The ABC’s of 1st Grade:
Mrs. Smith’s Helpful Hints for Parents and Students
A: All Day EVERYDAY. YAY!!! I can't wait!!!!
B: Book Orders – Book orders will be sent home once a month. Please do not feel obligated to purchase books for your child, but be aware that the books found in the book orders are less expensive than buying them in bookstores. Make checks payable to the book order company’s name.
C: Color Code. “HAVE A GREEN DAY” = I use this as my discipline plan in the classroom. There are only 3 colors: green, yellow, and red. So, I have HIGH expectations. *Each student starts at green at the beginning of every day!*
Green= SAFE – Good to go!
Yellow= WARNING - SLOW DOWN!
Your child will get one warning. Plus five minutes on the wall for recess.
Red= STOP - They will fill out a Problem Solving Sheet during recess time identifying his/her behavior and problem solve how to fix and redirect that specific behavior
*If your child gets into trouble when he/she is on red…
Note Home/ Call/Principal’s Office
Depending on the severity of the problem…they will happen in this order.
D: Donations of snacks are welcome in the classroom – Healthy snacks are also available for $50 for the year (Definitely a GREAT deal)J Students LOVE this due to the MANY choices for snacks each day.
E: Every Friday your child will take a spelling test - On Monday, your child will bring home a spelling list for the week in their FISH Notebook. Part of their nightly homework will be to practice/study their spelling words. The loose leaf paper in the FISH notebook is a great resource for extra practice.
F: FISH NOTEBOOKS – Family Involvement Starts Here. These are your child’s assignment notebook for the year. This should be kept in your child’s backpack AT ALL TIMES!!! They will include…
- Homework folder
- List of items your child needs to know by the end of the year
- Loose leaf paper
- School lunch menu
- School Calendar of Activities
- Important Information folder
- Weekly Spelling list
- Weekly High Frequency Word List
- Reading Log
*It is the students’ job to make sure it is cleaned out DAILY and kept looking nice.
*Special notes can go in this folder…this will be a GREAT way to communicate.
G: Guided Reading is done every day of the week. This is a time for each child to meet with me in a small group to increase his or her reading abilities. YAY YAY YAY!!! Your child will be reading books on his or her own reading level.
H: Helping from home is a great way to jumpstart your child’s learning and abilities. Here are just a few ways to help out
- Talk to your child about their day - Set limits on TV-watching - Buy addition/subtraction flashcards from the dollar store to study their math facts every night. - Look through your child’s FISH notebook nightly - Create a special “homework area” at home. - Read to your child and encourage him or her to read to you! – And Most Importantly…Give your child praise for a job well done!
I: I am a very crazy teacher. I will do some very strange things in order to get your child to learn. I sing A LOT and dance A LOT too. Your child should come home every day saying how much they love school J - That is my true goal!
J: Jobs in the classroom are very important to the way the room runs. If the jobs get done daily, things go smoothly throughout the year. They will get paid for doing their work just like in the real world – only using fake money – See letter T.
K: Kind! I expect everyone in my class to be kind to each other. My rule is the GOLDEN RULE –
L: Library day is Monday – Rule: If they bring back their books, they get to check more out.
M: ME, Mrs. Smith – I grew up in the Hayfield Community Schools. I’ve been a teacher for the past 8 years in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. I am truly excited for another year here in Brownsdale. My husband, Mark, works at the Mayo Clinic. My son, Barrett, is a cutie who enjoys keeping me up at nightJ and my two dogs Charley and Blayne keep me busy as well. (Oh, and, I am expecting another little one in March:) Your children already are asking me if it is a girl or a boy:)
N: Nightly homework check – I will send a homework packet with your child on Monday nights in their FISH notebook(spelling words, reading log, and a math worksheet) Your child will turn in that packet on Friday with all the work done. I strongly recommend you empty out your child’s FISH notebooks EVERY night to avoid back problems for your child J
O: Organization. I will try to keep the classroom as organized as possible. Also, I expect your child to be responsible for keeping their own things organized to reduce the chance of losing, misplacing, or forgetting things.
P: Parent Involvement is Key to your child’s success. PLEASE feel free to contact me regarding your child’s learning.
Q: Questions? Ask!
Call 507-567-2244 EXT. 237 or
email smithni@hayfield.k12.mn.us or
view my website at http://mrssmithswebpage.yolasite.com
R: Reading is a huge part of first grade. Whenever, wherever, try to do some reading with your child EACH NIGHT!! I LOVE READING!
S: SHARING. Every single Friday we will have sharing time. The students are allowed to bring ONE item each Friday to share with the class. Please make sure the item can fit in their backpack. It CANNOT be an electronic toy.
T: TOKEN Economy Behavior System. In this system, students have the chance to earn fake money throughout the week for many reasons including outstanding productive behavior, helping other students, completing and returning all homework, improving behavior, honesty, etc. Two times a month, students are given the opportunity to buy things from Mrs. Smith’s store. The items in found in my store range from stickers, to toys, to candy, and games. If you would like to donate any trinkets for the store…please feel free. This is a cost from my own pocket!
U: Umbrellas, coats, boots, sweaters…please dress your student for the weather.
V: Violence of any kind is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
W: Writing every week will take place in the classroom. I encourage each and every student to take his or her imagination and run with it!
X: X-act attendance will be taken daily. Please be at school on time and ready to go! I truly do start teaching the second the children walk into the door at 8:20…sometimes EARLIER if everyone is here.
Y: Yes! Your child will learn in 1st grade! They will learn so much that you might be overwhelmed! Just go with it J
Z: Zillions of books will be read in 1st Grade. I love to read and my goal is to help students find that love too!
Now you’ve read my ABC’s,
Ask any questions if you please!
Email or call Judy, our school secretary
if your child is going to be sick or tardy from school @
Or 507-567-2244
