Mrs. Hartgerink's First Grade Classroom Rosendale Primary School

WELCOME! Basic Information: Normal morning schedule: 7:50 a.m.--Bell rings for children to enter the building 8:00-8:30 a.m.--Morning business (calendar, weather, attendance, lunch count, poem, morning math) 8:30-10:00 a.m.--Reading and writing instruction Individualized reading time 8:30-9:30. Homework for reading M, T, W, Th nights (I will need parent volunteers for the 8:30-9:30 reading time M-Th. If you can help one day a week (or more), please let me know.) 10:00-10:15 a.m.--Recess 10:20-11:20 a.m.--Math instruction 11:25 a.m.-12:20 p.m.--Lunch and recess Schedule for specials: Library: ___12:30 Tuesdays_____________________________________ Art: ___Fridays 1:00________________________________________ Music: ___Tuesday 2:45 and Thursday 1:30________________________ Gym: ___Monday 2:15, Wednesday 2:15, and Friday 2:15________ (STUDENTS NEED GYM SHOES ON THESE DAYS!) (Science, social studies, creative writing, spelling, penmanship, and DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) will be scheduled in the afternoon.) Students are dismissed to go home at 3:20 p.m.

General Information: Miscellaneous *Please schedule doctor or dentist appointments for your child in the afternoon. *Place name labels on your child’s jackets, lunch boxes, etc. *If you have any questions about the lunch and milk program, please contact Jean in the school office ( ). ***Please look in your child’s backpack every night for his/her “home folder” which may contain notes from school. Home Reading Program Starting toward the end of September, students will bring home a small reading book to practice every night. Please help your child learn to read the book. When the program is ready to begin, I will send more information home. **This is when I would need parent volunteers, grandparents, relatives, neighbors, etc. to come into the classroom. I will need helpers from 8:30-9:30 M- Th to listen to the students read. If you can help one day a week (or more), please let me know! Book It I will be sending information home about the Book It program. It will be your choice if your child would like to participate. Student of the week Each student will be student of the week once during the year. I have picked student of the week dates randomly. If you want to change your child’s week for any reason or don’t want your child to participate, please let me know as soon as possible.

Paperback Book Clubs Once a month, your child will bring home book orders. Please don’t feel that you ever have to order any books. It is a service for those who wish to use it. There are some great deals throughout the year! If you do place an order, our class earns bonus points for each $1.00 ordered. The bonus points will help build up our classroom library and other educational areas in our room. Your involvement in this program is much appreciated! Library Books Books may be checked out of the school library and kept for two weeks. Birthdays If you want to send a birthday treat to school for your child—or a special treat at any other time during the year—please send enough for ___20___ students. These treats will be shared during milk time (10:20 a.m.) There is no requirement to provide a treat of any kind during the school year! June, July, and August birthdays will be celebrated in April and May. Show and Tell (Fridays 2:45-3:15). Show and tell is a favorite activity and excellent opportunity for children to speak in front of the class, develop listening skills, and learn about interesting things. Please help select appropriate items to share and discuss what your child might tell the class. Show and tell is an optional activity. Some first graders prefer not to participate, especially at the beginning of the year. There are many other opportunities to speak in the class during the day. I will include a show and tell schedule in each newsletter. Parties Halloween Christmas Valentine’s Day Please sign up for one of these parties on the parent helpers wanted sheet (attached). If you choose not to celebrate holidays or furnish refreshments, please let me know on that sheet.

Newsletter I will be sending home a newsletter every other week on Friday. The newsletters tell about upcoming events and things we have been doing in the classroom. Please look for this letter every other Friday. Milk Break Students should bring their own treat for milk break each day. Milk break is at 10:20 a.m. Homework (Please note: the poetry work is especially important!) Every Friday, your child will be bringing home one or two poems he or she has learned to read that week in class. Please be sure to review the poems with your child several times. Have your child point to each work to ensure that he/she is not just memorizing the poem. The activity develops an awareness of words, especially during the first few months of school, even though memorization is involved. The poems do not need to be returned. Our class will learn to read two or three poems each week throughout the year. During late September through May, your child will also be bringing home a book to practice reading each night. Please listen to your child read often enough that he or she can read the book comfortably. It is your child’s responsibility to return the book to school each morning. Your child will read the book to me or to a volunteer parent during a time we call “Book-In-A-String Folder time”. Children will start in a level of books that I feel is a good reading level for them--not too easy or too hard. Please try that level chosen for at least three books. If at that time you think your child should move to a more (or less) difficult reading level, please send a note. A detailed program explanation will be sent to you in mid-September. As the year progresses, other homework activities will develop. I will send you more information on these activities well in advance. HOMEWORK IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE SCHOOL LEARNING EXPERIENCE. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR BEING A VERY SPECIAL PART OF YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION!

Conclusion If you have questions or concerns anytime throughout the year, please call me or send a note. My number is EXTENSION 210. Thank you for coming tonight! I am excited to be part of your child’s life. We are going to have a GREAT learning year! Mrs. Hartgerink

Rewards 1. Positive notes sent home! 2. Praise given by the teacher! 4. Classroom parties!!! 5. Monthly drawing for prizes!!!

Consequences ***Everyone starts the day with three chips! Each time a student chooses to break a classroom rule, a chip is taken away. Everyone goes back to three chips after lunch! If a student keeps three chips throughout the day, he or she will get to put their name in a monthly prize drawing! Students that keep all three chips will also get to put marbles in the classroom party jar! When we fill the jar, we have a classroom party! If you break a rule... 1st time lose one chip. 2nd time lose another chip. 3rd time lose last chip and recess is taken away. Severe Behavior: An Oops! letter is sent home to the parents. The parents need to sign the letter and send it back to school.