Parent Orientation Packet

Information for Miss Collins’s First Grade Class

Laura Collins
email: [email protected]

Conference Time: 1:45-2:45

Start Time:

 Drop-off time is between 7:30-8:00am.
Kindergarten & 1st grade will go to the cafeteria and sit at the table with our
class name.

 At 7:50am the students may begin walking to the classroom.
They will not be allowed in the halls or classroom before 7:50.

 School begins at 8:00am. A student is considered tardy if they are not present at
8:00am. If they arrive after 8:00 they will have to go to the office to get a tardy
slip.

 Please make dental and doctor appointments after 10:30 if at all possible.
 If you need to check your child out early you must go through the office and

provide photo ID.

Dismissal:

 Dismissal is at 3:00pm
If you are picking up your child at parent pick-up or carpool, please put the
signs in the car window and follow the WLE traffic guidelines.

 If there is inclement weather (rain or extreme cold), dismissal will be from inside
the building. If there is lightning, parents will proceed through pick-up lines,
park, and walk up to the door to get your child.

 If there is a change in your child’s after school transportation, please send me a
note in their Take Home folder or call the office. If you email, I cannot guarantee
to see it on time.

Attendance:

 Please let me know if your child will be absent by note or email.
 Please make sure your child’s emergency information card includes any

individuals who would ever pick up your child. If they are not on the form, the
office cannot dismiss your child. That person will need to show a photo ID.
 Our school day is jam packed with learning. It is crucial that they do not miss
instructional time.

Lunch:

 Prices for lunch are as follows:

Student- $2.65, Adult- $3.40, Milk- $ .75, Juice- $ .50

 If your child is purchasing lunch please send the cash/check in a ziplock bag or

envelope with your child’s name, teacher’s name, grade, and amount on the outside.

 You can also access your child’s lunch account online where you can check your

account and deposit money easily. Contact the office for the form and your child’s

number.

 Your child may buy snacks daily and ice cream on Friday. Ice cream is 80 cents.

 You are welcome to eat with your child. Be sure to sign in to the office. You must

sit at the guest table and your child is allowed to choose one friend from our class

to sit with them. Please wait in the office until our scheduled time if you arrive

early.

 On early release days the school lunch will be a “grab and go” sack lunch. We

encourage parents to send a lunch from home on early release days.

Checks:

 Any checks made out to Willis Lane must have DRIVERS LICENSE # AND
BIRTHDATE.

Snacks:

 Students may bring a nutritious snack and water each day. Snacks must be healthy
(dry only, no fruit cups or puddings please). It should be something that can be
eaten in 5-10 minutes. Please label water bottle with their first and last name. No
juice boxes please.

Birthdays:

 If you would like to send a treat for your child’s birthday, just let me know at
least a day in advance. You may not send in candy to celebrate your child’s
birthday.

 Birthday snacks are only allowed in the classroom and cannot be shared at lunch.
 Birthdays are celebrated at 1:15.
 Summer birthdays can be celebrated before school is released for summer break

or on their half birthday.

Birthday party invitations can only be distributed at school if the entire class is
invited or if only all the boys or all the girls are invited.

Extras:
 No toys are allowed at school.
 Remember to put names on jackets, backpacks, and lunch boxes.

Book Orders:

 Scholastic book orders will be sent home a couple times throughout the year. This
is a GREAT way to purchase books for home at a good price. You also help our
class early points for free books for the classroom!! 
Our classroom code is: P8JZC

 But wait!!! You don’t have to wait for a book order from school to be sent home to
order.

Visit scholastic.com and select reading club. You can then enter our classroom code
and begin shopping.

Medicine:

 All medicine must have a permission form and dosage information. The nurse will
administer all medications.

 Medicine must be in the prescription container provided by the pharmacy. The
container must have the physician’s name and the dosage on the label.

 Please do not send cough drops to school in your child’s backpack.

Daily Schedule:

8:00 – 8:15… Announcements/Wrangler Warm Up
8:15 – 8:30… Calendar Math
8:30 – 9:40… Math
9:40 – 10:25… Flex Time
10:25 – 11:10… Phonics/Reading
11:10 – 11:40… Lunch
11:40 – 12:10… Recess
12:10 – 1:15… Writing/Social Studies
1:15 – 1:45… Science
1:45 – 2:45… Co-Curr (Please see co-curr schedule)
2:45 – 3:00… Clean up, pack up, and stack up… Dismissal

Co-Curr:

 Remember to wear tennis shoes and girls should wear shorts under dresses.
 See schedule for P.E. days!

Testing:

 We will assess your child’s reading throughout the year by using the
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).

Grading:
 In first grade we do not give numerical grades. Grading is as follows:

o M (mastery)
o S (satisfactory)
o P (progressing)
o N (needs improvement)
o NA (not assessed)

 Fluency: 1st six weeks your child should be able to read at least 10 words per
minute.
2nd six weeks = 20 words per minute
3rd six weeks = 30 wpm
4th six weeks = 40 wpm
5th six weeks = 50 wpm
6th six weeks = 60 wpm

*** Fluency is not only how fast your child can
read but also their pacing and expression.

 Progress reports will come home only if your child has an N in a subject area.

Report Cards:

 Report cards can be viewed online at the end of every six weeks. You will need to
visit your Home Access Center to see these grades. You may request to have a
hard copy of your child’s report card sent home. A final report card will be sent
home the last six weeks of school.

 We will have a conference before the end of the 1st six weeks.

Red Take Home Folder:

 The plastic take home folder will be coming home every night and will be sent
back to school each morning.

 Inside the folder, you will find your child’s behavior calendar, any graded work,
unfinished work that needs to be completed, notes/flyers from the office or PTA,
etc.

 I know lives are busy, but by checking the folder every day and looking over the
papers inside, you will be teaching your child that school is important and that
their work is valuable.

 If you need to send anything to school with your child, please put it in their
folder. I will check their folder each morning.

Yellow Homework Folder/Home Reading:

 The most important thing your child can do to further his/her development is to
read. Reading will make up the majority of your child’s homework. I am asking
that your child be engaged in a reading activity for at least 20 minutes every
night.

 Reading activities can take many forms. They may read books of their choice to
you or to others in your family or you may just discuss a book you had read the
night before. Also use books from Reading Bingo.

 Some great ways to talk about a book includes discussing the character roles,
reviewing from beginning, middle, and end, asking your child to retell you the
story, or see if they have any connections from this book to others they have
read. All of these activities will further their comprehension and help them truly
understand the text.

 If you are ever looking for additional practice for your child at home, please do
not hesitate to use me as a resource. I’d be happy to put materials in your hands
for some at-home practice.

 There will be an occasional project that the student will complete. Information
will come home as it is assigned. Please let your child do the project.

 Your child will have homework weekly beginning week 3.
This will include:
o Fluency passage reading
o Word family practice
o Word wall words list- new words are added each week. All words are tested
at the end of each six weeks
o Math Menu- your child must complete two problems from the math menu each
week. At the end of the six weeks, the math menu will be collected & graded.

Newsletters:

 I will be e-mailing my weekly newsletter each week. I do not send home paper

copies of the newsletter beyond the first week of school. Please check it weekly
for reminders and dates.
Disclaimer: Teachers are busy bees and sometimes I do not send it out at the same
time every week. I try to send it by Monday afternoon but occasionally I might
send it Tuesday morning.

Behavior Policy:

 Our first grade team will be using the app called “Class Dojo” for our behavior

system this year. Along with Class Dojo the students will have an opportunity to
earn positive Behavior Beads.

How class Dojo works:

Students can earn points daily when they are spotted working hard, participating, working
quietly, and making good choices in class. Our goal is that students reach 100 points or very close
to it by the end of each six weeks. At the end of the six weeks the points are cleared and they will

start again working towards 100 points.

Please visit the Class Dojo website weekly to see how they are doing in school.
Review how they can work to earn points and behavior beads.

(You will be e-mailed information on how to access you child’s Class Dojo account shortly)

 In the event that your child has a difficult day (which we hope never happens)

there is the possibility of losing points. If they lose more than 1 point in a day
you will be notified through the behavior calendar in their red Take Home Folder.

The column next to the calendar indicates your child’s citizenship grade. Each time their folder is
signed, a box will be crossed off. This will allow you to track their grade for the 6 weeks.

*Your support at home makes a world of a difference at school. I can’t
thank you enough!

Helping Hands/Volunteers:

 Our classroom is in need of 2 room moms or dads to organize and plan our two

PTA holiday parties. However, first grade is a BUSY BUSY year and we could use
volunteers for many other things! I am looking for volunteers who could help out
at school or even at home.

o Classroom needs: cutting things out, assembling projects, laminating (must
be an approved laminator), and reading with students.

 All volunteers must complete the Keller ISD criminal background check which can

be found on the Keller ISD website.

Take a Kiss & Grant a Wish:

 I have a “giving tree” on the back table near the sink today. It includes various

items (all under $10) that we use throughout the school year. If you would like to
purchase one of these items for our classroom, it would be greatly appreciated. I
know you have purchased a tremendous amount of school supplies, so please do not
feel obligated to do so.

Thank you for your time and for sharing your children with me!