ABCs About Our Class and Syllabus

Mrs. Black’s ABC Syllabus of Our Classroom

The ABC’s About Our Class

Arrival: It is important that your child arrive on time, each day, for school. Being at school on time will make your child more successful in school. If your child will be having breakfast at school, please arrive at 7:20 a.m. Please arrive no later than 7:30 for breakfast for your child. Breakfast costs $1.00.Classroom instruction begins at 8:00 am

Academic Information: Our learning standards include: Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. You can find these standards posted on our main page menu. If you do not have access to the internet and wish to see the standards, please let me know, and I will get a copy for you.

www.state.sc.us/eoc/guides-to-scc-standards.htm

Attendance: Good attendance is very important. Each day provides valuable learning experiences. When your child is absent, please send a note or a doctor’s excuse for the absence to be coded as excused. Please refer to the attendance policy to check on the rules for number of days that can be missed by the students.

Backpacks: Each child should have a backpack to carry school items to and from school. Backpacks need to be large enough to fit a folder into. Your child is expected to bring his/her backpack to school every day. Rolling book-bags are not allowed.

Behavior Management: We expect children to make good choices. If we have a child that cannot change his/her behavior with our support, then we will involve parents via communication of email, notes home, or phone call.

Classroom Expectations: I. will use my hands for helping. 2. I will use good manners. 3. I will be respectful. 4. I will follow directions 5. I will try my best.

The expectations are posted in the classroom, and are reviewed each day. There are also expectations for circle-time, standing in line, the lunchroom, center-time, and other classroom procedures that are reviewed daily. It is very important that your talk to your child about the importance of good behavior at school. We put the responsibility of choices on our students and set clear expectations for behavior. When a child has difficulty making good choices, the consequences reflect the nature of the choice. For example, if a child plays during group time they may have to work during playtime. If the problem continues, we will contact you for support and set up a behavior contract.

Birthdays: Birthdays are important. If you would like to bring a treat to share with the class, that will be great. (Keep it simple!) If you send birthday invitations for your child to pass out, it has to be to every student in the class, or to all the girls, or to all the boys.

Communication: Communication between home and school is extremely important to your child’s education. If you feel that you need to contact us, please send a note, email us, or call us at school,

and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible. tblack@greenville.k12.sc.us lbarnett@greenville.k12.sc.us

We cannot discuss concerns during instructional time.

Clothing: Please help us by labeling all coats, sweaters, and raincoats with your child’s name. Also, we will be playing outside, painting, and sitting on the floor. We do try to protect the children’s clothes, but accidents do happen. Thanks for understanding.

Dismissal: Mountain View Elementary dismisses students at 2:30 pm each day. Kindergarten dismissal is in the back of the school. Cars park behind the buses. At 2:45, we send students whose cars have not arrived to the front atrium to be dismissed. Please be patient the first few weeks as the children learn the routine and their car numbers! It will go faster as the year progresses!

Effort: Students are always expected to give their best effort in class!

Emergency Contact Information - Please regularly update your contact information with the office. This is the information we use in an emergency to get a hold of you, or if your child is sick.

Family: It is very important to us that the children and teachers come together as a big family. From the start, we encourage the children to respect, love, and take care of each other. With our classroom family, there are no limits to our accomplishments.

Grades: Kindergarten students are assessed with a variety of formal and non-formal evaluations throughout the school year. Kindergarten

students do not receive letter or numerical grades.

Gym: Please help your child remember to wear his/her gym shoes on gym day.

Our P.E. day will be Wednesdays!!!

Home Folder: Your child has been given a “home folder.” This folder will provide as the main link between home and school. We take time each day to prepare our folder for home by putting our papers and anything that needs to go home in the pockets. Please check this folder every night with your child and send it back the following day.

Homework: Math homework is sent home in students’ “home folder.” Language homework will be in your child’s Happy Camper Binder. It will consist of assignments relating to our curriculum, which need to be completed. It is very important that homework is completed on a nightly basis. The work sent home will reinforce skills students learned during the day. It also teaches good work habits and responsibility. I understand that families get busy, if there is an emergency, please write me a note, and your child may complete the homework the following night.

Reading is a nightly assignment!

Interesting: We use science and social studies to drive our curriculum to build on your child’s natural curiosity and interests.

Just Right Book: We are learning how to pick “just right books.” This will be a book that your child can read independently but will also require the use of strategies to figure out certain words. Please be patient as we work on this throughout the year. Your child’s Happy Camper Binder will come home each night and have books in the inner front pocket. Each night you are to read these books together and then initial the reading log date for that day. Return the binder and all its contents every day. We use these in our reading groups. It will also have language skills we are working on in reading.

Kindness: Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class, as well as others, with kindness and respect. Hitting, fighting, name-calling, and making fun of others will not be tolerated.

Lunch: Lunch will be at 10:40-11:05. Mountain View’s cafeteria lunch for students is $2.30 which can be sent daily or by check for an extended period of time or paid through our webpage under Parents https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ . Breakfast is $1.00. You must pay for meals unless your child brings a lunch, or qualifies for free/reduced lunch. Your child will need to memorize his lunch number. The students will be asked to punch in their number in on a keypad in the cafeteria each time they make a purchase. PLEASE work on this at home. We will send the lunch number home to practice for homework the first week!

Library: Please help your child to remember to bring back his/her book on library day.

Our Library day is Tuesday.

Multi-sensory: The overall goal of our teaching is to improve the students’ understanding of the world and to strengthen their desire to continue learning. Developmentally appropriate, challenging learning opportunities are planned to help students meet state and district learner standards in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, physical development, the arts, and personal/social development. Concepts are presented to your child through various methods to reach different styles of learning and reinforce concepts.

Money: Any money you send to school needs to be in an envelope with your child’s name and what the money is for written on the front.

Nurse: We are very fortunate to have such wonderful nurses at Mountain View Elementary School. Please see our school’s main webpage for the new health policy- http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/gcsd/depts/stuserv/health.asp . Please do not send your child to school with a fever or if he/she has been throwing up until they are well for a 24-hour period. We do not want others in our classroom to become sick.

Our Classroom: Our classroom is a learning community. Students are expected to come to class prepared to learn.

Parent Involvement: Parent involvement is great! Please do as much as you can to be involved in your child’s year!

PTA: Each year this organization works hard to provide activities and essentials for Mountain View Elementary. Please show your support and appreciation by volunteering whenever possible and joining PTA if possible. Do not forget to join the PTA!!!

Quick and Quiet Hellos: If you volunteer in our classroom, we will urge your child to acknowledge you with a “quick and quiet” wave hello. It is important for them to greet you, but remain involved with classroom activities.

Reading: This is the most important thing you can do with your child. The only way to get better at reading is to read. You should read at least 20 minutes a night with your child. Please give this gift of time to your child. We really can tell if a child is not reading enough at home. Please record your reading time with your child in his/her Happy Camper Binder by initialing the Reading Log each night! Do not forget to send the binder back each day with everything in it for your child to use in language group!

Restrooms: This can be a HUGE distraction to some children. Students need to learn to manage their time wisely. The rules of the classroom are that students may not use the restroom during “carpet time,” (unless it is an emergency) this is direct instruction time and the student may miss something important. Bathrooms may be used during independent work, centers, before and after related arts, after lunch, and during recess if needed. Please discuss proper bathroom procedures with your child at home. If your child needs special bathroom privileges please let us know, and we will be happy to accommodate.

Schedule:

7:45- 8:15: Unpack, Morning Work, Morning Songs/Meeting/Message, Calendar

8:15-9:00: Math

9:00-9:35

Specials Schedule: The following is this year’s related arts/specials.

● Monday- Music

● Tuesday- Library

● Wednesday- P.E. Wear your tennis shoes!!!

● Thursday- Art

● Friday- Computer Lab

9:35: Bathroom

9:45- 10:30 : Language Groups

10:30 : Bathroom and getting ready for lunch

10:40 – 11:05 : Lunch

11:05 – 11:30 : Bathroom/ Read Aloud/Silent Reading

11:30 – 11:50 : Physical Activity

11:50 – 12:15 : Language Groups

12:15 – 1:00 : Unit Study- Shared Reading & Writing

1:00 – 1:45 : Free Centers

1:45 – 2:15 : Clean-up/ Pack up/ Reflect

Supplies: Please label these supplies with your child’s name:

Mrs. Black’s 2017-18 K5 Supplies:

Please label these supplies with your child’s name:

2- marbled notebooks

1-three-ringed binder (1-1/2”)

Pencil box to keep in cubby

A pair of kid safe scissors

Ear buds in a ziploc bag labeled with child’s name (for computer use)

Please send in these other items for community use:

10-12 glue sticks

24 Sharpened Pencils!!!

3 boxes of crayons

1 box of Kleenex

**Germ-X or Purell hand sanitizer

**2 Expo Markers

**Clorox Wipes

1 box ziploc bags – qt. or gallon

Teacher's Wish List:

Small index cards- colored or white, lined or blank

Pencil top erasers

Bag of skittles, M&Ms, or gummy bears/worms for treats

Small toys and individually wrapped candy for a treat basket

* As our supplies get low throughout the year, we may ask for your help to replenish them.

** Special note: Please send specific brand name items when requested. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are required for these items and we cannot keep other brands in the classroom.

Transportation: If your child will be going home other than the way he/she normally does, you MUST send a note. If there is no note, we have to send the child home the usual way.

Toys: Toys from home are not allowed at school.

Tardiness: Please make every effort to get your child to school on time.

Units of Instruction

August = All About Me/5 Senses

September and October = Fairy Tales/Observable Properties

November and December = Families Past and Present

January = Weather During Our Seasons

February = Community and Government

March and April = Organisms and Their Environments

May = Author Study- Eric Carle/Review of standards taught throughout the year

Unique: Each student is unique. In our classroom, various instructional techniques and methods will be used to help all students be successful and to meet the individual needs of each student.

Visitors: If you are visiting for any reason, please make sure you check in at the main office.

Website: This website contains our classroom information as well as many other helpful ideas to remember. This is the school’s webpage for the school and district information.

X-periences! We know that the students will have many exciting and interesting learning experiences this year!

Year Long Learning and Fun: Your child will learn a lot this year and will be sure to have lots of fun in the process.

ZZZ’s: It is very important that your child have a full night of sleep every night!

This will be a fun packed year, and it will zoom by! We are so happy to have your child in our class, and we know we are going to have a fantastic year!!

Thank you. Mrs. Black, and Mrs. Barnette