AUGUST 2011

We are off to a great start this year! I am looking forward to this being a great year for all of us.  Parents, please feel free to email or call at any time. 447-4716 or ashley.atkins@lrsd.org.

ATTENDANCE:

It is important to attend school as many days as possible and to be on time. School begins at 7:40.  After that, a tardy slip is required to be admitted to class.  We begin working at 7:40, so when a student is tardy, he/she is already behind.  Students may not be on the Perfect Attendance Honor Roll if they have a tardy.  Please do not send your child to school if they are ill.  Students must be fever free for 24 hours before they return after an illness.

MONEY FROM HOME

Lunch Money

Students may put money in their lunch account in the cafeteria before they come to class in the mornings. If there isn't time, I will gladly let them go to the cafeteria right after the pledge in the morning.  You can also pay online on the LRSD website. 

Supplies

Students can buy supplies before school each day.  Please make sure your child knows what he/she is expected to buy from the cart and how much money it should cost. I don't let my students buy items that we don't use as they very soon become toys and must be taken home.

Field Trips

We will go on two field trips this year (to be announced later).  All money for field trips must be paid in cash ON or BEFORE the due date. Send this in a clearly marked envelope.

COMMUNICATION FOLDER

This little folder is very important for all of us.  It helps your child stay organized and provides a great method for us to communicate.  The children will take the folder home every day and bring it back every morning. They will bring their homework home in it and any notes that I send for you.  Please look over the work in the folder EVERY evening.  Likewise homework is returned in the folder along with any notes from you.  If there is a very good reason for homework not being done, please send a note in the folder explaining.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING GROUPS

Much of our work is done in cooperative learning groups. I feel it is very important for students to learn to work together, help each other, accept help from peers when needed, and to share materials with each other.  Groups will change every month so the children can have opportunities to work closely with all classmates.  Each day there will be a new group leader, so every four or five days, each child has that opportunity.  This helps them develop responsibility and leadership.  We have several group contests and opportunities to earn group stickers.  At the end of the month the group with the most stickers wins a nice reward.  Students work very hard to earn stickers for their group!  Every group has a special name chosen by the members.  All must agree on a name, which is the first and sometimes the hardest lesson in cooperation!

VIP

Each day I have a VIP (Very Important Person).  This honor rotates alphabetically through the roster.  The VIP is the line leader, messenger, materials distributor, and my special helper for the day. 

SPELLING TESTS

We will have twenty regular words and one bonus word each week.  Each word will be worth five points and the bonus word will be an extra five points.  There is no penalty for missing the bonus word.  The spelling tests will not start until the third week of school.

ACCELERATED READER

I firmly believe that the more you read, the better you read.  Group and individual instruction is very important for reading, but fluency is developed with reading fun books.  When we begin AR testing, I hope all students will participate.  I will set a quarterly goal for each student to work toward. They must meet their goal to be able to shop in the AR store with points they earn by reading books and completing AR quizzes.  Please read with your child frequently, but also provide time and books for independent reading. AR testing takes place in the classroom.  Students will bring home a print out of every test they take which will show their score on that book as well as cumulative scores and points. I give a personal sticker for every 100% and a Homework Pass for every 10 points earned. I expect students to read picture books three times before taking the test.  This helps with comprehension and almost guarantees a good score on the test, which fosters self confidence.  Of course, when they begin to read "chapter books", I only expect them to read those books once.

MORNING SNACKS

Our lunch won’t be until 11:30 this year so we will let the kids have a small morning snack to hold them over.  Please send a piece of fruit or a healthy snack of your choice for your child each morning.  Please stay away from chips, cookies, and other “junk” foods and talk with you child about good nutrition.

REWARDS

I do give lots of rewards.  These may be notes from me, stickers, non-candy treats, and homework passes.  Any rewards you would like to send from time to time would be appreciated.  These can be pencils, party favors, erasers, little note pads, etc.  We cannot serve candy or other sweet treats at school, so birthday treats will no longer be permitted.

WISH LIST

These are some items that are always appreciated:

"Fun" paper for the writing center

Envelopes for our "Post Office"

Dry erase markers

Card stock paper

Folders with pockets (no prongs)

Non-candy rewards