Parent's Corner

Chers Parents,       My name is Madame Jennifer Hernandez and I am very excited to be teaching Grade One this year.  Grade One is a very exciting year where your child will show much growth in many areas.  I am looking forward to you, your child and I having a great year working together.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call at 885-2216 or email me at jhernandez@sjsd.net and I will respond to you as quickly as possible. Class Newsletter and Class Website       I will be sending letters home with your child to let you know what is happening in our classroom.  I also have designed a classroom blog which will be updated often.  Please visit the blog frequently to see some of your child’s work and our classroom news.  You can choose to follow this blog by placing your email address into the Follow by Email box.  You will receive an email letting you know when something has been added to the blog.  The blog address is http://mmehernandez.blogspot.com/ Agendas Students will be using agendas in our classroom this year.  Agendas will go home everyday and are to be returned to school each morning.  The agenda is intended to continue to foster communication between school and home.  On certain days, students will be asked to write a message in their agenda regarding up-coming events.  On other occasions, I will be writing a message.          Parents are asked to check and sign the agenda on a daily basis.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to write a message in your child’s agenda! Homework Homework will be sent home on Fridays and will be expected to be completed and returned prior to the following  Wednesday in their homework duo-tang.  Homework is one way of holding children accountable for their own learning and it touches base with you at home as to what is being done in the classroom.  Once we start working on small group reading instruction and I know what level your child is reading at, we will begin our Home Reading Program. Students are expected to bring and read a home reading book every day.  Please continue to read to them as well.  This is still a very important part of their reading development. Scholastic Book Club       Throughout the year, I will be sending home Scholastic book orders.   Please take a few moments to look through them with your child.  The books are all suitable for your child.  Do not feel obligated to purchase any but if you are interested in ordering books, please send the completed order to school with a cheque.  I will hand out the books as soon as they come in.  The first order will be sent out in September. Byron Bear       Byron Bear is our classroom bear that is sent home each week with a student.  He comes with his own bag and  journal.  I ask that parents help with Byron Bear’s journal by writing what you did on the weekend with him.  Your child will share with the class when he is returned each Monday. Subjects       Here is a brief outline of the subjects that we will be studying this year.  You will be receiving more information through out the year.  Math:       The math program is divided into 4 strands: sorting and patterning, statistics and probability, number and shape and space. We also do problem solving and mental math activities of various  kinds. Francais:       I will be speaking in French in all subjects and all day except during English Language Arts.  The exception would be when a student is very confused or upset, then English will be used.            I will be reading books and the students will learn new vocabulary and sentence structures, games and poems in French.   Students will also be required to present in front  of the class, such as to talk about an item brought in from home, in French.          English Language Arts (ELA):       The Language Arts program is about communication: written, oral and media (art,film, etc.)  Students practice receiving (listening, reading, and viewing) and producing information (speaking, writing and representing.) Over the course of the year, we will read various kinds of literature,such as stories, poetry, instructional texts and informational texts.          Formal reading instruction starts this year for Grade One students.   Students should be ready to begin small group instruction sometime in October. We will also start formal writing instruction.  This will include printing and learning how to identify sounds in words and connecting a letter or letters to those sounds. Health: Food and Nutrition, Dental Health, Safety and Emotion Well-Being will be studied this year during Health. Art:       In art, students will be using various types of media and implementing a variety of techniques such as paints, chalk, collage, oil pastels, papier-mâché. Natural Science:       The students will be learning the following units in science this year: 1.     The 5 Senses. 2.   Characteristics and Needs of Living Things. 3.   Characteristics of Objects and Materials. 4.   Daily and Seasonal changes. Social Studies:       Students will be focusing on the units, I am special, I belong in my world, My community, Connecting with others and Canada in Social Studies. Rules and  Consequences       During the first week, the students and I will be working on the classroom rules.  Once we have agreed on our classroom rules, we will post it and refer to it throughout the year.           We will also work on our procedures for various times of the day, such as coming in, lining up, lunch, going for recess etc.   I will teach these and we will practice them and continue to practice them throughout the year.          Aggressive behaviour, be it verbal or physical, will automatically be met with the consequence of a missed recess and note or phone call home.  For unacceptable behaviour or to catch up on work, students will need to stay in for part of a recess.  The note sent home will need to be signed by parents and child and returned to school the following day. Nutrition          We are promoting healthy eating, consistent with that is taught in the provincial curriculum, in order to  establish healthy eating habits for a lifetime. Healthy eating helps children grow, develop and do well in school.  A healthy diet makes children more settled, attentive and ready to learn. Poor nutrition is associated with poor learning outcomes.  Therefore, I am asking that each child bring healthy recess snacks to school. Schedule Library on day 2 Music with Mme. Burdeniuk on days 1, 2 and 3 . Physical Education with M. Vallee on days  1, 4, 5 and 6. Parties       We will have four classroom parties: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter.  The parties will take place after lunch because we will be doing various activities that are connected with that holiday, throughout the morning.  Each student can contribute a snack and there will be a sign up sheet at the parent/teacher conference.  A note will be sent home reminding students of the snack they have volunteered to bring.    Please do not send any food if you have not signed up. Thank you. Again, please contact me at 885-2216 or by email jhernandez@sjsd.net , if you have any questions or comments I am looking forward to working with you and your child this year, Mme Jennifer Hernandez