Mrs. Blaine’s Class

1. Mrs. Blaine’s Class Please read with your scholar and fill out all forms and return them by Friday August 23rd, 2013

2. Dear Mrs. Blaine’s Class, School Day: School begins at 7:50 a.m. we will have the flag ceremony and head to class. It is so important that your child is at school on time. Any Scholar arriving at school after 8:00 a.m. must be walked into the office for a tardy slip prior to coming to the classroom. Excessive tardiness does have a direct impact on academic achievement. Dismissal: is at 2:50 p.m., please be on time! Younger First Grade siblings will be with placed with your older scholar(s) for ease of pick up unless we have discussed an alternative. For the first few weeks they will remain with me until all procedures are in place. Please have a sign in your window with your scholar(s) name(s) on it so they can announce your arrival. My first priority is to keep all the scholars safe please respect this. If you wish to speak to me after school I will not be available to talk until 3:20, you can email me and we can set-up an appointment. This way I can you give you my attention and the scholars get to where they need to go safely, thank you in advance for understanding! Forms/Money: Please send in all forms or money clearly labeled with your scholar’s name on it by the assigned due date. Remind your scholar to practice their Core Values, practice personal responsibility by turning in all paperwork on time. Classroom Management: Following rules are expected and not suggested. They are discussed each day so there is no confusion about how your child should and should not behave. Remember, your child’s behavior whether positive or negative impacts all of the other scholars in the classroom. We have a behavior chart that is further explained on an attached piece of paper. When a scholar is showing positive behavior they will get to change their card color. If a scholar is showing negative behavior they will have to change their card color also, however they may change their card back to green if they turn their behavior around . These are great visual reminders that allow a child to practice our Core Values during the day. If needed a note/email will be sent home for any scholar that, despite reminders, continues to have behavior that impacts their day and others around them. If a scholar’s behavior does not seem to improve then I will request a conference for us to put an action plan in place. Website: Please check our classroom website on a weekly basis for all important weekly information and updates. You can access the website under the staff link on the JAA school website.

3. Homework: Homework is vital to your child’s success this year. I do not consider it busy work. Homework folders are to be at school every single day. They will have their behavior calendar filled out in the back of their folder at the end of each day, please check it each day and discuss. Students will have nightly homework to complete in their “return to school” side of the homework folder. Please let scholars work on it on their own however if they need assistance feel free to help then walk away. We are working towards independence. Tell them that I expect excellent handwriting or they will redo the assignment the following morning during recess. Graded/Completed Work: Graded work will come home in their homework folder in the keep at home side. If an assignment is incomplete it will need to be completed at home and turned in once it is finished. If I send incomplete work home please know that your scholar was given plenty of time to complete the task in class. If your scholar does not complete classwork during the time allowed then we need to help him/her in acting towards Self Governance. Not all papers will have a score and may be marked with a GL (guided lesson), PR(practice), CT (checked together) and so forth. I do not grade everything because I want your child to have time to master concepts before being given a grade. I believe in mastery. Practice and guidance is what young scholars need. Any papers that have been sent home to completeneed to be signed and returned promptly. Assessments/Progress Reports/Conferences: Your scholar will be assessed in a variety of ways such as tests, quizzes, performance tasks with rubrics, student/teacher conferencing, informal and formal observations. Please review the school calendar for progress reporting and conferences. We will be conducting parent/teacher conferences the last week of October (see school calendar) please plan accordingly. I will be setting up conference dates very soon. More information to come at Back to School Night. Snack/Lunch/Water Bottles: Your scholar is to bring a healthy snack for the morning recess. They are to take out their snack and place it in the snack basket every morning. PLEASE LABLE YOUR CHILD’S SNACK EACH DAY WITH THEIR NAME! They are to have a healthy lunch in a sealed bag or container so nothing leaks, please label lunch sacks & containers also. Your scholar will need a water bottle with their name on it everyday. Please remind them to take it home for washing.

4. Snacks: We will have a snack time every morning around 9:35. Please pack a non-messy snack for your child to have each day. If you are sending a snack that requires utensils such as a spoon you need to provide that along with the snack. If you could send in extra snacks (like a box of graham crackers) that would be great, scholars often get hungry in the afternoon as it is a long day for them. Uniforms: The school uniform is outlined in the student handbook, please follow all of the uniform rules, if you have questions about clothing please check with the office. It is not a bad idea to send a change of pants & underclothing to keep in their cubbie in case of an accident. Your scholar will need a top layer as the A/C blows pretty cold in our room. Birthday Treats: We will celebrate and share birthday treats during lunch only, please have them at school in the morning if you are planning on bringing something. Make sure that the treat you send in is pre-cut and individually wrapped. Please ensure that there is enough for every child (30). I will let you know if there are any food allergy issues. If you are unsure about an item just send me a quick email. Birthday treats are shared with our class only. Scholars cannot travel around the lunchroom or school sharing their extra treats. Even though that is a sweet gesture.  Volunteers: Opportunities to volunteer will be posted on my websitethrough a Sign-Up Genius link. During the year, I will send out requests for help. If you would like to volunteer, please make sure to fill out the volunteer sheet enclosed. It is up to you to make sure you have everything on file with the front office, TB test, forms and livescan. All parents keep track of their own volunteer hours. If you are planning on driving on any field trip you must have livescan even if you are only bringing your own child. Our class will need music and art docents, mentors and lots of other fun volunteer opportunities. More information at Back to School Night! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Amber.Blaine@johnadamsacademy.com It’s going to be a fantastic year!