We will be using Class Dojo to track behaviors. I will not use Dojo to connect to parents. I will use Dojo so that each child can see how many points they have. Each student will have the opportunity to earn points for positive behavior throughout the week. Those students who meet the weekly goal will be able to pick from a list of rewards that we will create as a class. After the week is over, everyone will start again and have a fresh opportunity to meet the new weekly goal. You will not receive a daily notification about how your child did in class each day. Instead, I will reach out for either a great thing, or something that needs attention. In our class, we will focus on classroom commitments as our “rules”. Making a commitment increases the chance of following through while also increasing self-regulation and confidence. The commitments in our classroom are quite simple. 

Our classroom commitments are:

Be Respectful

Be Responsible

Be Safe

Be Kind 

We will of course discuss all of the tiny common sense rules, such as: follow directions the first time they are given, keep your hands, feet and all other objects to yourself, use appropriate language and kind words, no put downs or “bad” words, raise your hand to ask permission, speak or leave your seat, bring all required materials to school such as homework, books, folders, and paper, etc., that fit under our four main commitments in the first few days of school. 

The TSC is part of an initiative to implement Conscious Discipline in the classroom. Over the summer of 2022 and 2023, I participated in a Conscious Discipline and CONNECT Academy. These were week long trainings that TSC hosted that emphasized the importance of building resilient classrooms through brain-aligned social-emotional learning. I am looking forward to implementing the techniques and practices I learned in our classroom this year. It is a methodology that you can use in your home as well. To learn more about Conscious Discipline, visit: www.consciousdiscipline.com/methodology 

We will talk a lot about emotions and feelings in our classroom. My goal in doing that is to help students learn the words, recognize the feelings, and learn productive ways to discuss and work through their feelings. In our classroom, we have a Calm Corner and tools available for students to use. Your child will learn the procedures for that space early in the school year.

1st infraction- The student is given a choice to be helpful. Reteach the necessary skill.

2nd infraction- Problem solving conference with the student. Reteach the necessary skill.

3rd infraction- Logical consequence given. Reteach the necessary skill.

4th infraction- Message or call the parent/guardians.

5th infraction- Office Referral 

It is my expectation that your student will spend 15 minutes each weekday night on school tasks or something educational. A monthly calendar will go home in your student's blue take home folder for homework to be tracked. Your student can fill out the calendar nightly on his/her own, but I do ask that you or another adult initial the box as well – to ensure that your student is following through with expectations. The 15 minutes may be fulfilled with any or any combination of the following: completing unfinished independent work from that day, reading, studying spelling or vocabulary words, IXL Language or Math lessons, I-Ready lessons, Fundations, or math fact flashcards. There will be times that I might send home extra spelling and/or math pages that you can use if you would like to have students use that for extra practice. Those pages are not independent work and would not need to be returned to school for a grade. If the pages already have a score or a check mark on them, they can stay at home. I am checking the calendar daily, so it is important that you and your student stay on top of it. I will then collect the calendars every Monday to check if the previous week was completed or not. There will be no punishment for not completing it, however a reward of a piece of candy will be given to those who have completed it.

I have decided to not regularly assign graded homework pages. However, if there is an assignment that needs to be completed, it will be taken home and assigned as homework. This homework will go in your student's blue take home folder – so please help them remember to check their folder every night in case they forget an assignment.

My grading policy follows the TSC grading policy. In first grade students receive the following letter grades based off of their work and performance for each subject that the report is broken up into.

A = 90-100%

B = 80-89%

C = 70-79%

D = 60-69%

F = 59% and below

Science and Social Studies grades will have participation and whole-group points along with a few assessments. Personal Growth & Study Habits, Computer Science and Health & Wellness will be graded on a scale from 1-4. The students will be assessed on their cooperation with peers, skills and abilities, showing respect and their effort towards academics.