Ecole Dansereau Meadows School
Class Overview for Grade One
2020-2021
Welcome to Grade One
Welcome to a new year at École Dansereau Meadows School. This is an exciting year for your child, as we will be witnessing great growth academically, physically, and emotionally. You will be amazed at just how much your child will learn. Keep in mind that each child progresses at his or her own rate, acquiring skills as they are developmentally ready. With your support, we feel confident that your child’s school year will be fulfilling and rewarding!
Student Expectations or Class Rules
The rules we have discussed in class are based on three basic principles:
Everyone has the right to learn.
Everyone has the right to feel safe and comfortable.
Everyone has the right to be respected.
We will focus on many different ways that we can demonstrate these three principles; such as listening to others speak, keeping our hands and body to ourselves, learning the best we personally can, being a good friend and leader, respecting ours and others property, demonstrating our best work.
School expectations for students can be found on our school website.
Materials
If you haven’t done so already, please send the following items, along with the required resources on the School Supply list, into school labelled with your child’s name:
Indoor Running Shoes (appropriate for use in the gym - no sandals, dress shoes, or shoes that slip off easily)
Paint Shirt
Water Bottle
Change of clothes
Headphones
Learning Resources
Language Arts: Literacy is a huge area of focus in grade one. The Language Arts skills learned in grade one are the foundation for future learning in all areas. At the beginning of grade one, we focus on mastering letters and their sounds
using a program called Jolly Phonics. This program is a multi-sensory program that includes stories, actions & songs. We continuously review previously learned sounds at school and we encourage you to spend a few minutes each day doing the same with your child at home. In October we will also begin our sight word program which is a home and school collaboration where students learn high frequency words, another integral part of learning to read. After mastering the letter sounds, we progress through a variety of units including short vowels, sentence writing, long vowels, fairy tales & simple story writing.
Math: Our numeracy program focuses on numbers, patterns, sorting, geometry and measurement. By the end of grade one your child will build the basics through addition and subtraction facts, count to 100 in different ways, and describe and estimate quantities to 20. They will understand and apply strategies for addition facts up to and including 9 + 9 and related subtraction facts, and recall addition facts to a sum of 5 and related subtraction facts. Students will connect numbers to their everyday life, and find geometric shapes in their surroundings. Your child will solve problems involving numbers, patterns and measurement.
Science: Seasonal Changes, Creating Colour, Five Senses, Building Things, and Needs of Plants and Animals
Social Studies: My World (Home, School & Community), Moving Forward with the Past (My Family, My History & My Community)
Specific units & areas of focus will be communicated in the monthly newsletters
Homework
Homework in Grades 1-3 may include such things as reading, sight word/spelling practice, and basic math facts practice. Students are encouraged to read with a parent on a daily basis.
Assessment Practices
In grade one we use a variety of assessment practices to track student progress including teacher observations, anecdotal records, checklists, unit tests, student assignments and formal assessments. All of these are taken into account when an end of term grade is given. We foster open communication about your child’s progress and try to contact parents to give praise about a student’s progress and to discuss any areas where a student may be struggling. If you are concerned or have any questions regarding your child’s progress, we encourage you to contact us so that we can discuss your child.
Reporting Academic Progress
All grades will be using PowerSchool to report student assignments and progress. It is important for parents to check PowerSchool on a regular basis to keep informed of your child’s progress. Grade _____will be using the Elementary Grading Scale (outlined in the School Assessment Plan) as well as percentages. Please see the School Assessment Plan for more detailed information.
Student Assignments
Student assignments will be all out of 100. There will be no weighting of assignments. Please see the School Assessment Plan for information on how long students have to hand in missed work.
Please see the link above for curriculum information specific to your child’s grade.
Home and School Communication
Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns by writing in your child’s agenda, calling the school or emailing. When emailing, please try to remember to send the email to both teachers. Depending on the schedule of the day, we may not get to check our email throughout the day but will respond to calls or emails within 24 hours. Monthly newsletters and calendars will be sent home the first week of each month and you will often receive weekly email reminders about upcoming classroom events.
natalie.rose@gshare.blackgold.ca
lindsay.charbonneau@gshare.blackgold.ca
Phone: 780-929-1928