First Grade -- Where You'll Watch Your Child Grow!
A Letter for Parents
Congratulations! You are the parent of a first-grader here at Dickerson School! You will be amazed at just how much your child will grow this year. Most likely, your child has had the seeds of reading and writing planted, and during first grade, those seeds will grow and blossom, making your child an accomplished reader and writer! You will see changes in your child's thinking, as he/she becomes familiar with abstract concepts and symbols. The change will be dramatic -- just compare a tiny seed with a full-grown sunflower! That's the kind of growth you'll see this year!
Ways to Help Your Child Bloom
The most lovely flowers usually have the best gardener -- and that's you! Staying involved in your child's education is the key to a successful year. Engage your child in conversation about his/her day, but know that children won't always give out much information. I will send home a weekly newsletter called the "Grade One Gazette" detailing our activities for the week. You can use this as a springboard for discussion; instead of saying "What did you do at school today?" (the answer is often "nothing!"), you can say, "Oh, I see you're learning about....what did you find out?" Some parents save these newsletters as a special remembrance of their child's first grade year.
Another way to stay involved is to check your child's take home folder EVERY evening. You'll usually find it PACKED with school and homework, projects, flyers, notices from the office, as well as notes from me. As daunting as it may be, try to sort through them, and read each one; they often contain important information and reminders. Your child should come to school the next day with a fairly empty folder -- just homework or notes to me!
A Few Procedures
To help keep things growing "weed-free", it helps to remember our class procedures. If you are picking your child up from school, or if someone else is, please send in a SIGNED, DATED note with your child's FULL NAME written on it. If your child will be staying for activities such as Brownies on a continuing basis, a note each time is TRULY appreciated!
Your child will need a small, healthy snack each day, packed SEPARATELY from lunch in a bag or sack with his/her name on it. Lunches should be in a lunch box or bag with the name on the OUTSIDE. If your child is buying lunch, please send the money in an envelope with your child's name and lunch choice written on it. Sometimes children forget what they're buying!
Your child will need his/her backpack EVERY day, and the name needs to be written in LARGE letters on the outside! Put names in all clothes and on all supplies -- even pencils and gluesticks! It makes it so much easier to return them to their rightful owner!
Please check and SIGN your child's homework each day, and make sure that it is placed in the take home folder to be returned to school the next day. For more information on homework, click below.
First Grade Homework
More Policies and Procedures
Parent-Teacher Communication
In addition to our four report cards (sent home in November, January, April and June) and our conferences (November and March), I am always available to meet or speak with you. If it is not urgent, please jot a note and I will respond as soon as possible. You may call the school or e-mail me as well. In return, I will contact you by note or telephone if there is something that I'd like to discuss.
etonn@worldnet.att.net
(e-mail at home)
tonnessen@chester-nj.org
(e-mail at school)
Seeds Need Sun and Water...Here's What We Need!
In addition to the school supplies that your child will need, we always welcome donations! At the top of our "most wanted" list is MARKERS - classic colors as well as special ones! Some other items we can ALWAYS use are craft items (of any type), paper goods (plates, napkins, cups, etc.), baby wipes (for quick clean-ups), envelopes, notecards and paper (for our writing center), as well as extra gluesticks and scotch tape. Thanks for your help!
First Grade Shopping List
Here's wishing us all a wonderful year of growth!
Buzz back home!
A Letter for Students
Literature Themes