Kia Ora Parents and
Caregivers,
Welcome to Room 1. I look
forward to teaching your wonderful children this year and can not wait to watch
them grow and succeed as individuals. In this notice I will outline some of my
expectations and a few reminders to make 2013 a smooth year. My door is always
open and I am more than happy to discuss any matter with you.
Roll-
The roll will be taken
everyday. If your child is sick call the office to let them know. If you are
late to school pop into the office to let Mrs. Strange know you are here.
Blog-
The majority of this
information is found on our classroom blog. The address is www.room1stj2013.blogspot.com
I update it regularly. Feel free to leave comments-the children love reading
what others have to say. Remember, notices and classroom newsletters will be
posted to the blog, newsletters are found on the school website.
Homework-
Some nights your child
will bring home a worksheet in the back of their early words book. These are
the high frequency words that make up the majority of words in a book. Your
child would have read the worksheet with me in class and practiced learning the
word before they take it home. For homework they are to read the worksheets or
fill out the worksheets with the learnt word. Please remember to go back over
the previously learnt words.
Other
nights your child will bring home a book that they read at group reading time.
Your child can read the book to you or other members of the family (brothers,
sisters, aunties, uncles etc.) once your child has read the book you are to
record the date, the name of the book and write a lovely encouraging
comment to your little one about how they read into their reading notebook
(e.g. I love how hard you tried to sound out tricky words, I enjoy listening to
your reading, you really are a clever reader etc.) I then read the lovely
comment back to the child at reading time the next day.
Please
remember to return all books and the notebook into the reading folder
and make sure it is sent back to school everyday for a new book!!
On
Fridays your child will bring home their poetry book; this is a collection of
all their wonderful poems they have learnt throughout the year. Each week they
add a new poem.
Your
child will also bring home their phonics homework. They are to read the
letter and share the sound with you; you might also like to read the words to
your child. They can practice writing the letter also. If they have time
they can colour in their picture. Remember to go back and look at other ones
they have learnt. Phonics is important when learning to read and write.
The more time you spend on revising phonics learnt the faster your wee one will
be writing or reading.
These
two homework activities are meant to be stress free and won't take a lot
of your time.
If
you have any questions or problems, please don't hesitate to make contact.
Prayers-
Prayer time is a very important
time of our day in Room 1. It is expected that all students participate and
show respect at all times. Parents and caregivers are welcome to join us on
their child’s first day at school and on Friday mornings. Every other day we
will enjoy prayers without visitors and as a classroom. Please remember if you
have younger children that they must also remain respectful throughout this
time.
Playtime and Lunchtime-
At playtime the children
are encouraged to go to the toilet and wash their hands, pick something small
to have for morning tea. All children wear school hats for the first and last
term.
At lunchtime the children
all sit together for at least 15 minutes. I check that they start with the
healthy food before the treats. A duty teacher will check their food is eaten
and rubbish is in the bin before they go to play.
Assembly-
Assembly is every 2 weeks.
You are welcome to join us. If your child is receiving a Principles award you
will get a phone call home from Mrs. Strange. It is nice to keep it a surprise
for the children. I will include the day and time in our classroom newsletter.
Classroom Newsletter-
This will be sent out
every Monday to every child in the classroom. It will talk about what is
happening in our classroom and outline any upcoming events.
School Newsletter-
The school newsletter
comes out every Thursday. Please let the school office know your home email
address as our school newsletters are sent out via email. If you don’t have
access to a computer let Mrs. Strange know and she will send home a hard
copy.
Naming of equipment and clothing-
It is important to make
sure all your child’s clothing and school equipment is named clearly. If
possible it is also a good idea to name school shoes. If items go missing and
they are unnamed it is generally very hard to find.
Parent Help-
Like any school we rely on
the help of parents for days and events to run smoothly. In past years it has
been extremely hard to find parent helpers. Without parent helpers events and
fun days will cease to happen. It would be encouraging if each family could
have one parent helper for at least one event during the year.
Friday Visits-
Visits are made by new
children on a Friday. The “older” kids are great helpers who so nicely settle
in the new children.
8.55 Start-
We start each day at 8.55;
it is good practice to see them before this time to give them a chance to
become accustomed to the room. I encourage your children to bring their own
school bag into school, hang it up and bring their reading folder into their
desk, return any library books to the library box etc.
3.00 pick up-
We finish at 3.00; I
encourage your child to be as independent as possible. They can get their own
bag, fill up their bag and put on their own clothes etc.
Contacting-
My classroom door is
always open, please feel free to come and see me if a matter arises. I can easily
make an appointment with you where we will be free of distractions if needed. I
however do not use my personal cell phone as a means of communicating or my
home line, unless in an emergency.
I am looking forward to
this year, I enjoy watching young ones grow and mature as the year progresses.
It will be a full on year, as they always are, but no doubt it will fly by!! I
look forward to meeting each and every one of you and working together to
ensure your child can develop into the best that they can be.
Take care,
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