First+Grade+Handbook

WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE!

Dear Parents, Welcome back to Lakeview School! I’m excited to be your child’s teacher this year and look forward to a fun and rewarding time in First Grade. If your child is new to Lakeview School, Welcome! I’m looking forward to getting to know you.

Ready for School
Here are some things for you to do or know: that your child starts going to bed earlier at night (8:00 or 8:30) so that s/he gets enough rest to have the energy to complete the work expectations of First Grade. Expect an adjustment period before your child gets into the first grade routine.
 * 1) School begins each day at 8:30. Children should not be on the playground earlier than 8:15 a.m.
 * 2) Our morning line-up spot is near the teacher’s parking lot. It’s marked with a white line and the number 3. Parents should say goodbye each morning outside. The children are expected to get ready for their day at their locker independently. Thank you for your support in this matter.
 * 3) Your child’s school attendance is important to her/his learning. When your child is not at school, s/he misses many of the hands on learning opportunities that cannot be made up as homework. It is equally important that your child arrive to school on time and stay all day.
 * 4) If your child is ill or if there is a family emergency, please call the school office at 766-5252.
 * 5) Meet your child at the end of the day near outside door #11 at 3:35.
 * 6) If there will be a change in your child’s dismissal routine, please let me know or write a note.
 * 7) Put your child’s name on all articles of clothing he/she brings to school.
 * 8) Kee p all toys and jewelry at home.
 * 9) Watch for a monthly school and classroom newsletter to help keep you informed about upcoming events and important dates.
 * 10) The transition from Kindergarten to First Grade can be a challenge. We do not have play time or rest time. Please make sure

Please feel free to come to me with any questions or concerns you may have. Together, we will make sure your child has a great year.

Sincerely, Mrs. Brever

FIRST GRADE INFORMATION

Language Arts
Students will be reading a variety of topics and genres this year, such as poems, fiction and nonfiction stories. They are expected to read at home at least 4 days a week (See Homework Section on the next page). We have small group guided reading or skill/strategy lessons, word work, teacher read aloud stories and whole group reading mini-lessons every day. PLEASE NOTE: Your child may have a different teacher for small group guided reading lessons. Our groups are flexible to meet your child’s reading needs. When we do creative writing, students will be encouraged to write down their ideas, use beginning, middle and ending sounds in their words, spell the Word Wall words (Kindergarten & First Grade High Frequency Words; also called snap words) correctly, start each sentence with a capital letter and end every sentence with a punctuation mark. The students will be learning to write personal narratives, informational nonfiction and how to stories, opinion/persuasive essays and fiction stories..

Math
We use a curriculum called Investigations. Hands-on materials such as: pattern blocks, unifix cubes, plastic polygons, geoblocks, chips, tiles and dot cubes help the children develop number sense, work with 2-D and 3-D shapes, measure, analyze data, solve story problems and add & subtract. First graders will learn how to tell time to the hour and half hour and identify halves and fourths of objects. Investigations promotes problem solving and higher level thinking skills. “Number Talks” help us think of different ways to solve problems and explain how we arrived at our answers.

= Science and Social Studies = Some of our topics this year are: Trees and Plants, Animals and Weather. We invite guest speakers throughout the year. Some of our Social Studies topics this year are: Fire Prevention and Safety, Families and Communities and Map Skills/Geography. The children will also be using My Weekly Reader-Scholastic News magazines.

Recess/Lunch
We will go outside for recess twice a day. We eat lunch at 11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and go out for a lunch recess from 11:30 a.m until 12:00 noon.

Monthly News A monthly class newsletter will be sent home highlighting activities and skills which we will be working on/reviewing. It will contain important dates, reminders and requests. A school newsletter will also be sent home monthly too. Check our class website: mrsbrever.wikispaces.com for updates and slideshows as well. = Dress = Send your child in comfortable clothes and shoes! Do not send your child in his/her very best clothes. Unless it is extremely cold, the children go outside 2 times a day. Please dress your child for the weather. Lakeview is not air-conditioned. When you purchase boots, make sure they are easy to get on and off. Every First Grader must have a pair of snow pants and boots for winterweather.

= Special Days to Remember -Physical Education, Library, Art, Guidance and Music =

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Please be sure your child has gym shoes on Physical Education days (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Mr. Walters is our physical education teacher. Our class will also be walking for exercise once a week for 20 minutes (Fridays). =====

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Your child needs to return his/her library book on time (Thursdays). Books can be brought back early and placed in the library tub. Children will be unable to take out new books until the old ones have been returned. Mrs. Tierney is our library aide. =====

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Please be sure your child has brought in an old shirt or smock for art class (Mondays). Mrs. Ramirez is our art teacher. Every spring Lakeview presents an evening art show that displays artwork created by each student. Our music teacher is Mrs. Tinsen. This year Lakeview will present a Spring Concert. =====

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The social worker addresses special topics twice a month in our classroom. Her name is Mrs. Hillstrom. Our gifted and talented coordinator is Mrs. Cosgrove. She will be available throughout the district as needs arise and plans to be at Lakeview on Tuesdays. =====

Breakfast/Snacks We have breakfast in the classroom each morning and an afternoon snack break. School breakfast can be purchased in the office each trimester; as well as “milk only” for breakfast. In the afternoon, we have a brief snack break. Each family is expected to donate a box of crackers to be shared with the class and send more when needed.

= Homework and Folders = Your child will be coming home with homework! Please help your child by going through the backpack and daily folder each night. Beginning in mid-September, your child will come home with 4 little books to read sometime during the week. A monthly reading calendar will be coming home to document the time spent reading. Math homework will be sent home as review of class work. Return your child’s daily folder each day. If you have a note for me, please put it in the daily folder and I will receive it in the morning when the folders are collected. During the first half of the school year, your child will need help with math homework. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE DOWN THE ANSWERS FOR YOUR CHILD. Our math series uses the homework as a way to help your child prepare for tests or assessments. Sometimes the math homework will consist of playing a game. Supplies for the game will be sent home when this happens. Lakeview School will have a weekly folder that comes home on Tuesdays with important notices from the office as well as from me. Please read all the important notes and return the necessary papers in the Tuesday folder the next day! I hope this helps keep paperwork for you at a minimum and you’ll know when to look for really important information.

Field Trips
A letter and permission slip will be sent home prior to each trip. Your child will not be allowed to attend without the permission slip.It is important to return the permission slip with themoney on time. We are limited in the number of chaperones that we can take on each trip. Our goal is to have someone from each child’s family accompany us once during the school year. ALL CHAPERONES MUST FILL OUT A BACKGROUND CHECK FORM ONLINE. Go to this link: [] THE BACKGROUND CHECKS WILL TAKE 1-2 WEEKS TO PROCESS, SO YOU MUST BE TIMELY WHEN COMMUNICATING THAT YOU DESIRE TO BE A CHAPERONE. If you need help or have questions about the process, call the school office at 414-766-5252. Approved background checks are good for 2 years. Unfortunately younger brothers and sisters are not able to come with us on field trips. No smoking is allowed on field trips. We will send a note home asking for chaperones when we send home the permission slips.

= Birthdays (Optional) = Sometimes children want to mark this day by doing something special for their classmates (such as bringing in a treat or a new book for the library). Either activity is completely voluntary but always appreciated by the students. Individually wrapped treats are the easiest to serve in a classroom. As this time, we have 16 students in our class.

Book Orders Book orders will be sent home periodically. There is no obligation to order books. The book orders offer quality literature at a good price and provide free books for the classroom based on the order amounts placed. If you choose to order books, PLEASE – no cash. Checks or money orders should be made out to the book company (Scholastic) not to Lakeview or the teacher. You can also order online. Register at [|www.scholastic.com/bookclubs] Our one-time class activation code is: J3GQ8 After your first visit, you can decide on a user name and password. You will no longer need the class activation code. Add your selections to your cart. Your child's books will be delivered to our classroom in about 2 weeks.

= Expected Classroom Behaviors =
 * 1) When the teacher is talking, students are listening.
 * 2) We talk kindly to our friends.
 * 3) We keep our hands and feet to ourselves.
 * 4) We raise our hands and wait to be called on, so everyone gets a chance to talk.
 * 5) In general – We Respect Ourselves, Respect Others & Respect Our School!

Literacy Screener First grade students will be given a literacy screening assessment in September, January and May. The screener is called PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening) and the information and results will help guide teachers as they plan appropriate reading instruction for all students.

MAP TEST (Measures of Academic Progress) First grade students will also be given a computerized test. Three times a year 5K-5th graders are given the MAP Test in the subjects of Math and Reading. MAP helps teachers monitor student progress. Scores for this year will be sent home in June.

I’m here for you and your child; please let me know if I can help in any way! Happy 2017-18 School Year!