Dear Parents,
Dear Parents,Hello and welcome to first grade! I am so excited to be working with you and your child. I look forward to a fun and educational school year. Horizon Elementary is a wonderful place to learn and grow!This year your child will be participating in many exciting activities and learning numerous new concepts. As a first grader, your child will be becoming more and more independent. Do not worry! We will work together to help him/her along the way. This handbook will outline classroom procedures and is a resource for you to understand our classroom procedures.My goal is to make this year a happy and memorable educational experience for your child. To ensure this, we must communicate and collaborate regularly. Please feel free to contact me at any time regarding your child’s progress and development. I will send home a monthly newsletter outlining class and school-wide events.I look forward to a wonderful school year full of new experiences and success for your child! Thanks in advance for your involvement, support, and enthusiasm! Goals and ExpectationsFirst grade is a year of tremendous growth and change. Aside from academic goals, there are basic social and personal development goals that we will be working toward. These are to:Improve listening skillsDevelop independent workersDevelop responsible individualsDevelop respect and social awarenessTo develop these skills, I slowly incorporate more independent work along with guided and group work. As students gain strength in these skills and abilities, they are able to begin to work with greater independence. It is important that we work as a team in order to allow your child to have opportunities to develop confidence in his or her abilities. Equally important is the development of responsibility for his or her work and social municationThe Horizon “Take Home Folder” that students will receive is our primary form of communication. Please check the folder daily. Inside you will find notes and information from the PTA, the school, and me. You will also receive a monthly newsletter and reminders from me routinely. Please use the home folder to send notes to school about dismissal changes, concerns, etc. The folders will be sent back and forth from home to school daily. I will be asking your child for it EVERY DAY!Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. If you would like to contact me, you can:Send a noteCall the school @ 571.434.3260Email: thuy.wallace@ (please note that I will not typically be checking email throughout the school day – if you need a quick response, you will want to call the office and leave me a message. I will regularly check emails before and after school.507238093345SuppliesPlease be sure your child has all of the needed supplies as soon as you are able. Please let me know if you need a supply list.HomeworkI am planning to assign minimal homework this year. First grade is a big year of transition and the days can feel long to the students, especially at the start of the school year. My hope is that we are using our school time to its fullest potential and that your child will have time to run and play and READ once he/she gets home from school.There will be word study homework during the week, but I will explain that thoroughly once we get started. Word study tests will be given on Fridays, and that will be the main focus of my homework assignments this year – except for READING! I think it’s very important that your child has time to read and be read to on a daily basis. As for math homework, I will only be assigning Reflex Math, Dreambox and/or Prodigy for students to practice at home. Math homework will not be for a grade, but I encourage you to have your child visit these sites regularly. More information on this will be shared after students have had a chance to practice logging in at school.The Yellow Homework Folder will go home with your child every Monday and should be returned that Friday.I am a parent of 2 children and am very sympathetic to your busy lives. If I assign homework, it will be for the purpose of practice and should be simple. It should never be a burden or feel cumbersome. If you ever have a homework concern, please contact me. They have plenty of years of homework ahead!Reading Logs4542155392430The first grade curriculum focuses on reading. Therefore, I promote reading within our classroom in a variety of ways. Multiple reading opportunities allow your child time to explore books within the classroom, gain reading fluency, and practice important reading strategies.I strongly encourage you to implement your own daily reading time at home and read at least 15 minutes per night with your child. You will most likely be reading to your child in the beginning months of school. However, as your child increasingly becomes an independent reader, he or she should have opportunities to read to a family member. I also encourage you to talk with your child about the story in order to build reading comprehension. But, no matter how strong of a reader your child is, please continue to read to your child. It’s an enjoyable activity and also demonstrates fluency to your child.Each student will receive a reading log to record the books that he or she is reading at home. These reading logs should be kept in each student’s homework folder. Reading logs will start next week.Books may be listed on the reading log more than once if they are read repeatedly. Repeated reading helps build fluency! One storybook is equal to one chapter. If your child is reading a chapter book, list each chapter as they are read.Lunch & Snack5192395347345The easiest and most convenient way to pay for your child’s lunch is to prepay your child’s account with a check made payable to the County of Loudoun or by prepaying on the website. The monthly lunch menu will designate prices, and parents can designate money for lunch, ice cream, or milk. If you send a check, please be sure your check is labeled with your child’s account number. Your child will use his or her student number every time he or she buys food in the cafeteria. Please make sure that your child is familiar with his or her lunch code. You are welcome to come in and have lunch with your child at any time. If you would like to join your child for lunch, please meet us at the cafeteria to avoid any disruptions. To prepay online: & Birthdays4967605360680Our class will have several parties during the school year. Our room parent(s) will notify parents in advance of anything that we may need. Several volunteers will be needed to help with the preparations, so this is a great way to volunteer in the classroom. Birthdays are a special occasion for first graders. I will recognize your child in the classroom in several ways. He/she will receive a birthday pencil, a birthday crown, a birthday bracelet, and we will sing to him/her. There will no longer be ANY FOOD distributed or associated with celebrating birthdays at school. In addition, students may not pass out any pencils, bookmarks or other “goodies” for birthdays. Again, I will recognize each student for their birthdays but students will not be able to distribute any items.In addition, if your child is having a party, please refer to the class directory for addresses to mail invitations directly to student homes. No invitations are allowed to be distributed at school unless the entire class is invited.VolunteersI enjoy having parents help me both inside and outside of the classroom. For the first few weeks of school, I would like to take some time to assess the children as well as my needs in the classroom. After we have established some routines and have an organized schedule, I will let you know if I need volunteers for anything in particular. Please let me know if you’re available for at home or in school volunteer opportunities. I will likely create a signup genius account and use that web-based system for volunteer sign-ups. That will help you see real time needs anytime.ScheduleA copy of our class schedule is enclosed in this packet. Please try to remember our library day so your child may check out a book each scheduled library time. It is important that each child participates in the excitement of book check out during library time weekly. On days when we have PE, please be sure that your child is wearing sneakers. Personally, I think sneakers are appropriate every day as we enjoy playing outside twice every day! Student Arrival/Dismissal4536440288290If your child arrives at school before 7:30, he/she will be directed to the gym, and will stay there until the bell rings. Students are released to their classrooms once the bell rings. Please be sure to notify me of any changes in your child’s DISMISSAL transportation or routine. Your child will not be allowed to deviate from their routine unless there is a signed written notice sent in. This is to ensure safety for all children. Also, please make every effort to have your child at school ON TIME daily. Plan vacations, outings, and appointments accordingly in order to limit the amount of missed school. Medication4536440365125Any medication your child may need should be handled with the school clinic. Please see the nurse with any medical concerns and questions. I am not allowed to distribute any medicine including cough drops. In addition, your child is not allowed to bring any medicine to school. If you need them to have medication during the school day, you need to deliver it to the clinic and discuss that with the nurse. If you have a question please ask the nurse or myself in order to ensure your child’s safety and health.Final ThoughtsI am looking forward to a wonderful year! If you need a conference with me please send me an e-mail at thuy.wallace@. Please don’t plan to drop by and be able to have a meaningful conference. I want to be able to devote my undivided attention during the school day to my students and planning for them. I am usually not available during the day, but you may leave a message for me to return your call. I also welcome notes in your child’s daily home folder. I will always try to write back to you as soon as possible. This is going to be a great year! I hope to get to know each of you and your families better. Please make an effort to get involved in our school community, the PTA, and the classroom. I think you will find that Horizon is a great place to learn and grow! ~ Mrs. Thuy WallaceLunch: 11:05-11:35amMonday: MusicTuesday: PE (wear tennis shoes)Wednesday: Library/ComputerThursday: PE (wear tennis shoes)Friday: Art, Reading Buddies with 3rd Grade ................
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