ABC's of First Grade - Miss Roeder's Room

ABC's of First Grade

If your child is absent, please send a note with your child the next day he/she attends school or call the office to leave a message (799-6000). This will avoid an unexcused absence.

Each week your child will bring home an Ask Me About in his/her BEE folder which outlines what learning experiences your child has participated in over the previous week. It will also be posted on this web site.

Your child will have ART with Miss Sawhill once a week.

The B.E.E. folder helps us keep organized. This plastic folder houses a money/notes pouch, a home reading envelope, homework pocket, and other vital information for families. Your child needs to bring his/her B.E.E. folder to school each and every day. The acronym B.E.E. stands for Bring Everything Everyday.

If you would like to send a birthday treat with your child on or near his/her birthday, please feel free to do so. These treats will be eaten during our snack time. Birthday boys and girls receive a birthday book on the special day. Please do not send birthday party invitations to be distributed at school unless all children receive an invitation.

I will send home book order forms for you and your child to look over every month. Book clubs offer books at reduced prices. It's a great way to build your child's home library!

Communication is important. Feel free to contact me whenever you have questions or concerns. You can reach me by phone before/after school (799-6000 ext. 70903236) or school email: roedecf@interact.ccsd.net (this is best) or by note.

The community in our school is called Garehime Heights.

Garehime Heights has a court system. The court is run by student-elected judges and supervised by teachers. Students who earn a Great Change go to court to tell their side of the story with their lawyer (4th/5th grade student), the judge determines guilt/innocence, and tells students of the consequences, if needed.

We have a dress code at Garehime. Shirts need to cover tummies and have wide shoulder straps (no spaghetti straps). Skirts/shorts need to be 3" longer than the child's fingertips. T-shirts need to have appropriate pictures/sayings on them. Thanks for your help with this -- it helps maintain an environment appropriate for learning.

My school email is roedecf@interact.ccsd.net. I check this daily. If you have an email address that you'd like me to be aware of, please let me know.

Express cards are given to those students who prepay for hot lunches. You can prepay for a week or more of lunches for your child by sending in a check with your child or seeing the cafeteria manager. She is at school each day from 7:30 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. and you will find her in the multi-purpose room.

Information about field trips will be sent home in the B.E.E. folder.

Our school's namesake is Edith Garehime, a lovely lady who supported music education for Las Vegas youth and was an active community member. She loved gardening -- African violets were one of her favorites.

Garehime Gold (GG) is the name of our school's currency. In my classroom, students earn GG by following procedures both in the classroom and throughout the school, completing/turning in homework, and as occasions warrant.

Four to five times per year, we have a Going-to-Town Day (GTTD). These events help students learn entrepreneurial and critical thinking skills in a real-world way.

Students who do not follow procedures (especially at recess) may earn a Great Change. A Great Change is issued when students are not following the Lifeskills when interacting with their peers or an adult, physically harming another, or not following procedures. Students who earn a Great Change go to court with their lawyer (a 4th/5th grade student assigned to their case) and explain their side of the story about the incident. Then the student-elected judge will determine the consequences (usually paying a Garehime Gold fine or doing community service at recess) if the student is found guilty.

Students in first grade have homework each night. A packet will be sent home each week in the B.E.E. folder. Please return the packet on Friday in the B.E.E. folder homework pocket. If you would like your child's corrected homework returned to you, please let me know. Thank you.

A heart strand is a part of a venture's license where students determine how they can give back to the community in some manner.

Independence is a goal for all students because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence. First graders are very capable of doing many things on their own and I encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves in my classroom. If your child cannot tie his/her own shoes yet, please keep practicing at home.

Students will be writing in their journals each week. Encourage your child to write at home for a variety of purposes.

Keep updated by reading the Ask Me About each week, checking the website, and going through the B.E.E. folder every day for other notes and information.

Our class will visit the Library once a week. The librarian's name is Mrs. Erickson. Your child will check out a book when we visit the library and return it the next week. If your child forgets to return the book, he/she will not be allowed to check out a new book until the other one is returned.

Students have a 30-minute lunch each day. Our lunch time is 12:55 to 1:15. We are lunch C. The students will have recess from 12:40 to 12:55.

Instruction begins promptly at 9:00 a.m. with Language Arts time. The standards-based lessons focus on phonics, strategies for reading, word work, fluency, and comprehension. Please make sure your child is on time for school.

The Lifeskills and Lifelong Guidelines are used each day in my classroom. These are listed below:

Lifeskills: Lifelong Guidelines: * Cooperation * Truthfulness * Responsibility * Trustworthiness * Perseverance * Active Listening * Friendship * No Put Downs * Creativity * Personal Best * Organization * Common Sense * Problem Solving * Sense of Humor * Integrity * Initiative * Respect * Effort * Pride * Caring * Curiosity * Courage * Patience * Flexibility

The hot lunch menu can be accessed through the Clark County School District website. Go to www.ccsd.net. In the search box type in "lunch menu". Click on CCSD Food Service (should be the first hit). Scroll down until you see "Elementary Dish-Up Menu". That will give you the current month's hot lunch menu.

Our class has Music once a week with Mrs. Umphrey.

To help ease anxiety/fear at the beginning of the year, please designate a meeting spot with your child so he/she knows where to go to find you after school!

You will be notified of No School days in advance by note from the school and in the Ask Me About.

Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The school's phone number is 799-6000.

Students have PE twice a week with Mr. Hitchcock. Kids, please wear sneakers on PE days so that you can enjoy Mr. Hitchcock's games and activities.

If you are picking up your child early, you will need to sign him/her out in the office.

Progress reports are sent out weekly starting in October. Look for these in your child's B.E.E. folder. Please sign and return to school the next day.

Please park your car in the main or side parking lots when dropping off or picking up your child. It's safer for everyone that way!

Questions? Please feel free to call, email, send a note, or make an appointment. *roedecf@interact.ccsd.net * school phone: (702) 799-6000 ext. 1 + 1 + 70903236

Students have recess before lunch each day. Please check the weather and dress accordingly. We have recess from 12:40 to 12:55.

Report cards are sent home three times a year at the end of each trimester (November, March/April, and June).

Look for reminders on the website under the Ask Me About button and/or in the B.E.E. folder.

Before / After school care is provided by Safekey. If your child is going to attend Safekey, please let me know. The first two weeks of school, I walk with the children after school to Safekey to ensure they know how to get to the multi-purpose room and into Safekey. After that, I trust they know the way and can get there on their own independently.

Our school-wide theme this year is titled "Believe to Achieve."

Please keep me and the office updated when you have changes to your address, phone number(s), emergency contacts, or situations you feel I should know about. We need to know how to get in touch with you!

Would you like to volunteer in the classroom or help in the school? At the beginning of the year, I will send out a volunteer form. Please fill that paper out and return it to school. There are many ways to volunteer: materials donations, monetary donations, time donations, and/or specialty donations (what talent would you like to share?).

You can leave me a message on my voicemail at school: 799-6000 ext. 1 +1 then 70903236.

It's going to be a wonderful year in room 51B! I can't wait to meet everyone!

Students are allowed to have a water bottle in class. Please make sure that it has a tight-fitting lid. If you are freezing the water, please dump a little bit out before freezing so that the bottle doesn't develop a hole or split upon expansion and subsequently, leak! Make sure your child's name is on the bottle.

ONLY water in the water bottles, please!

Parents and family members may eXit and enter the school through the main school entry. Don't forget to sign in at the office!

Prepaying hot luches allows your child to get an eXpress card.

You are an important part of your child's educational team. I look forward to meeting you and helping your child be the very best first grader he/she can be!

z-z-z-z's! --- Sleep is very important for first graders! Your child might begin to negotiate for a later bedtime at this age. Remember that most children still need 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night to be at their best during the day.

** The idea for ABC's of First Grade came from www.jmeacham.com. Mrs. Meacham is a first grade teacher from Wisconsin.