1. Welcome to First Grade Mrs. Derden’s Class White Oak Elementary 2015-2016

2. Parent/Teacher Communication Email: deborah.derden@cowetaschools.net Daily Behavior Sheets: Initial daily Weekly Newsletter: First Grade News Website: http://mrsderdensclass.weebly.com http://mrsderdensclass.weebly.com Fall Conference: If you wish to meet about your child’s progress we will have parent/teacher conferences after the first progress report.

3. Attendance Being at school and on time is important for student success Send in a written excuse for absences. E-mail notification is not sufficient— note must be signed by parent. Make up work will be sent home with the child when they return to school unless other arrangements have been made.

4. Snack, Lunch, Ice Cream Snack Community Snack: Please send in donations. Ex) Pre-popped popcorn, cheez- its, animal crackers, etc. NO PEANUTS Lunch Send money in an envelope with child’s name, amount, teacher name, and grade on it. Our lunchtime is 11:00-11:30 a.m. Ice Cream Ice cream is purchased for $1 at lunch. Students are responsible for their ice cream $. Please send exact change.

5. Transportation Send a note each day of a transportation change We cannot send your child home a different way unless there is a note with your signature or a fax to the front office

6. Homework 1.Students should read for 10-15 minutes a day. 2.Practice spelling words with the weekly phonics skill. Choose an activity from the spelling grid. One each night! 3.Practice reading and writing the “red words. 4.Practice handwriting 5.Packet sent home Monday, due Friday morning.

7. Common Core Curriculum More rigorous, intense, and extensive than kindergarten. Prepare your child for what is to come by making school a priority.

8. Writing Capitalization and ending punctuation Proper letter formation and spacing Compose narrative, informational, and opinion pieces. Students will be expected to write a piece of appropriate length with sequenced events, details, and some sense of closure.

9. Spelling Test each Friday Includes phonics rule and letter sounds studied during the week Sentence Dictation is included in spelling tests 10 words are 90% and dictated sentence is 10% totaling 100%.

10. Café Reading Comprehension Accuracy Fluency Expand Vocabulary Students participate in Daily 5 (read to self, read with someone, word work, work on writing, and listen to reading). Teacher incorporates guided reading to increase students’ reading levels. Students can excel in reading by using AR, Café, guided reading and Daily 5.

11. Math Math Series this year which is aligned with Common Core Standards Math Centers/Math Games Addition/Subtraction/Place Value Word Problems Time/Calendar/Measurement Geometry/Estimation/ Graphing Assessments after each topic

12. Science & Social Studies Some units for this year include: –Seasons - Citizenship - Folk Heroes –Weather - Maps - Plants/Animals –Magnets - Continents/Oceans

13. Accelerated Reader Students will receive an individualized AR goal starting the 2 nd nine weeks of school. Students check out A.R. books at the school library and take tests on the computer to earn AR points (most books are ½ point) Students should read the book independently three times with an adult before testing Check your child’s AR progress online

14. Classroom Management Procedures Rules: 1)We listen. 2)We follow directions. 3)Keep your hands and feet to yourself. 4)We Walk. 5)We try our BEST! Incentives: Stickers, weekly treasure chest, weekly coupons for fuzzies

15. Grading Report cards issued every 9 weeks with progress reports in between Georgia Common Core Standards Based grades are given Grading Scale MS (Meets Standard) 85%-100% IP (In Progress) 75%-84% DNM (Does Not Meet) 74% and below

16. REACH Program 1 st – 5 th Gifted Referral Period: August If your child is in 1 st – 5 th grade and was not tested last year, you may refer him or her for gifted testing. The referral period will end on August 31 st and no referrals will be accepted after this date. Your child must meet the county standard before he or she moves on to testing. For testing information, please visit https://www.smore.com/drgyf. https://www.smore.com/drgyf If you would like to refer your child or would like further information, please contact Mrs. Paula Corley at (770) 254-2860 or paula.corley@cowetaschools.net (770) 254-2860paula.corley@cowetaschools.net

17. Year-End Honors First grade will host an End of the Year Awards Ceremony in May The following are award areas for your child to work towards: Pizza Hut Book-It Reading Program Six Flags 6 Hour Reading Program –Earn Six Flags ticket –Begins in January Most Improved Student Handwriting Award Citizenship Award Perfect and Good Attendance Award All A’s in Conduct Award

18. Thank you for “popping” in tonight!