North Oakland Community Charter School

Back To School Night

2015-2016

Introducing the Kindergarten/First Grade Teams

Ms. Kings Griffins

Ms. Gambaros Vampires

WelcometoNOCCSBacktoSchoolNight!
Wednesday,September16,2015
Room2Ms.KingsRoom
6:008:00p.m.

K/1Agenda
1. Introductions
a. ClassroomTeachers:Ms.LorinKing,Ms.JenniferGambaro,Ms.Nancy
Rodriguez
b. ClassroomCoordinators:Ms.PamArata,Ms.MelissaMcDonald

2. VolunteerSignUp

3. IceBreaker

4. StudentExpectations
a. ClassroomAgreements
b. LearningGoals

5. Curriculum+Academics
a. CurriculumMap(MathandLanguageArtsfortheYear)
b. Schedule
c. StagesofReadingDevelopment
d. StagesofWritingDevelopment
e. DevelopingReaders(FamilySupport)
f. PeacemakingCurriculum

6. Communication
a. K/1Website(
http://noccsk1.weebly.com/
)
b. Newsletter(
http://noccsk1.weebly.com/newsletter
)
c. OfficeHours(Mondays3:15pm4:15pm)
d. Email(
lorin.king@noccs.org

jennifer.gambaro@noccs.org
)
e. Messages(Leaveusanoteinthehomeworkfolder,onourtables,orinanyarea
wewillseeit)
f. ConferenceWeek:October2630

7. FamilyExpectations/Policies
a. Arrivalatschool
b. Snacktimes
c. Homework
d. Birthdays

8. FieldTrips

9. Q&A

Our K/1 Team

Jennifer Gambaro - Room 1 - K/1 Lead Teacher
I am honored to start my second year here at NOCCS. In the 2013-2014 school year, I
taught Kindergarten at Berkeley Arts Magnet School and 1st grade at LeConte Elementary
School. Prior to these teaching positions, I subbed grades K-9 throughout Alameda County.
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and earned my BA from Hofstra University. My
training is from Mills College, where I received my multiple subject teaching credential,
allowed me to focus on equity in the classroom. I am dedicated to ensuring that every child
succeeds. I am truly excited to get to know your child and work together with you to
develop our learning community.

Lorin King - Room 2 - K/1 Lead Teacher

I am honored to be spending another year at NOCCS. This will be my sixth year teaching in
Oakland. I have previously taught Kindergarten, 5th, and 4th grades. To tell you a little
about my teaching background, I received my teaching credential and Masters degree in
Education from University of the Pacific. I also have a Masters in Theater Education from
Emerson College. I hope to combine theory and practice in our classroom to provide the
best possible environment in which to learn. I have many goals for our class this year and
one of them is to build an open, communicative relationship with all our families to create a
positive community of learning and growing. I hope that I will be a positive influence on
your child and I expect to learn as much from your child as they will learn from me.
Nancy Rodriguez - Seedlings Director
Our Seedlings Director, Nancy Rodriguez has been at NOCCS as a part of our K/1 team since
April 2014. For the last five years, Nancy has been inspiring 4 and 5 year-olds to develop a
life long love of learning as a Pre-K teacher with the City of Piedmont. With a passion for
project-based learning, and a belief in warm and caring connection as the foundation for a
learning community, Nancy inspires her students to explore their capabilities! Nancy
attended Merritt College Child Development Program, majored in Theater Arts at UC Santa
Cruz and is currently enrolled in the Human Development Program at CSU East Bay with a
concentration in Early Childhood Education. Nancy is also the proud parent of a NOCCS
second grader, and a committed volunteer in the NOCCS community!

Kindergarten/First Grade Classroom Agreements

2015-2016
As a class we discussed how we could make our classroom a safe place to learn. Weve
discussed how our teachers can keep students safe and how our classmates help us feel safe.
The teachers job is to: Keep us safe so we can learn.
In both classrooms we stay safe when our teacher:

Respects students
Lets us be leaders
Says nice words
Helps us when we get hurt
Keeps us healthy with food and water
Stays with the class
Spends time with us
Protects us in an emergency
Tells us how to be safe

In both classrooms we stay safe with our classmates by:

Being careful with our bodies

Being kind to each other
Having peace talks
Being nice to ourselves and others
Using nice words and a calm voice
Playing with us

Goals for the Year

This year we intend to help K/1 student to:
Develop a love of learning and to gain the skills needed to become
independent learners.
Nurture and follow their curiosity, learning about what is interesting
and important to them.
Become engaged readers, writers and mathematicians who think
critically and compassionately about the world.
Gain a solid foundation in all academic areas and develop grade-level
competency as reflected in the Common Core Standards.
Act peacefully and cooperatively as a member of the classroom
community and a citizen of the world.

Kindergarten/First Grade Yearly Curricular Plan 2015-2016

Throughline for the Year: Caring for Myself and Others

F
ocus Questions:
How am I special?
How are we alike and different?
How do I express care for others?
How do we work together to take care of the world?

FIRST TRIMESTER

SECOND TRIMESTER

THEMATIC UNIT
All About Me
Bread

THEMATIC UNIT
THEMATIC UNIT
Five Senses
Rainforest
Light and Sound Waves

MATH

MATH

MATH

K: Numbers to 10
Two Dimensional and
Three Dimensional
Shapes

K: Comparison of
Length, Weight and
Numbers to 10

K: Numbering 10-120
Counting to 100

1st: Sums and

Differences to 10
Introduction of Place
Value Through
Addition and
Subtraction Within 20

THIRD TRIMESTER

Analyzing, Comparing
Number Pairs, Addition and Composing Shapes
and Subtraction to 10
1st: Identifying,
1st: Ordering and
Composing and
Comparing Length
Partitioning Shapes
Measurements as
Numbers
Place Value,
Comparison, Addition
Place Value,
and Subtraction to 100
Comparison, Addition
and Subtraction to 40

READING

READING

READING

Kinder & 1st:

We Are Readers

Kinder & 1st:

Readers Use Super
Powers to Read
Everything in the
Classroom and Beyond

Kinder & 1st:

Learning About
Ourselves and Our
World
Readers Are
Resourceful: Tackling
Hard Words and Tricky
Parts in Books

Readers Read, Think

and Talk About
Emergent Storybooks
and Familiar Shared
Texts

Becoming a Class of
Reading Teachers

WRITING

WRITING

WRITING

K: Writing a Sentence

K: Personal Narrative

K: Informational

1st: Crafting Stories

Using All We Know
About Narrative
Writing

1st: How-To Books:

Writing to Teach
Others

1st: Persuasive
Writing of All Kinds:
Using Words to Make
Change

K/1ScheduleMs.GambaroRoom1

Time

Monday

Tuesday

8:158:30

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

8:308:40

Morning
Message

Morning
Message

AllSchool
Meeting/Reading
Buddies

P.E.

Music

8:408:55

MorningMtg

MorningMtg

8:559:25

Peacemaking TFU
(Ms.

Rodriguez)

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

TFU

9:15am9:30
9:15am9:30
MorningMeeting Morning
Meeting

9:2510:10

P.E.

Art

Handwriting

TFU

TFU

10:1010:30

Snack&
Recess

Snack&
Recess

Snack&Recess

Snack&Recess

Snack&
Recess

10:3011:40

(Ms.
Rodriguez)
Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
Student
Debrief
ExitTIcket

Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
Student
Debrief
ExitTIcket

Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

(Ms.Rodriguez)
Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

11:4012:20

Lunch&
Recess

Lunch&
Recess

Lunch&Recess

Lunch&Recess

Lunch&Recess

12:201:10

Readers
Workshop:
Shared
Reading
Minilesson
Reading
Teacher
Share
BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
Shared
Reading
Minilesson
Reading
Teacher
Share
BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
SharedReading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare

BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
SharedReading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare

BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
Shared
Reading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare

BalancedLit.
Component

1:101:30

Stretch&
Explore

Stretch&
Explore

Stretch&Explore

Stretch&
Explore

Stretch&
Explore


KClosing
Circle

KClosing
Circle

EveryoneClosing
Circle

KClosingCircle

KClosingCircle

1:302:00

Readers
Workshop+:
MiniLesson
Students
Reading
Teaching
Share

Readers
Workshop+:
MiniLesson
Students
Reading
Teaching
Share

Readers
Workshop+:
MiniLesson
Students
Reading
TeachingShare

Readers
Workshop+:
MiniLesson
Students
Reading
Teaching
Share

2:002:10

WordWork

WordWork

WordWork

WordWork

2:102:55

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

Writers

Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

2:553:00

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

+FirstGradeReadersWorkshopwillbeturnedintoCloseReadingevery35weeks

K/1ScheduleMs.KingRoom2

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8:158:30

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

Family
Reading/Book
Shopping

8:308:35

Morning
Message

Morning
Message

AllSchool
Meeting/Reading
Buddies

Music

P.E.

8:408:55

MorningMtg

Peacemaking
(Ms.Rodriguez)

8:559:25

TFU

TFU

TFU

9:15am9:30
Morning
Meeting

9:15am9:30
MorningMeeting

9:2510:10

Art

P.E.

Handwriting

TFU

TFU

10:1010:30

Snack&Recess

Snack&
Recess

Snack&Recess

Snack&
Recess

Snack&Recess

10:3011:40

Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

(Ms.Roriguez)
Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
Student
Debrief
ExitTIcket

(Ms.Rodriguez)
Math:
Application
Fluency
Conceptual
Development
Practice
StudentDebrief
ExitTIcket

11:4012:20

Lunch&Recess Lunch&Recess Lunch&Recess

Lunch&
Recess

Lunch&Recess

Readers
Workshop:
Shared
Reading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare
BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
Shared
Reading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare
BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
SharedReading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare
BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
Shared
Reading
Minilesson
Reading
Teacher
Share
BalancedLit.
Component

Readers
Workshop:
SharedReading
Minilesson
Reading
TeacherShare
BalancedLit.
Component

1:101:25pm

Stretchand
Explore

Stretchand
Explore

Stretchand
Explore

Stretchand
Explore

Stretchand
Explore

1:25pm

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle ClosingCircle

12:201:10

1:30pm

Kinder
Dismissal+
FirstGrade
Snack

Kinder
Dismissal+
FirstGrade
Snack

Everyone
Dismissal

Kinder
Dismissal+
FirstGrade
Snack

Kinder
Dismissal+
FirstGrade
Snack

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

1:402:10pm

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

Writers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Writing
AuthorsChair

2:102:20

WordWork

WordWork

WordWork

WordWork

2:202:55

Readers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Reading
Teaching
Share

Readers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Reading
Teaching
Share

Readers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Reading
Teaching
Share

Readers
Workshop:
Minilesson
Students
Reading
TeachingShare

2:553:00

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

ClosingCircle

+FirstGradeReadersWorkshopwillbeturnedintoCloseReadingevery35weeks

Stages of Reading Development

1.

Attends to pictures
Does not tell story
(Labels or comments on pictures)

2.

Attends to pictures
Tells story (Doesnt read the words but uses the pictures and what they remember
to tell the story)
3.

Attends to pictures
Memorizes simple patterned text
Knows print contains meaning
(May finger point matching words to memorize text)

4.

Attends to pictures and some text

(May use picture clues, beginning sounds, memorized text and sight words to access
story)

5.

Reads simple patterned text

(Relies on picture clues, familiar stories, beginning sounds and sight words to access
text)

6.

Reads text independently

Uses all strategies effectively (meaning, syntax, phonics)

7.

Reads text independently

Uses all strategies effectively (meaning, syntax, phonics)
Self-corrects

Developing Readers
Take Home Books
As a part of our Readers Workshop students are invited to choose 1 take home book at the
end of our reading session. They are asked to bring it back the following day. They can
take a book home each day of the week. There is no set system for checking out books. We
are on the honor system, please help make sure these books are returned to us. Also, if you
really want your child to bring home a book everyday please remind them because several
of the students will say they do not want to. You can also let your teacher know if this is
important to your family and we can remind them at school.
Book Shopping
Another part of our Readers Workshop is to have individual book bags or book boxes with
Just Right books. Or books right at their reading level. Every week they are given one day
to exchange their books for new ones before school or at stretch and explore. Each student
is assigned a day of the week to book shop in our classroom library. Teachers will share
their schedule with you so you can be a part of helping them remember the day they need
to exchange their books. At this time in the year, first graders are the only ones book
shopping. Kindergarten students will be given individual book boxes or bags to begin
shopping by October. Teachers will share those schedules with you when it comes time.

Family Expectations
Arrival at School
We ask families to arrive to school no later than 8:25am. We open our doors at 8:15am;
feel free to arrive sooner. Developmentally, our age group need time to transition and
adjust to being at school. It is very important to give our children time to acclimate.
School starts promptly at 8:30am.
Inside Dismissal
We dismiss K/1 students from our classrooms. Dismissal is at 3:00pm for
first graders
every day except Wednesday. Wednesday dismissal is at 1:30. For
kindergarteners
dismissal is at 1:30pm everyday. When your child is picked up, s/he must check out with
the teacher with a high five before leaving. Teachers need to be able to see the adult who is
picking up each student to know that every child is in safe hands. If your child is not picked
up by 3:15 we will bring them to the front office and you can pick them up there.
Snack
We encourage families to send their child to school with a snack each day. We eat a snack
at morning recess. This is to help keep our brains going throughout the day. We ask
families to contribute what we call Emergency Snacks to help students who have
forgotten snacks on any given day. If your family is running behind on a given morning you
are covered. You will hear us asking for Emergency Snacks throughout the school year,
especially as we run out.
First Grade Snack
First graders are here for even longer of a school day. We all take a break before beginning
our afternoon. Each month we assign first grade families a day to provide snacks for the
group of 11 students. We ask families to individually separate snacks to make it easy to
distribute. We use Emergency Snacks when families forget or get too busy. We will
email the first grade snack calendar monthly and post a copy outside our classroom. You
are encouraged to print out First Grade Snack Calendar to keep track of your familys day.
HW
We will be providing each student with a durable homework folder this year. Homework
will be given on a weekly basis distributed on Monday and due back on Friday. In an effort
to value students different needs and strengths, we are providing students with activities
listed on the K/1 newsletter which families may choose to do in addition to or instead of
the homework packet.
We are also trying to be mindful of the time you spend as a family in the evenings so our
TFU homework activities encourage interaction with family members. Reading outside of
school is also a huge component of homework.
Reading
is, in fact, the number one
predictor of school achievement. We will be doing our best to encourage children to read
and fall in love with reading this year. We would love to partner with you to encourage a

love of reading at home, as well. Let us know if you need tips or recommendations for
books or reading routines.
Birthdays
Birthdays are a time for each individual student to be celebrated and to feel loved. In order
to create more
equitable
class birthday celebrations this year we are asking that each
family does not bring in treats. In lieu of bringing in treats, we are inviting families in to
share a favorite story, family game or tradition. If families are not able to make it into class
we will still make sure to celebrate each child's birthday with a special event. Please be
sure to check with your childs teacher for a time of day that works. Additionally, each
birthday child will receive a certificate and pencil.
Field Trips
We are thinking of the following field trips for this year. These are all tentative. We do not
take buses (unless we get grant money), we travel by private car and we will need
volunteers to help us to drive both classes to and from the destination. We will need a
copy of your car insurance card and DMV print out to turn in to Lehi Dickey before driving
for our field trip.
Field Trips 2015-2016 (Tentative)
Fall
Theme: All About Me and Culture of Bread
Tentative Ideas:
Acme Bread Company
After Winter Break
Theme: 5 Senses + Light and Sound Waves
Tentative Ideas:
Exploratorium
Nature hike at Tilden or Redwood Regional Park
After Spring Break
Theme: Rainforest Animals
Biomimicry + Animal Heredity
Tentative Ideas:
California Academy of Sciences

K/1 Volunteer Jobs

Volunteer Job Title

Day/Time/Frequency

Copy Helper

Friday (helper #1)

Needs: 2

Flexible times as needed

(helper #2)

Description
Helper #1: Copies homework
packets.
Helper #2: Large copy jobs

Field Trip Co-Coordinator

As needed

Coordinates and communicates

field trip logistics and organizes
volunteers

Needs: 1

*Must be a kinder parent

Library Helper

Flexible times as needed

Help keep our classroom

libraries organized.

Organization Helper

Monday - Friday*

Needs: Many

3:15pm - 3:45 p.m

or
7:45am - 8:00am

Help after school or before school

with filing, organizing and
cleaning the classroom.

Needs: 2

We need daily help with

these tasks so if there are
several people who would
like to divide up days, we
would be most grateful.
Readers Workshop Helpers

*Wednesday afternoons
1:30pm - 1:45pm
Monday-Friday
12:40 - 1:10pm

Provide one-on-one and/or small

group support to readers

Needs: unlimited
*45 minute training with K/1
Lead Teacher required
Starts in October
Math Helpers

Monday-Friday
10:30 - 11:30am

Needs: 2
Starts in October

Provide one-on-one support to

mathematicians