Welcome To 1st Grade!

Congratulations! You are the parent of a first-grader here at Oak Creek School! You will be amazed at just how much your child will grow this year. Most likely, your child has the seeds of reading and writing planted, and during first grade those seeds will grow and blossom making your child an accomplished reader and writer! You will see changes in your child’s thinking as he/she becomes familiar with abstract concepts and symbols. The change will be dramatic – just compare a tiny seed to a full-grown sunflower! That’s the kind of growth you’ll see this year!

The loveliest flowers usually have the best gardener - and that's you! Staying involved in your child's education is the key to a successful year. Engage your child in conversation about his/her day, but know that children won't always give out much information. It is beneficial for your child to ask questions that require some thought. Instead of asking them "How was your day"? You might say "What was your favorite part of the day"? This question invites an answer that is more personal and insightful. It is a great way to get your child to reflect. Another way to stay involved is to check your child's take home folder EVERY evening. You'll usually find it packed with school and homework papers, projects, flyers, and notices from the office, as well as notes from me. As daunting as it may be, try to sort through them and read each one - they often contain important information and reminders. Your child should come to school the next day with a fairly empty folder - just homework or notes to me!

Another way to stay involved is to check our classroom website regularly. You will find pages containing class rosters, a calendar of upcoming events, announcements, photo galleries (where you can view and purchase photos), homework, oral presentation and volunteer schedules, links to school / PTA/kid-friendly websites and much more!

Some of the pages, such as class rosters and photos, are password protected to maintain the privacy of the information contained within them. The password to view these pages is: wiseowls. In order to include information and pictures of your son/daughter on the website – you need to complete the internet release form as soon as possible.

To help keep things growing "weed-free", it helps to remember our class procedures:

*Your child will need a small, healthy snack everyday. Lunches should be in a lunch box or bag with the name on the OUTSIDE. If your child is buying lunch, please help them memorize their i.d. # so that they can purchase lunch for $3.25. Please check the left side screen for a link to the

*Your child will need to bring his/her backpack to school each day and their name needs to be written in LARGE letters on the outside. Put names in all clothes and on all supplies - even pencils and glue sticks. It makes it so much easier to return them to their rightful owner.

*Please check over your child's homework every night. On Thursday evenings, make sure it is placed in their take home folder to be returned to school the following day (Friday).

If your child is absent, please notify the office and state the reason for the absence.&If your child will be absent for more than 5 consecutive school days (holidays do not count), you may request an Independent Study Contract 2 weeks in advances at the front office.

Tardies:
If you and your child are running late and our class has already entered the classroom – you will need to bring your child to the front office and check in. You will need to sign the yellow clip board and your child will need to get a happy face tardy slip to bring to class. This is to ensure that all attendance records are correct.

Drop off Table:
If your child forgets something at home please drop it off in the front office or put it in their back pack outside the classroom. Items delivered by parents will be put on the “Drop off Table” near the front office. The office will not interrupt class to tell students their items are at school- students will need to check the drop off table during their break.

Birthday Celebrations:
A great way to celebrate birthdays is to donate a book to our school or classroom library. Students will have their picture taken with the book and a special label is affixed inside with their name and birthday. In class each student will be recognized with a special birthday hat, a special prize from the prize box, and song! Due to Food allergies and to comply with state and district wellness plans please save cupcakes, cookies, and other treats for birthday parties at home. I appreciate your understanding.

In addition to our three report cards (sent home in December, March and June) and our conferences (October and March), I am always available to speak with you about your child. If it's not urgent, please jot a note or e-mail me (aswanson@iusd.org), and I will respond as soon as possible. You may call our classroom and leave a message as well (949) 936-8579.

A homework packet will be sent home on Monday, which will include a cover sheet of all assignments. All assignments need to be completed and turned in on Friday with the cover sheet attached and signed. I feel this will give you the needed flexibility as a busy family to do homework at a reasonable pace. First grade is a critical year in school where your child will learn important skills in order to blossom into a successful reader. I cannot emphasize enough that I will not be able to do this job alone! I am counting on you to read, read, read - to and with your child every day. Thank you in advance for your support!
Homework assignments are given to provide practice and reinforcement of newly learned skills, to help develop a sense of personal responsibility, to encourage self-discipline and to extend learning and each child’s ability to study independently.

We ask parents to assist us in the following ways:

                            *Support the concept that homework is important
                            *Encourage your child to study at home
                            *Read directions to your child and check to see that all
   homework is completed neatly and correctly in pencil

First grade expectations consist of 15 – 30 minutes of nightly homework practice, in addition to 15 minutes of independent reading. Reading selections can include, but are not limited to, class stories, self-choice selections, or the parent reading to the child. Homework is not reflected in their academic grades on the report card; however, it is a component of the work habits and social skills section. Weekly completion of homework is an expectation of our school wide Effective Behavior System. Without a signed homework contract each Friday, your child will not receive their 5 homework points for the week.

Before homework begins find a quiet space to set up a work area in your house, far away from distractions such as the television or video games. Please stress to your child that they will need to complete their homework each week in a neat and thoughtful manner. Good study habits begin early!

Each week one student will be randomly chosen to be the "Beary Special" person of the week. They will have an opportunity to create a poster to display in class and share a little bit about themselves with their classmates. In addition, they will have the responsibility of taking care of Baxter Bear for a week and documenting their activities together in his journal to share with the class. More information will be provided at the time that each student is chosen.

School book clubs are a convenient way for students to build a home library of reading materials that are of high quality and interest to them. Scholastic books are reasonably priced and have received awards that include: Newberry, Caldecott and Young Readers Medals. Students will have an opportunity to order books monthly from Scholastic Books.

This program is sponsored by Pizza Hut and is designed to motivate children to read more, thereby developing their reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension skills. This is how it works: Students read with parents every night (15-20 minutes per night) and record on monthly reading log.At the end of every month, the reading log is turned in and if the child has read 15-20 for homework every night for the whole month, and the reading log is signed by their parents, they will receive a Pizza Hut gift certificate good for a free personal pan pizza.

We will begin oral presentations in October. Each presentation will be graded. A sample rubric is included in your folder. There will be a specific theme for each month. If your child is sick on their assigned day, you can talk to me so that we can re-schedule. Please check the left side tab of the screen for the presentation schedule.

Library
The students will be visiting the school library once per week and will be allowed to check out one book at this time to take home or keep in class, for a week. They will need to return that book on time in order to check out another book.

In addition to the school supplies that your child will need, we always welcome donations! The following are items that would be greatly appreciated!