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 tenth 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 will go over all of this information in detail at the Open House on Wednesday, August 31st at 6:30pm. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend!
When it is your child’s birthday we would love for you to send in a special snack! You are welcome to do this immediately following lunch at 11:20 or at the end of the day at 1:50. 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.
Due to our early lunch time, we will have snack time each afternoon at 12:45. 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. Every three weeks we will complete a Junior Great Book story so there will be additional reading assigned. 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. After logging on to www.sarahsmithelementary.com click on the faculty tab and find my page.
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:
- Verbal warning
- Time out (if necessary)
- 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. I believe strongly in creating a “team/family” atmosphere in our room. This builds mutual respect for one another and leads to very few discipline 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 child’s 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.sarahsmithelementary.com