Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year!
S.T.A.R Binders
Each student has a binder that will go home every day. This is called the S.T.A.R binder and it will be how important information gets home. I have included several other details in this binder as well, including our daily schedule, reading logs, and reading strategies. We will be talking in class about the importance of these binders and how we can take care of them so they will last all year! Please make sure your child brings their S.T.A.R. binder to school daily.
Arrival
Students can begin arriving to school at 8:45am. All students who want breakfast need to be at school before 9:15. Everyone needs to be in class by 9:15. Students need to be on time each day. If they are late, they must go to the office and get a tardy pass before coming to class.
Absences
If your child is absent, please notify the office and myself. This can be a written note or an email. I will send home any work that needs to be made up. Your child has two days for each day of absence to return the work. Please talk to me about a situation that might prevent your child from completing the make-up work. I want every child to succeed this year, and good attendance contributes to good grades.
Homework Daily
Students will have homework every night, Monday-Thursday. Homework will be placed in their binders on Monday and will be due by Friday of that week. Math homework will be a weekly worksheet that should be returned to school by Friday. Your child will also have spelling assignments they will need to complete each night. Students will get their word list on Monday and the spelling test will be on Friday. Their nightly spelling tasks will be on the bottom of their word list. Your child should be reading at least 20 minutes a Night- (books from home, Raz-Kids online, Tumblebooks-Public Library online, etc.). Writing and Comprehension assignments will go home occasionally. This will be sent home each Monday and returned on Friday. Homework will evolve as students’ progress.
Thursday Folders
Students will also have a folder that goes home with them each Thursday. PLEASE take out all the graded papers in this folder and keep them at home for review. Please sign the folder and return it to school on Friday.
Lunch
If your child will be bringing lunch, make sure their name is on their lunchbox. Please feel free to come and have lunch with us anytime—just sign-in with the office and meet us in the cafeteria.
Birthdays
If your child has a birthday during the school year and you would like to bring in something for lunch, you may. You also have the option of pre-ordering cupcakes or ice cream for your child from the cafeteria. Per school policy, birthday celebrations must be done during our scheduled lunchtime. Classroom parties are not permitted.
Clothing
Please send your child to school in uniform clothes that they can manage themselves, especially in the bathroom. Please refer to the Palisades Park Elementary School Uniform Policy. Students may keep a change of clothes in the classroom if they would like.
Please label everything your child brings to school. Items such as water bottles, book bags, lunch boxes, coats, jackets, shoes, mittens, gloves, and hats, can easily be misplaced; and it is easier to get something back to the owner if there is a name on it.
Dismissal
Please let me know your child will be getting home. This is very important!! If you change the end-of-the-day routine in any way, please send a dated and signed note with your child’s full name on it to tell me of the change. For example, if your child usually rides the bus but you are picking him/her up, please put that in the note. If your child is usually picked up by you but someone else is picking him/her up, please put that in the note. If you sent a note with your child and you have a change of plans, please call the office as soon as possible as last-minute messages might not always get to me in time.
Snack
We will have a small snack during our day. Please make sure you send in a healthy snack for your child. Also, I am allowing water bottles throughout the day. Please make sure your child has a hard plastic bottle (no recyclable bottles—lots of squishing and playing with them) that is reusable.
Classroom Management
In our classroom, we will use a positive reinforcement system called "Gold Tags". I will be going over this with students in great detail as we start to establish routines and procedures in our classroom. There is also a parent letter explaining this system, which can be found in your child's STAR binder.
We also have a classroom marble jar where individual students, or the whole class, can earn marbles for awesome behavior in the classroom. Once the class earns 100 marbles, I will bring in a treat for the class to enjoy.
Classroom Rules:
Parent Volunteers
Parents are encouraged to help whenever needed. I feel that parents are an important part in a child’s education, and I want us to work together as much as possible. Together we can lead your child on an exciting and successful path of learning! If you are interested in volunteering in our room, please fill out the form that is included in your child’s back to school folder or send me an email.
Weebly
Our class website is ashleyhester.weebly.com. Please visit the site often for important updates. Please check this on a regular basis as I will update homework each week as well.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. You may reach me either by email at [email protected] or by phone at the school.
I look forward to a terrific year working with you and your child!
Mrs. Hester
Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year!
S.T.A.R Binders
Each student has a binder that will go home every day. This is called the S.T.A.R binder and it will be how important information gets home. I have included several other details in this binder as well, including our daily schedule, reading logs, and reading strategies. We will be talking in class about the importance of these binders and how we can take care of them so they will last all year! Please make sure your child brings their S.T.A.R. binder to school daily.
Arrival
Students can begin arriving to school at 8:45am. All students who want breakfast need to be at school before 9:15. Everyone needs to be in class by 9:15. Students need to be on time each day. If they are late, they must go to the office and get a tardy pass before coming to class.
Absences
If your child is absent, please notify the office and myself. This can be a written note or an email. I will send home any work that needs to be made up. Your child has two days for each day of absence to return the work. Please talk to me about a situation that might prevent your child from completing the make-up work. I want every child to succeed this year, and good attendance contributes to good grades.
Homework Daily
Students will have homework every night, Monday-Thursday. Homework will be placed in their binders on Monday and will be due by Friday of that week. Math homework will be a weekly worksheet that should be returned to school by Friday. Your child will also have spelling assignments they will need to complete each night. Students will get their word list on Monday and the spelling test will be on Friday. Their nightly spelling tasks will be on the bottom of their word list. Your child should be reading at least 20 minutes a Night- (books from home, Raz-Kids online, Tumblebooks-Public Library online, etc.). Writing and Comprehension assignments will go home occasionally. This will be sent home each Monday and returned on Friday. Homework will evolve as students’ progress.
Thursday Folders
Students will also have a folder that goes home with them each Thursday. PLEASE take out all the graded papers in this folder and keep them at home for review. Please sign the folder and return it to school on Friday.
Lunch
If your child will be bringing lunch, make sure their name is on their lunchbox. Please feel free to come and have lunch with us anytime—just sign-in with the office and meet us in the cafeteria.
Birthdays
If your child has a birthday during the school year and you would like to bring in something for lunch, you may. You also have the option of pre-ordering cupcakes or ice cream for your child from the cafeteria. Per school policy, birthday celebrations must be done during our scheduled lunchtime. Classroom parties are not permitted.
Clothing
Please send your child to school in uniform clothes that they can manage themselves, especially in the bathroom. Please refer to the Palisades Park Elementary School Uniform Policy. Students may keep a change of clothes in the classroom if they would like.
Please label everything your child brings to school. Items such as water bottles, book bags, lunch boxes, coats, jackets, shoes, mittens, gloves, and hats, can easily be misplaced; and it is easier to get something back to the owner if there is a name on it.
Dismissal
Please let me know your child will be getting home. This is very important!! If you change the end-of-the-day routine in any way, please send a dated and signed note with your child’s full name on it to tell me of the change. For example, if your child usually rides the bus but you are picking him/her up, please put that in the note. If your child is usually picked up by you but someone else is picking him/her up, please put that in the note. If you sent a note with your child and you have a change of plans, please call the office as soon as possible as last-minute messages might not always get to me in time.
Snack
We will have a small snack during our day. Please make sure you send in a healthy snack for your child. Also, I am allowing water bottles throughout the day. Please make sure your child has a hard plastic bottle (no recyclable bottles—lots of squishing and playing with them) that is reusable.
Classroom Management
In our classroom, we will use a positive reinforcement system called "Gold Tags". I will be going over this with students in great detail as we start to establish routines and procedures in our classroom. There is also a parent letter explaining this system, which can be found in your child's STAR binder.
We also have a classroom marble jar where individual students, or the whole class, can earn marbles for awesome behavior in the classroom. Once the class earns 100 marbles, I will bring in a treat for the class to enjoy.
Classroom Rules:
- Follow teacher directions promptly.
- Use kind words and actions with everyone.
- Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
- Remain in assigned area as directed.
- Use quiet voices and talk only when allowed.
Parent Volunteers
Parents are encouraged to help whenever needed. I feel that parents are an important part in a child’s education, and I want us to work together as much as possible. Together we can lead your child on an exciting and successful path of learning! If you are interested in volunteering in our room, please fill out the form that is included in your child’s back to school folder or send me an email.
Weebly
Our class website is ashleyhester.weebly.com. Please visit the site often for important updates. Please check this on a regular basis as I will update homework each week as well.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. You may reach me either by email at [email protected] or by phone at the school.
I look forward to a terrific year working with you and your child!
Mrs. Hester