Parent Survival Guide

aka
Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Handbook
St. Paul Lutheran School Austin, Texas

2012-2013
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August 2012
Dear Parents, It is indeed a pleasure to have your child in our classes. To start off the year right, we are sending you this Parent Survival Handbook that has been assembled to help you become familiar with information that will enable us to make this a very positive and rewarding year. We feel open lines of communication between the parent, student, and teacher are one of the keys to promoting an educational climate that is conducive to learning. We are looking forward to working with you and your child. Together we can make a difference! You can help by sending us well-rested children with full tummies and a hug and a kiss still fresh on their minds. This sets the stage for a great day. Please feel free to contact us at any time if there is a question or situation you would like to discuss. We look forward to building a relationship with you and your child and thus providing the best education that we are capable of giving. This document is an addendum to the Parent Student Handbook. Please review that document also. In Service to the Master Teacher,

Suzanne Braun Jane Anne Pohl Marie Torres

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Homework
Students will be assigned homework. Please check your childs folder (kindergarten) or OK Notebook (1st and 2nd grade) nightly to make sure all assignments are completed. v Students are expected to read 15 minutes every night. v If students do not complete daily class work, they will be expected to finish these assignments as well as assigned homework. v Unless specified all homework should be turned in the following school day. v The child is expected to complete homework assignments independently in pencil. After your child has completed the homework an adult should check the work for accuracy. v There will be assignments that need to be completed with adult supervision.

Guidelines for Grading

The following guideline is used to evaluate student work in kindergarten, first and second grade. E S N U This is reserved for excellence. Student exceeds expectations. Student shows extra effort and work is always complete. Work is consistently completed on time and done accurately. Expectations are met. Needs improvement. Student shows inconsistent performance Student needs extra practice at home. Needs improvement. Student shows inconsistent performance Student needs extra practice at home. Little or no effort is exhibited.

The following guideline is used in second grade for reading, language, spelling and math. This is intended to be a transition between first and third grade. A This is reserved for excellence, a step above everyone else. The student performs well above average. Works hard and work is always complete. Consistently strong performance. Work is completed. Average. Learns new concepts through many repetitions. Student completes work. The student is not accurately completing work. Little or no effort is exhibited.

B C F

The student behavior section in the Parent Handbook is the basis for the rules in the Kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. The following are the rules in the kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. 1. Listen when others talk. 2. Keep hands, feet, and other objects to yourself. 3. Respect others and their property. 4. Follow directions and instructions.

Throughout the day the students make choices. As stated above the students are encouraged to make positive choices and are rewarded when they do so. The positive choices may be recognized in the following ways: Verbal recognition Stickers or stamps Additional free time Notes home Special class parties There is a system in place to deal with choices that do not follow the classroom rules. When a student chooses to break classroom rules, he/she receives a consequence. Each child begins the day on green. 1st time: A verbal warning is given. 2nd time: Student moves to yellow and records the reason on their daily behavior sheet. The student will receive a consequence. 3rd time: Student moves to red and records the reason on their daily behavior sheet. The student will receive a consequence. 4th time: The student is removed from his/her classmates. The student will receive a consequence. The parents are contacted through letter, e-mail or phone call to discuss the problem. The teacher may give an immediate consequence and/or contact the parent depending on the severity of the students choice. With this system in place, the students, teacher and parents know the rules, rewards, and consequences for behavior choices. This system reflects the mission statement and discipline policy of St. Paul Lutheran School as it nurtures the growth of our students as Christian people, in spirit, character, mind and body.

Absences and Tardies

Attendance at school is important for every student. Frequent absences or tardies significantly affect your childs performance and success. Your child should be present and on time every day. However, we understand that there are times when children need to be absent due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances. Please send an e-mail to both teacher and school office if your child is absent and the reason for the absence. If you know that your child will be tardy or will be leaving school early please inform the teacher in advance. Please refer to the St. Paul Parent Handbook regarding specific policies regarding absences and tardies.

Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader gives your child the opportunity to increase their reading skills by reading books and then taking computerized quizzes at school on what they have read. All books included in the Accelerated Reader program have been given a reading level. Some of these books your child may read independently and some may be read to your child or somewhere in between. Accelerated Reader is used in two ways. First, your child will be encouraged to choose an AR book to read at home and, when ready, take an AR quiz at school. Secondly, there will be times that they read an AR book at school and take a quiz. The student collects points as they read books and take quizzes. Students will be recognized for their achievements as they reach significant point levels. Your child may find AR books in a variety of locations: school or classroom library, home collection, or the public library. If there is a special book that your child wants to read and cannot find it, we will be happy to help them locate it. Use the following website www.arbookfind.com - to search AR books 6

Birthdays
A parent may provide a birthday treat for the entire class. A parent may bring a treat from home. Please be aware of allergies that children may have. These treats must be precut and ready to serve. If you would like to send treats please contact the classroom teacher prior to your childs birthday to make arrangements. Please do not send drinks! Also, simply singing Happy Birthday can recognize a students birthday. No food is necessary.

Book Orders
Book Orders will be sent home. If you wish to place an order, please follow the online instructions provided by Scholastic. Ordering books is not mandatory but is encouraged because it provides an excellent opportunity for your child to get good books to read at affordable prices and your childs classroom library benefits.

Change in Transportation
If your child is to go home a different way than usual, please send an e-mail to both teacher and school office indicating the change in arrangements.

Early Pick-up
Please try to arrange appointments outside of school hours because anytime your child comes in late or leaves early they miss valuable instruction. However, if you must check your child in or out during the day, please inform your childs teacher and school office in advance. Your child will be at the office at the appropriate time. If your child is not at the office please ask the office staff to call for your child. Please do not come to the classroom to pick up your child because it is disruptive to the class.

Communication
Communication between home and school is very important. Please do not hesitate to e-mail or call the teacher if you have any questions or concerns. The kindergarten classroom has a Daily Folder. The first and second grade classrooms have an OK Notebook (Organized Kids Notebook). The purpose of these is twofold. First, it is a way to help organize the papers your child brings home from school. Second, it is a communication tool between the teacher and the parents. Entries and changes will be made regularly. The OK Notebook/ Daily Folder may include the daily behavior page, weekly assignment sheet, memory work and spelling words in addition to other appropriate information. The OK Notebook/Daily Folder comes home with your child each day. Parents should review the notebook/folder and sign the daily behavior sheet. Your child is responsible for bringing the OK Notebook/Daily Folder back to school the next day. Periodically, please clean out your childs OK Notebook/Daily Folder. Other forms of communication may include e-mail, newsletters, blogs and information posted on RenWeb.

Dropping Off/Pick Up
When the school day begins please say good-bye to your child in the cafeteria or in your car. It is not necessary to walk your child to the classroom and come into the classroom with them. If you need to speak with the teacher please stop in the school office and leave a message. At the end of the day there are two options for pick up. 1. The best option is to pick up your child in the pick up line on the school side. Please check the Parent Student Handbook for details on this procedure. 2. Parents may park on the church side, come into the school lobby, and meet their child there. Parents should not park on the school side if they intend to walk in and pick up their child.

Forgotten Items
Items forgotten by your child may be dropped off in the office. The office staff will bring the items to the classroom. 8

Party Invitations
If you are having a birthday party for your child outside of school, school is not the best place to pass out invitations unless every child in class is being invited. Your child needs to bring all invitations directly to the teacher to be distributed discreetly, including invitations to students in other classes.

Parent Volunteers
Parent volunteers are welcome in the classroom. The classroom teacher will send home a volunteer signup sheet indicating where help is needed.

Snacks
Each class has a snack time at morning recess. Your child may bring a snack. Please make sure that this is a small, simple, nutritious snack. Some suggestions for a healthy snack include: dry cereal, crackers, popcorn, apples, carrots and raisins. Do not send drinks, any items that are messy or any items requiring a spoon or fork. Candy, cupcakes, chips, donuts and other sweet treats are not appropriate for snack time.

I have read the Parent Survival Handbook and discussed the necessary content with my child. Parents/Guardians Signature ______________________________ Childs Signature ______________________________ Date __________________________ Comments ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

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