Important Notice to First Grade Parents:

 Dear Parents,

           Most of you have accepted my invitation to google classroom which includes ALL of  my remote learners (thanks).  However, it is also important that all my in person learners accept this invitation as well.  Six of you have not yet accepted my invitation.  For all of you who have responded I have sent your username and password for our Reading program:  www.pearsonrealize.com . I assigned the book Stellaluna.  as well as Lesson 1 of the Readers's Writer's Journal so you can view at home. Pages will be done in class.  In the journal you need to click on Menu on the top right in order to go to the next page. You will not be able to see these till 9/14 Mon. 

         I also sent you the link for the on-line Math workbook for Module 1.  I will also be sending one for our on-line Religion program by next week.  Just in case we must all go remote, it is very important that you all  are ready to use google classroom in order to continue instruction because this is where I would be posting assignments as well as communicating with you.  Please be sure that you use only mssaville@olqmnyc.org to email me and I will respond using  your child's email on google classroom.  I want to make sure this works for all of us. 

      Hopefully all remote learners have picked up the packet I left on Friday at school near the office.  If not, please try to do so as soon as possible.  I plan to use it this week with all students.  In-person learners will receive their packets on Monday.  These packets should ONLY be used during class time! I cannot provide extra copies so please take care of them.  

     Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Information for Upcoming Week: Sept. 14-18

 Dear Parents,

          Before I left school today I prepared the packets for all our remote learners.  The packets include two emergency cards, five forms to be signed, a parent handbook (which you keep), a set of student worksheets for all subjects, as well as a useful name tag which should be kept for daily class use.  Mr. Woods informed me to leave these on a black table near the main office downstairs. There is a rubber band around each student's set of papers.  You should come to pick these up tomorrow.  Look at the name tag on the front of each set to choose the one that belongs to you. 

         I remind you that students should NOT do any of these worksheets. Keep the name tag and the set of student worksheets for daily class use.  Those of you who are attending in person will receive your set of sheets on Monday but I will keep these in class so I can correct them and ensure they are not lost.  I CANNOT MAKE ADDITIONAL COPIES IF LOST SO PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOUR SET OF COPIES. 

        Those of you present in person will find a cubby outside our classroom with a plastic box to keep extra markers, glue sticks, items not being used at the moment.  Later you will store your coats there as well. Students NEED to have sharpened pencils and either crayons or colored pencils for daily use.  MARKERS SHOULD ONLY BE USED OR THE PERSONAL WHITE BOARD. 

             Please order the personal white board from AMAZON for $4.99. I believe the one with the blue handle would be fine (as mentioned before).  You may also choose a different one if you wish.  Just make sure it is durable, double sided, and has a handle.

Below I am printing the daily classroom schedule I was presented.  Adjustments may need to be made due to circumstances that arise.

8:00 -8:15   Prayer / Pledge / Anthem

8:15-9:00    Religion

9:00-10:30   Math

10:30-12:00    ELA:  Reading/Grammar/Phonics

12:00-12:30  Student Lunch Period

12:45-1:30    Teacher Lunch Period

1:30-2:15   Science or Social Studies

2:15-3:00  Daily Walk

3:00-3:15  Prayer /  Dismissal

*Exception to this schedule n on Fridays: Daily Walk is 9:45 to 10:30  and Math has two sessions: 9:00 to  9:45 and 1:30 to 2:15.

        School is closed tomorrow for students so teachers can meet  to discuss and plan many matters, including google classroom.

Have a nice weekend. 

A Few Reminders

 Dear Parents,

           Thank you for your patience today as we make adjustments. I am still getting used to a new smart board as well as the new technology involved in teaching in person and remotely at the same time.  There was also a connectivity issue with the new board that came up.  

       I gave out a set to each child today which includes  a parent handbook (which you keep), TWO emergency cards and five sheets that need to be signed and returned to school.  It is VERY IMPORTANT that you sign and return the "Daily Health and Self-Screening..." sheet and the emergency filled in (front and back) as soon as possible.  The others can be sent in later if you wish.  Parents of remote learners must come to pick them up at school tomorrow.  

         I collected the loose leaf paper packs, construction paper, and cleaning materials to be stored in the classroom.  Students kept all their other materials.  A few students did not have a folder to put their important papers; other children had TOO many folders.  Please have your children bring in only ONE folder with clear panels in front and back as well as two bottom pockets inside.  Children also need to have all pencils SHARPENED and ready to use.  Colored pencils also need to be sharpened at home. Dry erase markers can only be used for their personal white board.  All packages should be opened at home and supplies placed in their pencil cases. 

       I noticed that eight of you have not yet accepted my invitation to google classroom.  It is important that ALL STUDENTS accept this invitation, even those of you in person in class, just in case we all need to go remote.   I will be posting assignments there in a few weeks just to make sure. 

               Please go ahead and order the personal paddle board white board for your child from Amazon.  The Quick Response White Board with blue handle for $4.99 seems fine.  If you  prefer something else, that is fine just as long it is about the same size, double sided, has a handle, and is durable.

          Since permission has not been given for books to be distributed yet, I did prepare packets of worksheets in all subjects.  However, all the sheets were stapled together back to back in random order.  I ask that when parents of remote learners pick up these packets,  PLEASE WAIT till I assign the work during class time. Then I will let you know which sheet your child should work on.   DO NOT  have your child work on these on their own.

         ALL students must have ONE folder,  3 sharpened pencils with erasers, and crayons or colored pencils for tomorrow.  

  A reminder that there is no school on Friday so that teachers can meet to make further plans. 

Welcome to First Grade

 Dear Parents, 

          School begins tomorrow, Sept. 9  at 8:00 am. For more remote learners, please see invite information below for zooming in to class tomorrow. We also have  class regular time on Thursday. This Friday we are closed.

Please log on to zoom and enter the following:  Meeting ID: 99681258524  Pass code is 776668.  Please log in and stay in the waiting room till I let you in.  Be patient just in case!

This was set up as a recurring meeting so you can continue to use it every day.

The rest of you I will see in person -----six feet away---- masks on-----and  with a SMILE!

Everyone please bring your supplies. Please make EVERYTHING IS STORED IN YOUR CHILD'S ZIP LOCK BAG.  Clorox wipes will be stored away for class use as needed.

I invited you all to google classroom. Please accept my invitation so I can email you with the information you will need.  I see that some of you have sent me an email but I need to respond using your child's email so please accept my invitation to google classroom as you did last year so we can proceed.  Thank you.

                                                                                                                                  

      

A Look Ahead

 Dear Parents,

         It was a pleasure meeting most of you via our zoom meeting on Friday and I want to welcome those I have not yet met.  Regarding your questions,  I  checked out the personal white boards on Amazon and ask that you wait before ordering. I will let you know Friday, Sept. 11 about ordering it as well as letting you know of any other updates.  You may definitely buy dry erase markers and a dry erase eraser. Please try to have all your child's supplies ready by Mon., Sept. 14.

          I have set up a username and password for each student for the Ready Gen program so that you will be able to access the books we will be using on-line as well as  the other ELA resources it provides. I will provide this information either by email or on the blog in a few days.    For the Eureka  Math program I sending you this info so that you can view the student workbook we will be using, but I ask that you do NOT have your child try to do work ahead of time. You may copy and paste the following on your address bar:

 https://1.cdn.edl.io/oKNgJG2dvSBahoJuNaxpB0upw1vvuB3VVPO6uIQ0BokNqwtr.pdf

              I want to remind you that it is very important that if you send in a lunch or snack for your child, it MUST be something they can handle independently. Students should also have a  small zip lock bag in which to store their masks while they are eating. Students must keep socially distant during lunch (especially since they are not wearing their masks) which  means remaining in their seats, not interacting until better circumstances allow for it.

       Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

First Grade Supply List for 2020-2021

 Dear Parents,

         I want to welcome your children to first grade!  Below is a list of supplies your child will need.

* a set of masks --one that a child can wear  comfortably throughout the day

*large zippered 2.5 gallon plastic transparent Hefty bags. Parent should buy a pack and send in only one at a time . It must be able to hold all of the child's supplies needed for daily use.  Please make sure it is the zipper type child can manage easily.
* three plastic folders (transparent pocket in front and back and two bottom pockets inside) - NO binders. First would hold blank loose leaf. Second would be for child's daily work and study notes. The third I would keep as the child's test folder.  Label each ONLY with child's first and last name.

* two pads or packs  of loose leaf paper (paper with holes on side and red margin) wide ruled
* four or five pencils with erasers   PENCILS MUST BE SHARPENED AT HOME!!! (NO mechanical pencils or pens)
* a pack of  12 to 16 crayons or a pack of colored pencils (sharpened and ready for use)

* a sharpener with a cover 
* a pack of dry erase markers dark colors (black and red are best) (NO Sharpies or similar permanent markers) 

*  a dry eraser eraser
* a glue stick  (NO bottled glue)
* a plastic or wooden  ruler
* two plastic or fabric pencil cases (no boxes) One is to hold 4 sharpened pencils with erasers. The other is to hold colored pencils, markers, a glue stick.  PENCILS MUST BE SHARPENED AT HOME!!!
* two boxes of tissues and two rolls of paper towels
* one container of Lysol disinfectant wipes
* one mini hand sanitizer for personal use
* one lunch box (MUST BE SEPARATE  from the book bag)
* a small pack of construction paper (12 to 18 sheets)

I  DO  recommend that parents label sweaters, lunch boxes, and pencil cases.

****It was decided that students should not have notebooks this year.  All work will be done on loose leaf or sheets distributed in class (or in packets  picked up by parents for those that chose all remote learning). It is EXTREMELY important that each child have ALL their supplies daily since NO sharing is allowed this year for health reasons due to corona virus. Each child will need to keep all their supplies in their own large zipped up hefty bag (mentioned above)

***I will be ordering a personal white board for each child to be used especially for math.  I will let you know the price after school opens.

UPDATED Important Notices for Week Of April 6 to 10

Dear Parents
          Just a reminder that school is in session three days this week and then on Thursday our Easter break begins.THERE WILL BE A HALF DAY SCHEDULE ON WED. SO WE ARE DONE AT 12:00.   There will a Performance Based Writing Test on Monday which concludes  Unit 3 Module A and a Math End of Module Test on Tuesday which concludes Module 4.
           After the break you will need the Math Module 5/6 workbook to continue assignments. On my last days at school I brought these new set of workbooks downstairs and parents were informed that they could come to pick them up at the school  If you have it, then you are ready.  For anyone who was not able to pick it up, I did some research so I could provide you with a  link to this site It is:

https://www.bcsdk12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1050328&type=d&pREC_ID=1348636

 * Mr. Woods said that first grade parents are no longer allowed to come in for workbooks.  This link also provides many Math resources to help parents understand the Eureka Math program.

                I will also be assigning on www.discoveryeducation,com two Math videos which will help students continue their practice in learning about money, which we were working on just before we left school.  These are similar to the one on place value I assigned last week, which someone commented they liked.
               I am giving you this information now so that you have time to look ahead and prepare for the upcoming school work after the break  As for your concerns about any logins that are not working, I have already informed the coach and  am awaiting any further replies on this matter.
 
              In regard to grades, marks for students' daily work and tests (since the pandemic) have been entered on Educate so they can be included on your report cards.   Educate is always turned off for parent viewing during report card time; however the grades have been entered.  As of yesterday my report cards have been completed and submitted to Mr. Woods for review.  Only today's Math test cannot be included for now.  Report cards should be mailed to you within a few weeks.  I did send a few test grades to you by email using google classroom to see if that works but my main focus for now was to have them all entered on Educate so they could be included on the report cards.

            I want to thank every parent for their patience and cooperation in this matter and I want to wish you a healthy and peaceful  Easter.  Please do not be concerned, our class is doing fine!