A…Please see the handbook for specific arrival information.  School starts promptly at 8:00am.  We always begin our class with detailed instruction of specific math and language arts strategies and skills so it is crucial that your child be on time.

B…BEE BOOKS help keep us organized.  The three-ring binder houses homework, newsletter/take home papers, and other items that assist with communication between home and school. 

 

If you would like to send a birthday treat with your child on or near his/her birthday, please feel free to do so.  These treats will be eaten during our snack time.  Birthdays are recognized during our calendar routine as well.  We will recognize summer birthdays at the end of the school year.  Please do not send birthday party invitations to be distributed at school unless all children receive an invitation. 

I will send home book order forms for you and your child to look over every month.  Book clubs offer books at reduced prices.  It's a great way to build your child's home library!

       

C…Parent and Teacher conferences are held at the end of the first and quarter.  Watch for information and reply accordingly.  Conferences will be held on November 17th and 18th, as well as March 3rd.

Communication is important.  Feel free to contact me whenever you have a question or concern.  You can reach me by phone (303-499-4884 ext. 238), in person, by email alisha.cohen@bvsd.org, or by note.

Our class has Computer Lab every Monday from 12:20-1:10.  We also are fortunate enough to have five computers in our classroom. We use a variety of age-appropriate programs that reinforce math, social studies, spelling and reading skills.  In addition, we work extensively with Douglass’ creative Technology coordinator, Dawne Mangus, throughout the year to create many online books and PowerPoint Presentations that will be posted on our school website.

       

D…Discipline is simple.

  1. Be kind
  2. Be safe
  3. Be a good listener.
  4. Take care of your things and each other.       
  5. Always do your best work.

Our classroom is a small community where teamwork and good relationships are expected. Since this is a fairly new school experience for first graders, we will spend a lot of time learning class procedures/routines and practicing them. Each student is expected to act within our standards of behavior.

Our class will use a positive behavior management system that acknowledges students individually for their accomplishments and improvements with the character assets we implement here at Douglass:  Kindness, Empathy, Responsibly, Effort, Integrity, and Respect.  Students will randomly receive “tokens” when showing positive examples of these assets. As the year progresses, classmates learn how to nominate each other for tokens.  Once they receive a token, it goes into a bin where I randomly draw names out it.  If your child’s name is drawn, they get to choose a surprise from the treasure chest.  I have found that this system not only gets the kids to monitor their own behavior, but it also helps them understand the importance of working together to protect our classroom family and how our actions can directly effect each other.

 

As for other behavioral consequences, I will handle them individually to determine what would be appropriate for each given child.

E…My school email address is alisha.cohen@bvsd.org.  I check email daily. If you need to discuss something urgently, please call me at school instead, 303-499-4884 ext.238, since I may not read my emails until the end of the day.

 

You will receive an emergency phone tree after back to school night once I have received all our parents contact information.  Please keep a copy of this in a safe, accessible place.  I rely on your help in contacting families in a timely manner when an emergency arises and it is best if we are all prepared.

 F…Information about field trips will come home in the BEE book and will be discussed in detail in the field trip permission slip and bi-weekly newsletter. 

 G…Our class will have a 45 minute gym class every Tuesday and Thursday.  The children are asked to wear athletic shoes on gym days or they may not be allowed to participate for safety reasons.  Rich Cendali will be your child’s PE teacher.

H…I feel that the best way to help children learn is to make learning fun. Important concepts can be learned by doing meaningful, hands-on activities. There are times when seatwork is required and necessary, but for the most part, our classroom will be an active learning environment.

 

Students will have homework in First Grade on weekdays. Your child should read, or be read to at least 10 minutes per night.  In addition on M-W they will have 10 minutes of other content specific skills to practice. More information about homework assignments will be sent home in the BEE book.  Unless otherwise noted, please return the homework the following day. I believe the weekends are for family time, so I will not assign any homework on the weekends. 

 

Please let me know of any health concerns which may affect your child. These could include medication that may make him/her sleepy, a death in the family, etc. Also, please let me know of any allergies your child may have, especially food allergies. We sometimes cook or do food activities to complement lessons in first grade and it would be helpful to know when I plan our recipes.

I…Independence is a goal for students because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence.  First graders are very capable of doing many things on their own and I encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in the classroom.  Please work on the following skills at home with your child:  zipping, tying, dressing, etc.

J…One strategy that will be used to help convey the vital concept that “print conveys meaning” is the frequent use of journal writing.  In these journals the first graders combine their emergent writing skills with their drawing skills.  As the children are exposed to a variety of phonetic and reading experiences, journal entries will move from drawings and “inventive” (approximate) spelling towards more conventional writing.  Over the course of the year, we will gradually increase the expectations as we learn new skills.  First graders will graduate from writing short journal entries to learning how to write lists, formal letters, recipes, and even chapter books!

K…Keep updated by reading the classroom newsletter every other week and checking the BEE book every day for other notes and information.

L…Our class will visit the library once a week.  Our librarians this year are Ms. Merriman and Mrs. Schwenker, both retired Douglass teachers who are doing a year long job share while Tim Spears,  our contracted librarian, is teaching in Qatar.  Your child will check out a book when we visit the library and return it within the following week.  If your child forgets to return the book, they will not be allowed to check out a new book until it is returned. 

Our class eats lunch at 11:00.  If lunch money is sent to school, please send it in the BEE book.  There is a pencil pocket pouch for this purpose that is located in the front of the BEE book.

Learning Centers are a time each day when your child will practice reading and writing skills while I work with individual children or small guided reading groups.  The center activities are designed to strengthen letter/sound knowledge, listening skills, oral language expression, rhyme, letter formation and cooperation.  They incorporate a variety of challenge levels and learning styles and are designed to be fun, open-ended, and completed independently.  Most learning centers reinforce skills already learned in class.

 

At Douglass, we are very proud of our literacy flooding model because it allows us to meet with your child in a smaller group, which better meets his/her reading needs.  Literacy Flooding groups meet for 30 minutes a day, 4 days per week.  Groups are formed based on reading assessments and are “re-shuffled” throughout the year as your child’s reading development progresses.  Your child will meet with other first grade children at the same reading level.  Groups will be taught by a first grade teacher or a certified literacy coach.  During this time we work on reading and writing strategies, phonics, and other skills that help to support your child’s literacy growth.  I will do my best to keep you informed of your child’s progress throughout the year as well as ways that you can be supporting him/her at home.

M…The children will have music class every Monday and Wednesday, with Ms. Adrienne Terezani.

 

In the classroom, we incorporate music on a daily basic to increase motivation, learn basic skills, and develop a sense of community.

 

The first grade mathematics curriculum provides students with mathematical experiences that help them develop number sense and a positive attitude towards mathematics that will continue through their school career and their lives.  We employ a hands-on, problem solving approach.  For specific information on the content standards we cover, see the progress report information sheet (I will hand it out on Back-to-School Night).  You can also access the First Grade Curriculum and Standards via the BVSD Website:  www.bvsd.org

N…A bi-weekly newsletter will be sent home on Fridays to keep you informed about what is happening in our class.

O…Our room has two pet Geckos named Spex and Gex, and a pet guinea pig named Gus..  Your child will be Pet Caretaker throughout the year to help feed the geckos crickets.  Also, anytime your child wants to bring in vegetables for the guinea pig, it is OK with me.  I have a small refrigerator in the room to store the food.  Instructions will be sent home when your child has the job.  Rex the guinea pig loves to have play dates if any of you are interested in taking him home over the weekends!

P…When picking up your child, please use the parent and visitor parking lot on the north side of the school.  We will practice the bus and/or pick up routine so that your child will feel comfortable enough to meet you by the lot at the end of the day.  There will also be a teacher on duty by the back lot to assist your child in any way.

 

There are four main parties each year---Halloween, Winter, Valentine’s Day, and End-of-the-Year. Room parents usually organize these events and coordinate volunteers and donations.  All are welcome to participate in the festivities!  We may have some other celebrations that I will organize such as Author Celebrations (Celebrating your child as an author) and Japan Day.  Sign up for Party Coordinators will be available at Back-to-School Night.

Q…Questions? Please feel free to call, stop in, email, or send a note. 

alisha.cohen@bvsd.org

303-499-4884 ext. 238

R…Report cards will be sent home 3 times during the school year.  First graders have morning recess from 9:30-9:45 and lunch recess from 10:45 – 11:00. 

S…The focus of the first grade science curriculum is on Pebbles, Sand, and Silt; Balance and Motion; and Plants.  Science concepts and skills will be explored utilizing a literacy based, hands-on approach.

 

Shared reading is an interactive process used during our Meeting Time, Literacy Flooding, and Writer’s Workshop.   As I read a story, I model conventions of print (reading left to right, top to bottom, pausing at periods, etc.) and also how we use reading strategies to be good readers.  Some of the main reading strategies we reinforce in first grade are: 

1.      Chunking:  Looking for hidden parts of a word that we know

        (elephant)

2.      Using Picture Clues to figure out the text.

3.      Skipping a word and continuing to read.  Then go back and use what we know to try and re-figure out the unknown word.

4.      Get Your Mouth Ready to say the first sound in the word.

5.      Re-Read Go back and read again to better understand the text.

6.      Think about the meaning of the story and ask yourself, “Does this make sense?”

 

Show and tell will be once a week on Fridays.  This year, first graders will be asked to share special things about their families during show and tell, such as jobs, traditions, etc.  This is all part of our unit:  learn about families and communities.  A calendar of our monthly themes will come home shortly.

 

Children will have an afternoon snack around 1:00.  Please be sure that you include a healthy snack in your child’s backpack.  Also, be sure to tell your child where the snack is located.  Often, the kids will think they did not have a snack when in fact they did!  I also encourage your child to bring in a water bottle to keep at their table.  Please make sure their name is on their bottle.

 

The first grade social studies curriculum focuses on the students and how they relate to others in their families, classroom, school, and community; Mexico; and Japan.  Social Studies concepts and skills will be explored utilizing a literacy based, hands-on approach.

T…Bringing toys to school are discouraged for a number of reasons. If a toy is accidentally lost or broken, feelings will be hurt. Books are okay to bring in, just please make sure that they are clearly marked with your child's name.

 Uand V… 

Volunteers and visitors must register in the office and pick up a badge.

 

Family vacations are wonderful opportunities for your family, however, please be sure to let us know that you are planning on taking a vacation (during school time) and fill out a Pre-Approval Vacation Form, available in the school office. 

 W… For approximately 45 minutes a day, we will have writer’s workshop.  Your child have time to learn about what good writers do, have time to write for themselves, and share what they are working on.   The workshop always begins with the children coming together for a mini-lesson (10 minutes) in which I give explicit, direct instruction in the skills they need. Then students write while I confer with individuals and small groups of children whose needs may be similar. Each writing workshop ends with me making a second teaching point and with writers sharing what they have accomplished.   In just a few weeks, you will see an introductory letter coming home in the BEE Book that describes the workshop in detail.

 

Throughout the year we sometimes need wish list supplies above and beyond our classroom materials (such as treasure chest goodies and art supplies). These needs will be posted in the class newsletter.  Extras items that you think we might be able to use are always welcome!

X…Parents and family members may eXit and enter via the main school entry.  Y…It is in your child’s best interest to have our parent volunteers available without younger siblings. This not only allows your full attention to be focused on the class, but also allows for some special time between you and your first grader.  Thank you for making childcare arrangements for younger siblings.

 

Your ideas…and suggestions are welcome!

 Z…Zzzzzzz - Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest.  Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give your child.