Tuesday, August 22nd is the first day of school! I am so excited to get this year underway! Here are a few important tips for you and your child to make this day and the first week of school as successful as possible:
* Please put your child to bed early each night (between 7:30-8:00) in order for them to adjust to their daily school schedule. School starts at 7:30 and work begins promptly at 7:40. Please allow time in the morning for your child to have a nutritious breakfast and use the bathroom before coming to school. We take many bathroom breaks during the day but it is still important that they enter the room prepared and ready to go.
* Please have your child wear comfortable clothing. Children must wear socks and comfortable tennis shoes as well. Our PE days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please avoid flip-flops, sandals, or high heels. Your child will not be able to play, run or have fun on the playground if he/she is wearing uncomfortable shoes. The sand on the playground is very uncomfortable when wearing sandals.
*On the first day of school we will have the students come directly to the classrooms. The main doors open at 7:15am. The bell will ring at 7:35am and all children will need to be in their classrooms by 7:40am when the tardy bell rings. On the second day of school we will meet in the first/second grade hall.
* Your child needs to bring a medium sized backpack, large enough to hold theTuesday folder and small enough to fit in our cubbies. Add a complete change of clothes to the backpack in case of spills.
* Please send a nutritious snack packed separately from their lunch daily. Examples of snack include: cut up pieces of apples, carrots, crackers and cheese or anything they like as long as it is healthy and nutritious. Please avoid sending chips,cupcakes or cookies. We eat snack mid-afternoon.
* Our Lunch time is @ 10:50. If you're packing lunch for your child, please let them know that they have lunch and won't be buying from cafeteria. If you choose to buy lunch from cafeteria, there are two ways to pay for lunch: one way is to pay directly to the cafeteria (Debra Parks-cafeteria manager 512-464-5519) and the other way is to pay online at MySchoolBucks.com. You can also send the lunch money to me but please put the money in an envelope or a plastic bag with your child's name and my name on it. This way the cafeteria manager knows to whom the money belongs to.
* If you choose, you can also send a small water bottle with your child's name on it. Students may keep them at their desks or cubbies. This is optional as we take quite a few bathroom and water breaks during the day.
* Please avoid sending toys and stuffed animals in your child's backpack.
* Each Tuesday afternoon your child will bring home a "Tuesday Folder" containing all of the graded work for the previous week. Please take time to look over your child's papers with him/her and make any corrections. Folders should be signed and returned on the following day (Wednesday). This Tuesday there will be a few things to fill out and return!
* Take Home Folder comes home every day. Please sign or initial the calendar and send it back to school the next day. The blue folder is a way for us to communicate on a daily basis.
*We also have a blog that will be updated weekly. I will post information about our week and any reminders for the near future.
Visit http://byrne1stgrade.weebly.com/
* If you are making any changes regarding your child's transportation on a particular day, please notify me by e-mail or phone or call the office (464-5500), either the day before or on the same day. Please try to call as soon as possible so I can make the necessary arrangements. If you send an e-mail or leave a voice mail in the last few minutes before the dismissal, I may not have time to check my e-mails or voice mail and therefore not be aware of your changes. If your child will ride the bus to and from school you can check your route information here. (I have tried to find bus numbers according to your addresses and it seems the district is still working on this tool.) Please let me know the route number so I can put your child on the right bus.
* And last but not the least: Your precious children have been home with you for the last couple of months during the summer. Coming to school early in the morning and saying goodbye might be difficult for some children. Please help me your child make the transition as smooth and as successful as possible. A quick goodbye at the door is perfect. We will have a fantastic day!
*Please also send me additional email addresses if your spouse would like to receive my communications as well! Or let me know if you would like an email address removed. I added both email addresses from the yellow card filled out at meet the teacher. If you did not receive this email at both addresses please let me know and I will correct my contact list.
Thank you!
Tina Byrne
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Tina Byrne
First Grade Teacher, Caraway Elementary
[email protected]
512-464-5542