Parents

Welcome Parents!  

I will be updating you on fun activities or events that will be happening in our classroom throughout the year!  Please check our class blog for a "snapshot" of your child's learning!

Also find our weekly newsletter here.

On this page you will find some useful information that may guide your child's school year!  This information can also be found inside your child's green home folder.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

--Ms. Brandt

Our schedule this year is as follows:

Lunch	12:10-12:35
Recess	12:35-12:55
Specials	2:20-3:10

           

HOME FOLDER

Every day your child will bring home his or her “home” folder.  Please check this folder every day for notes, homework, reminders, daily papers, etc.  “Keep Home” contents (found in the left pocket of the folder) should be taken out each day. This will include assignments your child has completed. Please look over these papers to see what your child is working on each day.

Inside this “home” folder you will find two clear pockets.  The first clear pocket is for the calendars.  The front calendar is the events and behavior calendar. Use this section to stay informed about upcoming events, the specials’ schedule, and your child’s behavior at school.  The back calendar is to record the amount of minutes your child reads each night.  The second clear pocket is where important papers will be held.  Each evening check inside this pocket for items such as a newsletter, homework, or other important notes from school. 

ATTENDANCE

Your child’s regular and prompt attendance at school is crucial to his/her success.  If your child must be absent due to an illness or family emergency, please inform the office the morning of the absence.  Arriving at school on time is also very important.  If your child arrives after the bell has rung you must take them to the office to check in and to take care of their lunch choice. Our reading intervention, PRIDE time, starts at 8:50. When students are late for school this cuts into their intervention time and the time of other students.

BREAKFAST Child - $1.35 Adult – $1.60

LUNCH                              Child - $1.85 Adult - $2.60 Milk (chocolate or white) - $.30

Please send lunch money in an envelope marked with your child’s name, teacher’s name, and purpose for the money!  With so many kids to keep track of and several reasons to collect money, this helps me out tremendously and reduces the likelihood of errors.  Also if the money is dropped in the hallway or left on the bus, the information will help the money to be returned to our classroom.

WATER BOTTLES, SNACKS & BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Students are allowed to bring healthy snacks and a water bottle to use throughout the day. Please bring the snack in a Ziploc bag or small container. The water bottle also must be filled at home. Our school policy states that students cannot fill up their water bottles at school because it takes too much time away from learning. We do not have a specific snack time, so students must be responsible for enjoying their snack and water while working. If he/she becomes distracted from learning due to the snack or water bottle, he/she may be asked to no longer bring a snack to school.

Birthdays are special, if you would like to send in a special treat for your child’s birthday that would be great!  District policy states snacks sent in for parties/special days must be prepackaged.  We cannot accept homemade snacks.  Birthday treats will be shared the last 10 minutes of the day. I will send a note home a few weeks before your child’s birthday with the number of students in our classroom and the day we will celebrate (in case it falls on a weekend).  If your child has a summer birthday, I will send the note a few weeks before his/her ½ birthday.  (For example, a July 21^st birthday would be celebrated January 21^st.) 

V.I.P. STUDENT

The V.I.P. Student (our “Very Important Person”) is the name I give to the helper each day.  Rather than having several jobs, I give one student the role of “helping” whenever we need it throughout the day.  The V.I.P. student changes daily and is not based on behavior. It is a class rotation so everyone has the responsibility of being our class helper.

DISMISSAL

If for any reason you are changing your child’s mode of transportation home, it must be in writing.  For example, DO NOT rely on your child to tell me this information because children often become confused and relay messages incorrectly.   For their safety, I will send them home in the usual way.  If there is an emergency and you did not send a note to school, contact the office at least one half hour before dismissal.  If you need to check out your child early you must do so in the office. Please remember, every Wednesday we have early dismissal at 2:42.

RECESS

During nice weather, we enjoy recess outdoors.  This is a necessary component of the day to provide exercise needed by the children and to allow time for them to socially interact.  We have two recesses each day.  Please watch the weather and dress appropriately.  We will go outside unless the heat index reaches 100 degrees or the wind chill and or temperature is below 20 degrees.  If your child needs to stay inside for recess due to an illness, a physician’s excuse must be sent in.

 TAKE HOME BOOKS & HOMEWORK

Special paperback readers will be sent home on Mondays (or the first day of the week) and need to be returned on Friday (or the last day of the week). Your child will have a fiction and nonfiction book that is a “just right” book, meaning he/she may struggle on a few words or phrases in the book, but overall can successfully read and understand the book.  Each week, your child will be responsible for reading both books two times and completing a comprehension page on either the fiction or nonfiction book. A reading calendar is in the back of the first clear pocket in the home folder to record the amount of minutes your child reads.  If you child reaches the reading goal for the month, he/she will receive a Pizza Hut certificate for a personal pan pizza in the months of October-March (the only months Pizza Hut provide the Book-It program).  Math fact fluency homework will be sent home on Mondays also and should be returned by Friday.  Your child will practice reaching his/her first grade goal of solving 40 addition and 40 subtraction facts correctly in 2 minutes.

BOOK ORDERS

Once a month, your child will have the opportunity to order books from Scholastic book club.  Each month I will send home book order forms and will let you know the date I will mail the order.  It takes approximately two weeks for the books to arrive.  Please do not feel pressured to order books.  If writing a check for payment, please make payable to Scholastic Books. You can also order online.  Our online activation code is HZ4TP.

 COMMUNICATION/ HOMEWORK

Keeping the lines of communication open is very important between parents and teachers.  Together we make up a team that wants the best for your child and his/her classmates.  Each Friday I will send home a newsletter that lets you know what we are working on in class. The weekly homework will be sent home on Monday. Homework should be turned in by the following Friday. Homework participation is noted on the quarterly report card. 

You can contact me via email at sbrandt@estigers.k12.mo.us or by phone at 816-630-9290 ext. 6203. I will also send you text reminders through Remind101 to keep you up-to-date on events happening in the classroom.  To sign up for this program, please text @lewis1 to 81010. We also have a class blog found at brandtsbuzz.blogspot.com.  Please go to this blog to find information about procedures and routines in our classroom, as well as pictures and posts about what we are learning.

 

DISCIPLINE POLICY
PBIS is a system used by schools to help prevent problem behaviors by teaching students specific expectations.  PBIS provides for a common language that can be used by all staff members and students.  Clear expectations and supports are put into place to help all students be successful with both their learning and their behavior. 

These are the general behavior expectations for Lewis (“GRR”):

          Go safely

Show Respect

     Be Responsible

 

For students that struggle meeting these expectations, we use a behavior model called BIST.  In this model, students who cannot follow directions after the first time asked will be told to go to the safe seat to complete a think sheet, which helps students think through what happened and how it could have been handled in a more appropriate way.  If after going to the safe seat, a student still struggles, he/she will be sent to a buddy room.  If student is still struggling in the buddy room, he/she will be sent to the recovery or focus room to process through the problem and help him/her solve the issue in a more appropriate way.