To help keep things growing “weed-free”, it helps to remember our class procedures:

• Every day: Your child will need a small, healthy snack each day.  Lunches should be in a lunch box or bag with the name on the OUTSIDE.  If your child is buying lunch, all students now have a P.I.N. number that they enter on a key pad when they buy snack or lunch. Students enter this number even if they are paying in cash, with the goal that eventually most students will have online accounts and will not have to bring cash to school.
• Your child will need his/her backpack EVERY day, and the name needs to be written in LARGE letters on the outside.  Put names on all clothes and belongings.  It makes it so much easier to return them to their rightful owner.
• Absences:  If your child is absent, please notify the office and state the reason for the absence.  If your child will be absent for more than 5 consecutive school days (holidays do not count),  you may request an Independent Study Contract 2 weeks in advances at the front office through Kay Bradley.   
• Tardies:  If you and your child are running late and our class has already entered the classroom – you will need to bring your child to the front office and check in.  You will need to sign the yellow clip board and your child will need to get a happy face tardy slip to bring to class.  This is to ensure that all attendance records are correct.
• Drop off Table:   If your child forgets something at home please drop it off in the front office or put it in their back pack outside the classroom.  Items delivered by parents will be put on the “Drop off Table” near the front office.  The office will not interrupt class to tell students their items are at school – students will need to check the drop off table during their break.
• Behavior Management:  Please see the “Our Classroom” section of the handbook.
• Birthday Celebrations:  A great way to celebrate birthdays is to donate a book to our school or classroom library.  Students will have their picture taken with the book and a special label is affixed inside with their name and birthday.  In class each student will be recognized with a special birthday hat, stickers, and song!  Due to Food allergies and to comply with state and district wellness plans please save cupcakes, cookies, and other treats for birthday parties at home.  I appreciate your understanding. 

Additional Information
 

Star of the Week:  Each week one student will be randomly chosen to be the “Beary Special” person of the week. They will have an opportunity to create a poster to display in class and share a little bit about themselves with their classmates. In addition, they will have the responsibility of taking care of Baxter Bear for the week and documenting their activities together in his journal to share with the class. A packet has been included in this section and a star of the week schedule can be found on our website.  More information will be provided at the time that each student is star of the week.

Book Orders: School book clubs are a convenient way for students to build a home library of reading materials that are of high quality and interest to them. Scholastic books are reasonably priced and have received awards that include: Newberry, Caldecott and Young Readers Medals. Students will have an opportunity to order books monthly from Scholastic Books.

Book-It: This program is sponsored by Pizza Hut and is designed to motivate children to read more, thereby developing their reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension skills. This is how it works:

• Students read with parents every night (15-20 minutes per night) and record on monthly reading log.
• At the end of every month, the reading log is turned in and if the child has read 15-20 for homework every night for the whole month, and the reading log is signed by their parents, they will receive a Pizza Hut gift certificate good for a free personal pan pizza.

Sharing /Oral Presentations: We will begin oral presentations in October.  Each child will be assigned one day each month to share. Each presentation will be graded. A sample rubric is included in the parent handbook. There will be a specific theme for each month. If your child is sick on their assigned day, they can share on the day they return.  The sharing schedule and topics for each month are posted on our website.    

Library: The students will be visiting the school library every Thursday to listen to a story and check out a book.  It will be their book to keep at home for the week. The book needs to be returned on Wednesday of the following week in order for them to check out another book. 

Parent-Teacher Communication

In addition to our three report cards (sent home in December, March and June) and our conferences (October and March), I am always available to speak with you about your child.  If it's not urgent, please jot a note or e-mail me (jmccarth@iusd.org), and I will respond as soon as possible.  You may call our classroom and leave a message as well (949) 936-8577.  In return, I will contact you the same way if there is something that I'd like to discuss.