Dear family~ Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year! My name is Mrs.

Cronce and I will be your childs 1 st grade teacher. Below, you will find information that will be helpful throughout the entire year. Please keep this letter in a safe place so you can refer to it as needed. Please also take the time to read the papers I will be sending home today, as they are of great importance. Your child needs to return the following, completed paperwork by Friday, September 7th. Thanks in advance! 2 green Emergency Cards (Please indicate FULL tetanus date on back) Hot lunch/Free or Reduced Form (if you were mailed one) Early Dismissal and Main Roads Only Forms Classroom Volunteer Form (needed to attend field trips, help in class) PHASD Permission Slip

Homework: Your student will be bringing home a blue homework folder every night. It will serve helpful when you and I need to communicate. Please check it, empty its contents out into a safe place, and then have the folder returned the next morning. All homework will be sent home on Fridays, with my parent letter attached to the top, and is due the following Friday- an entire week for you to sit down with your child and address the following: the work completed to the best of my childs ability? Is my child write his/her first and last name at the top of each paper? Did How can I make sure this work will be turned in on time? Please help your child with the above by providing a quiet and orderly place to work. Homework can easily get lost, so I suggest that a Homework Bin/Folder be designated at home and kept in a safe place for your child. Also, keep in mind that most 1st graders have a short attention span, so I recommend homework be done in approximately 15 minute sessions each night. Please turn papers in as soon as they are completed so they dont get lost! Also, homework cannot be sent home in advance (vacations, etc.) due to the fact that my lesson plans may change while you are away. It will come home with your child upon his/her return. As a staff, we have agreed upon this and I apologize for any inconvenience Reading: This year will be an exciting one for your 1st grader as s/he will be either learning how to read, or learning how to read at a more fluent, challenging level. It will be beneficial for your child if you take at least 10 minutes out of each day to read together; whether you read to your child, s/he reads to you, or you take turns doing the reading. Also, rather than simply saying what a tricky word is, it is a great idea to help your student with it. Encourage him or her to try saying the sounds, or rather, help me teach your child never to let the word win. (Visit my protopage for fun, effective reading strategies at: www.protopage.com/mrscronce .) Spelling Tests: In a few weeks, your child will begin taking weekly spelling tests. (Watch for the words in each Fridays parent letter.) Again, this will come home attached to your childs homework. Your student will take a spelling pretest each Wednesday and again on Friday, if needed. If your student spells all of the words correctly on the Wednesday pretest, s/he will not have to take Fridays test! Having two testing opportunities a week will not only ease us into the test-taking process, but also allow each child two chances to reach a 100% spelling word goal. Over, please > Accelerated Reader: Very soon, your student will be

taking weekly trips to the library. S/he will check out an Accelerated Reader book. This great program allows students to receive prizes based on how many points theyve accumulated from answering a few comprehension questions on it. You will know if your child has checked out an AR book by the colored label on its spine, indicated this. (My class collection of AR books has a fluorescent green sticker with the point value indicated.) To ensure the books comprehension, please make sure that your student reads/listens to the book 2-3 times before s/he brings it back to school to take an AR test on. The AR test questions will be about the book and will be read from the computer by an adult. As you read the book/your child reads the book, it will be helpful if you stop and ask your child questions about the book. Doing this will provide a better understanding of the text and encourage your child to begin making connections with it. (Why would Little Bear be so upset that his new baby sister was coming home from the hospital? Would that be a GOOD thing? Discuss.) Questions such as these will be asked during the AR test. Again, as your student earns points for passing these tests, s/he will earn prizes for such achievement!! TIP: In the beginning of the year, you can read the books to your child and as the year goes on, slowly hand over to your child the responsibility of reading. At that point, I suggest you read the book once to your child, s/he reads it once to you, and then you BOTH read it together. Going over the story several times will help cement an understanding of what happened in the book. ****However, avoid frustration and focus on the COMPREHENSION of the story- not on whether or not your child can read it independently.**** As the year goes on and your child learns more Word Wall and Spelling words, s/he will be able to read more of the book to you! If you have any further questions, PLEASE feel free to ask me! Names and point levels are announced each Friday over the schools PA system and that is quite exciting for the children!!! Handwriting: We will be doing a lot of handwriting practice this year! Your child will need your help with this, so on the back of the blue homework folder, I have included a copy of proper manuscript handwriting. This way, you can make sure your childs letters are formed correctly at home. Handwriting awards are one of the many I hand out at the end of the school year, so be sure to practice, practice! Birthdays: Your child is more than welcome to bring in a treat to share with classmates on his/her birthday! If your students birthday falls on a weekend or holiday, goodies can be sent in on the school day before or after. Please do not send any red/orange/purple juices as they are difficult to clean when spilled. Some welcome suggestions are: white grape juice, lemonade, or apple juice. Juice boxes are nice as they are easier to open!! Also, if your child will be asking friends to his/her birthday party, please mail these invitations using the Thomas Edison Directory that will be sent home soon. Passing invitations out at school can cause hurt feelings when not every classmate is invited Gym Shoes: To prevent your child from missing out in Gym class, please be sure to send in a pair of tennis shoes that can be kept at your childs desk. Also, with custodial coverage being so short, having a pair of tennis shoes kept here at school will help keep the floors clean of mud, woodchips, etc. Sandals/flip-flops are NOT permitted on the playground as they allow sharp woodchips to cut the childrens feet. If your child prefers to wear these or dressy shoes while inside, thats fine, but s/he must bring along a safer pair of shoes to switch into when heading outside. **Have your first grader practice, practice, practice tying those shoe laces!!** For more clarification, you can read about our schools Inside/Outside Shoe Rule on my protopage at www.protopage.com/mrscronce. Basically, shoes that are WORN TO SCHOOL will become the shoes that stay out of the classroom and will be used for recess. Dressy shoes/flip flops, etc. can be brought to school in a backpack and can be worn IN SCHOOL ONLY. The pair of tennis shoes that are to stay at your childs desk will serve as the ones s/he will wear IN SCHOOL. They serve two-fold: The floors stay cleaner and allow your child to participate in gym class! Brain Break: Each day, your child will need to bring his/her own snack to school. We will eat these around 10:00 after our morning literacy block. PLEASE remember to send your child to school with a HEALTHY snack every day to keep their brains powered up! Here are some healthy suggestions: graham crackers, fruit snacks, granola bars, pretzels, crackers, Goldfish, fruit cups, pudding, yogurt. Drinks are messy/timely and will be saved for lunchtime- - We have a water fountain in the classroom.

Page 2 Lunch time: Your child may not be used to eating in the school cafeteria. It can be a loud, busy place! To help them, I will eat with the children on our first visit there. Our lunch supervisors are very kind and helpful- especially when it comes to opening containers of fruit and adding ketchup to hotdogs! Prior to our first time in the cafeteria, we will take a short tour through and pretend to eat at our assigned table. Hand sanitizer stations are located near the entrance and sporks, napkins, and milk come with all hot lunches. A monthly lunch menu will come home with your child and I recommend reviewing it together, circling the days hot lunch will be eaten, and posting it in a safe area. Doing this will allow you to know how much to pay the office weekly/monthly. Your payments will start an account and will then be registered into the computer in the lunchroom. It will be deducted from with each meal your child eats. (I recommend this method as opposed to sending money in with your child on a daily basis. The money gets lost so easily!!) Also, once the online Parent Connect program is set up for the new year, you can access your childs account balance and know when more money needs to be added. Changes in Regular Transportation: If your child normally rides the bus home, but you will be picking him/her up early, please send a note to me. This way, I can prepare any materials s/he will miss. This is also the case with sleep-overs/play dates. If your child will be going home with a friend at the end of the day, please send me a note in advance giving your written permission. If a note is not received, your child will be sent home via his/her normal mode of transportation. Parent Participation: I encourage you to stress the importance of school to your child! In first grade, we have MANY opportunities to celebrate and support our children: Open House, Book Fairs, Classroom Centers, Awards Ceremonies, Field trips, etc. Please support your child by paying close attention to his/her nightly folder, as it will also contain ways you can help out- volunteering, donating items, helping with preparations, and so on. Doing so will make your child not only feel important, but it also sends the message that you value school and education. If you are unable to commit to helping out in the classroom on a regular basis, please let me know when you get a day off and would like to come in and see us! We have SO MUCH FUN and everyone is welcome in Room 42!! Also, I will post videos of class experiments, field trips, special visitors, assemblies, etc. so every parent/grandparent will be able to be present with us. Just visit our class site at: www.protopage.com/mrscronce I realize this is a lot of information, but I know you will find it useful. Again, please keep this letter in a safe place so you can refer back to it. I am really looking forward to working with both you and your child this school year. Please help me ensure a successful academic year for your little first grader by working at home with him/her nightly. If you need my help, please let me know!! Looking forward to the year ahead,

Mrs. Cronce
(810) 984-6507 x2107 www.protopage.com/mrscronce