Mrs. O'Connell's Class Connection

Welcome! I'm excited to be your child's 1st grade teacher this year!

Here's some important information to know right away:

Tuesday, August 24, is our first day of school. It is a half-day, with dismissal at 11:30. Children should be dressed in their school uniform.

"Specials" classes will begin on Wednesday, August 25, our first full school day, and are scheduled as follows for Room 16:

MONDAY GYM
TUESDAY LIBRARY
WEDNESDAY COMPUTERS
THURSDAY GYM
FRIDAY ART

Please remember that athletic shoes are only to be worn on gym or dress down days.

Our class eats lunch daily at 11:30, but 1st graders get quite hungry by mid-morning. Please send a healthy snack beginning on Wednesday, 8/25. It should be placed in a separate pocket of their backpack than their lunch, so it can be found easily. We won't be sharing snacks as a group this year. Please don't send sweets or drinks for snacktime. There will be plenty of opportunities to get a cool drink of water throughout the day. Your child should also keep a clean cloth dish towel for use as a placemat in their backpack.

Unless we've made arrangements for an older sibling to pick your child up at our classroom door at 2:40, you can plan on meeting them in the church parking lot, where they will be walked daily.

If you have questions or concerns, always feel free to contact me. You can reach me via my St. Linus email by visiting the website www.stlinusschool.org. I make every effort to check my email at least once daily but if you need an immediate response, don't hesitate to contact me by phone (708) 425-1656, ext. 151.

I look forward to meeting you at our Back To School Open House and will keep you posted on this event as details become available. I hope you will check my blog frequently for information on homework, school news, and upcoming events.

Today was a great first day of 1st grade. We worked hard organizing all of our school supplies in our new desks and wrote our names in our workbooks. We listened to a story about a fish with a 44-letter name! We practiced walking in the hallways the correct way. We made "doggy bags."

Homework:

Gather 1 to 3 small items to place in your Doggy Bag for Show 'n Tell this week and bring it back to school. Don't show anybody what's inside. It will be a surprise!

Parents, please complete and return the form you'll find in your child's Home folder. Also, please remember to return the Home folder to school each day with any homework your child has completed.

REMINDER: Since tomorrow is a full day, we will both snack and lunch. FSP hot lunches are not being served this week. Please be sure your child has a snack/lunch towel in their backpack to use as a placemat.

Have a great day!

Today I sent home a note with the school mail regarding an upcoming project and noticed that a few copies found their way to the floor and not the folders they belonged in. If you were one who didn't get the note about the shoebox, here it is in electronic form:

Please send in a shoebox for a class project that is coming up. Ideally, it should have a separate lid as opposed to one with a lid that folds over the top and should be of a small size, but send whatever you can find lying around the house.

Thanks!
Mrs. O'C

Your children are quickly becoming accustomed to our busy days and I'm impressed with the way they are able to get right to work in the mornings.

Thank you, parents for quickly returning the many time-consuming forms that have been sent home. The questionnaires are really helping me to get to know your children and their individual needs.

If you haven't already, please remember to send in a shoebox for our Words project. If you have an extra one lying around that you were planning to throw away, please send it in -- we may be short a few!

Thanks!
Lisa O'C

In your child's folder you'll find a weekly behavior chart depicting the sun, a cloud, a raindrop, and a lightning bolt for each day of the week. We have a clothespin system here in our classroom. Every child begins every day of school on the sun. When a rule is broken (and I usually give a warning first,) your child will be required to move their clothespin. At the end of each day, your child will circle the place their clothespin resides. Please don't be too concerned if your child occasionally comes home with the cloud circled. That is not an indication of a major behavior problem, but a reminder to them that they have made a mistake and broken one of our class rules. When a child moves his clothespin to the cloud, they are asked/reminded about the rule they broke. If there is another lapse in behavior during the day, the child moves his/her clothespin to the raindrop and we will have a mini-conference at my desk. In the unlikely event that your child has to move their clothespin to the lightning bolt, you will receive an email or a call from me to discuss their behavior. Nobody wants to move their clothespin and the children usually will catch on to my expectations really quickly. Your part in this program is to check and sign the chart daily. Being accountable to you at home really helps your child follow the rules at school. Please make sure your child returns the chart in the home folder each day!

Homework for Monday: Math Workbook p. 2

I will blog more on homework as we get into a real routine, but normally it should not take more than 5-10 minutes for each assignment given. Please help your child be responsible by reminding them to put their homework into their backpack to be returned to school.

One more thing... today your child brought home a decorated 1st Grade Words shoebox. Every Monday, 5 or 6 new high frequency words are introduced and we work with them throughout the week at school. A printed copy of the words will come home each Monday or Tuesday. Please store these weekly word wall words in this box and don't forget to take them out for study and review frequently.

Have a great week!

Reading Homework: Read I See! I See! aloud to a grown-up.

Parents, please be sure to have your child bring back their behavior chart each day, in their Home folder, after you sign it. Thanks!