Welcome to 1st Grade! I am excited about having your child in my class this
year. I know that working together, we can have a great year!
The following will information will help explain our class procedures and
policies:
FISH PHILOSOPHY (CLASS RULES)
Yes, Something “fishy” is going on around Madisonville Elementary…. It’s
the “Fish for Schools” Program! This wonderful character and community-
building program is based on four basic principals:
1. Be there – be an active participant, not just a spectator; focus on the
task at hand
2. Choose your attitude – as the old saying goes, “your attitude will
determine your altitude”
3. Play – have fun at work, home, and school
4. Make their day – bring a little “sunshine” into someone else’s day
We will be learning more about how these four principles can help us make
every day a successful one!
REWARDS
Students will receive various things as rewards for positive behavior!
Everything from encouragement and praise, to prizes and privileges!
CONSEQUENCES
•Control time- Students are asked to take a short break from our activities
and return to their desk if they are having difficulty following our
established rules. This is not time out, it’s Thinking Time.
•Note Home- Parents will be notified of the significant and/or consistent
poor behavior choices by a written note home.
•Conference about choices- The time spent in class addressing misbehavior
is time lost. A brief conference between student and teacher regarding
behavior choices will occur.
DAILY COMMUNICATION LOG
I (they) will write his/her daily behavior grade on their daily communication
log. Please initial it daily as well as discuss with them the “word of the
day”. This will help your child discuss something special we did or learned
about each day.
*** Grades will be:
Green = E
Blue = S
Yellow = S-
Red = N (Parent letter will be sent home.)
TAKE HOME FOLDERS
Your child will bring home their Take Home Binder each school day. Please
check this binder each evening and look for checked daily work, school
newsletters, homework, miscellaneous community announcements, field trip
permission notes, important notes from the PTA or the office. Please review
and remove all necessary paper work ASAP (i.e. completed classwork) . This
will help to keep your child organized and provide a better school/home
connection. Homework should be returned in the front of their binder, as
well as any information that needs to be returned to the office/class. (Any
work, letters, or skill pages put on the rings in the binder should remain
there.)
HOMEWORK
•Homework is a useful tool that helps your child review material we
cover in class.
•Worksheets, projects, learning games, etc. will be sent home as
needed throughout the year. Please check over any written assignments your
child completes at home for errors – it is a good way to see what we are
learning and how well your child understands. ** Please sign all completed
homework to show that it has been reviewed at home.
READING
In their Take Home binder, your child will bring home his/her reading
information each night. This section will contain the unit reading
vocabulary words as well as weekly stories. Please listen to your child’s
reading each night and ask questions about what they have read. It is
especially beneficial to review previous weeks’ reading assignments to build
fluency. (This means select a previously studied group of work and listen to
see how much they have retained and how smoothly they are reading aloud. )
V.I.P FOLDERS – Very Important Papers
A VIP folder will be sent home every Tuesday (beginning in a few weeks).
The papers in this folder are the ones that have been recorded in the grade
book. Please review the papers, return them in the folder, and sign the
cover sheet on the appropriate date. If you have any questions or concerns,
please attach a note to the outside of the folder so that I will find it
right away. V.I.P folders will not go home until the middle of the first
nine weeks.
GRADING POLICY-
This will be discussed at Open House.
CURRICULM RESOURCES
Reading-We are reading from the McMillan McGraw-Hill reading book and using
the St. Tammany Parish Guaranteed Curriculum. We will have reading practice
every night Monday – Thursday.
Language Arts- Our writing instruction is a program titled Write From the
Beginning. It is a program the entire parish has adapted.
Math-Our math source is the parish-written Guaranteed Curriculum, which
includes Math Investigations. Our math book is published by Scott Foresman.
We also use the program, Everyday Math Counts.
ACCELERATED READER
Accelerated Reader (AR) is an exciting computer program that enhances reading
comprehension. A student will first select and read a book of his/her own
choosing from our school or class library. After reading the selected book at
least 3 times, the student will take a short comprehension
test on the computer. Points are awarded for correct answers and the points
are added to the student’s total score.
BOOK ORDERS
Book clubs such as Scholastic offer great books at low prices. In addition,
our class receives “bonus points” for every dollar spent. These points are
used to purchase books and materials for the classroom. When book orders are
sent home, you will have several days to turn in your order. Book orders
are always due on the Friday of the week it is given out. Please make your
book order checks (NO CASH, please) payable to Madisonville Elem. Orders
usually arrive 2 weeks after the class order has been mailed.
BIRTHDAYS
Invitations to a party can be given out at school only if all the students
are invited. We can not give out addresses. If you want to send a treat for
your child to share with classmates, please send cupcakes or individual
snacks (please not whole cakes). Any drinks must be in individual
containers. Please drop the items off at the office so we can get them when
we are ready.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
If at any time, you feel a conference would be beneficial, please call the
office to schedule an appointment. Teachers do not schedule appointments;
they must be made through the office.
EXTRAS
Literacy Learning Stations- Students are trained how to effectively work
together as partners at designated learning stations. These stations are
designed to be a “hands on – minds on” way of practicing skills that we are
learning. Please ask your child to explain work station products that they
bring home.
Home Projects-
Home projects are assignments that I send home with your child to complete
as a family. They are often based around a theme in which we are learning, a
special event, and/or an upcoming holiday. These projects are given with
plenty of time to complete at home and then the students bring them in to
share with their classmates. They are often displayed in the classroom
and/or hallway and they are just a fun way for the family to work together on
a project that represents the child's creative ideas. I have had lots of
positive feedback from previous classes that have done these projects...I
think you will enjoy
them, too!
Class,Teacher, and School Information
You can look up school menus, the AR reading list, important dates and
information, website links, plus pictures of our wonderful school and
students! Our website is http://madisonvillleelmentary.stpsb.org. My
email address is gina.penn@stpsb.org.
I check my email at least once daily (usually more often). This is the
easiest way of contacting me and I will respond to you as quickly as
possible. Written notes from home will be answered the day that they are
received.
I'm looking forward to a very special year!
Mrs. Penn
