September 6, 2016

Dear Parents,

Welcome to First Grade and Room 106! School hours are 8:44 A.M. – 3:50 P.M. Your child and I are excited about the new school year. We are all off to a good start and I look forward to meeting you. Please feel free to stop in before or after school if you haven’t already done so. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time if you have questions or concerns. I can usually be reached at school any time after 8:15 a.m. You may also call me at home until 9:00 P.M. My e-mail address is killewal@aaps.k12.mi.us, and I usually check my e-mail daily.   Hopefully, the information I have included will be of help to you.

Classroom Rules 

We are using a program called PBIS, which stands for Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports. We will be giving out golden tickets when students exhibit good behavior.

We will also be using Responsive Classroom within the classroom this school year. The Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning fosters safe, challenging, and joyful learning environments. I will be working on engaging academics, effective management and building a positive community.

The class talked about different rules that we could use in our classroom. These rules follow along with PBIS and the Responsive Classroom. We worked on developing rules for the classroom. We developed four different rules that were agreed to by the class. We acted them out so everyone understood the four rules. The class rules are as follows: 

1. Be Responsible
2. Be Ready to Learn
3. Respect Others
4. Be Really Safe.

Snack

Each afternoon we will have a 10-minute snack break. Your child may bring a quick, healthy snack for this time. Please do not send candy or cookies. I have a supply of food in case your child forgets his/her snack. If your child wants to eat the classroom snack instead of bringing one from home I ask that you occasionally send in a healthy snack for the class.

Lunch

Our class is scheduled for lunch from 11:43 p.m. to 12:31 p.m. The students will play first then eat their lunch and then play again.

Reading Buddies

Our Reading Buddies are with Mrs. Parkus’s Fifth grade class.

Special Classes

Monday:           ILT   2:40 – 3:40 

Tuesday:        Art   9:00 – 10:00

                      Vocal Music    2:40 – 3:10                 

Wednesday:   P.E.   3:15 – 3:45

Thursday:      Humanities (Art) 1:10 – 2:26 

Friday:           Vocal Music    1:30 – 2:00

                      P.E.   2:00 – 2:30

P.E. - Physical Education

ILT - Library & computers

Homework

The students will usually have math homework (HomeLinks) on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The math homework will not start for a few weeks. Students are to do the homework and return it the next day. I will also enclose homework in the Friday folder for your child to do over the weekend. I usually include a math activity and some type of language activity in each weekly Friday Folder. It is important for your child to do his/her homework in order to reinforce my lessons and so that your child will begin to develop good study habits.

Friday Folders

I will hold all papers and notes until Friday of each week unless they are date-sensitive. The students will bring them home in a folder. Usually, the only papers that have to be returned are the completed homework. Please review all of the papers in the folder and return it with the completed homework on Monday.

Book Orders

Book orders will usually be sent home on the first Friday of each month. If you decide to order books, please return the completed order form and a check by Friday of the following week. I will put the first Scholastic Book order for this month in the Friday Folder. Checks should be made out to Scholastic Book Club. The order is due back on Friday, September 15^th. I also will attach a letter to the catalogs explaining how you can place your orders online. The classroom earns free books when we order through the book clubs.

Class Newsletter

I will send home a weekly newsletter on most Fridays. In this newsletter, I will let you know what is happening in our class. The newsletter is also on my classroom web site on the Pittsfield site under Mrs. Killewald.

Birthdays

Please see the attached letter regarding birthdays.

Language Arts 

At this time, we will be reviewing of some of the basics of letters and their sounds. I will also be doing read-alouds so that the students will become more familiar with the parts of the story such as setting, characters, problem and solution.

Take Home Library 

After we get going in our Guided Reading groups and centers, I will begin to let your child bring home a book that is at his/her reading level. Students will be able to choose one book to read at home and return before taking another one home. The children should read every day to keep building their reading abilities.

Curriculum Night

Curriculum Night is Tuesday, September 20, 2016. I will be available that night to answer any questions that you have about first grade. During this event, you will also be able to schedule a conference date and volunteer to work in the classroom.

I will make phone calls and/or send notes or emails throughout the year to keep you informed of your child’s progress or of any problems that arise.

My classroom has an air conditioner and at times it can be cool in the room. If your child gets cold easily, please send in a sweater. Despite having the room air conditioner, the classroom can get rather warm.  You may send a water bottle for your child to use during this hot weather. Please keep the outside and inside temperatures in mind when reviewing what your child wears to school.

Sincerely, 

Barbara Killewald

(734) 997- 1218 Pittsfield