Welcome Back to School

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Welcome Back to School

• Sawnee Elementary
• First Grade Open House
• August 9, 2007

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Dear Parents,Welcome to the exciting world of
first grade. For those of you experiencing a
child in first grade for the first time, get
ready! You will be amazed at the amount of
learning that takes place. For other more
school-experienced parents, you will be pleased
with our language and math programs along with
all the changes that will occur this year. We
are excited to be part of a strong first grade
team at Sawnee. Our first priority is your
childs education and well-being, and well work
diligently to see that he receives the greatest
benefits from our educational program. We know
from research and experience that parent
involvement is essential to maximize the benefits
the child gets from his school experience. We
urge you to become involved by helping your child
with homework, attending school meetings and
activities, volunteering in the classroom and,
most of all, talking with your child about his
school experiences. We will further discuss
these subjects with you at curriculum
night.Please read the following pages for
important information, suggestions and supplies
so that you and your child may be better prepared
for first grade. We are looking forward to
working with your child and you!Sawnee Primary
First Grade TeachersLaura Barr Deborah
Clark Becky Bray Beverly JablonskiBetsy
Cain Stephanie Smith Amy Sanford Krissy
StillwellCourtnie Rosson Susan WilliamsEsther
WhittJennifer Roach Michelle Pebley
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Information and SuggestionsFirst Grade
Curriculum Night will be in the coming weeks.
Curriculum, policies, homework, grading, and the
standards-based report card will be among the
subjects discussed at this important meeting.
Please make plans to attend. Parent conferences
will be held in October. More information
concerning conferences will be given later.

• When you receive the Sawnee Elementary Handbook,
  read it carefully and put it in a handy place to
  use as a resource throughout the year.
• Make good attendance a habit from the beginning.
  If your child must be absent, call the attendance
  line by 10 A.M. each day of the absence. A
  written excuse is required when your child
  returns to school.
• An official school transportation change form is
  necessary anytime your childs afternoon
  transportation changes. One is enclosed in your
  packet. Please send in your transportation
  change form on or before the morning of the
  change for submittal to the office. Feel free to
  make copies or request additional ones as needed.
  According to the transportation department,
  students will only be allowed to get off the bus
  at their regular assigned stop. Drop offs at
  other locations will no longer be allowed.
• It is highly recommended that your child begin
  his regular transportation routine the first day
  of school to avoid changes and confusion later.

• School begins promptly at 820 A. M. and ends at
  300 P. M.. If your child arrives late or
  leaves early he misses instruction and
  activities. It will also be considered a tardy
  or early dismissal.
• A folder will accompany your child each day. It
  will include important papers, student work,
  notes to you, etc. Also included will be a
  calendar which will indicate your childs daily
  behavior (? or note) and the snack schedule. You
  may place notes to me and transportation change
  forms inside this folder. It very important to
  look in this folder daily.

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• Lunches purchased in the school lunchroom are
  1.75 per day and breakfast is 1.05. There are
  reduced prices for those who qualify. For your
  convenience, both can be paid for weekly or
  monthly, and there is an online prepayment system
  as well. This eliminates the need for packing
  money each day. Checks with all the appropriate
  information should be sent in a labeled envelope.
  Please include the childs first and last name
  and teachers name. Feel free to come have lunch
  with your child anytime after the first week of
  school. You can meet us in the breezeway by the
  Music room.
• Other extra items for purchase in the lunchroom
  include ice cream, PowerAde, juice, water and
  various other snacks. All extra items except for
  ice cream can be deducted from your childs
  account. Please give your child very clear
  directions concerning when or how often he may be
  allowed to purchase extra items at lunch. As
  these extras can be charged to your childs lunch
  account, your lunch budget can be greatly
  affected. Please make sure your child
  understands your directions. Contact the
  cafeteria manager, Karen Archer, at ext. 072149
  for any questions concerning lunchroom procedures
• Ice cream procedures have changed. The
  cost is 0.75 and can no longer be deducted from
  lunch accounts. The money must be sent in on the
  day the ice cream is to be purchased.

• Birthday parties will be held on or as close to
  your childs birthday as possible. However, I
  will need to know several days in advance if you
  plan to bring or send something in so that time
  may be allowed in the schedule. The nutrition
  department is highly encouraging store bought
  birthday goodies due to allergy concerns. Please
  do not send drinks or goody bags for birthdays .
• In the past it has worked well to have
  community snacks where each child donates
  snacks for the whole class approximately once per
  month. Suggestions might be cheese crackers,
  chex mix, grapes or something else thats easy
  and inexpensive. No drinks are needed at snack
  time. Your scheduled day will be indicated on
  the calendar inside the home folder on Sunday.
  If snacks are sent in at the beginning of the
  week there will be many things for the children
  to choose from. (They love that.) In order to
  accommodate some medical situations, please send
  snacks in their original containers, and remember
  they encourage store bought items. Make sure
  the snacks do not contain nuts.

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Transportation Change Form ______________________
______ in __________________________s class will
be a Students Name
Teachers Name ____ Bus
Rider Route _________ Destination
Address __________________________________________
_______ ____ Day Care Bus Rider
___________________ (Name of Day Care)


____ Car Rider, picked up by ___________________
___________________________
Name and Relationship to
Child, Must Be on the Pick Up List
on the following day(s)
_______________________________________________
If the
change is for several days, list all dates for
the change. If
the change is permanent, write PERMANENT
on the line. ________________________________
_ Parents Signature and Date Transportat
ion Change Form ____________________________ in
__________________________s class will be a
Students Name
Teachers Name ____ Bus Rider
Route _________ Destination
Address __________________________________________
_______ ____ Day Care Bus Rider
___________________ (Name of Day Care)


____ Car Rider, picked up by ___________________
___________________________
Name and Relationship to
Child, Must Be on the Pick Up List
on the following day(s)
_______________________________________________
If the
change is for several days, list all dates for
the change. If
the change is permanent, write PERMANENT
on the line. ________________________________
_ Parents Signature and Date
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Miss Cains Supply ListPlease label the bookbag,
pencil pouch, scissors, and composition books.
Consumable supplies like crayons, markers, etc.
will be kept together and shared by all students.
Therefore, theres no need to label these
supplies.

• book bag or back pack (no rolling bags please)
• Zippered pencil pouch (no boxes please)
• crayons (24 or less)
• 2- 12 packs pre-sharpened 2 pencils
• 3 pocket folders (solid colors with prongs)
• one box of tissues
• 2 marble composition notebooks (not spiral bound)
• Childs scissors
• Glue sticks
• 1 pkg index cards these may be large, small,
  white, or colored
• 1 bottle white school glue
• 1 bottle hand sanitizer
• 1 clean sock (for slate erasers)
• Markers and colored pencils are optional for
  personal use

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A Note from the Teacher
Hello, My name is Miss Cain and I will be your
childs first grade teacher. I am very excited
about our class and have been making preparations
for many weeks now. Currently, our class has 15
students, but that could easily
change. Information about our classroom and the
first grade expectations will be provided at our
parent meeting in August. You will certainly
want to attend this meeting as the curriculum and
the first grade report card will be discussed.
Look for more information on this date coming
soon. I thought you might like to know a little
about me, so heres a short history. This is my
second year teaching at Sawnee. I grew up in
Cumming, and I also attended Forsyth County
schools. My dad and oldest sister are both
pharmacists at Goodson Drug. My mom is a retired
special education teacher from Sawnee, and my
middle sister teaches 4th grade here at the
school. I graduated from the University of
Georgia and Im a die-hard Dawgs fan! I live in
Dunwoody, but my family all lives in town and Im
still actively involved in organizations in
Cumming. I also want you to know that I am
committed to doing my best to meet the needs of
my students. My goal is seeing that you learn
and grow as much as possible this year. I have
very high expectations for you and I know that
youll do very well. I am looking forward to a
great year with you. Please feel free to contact
me whenever you feel it is necessary, and I will
do the same. You may send a note in the home
folder or I can be reached at 770-888-1150 ext.
072280 and bcain_at_forsyth.k12.ga.us. If possible,
I prefer to communicate through e-mail. Thank
you for the opportunity to get to know your
family. Sincerely, Miss Cain