Welcome to First Grade
Mrs. Susan Minton
Welcome Letter
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Hello, and welcome to a new school year!! My name is Mrs. Susan Minton and I will be your child’s teacher this year. I will be communicating with you throughout the year about activities and important announcements through newsletters and various notes. The more the school and the family join as partners in education, the greater your child’s chance for success will be. I hope we can work together to make your child’s first grade school experience a happy and productive one. The following information may be helpful to you.
**BUS TAGS- Your child will come home with a bus tag hanging on his/her backpack. PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THE TAG. Please make sure the tag comes back to school each day. The tags help teachers, staff and bus drivers to make sure your child is going where he/she should go. Thank you ahead of timeJ
LUNCH: Your child can purchase breakfast and lunch or children may bring their own lunch (no soft drinks, please). Menus will be sent home at the beginning of each month and they can also be found on our school website. We eat lunch from 10:45-11:15. You may come and eat lunch with your child anytime, just sign in at the office and we’ll meet you in the cafeteria. A convenient way to pay for lunch is to send your child to school with a check and that money will be deposited into the student’s lunch account. The cafeteria will let you know when the account runs low.
SUPPLIES: Students will need a standard size pencil box to store their crayons, glue and scissors. We will share pencils. We go through pencils, glue, and crayons the most. I will send a reminder at the beginning of the New Year to remind you to send in various supplies your student might need.
SPELLING/READING/MATH HOMEWORK: Students will typically have homework Monday-Thursday.
v Spelling: Your child will have spelling words to study each week. Your child will also have some spelling homework to help him/her learn the words; all spelling homework will be turned in on Thursday. The weekly words and homework will be sent home on Monday and we will have our spelling tests on Friday. You will find the list of words in our class newsletter and in your student’s binder. Please help your child study the words so he/she can do their best on the spelling tests.
v Reading: Your child will also need to read each night. Please read with your child to enhance learning at school. Reading can take place anywhere and should include their reading book, library books, really anything that interests your child. Students can enjoy reading when they read individually, when you read to them or shared reading. It is perfectly fine to help your child sound out words when reading with him/her. Reading should be enjoyable and not a chore.
v Math: We use a math program called EVERYDAY MATH that is research based and will build on concepts learned throughout the year. Everyday Math also utilizes a lot of hands-on learning with manipulatives. A family letter will be sent home at the beginning of each unit. Please keep this letter during the course of the unit as it is a handy reference for you and also has answers to the homework for you to look at as needed. Please don’t give your child the answers; they are there to assist the parent and to make you aware of what is expected for the homework and the unit of study. Many parents keep the letter attached to the refrigerator so that it is easily located at home. Your child will bring home homework usually four nights a week. Please return the homework DAILY because we will go over it together at school.
BINDERS: Your child will bring home their binder each day. Inside the binder will be a planner and two folders (red and blue). They will keep their yellow folder at school to put unfinished work in to complete at another time. Please check the planner and folders daily for homework, completed work, notes or announcements. The planner is an excellent source for parent/teacher communication. Please look at the planners each night to check for behavior, homework assignments and announcements to keep the lines of communication open. Also, feel free to write notes to me in the planner and I will respond as quickly as possible. Please sign/initial the planner each night so that I know you have looked at it and discussed your child’s day with him or her. Students having their planner signed every night of the week will receive some type of incentive at the end of the week. I hope this will keep you informed about how your child is doing at school. **Any really important notes should be written on a separate paper so that I will be sure to see it in case I am unable to check planners. Please do not write notes for absentees in the binder. They must be on a separate piece of paper as they are turned into the office.
SPECIAL CLASSES: Specials will be on a six day rotation schedule. It is a rotating schedule so we do not have certain specials on the same day each week. I will send home a monthly schedule so you are aware of what class your child has each day. Remember to wear gym shoes on P.E. days, these shoes are beneficial to wear most days since the playground has lots of little rocks and mulch which can get in shoes and can make playing uncomfortable. STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO WEAR FLIP-FLOPS TO SCHOOL. All shoes must have a back to them.
BIRTHDAY/HOLIDAY TREATS: Birthday treats may be sent to school. However, I do ask that treats be “easy” to pass out (I do not keep knives for cutting food at school) and if you’re also sending in drinks that they are individual portions. (ie.- box drinks, little jugs, etc.). Please keep in mind that all treats need to be store bought and not homemade. Thank you!
TRANSPORTATION: If for any reason your student needs to be picked up or their drop-off destination changes, you must write me a note or call the office. Simply telling your child will not be accepted. If I do not have a note from you or you have not called the office, I am required to put the child on his/her normal means of transportation.
PAPERWORK: Please fill out and return all the beginning of the year paperwork that your child will receive on the first day of school as soon as possible in the envelope it came in. A checklist will be sent to assist you in making sure that all forms are filled out and returned. If you would like to chaperone field trips or volunteer in any way at school you must fill out The Youth Leader request form. Parents wanting to volunteer must attend a volunteer training program in September. More information about the training will be sent later.
I know I have given you a lot of information but I wanted to inform you about your child’s class. I will cover more in upcoming newsletters. Please feel free to contact me at school with any questions or concerns and I will respond as quickly as possible. Thank you and I look forward to having a great year!!!
Mrs. Susan Minton
susan.minton@boone.kyschools.us
282-4620, ext. 226