MS. Dillard's FIRST GRADE CLASS

Welcome to Cary Woods Elementary School’s First Grade! I know you must be as excited, anxious, and thrilled about your child being in the first grade as your child is.  This year will be full of meaningful, fun, & developmentally appropriate learning experiences.  I am so delighted to have your child in my first grade class and look forward to getting to know your child!

  I fully respect your position as your child’s most important teacher and look forward to working with you in the coming year to help your child have the best possible learning experiences!  My door is always open, so please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you have regarding your child!  I hope your child & you are as excited as I am about the coming year!

         CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT:  I help the children create an environment of trust, sharing, and support in our classroom.  I believe in success for all the children.  I set high expectations because I know that children will rise to meet them.  The children are encouraged to try & not to fear making mistakes.  The children learn through authentic, meaningful hands-on experiences.  I hope to develop a life-long love of learning in each child. Our classroom will be a risk-free environment where students are actively engaged in learning activities cooperatively and independently.   I strive to meet the social, emotional, physical, and academic needs of each individual child by providing a nurturing environment. 

         ARRIVAL:  The school will be open to students at 7:10 a.m.  Children dropped off prior to this time will have to wait outside unsupervised.  At 7:10 a.m. 1^st & 2^nd grade students will be ushered to the multi-purpose room.  At 7:15 a.m. when the first bell rings, the students in the multi-purpose room will be directed to their classrooms.  Students who enter the building after the 7:15 a.m. bell can go directly to their classroom.  Between 7:15 a.m. & 7:30 a.m. they will be able to purchase breakfast, which they can then bring to the classroom.  The tardy bell rings at 7:30 a.m. and classroom instruction will begin promptly at this time.  If your child arrives after this time, he/she will need to sign in and receive a tardy slip at the front office. 

        ATTENDANCE:  It is very important that your child miss as little school as possible.  If your child must miss school, please send a written excuse the day he/she returns to school.  Your child’s absence is considered unexcused until a note is on file within 3 days of the absence.  If you need to check your child out of school early, please go to the office.  Your child will be called on the intercom and will come to the office to meet you. 

         LUNCH/BREAKFAST:  Breakfast is .30 cents (reduced meal price) or $1.00 (full meal price).  Breakfast items include: cinnamon buns, yogurt, cereal, cereal bar, pop tarts, or muffin, plus milk.  If your child is eating breakfast, make sure they arrive early enough so they will not be late to class!  Lunch for our class begins at 11:06 a.m.  The lunch prices are .40 cents (reduced meal price) or $2.50 (full meal price).  Extra milk is .25 cents.  Each student has an account for his/her meals that needs to be paid for weekly or monthly, not daily.  Each student will be given a number to punch into the computer system in the cafeteria.  When the account is low, a note will be sent home asking for money to place in your child’s account.  Parents are welcome to join us for lunch.  Be sure to sign in at the office & pick up a visitors badge.  “Fast food” from outside sources is not allowed for a lunch choice.  Please keep this in mind when eating lunch with your child.  If you wish to eat a school lunch, please send $3.50 in a sealed envelope in your child’s B.E.A.R. folder and write whether you would like a salad or hot lunch that day.

         SNACKS:  Your child will need a daily snack, which will be eaten around 9 a.m. each day.  Appropriate nutritional choices include packaged cracker packs (cheese or peanut butter on crackers), small crackers (Goldfish, Teddy Grahams, etc.), fruit, cheese, pretzels, or raw vegetables.  Please, please do not send any candy or sugar snacks or snacks that require utensils (pudding, yogurt, etc).  Snacks can be purchased from the cafeteria in the morning before school starts.  The cost is .50 cents and selections include: popcorn, pretzels, goldfish crackers, or animal crackers.  This will be deducted from your child’s lunch account if they use their lunch number. Any “snack donations” to the classroom are greatly appreciated!     

         DISMISSAL:  School dismisses beginning at 2:15.  Children not picked up will be taken to the after-school program where you will be charged a fee once you pick them up.  If there are any changes to your child’s typical way home, you must complete a new transportation form in the office.  Unfortunately phone calls or handwritten notes cannot be accepted.  A copy of the transportation form is in the student handbook.  If you are picking up your child in the carhop line, please remain in the line and do not drive past vehicles in front of you.  You must have one of the schools’ hangtags on your rearview mirror and your child’s name must be clearly labeled on the tag.  Please do not park down the street and ask your child to walk down & get in the car, as this is not safe.  If your child is a walker, please do not wait for you child at one of the side entrances.  Walkers are dismissed at 2:30 & all walkers exit the school through one of the side doors.

        VISITORS:  You are welcome to visit the school anytime.  Please make sure you enter through the front doors and sign-in at the office where you will also pick up a visitors badge.  For the safety of our children and faculty, please do not enter the building through the side entrances.  The office will buzz our classroom to make sure it’s an appropriate time for you to come to the room.

         DISCIPLINE/GUIDANCE:  I encourage self-discipline and provide guidance based on positive reinforcement.  I believe that establishing and following classroom rules are essential to a productive classroom environment.  I emphasize the importance of kindness, respect for others, cooperation, and staying focused on the task of the moment.  Our class rules are the school rules: Be Prepared, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Respectful.   Your child will bring home a daily behavior chart.  The chart will indicate which of the four rules your child may have had a hard time with that day.  Please initial this chart each night and discuss the importance of good choices with your child.   

         B.E.A.R. FOLDER:  Each day your child will be coming home with his/her B.E.A.R. folder.  Please take the time each evening to look through this folder with your child.  Inside you will find your child’s work, daily behavior chart, our class calendar, our class newsletters, and other information.  The B.E.A.R. folder is an important tool for teaching your child responsibility and organization, as well as keeping you informed of our class’s activities.  Your child is responsible for returning the B.E.A.R. folder to school each morning.

        CLASS WORK FOLDERS:  This folder will be sent home every other Friday & it will contain your child’s schoolwork.  Your child will be responsible for returning this folder by the following Friday. (*If your child performs extremely poorly on an assignment or particular test, I will communicate that to you as soon as possible.) 

         MONEY: Please place any money (for lunch accounts, field trips, book orders) in an envelope clearly labeled with the amount, your child’s name, and the money’s purpose.  This envelope needs to be placed inside your child’s B.E.A.R. folder.

         HOMEWORK:  To reinforce reading strategies and skills that are learned at school, a child will be expected to read between 15 and 20 minutes EACH night.  To help achieve this, a Reading Log will be included in your child’s B.E.A.R. folder.  You will be responsible for signing the Reading Log and noting which book was read.  I encourage you to make this standing homework assignment an enjoyable and pleasurable routine in your home.  In addition to the nightly reading requirement, there will be spelling, math, and writing assignments as necessary.  These assignments will be given on Mondays and typically due on Friday.

         COMMUNICATION:  The B.E.A.R. folder will provide you with essential information on a daily basis.  If you need to contact me, please feel free to do so.  Please send a note in your child’s folder or email me rather than coming into the classroom before school starts.  I’m focused on greeting each of the students as they enter the classroom and do not want to take away from this valuable “connecting” time.  I will check my email throughout the day and attempt to answer any concerns or questions as quickly as possible.  You may also call the office and leave a message for me to call you and as soon as I can, I will return your call.

         PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES:  The district-wide conferences are scheduled for October.  However, I encourage parent/teacher conferences at any time of the year, so please contact me to schedule a conference anytime you have an issue or concern you wish to discuss.

         BOOK ORDERS:  Periodically I send book order forms home.  I strongly encourage you to order a book or two whenever possible.  These books are extremely inexpensive and a great way to build your child’s library at home.  It also helps your child to develop a love of reading if they have some books of their own.  Our class also receives points for book orders and these points can be redeemed for FREE books for our class library!  So please order whenever possible!

         BIRTHDAYS:  Your child’s birthday is a very special occasion for our classroom.  If you would like to send cookies (no cupcakes or cake as they tend to be really messy) for your child’s birthday, please do so on the morning of your child’s birthday so that the students may enjoy this special treat after their lunch.  Also, please do not send any sort of balloons, flowers, etc. to the school for your child’s birthday. 

         CLASS CELEBRATIONS/PARTIES:  We will have several parent-planned celebrations in the classroom during the school year.  You will be contacted by the room parent to help supply food, paper goods, activities and treats for these celebrations.

    ASSEMBLIES:   At the end of each nine weeks, each grade level hosts a “Celebration” assembly these assemblies draws near, you will receive more information.  

WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE!!!!