2. Welcome to Hoseyland Racing to Success !

3. Learners Start Your Engines! Along with becoming a better reader, writer and “mather,” your child will become more self-directed and self-motivated in the coming months.

4. What to Watch for Each Day Your child’s folder will come home EACH day. Please initial your child’s behavior sheet. Any checked work in folder may stay home. Any incomplete work needs to be finished at home and returned.

5. Behavior Policy Our class theme is racing so I use race flags as symbols for behavior. Our behavior sheet has four flags and a rectangle. Green, Yellow, Red, Black, and “the Trailer.”

6. Green Flag If everything is fine your child stays on the Green Flag.

7. Yellow Flag If he or she has continues to misbehave after a warning, we move to the Yellow Flag, commonly known as the Caution Flag. Please do not punish your child for going to Yellow. Yellow means SLOW DOWN and think about what is going on. If the behavior continues, then we have a problem.

8. Red Flag If misbehavior continues, we go to the Red Flag. As racing fans know, a Red Flag stops all the cars on the track. If your child gets to the Red Flag, he or she will lose half of recess.

9. Black Flag If misbehavior still continues, we go to the Black Flag. On a racetrack, that means you get off the track. In our classroom, it means you lose all your recess.

10. The Trailer If we have additional misbehavior, we will have to go “to the Trailer.” This will mean a call home to parents. If your child goes “to the Trailer” on a regular basis, it could also mean a visit to the office.

11. Homework Policy I do not assign written homework every night, but I do expect your child to read and be read to nightly. (Bedtime stories definitely count!) Any written homework will be sent home on Fridays with the class newsletter. HW is due the following Thursday.

12. Snack The kids are welcome to bring water bottles and snack each day. Fruit, yogurt, cheese and crackers, carrot/celery sticks are excellent snacks. Chocolate and cookies, candy, and chips are not allowed for snacks. I have a small refrigerator that I can store snack for that day.

13. Where is my child’s seat? That depends on what we are working on. We do a lot of group work. We work in lots of different groups so we switch seats often. Your child has a cubby for his/her pencilbox, folder and journal.

14. Supplies The Supply list you have probably seen is generated by the District. Some of these things I already have in the room and others we just don’t need. I apologize if you have already bought all these items. The great thing about school supplies is they never go bad. Please label your child’s scissors, folders, and crayon box with his/her name. The other supplies are shared at tables.

15. Our Class Website  I use our class website as a teaching platform.  It is full of sites that I use at various times throughout the year.  I like to introduce the kids to the activities before they try them on their own.  Some activities we will use AS A CLASS. These are marked as Class Activity.

16. Home-School Communication I am obsessive about checking my email and responding to parents ASAP. If you leave a message, send a note, or email me and I do not respond within eight hours, I never received the message, note, or email. I email our newsletter and other important information throughout the year. This saves on copies. I do not send chain emails.

17. We don’t do a lot of worksheets… I use our SmartBoard for many whole group lessons. The kids write on the board for all to see. I use the sites on our class website for guided and then independent practice. Everyday we use manipulatives in learning activities. I monitor your child’s progress during these activities as well as paper and pencil activities.

18. I send newsletters, progress reports, reminders, etc. in emails. If you do not have email access, you will receive paper copies of progress reports and newsletters.

19. Problem Solving Lincoln has a school wide commitment to improving problem solving skills. In the past first grade students were taught a four step problem solving method. This year we are piloting the Super 3. Watch for more information on this in the coming weeks.

20. Oral and Written Communication Lincoln also has a school wide commitment to improving our students’ oral and written communication skills. Our new reading series, Reading Street, has a strong focus on oral language and vocabulary development. Your child’s writing will improve using the resources from the Reading Street series, as well as Talk for Writing and the 6+1 Writing Traits.

21. Talk For Writing allows children to explore the processes involved in being a writer. Telling their stories becomes a draft for their written pieces. The approach supports children as they move from talk into writing. To become proficient writers, students must first know what makes good writing good. The 6 +1 Traits are: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions and Presentation.

22. Spelling The spelling words are linked to our story of the week. They follow a phonetic principle. Your child will need your help practicing these words at home. Spelling tests will begin the third week of school.

23. Reading By the end of first grade your child is expected to know about 150 basic sight words. Your child will need your help to practice at home.

24. Questions…Concerns… Suggestions If you ever have a question or concern please do not hesitate to ask. Everyone is much happier when everyone knows what is going on and why it’s being done that way. If you ever have a suggestion, please let me know. I’m always open to new ideas.

25. So …..

26. Let the Race (to Second Grade) Begin!