Welcome to First Grade!

1. Welcome to First Grade! Mrs. Christa Noetzel Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary Room 18 www.fuesd.k12.ca.us//Domain/312 August 28, 2013 By PresenterMedia.com

2. Please make sure you signed up: • Conference • Parties (optional) • Operation Hero (optional) • Technology Survey • Remind 101: Text @mrsnoet to 424.277.2184

3. About Your Teacher http://www.fuesd.k12.ca.us/Page/4070

4. My Teaching Philosophy I believe that all children can learn. I believe that all children need to be shown compassion, tolerance, kindness and respect in order to demonstrate those same behaviors. I believe that learning can, and should, be fun! I believe that the classroom should be a safe and fun place to creatively explore our world without fear of ridicule or condemnation. It’s okay to make mistakes!  That’s how we learn! And, I believe that our children should be held to high standards; having many experiences with leadership roles and critical thinking skills.

5. http://www.fuesd.k12.ca.us/Page/4069

6. Office Procedures • Please put your child’s name on all personal property. This includes snacks. • Lunch money needs to be in an envelope or plastic baggy with your child’s name as well as my name. • All visitors to Mary Fay must sign in at the office before coming to our room. • If your child is to go home a different way than usual, please inform me in writing. • If your child is to be absent from school, please be sure to call Lisa Comerford at 760.731.4050, or send in a written excuse. • If your child is late to school, he/she must go to the office to get a late pass. • Kids must stay home if they are unwell and are permitted back to school after 24 hours without a fever. • Parents may bring in birthday snacks for our kids, however all goodies must be store-bought. Please let me know ahead of time if you plan on doing this.

7. Discipline And the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People http://www.fuesd.k12.ca.us/Page/4068 Click 7 Habits • Table Points • Friday Fun-Time • Green/Yellow/Red • Star-Punch Card • Habit 1: Be Proactive • Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind • Habit 3: Put First Things First • Habit 4: Think Win-win • Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood • Habit 6:Synergize • Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

8. Work Stations Partnered, Grouped and Independent Work Time Everyday, your child will participate in both Math and Language Arts Work Station time. This is a time where your child will have the opportunity to develop and refine his/her time management skills while working on targeted academic skills. At times, work will be comprised of independent activities. And, at other times, your child will partner with other students to complete assignments. I will inform you weekly of your child’s time management skills. If your child has not used his/her time well, work will be sent home as homework and will be due the next school day.

9. Leveled Reading Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday-12:35-1:20 All first grade classrooms at Mary Fay will be involved with Leveled Reading. Leveled Reading is another term for Differentiated Instruction. The first grade teachers have assessed all first graders using a common assessment. Based on your child’s performance on this assessment, we have composed leveled reading groups which will be targeted towards your child’s reading and skill level. Depending upon your child’s skill level, during Leveled Reading, we may be working on letters and letter sounds, phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, fluency, and/or comprehension strategies and skills. Grouping: Intervention: Ms. Stempien& the Intervention Team Basic: Mrs. Noetzel Rm 18 Proficient: Mrs. JaggersRm 16 Advanced: Mrs. HamroRm 11

10. Weekly Homework http://www.fuesd.k12.ca.us/Page/4003 Homework will be available on the classroom website the Friday before it is due. It is due each Friday. Decodable Readers and a signed To-Do list are also due each Friday. A homework To-Do list, reading material (decodable readers), pencil to paper activities, and paperwork that requires your immediate attention will come home each Monday in the red homework folder. If your child cannot turn in the homework assignment when it is due, please send in a note letting me know when it will be turned in. Students are required to read the Decodable Readers, Teaching Chart and Spelling Words each night. Students are responsible for practicing spelling sentences at home. Students may have a math work sheet from time to time, but most homework will be completed using Dreambox. Please return EMPTY Friday Folders to school the next school day.

11. Why Technology in First Grade? “65% of children entering grade school this year will end up working in careers that haven’t even been invented yet.” -Bureau of Labor Statistics

12. Dreambox is an Intelligent Adaptive Learning program that helps all students achieve better, faster math proficiency. Instruction is delivered as a series of fun math games where kids can earn coins and play time in the ‘arcade.’ Once your child has been assessed and is comfortable using the program, it will become part of the nightly homework routine. There’s one important detail to remember here, though, when your child is involved with Dreambox at home: They cannot receive ANY help!! This is because the program is constantly assessing and adapting lessons to your child’s ability level; it is a completely individualized and differentiated program tailored to your child’s specific academic needs. If your child receives any help, it will provide incorrect information to the brain of Dreambox and it will be difficult to accurately assess your child’s true skill base.

13. Banana Split Math In the next few weeks, your child will begin taking a series of math fact quizzes practicing fluency to 10. These quizzes will cover both addition and subtraction and they will be timed. They are set up in such a way as to offer your child sequential practice of new skills while moving at his/her own pace. As your child masters a specific section of testing, he/she will “earn” different ingredients to make a banana split. At the end of the year, we will have a banana split party to celebrate your child’s mathematical accomplishments.

14. Gumball Words http://www.fuesd.k12.ca.us/Page/4068 Sight Word lists will come home in your student’s homework folder on colored construction paper. When your child masters a list, have him/her let me know and we can do a quick assessment. For each list that your child masters, he/she will get something from our prize box. Once a list has been mastered, a new list will be sent home.

15. Popcorn Words Popcorn Words are a fun way to increase our use of rich and interesting vocabulary. We learn a new word every week or two. Whenever a child uses a word correctly, he/she earns a popcorn scoop for our class. When we have filled the whole jar, we get a popcorn party! If your child uses a popcorn word at home, it can still count as a popcorn scoop for our classroom! All you have to do is jot me a quick note letting me know which word your child used correctly, and I’ll add a scoop to our jar. 

16. Author’s Tea & Writing Portfolios You won’t see many art projects or writing assignments coming home because I save them until the end of the year when I make a portfolio for each child. We throw a fabulous Author’s Tea celebrating our accomplishments as authors.

17. MARY FAY LOVES OUR VOLUNTEERS! Volunteer duties will include copying and correcting papers. It will also include working with small groups of children in WorkStation Group settings. If you have volunteered to work in/for our classroom, I will be in contact with you. I understand that many of you would like to volunteer but cannot because of your work schedule. I experience the same problem! Keeping your child well-fed, well-kempt, well-rested, safe and loved is the best support you can give me from home! Thank you for all you do!