS: P.E. class is scheduled for Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Please have your child wear tennis shoes to school on these days or bring them to wear for P.E. class.

CELEBRATIONS:
Birthdays: If your child would like to celebrate his/her birthday with the class, please feel free to do so. You are welcome to bring cupcakes, cookies, etc. Please let me know a few days before.
Holidays: We will have small celebrations for the following holidays: Christmas, Valentines Day, and Easter. I may call upon you throughout the year to send party supplies to school. I will send a note a few days prior specifying what and when it is needed.

VOLUNTEERS: Please let me know if you would like to come and volunteer in any area with our class (field trips, art projects, reading to the class, parties, etc). Children love to have their parents come and interact with their classmates.

RAINY DAYS: I would like to encourage you to send an umbrella or have your child wear a raincoat to school on rainy days. This will help us as we walk over to the cafeteria for lunch and as we arrive and leave school.

ALLERGIES: We have students with peanut allergies. Please be mindful of this when packing lunches for your children.

SHOW AND TELL: We will be having Show and Tell on the last Friday of each month beginning in September. Otherwise, please do not allow your child to bring toys to school.