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Classroom Procedures

 

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

 

Welcome to first grade! We are looking forward to working with you and your students during this exciting time of their education.

The following information describes the procedures and resources we will be using this year. These will explain how your student’s purple folder is used as our most important method of daily communication between teachers, students, and parents/guardians.  

Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns you might have. Thank you for providing us with this wonderful opportunity to teach your students.

 

Sincerely,

Chelsey Fomby, Ebony Foster, Hilary Tate

Team First Grade, N.E.S.

“It’s a Great Year to Grow in First Grade.”

 

Contact Information

Newton Elementary School 409-420-6600 Conference: 9:50 – 10:50 a.m.

 

Emails:

chelsey.fomby@newtonisd.net 

ebony.foster@newtonisd.net

hilary.tate@newtonisd.net








 

        



 

Student Purple Plastic Folders with Ready-made sheet protectors -  (Please return   these daily. Thank You.)

 

  • Contents

    • Behavior chart- sign daily.

    • Weekly Newsletter - lists skills for the week and homework. 

    • Homework/Daily Work  – remove any daily work not required to be returned

Homework pages should be distinguished by HW written (by your student or teacher) at the top.

  • School announcements and teacher notes.

  • Please use this purple, plastic folder to send notes to your child’s teacher and return important forms. 

Procedures:

 

Homework

  • Given to reinforce skills and concepts from the daily lesson or to review for assessments.

  • Math homework is sent home Tuesday and Thursday.  Reading daily homework includes reading for 15 minutes and practicing spelling and sight words.

  • Due the day after it is assigned. Please contact your student’s teacher with any concerns.

  • All homework combined should not exceed 1 hour. 

 

Returned assessments or daily work  

  • Sign and return pages as designated by the teacher.

  • Remove all other pages.

  

Accelerated Reading

  • Every student participates by reading AR books at school and at home.

  • AR tests are taken at school, in their classroom,  earning points for each correct answer.

  • AR books are found everywhere- use the website: www.arbookfind.com to determine if your student’s book has an AR rating and will qualify for testing points.

 

Behavior Management 

  • We are using a color chart for moving clips on designated blocks of color which reflect student behavior choices made that day. 

    • Every student’s clip starts on purple everyday representing, “Ready to Learn”. 

    • Clips are moved down to different colors when students do not follow procedures.

    •  A move to green results in 1 point off of the conduct grade; yellow is 2 points and red is 3.

    • A clip on red also results in a note/call to parents/guardians and a possible referral to a lunch detention or office for further interventions. 

  • Please keep in mind that every student begins each new day on purple.

  • Students begin each 6 weeks with a grade of ‘100’ in conduct.

  • Conduct grades are not used for honor roll awards (only, academic grades). 

 

Additional Information

 

Parties - 2

  • Christmas and Valentines – students will bring home more information about these closer to that time.

  • An Easter egg hunt, which is not considered a school party – more information to come.

  • Please check with your child’s teacher concerning additional holiday treats you wish to share with the class.

  • As a grade level, we ask that birthday treats be dropped off in the office by 2:00 p.m. We welcome celebrations, but in order to maintain our time for lessons, please contact your student’s teacher to make accommodations. Thank you.

 

Field Trips 

  • In the spring, we hope to visit The Children’s Museum in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Information will be sent at the appropriate time. The museum requires adults to chaperone small groups of children. Your willingness to volunteer will be appreciated.

(And, it’s fun!!!)

 

Transportation Changes

  • Please adhere to the school’s policy when your student’s method of transportation home changes. Please call Mrs. Gilder at the school before 1:30 p.m. or send a note to verify any changes. Teachers are required to have a note that is dated, signed, and that contains the address of the change in destination, along with the name and phone number of the person receiving your student. Thank you.

 

 Early pick-ups

  • If possible, please let your student’s teacher know if there is a need for your student to leave early. A note or email to the teacher, or a call to the secretary earlier in the day helps your student be prepared to leave. Keep in mind the first grade daily schedule as well. We have rotations and lunch from 9:50 - 11:20 and recess from 2:45 - 3:10.  Your student is not readily available during these times.

 

Absences and tardies

  • Please see the Student Handbook for district policies concerning both as teachers are required to maintain these records. First graders cover a lot of learning material quickly. Making up for missed daily lessons is very important for their success.




 

Dress Code

  • Please see the dress code from the Student Handbook. First graders have experienced many sad moments after losing special items such as watches, jewelry, and jackets (that were not labeled with their names). Please help them keep their special items safe at home and jackets marked with their name. Thank You.