Welcome Letter

August 2013

 Dear Parents and First and Second Graders:

Hello!  I would like to welcome my students back to school!

 
First – a little background :  Four years ago,  I returned to St. John’s as the first and second grade teacher.  I previously had taught second grade here for the 1998-1999 school year, and then first grade after that for three more years.  Previous to that, I taught for two years at Holy Rosary School in Monroe City at the first grade level.  And before all of that, I graduated from Culver-Stockton College in May 1996 with a degree in Elementary Education.

 After taking some time out in the business world (working for Niemann Foods in Quincy as an Equipment Buyer), I decided that I was missing the imagination and creativity that teaching brought to my days. So I returned to the field of education.  I live with my husband, Doug, and seven year old daughter, Maddie in Payson, Illinois.  Maddie is a second grader in our classroom this year!

 I would like the parents to know that they are always welcome to visit our room.  If you have concerns, questions, etc…please don’t hesitate to call me at school (221-0215), on my cell  (217-430-9257), or e-mail me at kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org.  We are working as a team to help our kids get the best education possible!

 A few things to keep in mind:

 1.             Please check your child’s bookbag every evening for a School Note Folder.  This folder will be sent home every evening with important all-school notes and information that often needs to be signed and returned.  Also you will find information about your child’s daily behavior inside this folder.  From time to time, the folder may contain completed work, work to be singed and returned, or work that needs to be completed and returned to school on the following school day.    Please go through the completed papers with your child.  Help explain to them any mistakes that were made.  Be sure to praise them for their really good work!  Folders need to be returned to school on the following school day.

2.         The Weekly Friday Parent Letter may be viewed online in “blog” form at the following address  http://www.mrsbradshawsclassroomblog.blogspot.com/  .  Other forms of reference for our classroom (handwriting samples, Book It! Forms, etc…) may be found and printed from this blog.  Also there are links to fun websites such as Spelling City where students may practice their weekly spelling lists.  If you are unable to access the blog and would like to request a paper copy of the Friday Parent Letter, please let me know.

 

3.             Due to the increase of students with various food allergies, I have decided to eliminate edible birthday treats in our classroom.  In order to still allow children to celebrate their special day in class, I am encouraging the kids to donate one favorite book to the classroom library.  Kids can write their names and birthday on the inside cover so the book will always be a representation of that special day.  Students may also have a special person come in and read the book to the class (please make an appointment with me in advance!).  Kids with summer birthdays will have “half-birthdays” (exactly six months from their real birthday).  I will contact these kids about when their birthday can be celebrated.

 

4.             Students will have gym class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please make sure that they are wearing comfortable clothing, and they must be wearing tennis shoes to participate.  Kids may bring a pair of tennis shoes to school to always have on hand for gym class.  Also, we will be having Art on Friday afternoons, so kids might want to come in clothes that are not their “Sunday Best” in case of an accident!

 

5.             Twice a week, first and second graders will be bringing home a Reading homework assignment in a Ziploc bag.  Also included will be a note to sign and return indicating what the student is to read.  Please check your child’s bookbag  on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for this assignment.  Other regular homework in first and second grade will be Memory Work, Spelling Words (Friday tests), and Reading Sight Words (which can all be found on the Friday Parent Letters), and Math (see below).  Both first and second graders may have additional homework depending on what is not completed at school. 

 

6.           NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR!  We are proud to introduce our new Math series entitled Saxon Math.  This is a very intense way of teaching Math that I feel will be great because of its constant review of skills learned.  However, please be looking for Math homework sheets to be coming home in the Communication Folder almost every evening!  Typically one page for first graders and two for second graders, this is a way for your student to show you what they have learned that day.  Although frequent, the pages won’t be very long or time consuming.  Please make sure that your student completes these and returns them to school on the following school day.

 

7.             Much of elementary school in general involves the learning of important social skills such as good classroom behavior and getting along with others.  Our classroom uses several management plans to accomplish this goal:

 

                1.  The Card System – Each child has a pocket of colored index cards at the back of the classroom.  Each day every student starts with a GREEN card.  When a student needs to be reminded of their behavior he or she then turns their card to WHITE.  When a student needs to be reminded again, he or she must turn their card to YELLOW and they will sit for five minutes of their recess time.  If the student needs to be  reminded a fourth time, he or she turns their card to ORANGE and they will sit the entire recess time.  A fifth turn will result in a HOT PINK card which brings a silent lunch, loss of entire recess, and a possible visit to the principal and/or a call to parents. 

 

                2.  Row Prize – This is another whole class plan.  Each row in the classroom has the opportunity to earn points with good behavior throughout the school week (such as quietness, being ready first to start with the next activity, etc).  On Friday afternoon, the row with the most points gets a small prize.
 

When dreaming of the future for my students, I hope that they will grow into adults who possess the following ten character traits:  self discipline, self respect, respect for others, integrity, perseverance, patience, generosity, commitment, determination, and diligence.  I hope that you will work together with me to help instill these qualities in the hearts and minds of our students.  This will provide them with the tools they can use to serve as Christian witnesses and productive members of their future communities.

 

 Please let me know if you have any questions.  I look forward to working with you this year!

 

Sincerely,

 

Mrs. Bradshaw

kbradshaw@stjohnshannibal.org