August 26 - 30, 2013

August 26-30

Welcome to first grade!

It was so nice to meet you all on Friday! I am excited to have your child in my class.

We had a wonderful day today! Please ask your child about First Grade Jitters and Jitter Juice! Normally, folders will go home with students every Tuesday. However, there were a couple of forms that absolutely needed to go home today and be returned by tomorrow. Please be sure to check you child's backpack for their blue folder, fill out the forms, and return them tomorrow. 

I have also included some important information below that will help you and your child professionals in first grade. :) 

* Please put your child to bed early each night (between 7:30-8:00) in order for them to adjust to their daily school schedule. School starts at 7:35. Please allow time in the morning for your child to have a nutritious, high protein breakfast and use the bathroom before coming to school. We take a few bathroom breaks during the day but it is still important that they enter the room prepared and ready to go.

* Please have your child wear comfortable clothing. Children must wear socks and comfortable tennis shoes as well. Please avoid flip-flops, sandals, or high heels for girls. Your child will not be able to play, run or have fun in the playground if he/she is wearing uncomfortable shoes.

* Your child needs to bring a medium sized backpack, large enough to hold the Tuesday folder and small enough to fit in our cubbies. Each child shares a cubby with another child, so please avoid getting a very large back pack. Also, please avoid backpacks with wheels as they are not very safe and might cause other children to trip and fall.

* Please send a nutritious snack packed separately from their lunch daily. Examples of snack include: cut up pieces of apples, carrots, crackers and cheese or anything they like as long as it is healthy and nutritious. Please avoid sending chips, cupcakes or cookies. We eat snack when we come back from recess at 9:30.

* Our Lunch time is @ 12:05. If you're packing lunch for your child, please let them know that they have lunch and won't be buying from cafeteria. If you choose to buy lunch from cafeteria, there are two ways to pay for it: one way is to pay directly to the cafeteria and the other is to pay on-line. You can find the link on RRISD website under parents section. The link is called PayPams. You can also send the lunch money to me, but please put the money in an envelope or a plastic bag with your child's name and my name on it. This way the cafeteria manager knows who the money belongs to.

* If you choose, you can also send a small water bottle with your child's name on it. I will keep them by the sink if they get thirsty during the lesson. This is optional as we take quite a few bathroom and water break during the day.

* Please avoid sending toys and stuffed animals in your child's backpack. This is against school policy and unfortunately I have to take it away from your child and return it to you if I see one. Thank you!

* Every week on Tuesday your child will be coming home with a folder. Be patient as the folder is filled with lots of papers. Please go through the content of the folder, the papers that need to be signed or returned to me, please sign or fill out and put it back in the folder and return and the ones that you don't need to send back, keep for future reference or recycle. The most important thing is that the Tuesday folder is signed and returned to me the next day.

* If you are making any changes regarding your child's transportation on a particular day, please notify me by e-mail or phone or call the office, either the day before or on the same day, but please try to call as soon as possible, so I can make the necessary arrangements. If you send an e-mail or leave a voice mail in the last few minutes before the dismissal, I may not have time to get your messages and therefore not be aware of your changes. There will be a signing sheet regarding how your child goes home, outside the door on Monday. This list has more detailed information regarding the bus's name and walkers' drop off. Please fill out this form, if you haven't done so, as you drop off your child on Monday morning.

* And last but not the least: Your precious children have been home with you for a couple of months during the summer. Coming to school early in the morning and saying goodbye to you might be difficult for some children. Please help me to help your children to make this transition as smooth and as successful as possible.  For this reason please make your goodbye short and sweet and don't linger at the door too long. Be confident that your child is going to have a great day and she or he is in excellent hands!

I thank you all for your help and support and thank you again for trusting your children with me and for being a partner in their education.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Leyva