ABC ‘s of First grade!
Absences: If your child is absent please let the office
know that morning. You may send a signed note the next day to avoid any
unexcused absences.
If your child will be absent for any extended
period of time please let me know a few days in advance so I can prepare any
work they may miss while gone.
Arrivals: Please drop off your child in the back of the
school between 7:30-8:00. They will then walk to the cafeteria to wait for me
to pick them up. Please remember we are promoting independence so unless
absolutely necessary, please allow them to come in alone.
Attendance: Anyone arriving after 8:05 will be marked
tardy. It is important that they arrive at school on time because each minute
in the classroom is valuable to their learning. If you are tardy please walk
your child to the office and check them in. Please see the student handbook for
more information on tardies and absences.
B
Backpacks: It is very important that your child bring a
backpack to school everyday to ensure that items are brought to and from school
safely. Please make sure their name is on the backpack somewhere.
Blog: I have set up a classroom blog for us this
year! This will be a great way to keep in consistent contact with each other
and all our happenings in our classroom!
Many of the hands-on lessons and experiments that we implement on a
daily basis are things that are not able to be taken home. This will be a great way to see what we are doing
inside the classroom…with pictures, words, and documentation!!
Birthdays: If you would like to send a treat with your
child for his/her birthday please feel free to do so. We will have our birthday
treats during our snack time only. We will not allow birthday treats in the
cafeteria during lunch. Please do not send birthday invitations to school
unless you have enough for everyone.
Behavior Management: In my classroom in have 5 rules:
- Raise your hand before speaking
- Use a quite voice
- Listen to everyone
- Clean up after yourself
- Keep your hands, feet, and objects to
yourself
A lot of time is spent at the beginning of the
year discussing these rules and what they mean. Good behavior management is
essential to our learning environment.
I like to use positive reinforcement in my
classroom by recognizing when the students are making good choices. This can be
done with verbal praise, sending a happy note home and occasionally with
stickers. My goal is for each child to be motivated to make good decisions
because it is the right thing to do, not because they are rewarded.
Please encourage, at home, the proper behavior
that is expected in the classroom.
Breakfast:
Please make sure that your
child eats breakfast each morning. We want them ready to learn when they arrive
at school and it needs to be done on a full stomach! Breakfast can be bought in
the cafeteria in the mornings. To set up a breakfast plan, please contact the
office.
C
Communication:
Parent/teacher communication is
very important to me. Please contact me any time with any questions or comments
you may have. You may send a note in your child’s folder or contact me by the
following:
Email: bbaum@harmonytx.org
School phone: 469-892-5556
Conferences:
Parent/teacher conferences will
be held through out the year at the end of grading periods. Please look for
information regarding these in your child’s folder.
If you would like to set up a separate
conference with me, please feel free to contact me anytime so we can set up a
time that will work for both of us.
Clubs:
Harmony offers after school
clubs Monday through Friday. They take place from 3:15-4:15. We do not have
clubs on Wednesdays due to weekly faculty meetings. Each club is $20 a month.
If you would like to enroll your child in a club please look for the club sign
up that will be going home or contact the front office for more details.
D
Discipline: As stated previously in behavior management, we
strive for good behavior in our classroom. I expect each student to follow the
rules at all times, however, there are times when rules are not followed and
there are consequences.
We will have a chart hung up in our classroom.
Each day students start on the color green which is Ready to Learn. Each
student will have the opportunity to move up or down the chart throughout the
day. The choice is theirs. If students are making excellent choices throughout
the day they will move up the chart to blue or even higher to purple. If
students are having trouble making good choices they will move down the chart
to yellow, orange or red. Yellow is a warning, Orange is a loss of privilege,
and Red is a note or call home.
Students will have a monthly calendar in their
take home folder. At the end of each day I will make a note in the folder to
indicate the color that they were on at the end of the day. As always, we hope
for green!
Dismissal:
Full day dismissal time is at
2:45. We will walk the students to the front and students will be responsible for
watching for their car. I will walk the students to their car and ensure they
are safely inside. If you are going to walk up to get your student, please park
your car out of the car line and wait on the sidewalk.
If someone other than the usual will be picking
up your student please make sure that you send a note to me and let the front
office know. Also, please make sure that your child is aware of who will be
picking them up that day.
Pick up runs from 2:45 to 3:15. Please be sure
that you are on time. Thirty minutes is a very long time for a small child to
wait to be picked up. If you are late it the school will charge you a fee
before they release your student.
Early Dismissal: If you need to pick your child up early for any
reason you will need to sign him/her out in the front office. The office will
call my classroom and let me know they are leaving and I will send them up.
If there is to be an early release day at school
a note will be sent home in Wednesday mail or in their take-home folder.
Emergency
Information: Emergency
information must be kept updated in the office!! I will be sending home a sheet
for you to fill out that I will keep in a binder in my classroom so I can have
the information at hand. Please make sure that if there are any changes you let
me know immediately.
F
Field Trips: We will be going on two field trips per
semester. All field trip information and forms will be sent home at least three
weeks prior to the day of the field trip. Please make sure that you turn in the
signed forms by the due date. This is very important to ensure your student a
spot on the trip. If forms are not turned in on time, he/she will not go.
Unless otherwise indicated, sack lunches are required for field trips. Make
sure that the lunch bag and all contents are able to be thrown away. Parent
volunteers are always welcome and encouraged.
Grades: There will be a minimum of 6 grades per academic
area. Assignments will graded and recorded in the database within one week of
their due date. Students will receive progress reports every 3 weeks. Not every
assignment your student does will be recorded in the grade book. Many will be checked for completion and understanding.
Grading Policy for first grade:
A: Approaching
M: Mastered
N: Needs improvement
H
Homework: Monthly homework packets will go home at the
beginning of each month. Each day will contain a fun educational activity for
your child to complete. Please send this each day in your child’s folder to be
checked for a homework grade.
Each student will be expected to read for 20
minutes each night. They will record the books they have read in a reading log
and it will be initialed by you each night. This will begin the second week of
school.
Additional homework will be sent throughout the
year in addition to practicing their spelling words and sight words.
Home
visits: Home visits are unique
to Harmony. They are a special time for teachers to bond with their students
and parents. These short visits make the student feel like they mean something
outside of the classroom to the teacher. Home visits are not mandatory!! Please
do not confuse these with a parent conference. If you have specific concerns
please set up a parent/teacher conference with me at the school.
I
Illness:
Your child’s health is very
important in order for optimum learning to occur. If your child is sick please
keep him/her home until he/she is well. Remember to send a note upon return so
the absence can be excused.
J
Journaling: Writing/journaling will take place each day in
the classroom. Writing, in all forms, are very important. Encourage your child
to write at home as often as possible. Writing lists and labeling pictures are
just a couple of ways to expand their skills.
K
Keeping
updated: Please frequently
check our classroom blog for updates on what we are doing in our classroom
http://msbaumsfirstgrade.blogspot.com/
Lunch: We will go to lunch each day from 11:00-11:25.
You are welcome to join your child in the cafeteria for lunch once a month,
please be sure to sign in the office first and receive your visitor’s badge.
Please be sure to keep up with your child’s
lunch account. Students may be denied lunch if the account is unpaid. You may
contact the front office to place more money on your students lunch account or
to set one up.
Lunch
Boxes: You student may bring
his/her own lunch to school. Please make sure that the lunch box is labeled
with his/ her name and remind them that they are responsible for keeping up
with it. We will NOT heat up food in the cafeteria. Please send items
that can be eaten cold/room temperature.
Lost
and Found: If your child looses
an item that may belong to them, please check the lost and found located in the
front office. To ensure that your items can be found and identified please
label anything that you send to school with your child’s first and last name.
Money:
If you are sending money to
school with your students, please make sure that is placed in an envelope with
their name on it, the amount and what it is for. Please place the envelop in
their take home folder
News: Please check our blog for the latest news. This
will keep you up to date on what is going on in the classroom as well as inform
you on the weeks spelling words and homework.
Outside: Weather permitting, we will be going outside
twice a day for recess. Please make sure your child has the appropriate outside
attire.
Parties:
We will have classroom parties
during certain times of the year. I would like all activities planned and run
by parent volunteers. If you would like to be on the party planning committee
please sign up on the form I am sending home. All items for the party are
donated by parents.
Questions:
Anytime you have questions do
not hesitate to contact me anytime via email or phone.
R
Recess: We will go out for recess once a day if weather
permits. Please make sure that your child has a jacket when the weather gets
cooler.
Please do not allow your child to bring toys from
home to play with outside at recess. We will have balls and equipment for the
students to play with.
Report
Cards: Report cards will be
sent home at the end of each six weeks.
Restroom:
We will have two group restroom
times each day, one before lunch and one in the afternoon. Students are
expected to go the restroom at theses times. If he/she has to go to the
restroom at any other time during the day they will be permitted to go as long
as it is not during direct instruction and they have not abused their restroom
privileges. Playing in the bathroom will result in a color change.
Snacks:
We will have a snack time each
afternoon. Students will need to bring their own snacks and drinks from home.
Specials:
Students will participate in
specials each day for 50 minutes. They are expected to participate in P.E.,
Art, Music, Health, Gymnastics and Engineering. As soon as I know the schedule
for these, I will send that home with you. Please make sure on gym days your
child is wearing comfortable shoes.
Student
Handbook: Please look to the
student handbook for school wide policies and uniform information. If you did
not receive a student handbook, please let me know and I can send one home for
you as soon as possible.
T
Take Home Folder: These folders are our way of maintaining daily
communication. It is VERY
important that you check your child’s folder daily. This is the way I will send
home behavior notices, field trip info and other important information.
Homework will also be sent and returned in this folder. This is also a way for
you to send me notes or return any signed forms.
Toys: Toys will not be allowed in the classroom. If
he/she has a toy it will be taken up and returned directly to you. These can
become a distraction to them and others around them.
Transportation:
If there are any transportation
changes please let me know as soon as possible. It will be best to send a note
in the folder or email.
U
Uniforms: Students are expected to come each day in their
school uniform. If he/she comes to school missing any part of the uniform,
he/she will be sent to the office and a phone call home will be made. Free
dress days are handed out throughout the year but may only be used for that
specific date. School uniforms can be bought in the front office. Please see
the student handbook for specific uniform rules.
V
Visitors/Volunteers: Please check into the front office when you
arrive to receive your visitor’s badge. Please be sure to bring your drivers
license for them to scan.
W
Water
Bottles: Water bottles are
allowed and encouraged. It is a way for them to stay hydrated without having to
leave to go to the water fountain. Please make sure that his/her name is on the
bottle.
X
eXit and Entry: Parents must exit and enter through the main
school entrance/exit. You will wait at the office if you are picking up your
child or if you are entering the school you will need a badge. You will not be
allowed to walk around to the portable building.
You: Your suggestions and ideas are always welcome.
You are the most important adult in your child’s life and you know them best. I
will value your input.
Zzzz’s: Please make sure your child is fully rested when
they come to school. Setting and maintaining a bedtime is a good way to ensure
maximum potential.
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