Welcome to Meet the Teacher Night!

1. Welcome to Meet the Teacher Night! Mrs. Caraballo- jcaraballo@eastpennsd.org

2. A Little About Mrs. Caraballo….. • teaching in the East Penn School District for 8 years • have taught 5th, 1st and Kindergarten • Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and Human Development from Boston College • While in college, I played ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles • Masters in K-12 Technology from DeSales University • Continuous education work through Wilkes University • Live in Bethlehem with my husband, my daughter Makenzy, and my son Gavin

4. Our Day • Unpacking and welcome work/centers • opening exercises (announcements, calendar, counting days, etc.) • language arts and math lessons, theme-related activities • snack / bathroom • centers/kidwriting – to come later in the year! • specialists – art, gym, library, music • pack up

5. Language Arts • letter identification • letter-sound correspondence • sound cards/sound chant • rhyming & rhyming application • sound isolation • pre-reading skills & reading skills • kid writing • Zaner-Bloser letter formation (reference sheet provided)

6. Word Wall/Little Readers • Little Readers: small books to practice at home, send back to school for a sticker, then keep at home • sight word flash cards have been sent home • No need to cut them all out at once! • words will be posted in school • practice these words often with your child • read the words in isolation • write the words (pen, marker, chalk, etc.) • make another set to play a memory game • form phrases with the words • use the words to make sentences • put them in alphabetical order

7. Handwriting • watch your child as he/she is forming letters and holding a pencil • - letters are formed from the top • please reinforce this at home!! • students will use handwriting lines from the beginning of the year • though it may be difficult at first (as fine motor skills are still developing), it is important for them to know what they are working towards • terms sky, grass, and dirt used to describe the different sections of handwriting lines • see the ZanerBloser Handwriting Handout that provides directions for proper writing formation

8. Math • shapes & colors • number identification to 31 • counting to 100 • 1-to-1 correspondence • patterns & sorting • Graphing • measurement • addition • subtraction

9. Folder • needs to come to school every day • remember to check for important notes, homework, and work being returned • please empty the “Home” side daily • encourage responsibility by allowing your student to place papers in his or her folder & to place the folder in his or her backpack each night

10. Homework • sent home most Mondays-Thursdays • May be written homework or work done with a grown up • remember names on all homework  • please check it to make sure it is done neatly and correctly~ we don’t want to reinforce wrong answers! • a great way to keep up with what we are doing in school and to reinforce skills we have completed within the classroom.

11. Behavior Plan • behavior bingo – class works together to earn bingo pieces and eventually a reward • “Looking for GGGreat Behavior” sticker chart (used with Mrs. Ringer) • stoplight – individual behavior management • green – good day, one warning • yellow – okay day, two warnings • red – troublesome day, removal from activity, note home • children will move their clips on our stoplight pocket chart after a verbal warning • we are learning the rules of school • moving to green is okay, especially in the beginning of the year • it helps us learn!

12. Snack • should be small (one item, please), nutritious, and easy to open • no peanut or other nut products due to several allergies!! • no juice boxes please- we have a water fountain in our classroom • encourage responsibility by allowing your child to help pack the snack • we clean hands before snack • no snack for PM Wednesdays!

13. Birthdays/Celebrations From Mrs. Brinckman… • Birthdays ~ Due to the increase in food sensitivity and allergies, we are no longer going to allow food birthday treats in our classrooms at Shoemaker. Knowing how important birthdays are to our students, we will continue to recognize student birthdays on our PTO monthly birthday board displayed in the hallway of the lobby area. Additionally, if you are interested, you may send in non-edible "treats" for your child's class on his or her birthday.

14. Tasks to Practice at Home • tying shoes • sneezing/coughing in elbow • buttons and zippers • taking off and putting on coats • address and phone number(s)

15. Reminders: • written excuse note needed for absences - send in within 3 days of absence - any type of day trip, extended vacation, etc. needs a trip request form filled out in advance! • be sure I have your current email address – email/website will be used often for communication (we’re going green at Shoemaker ) - check the Shoemaker website and PTO website for important updates often (you can sign up for email blasts from both websites!!) • Miss Super (music) has an eNewsletter

16. Scholastic Book Order: • online orders only • browse a variety of books at different levels • flyers will be sent home occasionally- I will email and let everyone know when a new order is avaiable to browse • our classroom can earn a free book for each order placed  • www.scholastic.com/readingclub

17. PTO Fundraiser • Save Around and KidStuff Books – send the money if you wish to purchase one book or both of the books - return the book(s) if you do not want them

18. Schedule Changes Modified Schedule for Conferences!! AM: 8:55- 10:35 PM: 11:25 – 1:30 November 18 - November 26 April 7 – April 15 Kindergarten conferences are two days longer than the rest of the school

19. My Webpagehttp://www.eastpennsd.org/teacherpages/jcaraballo/index.html • Games • Storytown link and Mega Math • Handwriting paper • Scholastic book orders • E Newsletter • Star of the week schedule

20. Before you leave…. • fill out the conference sheet • sign up for Mystery Reader, if interested • Thank you for tearing out workbooks pages, for donating supplies, and for your million words or less! • Thank you for coming tonight!!