This is my 20th year teaching First

Grade in Prince William County. I love

teaching first grade. It is the year
where students truly make the
most growth.
I graduated from Radford
University with a degree in
Elementary Education K-5 with a
concentration in Special Education
and History.
I live in Stafford with my husband, 3
children and two dogs, who keep
me very busy outside of school.
My Family
It is very important for your
first grader to return their
daily folder, reading bag and their
water bottle each day.

If your first grader has P.E.

(twice in a 6 day rotation), please
send your first grader to school
wearing sneakers. *Our encore
schedule can be found inside your
student’s daily folder.
Throughout the year, we may ask for
additional supplies to support a project or
classroom needs.
• FUN FRIDAY!
• Gingerbread House Project
• 100th /120th Day of School
• Elf Visit
• Valentine’s Day
• Classroom Pet Adoption
• End of the Year Celebration
• Amazon Wishlist
Arrive Morning Routines/Morning Work (Unpack, listen
to announcements, early birds)
Morning Message/Calendar
Language Arts (Writing, Phonics/Word Study, Guided Reading,
Handwriting)
First Grade Encore

Lunch
Language Arts (, handwriting) writing, phonics/word
study, guided reading
Science/Social Studies
Snack
Math
Recess
Dismissal
As you can tell, your child will have a
lot of responsibilities and will be
actively engaged throughout the
school days. It is very important that
your child has an adequate amount of
sleep every night, especially until their
bodies have adjusted to being in
school all day!
If at any time you have questions about
your child’s day, please do not hesitate to
send a note, call, send a DOJO message or
email. It is important to me that we
maintain open communication with one
another. My email address is
smithrx@pwcs.edu or 571-466-4500.

We will have a weekly agenda found in your

child’s daily folder to keep you updated on
events, what we are learning and support
we may need.
Your child’s folder is key in establishing
a home/school connection. Inside the
folder you will have a weekly schedule.
It is important that you check the daily
folder each night for important
information. Please initial in the
squares once you have checked your
student’s folder.

*Any notes that are sent to school

should be placed inside your child’s daily
folder. This includes dismissal changes,
future absences, doctors notes, etc.
Reading Homework: Students should
be reading nightly for 20 minutes
even if a Guided Reading book does
not come home (Reading before bed
is a great routine to get into).

Nightly folder check of weekly

agenda: Please check for nightly
assignments to complete and
return to school. Assignments
reflect current classroom topics
and expectations.
Have you connected to our Class Dojo?
This will allow you to keep track of your
child’s day. Students always know why they
are awarded points as well as why they are
taken away.

*CHeetah Spots-students earn CHeetah

spots during encore. As a class, we set
goals and the students get to pick what
they want to do when they meet their
goal.
Classes are working to earn Principal
rewards!
Rubrics accompany grade assignments
• S+: Consistently exceeds objectives; making
outstanding progress

• S: Consistently meets objectives;

understands the objectives most of the time

• S-: Inconsistently meets the objectives; does

not usually understand the objective and
requires assistance

• N: Has difficulty meeting the objectives at

this time; needs guided support and more time
to meet the objectives, working below grade
level
 It is VERY important that your first grader
read each night. There are first grade
reading benchmarks each quarter that each
student needs to meet in order to be
considered reading on grade level.

Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4

Target for On Target for On Target for On Target for On
Grade Level Grade Level Grade Level Grade Level
reading is 6 reading is 10 reading is 14 reading is 18

We appreciate your partnering to assist with

your first grader in reading and the
importance of all of us working together for
students' literacy success! 
• Have your first grader read two books from
their reading bag. The same book could remain
inside the reading bag all week.

• On the reading log, write the titles of the two

books read and initial.

• Practice the sight word list he/she

is currently working on.

• Pack ALL materials back inside the

reading bag and return it to
school each day.
We have snack daily in the afternoon. We
ask that you send in a healthy snack for
your first grader.

Snack time is only 10 minutes! Please send in

a snack that is ready to eat and can easily
be eaten in 10 minutes.

*If your child has dietary needs, please

speak individually with your child’s teacher.

Water bottles are strongly encouraged as

students do not have access to water
fountains.
Breakfast and lunch are available each
day.
The cost for breakfast is $1.50
The cost for lunch is $2.50
Does your child know their
breakfast/lunch number?

*It is VERY important for students to

have self control in the cafeteria.
Please reinforce restaurant
appropriate behavior with your first
grader.
• Remind students to use a chicken
wing when coughing
• Wash hands
• If your child is not feeling well in
the morning, play it safe and
don’t send them to school.
• Students must be symptom free
for 24 hours without medicine.
(fever, vomiting, diarrhea)
It is a great idea to send in extra clothes with
your child. If your child happens to have a mishap,
we will send home their clothes in a bag, and we
ask that you send in a new set of clean clothes
in exchange. Please put the clothes inside a
labeled Ziplock bag. The extra set of clothes will
stay inside the classroom and will be sent home
at the end of the school year.

*Please be mindful of the seasons and your

child’s growth. We may ask you to exchange your
beginning of the year set of clothes for
preparing for the colder seasons.
Please make sure to follow the
guidelines in PWC Code of
Behavior.

Dress/appearance/hygiene which disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school will
not be tolerated.
We want to celebrate these specials
days during lunch time!
CHES school policy says that all
birthday treats must be store
bought. When choosing a treat,
please be mindful of allergies
(treenut and/or peanut).
Please contact me to make
arrangements prior to your child’s
special day.
We love all the help we can get! We are
looking for…
• Laminators
• Interested in Cutting first
grade materials from home?
• Monday folder stuffer
• Small group
• Grade level copier
• Special events throughout the year
• Mystery Reader
If interested, please complete the google
form in Class Dojo.
We work hard to make our learning
engaging and motivational for the
students. If you would like to donate
something to the classroom that will be
used for a theme or cooperative play,
please take an Amazon QR Code and help
us have an AMAZIN’ Year!
• October 31st Conference Day

• November 8th Teacher Workday

• November 11th No School

• November 23-25th No School

• Did you sign up for a conference?
Conferences are scheduled for
Monday, October 31st !

• Please leave your child a little note

for a morning surprise.

• Anytime you send in important

forms, please make sure to label
the forms.
It is so important to have open
communication to ensure that
your child is successful. This is a
team effort!
• Email- smithrx@pwcs.edu
• Dojo message
• Canvas assignments will be available
for extended absences and/or Code
orange days.

• On Code orange days, students will

work asynchronously to complete
canvas work. In the event of a long
duration of weather events ,Code
orange may result in live teaching
via Zoom.

•
• Canvas work reflects first grade
SOL’s