Welcome to Open House 2019-2020

1. Welcome to Open House 2019-2020

2. ALL ABOUTMs. Plumer ~Graduated from Georgia Southern University and this is my 6th year teaching at Still. ~Bachelors in Early Childhood Education, and Gifted Endorsement ~Born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. I currently live in Buckhead, with my dog. ~I love to travel. I taught English in Costa Rica two summers ago, and traveled to Amsterdam, Dublin, and Dublin this past summer.

3. Still Elementary870 Casteel Road, powder Springs, 30127678-594-8287

4. School hours Arrival • Doors open at 7:10 a.m. • Tardy bell rings at 7:45 a.m. Parents must sign in his/her child if tardy. Dismissal • Dismissal begins at 2:10 p.m. • After School Program (ASP) is open until 6:00 p.m. All students in the building MUST be registered for ASP. * Please have picture ID available when signing in and/or out of the building.

5. buses * Please register for “Here Comes the Bus” here and use the code 87881. * Please visit the Cobb County website here for more information.

6. Morning Carpool procedures • Due to staffing changes, there will be less personnel at morning car duty. To facilitate drop-off, please do the following: • Have your child seated on the right side of the vehicle • Allow your child to exit the vehicle independently • Do not wait for a staff member to open the car door

7. Transportation changes • You MUST send in a signed note stating the transportation change if your child will be going home a different way from his/her regular transportation method (Must be in writing, not email or word of mouth) • No transportation changes will be accepted after 1:00 p.m. • Early dismissal? Please send in a note or e-mail notifying me of the time. • A bus pass must be completed if your child is riding home on a different bus • Click here to download a copy of the bus pass • If you need to make a last minute change, please contact the office. • If your child is going home with another student & is to be a CAR RIDER, they MUST have a note to take to the car rider line. The transportation change form that you can use for the week or the day is available on the Quick Links section on the Still website.  You can print, complete and send in with your child when needed.  The form is not required, but it makes things a little easier.

8. cafeteria Breakfast • Served from 7:10 – 7:40 a.m. daily • Student price $1.50 Lunch • Served daily. Our lunch time is 12:09-12:39 at Table #9. Guests are welcome to eat lunch with your child in the cafeteria any day. Please sign in at the front office. • Student price $2.35/daily • Guest price $4.00/daily Bring your lunch? Bring napkins & plastic utensils! *Birthdays: Treats during lunch time. * Please visit the Cobb County website here for more information

9. Notes from the Nurse • If your child needs medication administered during the school day, please click here to download the appropriate form. No medication will be dispensed without proper documentation. • If your child has a fever over 100 degrees, he/she must be fever-free, without medications (i.e. Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc.), for 24 hours before returning to school. • If your child is sick, he/she must have no symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school. • For Kindergarten and 1st Grade students, please pack an extra set of clothes in the bookbag in case of accidents.

10. Please visit Still’s website for more information

11. Class Expectations: We will come up with the class rules as a class, but I will lead the discussion with these. • Listen carefully • Follow directions and always try your best! • Work quietly • Respect others (Listen while others are talking, and keep your hands and feet to yourself) • Respect school & personal property • Work & play safely (Looking eyes and walking feet)

12. *Communication* • Email is the best way to contact me.  michelle.plumer@cobbk12.org • Class Dojo: Reminders will be sent to you via text. • Daily Red Homework Folders- Allows 2 way communication • Please send all transportation changes/notes in the NOTES pocket  (this includes after school clubs) *If your child is attending a CLUB, please send in a note notifying me of the club and the time frame that your child will be attending the club. ~Daily Reading Log- 20 minutes per night. ~Specials Calendar- Posted on Bi-Weekly Newsletter, and sent with e-mail reminders. Please make note of PE days (TENNIS SHOES!) • Thursday Weekly Work Folder (STILL EAGLE FOLDER)- Student’s graded work from the week sent home every Thursday! • Please look through work, complete and return any unfinished papers. • Behavior Sheet • Important Information from the Office • Bi-Weekly Newsletter

13. Discipline policy • Daily Behavior: We will use Class Dojo this year! Please download the Class Dojo App! Class Dojo is an online Behavior Management system where students will have a monster icon on the board. Students can earn points by following directions, modeling good character traits, and being a leader. Students can lose points by making poor choices, and not being a leader. You will only be able to view your child’s monster. Your child will be able to purchase items from our Class Dojo Store with their points. Once they purchase something, their point value will go to zero. • Please know, your child may lose some points on Class Dojo, but if there is a problem, I will contact you. I will send home an “OOPS” note that will need to be signed, and returned, or I will e-mail you. • Weekly Behavior Sheets: This sheet will be a summary of your child’s behavior for the week. Please sign and return in your child’s Thursday Weekly Work folder every Friday! • Positive reinforcement- • Treasure Box: Students will earn “Beach Bucks” when they are caught being a leader. Students are allowed to go “shopping” in the mornings, on their specific

14. Student expectations Weekly Behavior Sheets: • S = Successful • P = Progressing • N = Needs Improvement • Students will bring home a behavior chart on Thursday. • Review & discuss with your child. • Sign and return in their Weekly Work folder on Friday! • Fun Friday: Used as an incentive for always following directions and having respect. • Games (your child will need to bring a game that fits in their backpack and that they are able to explain how to play to a friend). • Movie • Art • Outside time • Study hall – for those who had difficulty with their behavior that week, and had 2 or more notes sent home that week.

15. Curriculum Standards can be found on my blog under “pages” on the right side!  Math *Number Talks *Place Value *Daily Problem Solving within 20 *Math Journals (addition and subtraction within 20) *Math Workshop -whole group mini-lessons -independent practice with manipulatives/games -emphasis on understanding concepts and -being able to explain reasoning.

16. *reading* Reading Workshop: (Daily 5 integrated into workshops) • Students will work in small groups or independently on reading, writing, phonics, grammar, and word work activities to extend and reinforce aspects of language arts skills • CAFE: Read orally, think-aloud, comprehension skills, model strategies (whole group with student participation) Guided Reading: • Direct instruction on skills/strategies to create • student-sustained reading. Students will work on • comprehension, vocabulary, retelling, and fluency skills. • Look for book baggies to come home! Social Studies/Science Integration: • Informational books will be integrated into reading to help students • generalize their reading skills while making real world connections.

17. Daily 5 • For Students… • Engaged in the act of reading and writing for extended amounts of time • Receive focused instruction on building and maintaining independence • Receive tailored instruction through whole group, small group, and/or individual conferring, by their skilled classroom teacher, each day • For Teachers…. • Deliver 3 – 5 whole group mini lessons each day • Teach 3 – 4 small groups of children each day • Confer with 3 – 6 individual students each day • Hold all students accountable for eyes-on-text • Read to Self • Read to Someone • Listen to Reading • Work on Writing • Word Work Students will bring home their Guided Reading books that they read with the teacher to practice reading it 2 times for Homework every other day, and will return their book the next day.

18. phonics/ Writing Benchmark Phonics Daily 5 / Small group instruction/word work- decoding skills with phonics focus words Weekly phonics focus words will come home with your students on Monday. Please retain these sheets and continue to practice throughout the school year. Writer’s Workshop Independent Writing - Students have the opportunity to work independently or in small groups to apply and extend writing skills taught Differentiation: Individual Conferences Writing Genres (narrative, informational, opinion)

19. *Bookworm reading program* • Bookworm is a reading incentive that will encourage children to read a wide variety of genres to parents and with parents at home. • Children will read a new book nightly to or with an adult at home. This is required nightly as Reading Homework. • Students will fill in their Reading Log in their Red Homework folder, and will color one “apple” per book read. If your child is reading a chapter book, each chapter is considered 1 book. Please sign and date an “apple” each day your child reads. Goals: 1st nine weeks: 20 books 2nd nine weeks: 20 books 3rd nine weeks: 30 books 4th nine weeks: 30 books *After each 9 weeks, and your child reaches his/her goal, your child will be recognized at the First Grade Reading Book Worm Ceremony, and given a certificate. (Teachers and students only please)

20. First grade assessments • Running Records – Fountas & Pinnell/DRA • Sight Words (200) • Cognitive Abilities Test (CoGAT)– Sept. 5th-7th

21. Grading policy Grades and Rubric-Style Report Card • Can your child show consistent knowledge of the skill? • Mastery is expected by the end of the marking period. • Pay close attention to homework and classwork. • Academic Alerts sent at 4 ½ week mark if needed.

22. Grades & behavior sheets 3+ Exceeds Standards- applies and inferences beyond expectations 3 Meets standards- consistently and independently 2 Progressing toward meeting the standard 1 Limited or minimum progress toward meeting the standard Please be aware that standards are performance based. Children will be assessed in a variety of ways, which will include checklists, rubrics, teacher observation, and paper/pencil tasks. Learning Skills and Behaviors: S = Successful P = Progressing N = Needs Improvement (Refer to Behavior Sheet) • Weekly behavior sheets will come home every week in the student’s “Thursday Weekly Work Folder”. • Please sign and return by Friday! • Fun Friday: Students who are showing good work habits will earn a FUN reward on Friday!

23. homework • Homework will be sent home each night, Monday-Thursday. • Homework will be located in your child’s “Return to School” pocket, in your child’s RED folder. When the HW is completed, place it back in their “Return to School” pocket. • Nightly Reading- 20 minutes, record on the Reading Log in your child’s RED folder. Students can record the book they read and color in the apple. When your child is finished with their reading log, please have them turn it into me. Please sign your child’s agenda every night!  • Due dates for Reading Logs: October 11th -1st 9 weeks March 13th – 3rd 9 weeks December 20th -2nd 9 weeks May 15th – 4th 9 weeks. • Battles with Homework…If you are battling with your child try this… • First make sure your child understands how to do the homework. • Then set a timer for 10 minutes and let your child work. • If they have still not completed it during that 10 minutes, put it away….let me know. Written homework should not take more than 10 minutes to complete each night.

24. Money matters • A reminder: If you send in money for lunch, an agenda or anything other than ASP or a field trip, please seal money/check in envelope labeled with your child's first and last name, my name, and what the money is for. This helps our bookkeeper figure out who needs what a lot quicker. • *ASP has special tan/gold envelopes that can be picked up in the office or sent home in your child's red folder. Just let me know if you need one. • *Field Trips have white envelopes and will have pertinent information to be completed. • *Please place important notes, and money envelopes in your child’s “Notes” pocket in their Red Homework folder. •  **Please make sure you purchase your child an agenda for $5 in the front office.

25. Parent volunteers *Please sign up to volunteer in our classroom using the sheets on my side table.  I will be reaching out soon, for assistance with copies, preparation, etc. *Please take a “fish” to treat the class to a Wish List item.

26. *Dates to remember* Many dates will be updated on my blog as we get the details for Fall pictures, standardized testing, and other class and school events. Please check it weekly! http://stilllearning.typepad.com/1st_grade_ms_plumer/ • Fun Fall Centers • Author’s Tea • Field Day *Dates to come. Testing: COGAT Sept. 4th-6th Conference Week: Oct. 14th-18th(A date and time will be sent home the week before, and you will sign the paper if the date and time works with your schedule.)

27. *Contact information* *Please follow Still’s Twitter page, PTSA, and FOUNDATION on Facebook. • Email michelle.plumer@cobbk12.org • Send notes and transportation changes in your child’s “Notes” pocket in his/her Red Homework Folder. • Class Blog http://stilllearning.typepad.com/1st_grade_ms_plumer/ • Still Elementary (678) 594-8287 – LAST RESORT!! • *Don’t forget to join PTSA! 

28. *Meet and greet* *Please place school supplies outside the room in the correct box if you brought them today.  *Please fill out the required forms listed on your child’s folder, paperclip them, and turn them into the white basket on the back table. *Don’t forget! Please go to the Cafeteria to check your child’s information and complete the ASP Registration form if not already completed. New Still Families: Stop by the front office to discuss needed documents for your child’s permanent folder. See you Thursday!