Stonebridge 1st Grade Handbook

Welcome...

Dear First Grade Families,

The three of us would like to welcome you to our Grade 1 community!

We are excited to have your child in our classrooms this school year and look forward to an exceptional year.

One of the goals we have is to develop a strong relationship with your child. We believe in the importance of getting to know each student to best meet their social, emotional, and academic needs.

Lots of learning occurs during the first grade school year. We are dedicated to providing a rigorous, engaging, and student centered learning environment to help facilitate this important learning. We strive to teach the first grade academic standards in a fun and meaningful way.

We value communication, so please reach out to us with any questions or concerns. We look forward to partnering with you to ensure a successful first grade experience.

Sincerely,

Your Grade 1 Teachers
Jessie Foley
Sonja Rose
Tim Hackbarth

Printable Version of Handbook

Teacher Contact Information

Mrs. Foley

Classroom Phone:
651-351-8720

Email:
foleyj@stillwaterschools.org

Mrs. Rose

Classroom Phone:
651-351-8780

Email:
roses@stillwaterschools.org

Mr. Hackbarth

Classroom Phone:
651-351-8727

Email:
hackbartht@stillwaterschools.org

Front Office: (651)351-8700

Attendance Line: (651)351-8701

*When your child will be absent:

Enter the absence on PowerSchool OR
Call the attendance line: 651-351-8701

In addition, contacting your child’s teacher directly via email or phone is always appreciated!

Curriculum

Math

Literacy

Literacy instruction consists of reader’s workshop, writer’s workshop, and word work (Letterland). Each day students will receive direct instruction in skills and strategies that lead to proficient reading. They are given ample amounts of time to read high interest, self selected, just right books. During independent reading time, students will meet with the teacher one-on-one or in small groups focusing on skills at their instructional level.

Writing Workshop begins each day with a whole group lesson on a writing skill or strategy. We practice together and then students work independently on their piece of writing. Teachers then meet one-on-one and in small groups with students to give feedback, teach next steps, and monitor students’ writing.

We will use the Letterland curriculum for word work instruction. Letterland was created to teach phonics using a story-based approach. The story logic engages students leading to long term retention of concepts. What's more, Letterland is wonderfully ‍‍‍multi-sensor‍‍‍y. It activates every learning channel through music, actions, alliteration, movement, song, art, games and role-play.

Science

Throughout the year we will complete these units: Pebbles, Sand, and Silt; Solids and Liquids; and Life Cycles. We also have 2 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) kits called The Playdoh Process and Building Walls. Students use the engineering design process, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative discussions while designing products and processes.

Social Studies

Homework At Stonebridge

Multiple studies show little evidence suggesting that homework has a signiﬁcant eﬀect on student learning at the elementary level. At Stonebridge, our expectation is that kids read (or a parent reads to them) each evening as their homework. In ﬁrst grade this could include practice of sight words, leveled books, and/or books of the student's choice. Here are some minimum guidelines to follow:

• 15 minutes for kindergarten and ﬁrst graders.
• 20-30 minutes for second through ﬁfth graders.

The overarching theme at our school is that we will not be assigning homework other than what is described above. On occasion, there will be some exceptions. First, we need to look at the diﬀerence between homework and schoolwork. Homework is deﬁned as work assigned by the teacher to be completed at home. Schoolwork is deﬁned as work that was unﬁnished at school, therefore, the child brings the work home to complete it. This may happen if a child has missed school for an illness or on an occasion where the child did not ﬁnish the work during the time provided in school.

Homework must be eﬀective if it is assigned and eﬀective homework assignments must be prescribed in a certain way. For example, an eﬀective use of homework would be the teacher sitting down and thinking ‘Ray has trouble with number placement, so I’m going to give him ﬁve problems on number placement.’ Then the next day the teacher sits down with Ray and asks, ‘Was this hard for you? Where did you have diﬃculty?’ Then the teacher gives Ray either more or less material based on what was learned. This type of eﬀective homework is very different compared to all children receiving the same math worksheets to compete on a nightly basis.

Lastly, we’d love to see kids get the opportunity to play with family and friends, take the dog for a walk, help out around the house, and get outside as a part of their nightly routine.

I truly appreciate the support of the community of Stonebridge, not only outside the school but within. Families are so welcoming and supportive of the children and the sense of "family" really shines through in this school. I love the involvement with teachers and parents – wonderful!PARENT COMMENT

Communication

Each week you will receive a weekly email or Seesaw message from your child’s teacher with information about the upcoming week. If you need a paper copy of this communication, please contact your child’s teacher.

Your child’s teacher will also be using Seesaw, an online portfolio, to share information about your child’s learning. Look for more information and how to access your child’s portfolio later in the fall.

Your child will bring home a take home folder each day - please check this with your child daily for important communication. If your child is the youngest child in the family or the only, they will be receiving the important papers from the office (1 set per family). Please empty and return on the following school day.

Calendar

General Daily Schedule for 1st Grade

Field Trips

Volunteering and Background Check Information

All district employees and volunteers must complete a district background check. (Background checks from other sources can't be submitted.) The background check process can take up to a month to complete, so register now to make sure you don’t miss out on any volunteer opportunities. Background checks are simple to complete and cost $15. School board policy requires that background checks for volunteers be renewed every four years. If you are uncertain about when your background check will expire, please contact the school secretary. You can learn more by accessing the following link: https://stillwaterschools.org/departments/human-resources/background-check-form

Student Technology Resources

Recess

Snacks and Water Bottles

Birthday Celebrations

Keeping our district wellness policy in mind, we ask that students not bring in food to celebrate birthdays. If you would like to share a treat with the class you might consider a class book or game for the classroom, etc. instead of food. Summer birthdays will be celebrated on a special day in May. Please use the Stonebridge Directory for sending birthday party invitations via email or US mail.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Parents can assist by following arrival and dismissal procedures listed below. These procedures can be found on the Stonebridge website under the Parent Resources section.

Classes begin at 8:45 a.m. with dismissal at 3:15 p.m.
All Students: 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
School Patrol: 8:15 a.m. and 3:35 p.m.

We have no supervision outside of these times.

There are four types of dismissals at Stonebridge:

Walkers: Students who walk home. If you are meeting your child at school, please wait outside or in the vestibule.
Bus: Students who ride the bus.
Carpool: Students who are picked up in a vehicle.
Adventure Club: Students who attend on-site child care.

Students are released in a gradual manner to facilitate safety in the hallways. Adventure Club students go to the cafeteria. Walkers and bussers go out first. Carpool students wait in the gym until busses have left the parking lot, which is no later than 3:25 p.m. Carpool students are escorted outside to meet their rides.

A.M. Traffic Reminders

Our morning busses drop off on Owens Street south of the school entrance and arrive at approximately the same time. This results in some of our busses waiting where the carpool lines up north of the school entrance. It is important for parents to wait behind the busses and be signaled in by our traffic controller. We have had a number of near accidents with cars taking a right turn in front of the bus in order to get into the school entrance. This will be a temporary delay as the busses will move forward as soon as the space is available.

Once into the school parking area, proceed towards the school entrance following to the right.
Stay in line, pull ahead to the marked carpool sign.
Pull away promptly to keep the line moving.

P.M. Traffic Reminders

Afternoon announcements are made at 3:15 p.m. Messages for students should be called into the office no later than 2:45 p.m.

The end of the day can be very hectic. We are asking you to make appointments outside the school day. If you need to pick your child up early, plan on some extra time. Park your car in the parking lot without blocking other vehicles and be mindful of the handicap spots and crosswalks. You will need to activate the intercom upon arrival and one of our office staff will sign your child out. Your child will meet you in the vestibule.

All Stonebridge students need to exit the building at the end of the day from the main front entrance doors.
Students are not allowed to meet vehicles in the parking lot.
Parents need to use the carpool line.
You will not be able to make a left turn when the traffic controller is in the intersection.

Carpool/Pick Up Vehicles

Line up on the west side of Owens street (along the curb), just north of the school’s entrance.
Wait for our traffic controller to signal you in.
Please do not block driveways or crosswalks.
Once into the school parking area, proceed towards the school entrance following to the right.
Stay in line, pull ahead to the marked carpool sign.
Pull away promptly to keep the line moving.