Welcome to Sarah Smith first grade! My name is Annie Cecil. I am
really looking forward to working with you and your child this year. I
taught school in Gwinnett County for ten years (three years in Kindergarten
and seven years in first grade). This will be my eighth year teaching first
grade at Sarah Smith.
I have many exciting things planned for this year. I enjoy working with
parents as a team to do what is best for the students. The school day is
from 8:00-2:30. Please try to have your child at school by 7:50 am each
day. I have attached a schedule of our day so that you can better
understand what we are doing in school. I will go over all of this
information in detail at the Open House on Thursday, August 27th. Please
mark your calendars and plan to attend!
When it is your childs birthday we would love for you to send in a special
snack! You are welcome to do this at the end of the day at 2:00. This will help us stay on schedule and also
enjoy a small celebration. Since young children do not understand and feel
left out if they do not receive a birthday party invitation, no party
invitations are to be given out at school unless everyone is included.
Thanks for your help.
We will have snack time each morning at 9:55 am. Please send a nutritious
snack from home. No drinks please. The students will be able to have water
from the fountain.
Your child will have homework Monday through Thursday. Homework will
consist of work that reinforces the skills taught at school in Math,
Language Arts, Social Studies or Science. Some of it may require your help,
but most homework will be something your child can complete independently.
He needs to return the work the following day. I will not assign grades to
this work but I will record that it was completed and turned in on time.
Thank you for helping your child with this responsibility.
You will receive weekly reports on Friday each week. These reports will
give you a general idea of things your child needs to work on at home, as
well as let you know the areas in which your child is excelling. Please
sign and return this weekly report form on Monday. I will also send home a
class newsletter every other Friday to keep you up to date on the events in
our room. On Thursdays I send home any necessary discipline cards to be
reviewed and signed by you. Our classroom website is a wonderful way to
stay in touch with things happening in our room. Please check it often for
important dates and information. www.sarahsmithpta.com
The children and I will generate our classroom rules during the first week
of school. Starting the second week of school, if a rule is broken, I will
follow these steps:
1. Verbal warning
2. Time out (if necessary)
3. If a child continues to break a rule he will be given a check on his
card.
Each child has a library pocket that contains a blank index card. If rules
are broken, they are listed on the card with the date. These cards will
always come home on Thursdays if your child has had difficulty during the
week. If a card does not come home for you to sign, your child had no
problems at school that week and was able to treasure shop as a reward!
If a child receives three or more checks on his card, he or she will have to
miss our Fun Friday activity for that week. I appreciate your support
with this plan. I know that by creating our rules together, and by working
to implement them as a group, we will not have many problems.
During the first two weeks of school, the students and I will be working on
rules, routines, and one-on-one assessments. By creating a structured yet
comfortable atmosphere in our room, I will be able to understand each
childs abilities and plan accordingly for the months to come. Once each
student is properly evaluated, we will get down to business!
I look forward to getting to know your child. If you have any questions,
please feel free to call, write, or send an e-mail. Thank you in advance
for your support!
School phone: 404-802-3850
E-mail at home anniececil@comcast.net
E-mail at school acecil@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Web Page www.sarahsmithpta.com