Class Handbook

WELCOME to MRS. PHINNEY'S FIRST GRADE CLASS

2020-2021 

I would like to welcome you and your child to my classroom! I am looking forward to working with each one of you this year! Below is information that will be helpful for you to know to make this year successful. Please take some time to read and familiarize yourself with the following information and then discuss it with your student. Feel free to contact me with any additional questions you may have.

 

Contact Information

WOHE phone number: 417-869-0600

My email address: ashleyphinney@willardschools.net

Class blog: mrsphinney.blogspot.com

Class Messages and Digital Work: Seesaw

District website: www.willardschools.net

 

Whole Brain Teaching & Kagan Cooperative Learning

This year you may notice that our classroom doesn’t run like other classrooms. We will be learning through Whole Brain Teaching and Kagan Cooperative Learning, both research based systems that utilize all areas of the brain, keep children engaged throughout their lessons, and helps them retain much more information than the standard lecture-discussion model.

Whole Brain Teaching is a highly interactive form of instruction that delivers information to students in short “chunks.” Kids then teach what they have just learned to their partners, using hand-gestures to help remember specific vocabulary.  While students teach each other, I walk around the room to discover who understands the lesson and who needs more instruction.

Kagan Cooperative Learning is a system of structures that the students learn that guarantee 100% engagement and promote learning through social interaction. Student participation in the sharing and learning involved in the structures, helps students take responsibility for the learning content and build their social skills in the process.

 

Through this instruction your child will have many opportunities to participate in class by discussing key topics and ideas with fellow students. At the same time students will utilize gestures that help them remember important information. Students will always be encouraged and never discouraged due to our unique "scoreboard" that celebrates positive behavior and encourages better behavior when we seem to be a bit off task. In a Whole Brain Teaching/Kagan classroom we are always supportive and never tear down! In fact, our classroom will be so upbeat and full of task-focused laughter that your child just might beg you to come to school.  With your support, we will provide your child with instructional methods that will work every part of his/her brain.

 

Research shows that children retain more information when they have an opportunity to put it into their own words and use gestures to emphasize key instructional units…plus, it’s amazingly fun! For more information about Whole Brain Teaching or Kagan

Cooperative Learning please contact me or go to www.WholeBrainTeaching.com or www.kaganonline.com.

 

Conscious Discipline

In order for each child to do his/her best learning and feel safe, it is crucial that individual and whole class behavior is well-managed. At the beginning of the year, we will discuss and practice the procedures for routines that students will participate in throughout the year. I will make my expectations of how students are to behave very clear. They will be expected to use their bodies and voices in ways that help keep everyone physically and emotionally safe. Students will commit to the following statements:

 

-I am going to use my watching eyes today.      

-I am going to use my listening ears today.

-I am going to use my gentle touch today.

-I am going to use my kind words today.

-I am going to be safe today.

 

These commitments have gestures that accompany them. Your child will be introduced to these during the beginning of school and will practice them regularly. These commitments are posted at the front of the classroom. 

 

To encourage a positive environment and positive behavior, our classroom will use many strategies from Conscious Discipline. This approach to discipline focuses on building a family-like environment and using students’ strengths to help them contribute to the group as well as teaching them the skills they need to help them where they may struggle. If your student is having trouble following the school expectations, we will focus on teaching them strategies that they can use to change this behavior and be in a better position to lean and be successful. As far as consequences, the emphasis will be on natural/logical consequences that fit the situation and connect to real-life situations. Because of this style of discipline as opposed to typical punitive, one-size-fits-all approach, it will require a lot of communication between school and families to help meet each individual student’s behavioral needs.

 

To help facilitate this communication, your student will have a daily behavior chart in their take home folder. They will either put a smiley face or star if they had a great day or a note explaining which expectation they had difficulty with that day.

 

Occasionally, your child will also bring home a special note recognizing what great job they have been doing at following the expectations and contributing to our school family! Please make sure to celebrate with your kiddo and reinforce their positive behavior.  If you would like to learn more about Conscious Discipline, please feel free to contact me or visit www.consciousdiscipline.com.

 

Drop-off/Pick-up Procedures

School starts promptly at 8:40 each morning.  Students will be released to the classroom starting at 8:20.  The tardy bell rings at 8:40 and all students arriving after this time will be counted tardy by the office.  Please make every effort to be on time every day. School is dismissed at 3:00 on Mondays and at 3:30 Tuesday-Friday. If your child needs to go home a different way than he/she normally does, I must have a note in the morning, or you must call the office. Please do not leave me a voicemail or e-mail, as I might not get to it until after the students have gone home.

 

Attendance:
It is extremely important that your child attends school consistently. Much of the work in first grade is hands-on learning that cannot be made up. If your child is going to be absent, please call the school to let us know. If your child is absent one day, I will send home any homework that needs to be completed. Please return it as soon as possible. In case of extended absences (more than 2 days), please arrange a time with me to pick up the missing work after 2:30 pm.

 

Lunch Money

If you send lunch money to school with your child please make sure you place this money in a sealed envelope with your child’s name, teacher’s name, and the amount enclosed in the envelope.  Place the lunch money in your child’s take home folder.  I check these every morning when your child arrives at school, and I will make sure the money makes it to the cafeteria.

 

Take Home Folder

Each child will have a folder that goes back and forth to school with them each day.  In this folder you will find important notes, your child’s work, tools for practicing skills at home, information about your child's progress, and your child’s behavior chart.  Please check these folders each night, take out what needs to stay at home, and send them back to school the next day. Also, please sign or initial your child’s behavior chart nightly.

 

WOHE Shirts

Every child in the school receives one free school t-shirt in their size. These shirts are centered on our theme for the year. There will be order forms sent home a couple of weeks into the school year that will give you an opportunity to order additional shirts for your child or for your family if choose to do so.  These shirts are worn on Fridays.

 

Newsletters

I will send home a weekly newsletter on Fridays.  The newsletter will contain an overview of what we will be learning the following week. I will also include a section with upcoming events and important dates.  This newsletter will also be uploaded to our classroom blog.

 

 

Mystery Friend & Star of the Week

To help get to know each other better, each Friday we will pick a “Mystery Friend” who will then become our “Star of the Week” the following week. For our Mystery Friend, I will use the “Star of the Week” sheet that you received at Meet the Teacher Night to give the class “clues” about the student. They will use these clues to see what they all have in common and then to guess who our Star of the Week will be. This is a great way for the students to connect with and get to know each other, and for your kiddo to shine in the spotlight during their week! When it’s your kiddo’s turn, they will get to be the line leader, display their poster, and bring a show and tell bag. Please make sure you and your kiddo fill out their Star of the Week paper and send it back ASAP so that they can enjoy this fun activity! I will let you know when their paper is chosen so that you know when they can bring in their show and tell bag.

 

Birthdays

If you would like to send treats for your child’s birthday, all you need to do is let me know ahead of time.  I will set aside time to celebrate your child’s birthday with the class.  If your child has a summer birthday, he or she can celebrate on the half birthday (i.e. July 27^th celebrates on Jan. 27^th). Please note that all birthday treats need to be store bought.

 

Book Orders

I will send book orders home approximately once a month.  If you would like to purchase books from the order, please send a check made out to “Scholastic” in an envelope along with the order form.  Please write your child’s name and total enclosed on the front of the envelope. The form will also be accompanied by a note giving instructions on how to order books online as well. If there is ever a time that you want the book order to be a surprise (i.e. birthday present or Christmas present) just enclose a note to me or email me, and I’ll let you know when the books have arrived.  We can then make arrangements to get them to you secretly!

 

Recess

We will have recess daily from 11:55 am-12:25 p.m. Please make sure your child dresses appropriately for the weather conditions.  We will go outside, weather permitting, if the temperature is above 30°F and the wind-chill is above 25°F.  In the case of extreme heat, we will go outside for only 10-15 minutes.   

      

Toys at School

Please do NOT allow your child to bring toys or other special items to school, as they could easily become misplaced or damaged and are often a distraction. If your child does bring toys or other personal items to school at an inappropriate time, I will keep those items safely in my desk until a parent arranges a time to come collect them.

 

Special Classes Schedule

Each day we will go to one of our “Specials” class.  We have 5 Specials classes in our building.  Those classes are:  Art, P.E., Music, Library and Computers.  I am providing our Special Class schedule for this year for your convenience. 

Monday – Art 

Tuesday – Music 

Wednesday – Library

 Thursday – PE

 Friday – Computers

 

Please make sure to wear appropriate shoes and clothing for physical activity. Coach likes for the kids to wear tennis shoes and easy to move in clothes.  For girls I would not suggest wearing a dress on P.E. day because there is a lot of moving around in P.E.

 

      On art day, I would suggest wearing clothes that will not be ruined if they get markers, paint, glue, or clay on them.  Students get to use a wide variety of art materials while they are in this class and some can be a little messy. Our art teacher makes every effort to protect clothing from art materials, but we know that sometimes accidents do happen. Please keep this in mind when you are deciding what to wear on art days.

      

     In addition to these five special classes we will also be attending counseling with Mrs.Perryman once a week. 

 

Again, I am looking forward to a fabulous year! Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Let’s work together to have a successful year!

 

                                      Thank you!

                                       Mrs. Phinney