First Grade Handbook
2021-22
WELCOME TO FIRST GRADE!
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to Lakeview School! I’m excited to be your child’s teacher this year and look forward to a fun and rewarding time in First Grade. If your child is new to Lakeview School, Welcome! I’m looking forward to getting to know you.
Ready for School
Here are some things for you to know or do:
Students should enter Door #11 at 8:25 AM. School begins each day at 8:30 AM.
Parents should say goodbye outside each morning. The children are expected to get ready for their day at their locker independently. Thank you for your support in this matter.
Your child’s school attendance is important to her/his learning. When your child is not at school, s/he misses many of the hands-on learning opportunities that cannot be made up as homework. It is equally important that your child arrives at school on time and stays all day.
Please send a water bottle with your child everyday. Due to the pandemic, we aren’t able to use drinking fountains or bubblers. Masks are required to be worn by elementary students and teachers. Please send an extra mask in your child’s backpack.
If your child is ill or if there is a family emergency, please call the school office ASAP at 766-5252. Get an excuse, if your child needs to be seen by a medical professional, even if it’s just for a short time during the day.
Meet your child promptly at the end of the day near the outside door #11 at 3:35 PM. If there will be a change in your child’s dismissal routine, please let me know or write a note.
Please be sure your child uses the bathroom before leaving home. As soon as school starts we have breakfast and then go right to Art, Music, Gym or Library. We don’t want anyone to miss breakfast because they are in the bathroom.
Keep all toys at home.
9. Watch for a weekly school newsletter to help keep you informed about upcoming
events and important dates. It will be emailed to you and be available on the class
website. Once a month, I will send home a paper copy of the class calendar.
10. The transition from Kindergarten to First Grade can be a challenge. We do not
have play time or rest time. Please make sure that your child starts going to bed
earlier at night (8:00 or 8:30 at the latest), so that s/he gets enough rest to have
the energy to complete the work expectations of First Grade. Expect an
adjustment period before your child gets into the first grade routine.
Please feel free to approach me, email me or leave a message to talk to me with any questions or concerns you may have. Together, we will make sure your child has a great year.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Brever
FIRST GRADE INFORMATION
Expected Classroom Behaviors
When the teacher is talking, students are listening.
We talk kindly to our friends and teachers.
We keep our hands and feet to ourselves.
We raise our hands and wait to be called on, so everyone gets a chance to talk.
We walk quietly in the classroom and in the hall.
Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Engaged at Lakeview School.
Literacy/Language Arts
We use a curriculum called Units of Study for Reading, Writing and Phonics. We have small group guided reading or skill/strategy lessons, word study, phonics instruction, whole group reading mini-lessons and read-aloud storytime every day. Our small groups are flexible to meet your child’s reading needs. Students will be reading a variety of topics and genres this year, including both fiction and nonfiction stories.
When we do Writing Workshop, students will be encouraged to write down their ideas, use beginning, middle and ending sounds in their words, spell the Word Wall words (Kindergarten & First Grade High Frequency/Sight Words; also called snap words) correctly, start each sentence with a capital letter and end every sentence with a punctuation mark. The students will be learning to write personal narratives (true stories about themselves), informational nonfiction, how-to stories, opinion/persuasive essays and fiction stories.
Math
We use a curriculum called Investigations. Hands-on materials such as: pattern blocks, unifix cubes, plastic polygons, geoblocks, chips, tiles and dot/number cubes are used with lessons. These materials help the children develop number sense, learn about 2-D/3-D shapes, measure, analyze data, solve story problems and add & subtract. The students are taught to play math games that reinforce concepts and are fun. First graders will also learn how to tell time to the hour and half hour and identify halves/fourths of objects.
Investigations promotes problem solving and higher level thinking skills. “Number Talks” help us think of different ways to use strategies, mental math and explain how we arrived at our answers.
Science and Social Studies
Our Science curriculum is called Amplify Science. Some of our Science topics this year are: Animal and Plant Defenses, Light and Sound & Spinning Earth. Some of our Social Studies topics this year are: Fire Prevention and Safety, Families and Communities and Map Skills/Geography. The children will also be using My Weekly Reader-Scholastic News magazines.
Lunch/Recess/What to Wear?
We eat lunch at 11:25 a.m.-11:40 a.m. Lunch menus are on the Lakeview website under the "For Families" tab. Be sure you register or re-register for Free Lunch, as this year due to the pandemic, lunch will not cost anything. We will go outside for recess twice a day, unless it is raining or extremely cold. Lunch recess is from 11:40 a.m. until 11:55 a.m. Afternoon recess is from 1:25-1:40 p.m.
Send your child in comfortable clothes and shoes! Do not send your child in his/her very best clothes. Please dress your child for the weather. Lakeview is not air-conditioned. When you purchase boots, make sure they are easy to get on and off. Every first grader must have a pair of snow pants and boots for winter weather.
Special Classes -Physical Education, Library, Art and Music
Please see our class calendar as this year, our special classes are not on the same day of the week, all year long. Your child will have an hour of special classes everyday on a 4 day rotation. Be sure your child has gym shoes on physical education days. Mr. Walters is our physical education teacher.
Your child needs to return his/her library book on time. Books can be brought back early and placed in the library tub in our classroom. Children will be unable to take out new books until the old ones have been returned. Mr. Franecki is our library aide.
Please be sure your child has brought in an old shirt or smock for art class. We have art on the first day of school. Mrs. Drake-Hames (We will call her Mrs. D H) is our art teacher. Our music teacher is Mrs. Tinsen. The social worker addresses special topics twice a month in our classroom through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) class. Her name is Mrs. Nillissen. Our district is currently seeking to fill the position of gifted and talented coordinator. Once hired, s/he will be available throughout the district as needs arise and be at Lakeview once a week to work with children who need an extra challenge.
Breakfast
We have breakfast in the classroom each morning. School breakfast can be a full breakfast or “milk only”. Breakfast menus are on the Lakeview website under the "For Families" tab.
Homework and Folders
Your child will be coming home with homework this year! Please help your child by going through his/her backpack and daily folder each night. Math homework will be sent home as a review of class work, but it isn’t assigned every night. For organizational purposes PLEASE return your child’s folder each day. If you have a note or money for me, please put it in the daily folder, so I will receive it first thing in the morning when the folders are collected.
During the first half of the school year, your child will need help with math homework. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE DOWN THE ANSWERS FOR YOUR CHILD. Our math series uses the homework as a way to help your child prepare for tests or assessments. Sometimes the math homework will consist of playing a game. Supplies for the game will be sent home when this happens.
Lakeview School will have a weekly folder that comes home on Tuesdays with important notices from the office as well as from me. Please read all the notes and return the necessary papers in the Tuesday folder the next day! I hope this helps keep paperwork for you at a minimum and you’ll know when to look for really important information.
Field Trips
A letter and permission slip will be sent home prior to each trip. Your child will not be allowed to attend without the signed permission slip. It is important to return the permission slip with the money on time.
We are limited in the number of chaperones that we can take on each trip. Our goal is to have someone from each child’s family accompany us once during the school year. ALL CHAPERONES MUST FILL OUT A BACKGROUND CHECK FORM ONLINE. Go to this link: https://sites.google.com/sdsm.k12.wi.us/volunteers/home OR go to the SDSM website and click on the “For Families” tab. Look for the link in the second paragraph titled “Volunteering at SDSM Schools”. THE BACKGROUND CHECK WILL TAKE 1 WEEK TO PROCESS, SO YOU MUST BE TIMELY ONCE YOU FIND OUT YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO CHAPERONE. If you need help or have questions about the process, call the school office at 414-766-5252. Approved background checks are good for 2 years.
Unfortunately younger brothers and sisters are not able to come with us on field trips. No smoking is allowed on field trips. Masks must be worn on a school bus. We will send a note home asking for chaperones when we send home permission slips.
Birthdays (Optional)
Sometimes children want to mark this day by doing something special for their classmates (such as bringing in a treat or a new book for the class library). Either activity is completely voluntary, but always appreciated by the students. The School Board has voted that homemade treats are no longer allowed in classrooms, and that all treats need to be store-bought, pre-packaged and labeled due to allergies. At this time, we have 19 students in our class. Our Food Service offers the ability to purchase and deliver treats to the classroom as well.
Book Orders
Book orders will be sent home periodically. There is no obligation to order books. The book orders offer quality literature at a good price and provide free books for the classroom library. If you choose to order books, PLEASE – no cash. Checks or money orders should be made out to the book company (Scholastic) not to Lakeview or the teacher. You can also order online. Register at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs Our one-time class activation code is: J3GQ8 After your first visit, you can decide on a username and password. You will no longer need the class activation code. Add your selections to your cart. Your child's books will be delivered to our classroom in about 2 weeks.
Literacy Screener
First grade students will be given a literacy screening assessment in September, January and May. The screener is called PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening) and the information and results will help guide teachers as they plan appropriate reading instruction for all students.
MAP TEST (Measures of Academic Progress)
First grade students will also be given a computerized test three times a year. All 5K-5th graders are given the MAP Test in the subjects of Math and Reading. MAP helps teachers monitor student progress. Scores for this year will be sent home in June.
I’m here for you and your child; please let me know if I can help in any way! Happy 2021-22 School Year!
Mrs. Brever