. The “ABCs” of Mrs. Kennedy’s First Grade Class:

A Handbook for Parents - 2025

A

 Absences:  Please call the office if your child will be absent that day at 303-387-6725.  THANK YOU for your cooperation!  

Arrival:  School starts at 8:35 a.m.  Students may arrive anytime between 8:25 and 8:35. They are to come in the front door (by the picnic tables on the south side of the school) and walk into our classroom. Please try to have your child to school on time so we can start learning right away!

Allergies: If your child has food allergies, please provide me with a bag of safe snacks for your child to eat throughout the year (ten or so should be good). There are times I’d like to have something yummy and safe to give your child. Thanks!

B

Backpacks:  Your child should bring his/her backpack to school everyday. They will have things to bring home daily in their blue folders.

Birthdays:  Birthdays are VERY special in first grade! If your child is having a birthday party and would like to invite the whole class, or ALL the girls or ALL the boys they may bring the invitations to school. Otherwise, please invite children during non-school hours to avoid hurt feelings. On your child’s birthday, feel free to send in prepackaged birthday treats (or store-bought doughnuts) he/she can share with the class.

Blue Folders:  Blue folders will be sent home everyday and will include any notes from the office or me as well as finished work. They are to be sent back to school daily.

 C

Conferences:  We will have the opportunity to participate in two parent/teacher/child conferences during the school year. We’ll conference in September and January. Of course, if any concerns arise, we can always schedule a meeting at your convenience.

D

Dismissal: Dismissal is at 3:30. If you'll be picking your child up, please do so at the front door. If you have a bus kiddo, they will be walked to the bus after school by a faculty member. If your child will be attending Base Camp, they will be dismissed a few minutes early to walk down to the cafeteria.

Drills: We participate in many drills over the course of the year. We will have fire drills, disaster drills, lockout drills and lockdown drills. When we do participate in a lockdown drill, I will lock the door, turn off the lights, and then we will quietly sit in the back corner of the room. Because they are 5 years old, I tell them we do this drill in case an animal like a dog or fox gets into the school - I tell them we need to be silent because when animals hear kids they tend to get more wild. I’ve done this for years and it works for us (and the kiddos) as opposed to causing them undo stress with the real reason why...

E

Email: Email is the quickest and easiest way to contact me. I am able to check email during lunch and will respond as soon as possible to questions or concerns! My email is tami.kennedy@dcsdk12.org

Email Sharing: I’d like to be able to share your email with other parents for party sign-ups, play-dates and invitations. If you would NOT like your email shared, please let me know as soon as possible.

F

Fun: First Grade is a time for FUN! I promise to have fun with the kids everyday!

G

Giggles: I promise we’ll have fun and laugh A LOT!

H

Homework:  Your child may occasionally be sent home with a small project to work on with your help. Other than the occasional project, Book Bags will be sent home starting the end of August.

I

 I-Pads: We are incredibly lucky here at Heritage because we have one-to-one devices for every child in the school. In first grade, every child will have his/her own I-Pad to use at school. 

J

Joy:  First Grade is such a joyous time! They are happy, excited, lovable, curious and silly. More than anything I love seeing the joy in each and every kiddo's face all day long. Whether it’s rolling down a hill, learning a new math game or observing and digging through mud, they have such a sense of wonder and joy! 

K

L

Love: I promise to love your child and my hopes are that they will LOVE first grade, LOVE Heritage, and LOVE coming to school each and everyday!

Lunch: Your child has a choice of bringing lunch from home or buying lunch from school. There are always 2 school lunch choices and you can view the lunch menu on the Heritage website. School lunch is FREE again this year!

PLEASE practice eating “school lunch” with your child. Make sure they can open everything you send with them (drinks, packages, Lunchables). THANK YOU!

After the first few weeks of school, you will be able to join your child for lunch if you’d like. You can bring in something special from a fast food joint or simply just sit and chill while your child eats next to you. Please limit coming in to two times per semester.

Label all of your child’s wearable items:  This includes jackets, backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles (and in the winter - boots, mittens, snow pants and hats). This cuts down greatly on lost items. Also, check through the lost and found throughout the year for any missing items.

Library: The kids will be checking out two library books per week. 

M

Math:  Math concepts in first grade include working with addition and subtraction equations, math fact fluency, understanding place value, interpreting data, measuring, counting money, telling time, analyzing shapes and designs, and being introduced to fractions.

N

Newsletter:  A newsletter will be emailed to you every week sometime between Thursday and Saturday. Be sure to read it for important dates, what we have been learning about and other special news.

O

Outdoors:  Recess is outdoors everyday, weather permitting. If the weather is rainy or too cold, children will have indoor recess. Please put sunscreen on your child before school on these hot sunny days. Also, please send your child in with weather appropriate clothing and extra warm clothes in the winter months! The school rule is that we will go outside for recess if the temperature is above 20 degrees. In the winter we go out almost everyday, so your child will need boots and snow pants. 

P

Progress Reports: These will be sent home twice per year - in December and in May.

Phone Calls: Feel free to contact me through phone calls whenever needed.  My cell number is (303) 330-2233.  However, during the school day, I am actively engaged with students so I cannot answer my phone or respond to texts.  I will return your call or text within 24 hours. 

Parties:  First Graders love to celebrate holidays and other events. We will have parties throughout the year which I will let you know about ahead of time in my newsletters. Volunteers and donations are greatly appreciated – so be on the lookout for upcoming events! Three parties we always have are the Halloween Party and Parade, the Winter Party, and the Valentine's Day Party. All parents are invited to our parties so mark your calendars!

Pigeon:   Watch Out!!!!  A Pigeon is running and flying about!  Every Friday, a name is drawn to take our friend, Pigeon, home for the weekend.  Pigeon is such a loving bird and I'm sure your child will enjoy the time they'll spend together!  

Q

Questions:  Please don’t hesitate with questions or concerns! Feel free to write a note and send it inside your child’s folder, email me, or give me a call!

R

Reading:  Our reading series is called Wonders! Your child’s reading instruction will follow “the Science of Reading” and will have a very strong emphasis in phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. Small group literacy will absolutely be differentiated to meet your child’s literacy needs. We also use UFLI for phonics and Heggerty for phonemic awareness.

Recess - We have two recesses in first grade.

S

Snacks:  We will have one afternoon snack each day, so please send your child with a healthy snack. PLEASE do not put the snack in your child's lunch box. Just put it right into his/her backpack. Healthy snacks could be fruit, vegetables, pretzels, cheese sticks, etc. (not cookies, candy or brownies). PLEASE make sure your child can open his/her own snack.

Specials: Everyday your child will participate in "Specials" which consist of Art, Music, or PE. They will have each special for one week before moving onto a new special. During the PE rotation your child will need to wear tennis shoes to school.

Shoe Tying: Please work on shoe tying with your first grader! Once your child has mastered the skill, he/she will become a "SHOE TYING EXPERT" in our classroom.

T

Transportation:  It is very important that we safely get your child to their proper mode of transportation each day. If there is a change in the way your child will be getting home, send me an email by 11:00 that day (or call the office and they can get the message to me). 

                                                                                            U

Unique:  Each child comes to us with gifts and needs that are unique to him/her.  We rejoice in each child’s uniqueness and will do our best to teach him/her according to his/her individual needs.  We strive to differentiate our teaching so that each child can be the best first grader he/she can be!

V

Voice and Choice: I feel strongly that the children need voice and choice in what they learn and in what goes on throughout the day. Now, this isn’t all day everyday but definitely at times. I take their lead in science and social studies and then fit our Colorado Academic Standards into what they’re interested in learning more about. It’s kindergarten and kindergarten is a year of curiosity and exploring. For example, if a child finds an insect outside and wants to keep it as a “pet” that’s great - tons of learning will happen. We might vote on a name, learn that names begin with capitals, research it’s habitat and food, learn about what it needs to stay alive, analyze its impact on the surrounding environment, and maybe write books about the insect. In other words, so much learning can happen depending on the interests of the class! 

Visitors:  When visiting the school, please sign in at the office and you’ll receive a “visitor” sticker. You'll need to bring your Driver's License in with you the very first time you come to the school during the school day.  When leaving, please remember to sign out!

Volunteers:  There will be many opportunities for parents to assist us this year. Volunteers are greatly appreciatedthroughout the year to keep our classroom running smoothly.               

W

Worksheets: There are better ways for 6 year olds to learn other than sitting for long periods of time filling out worksheets. You will see some, but not many worksheets coming home. Please don’t think that because they’re not bringing tons of worksheets home that learning isn’t happening all day everyday!

Water Bottles: Please send your child with a reusable water bottle each day. This water bottle should contain water only and should be labeled with your child’s name. These will be kept by our classroom sink (and brought outside on hot recess days). Please wash these out nightly.

X

“X-tra” Time: First Graders are notorious for learning at different speeds. We will differentiate to meet all of their needs!

Y

YOU! - YOU are imperative in your child’s learning and for that I thank you!

               Z

Z-z-z-zs:  Please make sure your first grader gets a good night sleep and has a good breakfast before coming to school!  Being in first grade all day is exhausting! 

​Thanks for reading through this handbook! 

(I know it’s a lot!)

We're going to have a wonderful year together!