Margaret Allard

St. Raphael School

160 St. Joseph Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 967-2115

mallard@straphaelschoolsb.org

Dear Families,

I would like to introduce myself and welcome you and your child to first grade at St. Raphael School.  I am   happy to be teaching at St. Raphael’s again this year.This is my  twenty-fifth year teaching in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and my ninth year teaching first grade at St. Raphael School.  I love all the primary grades but think there is something truly special about first grade and watching the magic of reading come alive for the children.  I am a firm believer in the Catholic School system and feel blessed to be able to share my faith with the children in my class.  We have the luxury of educating the whole child, mind, body, and spirit.

I have two children of my own.  My daughter Katie teaches children with severe disabilities in a special day class in San Rafael, California. Katie attended San Roque School for eight years and Bishop Diego High School for four years.  My son Ryan has developmental disabilities, ADHD, and a hearing impairment. He attends the Alpha Resource Center.  Ryan lives in his own apartment in Santa Barbara with a full time caregiver. My husband Doug is retired. He comes and helps our class with reading groups three days a week so you may see him from time to time. 

I am very happy to be teaching first grade again this year.  I think it is probably the most important year of elementary school as so many reading skills are introduced.  We will be doing a tremendous amount of reading this year, as a great deal of the first grade curriculum is devoted to language arts.  I look forward to a successful year working with you and your child.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will be using the Houghton Mifflin reading series this year.  This series has a well-balanced approach to the teaching of reading.  We will be learning phonics and spelling on a daily basis as well as reading excellent full-length stories from the best of children’s literature. At first we will be reading stories as a group.  There are songs to read aloud, poems to read together, and independent reading stories.  There are ten themes in this series.  The first few stories contain words that are easily decodable, mostly short “A” words or short “I” words, for example. The series contains five hard-cover readers.  Your child will bring one of these books home to read with you, almost every week. 

Poem A Week Program 

In first grade we learn a new poem every week.  These are usually seasonal.  In September we learn poems about friends, and because of our “Rainbow Club” poems about colors.  In October we learn Halloween poems, November Thanksgiving poems, etc.  Each child has a notebook in which to keep the poems.  We glue the poem into our book and illustrate it every week. The children have this poem to read and try to learn as part of their homework as well.  Some of the poems are memorized and some are not.  We have posters of most of the weekly poems up on the classroom board.

The Rainbow Readers

These are leveled materials from pre-primer to sixth grade level.  The children can choose from many books on their level for reading during reading center time, before school begins in the morning, and for homework.   They can provided challenge or remediation, as needed.  The books are color coded by level.  There will be several levels of books available at any given time.  As the year progresses new levels of books can be added to the collection.  

We use the Modern Curriculum Press Phonics series as an additional phonics resource so our students have an excellent foundation in phonics. 

We visit the computer lab twice each week with a focus on writing our own stories and using computer games that reinforce reading and phonics skills. 

In our Scott Foresman science series the children study four modules; Life Science (plants and animals), The Human Body (The five senses, teeth, nutrition, growing and changing, staying healthy) Physical Science (solids, liquids, gasses, sound and light,) and Earth Science (The earth, weather, the sky). This series includes many hands on activities and experiments to make science come alive for the children. 

In social studies we learn about ourselves and what makes us special, our families and homes, our community, and the diversity of people.  We talk about our school, our town, our country, and our world. Map skills are introduced.  We learn about special Americans like John Chapman, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr.  

Religion is incorporated into many parts of our day.  We begin and end each day with prayer and participate in Morning Prayer with the school after each morning recess.  In our religion lessons we will be talking about:  God our good father and how much he loves us, Jesus our Savior and special gifts he has given us, Jesus as a child, the teachings of Jesus, our Catholic Church, Baptism, the Mass, the Holy Spirit, and events in the liturgical year such as Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.  We learn about Mary and pray a decade of the Rosary each day during October and May.  We will also listen to many stories from the Bible. 

We attend morning Mass once each week with a buddy class.  You are welcome, and encouraged, to attend with us.  What a wonderful way to start our day!  Each week, the children learn a scripture verse.  We have this verse on our whiteboard all week and practice saying the verse in class.  We discuss the meaning of the verse and how it applies to our lives.  Sometimes we learn the verse in song, illustrate the verse, or write the verse in our writing journals. The children have the verse to study at home as part of their religion homework.  You will find the verse in our “First Grade Friends” newsletter each Monday.  The first week of each month, you will receive a card with all the scripture verses for the month.  You can also find the verse on our first grade website. We participate in the monthly school liturgies and prayer services.                 

Our math series is published by Houghton Mifflin.  This series is based on California State Math  Standards.  The children learn many problem-solving skills, along with basic facts. We will be learning to: recognize and make patterns, sort by different attributes, add and subtract numbers to twenty using different strategies, read, write, and sequence numbers to 100 plus, work with estimation and probability, recognize and name many two and three dimensional shapes, measure with standard and non-standard units, count pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, tell time to the half hour, and learn about place value.  Math centers develop math skills with hands on materials like pattern blocks, unifix cubes, counters such as jewels, buttons and plastic animals, dot markers, geometric blocks, and geoboards. We will do daily calendar work involving many math activities.  There will be math practice homework every week.  The math homework will usually consist of several review concepts that you will want to discuss with your child and one page with a few practice problems. 

There is a CD Rom available of our math book.  This can be checked out for your use at home.  Please let me know if you are interested in this.                                                                   

Your child will have several folders in first grade.  We use them as follows:

1.     Daily work folder.  This is for any work we do at school that is not graded.  You will often find drawings, workbook pages, coloring pages, etc., in this folder.  It should come home every day and be returned to school the following day.  Please clean out this folder daily and return it to school empty.  Your child should put this folder in their desk when they come to school in the morning.

2.     Homework folder.  This will come home every Monday.  In this folder you will find the homework for the week, the word list for the week, any work that has been graded, and a “First Grade Friends” newsletter.  About once every five or six weeks, you will find book orders in this folder.  All homework should be returned IN the folder on Friday. 

3.     Plastic Folder.  The oldest child in each family at school gets these.  This comes from the office every Tuesday.  All news from the office, emergency information, etc. is in this folder.  It is important to check for the plastic folder from the office and read the information every Tuesday.  Return the plastic folder on Wednesday.

4.     Plastic reading folder, red project folder, blue math folder.  These folders hold our current units of study in each subject.  All of these folders should stay at school. If one of these colored folders should come home please send it back to school without completing the work inside. 

All first graders are expected to be in proper uniform.  This includes socks worn above the ankle, and uniform sweaters or sweatshirts.  No fingernail polish should be worn to school.  Children should not wear bracelets or rings to school.  A necklace with a cross or religious medal is allowed.  Only small, post-type earrings may be worn by girls.  Please, no hoop earrings for safety reasons.  Girls should wear jumpers or skorts. Shoes must be in navy, black or white with a minimum of trim.   The first grade children wear their P.E. uniform to school every Tuesday and Thursday.  It is especially important to wear an athletic shoe on Tuesday and Thursday even when using a free dress pass.  

Please make sure that all of your child’s uniforms are labeled with your child’s name: jumpers, blouses, pants, shirts and especially sweaters and sweatshirts.  These items are lost every year and it is almost impossible to return them to the rightful owner if they are not labeled.

First Grade Grading Scale

Much of our work in first grade is not graded, such as work we completed as a class or practice work.  Some reading workbook pages, some math pages and all math tests, all spelling tests, and some writing will be graded.  The grading scale is as follows:

O= Outstanding work, exceeds expected standards, is done neatly, correctly and completely.

G =Good work, meets expected standards. Work is above average.  With few exceptions work is correct and complete.

S = Satisfactory work, work meets expected standards for this grade level.  It may contain a few incomplete items or mistakes.  Work shows average effort.

N = Needs time to meet grade level expectations.  Work may be messy, have several mistakes or be incomplete.

I encourage you to go over your child’s work with him/her, but I would not emphasize grades with a first grader.  We are working to do our best, not to be the best. If there is a lot of unfinished work you may want to have your child complete the work at home.  Unless it is noted otherwise, you do not need to return unfinished work to me. 

The policy for drop off in the morning is as follows:

1.    Walk your child to the classroom and say “Good-bye”.  The children should come into the room and:

2.    Take folders, lunch, and any needed supplies, out of backpack.

3.    Put lunchbox on the shelf in the coat closet.

4.    Hang pack on hook with their number.

5.    Put folders in appropriate places.

6.    Put a star in attendance pocket.

7.    Begin morning work.

Afternoon Pickup:

Children will wait in the classroom for a designated person to pick them up.  You will fill out a form listing the people who have permission to pick up your child.  One of these people must come to the door of the classroom and get your child.  If your child will be going home with someone not on this list you must send a note to school granting this permission. Children attending after school care will be picked up at our door by an after school care  worker. 

The children are responsible for bringing their own snacks to school.  We have snack together every morning at 10:15 and I strongly encourage you to send a healthy snack every day, including pizza day.  Please make sure your child knows what the snack is so the entire lunch is not eaten at snack time.  It would be helpful to pack the snack in a separate bag, at least for the first part of the year. 

At the end of each school day two children are chosen to be one of the “Star Students.”   Children who have demonstrated kindness, helpfulness, good listening etc. are chosen to receive this award and will be given the opportunity to choose a classroom library book to take home.  They bring the books home in “The Star Student Bag.”  Please try to find time to read this book with your child as a reward for having a great day in school.  The bag should be returned the next day.  If you have not had time to read the book yet, you may keep it for a few days. 

If you would like me to pass out birthday invitations Monday or Tuesday is best, so they can go home in the homework folder or the plastic folder.  You may only pass out invitations at school if all the girls, or all the boys, or the whole class is invited. This is to prevent hurt feelings on the part of someone who may not be invited.  Please check with me first if you want to send a birthday treat. 

In first grade we have a special program called “Spotlight” Each child will have one week this year to be “in the spotlight.” Together with your child you will need to make a poster with pictures of your child and his or her family. Your child can illustrate it.  A 22”x28” piece of poster paper works fine. Please send the poster on Monday so it can hang on the bulletin board all week.  On Friday afternoon the children share their Spotlight poster with the class and all the children in the class share something they like about the spotlight child.  All the children look forward to their special week.   You will receive the Spotlight schedule the third week of school.

The most important homework in first grade is reading practice.  There will be a list of sight words to study each week.  On Wednesday there will usually be a story to read from our reader.  There will be math practice work, and spelling words to study.  The total time for homework should be no more than thirty minutes, including reading.  At the beginning of the year most children will require assistance with their reading. 

Because I feel that homework is such an important learning tool I have developed the following homework plan for my class:

1.     All homework for the week will be sent home Monday in the folder marked “Homework Folder”.

2.     Assignments are given for Monday-Thursday, but may be completed ahead of time to allow for Scouts, soccer etc.

3.     Most homework is follow-up work and should be completed fairly independently.    Occasionally, there will be family homework assignments.

4.     Reading can be done with any family member including older siblings.

5.     Reading books will normally be sent home on Wednesday.  Please return the book to school on Thursday.

6.     Homework should be turned in on Friday, even if it is completed early. It should be returned in the homework folder.

Daily reading is the most important homework.  There will be a reading calendar sent home each week.  You are asked to write down the books you read with your child, or your child helps read to you.  As the children become independent readers time they spend reading by themselves may also be recorded on the calendar. 

Your child will have reading homework almost every day and this homework should take precedence over any other homework (math, spelling etc.) 

1.  

The children will probably need your help with reading homework at first.  There are several ways you can do this:

1.     Take turns reading words or sentences.

2.     Have your child read the beginning sound for a word and you read the rest.

3.     Have your child read the words he/she can and you read the rest.

4.     You read the sentence first, and then give your child a turn. 

5.     Take turns reading pages with your child. 

6.     Review the word list first, and then read the story.

7.     Try to make reading as fun and non-stressful as possible.  Do not expect your child to get it perfectly. Learning to read takes a lot of time and patience.

Every week the children will have a word list to study at home.  These words should be read to a family member each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Often there will be sentences to read and/or illustrate.  

We have five color-coded rules in first grade.  They are called “Our Rainbow of Rules”:  We will work together to write the rules when school begins.  Sample rules include: 

1.    Red rule: Keep your hands and feet to yourself

2.    Orange rule:  Be kind.

3.    Yellow rule: Be safe.

4.    Green rule: Listen.

5.    Blue: Respect our things.

If the children break a rule, they put a card, the color of the rule broken, in their attendance pocket.  If they get two cards, they will have a short time out.  Three cards will warrant a longer time out.  If there are four cards or serious infractions, such as biting or kicking, the child will be sent to the office and a conduct referral may be issued.

Children will be rewarded for positive behavior by putting a star card in their attendance pocket.  The class may earn marbles in a jar for positive behavior as well.  When the marble jar is full we have a class treat, such as short video, special erasers, popsicles etc.

In first grade we really focus on positive behavior.  Most days your child will probably earn at least two stars in their pocket.  One star will be the star they put in for attendance when they come to school in the morning.  Other stars may be earned for being a good listener, lining up quietly, helping others, cleaning up materials, or even answering a question.

There will probably be times this year when you have questions or concerns that you need to talk about with me.  I am almost always at school until at least 3:30 and would be very happy to meet with you when all the children are picked up. I am very vigilant about checking my email and am happy to answer questions you may have via email.  Because it is difficult to ensure the confidentiality of email communication, no personal information about your child will be conveyed through email.  If there is a problem you need to discuss I would prefer to do that over the phone or in person.  

If you cannot meet in the afternoon I will be happy to schedule a phone conference.  There will be formal conferences in November for every family and additional conferences can be scheduled as needed.  You are also welcome to email me at mallard@straphaelschoolsb.org

http://teacherweb.com/CA/StRaphaelSchool/MargaretAllard/  is our class website address.

You can also access this site by going to the St. Raphael School site.  Click on teacher links, then first grade. I update this site every week, usually on Sunday.  It has our weekly newsletter, our spelling words, poem of the week, scripture verse, calendar information, and more!