Our days will be full of many different areas of study - Reading, Phonics, Math, Language Arts, Spelling, Social Studies, and Science. Each week the children will also have different Specialty Classes: Library, Art, AR, Music, Computers and P.E. I have many activities planned to help make first grade fun.
Drop-off & Pick-up Procedures
Children will be dismissed at 3:10 pm. Please, do not take them from the classroom before this time unless absolutely needed. We will dismiss walkers and children being picked up through the first grade recess doors. The children may be picked up on the playground. Children riding the bus and going to EMBE will be walked to the commons area and dismissed appropriately.
Tardies & Attendance
It is important that students arrive on time. The first morning bell will ring at 8:05. Your child is tardy at 8:15 a.m. At that time, they must check in at the office before they may enter the classroom. Children are assigned morning work and activities to complete to get their brains working for the day. If your child is late they will have less time to do their morning work and may miss important information. This isn't a good way for them to start the day. It is also very important that your child attend school every day. If for some reason he or she must be absent please email me and I will notify the office.
Birthdays/Invitations
If your child has a birthday during the school year, you are welcome to bring in a treat item for the celebration. I will try to schedule snack days as close to their birthday as possible. We will celebrate during snack time in the afternoon. Send all utensils, plates, napkins etc. I do not always have these items on hand. Please remember this is not meant to take the place of a birthday party. It is just a special snack.
If your child has a party planned during the year, he/she can hand out the invitations to the class. Please make sure there is an invitation for every child. If it is a boy party all boys should be invited if the invitations are to be passed out at school. The same holds true if it is a girl party. You are also welcome to mail the invitations if you are limited to the number attending. Be considerate of each child's feelings. No one would want their child left out.
Toys
Please leave all toys at home. If a child does bring something to school and it is out during class time, it will be taken away and kept until the end of the day. If this happens repeatedly the toy will be taken away for a longer period of time.
Snack/Water Bottles
We will have a snack in the afternoon. You should send the snack with your child on their assigned day. I usually keep the left over snacks, if they are not perishable, for those days when a child forgets their snack for the class. Please send in a water bottle with a sport top with your child. They need to keep hydrated! I will send the water bottles home each Friday for cleaning.
Money
Periodically, your child will bring money to school for lunch/milk, field trips, book club orders, etc. When sending money to school, please remember to place all money in an envelope clearly marked with your child's name, what the money is for, and the amount enclosed. Please try to send exact change when sending cash. Place the envelope in your child's daily folder. I check these every morning but I do not go through their backpacks unless asked specifically.
Book Orders
I will send home a Scholastic Book Order form with your child monthly. This is a great way to add to your child's library. Of course, it is completely optional.
Field Trips
We will take one field trip this school year. We sometimes rely on parents to be chaperons. Unfortunately, we are unable to include younger siblings on these trips. If you wish to chaperon you will need to make arrangements for siblings. We typically only have room for 5 chaperones per classroom because of bus.
Conferences
I have many things that must be done in the morning to get ready for the day. As such, if there is an issue you wish to discuss, please set up an appointment for before or after school or another day. Surprise conferences are not usually easy to accommodate.
Behavior
A monthly behavior sheet will be put in your child’s folder that he/she will be asked to bring back daily. Students will have a tiger paw with their assigned letter on it. There are 4 containers representing 4 tiger paws. These containers act as warnings and are labeled: Paw still on the board = Great Day & Sticker, 1 Check= Warning/no sticker for the day, 2 Checks = Lose 5 Min Recess, 3 Checks = Loss of Recess and/or email home, 4 Checks = Leave Class/Talk to Principal/break from class.
The student will be asked to move their paw into the first jar resulting in a warning. This usually happens after many verbal warnings from the teacher already. If behaviors continue, they will be asked to move their card to the second jar resulting in missing 5 minutes of recess, then the third jar resulting in missing 10 minutes of recess and may also be cause for either your child or I to call or email home. Should a behavior continue, your child may need to go and visit with Mr. Munzke. The monthly behavior sheet will be used to record how many times they moved their paw.
If your child did not have to move their paw for the day, they will receive a sticker. ANY sticker means GREAT DAY! Please check your child's folder daily. Your child receives “Tiger Money” as an incentive to behave to buy prizes for their great behavior.
Drop-off & Pick-up Procedures
Children will be dismissed at 3:10 pm. Please, do not take them from the classroom before this time unless absolutely needed. We will dismiss walkers and children being picked up through the first grade recess doors. The children may be picked up on the playground. Children riding the bus and going to EMBE will be walked to the commons area and dismissed appropriately.
Tardies & Attendance
It is important that students arrive on time. The first morning bell will ring at 8:05. Your child is tardy at 8:15 a.m. At that time, they must check in at the office before they may enter the classroom. Children are assigned morning work and activities to complete to get their brains working for the day. If your child is late they will have less time to do their morning work and may miss important information. This isn't a good way for them to start the day. It is also very important that your child attend school every day. If for some reason he or she must be absent please email me and I will notify the office.
Birthdays/Invitations
If your child has a birthday during the school year, you are welcome to bring in a treat item for the celebration. I will try to schedule snack days as close to their birthday as possible. We will celebrate during snack time in the afternoon. Send all utensils, plates, napkins etc. I do not always have these items on hand. Please remember this is not meant to take the place of a birthday party. It is just a special snack.
If your child has a party planned during the year, he/she can hand out the invitations to the class. Please make sure there is an invitation for every child. If it is a boy party all boys should be invited if the invitations are to be passed out at school. The same holds true if it is a girl party. You are also welcome to mail the invitations if you are limited to the number attending. Be considerate of each child's feelings. No one would want their child left out.
Toys
Please leave all toys at home. If a child does bring something to school and it is out during class time, it will be taken away and kept until the end of the day. If this happens repeatedly the toy will be taken away for a longer period of time.
Snack/Water Bottles
We will have a snack in the afternoon. You should send the snack with your child on their assigned day. I usually keep the left over snacks, if they are not perishable, for those days when a child forgets their snack for the class. Please send in a water bottle with a sport top with your child. They need to keep hydrated! I will send the water bottles home each Friday for cleaning.
Money
Periodically, your child will bring money to school for lunch/milk, field trips, book club orders, etc. When sending money to school, please remember to place all money in an envelope clearly marked with your child's name, what the money is for, and the amount enclosed. Please try to send exact change when sending cash. Place the envelope in your child's daily folder. I check these every morning but I do not go through their backpacks unless asked specifically.
Book Orders
I will send home a Scholastic Book Order form with your child monthly. This is a great way to add to your child's library. Of course, it is completely optional.
Field Trips
We will take one field trip this school year. We sometimes rely on parents to be chaperons. Unfortunately, we are unable to include younger siblings on these trips. If you wish to chaperon you will need to make arrangements for siblings. We typically only have room for 5 chaperones per classroom because of bus.
Conferences
I have many things that must be done in the morning to get ready for the day. As such, if there is an issue you wish to discuss, please set up an appointment for before or after school or another day. Surprise conferences are not usually easy to accommodate.
Behavior
A monthly behavior sheet will be put in your child’s folder that he/she will be asked to bring back daily. Students will have a tiger paw with their assigned letter on it. There are 4 containers representing 4 tiger paws. These containers act as warnings and are labeled: Paw still on the board = Great Day & Sticker, 1 Check= Warning/no sticker for the day, 2 Checks = Lose 5 Min Recess, 3 Checks = Loss of Recess and/or email home, 4 Checks = Leave Class/Talk to Principal/break from class.
The student will be asked to move their paw into the first jar resulting in a warning. This usually happens after many verbal warnings from the teacher already. If behaviors continue, they will be asked to move their card to the second jar resulting in missing 5 minutes of recess, then the third jar resulting in missing 10 minutes of recess and may also be cause for either your child or I to call or email home. Should a behavior continue, your child may need to go and visit with Mr. Munzke. The monthly behavior sheet will be used to record how many times they moved their paw.
If your child did not have to move their paw for the day, they will receive a sticker. ANY sticker means GREAT DAY! Please check your child's folder daily. Your child receives “Tiger Money” as an incentive to behave to buy prizes for their great behavior.