Welcome to Back to School Night
Welcome to Back to School Night
First Grade
Quail Run School
Communication
Our communication is an important key to your child’s learning this year. We will send home a monthly newsletter to inform you of upcoming school activities, classroom events and units of study. Watch for this newsletter in your child’s Home Folder.
If you have questions, observations or concerns about your child, please feel free to contact us. The first grade teachers can usually be reached at school from 7:45a.m. until 3:00p.m. (560-4000). Sending a note with your child is a very effective way of reaching your child’s teacher, as Home Folders will be checked daily as part of the first grade routine. You may also email your child’s teacher.
Mrs. Alamillo lalamillo@
Ms. Cary rcary@
Mrs. DeRenzi kderenzi@
Ms. Marcis lmarcis@
Mrs. Rajakarunanayake irajakarunanayake@
Ms. Saadat nsaadat@
Miss Sun jsun@
Miss Terrill mterrill@
Remember to sign your child in and out of the office if they arrive late or need to be dismissed early.
Classroom Discipline
Your child will be growing and developing self-discipline about his or her responsibilities and behavior throughout the school year. To help foster this growth, we will work to provide a classroom environment with many positive activities and experiences for each child. We have discussed working together and being respectful of others. We have developed a list of class rules that we try to follow. Our goal is to protect student safety and foster a discrimination-free school.
The students know the rules and understand that they have consequences. If a child has repeated difficulty following the rules, your child’s teacher will contact you so we can work together to assist your child in being responsible for his/her behavior.
Birthdays
Birthdays are a special time for your child. We acknowledge birthdays at school by recognizing the children, singing to them and giving them a certificate and/or a pencil to share in their celebration. Children with summer birthdays will be recognized in June.
Please help us follow our school policy that discourages sending birthday treats to the class. Your child can share and donate a special book to the classroom, if you wish. Also, if you are planning a party at home for your child, please arrange to distribute invitations by mail or make phone calls. This will help to avoid hurting the feelings of those who are not invited.
Student of the Week
Each student will have a turn to be our ‘star of the week’. This will be a time for us to celebrate each child’s uniqueness. A letter will be sent home giving the date of your child’s special week and explaining the activities that will take place.
Sharing Days
We do not have daily or weekly ‘show and tell’ or sharing times in first grade. Occasionally we invite students to bring items related to a theme to share with the class. Watch for specific dates and topics in our newsletters.
Children should not bring toys or other items to school unless requested. This helps prevent distractions as well as loss of personal items.
Home Folders
Your child is responsible for bringing his/her home folder back and forth from home to school each day. At the end of the day, the children may get papers, newsletters or notes that need to go home. They put these into their folder and bring them home for you to look at. Make it a part of your daily routine to look over your child’s papers with them. Encourage your child to take responsibility of caring for belongings and showing things to you. This folder is a very good place for you to put notes to your child’s teacher. Remind your child that you have placed a note there, or better yet, have them put it in the folder and give it to the teacher when they arrive at school.
Homework
Homework packets will follow the San Ramon Valley Unified School District’s policy (please see attached) and follow a consistent pattern throughout the school year. It will consist of:
• READING a minimum of 15 minutes each night with your child (our requirement is Monday through Thursday, but we hope you read daily).As part of the New York Reading Project, students will bring a book home that they have selected each day. This book is for your child to read (if it’s at their reading level) or for you to read aloud (if it is a more difficult story). Books are to be brought back to class the following day.
• LIBRARY NOTEBOOK a written response to reading.
• MATH will be a page a night which will reinforce the class work we are doing.
• PHONICS / WRITING following the state adopted text.
• WRITING PROMPT one a week, which will help the students practice using punctuation, capitalization and well as writing on a topic.
• HANDWRITING from Handwriting Workbook.
The purpose of this homework is to provide practice of concepts taught in the classroom and to establish individual student responsibility to complete the packet at home and return it to school at the end of the week. When there is no school on Friday, homework is due on Thursday. No homework will be given the day before a weekend or a holiday. Homework will be sent via email to the parents. Please download and print it out for your student to complete at home.
Curriculum
The first grade program at Quail Run Elementary consists of Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, Technology and Physical Education. Wherever possible we attempt to use a thematic approach to integrate the skills in these areas. Curriculum content is guided by our district standards and benchmarks for each subject area.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Children learn to communicate by listening to others and practicing what they hear. Our Language Arts program is made up of four major components; reading, writing, listening and speaking. Each day much of our class time is devoted to developing these communication skills, with emphasis on reading and writing.
Our reading program is based upon two main sources. The district-adopted Language Arts series is Houghton-Mifflin. It has a strong foundation in phonics, phonemic awareness and grammar. The New York Reading Project is the second program. It complements the H/M series with its emphasis on reading comprehension, fluency and the development of good reading habits through book talk, shared reading and independent reading. These two programs offer a balanced approach to reading instruction in first grade.
This year we will use the New York Writing Project as the basis of our writer’s workshop. This program emphasizes the art of becoming a writer and the process of writing. During writer’s workshop first grade students will learn about the different writing types i.e. autobiography, story, observation, etc, and begin to use the conventions of writing.
MATH
The goal of the activities in our math program is to develop understanding and insight of the patterns of mathematics through the use of concrete materials. The activities are designed to help young children see relationships and interconnections in mathematical ideas and concepts. Gradually through the use of familiar materials the child builds a bridge to the adult world of abstraction. Because the materials are real, they engage the child’s senses and are enjoyable and rewarding and create a lasting memory. The materials provide motivation for learning and at the same time they provide the tools for exploration and problem solving. Paper and pencil tasks are introduced to the children as they develop readiness for symbolic application.
Using math resources such as: Envision, Kathy Richardson, Marcy Cook we will cover the first grade mathematical strands. Some of these strands are: free exploration and discovery, patterning, comparing and measuring, estimating, graphing, sorting and classifying, counting, sums and differences to 20, place value and geometry. Problem solving and thinking strategies are emphasized.
THEMATIC TEACHING
Our integrated thematic units focus on a variety of habitats – desert, forest, and ocean. We tie in science and social studies standards as we define these specific habitats and learn about some of the plants and animals found there. In first grade, students are expected to learn the physical characteristics of plants and animals and how they adapt to their environment.
SCIENCE
Through these units of study first grade students will learn about the animal classifications of reptiles, mammals, birds, amphibians, fish and insects. Students will learn that plants have structures that help them meet their needs of survival (air, water, food and light). We will discuss weather in class and be able to observe, measure and describe weather. While we learn about the climate of the different habitats, we will focus on students’ understanding that water has several properties. It can evaporate, become a solid and change back to a liquid. During our early visits to the science lab the emphasis will be on physical science—the state of matter—followed by units on earth science and life science.
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES
The goal of the first grade history/social studies program is to help students understand the important events, people and ideas the shape our world. Students will develop an understanding and respect for other cultures and their way of life. We will explore the human and physical characteristics of deserts, forests, mountains, rainforests and ponds. We will use each of these habitats to compare/contrast and describe physical locations, use geographic tools, examine human relationships and respect diversity of the people who live there. We will also explore our own government, the rights of citizens and American symbols.
FIELD TRIPS FOR FIRST GRADE
In order to keep our students safe and as per the SRVUSD district office, ALL volunteers on field trips and in the classroom MUST have a Volunteer Clearance Form on file in the office, be trained, check in at the office and receive a badge. In additional, field trip drivers MUST have their insurance information on file in the office at least two weeks before the field trip.
(dates to be announced)
Pumpkin Patch
St. Mary’s College children’s theatre
Crab Cove
San Ramon Valley United School District’s Homework Policy (excerpt)
Please note: The Board of Education voted to implement this policy in full for grades K-8 starting in the 2008-09 school year. Staff will be working with the high schools on an implementation timeline with full implementation planned for the second semester at the high school level.
AR 6154
Instruction
Homework/Make up Work
Homework is an integral component of education that deepens student learning and understanding. K-12 students will participate in homework that is meaningful, purposeful, and appropriate.
Homework For All Grades Levels
1. The Grade Level Guidelines of this policy are based on the needs of the average student. The amount of homework assigned to students should be different in elementary, middle, and high school. The amount of time a student spends on assigned homework depends on factors such as the student’s needs, learning ability, subject, school schedule, testing schedule and assigned homework due dates. Time spent on homework should be balanced with the importance of personal and family well-being, and the wide array of family obligations experienced in our society today.
2. Parents and teachers should make students aware that learning occurs at home, school, and in the world around them.
3. Homework should be the result of collaborative efforts, thoughtfully considered, and coordinated to improve student learning.
4. Homework should be purposeful and meaningful to students. Legitimate purposes for homework include practicing a skill or process that students can do independently but not fluently, elaborating on information that has been addressed in class to deepen students’ knowledge, and providing opportunities for students to explore topics of their own interest.
5. Reading is an integral part of learning and is a consistent part of homework.
6. Homework will reflect the accommodations and modifications of curriculum that is stated in a student’s IEP or 504 plan.
7. Assigning homework over holidays is highly discouraged.
Grade Level Guidelines
Elementary School
1. Reading is an integral part of learning. These guidelines include 15-20 minutes of reading per night:
K-1 15-30 minutes of homework per night (reading included)
2-3 30-45 minutes of homework per night (reading included)
4-5 45-60 minutes of homework per night (reading included)
2. In the primary grades (K-3), homework consists primarily of reading and a limited number of independent exercises to reinforce previously taught basic skills.
3. Except for reading, homework at the elementary level should not be assigned over weekends, holidays, or extended school breaks.
4. At the upper grades (4-5), homework consists of completing, practicing, preparing, or extending core academic skills and is designed to build independent study habits.
5. Long term assignments should be limited in number and duration. Project based assignments should primarily be undertaken and completed in the classroom. Some portions of projects may be assigned as homework; however, these tasks should not require group participation, significant assistance from parents or costly materials. These assignments should include clear check points to monitor progress toward completion.
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