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Welcome to First Grade!
The following is a friendly resource to review school procedures and materials. Keep this guide handy throughout the year. It will also be helpful to review these procedures with your child prior to the first week of school.
Arrival at School: Upon arrival, all students should go directly to their classrooms. This is the procedure for the entire school year. The school day begins at 9:10 A.M. each day. Students should not arrive prior to 8:50 A.M.
*EVERY day please make sure your child knows if he/she will be eating a packed lunch from home or ordering a lunch from school. If your child is ordering lunch, please discuss which option to buy.
J
Snack- Students should bring two snacks daily for our classroom morning snack time If your child is on a “late bus”, he/she may also pack another snack. Please put the snack in a separate, labeled bag in your child’s back pack. It is helpful to review with your child what he/she should be eating for snack. Your child will be eating the snack at his/her desk, so please send a napkin. Mini hand sanitizer or hand wipes also works very well to combat germs. Snack is intended to give your little worker a quick energy boost during the busy learning period. I recommend packing healthy snacks. Water usually works best as a quick refresher. Due to the increasing number of peanut allergies, please do not send in snacks that contain peanut products. J
Water bottle- I encourage students to bring a NO SPILL water bottle to school. Please write your child’s name on the water bottle. It will be his/her responsibility to empty it at the end of each school day to recycle or refill at home for the following day. J Dismissal:
Each day I will dismiss your child from our classroom according to the transportation method you have chosen for him/her. Car rider dismissal starts at 3:20 P.M. It is helpful to keep a familiar routine for dismissal to avoid any confusion. Please practice your child’s p.m. bus number with him or her; some children have different a.m. and p.m bus numbers. If your child is going to be a car rider or is going on a bus with another child for childcare purposes I will need a note every school day or if there is every a change of plans.
If you are picking up your child before the end of the school day, please let me know in writing what time you will be coming. When you get to the school, go directly to theoffice to sign-out your child. The office staff will call down to our room.
Contact Information:
*** You can also contact me at school by
calling the school office- (215) 944-2400
e-mailing me at jsheppard@crsd.orgThe best way to contact me throughout the day is through e-mail. If you have an important message for me in the morning, please either e-mail or send a note. If you e-mail me, I will confirm that I received your message. If you do not hear back, please call the office. I will provide you with personal phone number. Please feel free to text me during emergency or last minute situations.
Special Classes (schedule coming soon)
We love specials!
Monday- Art , Tuesday- Library , Wednesday-Music , Thursday- Inspire , Friday- Gym
(Your child should wear appropriate clothing for physical fitness on Gym Days. Library books should be returned on or before Library Day. )
Materials:
Homework Folder
Your child will have a homework folder that he or she will use to transport the homework to and from school. Your child will be given homework on Fridays for the upcoming week. In the folder your child will receive a weekly homework sheet with a detailed description of all of the homework and all of the required work for the entire week. At times, I will often provide choices for homework, so please read the sheet carefully. The homework folder should stay at home and should be returned to school on Friday or the last day of the school week. I will not collect or correct homework until Friday or the last school day of the week. With your help, your child can decide on the sequence and pacing of completing assignments for the week. I will outline a plan for completion such as Monday- read, Tuesday- math sheet, etc. You do not have to follow my exact schedule as long as homework is submitted in entirety on Friday. If your child forgets his/her folder, please ask him to turn it in the next school day. If there is a family emergency that prevents your child from completing the work, please send in a note. If homework is not submitted within three days of the due date, it will be marked as incomplete.
Please keep in mind that homework should not exceed 10 - 15 minutes a night. If your child is taking longer with assignments, contact me and we will come up with a more appropriate plan for your little one. We will not begin our routine until after Back to School Night
Daily Take Home Folder
I will give your child a “Take Home Folder.” This folder needs to be checked EVERY NIGHT. Your child should have it with him or her every school day.
All of your child’s school papers and important papers (from the office or PTO, handouts, required forms) will come home in this. Please empty everything out of the folder nightly, and then return any forms or necessary paperwork the following day. Remind your child to give me any important memos, notes or returned work. You can also send car rider notes, lunch account payment and bus notes or any correspondence in this folder.
*** Remembering to bring home, empty, notify parents of papers, and return the “Take Home Folder” is part of your child's nightly homework. Therefore, I try to encourage parents to allow their child to become responsible, yet reminders are needed so that important documents are returned in a timely manner.
Book Pack
Your child will be responsible for reading at night. Your child has a book pack or envelope that will be used as a “home” for all books. Your child should have this with him/her every school day. He/she may choose to read books in his or her book pack or substitute books at home for assignments. The “book pack” books are books selected personally by your little reader and/or books I have given him/her to reread from guided reading groups. Your child should be encouraged to read these books for enjoyment and fluency.
I am looking forward to a fantastic year of fun and learning with your child! Please keep in touch. I look forward to working closely with you this school year.
Warmly,
Ms. Sheppard
