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Welcome to 1st Grade!
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First grade is a time of growth and change. It
is an exciting time for both child and parent.
As we begin our year together, the 1st grade
teachers would like to present an overview of the
year ahead.
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• Attendance
• Good attendance is the key to ensuring your
  childs success in 1st grade.
• Class begins promptly at 730 students are
  tardy at 740.
• 3 tardies remove a student from receiving
  Perfect Attendance recognition.
• All absences and tardies require a parent
  note/doctor note. Students have the number of
  days absent plus one day to turn in make-up work
  after an absence.
• Our district now has a truant officer. Excessive
  absences or tardies may result in a letter or
  visit from the officer and may result in a court
  appearance!

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Birthdays Birthdays are a special time for each
student. The children are celebrated in each
class in various ways. Our school feels that
class recognition is sufficient. Therefore, we
do not allow snacks to be sent for a celebration,
nor do we allow birthday invitations to be
distributed in class. The only exception will be
if the entire class is invited or if everyone of
the same gender is invited. This prevents hurt
feelings for all.
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Breakfast Students are welcome to eat breakfast
in the cafeteria each morning. However, the
cafeteria will stop serving at 730 each morning
when the bell rings. We have specials each
morning from 910 to 1000, then we do not eat
lunch until 1120 each day. Please make sure
that your child has a good breakfast each morning
so he or she will be ready to learn.
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Classroom Discipline Our classrooms, as well as
the entire school, follow the same 3 rules
students are expected to be respectful,
responsible, and safe. Failure to follow these
rules may result in a note in the home folder and
discipline folder.
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Communication The students Gator Folder is the
prime source of communication between parents and
teachers. Important papers and notes are sent
home and back to the teacher in the folder
therefore, the folder should be checked and the
calendar signed nightly. The folder is to be
returned with your child EACH day in the
backpack. If it is lost or destroyed, the parent
will need to replace the supplies for the next
one. E-mail is a primary source of contact and
the teacher. You may access our e-mails through
www.emsisd.com, then choosing Greenfield from the
drop-down menu.
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• Dismissal
• 1st grade is dismissed at 240.
• Car riders are brought to parents outside cars
  must have their visor tag showing when they are
  in line. For the safety of everyone at parent
  pickup, NO child will be released to a parent
  that walks up from the drive. If your child is
  not being placed into a car, they must be signed
  out in the office and taken back through the
  school.
• Walkers those students walking all the way
  home, not to a car - will be dismissed through
  the gym.
• Early dismissal must be signed out through the
  office. No students will be dismissed after 210
  p.m.
• No changes in dismissal will be made without a
  note or a phone call. Phone calls must be
  received by 145.

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Grading First Grade will have a standards based
report card this year, much like you saw in
Kindergarten. This means that, although we may
at times put a grade on a paper, we will be
looking at your students work to be sure that
he/she understands completely and has mastered
the objectives.
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Gym Students will attend gym class 3 times each
week. The children MUST wear tennis shoes for
their safety and the safety of others. Points
will be deducted from the Gym grade if the
student comes unprepared for class. Check your
childs folder for the scheduled gym days.
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Homework Reading homework will be assigned
beginning next week. Your student will bring
home a book on their reading level in a plastic
envelope each day. Students should read each
night for at least 15 minutes reading homework
is not optional. In addition to reading, we will
be sending home a Tic-Tac-Toe board/calendar
with various homework assignments. We are asking
that you help your student complete one row each
week. These will be activities to reinforce
math, spelling and writing. Students will be
earning classroom rewards for completing the
homework, but they will not be punished for not
completing the activities. This calendar will be
in the plastic envelope with the reading.
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Advantages of Wide Reading Advantages of Wide Reading
(This is based on minutes read OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL DAY.) (This is based on minutes read OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL DAY.)
Independent Reading Minutes Per Day Words Read Per Year
65 4,358,000
21.1 1,823,000
14.2 1,146,000
9.6 622,000
6.5 432,000
4.6 282,000
3.2 200,000
1.3 106,000
0.7 21,000
0.1 8,000
0 0
Adapted from the research of Anderson, Wilson and Fielding (1988) Adapted from the research of Anderson, Wilson and Fielding (1988)
What Does This Mean? Less reading at home will result in Poor Comprehension Poor Reading Stamina Poor Fluency Weak Vocabulary Skills What Does This Mean? Less reading at home will result in Poor Comprehension Poor Reading Stamina Poor Fluency Weak Vocabulary Skills


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Reading Reading is the heart of 1st grade. The
skills acquired form the foundation for a
successful school career. We use guided reading
(reading on a students individual level) as the
basis for our reading program. Parents need to
set aside time each night to listen to their
child read and help with homework. Students are
tested on sight words and story vocabulary
regularly.
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Reading Goals

• Many tests will be used to determine your childs
  reading level and fluency rate. By the end of
  First Grade, the minimum goal is 60 words read
  correctly per minute.
• Please be advised that the minimum expectation of
  60 wpm groups a student in the 50th percentile
  meaning, out of a hundred students, 50 are
  reading at a higher rate than your student.

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Illness A student must be free of fever for 24
hours before returning to school. If your child
is sick, staying home will keep him/her
comfortable and prevent other children from
getting sick as well. If your child goes to the
doctor, please send the admit slip to school.
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Independence We continually work with our First
Grade students to help them gain independence.
One way you can help with this is by dropping
your student off in front of the school and
letting them come into the building, cafeteria,
and classroom alone.
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Join PTA Our school has a wonderful PTA, and we
would love for you to join in and participate.
Your membership fee helps fund many exciting
things for the children, school, and teachers.
Please consider joining and ask friends and
family to join as well.

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Jackets Our classrooms are sometimes more cool
than many students like. In addition, the
weather often changes and is cooler than we
expect. If you would like, you may send a jacket
or sweater to leave at school. Students may
leave these in their lockers for the times when
they are needed. Please make sure you label all
jackets before sending them.
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• Lunch
• All classes have 30 minutes for lunch. You are
  always welcome to join us for lunch after signing
  in at the office.
• Label all lunch sacks and lunch boxes
• Do not send sodas in a thermos
• Send all lunch money in a sealed envelope with
  the childs name, teachers name and
  grade
• No microwaves will be available for student use
  in the cafeteria this year, due to several
  accidents in the past.
  

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Money Throughout the year, money will be sent for
many reasons lunches, book orders, field trips,
projects, supplies, etc It is very important
that all money sent to school is in a sealed
envelope with the students name, the teachers
name the purpose clearly written on the front.
This helps us know how to handle it. Money not
labeled will be returned.

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Newsletter On Friday, we will send an e-mail with
the weeks newsletter to those parents who have
given us their e-mail address. If you have
chosen to receive the newsletter on paper, those
will be sent home in the Gator folder. In
addition, the newsletter is posted on our class
websites. Spelling patterns for the upcoming
week will always be in the newsletter. In
addition, any upcoming events or announcements
will also be in the news.

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School Supplies It is very important for students
to have all supplies on hand each day. Some will
need to be replaced as they are used throughout
the year and we will let you know what needs to
be replaced. It is also helpful to keep supplies
at home for homework assignments. You will need
pencil, eraser, glue, scissors, and crayons at
home for various homework assignments.
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Shoes One very important lesson you can teach
your student is to tie his shoes? You may be
asked once or twice a day to tie a pair of shoes.
Multiply that by 24 and you can easily see how
much time can be taken away from our instruction.
Please help us to have everyone tying their own
shoes within the next month.
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Scholastic Book Orders Having plenty of
interesting books at home to read is very
important for your student. One great way to
build a library for your student is through
Scholastic Books orders. These offer books for
your student at their own reading levels on a
variety of topics. And the best thing about
Scholastic is the price! These books are often
less than you would find them in other places. We
encourage you to order online we get free books
for our classrooms with each online order.
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Understanding First graders are famous for
telling wonderful stories. The problem lies in
the fact that many important details may be left
out in the sharing of these stories. The
teachers ask that if you have any questions or
concerns about anything occurring at school,
please contact them so we can discuss the matter.
You may call, email, or write a quick note in
the Gator Folder.
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Visitors Greenfield Elementary has a policy that
EVERY visitor to the campus must sign in at the
office and wear a guest badge. We welcome parent
involvement and this badge helps staff and
faculty recognize a visitor. This may seem
inconvenient to frequent visitors, but it is the
goal and responsibility of the school to maintain
a safe learning environment. Please be sure to
bring your Drivers License in with you to make
the sign-in process more speedy!
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Younger Siblings It is in your childs and the
class best interest to have parent volunteers
available without younger children. This not
only allows for your full attention to be focused
on the students, but also gives you special time
to share with your 1st grader. This will apply
to events such as field trips and parties as
well. Thank you for making arrangements for
younger siblings.
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We hope that this has been informative and that
many questions have been answered. If not,
please feel free to reach us one of the following
ways Phone [phone] Email
cparsons_at_ems-isd.net mread_at_ems-isd.net
bjohnson_at_ems-isd.net labeyta_at_ems-isd.net
cmorrison_at_ems-isd.net bcarroll_at_ems-isd.net
A note in the Take-Home Folder
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Website Greenfield, as well as each teacher, has
a website which can be accessed at
www.emsisd.com. Check in regularly to find
information about curriculum, special events and
school news. The school also has a Facebook
account, where Mrs. Bragg often posts important
information. On Facebook, we are Greenfield
Elementary School.