Welcome To First Grade
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Chandler Oaks First Grade! We are thrilled to have your children in our classes, and are looking forward to all the exciting things we have planned in first grade this year. It is our goal to assist your child in growing academically, emotionally, and socially. We believe that we are a team; the parents, teacher, and the student. We are looking forward to getting to know you and your child, and sharing this year with you!
We are providing some information below that will be helpful for a successful school year. We know there is a lot of information here -- it is not meant to overwhelm you, but rather to help you. We have tried to put it in order of relevance to school. PLEASE take a few minutes to read all of this over the next few days.
Please Be On Time
The instructional day begins at 7:35 and ends at 2:55. We ask that your child be dropped off after 7:15 to ensure adult supervision (this is when the school doors open) and before 7:35 so he/she can get to our classroom on time. If your child arrives after the 7:35 bell rings, he/she will be counted tardy.
Dismissal
Please make sure that We are always aware of your child's route of transportation from school. If any changes arise please write a note and put it in their Daily Red Folder or call the front office (before 2:00) and they will notify me (if you email during the school day, We cannot guarantee that we will see it, especially if we are away for the day). Otherwise, your child will be sent home in their normal fashion. Children can often misunderstand or miscommunicate a situation, so we must be notified by you of any changes.
Clothes
Please make sure your child has an extra change of clothes in their backpack.
It is SO important to have a seasonal change of clothes in your child’s backpack everyday for accidents, spilled milk, etc (these accidents can happen even when you think they won’t). Also, sneaker type shoes are best because we have recess daily and they are required on P.E. days.
Flip-Flops are not allowed.
Money
Please make sure all money that is sent to school is either in a bag or envelope.
Please put your child’s first and last name on the bag or envelope and the purpose for the money.
Snack
Please send a snack with your child each day. We will have a snack time each afternoon since we have an early lunch. Please remember, however, it needs to be a healthy, fairly nutritious, mess-free snack. Examples of healthy and mess-free snacks would be apple slices, goldfish, graham crackers, pretzels, granola bars, etc. No citrus fruits please, as they are often sticky and messy. Please no food that requires the use of eating utensils like yogurt, pudding, fruit cups or applesauce. We want to keep our classroom clean, free of insects, and avoid messes and spills.
*Those foods can be eaten in the cafeteria at lunch time, but not in the classroom during snack.
***Please make sure your child knows where their snack is located in their backpack!
Water Bottles
It is recommended that your child bring a push/pull cap water bottle (that they can open and close independently) to school to use throughout the day. Our classroom is not near a water fountain, and the children do get thirsty during the day. Please remember to send only water to school in the water bottle. The water bottle will go home daily to be washed. (When sending a lunch, please send a separate drink in the lunch box, as we will not take our classroom water bottles with us to lunch in order to prevent hallway spills...yes, they happen.)
Breakfast
If your child is eating breakfast at school they must be here by 7:20. This will ensure they have enough time to eat breakfast, clean up, throw away trash, walk to the classroom, unpack their backpack and be ready to learn by the time the 7:35 bell rings!
If your child is ordering lunch, making the decision of choosing a lunch can sometimes be overwhelming to children (there are 4 choices each day). Please discuss with your child each evening or in the morning before school what he or she will be ordering for lunch that day. They will need to give me this information each morning, and your assistance will make this task much easier! The RRISD breakfast and lunch menu can be found online
Birthdays
In first grade we do not have birthday parties. We will recognize your child’s birthday and sing to him/her.
Student Birthday Snacks or Goodie Bag:
Parents may drop off a prepackaged snack, or goodie bag, in the front office in the morning before school. The teacher will distribute the snacks or bag as the students are leaving for the day. The snacks will be taken home to eat.
Please keep the following in mind:
*snacks will only be accepted in the morning through the front office
*snacks must be individually wrapped (prepackaged)
*no sign up is required to drop off a birthday snack/goodie bags for the class
Birthday Party Invitations
The school prefers that invitations be handled outside of school. However, if the family has no other option for getting invitations to children and every child in the class will receive an invitation, we can allow distribution at school as students are packing up to leave for the day.
*Please note that teachers are not allowed to facilitate the process by sharing student/parent contact information
First Grade Behavior Policy
One of our main goals at COE is to encourage our students to behave appropriately by using positive reinforcement.
Every child will have a Red Daily “Cheetah” Folder. This folder will serve many different purposes, one being our main communication for behavior expectations. The Daily Folder will go home every day. The calendar inside will document your child's behavior throughout the day and will need to be initialed by a parent/guardian each night.
*The calendar will stay in the front pocket of the Red Daily Folder.
If your child had a great day, the date will be left blank by me but you will still need to initial it each night so I know you looked through their folder and are aware of any behavior issues that may arise.
*If your child had a difficult time following the class/school rules that day, I will make a note on the calendar letting you know of the behavior. Please talk to your child about this. Your support when dealing with behavior is so beneficial and necessary! Thank you in advance for your support!!!
GOLD STAR on calendar!
This would indicate that your child was modeling great behavior by going above and beyond multiple times throughout the day. We do not give these out lightly, so if you see a gold STAR sticker be sure to praise them for having such an amazing day!
Homework
Your children will become successful/stronger readers and mathematicians in no time if you help them for 15-20 minutes nightly practicing/reviewing reading and math skills.
Please be sure to make daily reading with your child a TOP PRIORITY!
Studies show that daily reading propels children to become proficient readers and writers much quicker than those who only read occasionally.
Math skills are essential as well. Please have your child work on counting to 120, recognizing and writing the numbers 1-120 too. Incorporate math into your child’s daily schedule as often as possible with daily tasks.
*Homework will change to Reading Leveled Books in October/November.
Your Job From Home
The role you play in your child’s education is so, so important. The attitude your child develops towards learning will very likely be related to the importance you place on it. Please help your child at home by reading to them, talking to them, playing games with them, working on letters, numbers, sounds, sight words etc. with them. When something is sent home, please take the time to look it over.
Please reach out to your child's teacher if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Thank you, The 1st Grade Team