Class Disclosure

 

The ABC’s of First Grade

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Valley View Elementary! I’m excited to start the year and look forward to getting to know you and your child. The following information should be helpful as First Grade begins and serve as a reference to use throughout the school year.

Aa- Attendance

It is important for your child to be to school daily and on-time.  If your child will be absent, you will need to call the school office at the beginning of the school day. If you need to check your child out of school early, you must do so through the office.

Bb-Backpacks

It is helpful if your child has a backpack for carrying items to and from school. Please write your child’s name on the bag. Remember to check your child’s bag DAILY!

      Birthdays

We will celebrate each child’s birthday during the year.  Any treats that you send need to be store bought. Summer birthdays will be celebrated in the spring.

     Bubble Gum Words

Bubble gum words is our beginning incentive program. Students will have words and sentences to practice at home and pass off in class. They are not timed so it makes it less stressful. When students pass off 1 list, they earn a piece of bubble gum. When they pass off all of the lists, they get a pack of Hubba Bubba and they move on to Word Wizards!

Cc- Canvas

Canvas is the way the district wants us to communicate and share lessons with students. We believe that while Canvas has some great features, it is not user friendly for little students. If we end up having online school, our lessons will be available through Seesaw. You can access Seesaw through the Seesaw app, or through my Canvas page.  Canvas is also where you will find important information such as a calendar, newsletters, helpful videos etc

         Clever

Clever is an app that is on all school Ipads. We use the Clever app daily to access different lessons and learning games. There will be a Clever button on my Canvas page that will make accessing Clever easier. We will also be teaching students how to use Clever during the first three weeks of school.

        Classroom Management

I like to use logical consequences when a child messes up or breaks a rule.  For instance, if a child knocks over another child’s blocks, the natural consequence would be for him/her to help the child put the blocks back the way they were and then apologize.  Sometimes a child who is disrupting the group needs a different space to get him/herself back in control.  In those instances, I will direct the child to the “cooling down corner” in our room.  This type of break is intended to let the child take some breaths, relax, come up with solutions to their problem, and rejoin the group when they are ready.

Dd- Drop off/Pick up

The children will line up at our door each morning. After school, we will bring them to the front of the building by the tree. Please talk about the daily routine you will follow coming to and from school. Practice this routine and show them where to meet you, siblings, or friends.

Ii- Illness

Please call the school (801) 402-2050 on the day your child is absent.  Attending school each day is very important. If your child is too sick or injured to participate in activities, please keep them home. 

Ll- Language Arts

Our Language Arts program is published by McGraw Hill. I find that it is a very balanced approach. Our basic daily language arts schedule includes: Guided reading and independent literacy activities, fluency and comprehension, blending and segmenting words, Word of the day, phonics routine, shared literature, vocabulary, and writing.

          Lunch

Our lunch time will be at 11:20 each day. You will either need to send a home lunch (in a container with your child’s name on it) or purchase school lunch. If you choose to purchase a school lunch, you will need to pay for it in your mydsd account. Please do not send money to school!

          Library

Our library day is Thursday. Your child will be allowed to bring a couple of books home each week. Please be sure to send them back each Thursday!

 

Mm- Math

We will be using iReady math and other resources this year. We will focus on numbers, place value, counting and writing to 120, addition, subtraction, and time.

Pp- P.E.

Please be sure to send your child with appropriate shoes on Wednesdays.

Rr- Reading

We are not assigning homework again this year, but we are encouraging our students to read 20 minutes each day. You can use our Baggy Books or books of your own. We also encourage you to work daily on Bubble Gum words and/or Word Wizard lists!

Ss- Seesaw

Seesaw is the app that we will use for most communication. I will send home information on how to sign up. Please sign-up ASAP as I use the app on a regular basis! If at any point, your child or our whole class goes online, we will use Seesaw for our work.

      Star Student

Students will each have an opportunity to be our Star Student of the week. I will send a paper home explaining more about what we do. I try to make their weeks line up with their birthday as much as possible.

Vv- Volunteers

We LOVE having parents volunteer in our class. There are many ways to volunteer- from centers, to cutting and laminating, to parties and field trips, there is always something to be done! The district is requiring all volunteers to have a background check.

Ww- Word Wizard

As a way to encourage students to learn their sight words, we will be having a Word Wizard challenge. More info about this fun program will be sent home.

 

You may contact me by calling the school (801)-402-2050, by email trubrown@dsdmail.net, or by sending me a message on Seesaw.