Welcome to Our First Grade Parent Night!

1. Welcome to Our First Grade Parent Night! Moseley Elementary

2. Welcome to First Grade! • Arrival:Instruction begins at 8:10 a.m. The first bell rings at 8:00 a.m. Students should be dropped off in the cafeteria. Parents wishing to walk their child to class must enter through the front office and sign-in. • Tardies:Each child is counted tardy after the 8:10 bell rings. Excessive tardies can interfere with your child’s daily academic start. Multiple tardies can keep a child from being awarded a Perfect Attendance or Excellent Attendance award at the end of the school year. • Absences (Excused/Unexcused):Parents must call in before 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence AND provide a note within four days of the absence.

3. Dismissal Time: First grade dismissal is 3:20PM outside, under the awning. Each class has a designated window to sit under. Children must go to the window and then say “goodbye” to their teacher to ensure safety. If students are not picked up by 3:30, you will need to sign them out from the office. • Doctor’s Appointments: Please try to schedule in the afternoon, if possible. • Special Needs: Please inform us of any health concerns, changes at home, etc. • Changes in Work or Home Phone Numbers:Please keep us up to date on any changes in numbers for emergency reasons.

4. Lunch Money: You can put money in your child’s account any morning. Parents may specify how money is to be spent (breakfast, lunch, and/or snacks). Please put your driver’s license number on all checks. Also, consider putting a little money in the lunch account even if you always send a lunch (in case he/she forgets the lunch). There is no borrowing of lunch money from the office or staff. If your child does not have money in the account, a sandwich and milk will be provided. • Birthdays:Due to district policy, birthday treats are no allowed at lunch. You may send cupcakes or cookies which will be passed out by the teacher later in the day. Please do not send items that need to be cut or plated.

5. Background Check:A background check is required to be on file for any adult who volunteers in Grand Prairie schools. It must be filled out yearly. Please feel free to fill it out online here at school if you do not have a computer at home. • The background check is located at: https://webapps.gpisd.org/hrproject/tssp/tsspvol.cfm • You may not attend field trips or volunteer at the school without a completed and current background check. Because the background checks take time to process, please do not wait until right before a field trip to complete.

6. Class Subjects • The subjects we cover during first grade are: • Reading and Writing (English Language Arts/Spanish Language Arts) • Math • Science/Health • Social Studies • Music, Physical Education, and Art

7. Reading Balanced literacy program based on the ELA/SLA TEKS: • Phonemic Awareness-sounds of the language • Phonics-sounds & letters • Reading Comprehension-understanding what one reads • Word Work-vocabulary development & word wall words • Fluency-read “like you talk” with accuracy & expression

8. Reading How can you help with reading at home? • Be sure your child reads every night. We will send home leveled books on most homework nights, but any additional reading time will pay off in a big way. • Take your child to the local libraries. Your interest in books will help your child see the importance of reading. • Work on the word wall words with your child to help him/her learn to read them automatically. • Encourage your child to try different reading strategies when he/she gets stuck. Some great strategies that we will be working on in class are listed on the following handout.

10. Writing • Writing Instruction:mechanics of writing, the writing process (pre-writing, rough draft, revising, editing, published draft), and proper penmanship based on the ELA TEKS • We will also be implementing the Write from the Beginning writing program this year. The program will be used in all grades at Moseley.

11. Math TEKS to be covered: • Number Concepts-comparing, ordering, place value to 99, coins • Fractional Parts-whole objects, sets • Addition and Subtraction-up to 9 + 9 = 18 and 18 – 9 = 9 • Patterns-repeating & additive patterns • Number Patterns-skip counting by twos, fives, tens; odd and even numbers; order numbers by place value; addition & subtraction • Geometry & Spatial Reasoning-two- and three-dimensional figures • Measuring Using Nonstandard Units-length, area, capacity, weight/mass; temperature • Time-on the hour and half-hour; ordering events by duration • Probability & Statistics-graphing, identifying events as certain or impossible • Problem Solving

12. Science TEKS to be covered: • Scientific Processes • investigations following safety procedures • developing scientific inquiry • developing critical thinking • using scientific tools in observations • Science Concepts • properties and patterns of organisms, objects, & events • systems have parts and are composed of organisms and objects • changes that occur • living organisms and nonliving objects • the needs of living organisms • natural world of water sources & rocks and soil

13. Social Studies • TEKS to be covered: • History-origins of customs, holidays, and celebrations; concepts of time and chronology • Geography-relative location of places; purpose of maps and globes; human and physical characteristics of the environment • Economics-goods and services; not being able to have all the goods and services one wants; value of work • Government-rules and laws; role of authority figures and public officials • Citizenship-good citizenship as exemplified by historical figures and ordinary people; customs, symbols, and celebrations • Culture-how families meet basic needs; importance of family beliefts, customs, language, and traditions • Science, Technology, and Society-how technology has affected daily life in the past and present • Social Studies Skills-critical thinking skills; communicating in written, oral, and visual forms; using problem solving and decision-making skills

14. Dual Language Purpose: The purpose of the dual language program is to create bi-literate students who will be able to work successfully in cooperative settings as well as independently. First graders that participate in the Dual Language Program receive Spanish Science and Social Studies instruction from Mrs. Nester and English Mathematics instruction from Mrs. Timms. Students will receive Reading and Language Arts Instruction in their native language.

15. Enrichment Our first graders alternate between Music, P.E., and Art classes each day. • Our music teacher is Iris Bich. • Our P.E. teacher is Jason Bentley. • Our art teacher is Jessica Ivory.

16. Grades Report Cards • Numerical grades are given in first grade. • Grades will be reported online. Parents may visit Skyward online from www.gpisd.org to view their child’s grades. • It is the parent and/or guardians responsibility to check their child’s progress online through Skyward in addition to checking the grades sent home on work in the Homework Folder. • Printed report cards are only sent home if a student has an average below a 73 in any subject. Progress Reports • A printed progress report will be sent home for students who have an average below 73 in any subject. • If the student begins to show failing grades after the initial progress report, another progress report will be sent home.

17. Discipline Character Counts • We encourage the pillars of “Character Counts!” which are : Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Fairness,Citizenship, and Caring. • One student exhibiting the “Character Counts!” pillar of the week will be selected from each class to be honored during announcement time on Fridays. Students may also be honored during our quarterly Pride Rally. • Your child’s behavior will be reported every day in the homework folder. Please sign the behavior sheet each night. • The behavior expectations are based on the class’ specific Social Contract of rules they agreed to follow. The Social Contract is a part of Capturing Kids’ Hearts.

18. Behavior Sheet Example

19. Homework Homework Folder • Homework is an important way for first graders to practice the skills learned at school. We will send various assignments home for you to do on Monday through Thursday nights. • Homework typically consists of reading the weekly poem and leveled reader, a short word wall/phonics activity, and a short math practice. • Nightly homework also helps to teach the children responsibility. The homework should not take more than 30 minutes. • Please have your child read every night even if it is not listed on the homework assignment sheet.

20. Homework Sheet Example

21. Let’s Keep in Touch! • Parent Conferences: Conferences can be scheduled in advance with your child’s teacher from 1:45-2:35PM or after school on Mondays or Thursdays from 3:30-4:10PM. Tuesdays are set aside for tutoring (more info coming soon) and Wednesdays are set aside for staff meetings. • E-mail: • Hayley Bishop- hayley.bishop@gpisd.org • Lisa Francis – lisa.francis@gpisd.org • Rachel Guzman – rachel.guzman@gpisd.org • Edna Nuno-Nester – edna.nuno-nester@gpisd.org • Leeann Timms – leeann.timms@gpisd.org • Moseley Office- 972-522-2800

22. Let’s Keep in Touch! For more information during the year: • GPISD Website: www.gpisd.org • Moseley Website:http://moseley.gpisd.org/

23. Let’s Have a Great Year! Moseley Elementary 1851 Camp Wisdom Rd. Grand Prairie, TX 75052 972-522-2800