Welcome to Montgomery Welcome to Montgomery Knolls Elementary SchoolKnolls Elementary School

2009-20102009-2010

We welcome you to the MKES Family and we anticipate a great new year. Our staff at MKES is dedicated to lifelong learning and we hold high expectation for all stakeholders.

MKES School Wide Expectaions

•Respect Yourself and Others

•Take care of and show pride in your school

•Give your best effort every day

Student ScheduleFirst Grade

MorningsThe School Day begins at 8:40 am8:40-9:10 Morning Routine

9:10-12:00 Literacy BlockWhole Group ReadingGuided ReadingPhonics and VocabularyWriting (3-4x/wk), Science and Social Studies (1-2x/wk)

Lunch and Recess

12:00- 12:30 Lunch

12:30-1:00 Recess

1:00-2:05 Math

2:05-2:50 Specials

3:05 Dismissal

Specialists and Support Staff

GT Specialist: Mrs. MichaelsReading: Mrs. Panthea MitchellMath Content Coach: Ms. BrophyESOL Teachers: Ms. Shin Para- Educator: Mrs. Gascon and

Mrs. Iwunna

Grading ScaleMost grades assignments are graded on the 1-4

scale.1-Minimal Understanding2-Developing Understanding3-General Understanding4-Complete Understanding

Report grades will be O, S, and N based on the above scale.

Behavior PolicyRed: students will be moved to red if they continue to make poor choices. They will also go to the thinking spot to complete a reflection sheet. The sheet will be sent home for parent review and signature.

Yellow: students will be moved to yellow if they have had more than three reminders about their behavior. This is a warning for students to “slow down” and make better choices.

Green: students are on green if they are doing exactly what is expected of them.

Rainbow: students can be moved to rainbow if they go above and beyond to show good values, effort, help a peer, etc.

Homework PolicyHomework is given out daily. The homework reflects the daily instruction for your child. Please follow the directions on the homework and return it daily. Students will have math, reading, and spelling homework. Homework should take your child approximately 15 minutes.

Students will have nightly reading from their reading group, library or books from home. Your child should read to an older reader for approximately 10 minutes a night.

Each month an Extension Homework calendar will be sent home. This is optional homework

Data Notebooks• Data Notebooks are to show data of

your child’s progress.• They are sent home to be reviewed

with parents each quarter.• Please review and send back the

Data Notebooks as soon as possible so that we can add new data.

How to contact us.Phone Numbers: 301-431-7667

Website:http://

www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/knollses/

What can I do to help?• Please help your child learn his/her:

– full name– address– phone number

and keep a card with this information in the backpack

• Please make sure we have all current phone numbers– Cell phones– Home phones– Work phones– Emergency contact information

• Please help your child be at school on time each day.

• Please look at information that comes from school

Helpful Tips!Homework:

*HW Basket-materials that may be needed to complete Homework.

-crayons -glue-pencils -scissors-erasers -library books

*Completed nightly Monday through Thursday.

Reading:*Read every night.

*Students will be bringing home book from their reading groups to practice reading on their level. Please sign and return after reading together. *Use “Stuck Strategies to help solve unknown words in reading. *When writing unknown words encourage your child to say the word slowly and write the sounds they hear. *Review High Frequency Words*Talk about words: Lowercase and capital letters, vowels, rhyming words, beginning and ending sounds, words that sound the same.

Helpful TipsMath:

*Deck of Cards

-Flip Two cards over and many questions can be asked. *Which number is more? Less? *Which number is greater? Less?*Is my number odd or even?*Add two cards together and who ever has the

greater sum keeps the cards. *Ask your child to read you numbers, count coins, count objects in the real world (grocery shopping).

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are a integral part of MKES. Here are some things you can do to help:

• Volunteer in the classroom to help students or teachers.

• Volunteer to help our other staff.• Volunteer at school events.• If you are unable to come into our school

than you can volunteer at home by having your child’s teacher send home items you can do at home like cutting art supplies or folding papers.

Thank you so much for all your support. Please remember that parents are the first teachers in your child’s life. We are looking forward to becoming partners with you in your child’s educational journey.