1. Welcome to 1 st Grade!

2. Arrival Please have your child here as close to 7:30 as possible. They need time for breakfast, restroom, paying lunch money, unpacking, morning work, etc…

3. Dismissal Please make sure you keep the transportation form up to date. Please keep green car rider cards visible on your dashboard until your child is in the car.

4. Reading Students will be given their weekly reading test on Friday mornings. They will be expected to read certain sections on their own. Your child will begin taking AR tests each 9 weeks to reach the goal that has been set for them. We won’t begin this until the 2nd 9 weeks. High Frequency/Sight Words, Phonics Skills, Nonsense Words, etc.. will be on the back of the homework sheet for added practice at home. Starting in Unit 1, a passage will come home for students to practice at home. Time them for 1 minute to see how many words they can read. Nightly reading with your child will continue to help them become successful in Reading.

7. Spelling Spelling words will come from our weekly phonics skill and sight words. Weekly tests will be given on Fridays. Students are not assigned spelling homework, but it is beneficial to study their words with them nightly. Students are given a list of 12 spelling words. 10 from the phonics skill, and 2 from our sight words. They will be written on the weekly newsletter and posted on the 1st grade website.

8. Handwriting Students will receive a handwriting grade based on their penmanship on their weekly spelling test. This will be given as a S, NI, or a U.

9. Math Your child will have a workbook and journal. The journal will stay at school. There will be a timed addition/subtraction/mixed fluency test each week. It will be counted as a test grade. Homework will not be given, but they need to practice their facts at home. Tests will be given as we come to a mid-chapter check point and the end of each chapter. First in Math login information was sent home this week and will be in their binder.

10. Science We will use inquiry-based learning through AMSTI and STEAM resources. Hands-on experiments will be conducted frequently. Journals will be kept at school and graded on a regular basis. This will be given as a S, NI, or a U.

11. Conduct All students start on Green each day. Students clip up for being a good example and class leader. Students clip down for behavior that needs improvement. At the end of the day, Green is the goal! Green, Blue, Purple, and Pink are all the Same= Good!

12. INOW & Grading During the first nine weeks, there will be fewer assignments and tests. Be sure to check INOW to check progress. We keep our grades as up to date as possible. Log in information went home Tuesday afternoon.

13. Communications Please check your child’s binder, clean it out, organize it, etc… nightly. They should come to and from school EVERY DAY. Check their Conduct sheet nightly and initial that you have seen their conduct for the day. Newsletters will be sent home at the beginning of the week. Please read over every Monday to keep up to date with the week's events. Graded papers will be sent home as soon as they are graded and put into iNow. Please check the communication section of your child’s binder daily for notes from the school or other important information. Please put any notes from home, lunch money, etc… in the communication divider of your child’s binder.

14. Conferences We will be glad to schedule conferences. Please just email, send a note, or call the office, and we can schedule a convenient time. Our PE time is from 12:55-1:40 Monday thru Thursday. Friday we have PE from 8:45-9:30. Please remember we are always here for you and your student. Don’t ever hesitate to contact us.

15. Snacks Each morning the students will have time for a snack. (usually around 9:25) Only water is permitted and must be kept in a bottle with a secure top. Candy is not permitted. We suggest one healthy, easy to eat snack like crackers, fruit bars, etc… You may wish to send several snacks at the beginning of the week to keep in their bookbags.

16. Field Trips We go to a least two field trips in 1st grade. We go to Gullion farms in October and Botanical Gardens near the end of the year. If you have a hardship and feel that you need assistance to pay for any of these trips, please contact us. The office has an application for field trip assistance. We wear our class t-shirts on field trips and some days during the school year. We keep their class t-shirts at school, and the students put them on the morning of the trip.

17. School Visits Stop in and get a visitor tag when you arrive. When you visit your child at lunch, please remember no fast food or soft drinks may be brought in to your child for lunch. There is a special visitor table for parents so you and your child can have some quality one-on-one time. No other students will be allowed to sit with you and your child. Visitors are not allowed to walk their child back to class.

18. Parent Volunteers Guidelines have changed this year. -Volunteers work for the grade level. -They are expected to work in the workroom. We have so many volunteers, we really appreciate the support.

20. Thank you for coming! We are looking forward to a great year with your child!