First Grade Policies at Bear Canyon Elementary School

Teacher Communication

The best way to contact me is by email. My email address is bswinford1@dcsdk12.org. I am always open to meeting with families in-person or having a phone conversation. Please contact me via email to schedule a meeting time or phone call. Bear Canyon Elementary will hold two conferences this school year where we will have the opportunity to meet and celebrate your child's accomplishments as well as discuss their First Grade progress.

I will check my email daily during my conference period and at the end of the school day. If you have important information to communicate to me about your child and it pertains to that day (i.e. after school plans), please send a note to school with your child or email me directly. If a note is sent, please encourage your child to give me the note upon arrival. An email or phone call to the Front Office are alternative options to relay any important information.

If your child is going to be absent for any reason, please inform the Front Office and me. 

Newsletters

Monthly newsletters will be posted on this website (under the First Grade Newsletters section) and sent to our class families via email. This is an excellent way for me to communicate with your family about things that your child has been doing in school as well as upcoming activities, events, and other school-related items.

Behavior Expectations

My discipline approach in the classroom is based on positive reinforcement and restorative practices. Clear and consistent expectations and boundaries will be discussed, practiced, and reinforced daily. The safety and well-being of all students are paramount. Good citizenship and student ownership/accountability will be promoted and upheld at school. 

At Bear Canyon Elementary, our BEARS have character!

B - being in control of my behavior shows I am trustworthy

E - every day, be here on time and ready to learn

A - always show care and concern for others

R - responsible students make a positive difference

S - striving to do my best helps me grow 

If your child is consistently struggling with following these expectations, I will contact your family to discuss the behaviors specifically. We will determine next steps to support your young learner.

Energy Bus Certified School

Bear Canyon is proud to be an Energy Bus Certified school practicing The Energy Bus for Schools Leadership Journey.

Our mission is to inspire and develop leaders (students and educators) who positively impact schools, families, communities and the world!

The Energy Bus for Schools Leadership Journey is a multi-year approach to creating and sustaining a positive school culture through shared leadership. Shared leadership takes into account that every person in the school community is a leader, even students as young as 4 and 5 years of age. We define leadership as the ability to take personal responsibility for your actions and stopping to think about outcomes prior to reacting to challenging situations. We believe that engaging our students in these valuable principles early in life will support their social, emotional, and academic goals.  This program works hand in hand with Restorative Practices for discipline as both programs support personal ownership and lifelong relational skills building.

The Energy Bus Positive Framework for students is based on the following seven principles:

We have tons of fun celebrating our students who exhibit positive traits at assemblies and throughout the school day.

Recess

We will have recess each day. Depending on the weather, we will play outside on the playground or have indoor recess. Please help your First Grader be successful at school by providing appropriate clothing and closed toe shoes. If your child is not able to tie their shoes independently, please supply hook-and-loop ones. Sunscreen can be applied before school. 

Snacks

We will have our snack time during recess each day. Please send a snack to school in your child’s backpack. Healthy, finger food snacks such as carrots, apples, grapes, granola bars, etc. are highly encouraged. When possible, please try to avoid items like yogurt, applesauce, pudding, etc. as they can spill easily. 

Curriculum

We will teach to the CO Academic Standards for First Grade. Click here to access CDE's Family and Community Guides for First Grade. 

Literacy: McGraw Hill Reading Program Wonders

Writing: Handwriting Without Tears                     

Math: enVision Math (Click here to access enVision's Family and Community Guides for First Grade.)

Homework

Your child will be expected to complete about 20 minutes of homework each night.  It is important for first graders to practice the academic skills that they are learning each day to solidify their learning. Your child will be practicing spelling skills, reading skills, journaling and new math concepts. Family time, play, and rest are also very important for young learners. If you find that your child is spending more than 20 minutes on average each night, please contact me to discuss accommodations. The most important thing that you can do to help stimulate your child academically is to continue to read aloud to them and allow them to read aloud to you on a regular basis. Asking and answering questions about the text including those about characters, setting, sequence of events, etc. will support your child's reading comprehension. This will also reinforce and introduce vocabulary, fluency, phonemic awareness, grammar, and instills the love of literature.

Specials

Your child will visit the Library once a week.  Please help your child keep his/her book in a safe place at home and return it each week. We will also attend Art, Music, Technology and PE.  Please make sure that your child is wearing appropriate, closed-toe shoes on PE days. 

Birthdays

We love to celebrate birthdays! A special snack or treat can be shared with our class. Any known allergies will be communicated to all class families. Non-food items like pencils, bouncy balls, stickers, etc., are options as well. Parents are encouraged to participate in our Birthday Book Celebration by purchasing a book for our library with a nameplate celebrating your child and his/her birthday! Please remember that birthday invitations need to be mailed to home addresses for the protection against hurt feelings and/or lost invitations.

Volunteer Opportunities

I greatly need, welcome, and appreciate class volunteers! Volunteer opportunities include weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly classroom volunteers, support with field trips, planning parties, etc. I will have a sign-up sheet at our first meeting. Please note that classroom volunteers won't start until a few weeks into the school year. We will be taking the first weeks to get to know each other and learn/practice classroom routines and expectations. If you would like to volunteer in other areas of our school, please contact our school's Volunteer Coordinator through the Front Office.

Interested in joining our school's PTA? Click here to learn about PTA and join today!

Field Trips

We will take one/two field trips during the school year. Permission slips and payment information will be sent home that will need to be completed prior to the trip(s). Payment will include the cost of the school bus transportation and the cost of the field trip itself. Parent volunteers who attend the field trip will be asked to pay separately.