The Renaissance Charter Schoolpage 1 of 8

The Renaissance Charter SchoolPage 1 of 8

Curriculum Night Fall 2017

First Grade

Nicole De Nino and Monique Dunlock

Email:

Contact Information

Please use the email address to contact me with any questions or concerns. If you would like to come in for a meeting, please reach out through email and we will schedule a meeting as soon as possible. I truly believe in working together to ensure that your child is having a successful school year.

Attendance

School begins each day at 8:20 AM. If your child misses a day of school please send a note for the attendance personnel in the office.

Homework

The children will begin to receive homework on September 25th. Homework is given to help reinforce the lessons taking place during the school day. Each week your child will be asked to complete 3 spelling and reading assignments. Math homework will be given each night. In regards to the math homework, please only complete the pages assigned for a given night. The homework packet will be given on Monday and asked to be returned by Friday. If any assignments are incomplete, your child will have the weekend to complete missing assignments.

Assessments

The children will be assessed on their progress throughout the year. Assessments will consist of running records, anecdotal notes, review of class work, rubrics for writing and projects, tests, and one-on-one conferences with the child and the teacher.

There will be a spelling test each week. The Spelling test will be on the spelling words used for homework exercises. Children are expected to memorize the words. There will also be a few words that are unknown to the children but follow the spelling rules that were taught during the week. The children will be expected to use spelling words in a sentence.
Math tests will be given at the end of each chapter. In some cases there may be a math quiz to help increase the children’s fluency with certain math facts.
Reading tests will be given at least once a month. Reading tests will include reading comprehension passages. Children will be expected to answer questions about the passage through multiple choice questions and written response.
Social Studies grades will be based on several in class projects and assignments, which take place throughout the year.
Writing is assessed on the overall use of the writing process during our Writing Workshop time. The published piece will be graded using a rubric, which will be available to the children throughout the writing process.
Graded tests will be sent home each Monday. Please review, sign, and return the tests to school as soon as possible.
If students are absent when a test is given their test will be administered on the day they return to school. If the child was absent more than one consecutive day prior to the test they will be given the number of days absent to review the material before the test.

Report Cards

Report cards will be distributed three times a year. The dates for the report card conferences are:
November 16th from 5 – 8pm and November 17th from 1 – 3pm.
March 8th from 5 – 8pm and March 9th from 1 -3pm.
Conference sign up will take place two weeks before conferences using the website, Signup Genius. Please be sure I have your correct email address so you may receive the emails regarding conference sign up. I will send the conference signup email to

notify you when to sign up.

Classroom Management

Throughout the first week of school we talked extensively about what it means to be part of a community and how important it is to create a loving community in our classroom. We created a promise of how we can best support each other in the classroom. Some of the promises were to listen when others are speaking, keep our classroom clean, and to always treat each other in a kind way.

Class Promises

Use helping hands
Use kind words
Listen with our whole body
Use walking Feet
Do our best.

The children also have Brownie Points. The children earn a brownie point by following the promises we created together. When they receive 10 brownie points, the children receive an agreed upon reward.

Please know that if I need to contact you regarding behavior, I have tried several strategies to try and remedy the situation in the classroom before a phone call is made and/or a request for a meeting. I prefer to first try and find the solution during our class time and only when that is not feasible will I contact you for additional support.

Birthdays

All birthday celebrations must be collaborated with me prior to the actual day. Birthdays can be celebrated on your child’s birthday or on another specific day. For birthday celebrations cupcakes and juice boxes are acceptable. Our birthday celebrations will begin around 2:30pm on select days. We are open to having parents and the student share their favorite read aloud book with the class. If the parent(s) cannot be present, Monique or I will read the book to the class. You may send in a camera so that the event can be photographed for your memory books!

*We have 25 children in the classroom. If you would like to supply the class with goodie bags or another type of gift ALL students MUST be included. If all students are not included, the items will be sent back home.

*Please note that I will not distribute birthday party invitations in class.*

Field Trips

I believe field trips help the children better understand the topics being covered in class and allow them the opportunity to have real life experiences that further their understanding of the curriculum. Each field trip we go on this year will be carefully planned and executed so that the children develop life-learning skills with regards to all their subjects.

Field trips require a teacher to be extremely prepared to ensure a productive and safe experience for the children and the chaperones. Your child’s safety is always the first and foremost concern on field trips. I want to be sure the children are able to have a good time in a safe and secure environment. On a field trip the classroom and school rules need to be strictly enforced. Even though parents are attending, the children need to know that they will be held accountable for their actions. When on a field trip children must follow the directions given by the teacher and/or chaperone, participate in the activities, and treat all adults with respect. Chaperones need to model the behavior that is desired by the children.

In the event that more parents/caregivers volunteer for a field trip than can attend, a lottery system will be used to ensure fairness in the chaperone selection. The volunteers will be notified at least a week in advance for their services for the upcoming field trip.

As a chaperone you agree to meet at the school 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time. While on a field trip you will also agree to stay for the entirety of the trip, as your responsibility is to keep all the children in the class safe to and from the school. Furthermore, cell phones, calls and texting, are not permitted. Please note that children will either have a light snack before they leave for the trip or lunch immediately after we return. Snack and beverages are not allowed on the trip unless it has been requested prior to departure.

Volunteer Possibilities

The first grade classroom is open to all parents, family, caregivers, and friends. If there is something you would like to share with the class (art projects, family traditions, food, etc.) please contact me so we may arrange a time and date for you to come to the class.

Specials

Spanish

Art

Science

Dance

Academic Subjects

In our classroom we celebrate the individual talents of all the children. The curriculum is differentiated to fit the needs of a child's individual strengths and areas of growth. A hands-on, real life application approach engages children to think critically and to problem solve in order to build comprehension. Literacy skills are integrated into all aspects of the curriculum including social studies, math, and science. An emphasis is placed upon supporting the children’s academic talents through enrichment studies.

English Language Arts

The ELA program is designed to help the children build reading skills through motivating and engaging literature, a thorough phonemic awareness program, while increasing the children’s reading comprehension strategies in fiction and non-fiction areas. Lessons are carefully planned so the instruction is differentiated and there is a strong emphasis on ongoing student/teacher conferences in reading and writing. Small groups are carefully crafted so each skill is prioritized based on the group with students receiving focus on the right reading skill at the right time.

Writing is taught through the use of the Writing Workshop model. We believe in using this model to foster the childrens work with phonics as well as incorporating the importance of grammar instruction through the organic process of writing. During writing workshop the children become writers just like the authors who we read each day. The children are asked to draft, revise, edit, and publish their pieces. Writing topics range from small moment/narratives, non-fiction research topics, poetry, and storytelling. The children are supported through writing mini-lessons, which continuously strengthen the grammar or writing skills that have been previously modeled as well as new skills. The children’s writing evolves through the use of author studies and one on one writing conferences with Daniela or myself.

Throughout first grade the children acquire independence when reading and writing. Through phonics instruction the children continue their work with syllables and sounds, are able to identify a short vowel and long vowel word, use word rules for word construction, recognize word families, pronounce multisyllabic words through word “chunking”, isolate difficult words and isolate each sound for understanding, and create a sight word dictionary for continued word recognition.

Children participate in guided reading groups that are grouped both on skill and interest. Guided reading groups use a selection of stories found in most local libraries and bookstores.

Children’s writing work evolves through the use of Writing Workshop. Students are asked to draft, revise, and publish their work with constant one on one coaching with Daniela or myself. Children are encouraged to develop their written work by using concepts taught in reading such as character development, character traits, main idea, point of view, the use of details, predictions, and textual evidence.

Social studies is integrated throughout the ELA curriculum while establishing understanding of the following topics: the exploration of the rights of citizenships, continued explanation of needs and wants, communities around us, and the family’s impact on a neighborhood.

Math

Math concepts and skills are taught using three main components: models, conceptual understanding, and differentiated instruction,

Models are used to help the children make sense of the problems and become better problem solvers. The use of models supports the children so that when a difficult problem is encountered the child is familiar with the correct way to visually represent the problem in order to solve it efficiently and accurately.

Conceptual Understanding is used through daily problem based activities that are supported through the use of the SMART board and step-by-step visual learning. The visual learning becomes a great asset for the children as they increase their conceptual understanding of the topics being covered in class. The step-by-step process gives the children the tools needed to learn how to read a problem and identify the necessary skills needed to solve the problem.

Differentiated instruction is designed for the right amount of support and challenge for each child. The children’s needs are met through small groups and one on one math conferences with Daniela or myself. We identify the child’s strengths and needs in order to provide appropriate support. The curriculum evolves to allow for us to monitor progress on a daily basis.

For first graders a main focus of the math curriculum will be the further development of addition and subtraction up to the number 20. The children will also read and write numbers to 120, skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, geometry, word problems with a written and pictorial explanation, verbal explanations of answers based on strategies taught in class as well as child developed strategies, reading and writing numbers, number comparisons to 120, and the sequence of numbers to 120.

In order to support our learning in the first grade, we use the following programs:

Fundations – Phonemic Awareness and Handwriting Skills

Fountas and Pinnell – Guided Reading Program

Lucy Calkins - Writing Workshop

Junior Great Books

Singapore Math

Social Studies Alive!

Foss – Science Program

Your child may experience some mild school-adjustment issues, and you should know that we have a program that helps students feel confident and happy to come to school.

Primary Project is a school-based program developed by Children’s Institute at the University of Rochester. It is designed to enhance school related competencies and reduce social, emotional, and school adjustment difficulties in children in grades kindergarten through third. The program is supervised by our social worker and our administration, and children work with a child associate selected on their natural abilities to nurture and positively interact with children. Using play-based strategies, child associates work to establish positive relationships with children, helping them be able to connect more successfully with adults and peers in school.

If your child is suggested for Primary Project, you will receive an invitation and more information about the program. If you feel your child may benefit from this supportive program, please let me know!

I look forward to seeing everyone in November for parent/teacher conferences. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions/concerns before November. Working in partnership we will ensure that each child has a wonderful experience in the first grade!