Welcome
Welcome to Room 102. We are a community of learners who are working
hard to become academic risk-takers and to make progress in reading, writing,
communication, mathematics, and science. In addition, we are focusing on
how to become more independent, more organized, and more self-sufficient.
We understand that we learn from mistakes. We understand that we are not
just learning facts and figures; we are learning how to think, how to be
flexible, and how to look at things from a different perspective. We also
learn how to better communicate our understanding and how to solve our problems.
In Room 102 we have three rules: We Show Respect, We Make Good Decisions,
and We Solve Problems.
Homework
Homework is an important element of your child's educational experience.
It is not an optional component of the experience.
Homework packets are sent home on a daily basis. These packets are
designed to document each student's reading experience and to provide meaningful
experiences to adequately support classroom learning. First grade homework
should consist of 10 minutes of task work and problem-solving and 20 minutes of
focused reading every evening. You may expect that your child will have
between 5 and 10 minutes of Every Day Mathematics task work, and a selection of
higher-level thinking experiences, puzzles, and other activities that will "fill
out" the remainder of your child's daily homework expectation.
You will be asked to participate in these homework activities from time to time.
Please enjoy the activity and initial the homework to indicate you have assisted
in the activity. Children who do not return their daily homework packet
will be afforded the opportunity of completing a new packet during recess.
From time to time, your child may be asked to write in a journal at home.
Eventually, these journals are to be returned at the beginning of each week.
Children who do not complete their homework journals will be asked to do so
during in-school choice time. These journals will be used in flexible ways
that enhance your child's educational experience.
All at-home reading must also be recorded on the monthly reading calendar
provided by our librarian, Ms. Canning. These calendars MUST
be returned by the first Monday of every new month. Please expect a phone
call or an e-mail message from me, should your child overlook the importance of
returning this calendar.
The amount of homework your child completes will vary, depending on each
child's skill level, energy level, and surrounding distractions. If
unforeseen events should happen, please notify me so we can explore
alternatives to ensure your child remains current with his/her homework
commitment.
Weekly Packets, Gazettes, and Home
Communications
You can expect your child to give you a
weekly packets filled with important classroom information, requests, needs,
and additional information EVERY Wednesday. In addition, you will
receive periodic publications from the Stevens PTA and Office. All of
these important documents are sent to you in a bright purple folder.
Please plan on spending a few moments every Wednesday examining these
documents and return your child's "purple folder" by the next morning.
You will also receive a mix of e-mail messages from me. Some will be
daily updates of learning and some will be weekly publications discussing
classroom learning, classroom needs, and providing information on
events such as field trips, school-wide traditions, and unique classroom
experiences. A paper form will be sent in the purple folder to
those who prefer not to get it electronically.
Volunteers
We would like to thank our generous parents for their time, energy, and
efforts in Room 102. We use volunteers for a variety of purposes and can
find a position that will fit your needs, your skills, your talents, and your
interests.
An Open Letter to Parents and Caregivers
First grade is first rate!
Our school days are filled with learning, learning refinements, and, learning
how to begin making choices about what and how we learn. Making
responsible choices can be a difficult skill to master. Still, school is a
bit more than academics. We are working to create scholars with a sound
academic background and the ability to make decisions, solve problems, and think
about their choices. This is what we call a “reflective learner.”
Reflective learners tend to be more invested in their progress and more willing
to explore through taking academic risks. Most of us now have a basic
skill-set for academics in first grade. Now we will be working to enhance
these skills to provide a springboard for second grade. Indeed, learning in
first grade is a springboard for all future learning.
If a child feels capable of being a partner in their learning in first grade,
it is likely these positive school-to-self connotations will continue throughout
their entire academic experience.
I think we can agree that part of learning involves making mistakes or
falling a bit short on perfection. When this happens, we simply return to
the mastered basics and rework our approach. The important thing for
everyone on your child’s “team” to know –that is your child, you, me, and anyone
else who offers academic and life support—is that we want to have an overall
forward motion in academics and in personal growth. Perhaps a slip back,
but then make a stride forward.
I genuinely believe each child is gifted. However, many of us need
lessons in how to be a bit more self-disciplined. This means we need to
explore how to exceed the bare minimum expectations. We need to explore
what interests us and what makes us unique. We need to realize that we are
a part of a larger community and that our actions can enrich the whole group.
We need to learn how to “stick-to” a task until it is completed. Once
finished, we can consider whether we would want to take that task on in the same
way or if it might be best to alter our approach.
As you are participating in your child’s learning, ask them to think about
things from another perspective. Wonder out loud if there is anything else
they can do to make a project more interesting, more colorful, more reflective
of their unique perspective. For example, we have a class member who has
regularly transformed her writing homework into some pretty amazing poetry.
Should every child try this? Maybe or maybe not. Some children might
start to research an animal. Another might start seeing that baking is
really about math and measuring. Still another might begin to appreciate
the geometry and shapes found on a athletic field.
If your child is routinely writing in 3 to 4 word sentences, we will ask
them to start adding descriptive language. Is their handwriting
legible? Are they using the spelling rules we practice each week in
their writing? Start using some of their vocabulary challenge words in
your conversations with them. Ask them what a word means, and then
revisit them in your your conversation with your family throughout the week.
Language is flexible and dynamic -- explore how to find, and use, words that
convey information in a creative way. Do you "like" something so much
that you "adore" it? Perhaps you simply "appreciate" it.
Do you feel "happy?" Or is it that you are "delighted," or
"enthusiastic," or "amused." Enjoy language with your child. It
needs not be done rigidly, rather, it can be done in a most natural way
when you are enjoying your time together
Play games – anything came be a game. Enjoy artistic endeavors
even, or especially, if you do not feel particularly artistic. Try a
new sport. Work a puzzle or problem to completion. Listen to
some music you are unaccustomed to. Discuss a situation from a perspective
that is not necessarily yours. Invent a solution to a personal or global
problem. Do a simple good deed or make a full-fledged community. service
project. Admit to a short-coming, accept a complement, or face a fear with
grace and fortitude. Do something you have never done before.
Be silly or serious, but remember, your child will learn from your every
reaction. Give up in a huff, the lesson learned will be that “hard
stuff” can be left unappreciated or ignored with indignation.
Work your way through a difficult task with laughter and follow-through—a
very different lesson is learned.
We are asking students to explain their answers. In Room 102, you will
frequently hear “I agree with your answer, but how did you get it?” You
will also hear, “Is there another way of thinking about this?” Many of us
genuinely agree that there are a multitude of approaches to a similar outcome.
We are coming to understand that different approaches can be helpful. For
example, a single number can be represented in a rich variety of ways --
5=five=cinco=2+3=1+4=5x1=100-95=1+1+1+1+1=nickel=5
This seems like pretty heady stuff, but all we are doing is encouraging our
first graders to work from another angle….one that they discover interests
them. It is pretty unlikely that this angle will be found in the first
foray into their personal exploration. Instead, it will be found after
practicing, after trying a number of things, after many discussions with
you, their entire family, their friends, their neighbors, and with me.
So go and explore learning with your child. Celebrate the
"home-runs," honor the "near-misses," and take note of the "complete strike
outs"...awareness is a part of learning. Be warned, explorations cause
wrinkles...on the brain! These are wrinkles we want andwe can rest assured
that "new wrinkles" will soon fill all of our heads.
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