This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
Many of your questions can be answered by reading
our First Grade Survival Guide.
- What is the Book of the Month?
- What is the Million Words Campaign?
- How does my child make up any missed assignments due to an absence?
- On which days does my child have their specials classes?
- How do I order from the Scholastic Book Clubs?
- What is the best way to reach Miss Romero?
- What are A.C.E. awards?
- Can I provide a treat for the class to celebrate my child's birthday?
- What are thinking caps?
- Do you allow parents to visit your classroom during the school day?
- Can parents help on a regular basis in the classroom?
- Why can't I skip my twenty minutes of reading tonight?
What is the Book of the Month?
"In every America's Choice elementary and middle school, a
book is read to every student in the school each month. You will
learn about the Book of the Month in a letter from the principal.
Schools choose books that convey powerful messages about the
importance of family, the need to respect others, or telling the
truth. Students discuss each book in their classrooms. They write
about the book, reacting to its story and relating it
to their own lives." - from A Parent's Guide to America's
Choice
What is the Million Words Campaign?
This year your child has the responsibility of reading 25 books
(more in the lower grades). Much of this reading will be done at
home so that the school hours are used to concentrate on
schoolwork. Children will record information about the books they
read in their Reading Records or Book Logs.
What to read at home:
The books that your child will be reading as part of the 25 Books
Campaign are supposed to be easy to read. Why easy? These books
are to be read for pleasure. We want children to have fun reading
them, to dig into them and not want to put them down until each
book is finished. If children read books that are too difficult,
they will not be able to stick with them. They
will be frustrated and will put the books down, unread. We need
your help in making sure that your child is finding books that
are easy and fun for him or her to read.
- from A Parent's Guide to America's Choice
How does my child make up any missed assignments due to an absence?
When your child is absent, their homework or other missed
assignments are dated and stamped with a special stamp then
placed in their mailbox. When your child returns they are to
check their mailbox to retrieve their work.
They will have the same number of days that they were absent to
complete and return the work to be scored.
On which days does my child have their specials classes?
Students have specials everyday from 1:45 pm to 2:30 pm, except
for Wednesdays. Specials include music, P.E., library,
counseling, and computer lab.
How do I order from the Scholastic Book Clubs?
A flyer for the book clubs is sent home each month with our
monthly class newsletter. Parents have the option of ordering
online with our special username and password or ordering through
the flyers.
What is the best way to reach Miss Romero?
I can be reached at Pajarito Elementary School by sending a note
with your child or you may leave a message at (505) 877-9718. E-
mail can be sent to romero_bev@yahoo.com or romero_bev@aps.edu.
Please understand that a response may not be received immediately
due to various duties which I may be assigned; however, you will
get a response as soon as possible. Please let me know about any
situation or concern, so it can be handled in a timely manner.
What are A.C.E. awards?
To help promote positive behavior, students may receive an ACE
award, which stands for Academic, Citizenship, and Effort Award
for exhibiting outstanding behavior in any of the 3 areas. When a
student receives one, he/she writes his/her name on the ticket
and places it in a box.
At the end of the week, two tickets are drawn from the box and
each student chosen will pick a special prize. The more tickets
that are earned by a particularstudent, the best chance they have
of having their name drawn.
Can I provide a treat for the class to celebrate my child's birthday?
We do celebrate birthdays very simply with finger foods:
brownies, cupcakes, or cookies. The date and time must be
arranged with Miss Romero at least 2 days in advance. Please no
cakes or party favors. If your child's birthday is in the summer
or day off, I suggest that an "unbirthday" day is selected
during the year when we do not have another birthday.
What are thinking caps?
On assessment days, students will be asked to wear a special hat
during our test. These will be known as our "Thinking Caps"
and will be worn only on these special days. This helps ease some
of the stress that may come with test taking. A reminder will be
sent home the day before the test or you can check our monthly
newsletter for a list of test dates on our calendar.
Do you allow parents to visit your classroom during the school day?
We do have an open door policy. If you would like to help with a
special event we are having or just come in to see what is going
on, just send a note to me in advance, so we can set up an
appropriate time.
Please note that we will take advantage of an extra adult in the
classroom and you will most likely be asked to help. It is
difficult to help when non-school aged children are accompanying
you, so I must ask that you volunteer in our classroom when you
are able to leave little ones with a sitter.
Thanks for your help with this.
Can parents help on a regular basis in the classroom?
If you would like to volunteer in school (on a regular basis or
just periodically) or aide our class by doing work at home,
please let me know when you are available. We are always looking
for people willing to help us with filing, cutting, putting up
and taking down work in the hallway, putting packets together,
sorting homework, etc., as well as parents willing
to work with students- helping to exchange home reading books,
small group monitoring, reading aloud to small groups, working
one-on-one with a child, and so on. The more hands involved in
your child's education the more successful our endeavors will
be! Please visit our "Volunteers Needed" page on this website
for more information.
Why can't I skip my twenty minutes of reading tonight?
Let's figure it out -- mathematically!
Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins./week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school
days a year.
Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading
practice.
By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these
same reading habits,
Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days
Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.
One would expect the gap of information retained will have
widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school
performance. How do you think Student B will feel about
him/herself as a student?
Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in
school....and in life?
Which student would you like your child to be?
