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September 9, 2015
Dear Families,
Welcome to another school year at Terminal Park, the Express to Success! I am excited to be
your childs first grade teacher! It is an honor and a tremendous responsibility. This is my 24th
year of teaching in Auburn School District at my favorite level, first grade. Before the year gets
underway, I would like to share some important information with you about how our class
operates. Parents often have questions as the year progresses, so please save this packet for
future reference.
If you need to contact me, you have several options:
Email: cwilliams@auburn.wednet.edu I will respond quickly unless absent or if the
computers are down, both of which are rare.
Phone: (252) 931-4978 The best time to call is after 3:15 every day or during my
planning time, which is our Learning Specialist/PE time (see below).
In person: We can talk in person when Im not teaching, dismissing students, or needed
in a meeting. Classes will always get noisier and more off-task if I am talking to another
adult.
Text: Remind was created for teachers to communicate with parents via text messaging.
When you sign up, I wont see your phone number and you wont see mine. This is how I
send reminders for school events such as field trips and open house. To join:
Via text: send the message @tp304 to 81010
If that number doesnt work, use (832)324-3061.
Via email: tp304@mail.remind.com
You can unsubscribe anytime by texting or emailing unsubscribe.

Schedule Beginning October 5, most Mondays will be Late Start Mondays and school will
start one hour later at 9:40. The school calendar and phone reminders will have the exact
dates.
8:30

8:40
9:00
10:05-10:50
10:50-11:30
11:40-12:10
12:10-12:40
12:40-2:10
2:10-2:25
2:25-3:00
3:10

Arrival Please do not send kids earlier than 8:25 as there is no adult
supervision before then. Kids who get breakfast should go
directly to the kitchen; all others should wait by the main door until
dismissed to class.
School begins/Breakfast/Reading interventions
Whole Group Reading
Walk to Readingtargeted, small-group instruction
Specialist: Writing (M, T, Th, F)~Mrs. Sweeney; PE-(W)~Mr. Greer
Lunch
Recess
Math
Afternoon recess
M-Social Studies, T-Counselor , W-Science, Th-Buddies, F-Fun Friday
DismissalStudents meet parents out front or go to buses/daycare vans

Counselor
PE
Library (Fridays)
Buddies
Fun Friday

Mrs. Gragg teaches social skills and problem solving.

Students should wear tennis shoes and comfortable clothing.
Students may check out 1-2 books if they have no overdue books.
Mrs. Andersens 4th graders help with reading, spelling, and math.
This is a reward only for students who turn in their homework on time.

**This schedule may change a few times during the first few weeks of school. I will send a note
home any time there is a significant change.
**Absences, tardies, and early releases** (Important! Please read!)
It is important that your student attends school every day and is on time. If your child is
absent, he or she must have a note, email, or call from home to be excused. Arrival in the
classroom after the bell rings at 8:40 or leaving prior to 3:10 will constitute a tardy. Tardy
students need to sign in at the office and take a red slip before being admitted to class. Tardy
students may need to make up time or work during recess.
If you need to pick up your child early, please make sure that you check him or her out at the
office FIRST. For safety reasons, I am not allowed to release a child until the office calls to
notify me. Only persons who you have authorized will be allowed to pick up your child and
they will be asked for photo identification. **Students are required to follow the same afterschool routine every day unless we receive prior notification from a parent.** It is crucial
that we have up-to-date phone numbers so that we can contact you in case of emergency.

Field Trips We need 4-5 chaperones for all our field trips. Chaperones need to have a current
Washington State Patrol background check on file in the office. I will send these forms home,
but you can request them from me or the office at any time. Grandparents are also welcome!
October 30
Spring 2014:
June 2014:

Mary Olson Farm, Auburn

(to be determined)
Auburn Library (walking)

Breakfast and Lunch

Breakfast$1.25 full price, free for those who qualify for free & reduced lunch
Lunch$2.75 full price, free for those who qualify for free & reduced lunch (grades K-3)
Milk50
Adult visitors$3.75
Students who forget their lunch or money are not allowed to call home, but will instead receive a
sandwich and milk.
You are welcome to have lunch with your child anytime. Just sign in at the office first.
Students may bring water bottles from home to keep on their desks. No other drinks allowed.
Medications
Auburn School District policy prohibits students from taking any medication at school unless
the parent has provided an Authorization for Administration of Medication form signed by a
medical practitioner. This includes aspirin, cough drops, chapstick, and Tums. If I see a student
with any unauthorized medication, I am required to give that medication to the principal.
Clothing
Students should where clothing appropriate for the weather and may lose recess if they dont
have coats or proper shoes. Flip flops should not be worn at school. Shirts that have an
inappropriate saying or graphic will need to be turned inside out. Hats are allowed on the
playground but not in the school building. Shirt straps need to be at least 2 fingers in width, and
shorts or dresses must be longer than fingers tips when arms are by the side.
Homework
Each Monday I will send home a homework packet with your child. A homework slip will be
attached explaining the assignments in each subject and whether or not they need to be
returned to school. This is a great opportunity for you to read and study with your student each
day. I strongly suggest setting up a regular homework time and area, using pencils only, and
keeping homework sessions short, about 10-15 minutes. Contrary to popular belief, homework
should not be torture for you or your child! Please contact me if homework becomes a problem
for you. I can offer suggestions or adapt assignments. Homework should be signed by an adult
and returned to school on Friday. Students who return homework on time will get to participate
in Fun Friday; kids who do not return homework on time will complete their assignments during
Fun Friday.

Classroom Management
I believe that a positive and logical learning environment prevents most behavior problems.
My classroom management is based upon Love and Logic, developed by Jim Fay and Foster
Cline. Rather than using predetermined consequences for poor behavior choices, students and
I meet to decide fair and appropriate consequences for each circumstance. Consequences
might include using the peace rose, losing recess, helping another student, losing a privilege, or
calling home to tell you what happened. I will guide the students in determining behaviors that
do and do not support our school rules, which are:
1) Be Safe
2) Be Respectful
3) Be Responsible
Throughout the day I give paper pennies to students whom I notice following our class rules,
being helpful, or returning important papers on time. As students save, they can eventually
trade for nickels or dimes and periodically spend them in the class store. Teams of students
can earn points for good behavior, and teams who earn 10 points can have lunch with friends.
The whole class can earn extra recesses and class picnics with good behavior and a clean
classroom respectively.
Each day I choose one person (who was at school and made positive behavior choices the day
before) to be the Super Citizen. He or she will receive an award, lead calendar time, have a
stuffed elephant as a desk mate, and eat lunch with a friend.
I will communicate with you daily about your childs behavior using a Daily Behavior Update, or
what we like to call the Elephant Sheet. This sheet, listing expected classroom behaviors, will
be placed in your childs folder each Monday. Since I know that most kids will use positive
behavior, I have already marked each area with an elephant stamp. Individuals who have
difficulty in an area will have a line drawn through the corresponding elephant and comments
explaining why at the bottom. Please check your childs elephant sheet each day, look for
comments at the bottom, and sign or initial in the parent column. I will check elephant sheets
each day, giving a star by parent signatures and a line through those without parent signatures.
This regular, two-way communication will help us work together and prevent misunderstandings.
Student of the Week
Each week I choose one student to be our Student of the Week. When it is your childs turn,
she or he will bring home a Student of the Week poster the preceding week. On Monday,
please send in the poster along with any awards, pictures, favorite books, stuffed animals, or
other special items for display. I will collect the Student of the Week sheets, laminate them, and
bind them in a class book. The posters will be returned at the end of the year; everything else
will be returned on Friday. (Because we share this way, we do not have show and tell until after
each child has had a turn.) This would be a great week for someone special to have lunch with
your child.

Supplies
Label with your childs name:

Backpack large enough for books and folders (no sports bags), label with name inside
1 sturdy folders with bottom pockets only, yellow
supply boxplastic, no larger than 9 X 6

Do NOT label with your childs name:

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
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2 dozen #2 pencilssharpened, Ticonderoga preferred

24 crayonsCrayola preferred, no larger boxes, no glitter, no art kits
2 large (or 6 small) gluesticks
2 large pink erasers
2 dry erase markersblack only
1 spiral notebook, wide-ruled, 70 sheets
2 large boxes of Kleenex type tissues, no small personal sizes
1 large bottle of hand sanitizer
1 package of baby wipes

*Please do not send extra supplies that are not on the list.
If you need help with supplies, the school has a limited amount of donated items available.
Common Concerns of First Grade Parents
Every year there are several parents who have academic concerns regarding their childrens
reading and writing. When most parents think of reading, they think of phonics. While phonics
is a crucial component to reading, there are also many other strategies that your child does and
should use, including learning sight words, using context clues, looking at pictures, and
memorizing. Reading is a developmental process and all these skills show that a child is
heading in the right direction. Even more common, I hear parents worried that their children
may have dyslexia because they write numbers or letters backward. At this age, children are
still learning to write and that portion of the brain is still developing, so some backward writing is
completely normal and usually fades during first grade. If your child is still writing many letters
or numbers backward later in the year, we can certainly have him or her referred for testing.
The fact that kids develop and learn so rapidly in first grade is what makes it so fun for me to
teach. Please contact me if you have any concerns about your childs progress or behavior.
Thanks for your cooperation. I am looking forward to watching your child grow and learn and to
working with you over the next several months. I hope you have a wonderful year!
Chris Williams