Classroom Handbook
Track 3 – First Grade
2017-2018
Welcome
to first grade! I am looking forward to
starting the new school year and being a part of the social and academic growth
that your child will experience during this time. This year will be unique and exciting for
your child because it is the time where he/she will develop essential skills
and knowledge. As a parent, you are
invited to share in the excitement with us.
I am sure that together we can make this year an unforgettable one for
our students!
Communication
Blog- In order to keep your family aware of what is happening
in our classroom, the blog http://comelearnwithwern.blogspot.com
containing curriculum information, important dates, classroom announcements,
and the list of specials your child will have each week during the school year.
Students need to remember to bring library books on the days we have Media and
wear sneakers on P.E. days.
Home-School Connection Folder- Your child will be given a green folder that will be
used as our way of communicating daily.
This folder will carry your child’s homework and communications between home
and school. This folder should be
checked nightly and returned to school each morning. Homework will be located on the left side of
the folder. In front of the homework will be your child’s behavior chart. This sheet will remain in the folder at all
times. All school and classroom
information will be placed on the right side of the folder. If something needs
to be signed and returned, please make sure it is turned in by the due date. If
you need to send me a note, lunch money, school form, etc… please send it in this folder!
Friday Folder- In addition to your child’s daily folder, you will
receive a yellow Friday folder containing work that your child has completed in
class. This folder will be inside of
your child’s Home-School Connection folder.
Please empty out this folder over the weekend and send it back to school
on Monday.
Dress Code--The WCPSS dress code policy will be enforced. You can
find the full policy in our on-line parent/student handbook. Because these
areas are of most frequent concern at Banks Road, we wanted to call to attention
footwear and coverage of tops.
a.
Students cannot wear back-less sandals/flip-flops to school. These present a safety
problem during recess and PE and they often break. Inappropriate footwear will
result in the student being unable to participate in physical play during
recess and play in PE. Parents will be contacted.
b.
Students wearing strappy dresses or shirts with straps that are less than
approximately two adult finger widths wide need to wear a shirt under or over
the dress/shirt. Spaghetti strap shirts or dresses will result in a school issued
shirt being provided to the student. Parents will be contacted.
School/Classroom Behavior
Banks
Road Elementary School is a PBIS school.
PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. The students in our school are encouraged to be
responsible, be respectful, and be safe.
We have established rules for all of the children in our school
throughout the common areas (cafeteria, restroom, playground, hallway, etc…). Along with
our school-wide rules, we will also have classroom rules that will be
established during the first week of school.
Classroom Behavior Calendars: I have very
high but realistic expectations for how your first grader should act while at
school both in and out of the classroom.
During the first week of school, our class will establish a set of rules
that should be followed each and every day.
Students will understand that the goal of our classroom behavior system
is to establish a set of rules that help us learn and keep us safe. We will work together to create a positive
and safe learning environment for your child and for the other children in our
class. I promote “making good choices”
and encourage students to take responsibility for their own actions. Each academic quarter your child will have a
chart to keep track of their behavior which should be kept in the folder at all
times. If your child has met our expectations for the day, he/she will receive
a star. To promote positive behavior in the classroom, rewards will be given to
students who demonstrate positive behavior. If a positive choice is not being
made, your child will receive a verbal warning to get back on track. If myself or another staff member needs to
continue to speak to your child about their choices, they will receive a
behavior code on their calendar. This
code will explain what your child needs to work on in order to meet the
expectations we have established. Along
with the behavior code, your child will fill out a reflection form that states
what choice they made and what choice they should have made. This form will be sent home, should be
discussed, signed and returned the next day. If your child’s behavior escalates
and becomes disruptive to the learning or safety of others, an office referral
to administration will be made along with a phone call home. Our rules are:
·
Be respectful
·
Be responsible
·
Be safe
·
Be ready to learn
Blazer Bucks: Each day your
child will have the opportunity to earn “blazer bucks” when they have been
spotted following a class/school rule. When your child earns their buck, they
will keep it in a designated spot. When they have a certain amount of blazer
bucks, they can turn it into our Banks Road Trading Post for a reward, such as a
special pencil, fun lunch, bracelet, etc…
Compass Coins: Our class will work together as a team to earn compass
coins for our Trailblazer poster. Once we have filled up our poster, our class
will earn a reward. Our class can earn compass coins for modeling positive
behavior in common areas of the school, such as on the playground and in the
cafeteria.
Thank
you for supporting our classroom behavior system. Positive classroom behavior is vital to the
successful learning of all children.
Specials
Our Specials this year include: PE, Music,
Art, Media, Technology. We will have a rotation schedule that will change every
few weeks. You will receive a list of our schedules for the week in the weekly
newsletter. Please remember to send your child to school wearing sneakers on PE
days and with library books on Media days.
Homework
Each
Monday, a packet will be placed in your child’s Home-School Connection folder
explaining our homework for the week.
Assignments should be completed each night in order to develop good
homework habits. Homework will be due on
Friday unless otherwise stated. Please
do not leave all assignments to be completed Thursday evening. Your child should do a little bit of homework
each night. Developing good homework
habits is very important in first grade! “Homework Helpers” will be placed in
the back pocket of your child’s Home-School Connection folder to be used as
support throughout the year.
Progress Reports/Conferences
Conferences: Parent/teacher
conferences are held twice a year. You will be notified if additional
conferences need to take place.
Progress Reports: Your child will receive a progress report mid-way
through each quarter.
Report Cards: Your
child will receive a report card at the end of the 1st, 2nd,
3rd and 4th quarters. They will be sent home in a special
report card folder and will need to be signed/returned to school.
In
addition to progress reports and report cards, your child will bring home an
assessment folder containing recent assessments/important documents to keep you
updated on their progress throughout the year. Please make sure you are
reviewing your child’s work and signing/returning the documents with the
folder. Detailed instructions will be located on the folder for your reference.
Attendance
Absences: If
your child is absent for any reason, please call the school (890-7333) or email
me (kwern@wcpss.net) to let us know that
your child will not be in class for the day. A note needs to come to school
with your child as to why they were absent when they return. Any absence that does not have a note will be
considered unexcused. Please send all
doctors notes in the folder as well. They will be passed along to our data
manager.
Transportation
Please communicate with your child about
their transportation home from school, especially if it is changing. You will
need to notify me of any change by writing a note in the folder. I ask for a note instead of an email in case
there is a substitute teacher in the classroom.
I want to make sure they are aware of the change. Please understand that
transportation changes can only happen if myself or the office staff is
notified by the parent.
Cafeteria & Snack
Lunch: Make sure your child is prepared for lunch every
day. If you plan on having your child
buy lunch, please keep track of your child’s account and make sure that they
have available funds to purchase a lunch. If you are sending lunch money to
school with your child, place it in an envelope labeled with their name and
“lunch money” on the front. It can be
sent in their daily Home-School Connection folder. Your child will need to bring their lunch
money to the cafeteria during arrivals (between 8:45-9:10). If you plan on
coming to school to eat lunch with your child, you can sit at the parent table
in the back of the cafeteria.
Snack: Your child will have a time each day set aside to eat
a snack, so please make sure you are sending one to school with your child each
day.
Birthdays
If
your child is celebrating their birthday while we are in school, they are
welcome to bring in a small treat to
share with the class. We will pass out any birthday treats after lunch, before recess, in our classroom. Please make sure
treats are store-bought and there is one for each child in our class. Snacks should not contain any type of nut
product. Birthday cakes, candles, balloons, and treat
bags are not allowed to come to school.
Also, please do not ask us to give out birthday invitations in
school. This needs to take place outside
of the classroom. If your child is not
allowed to participate in birthday celebrations, please let me know.
Volunteering
There
will be opportunities to volunteer with our class this year (classroom
volunteering, special activities, field trips, school events, etc…). Anyone
wishing to volunteer must be cleared by the county. You can do this here at school. If you were a volunteer last year, you will
need to go through the clearing process again this year. We will send home
specific volunteer information to everyone once our students have adjusted to
our new classroom routines, rules and procedures.
Scholastic Book Orders
Throughout
the year I will send home Scholastic book order forms with your child. You will have an opportunity to build your
library at home as well as help us earn bonus points to build our classroom
library at school! I use these points to
purchase listening center books and cd’s, classroom read-alouds and books for
our leveled classroom library. You will
receive specific information on how to order when the first form is sent
home.
Thank
you for spending the time to read over our classroom handbook. I hope this guide will serve as a helpful
resource for you this year. Please keep this in a safe place at home! If you
have any questions once our year begins, please do not hesitate to ask.
Mrs. Wern
