Updated 8/10/2023

CLASSROOM RULES

Your child will have a monthly calendar in the back of their red business folder. Each day we will fill in their color for the day. If at any time during the day your child moved to "red" I may include a note just to make you aware of certain behaviors. 

 

Rules

Rule 1: Follow directions quickly.

Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak

Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.

Rule 4: Make smart choices.

Rule 5: Keep your dear team happy ( By being respectful to all, being responsible for yourself, and by being safe).

 

Consequences for not following the classroom rules:

• 1st Time= Warning, reminder of expected behavior
• 2nd Time= Asked to change color, reminder of expected behavior
• 3rd Time= Asked to change color again, note on behavior calendar
• 4th Time= Loss of privilege (brain break activities, recess time, game, etc - so that I may conference with student ) Call to parent may be needed

 

Rewards for going above and beyond!

• Verbal Praise/ Gratitude
• Change color to purple
• Stickers
• Special call or note home, special treat

 

SECRET STUDENT

A behavior management system that I use is Secret Student. I choose the Secret Student at the start of the day and reference them when they are making good choices, in hopes that others will follow the expected behaviors. In reverse, sometimes I may reference an unexpected behavior and give a reminder so that all students check in with themselves to make sure they are making good choices. If at the end of the day the Secret Student earned their card, then I reveal that student to the class. If they did not earn it that day I try again the next. If you see your student bring home a Secret Student card please start a conversation about how their day was! They will be excited to tell you:)

 

MARBLE JAR

Another system that I use for a whole group management is our marble jar! The class receives marbles for the jar when they receive a compliment in the hallway, earn their marbles during Specials for making good choices, or when I notice that the whole group is making good choices during our lessons. Once we fill up the jar, the whole class earns a reward. Previous rewards have consisted of ice cream sandwiches, extra outside recess, extra indoor recess, afternoon  partner game, dance party,  or a free class dress down. 

 

HOMEWORK

Homework is to be completed each day. Homework usually consists of any combination of the following:  ELA practice sheet, spelling word practice, math sheet, reading log, studying religion notes, math facts, spelling and sight words. Homework assignments are communicated to you through our Homework/Newsletter that is given out at the start of each school week. This explains what homework needs to be completed each night as well as providing you with reminders for important dates. Please read the Newsletter each week! 

Please remember, when your child is absent, it is important that they complete the schoolwork they missed at home. 

Homework Copybook

Spelling word work and other assignments will be completed in your student’s Homework Copybook. Please make sure that before your student begins their homework that they start with writing the date at the top or at the end of the previous night’s work. Also, please do not skip pages. When your student fills up their first copybook, another one will be provided. That is why at the beginning of the year I send two Homework Copybooks to be covered. 

Reading Log

At the beginning of each month students will be given a Reading Log. This reading log is to be kept in the front of your student’s Red Business Folder. At the end of each month I collect the logs and use this as a homework grade. Students should be reading for a minimum of 15 minutes each day.  Reading at night can be done with any book you have  at home or with the decodable readers that are sent home in their book baggies. Your child can read to you or another family member or you can read to your child! This year we will also be participating in the Phanatic About Reading program presented by Xfinity. A letter will be sent home. 

Math Homework

Usually, the math homework will come from your student’s math book from that day’s lesson. In addition to the math page and the math facts found in the Study Copybook, MATH VOCABULARY CARDS will be provided for each chapter. These will be sent home at the beginning of each chapter in a plastic baggie, and will be included on the math test at the end of the chapter. We do go over this vocabulary often in class, but please make sure to study at home. 

Study Book

The study book is to be used for studying math facts, spelling words, Journey’s vocabulary words, sight words and religion notes. Please make sure this book is returned to school each day. The students use the sheets as reference throughout the day. The book has been set-up in advance but we may paste more sheets in the book.All of the information in this book is to ultimately help your student. Knowing the sight words and math facts will help your student with what we are doing in the classroom. You and your student DO NOT need to study all the “extra” sight words in the back or math facts in the front every night. Studying these gradually throughout the year will benefit your student.

TEST FOLDER

All tests will be sent home in a yellow Test Folder. Please sign and return all tests. Do not remove any test from the folder. Please place tests on the opposite side of the folder when you are done signing. 

RED FOLDER

Your child's Red Business Folder is the communication source between home and school. All communication from school will come home in the business folder. Anything your wish to send to school should be placed in the business folder. Please make sure you check this folder every day.

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL

The morning bell rings(school starts) at 7:50. Your child should arrive no earlier than 7:30 and be ready to start prayers at their line by 7:50. Please bring your child to the schoolyard in the morning. Please encourage your child to come into the school building on their own.  This is how they learn responsibility and gain independence. On rainy days the children will either come straight into the building and walk to their classrooms or we will meet in the school hall. 

The dismissal time Monday through Friday is 2:35. In the event of an emergency dismissal, please listen to KYW. You should also receive an alert through Option C.  Each child must have an emergency plan for early dismissal. An Emergency Dismissal form will be given out to each student. 

DISMISSAL LINES

All children are dismissed in one of the following lines: Car (This is anyone riding home in a car.), North Chesterfield Walkers, South Chesterfield Walkers, and After School Program. 

Car Line- Please make sure to arrive before 2:35 and fill in the lines. You may either wait in your car for your child to find you or you may walk over and wait for them  to come to you. 

***Please notify school if there is a change in your child's line. If you message me on Remind, depending on what time of day it is I might not see it. If I do not reply back to you by 2:00, please call Mrs. Smith in the office at 215-632-1375. 

LUNCH/RECESS 

We will go outside for recess everyday as long as it is not raining/snowing. On cold days please make sure that your student has a warm coat, etc. Once recess is over we will eat our lunch  in our classrooms. Since we are eating on our desks, a dish towel will be needed to be kept in your student’s lunchbox. This will be sent back home each day.  Remember to pack straws, forks, or spoons. Please provide your child with enough drinking water throughout the day. Your student should be able to independently open all of their food/drinks. Please practice at home if you know your student may have a hard time. Of course I am there to help, but opening containers/bags for 21 students can take a long time and takes limited eating time away from the students. I do not have a microwave or refrigerator in the classroom. Lunches can not be heated up.

SPECIAL LUNCHES

Special lunches are Monday through Thursday. During Lent, Pizza lunch is offered on Fridays. Depending on the day lunch choices can be hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, or lunch meat sandwiches. Lunch forms can be found on the school website for the following month telling you the type of lunch and cost. Forms will also be sent home in your student’s Red Business Folder each month.  The lunch orders are due around 15th of each preceding month. *Please note that special lunches are different than the CYO Lunches. CYO lunch is a different lunch form.

 

MORNING and AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Information will be supplied upon request. The Morning and After-school programs run from the first to the last full week of school, even on half days.  CARES begins at 6:30 am and pick up ends at 6:00pm. I believe the cost is $7/hour, when paid in advance. $20 for a drop in. 

UNIFORMS

Please remember no nail polish or jewelry. The girls may wear small post earrings. The gym uniform is to be worn to school on Tuesday, our gym day. This is the only day that sweatshirts or sweatpants can be worn. 

Optional Summer Uniform- Both boys and girls may wear their CTK mesh gym shorts, any CTK t-shirt, black or white socks and sneakers until we officially begin the winter uniform on November 2nd. If you think your child is going to be cold, please make sure they wear their winter uniform. Sweatpants/sweatshirts are only for gym days. Girls may wear sweatpants under their jumpers and will just need to take them off when they get into school.

Winter Uniform for GIRLS

• Uniform plaid jumper
• Red knit shirt - long/short sleeve 
• Red knee socks/tights
• Red sweater with CTK logo - button front
• Black and white saddle shoes
• Optional- Flat headbands or hair ribbons (such as Jojo Bows) are permitted

Winter Uniform for BOYS

• Navy blue dress trousers--Trousers should NOT be denim or corduroy.
• Light blue knit shirts with a banded waist with a CTK logo - long/short sleeve                                                                                                                                   
• Navy Blue V Neck Sweater with CTK logo
• Uniform shoes - black - NO BLACK SNEAKERS

 

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Papers/flyers are sent home for your convenience. This is a great way to encourage your child to read.  They love to receive "book presents" from you at school. Please make sure all purchases are made online. I will be notified of your order and I will submit our whole class order at one time. The price is right from the book companies! As a bonus, book orders help our class gain points that I can use toward purchasing new books for the class.

 

BOOK BAGGIES

Students will add new books and decodable readers to their book baggies throughout the year. These are read during independent reading time at school and can certainly be used toward the monthly reading log. Please make sure that all books and the baggie are sent back to school each day. Your student will collect a lot of decodable readers throughout the year. I try to read and recycle books that your student can fluently read and comprehend. If you notice that your student can read/comprehend the decodable reader, feel free to mark it so that I know or throw it away. The goal of the decodable readers is for your child to be able to practice phonics skills and increase their reading fluency. 

READING

The reading class is one heterogeneous (mixed) group - high, middle, and low. Skills are taught to the whole class with small group instruction for those experiencing difficulty with specific skills. Please review the Target vocabulary list in your child's Study copybook and read with your child each night. Please have your child read the Book Baggie Stories. They contain the Target vocabulary and are easily decoded.
 

REPORT CARDS

Students will receive three report cards throughout the year: December, March, and June.  Parent teacher conferences will be held in December. This is a good opportunity to discuss your child's progress. The grading scale is as follows: O- outstanding (100-97), VG - very good (96-91),  G - good ( 90-84), S- satisfactory (83-77), I improvement needed (76-72), and U - unsatisfactory (Below 72). For students to qualify for honors they must meet the following: 

St. Joseph the Worker Award – Grades 1-3

• All subject area grades must be at or above a VG
• Handwriting grade does not affect honors qualification
• Both Personal and Social Growth (Conduct) and Effort and Study Skills (Effort) grades must be at or above a 3
• No more than a combined 5 unexcused latenesses AND early dismissals (parents coming early to pick up children before 2:35 PM) per trimester

St. Katharine Drexel Award – Grades 1-8

• This award is reserved for those students who do not qualify for First or Second Honors, but have exhibited an exemplary level of effort in their schoolwork (with the stipulation that the Personal and Social Growth and the Effort and Study Skills grades are a 3 or 4). It will be awarded to the most qualified students and is limited to no more than two students per grade.

 

STAR OF THE WEEK

Beginning in December, our class will have a Star Student of the Week.  Each child will have the opportunity to be the Star of the Week. This is picked at random! 

On the Wednesday before it's your child's turn, I will send home a Star of the Week poster to be completed and returned by that Monday, in order for your child to share it with the class. Your student can decorate the poster however they would like. It will be returned to you.  I would also like to ask if your child can bring in a favorite book to read to the class during that week. If not, they can always pick one from our class library. Your child is also asked, if you’re comfortable with this, to bring in either a picture or an object of their favorite thing, something that means a lot to them. I will work with your child to come up with clues that they can give the class so that they can try and guess what the object is. Along with sharing their poster, reading to the class and sharing a favorite object, the Star of the Week will also be assigned special jobs.

As a class, we will learn more about your child that week and on Friday our writing piece will focus on why your child is a STAR!

 

BIRTHDAYS

Students may bring in individually wrapped treats  to celebrate their birthday! We will make sure to sing to them and make them feel special on their day. Mr Tschopp, our principal, will announce their day over the loudspeaker and they will receive a Dress Down Day pass to use whenever they would like (as long as it is not on a day that we are scheduled to go to mass). If your student celebrates their birthday over the summer, don’t fret! They will still receive their pass from the principal towards the end of the year. 

 

DRESS DOWN DAYS

During holidays/birthdays students will receive Dress Down Day passes. Students may dress down in school appropriate attire instead of their uniform. Please just make sure to send in the pass to redeem. Dress Down Day passes may NOT be used on days when we go to mass.

 

CLASS CELEBRATIONS/ CARDS

Throughout the year our class will have class parties to celebrate different holidays/events. I will send out links for SIGN UP GENIUS so that you can sign up to bring in a particular snack or drink. Please make sure that all treats sent in are individually wrapped. Please note we have 21 students in our class. Also, if any cards want to be sent in, such as on Valentine’s Day, please just have your child sign their name on all of them and skip putting individual classmates on them. It helps to cut down on the time we spend on passing out all cards.

 

SPECIAL SUBJECTS

The following is a list of the special subjects your child will attend and the teacher's name.

Gym - Mrs. McDevitt 

Art - Mrs. Snyder

Library - Mrs. Love

Computers -
 

NOTES/ MONEY:

      Email- I try my best to check my email multiple times a day. However, anything that I need to know immediately is best sent to school with your child in a note, especially for dismissal changes. ([email protected])

     REMIND - This is the best form of communication. I am able to get any  message directly on my phone, which in turn allows me to make any adjustments immediately if needed. If you need an immediate response and you do not hear back from me, please call the office. 

       Money - Please send ANY and ALL money in a marked envelope with your child's name and what the money is for. Please send in cash for the class fee in the beginning of the year.
 

SUPPLIES

The best student is a prepared student! Everyday your child needs pencils, crayons, a glue stick and scissors. Their art supplies will be kept in the classroom. **This is especially important this year since students are no longer allowed to share any supplies. A list, similar to the one you received in the spring, can be found on this website under supply list. Please label everything with your child's name including books, lunch boxes, schoolbags, sweatshirts and sweaters.

MEDICAL INFORMATION

Please inform me of any important information that would affect your child in the classroom. (hearing or vision problems, allergies, bathroom needs)

 

TELEPHONE and ADDRESS CHANGES

Please notify the school immediately so that we ALWAYS have a way to get ahold of you quickly. 

SCHOOL TRIPS
Information will be sent home in advance of these trips. The First Grade School trips are the Apple Orchard in the fall and Sesame Place in the spring. **(Covid-19 may not allow for trips at this time).

CORA and Catapult

We receive special services in speech, math, reading and counseling. These services are available to help your child overcome any difficulties he or she may be experiencing.