School Hours, Attendance, Tardiness
Students may arrive no earlier than 7:40 a.m. and will be greeted in the elementary school lobby. Students can proceed to homerooms at 7:50 a.m. First graders at MCS are expected to enter school on their own after being dropped off on the right side of the loop in front of the elementary building. Students arriving after 8:10 a.m. will be marked tardy. Pick-up is at 2:50 pm. Students will be picked up on the sidewalk near the driveway in front of the elementary building. I will have students give me a high-five or wave to let me know when they see their caregiver so that I can keep track of children during dismissal. If your child will be absent, please notify the office no later than 8:30 a.m. Additionally, please send me an email to let me know of the absence.
Drop-Off & Morning Routines
Once the students arrive in the classroom there will be a routine of responsibilities for them to complete before they may enter a choice center time. Responsibilities include hanging up coats and backpacks neatly in the hall, placing lunch boxes on the shelf outside of the classroom, bringing in water bottles and home folders to the classroom. Any completed homework will be removed from the folder and placed in the “turn it in bin”. Once these responsibilities are complete students will check to see if they have a daily job, and select a center to begin exploring until 8:05. Morning prayer/announcements begin at 8:10 at this time all children should be at their desk. We will begin a Morning Meeting each day at approximately 8:15. This is a time when the class will greet each other, connect, play a game, and chat about our plan for the day.
Communication
Email is typically the best way to contact me for day-to-day updates, concerns, and questions. If there is an emergency, call the office and they will be able to get in touch with me. Please keep in mind that my focus will be on the children during school hours; responses will be written at the earliest convenience, and every effort will be made to respond within 24 hours. My typical working hours are from 7:30-4:00 Monday through Friday. The Homeroom App will also be used to share photos of the students 2-3 times per week. This platform is an easy quick place for me to share quick fun tidbits of information. From time to time there may be an alert informing you of a celebration to take place the following day. While email is best practice, the app is more convenient especially when things come up at the end of the day. Please download the app and check it daily for important messages.
Conferences & Updates
We will be meeting 2-3 times in the school year to share information about your child. I will
send you an email to sign up. If you have any questions or concerns about your child,
Please do not wait for a formal conference time. Send a note/email to set up a meeting. If
you have any changes or events that you feel may affect your child (new job, new baby, parent away, scary experiences, etc.), please let me know. The more I know about your child the better I will be able to understand and support them in class.
Home-School Folders
Everyday, your child will take home a “Home Folder”. On Monday, it will contain the homework packet for the week. The homework packet is due each Friday. Please take a moment to look through this and empty it out each week. This is a great way to connect with your child about what they created and see their progress first-hand. I will give you a heads-up if there is something that needs to be returned or signed.
Newsletter & Photos
A classroom newsletter will be sent via email and in the folder every Friday with curriculum
updates and announcements. Photos will be shared with the Homeroom app, accessed only by families.
Homework
As per MCS routines, first-graders will be expected to read for 15 minutes each night. This does NOT have to be regular “reading!” You may read to them, they can read through an online app (ABC Mouse, Epic, etc.), they can read to you, etc. A mix is best! A great way to encourage this is to have time when the family reads together (either the same book or different books). Please let me know if you need books sent home on your child’s reading level. My hope is that it is an enjoyable experience. If your child is struggling with at-home reading routines, please reach out to me so we can work together to find a solution. I do not want “homework battles” to be present in your household!
In addition, a short weekly first-grade homework packet will be sent home containing spelling and math practice. Homework packets will be due on Fridays, and should not exceed 10 minutes of work a night. My goal again is to make this as stress-free and enjoyable as possible, by incorporating math games, math coloring sheets, spelling games, etc. Homework will be sent home with the intention of reviewing and retaining concepts, not introducing new concepts.
Snack & Lunch
Please send in a snack, a leak-free water bottle, and a lunch each day (unless your child buys school lunch). Please remember that we are a nut-free classroom!. Lunch can have nuts but snack cannot. Additionally, please avoid sending soda or candy. First graders are encouraged to practice independence when eating, it can be helpful to send in items that are easier for them to open.
Birthdays
MCS policy does not allow food to be brought in for birthdays. Please feel free to send in a favorite book from home for the teacher to read to the class. If your child has a birthday that falls on the weekend, we will celebrate the following Monday. If your child has a summer birthday, we will celebrate in June. Please refrain from passing out party invitations or thank you notes at school unless everyone in the class is invited.
Items from Home
Make sure to label EVERYTHING! Water bottles, sweatshirts, uniforms, lunch boxes, you name it! Labeled items are much easier to return. Please refrain from sending in toys or other items from home as it can distract children from their school day and also cause hard feelings when items get lost or damaged. There will be special times throughout the year when children can bring in and share special items, and I will inform you ahead of time when that is.
Field Trips
We will be taking a few first grade field trips this year that align with our curriculum. We are currently planning to include apple picking, ECHO, Shelburne Farms, and maple sugaring. Each field trip will have it’s own chaperone sign-up and permission slips that will be distributed to you asap. In order to be a chaperone, you need to complete paperwork from the front office, and this can be done at any time. Parents and caregivers are responsible for transportation of students to and from field trips, MCS does not provide transportation.
Responsive Classroom Approach (Adapted from Responsive Classroom)
First grade at MCS follows a Responsive Classroom Approach. During the first weeks of school, our class will develop a list of classroom expectations. We will also work together to create individual “Hopes and Dreams” for the year and we establish expectations that will help everyone reach their Hopes and Dreams. After the creation of expectations, everyone will sign them to indicate that they agree with them and will try their best to follow them. The expectations we come up with will align with the Mater Christi Core Values.
We continue to work on following our expectations, but make mistakes. They will forget, become unsure, and test limits. Logical consequences are a way to help fix problems that result from children’s words and actions when they break or forget what is expected of them. They help children regain self-control, reflect on their mistakes, and make amends. Logical consequences should be respectful of the child, relevant to the situation, and reasonable in scale. Here are 3 types of Logical Consequences that will help maintain a safe, respectful, and caring learning environment:
“You break it, you fix it” can be used to mend emotional messes, as well as physical messes. A child can rebuild a block tower after accidentally knocking it over. A child can repair hurt feelings or bodies with an “apology of action” by doing something to soothe the injury, such as drawing a picture, getting an ice pack, or inviting someone into their game.
Temporary loss of privilege is a simple way to help a child remember to responsibly use that privilege (art materials, group time). Losing a privilege for a class period or a day can help a child pause to remember or relearn a rule.
“Take a Break” is a strategy to help children learn self-control. A child who is disrupting the work of the group is asked to leave for a few minutes at the take a break desk. This gives the child a chance to regain composure and rejoin the group when they are ready. After a second warning, a child may be asked to go to Mrs. Macedonia’s room (our “buddy teacher”) and sit in her “take a break” space, and reflect with her. This allows the child to regroup outside of the classroom and chat with another adult. Repeated and ongoing behavioral concerns may warrant a parent or administrator’s involvement and a collaborative meeting to strategize on how to best support the child so they can thrive in school.