WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE
MRS. EADS
First Grade is an important year for your child and a big step from kindergarten. Be sure to read the Parent and Student Handbook that you were given at registration. It covers many topics related to how our school functions and what is expected of you and your child. Following are several topics of particular interest to First Grade parents.
Teacher’s Expectations for Children Entering First Grade
· Tie shoes
Please make sure that you send all of the articles on the classroom supply list as soon as possible. Your child will feel confident and be ready to participate if he or she has all the necessary materials. In addition to the items on the classroom supply list, each student also needs a box of 24 crayons, set of 10 broad-line markers, paint shirt, and an extra folder for Art class.
Lunch
Students need to bring lunch and milk money in an envelope with their name and what the money is going toward, as well as, if the money is for other family members. Milk is included in the cost of lunch. If your child brings a sack lunch, milk can be purchased in the cafeteria at lunch time. Taping the money to the inside of the lunchbox makes it easy for your child to find.
Music, Art, P.E.
Children go to Music and Art classes on alternate days. P.E. class meets everyday. Please make sure your child brings tennis shoes for P.E. if he or she does not already wear them to school that day.
Class Parties
Please sign up to help with a class party. Parents are not required to attend the party for which they sign up.
Children may celebrate their birthdays at school by bringing treats to share with their classmates during milk time. Please note that the Parent and Student Handbook states that children are not allowed to bring invitations to school for private parties outside of the classroom unless everyone in the class is invited.
Penmanship
The enclosed writing guidelines show how children are being taught to make letters correctly. Please help your child practice at home, making sure the pencil is held in the proper position. Begin each letter at the top and follow the order of the arrows on the practice guideline sheet.
100th Day of School
As part of the Math curriculum, our class is counting the days of school until we reach 100. Students are to be thinking about starting a collection of 100 items to bring to school on the 100th school day. Help your child choose something that is creative, but is also easy to acquire. Then go ahead and begin collecting so that the collection is complete by the 100th day of school. Make this an enjoyable project that you and your child can share.
Library Books
Children will begin checking out books from our class library toward the end of the first nine weeks. Waiting until that point helps to ensure that an adequate reading vocabulary has developed and reduces frustration at not being able to read many of the words in books taken home. The book report form is very simple. Please mark it with your assessment of how well your child read the book to you and place the form inside the front cover. If the form is missing, please write the information on a piece of paper instead. First Graders are expected to take one class library book home each day to read and return the next day. Another book may not be checked out until the current book is returned. Children who want to read more books are encouraged to read extra books from home and the North Ward and public libraries, but reports for those books do not need to be sent to school.
Homework
In addition to a library book to read each evening, children are assigned weekly Spelling and Reading vocabulary lists to practice at home. These lists are usually sent home on Monday and students are asked to practice both lists for a few minutes every weeknight. The Spelling list has a home activity on the back to help you and your child get started. Spelling tests are given on Fridays unless otherwise noted.
We will be working with addition and subtraction facts throughout the year. Practice at home is important to help with memorization of math facts to ten. Please set aside 10 minutes each night to work on math facts with your child.
Report Cards and Grades
Please check your child’s bookbag on a daily basis. Go over school papers with your child at home and check for any notes from school. After papers are graded, students are expected to make corrections at school. If your child brings home papers that are incomplete, have many mistakes or are marked with poor grades, please discuss these problems with your child. If you do not see improvement, please contact me to arrange a conference.
First Graders will receive midterm and quarterly grade reports. Please sign and return the envelope, but keep the grade sheet for yourself. An S is considered satisfactory or above. An N indicates that your child is experiencing difficulty in a subject and may need additional practice and review at home. A grade of U will necessitate a conference. Please send a note to set up a convenient time.
Art, Music, P.E., L.D. Resource, and Cross Categorical teachers are responsible for report card grades for the subjects they teach. Please contact them if you have concerns in those areas.
Book Orders
I send book order forms home several times throughout the year as a courtesy to students and parents. Please do not feel obligated to place an order. These books are usually discounted substantially from retail prices and are typically a good value. Generally the forms are due back to me on Friday and I send the order in over the weekend. Please make checks out to “Scholastic Book Clubs.” It usually takes one to two weeks for orders to arrive. If you send cash and need change, I will send it home with the books when they arrive.
If you have any questions or concerns, please ask. Let’s work together to make this a great year for everyone!
Thank you for sharing your child with me this year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Tammy Eads
Teacher’s Expectations for Children Entering First Grade
· Tie shoes
- Print first name
- Know colors and shapes
- Know birthday, phone number, and address
- Recite, recognize, print, and say sounds for the letters of the alphabet
- Recognize and read words from kindergarten (see attached list)
Please make sure that you send all of the articles on the classroom supply list as soon as possible. Your child will feel confident and be ready to participate if he or she has all the necessary materials. In addition to the items on the classroom supply list, each student also needs a box of 24 crayons, set of 10 broad-line markers, paint shirt, and an extra folder for Art class.
Lunch
Students need to bring lunch and milk money in an envelope with their name and what the money is going toward, as well as, if the money is for other family members. Milk is included in the cost of lunch. If your child brings a sack lunch, milk can be purchased in the cafeteria at lunch time. Taping the money to the inside of the lunchbox makes it easy for your child to find.
Music, Art, P.E.
Children go to Music and Art classes on alternate days. P.E. class meets everyday. Please make sure your child brings tennis shoes for P.E. if he or she does not already wear them to school that day.
Class Parties
Please sign up to help with a class party. Parents are not required to attend the party for which they sign up.
Children may celebrate their birthdays at school by bringing treats to share with their classmates during milk time. Please note that the Parent and Student Handbook states that children are not allowed to bring invitations to school for private parties outside of the classroom unless everyone in the class is invited.
Penmanship
The enclosed writing guidelines show how children are being taught to make letters correctly. Please help your child practice at home, making sure the pencil is held in the proper position. Begin each letter at the top and follow the order of the arrows on the practice guideline sheet.
100th Day of School
As part of the Math curriculum, our class is counting the days of school until we reach 100. Students are to be thinking about starting a collection of 100 items to bring to school on the 100th school day. Help your child choose something that is creative, but is also easy to acquire. Then go ahead and begin collecting so that the collection is complete by the 100th day of school. Make this an enjoyable project that you and your child can share.
Library Books
Children will begin checking out books from our class library toward the end of the first nine weeks. Waiting until that point helps to ensure that an adequate reading vocabulary has developed and reduces frustration at not being able to read many of the words in books taken home. The book report form is very simple. Please mark it with your assessment of how well your child read the book to you and place the form inside the front cover. If the form is missing, please write the information on a piece of paper instead. First Graders are expected to take one class library book home each day to read and return the next day. Another book may not be checked out until the current book is returned. Children who want to read more books are encouraged to read extra books from home and the North Ward and public libraries, but reports for those books do not need to be sent to school.
Homework
In addition to a library book to read each evening, children are assigned weekly Spelling and Reading vocabulary lists to practice at home. These lists are usually sent home on Monday and students are asked to practice both lists for a few minutes every weeknight. The Spelling list has a home activity on the back to help you and your child get started. Spelling tests are given on Fridays unless otherwise noted.
We will be working with addition and subtraction facts throughout the year. Practice at home is important to help with memorization of math facts to ten. Please set aside 10 minutes each night to work on math facts with your child.
Report Cards and Grades
Please check your child’s bookbag on a daily basis. Go over school papers with your child at home and check for any notes from school. After papers are graded, students are expected to make corrections at school. If your child brings home papers that are incomplete, have many mistakes or are marked with poor grades, please discuss these problems with your child. If you do not see improvement, please contact me to arrange a conference.
First Graders will receive midterm and quarterly grade reports. Please sign and return the envelope, but keep the grade sheet for yourself. An S is considered satisfactory or above. An N indicates that your child is experiencing difficulty in a subject and may need additional practice and review at home. A grade of U will necessitate a conference. Please send a note to set up a convenient time.
Art, Music, P.E., L.D. Resource, and Cross Categorical teachers are responsible for report card grades for the subjects they teach. Please contact them if you have concerns in those areas.
Book Orders
I send book order forms home several times throughout the year as a courtesy to students and parents. Please do not feel obligated to place an order. These books are usually discounted substantially from retail prices and are typically a good value. Generally the forms are due back to me on Friday and I send the order in over the weekend. Please make checks out to “Scholastic Book Clubs.” It usually takes one to two weeks for orders to arrive. If you send cash and need change, I will send it home with the books when they arrive.
If you have any questions or concerns, please ask. Let’s work together to make this a great year for everyone!
Thank you for sharing your child with me this year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Tammy Eads