Weekend Reminders and Announcements

Homework:
Read, read, read! Listening to your child read is always homework! Ask your child about the characters, discuss the beginning, middle, and end of the book, and point out features such as the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents (if there is one).

In October the first graders are making weather calendars! Each day during the month students will check the weather around 12:00PM and record it on their calendar. On days when they are not in school, please help them observe the weather outside at noon and complete the weather homework page. They will transfer this data to their weather calendars when they return to school.

On Monday all first graders will receive the first homework packet. From now on a packet will be sent home on the first day of every week and must be returned on the last day of the week. Please see the "Homework" section of this blog for a reminder of the homework policy.

Uniforms:
Please remember as the days get colder that students must adhere to the uniform code while at school (except for the last day of each week). Your child will not be permitted to wear a non-uniform sweater in class, so please make sure they have solid white or blue clothing that is warm enough for indoors on a chilly day.

Gym:
For the next two weeks, the first graders in 404 will have gym on Monday AND Tuesday. This is due to the NWEA testing for grades 2-8 that will take place in the computer lab. Please make sure the first graders are wearing a gym-appropriate uniform both days.

Water bottles:
In an effort to increase instructional time and decrease time spent away from class to use the drinking fountain, I would like to invite students to bring a water bottle to school, which they may keep on their desks. The bottle must have a cap that seals properly so if it tips over when not in use there won't be any spills. Only fill the bottle with water -- no juice please. Each night the students will take their water bottles home to be washed and returned the next day. I have high hopes that this will allow for students to stay hydrated without needing to leave the room during class, so let's see how it goes!

Toys:
The students are not permitted to bring toys to school. When toys come to school they tend to be a distraction during class and can get lost or broken. Please help remind them each morning to leave all toys at home!

Thanks and have a fantastic weekend!

Mrs. Horeis

Home Book Bags

Dear Families,

This week on either Monday or Tuesday your child will have a "Home Book Bag" in his or her homework folder. The bag contains a book that your child selected from our classroom library at his or her independent reading level. (The level will be more accurate after I finish giving the reading tests next week.) If your child struggles with a word, please don't just tell them the answer right away. Encourage him or her to check the picture to see what makes sense and think about the letter sounds in the word.

Please listen to your child read this book every night. Beginning next week, we will be sending home the homework packet which will include a reading log to record how many times your child reads this and other books each night. Repeated readings really help students grow as readers. As your child becomes an expert at reading this book, challenge him or her to read it more fluently and with more expression.

Please always keep this book in your child’s homework folder so that he or she will be sure to have it at school when it is time to change books (either Monday or Tuesday). If you have any questions about the book bag, please let me know!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Horeis

Second Week Reminders

September 12, 2011

Dear Families,

This Wednesday is our Open House night. I am really looking forward to seeing you all and sharing information about our classroom and the wonderful things the first graders will be doing this year. As outlined in the note that went home last Friday, the Open House will begin at 6PM with information about the special classes and an amazing new opportunity for tutoring at Goethe School. At 6:35, the first group will meet in room 404 to discuss our class.

If you did not bring in pictures today for writing workshop, please make sure to do so tomorrow. It is very important that the students fill their notebooks with things to inspire them. Please put the images in the “return to school” side of their homework folders.

This week your homework is to read with your child every night! Ask him or her questions about the characters in the book and what happens in the beginning, middle, and end. Two nights this week the students will also have a math page to take home. On Wednesday at the Open House, the first grade teachers will provide information about the weekly homework packets that will begin in October.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Horeis

Fantastic First Week

September 9, 2011

Dear Families,

Congratulations on a fantastic first week in first grade! The students have been doing a wonderful job practicing the routines and procedures we will use in our classroom and school throughout the year.

Next week we will start delving into the curriculum. Students will begin receiving homework in their blue homework folders, and a note will go home on Monday explaining the procedure. It is very important that you help your child remember to bring their homework folder to school every day. If your child loses their homework folder, there will be a $1.50 replacement fee.

On Monday, we will begin writing workshop. Please help your child collect a few photographs of family and friends, magazine clippings of things they like, or images of places they have been. We will use these to personalize our writing notebooks so that we can look at them to generate ideas for our writing all year long. Put the images in the “return to school” side of their homework folders.

Thank you to those families who returned all their forms to school this week. If you still have some forms to return, please do so as soon as possible. The lunch form is especially important, as it is tied to funding for our school. Even if you do not think you are eligible for free or reduced lunch, please return the form anyway. The emergency contact form and the medical information forms are also crucial, as I need to know how to contact you and whether your child has any allergies.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me by phone, email, or through the form on this website.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Horeis

Welcome to First Grade!

September 6, 2011

Dear Families,

My name is Mrs. Horeis and will be teaching the wonderful first graders in room 404. I hope you all had a great summer and are looking forward to the new school year as much as I am!

I can already tell we have a great group of students this year and I can’t wait to get to know them and their families. If you see me before or after school this week, I would love for you to introduce yourselves. The Goethe Open House will be on Wednesday, September 14^th at 6pm, and I hope to see you all there as well.

Thank you to those who brought in their school supplies. If you have not yet brought them in, please do so as soon as possible. I have attached another copy of the list for anyone who needs it.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of the first week of school are non-uniform days. Starting on Monday, September 12^th, every Monday to Thursday your child must be in proper uniform. If he or she is not, the office will call home and ask someone to bring uniform items to school.

Each day, your child will bring this blue folder home. It is very important that you check your child’s folder every day to make sure you are receiving communication from the school and me promptly. On the back of your child’s folder is a behavior chart. Each day, the students make choices about their behavior. When they make good choices all day, they stay on “green”. When they need a few reminders to make good choices, they move to “yellow”. When they continue to make poor choices, they move to “red”. At the end of the day, the students color their behavior chart the correct color. Please take a look at your child’s behavior chart each day and talk to him or her about the choices they made.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I am looking forward to getting to know you all and to a fantastic year in first grade!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Horeis