Policies and Procedures Discipline Procedures Acceptable First Grade Behavior Caught You Doing Something Paws itive!!! The first grade students of Room 108 are expected to follow a behavior system. Proper behavior is an expectation in our classroom and at school. Rules were established from day one and students will be expected to follow these rules throughout the year. The reason for this system is that I believe in creating a very positive learning environment where all children feel safe, respected, and are able to focus and learn. The most important rules I convey to the children are self-control and respect. Reinforcing these rules at home helps to carry over to classroom behavior. Our classroom behavior system is as follows: 1. Each child has a pocket in our classroom behavior chart. 2. Children all start the week with 5 Gold Tags. These tags are thin rectangular cards that fit into the pocket on the chart. They represent golden or great behavior that is expected from the student for the week! 3. As great behavior is displayed, students can earn more gold tags throughout the week. If an undesired behavior is shown, I will first give a verbal warning and an opportunity for the student to reflect on the choice that was made. If the behavior persists after the warning, the student will LOSE a gold tag from the pocket chart. 4. At the end of the week, gold tags are removed from the pocket by students, taken to their desks, and counted by tallying the tags (they will actually use them as manipulatives to create groups of tallies - this reinforces math concepts as well). 5. Students will then be able to choose from a menu chart of FUN FRIDAY activities based on the number of gold tags they have (The children with the most tags will pick first). FUN FRIDAY is a 15-20 minute period for students to extend their learning and work on social skills on Friday afternoons! 6. As an additional reward incentive, at the end of each week, any student who retains ALL 5 gold tags (or more) will fill out a special ticket to be placed in the classroom treat jar for a raffle - 3 tickets will be selected each Friday to choose a prize from the treasure box! 7. After tallying and counting the gold tags, students will record the number on a piece of paper to be placed in their PAW folders to go home each week. This will allow you to see their weekly behavior. Students who return the paper signed on Monday will start the week with an extra gold tag. I will not accept any signed papers for extra gold tags after the first day of the new school week.
5 or more Gold Tags = AWESOME behavior! 4 Gold Tags = Pretty good week! 3 Gold Tags = Reflect at home on choices made and discuss better alternatives. 2 or less Gold Tags = Reflect at home on choices made and discuss better alternatives. Alternate consequences may be given at school if undesired behaviors continue. Students need to have at least 1 Gold Tag to participate in the Fun Friday activities. Fun Friday activities may not always be the same and can change throughout the year. Nut Free Classroom Room 108 will be a Nut Free Zone this year. Therefore, in order to keep all students healthy, students will keep their packed lunches in our lunch bin outside of our classroom. Classroom Rules/School Rules (The classroom rules and the school rules are the same.) Follow directions the first time they are given. Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself. Be on time and prepared. Walk throughout the hallways. Use positive language that it true, kind or necessary. Supplies All student supplies should be marked with the student s name on them.
Homework/Homework Folder ( PAW ) Every student has a blue PAW (Perfect and Wonderful) folder. This folder will go home every night and will return each day. In the front pocket of the folder, you will find The Weekly Wag. This is a weekly newsletter that I will send home every Monday or the first school day of each school week. This newsletter must stay in the front pocket! It will list the homework for the week and give information about academic work/tests. It will also give additional information about upcoming events. If there is a significant change (homework/tests/events), I will put an updated newsletter in the folder. If there is a minor change, an additional memo will be found on the Keep at Home side of the folder or a Skyblast will be sent. Always check the newsletter and the folder for any last minute homework assignments or changes. The back pocket will be used to hold the spelling words, robust vocabulary, and the language arts study guide. As far as homework, all students in first grade will receive homework. I expect that when homework is given, it is completed and returned the next day or on the due date. Sometimes there might be an assignment that is given and not due until a later date. For example, all language arts homework will be sent home the first day of the lesson and is not due until the end of the lesson or the day of the language arts test. The Weekly Wag will indicate when all homework assignments are due. LA Homework- The language arts homework will stay on the Return to School side of the PAW folder. It will go back and forth every day until it is due. This is because the homework consists of multiple assignments and will take multiple days to complete (Day 1-4). If it is kept in the folder, there is less chance of it getting lost. The homework will have two sides. One side of the homework will explain what homework assignments are to be completed each day. The other side is the Rapid Words sheet. (Please refer to the sample homework attached at the end). Even though it is not due until the end of the lesson/day of the language arts test, one assignment should be done each night to ensure that skills are being practiced on a daily basis. Please do not try and complete all assignments in one night. I will collect the language arts homework the day of the language arts test. If for some reason you miss a language arts assignment, just make sure you make it up the next day. It is not technically due until the end of the lesson/day of the language arts test. Math- Math homework will also be found on the Return to School side of the PAW folder. Math homework will be assigned every night throughout the week except for Friday s. If you have any questions regarding an assignment, please feel free to contact me via email at jfink@bwschools.net or send me a note. If for some reason your child cannot complete their homework (family emergency, illness), please write me a note indicating the reason.
*Students who don t do their homework may lose recess. I will give them one missed homework assignment before I take recess away. Students who habitually do not do their homework will automatically lose recess so they can complete their missed assignments. This is to ensure all skills are being practiced. If you send me a note with a legitimate reason for the homework not being done, the student will not miss recess.* Specials Rotation # Length of Rotation 1 6 weeks (8/29-10/10) 2 6 weeks (10/11-11/23) 3 6 weeks (11/29-1/20) 4 6 weeks (1/24-3/8) 5 6 weeks (3/9-4/25) 6 6 weeks (4/26-6/8) Special Area Course Art Computers (also known as B.C.I.T) Gym/Health Library Music Gym/Health Teacher Mrs. Cooley Mrs. Hinish Mrs. Glies Mrs. Mutschler Mrs. Olds Mrs. Glies All students need to wear tennis shoes on gym days. Students that do not wear tennis shoes will not participate in class that day. Girls may not wear dresses or skirts for gym unless they have shorts underneath.
Students to Bark About /Student of the Week Every week a different student will be featured as Room 108 s student of the week. Each student will have a turn to be the student of the week. When your child is picked, I will ask them to bring in a picture of themselves, a copy of their favorite book and one item that is special to them. I will send home a letter the week your child is picked. I will also have them fill out an All About Me paper to display in the classroom. Birthdays We will sing Happy Birthday in class to celebrate birthdays. Due to school guidelines that are geared toward student wellness and physical well-being, no one is permitted to send in edible treats to school. Instead, you may send in a special non-edible treat such as pencils, erasers, crayons, coloring books, stickers, etc. You may consider another fun alternative: instead of sending in a non-edible treat for EACH child, you may send a wrapped gift of a favorite book, game or puzzle and your child will open the surprise for all of us. This treat will remain as a gift to our class! If you choose to send in a non-edible item for each individual student, please make sure there are enough for all students. There are currently 25 students in room 108. Please confirm the number of students in the class prior to sending in any individual item. This is because we can get a new student at any point in time. If you are donating something to the class such a book or a game, then you don t need to worry about the exact number of students. If your child s birthday falls during the summer months and they would like to celebrate during the school year that would be fine. Please call or email to let me know so that we can arrange a date. Thanks! If you plan on sending in invitations for your child s birthday party, please make sure you are following one of the scenarios below to alleviate any hurt feelings. 1. You send in an invitation for everyone in the class 2. You send in an invitation for every girl in the class (if it is a girl party) or every boy (if it is a boy party)
DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Every day during dismissal, the students will be required to drop everything and read. This will help develop reading fluency and help to keep the room quiet during bus dismissal. Please send in a book (or two) at your child s reading level for them to read during dismissal. I suggest that they bring in a different book every week so they don t lose interest in the book. Accelerated Reader Books I would like the students to participate in the Accelerated Reader Program. This program is a computer program here at school. It promotes reading fluency and comprehension. Students are asked to read a book from the Accelerated Reader list. The book must be read at home. The students can take out these books during library class or at the local library. Once a student is ready to test on a book, they would bring in an Accelerated Reader slip. The students would be given the opportunity to take the test on the computer. Please encourage your child to participate in this program. It is a great way to promote reading! I will let you know when the students can begin to participate in this program. Thank you so much for all of your support! Ms. Fink
Language Arts Lesson Homework (Please keep this page attached to the rapid word sheet) If your child forgets their reading book, you can go to www.thinkcentral.com to access the book online. Please refer to the Think Central letter that was sent home earlier in the year) Day 1 Read the Get Started Story Study the spelling, robust, and high frequency words Complete the Rapid Words for Day 1 Day 2 Read the Weekly Lesson Story Study the spelling, robust, and high frequency words Complete the Rapid Words for Day 2 Day 3 Read the Weekly Lesson Story Study the spelling, robust, and high frequency words Complete the Rapid Words for Day 3
Day 4 Read the Get Started Story and the Weekly Lesson Story Study the spelling, robust, and high frequency words Complete the Rapid Words for Day 4 *The homework is due the day of the language arts test* *Please return your reading book to school every day* Turn over for the Rapid Reading Grid