Families,
Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year. I am so excited to have a great bunch of kiddos. We have been working hard to learn our classroom routines, procedures, and expectations.
I have also been administering math and reading assessments to help me place your child into skills groups. Skills groups will begin the week of September 8. We will have skills groups from 2:30-3:30 every afternoon. There will be 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of math.
Each student has a B.I.R.D. (Being Incredibly Responsible Daily) folder that should come to school and go home each day. Inside of the B.I.R.D. folder is a behavior calendar. This calendar is a way for you to see how your child's behavior was each day. It is based on the behavior clip chart we have in class. The behavior calendar should be initialed nightly and kept in the B.I.R.D. folder. Students start on "Ready to Learn" (green) each day. I ask students to move their clip up when they make good choices. Students who are off-task, distracting others, or not following directions will be given a warning and will then be asked to move their clip down if the behavior continues. Students' clips can move up and down throughout the day. Please know that I have used this system for a number of years and have found it to be a method that encourages positive behaviors. If you are ever concerned about your child's behavior, I would be happy to discuss your concerns. I will talk more about our behavior chart at Parent Night on Tuesday, September 16.
Homework will come home every week on Monday (or the first day of the week) in the B.I.R.D. folder. Homework is due on Friday (or the last day of the week) in the B.I.R.D. folder. The fluency portion of the homework is to be completed each night Monday-Thursday. In addition to the homework packet, a list of spelling words will come home for your child to practice. The words are to be cut out and sorted. There will be a list of activities to choose from for practice. A reading calendar for the month of September will come home on Friday. Students are expected to read 20 minutes or more at least 20 days during each month. I will send home a decodable book each week that aligns with our basal reader story. This can be used to read at home and should be read multiple times. Students may also read books they check out from the CJE library, the Meridian Public Library, or books you have at home. Reading calendars should be signed by a parent and returned at the end of each month. Students who read at least 20 minutes for 20 or more days during the month will be invited to eat lunch in the classroom during our 20/20 Lunch Bunch. An award and a small treat will be given during this celebration.
We have Library on Mondays. Students will begin checking out books on September 8. Please make sure your child returns their library books each Monday so they are able to get new books to read.
We have P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please make sure shoes that are appropriate for running and other activities are worn on these days.
A newsletter came home today. I will begin emailing the weekly newsletter to save paper. If you would prefer a paper copy be sent home with your child, please let me know.
Here are some Upcoming Events you may be interested in marking on your calendar:
- Monday, September 1--No School (Labor Day)
- Tuesday, September 2--Picture Day
- Tuesday, September 16--Parent Night 6:00-7:30 pm (Two sessions available)
- Friday, October 3--PTO Carnival 6:00-9:00 pm at CJE
Thank you for allowing me to teach your child! I'm looking forward to a fantastic year of learning!
