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Mrs. Beck - Class Notes

 

list of parent volunteers for the 2011/2012 school year:

Sarah Westfall, Room Mom

WEDNESDAY ENVELOPES

If your child is the oldest of his/her siblings at Immacolata, they will receive the Wednesday Envelope each week. They are responsible for bringing it home each Wednesday. I ask that you please go through these envelopes, and return any forms/money with your child. Please try to have these back before the weekend so that we can begin to prepare the next week's announcements. Thanks so much!

STAR OF THE WEEK:

Each week, a student in our classroom will be the Star of the Week. They will receive a certificate, sticker, and our classroom bear named Bearnard. They may take Bearnard home during the week and write or draw in our class journal about all the fun things they did with him. Bearnard has been on lots of fun adventures so far, and can't wait to enjoy time with a whole new group of friends!

The Star of the Week will be interviewed by their classmates on Monday, will be the teacher's helper throughout the week, and will end their week with show and tell and compliments from the class. I will send home a note informing you if your child is the star for the week.

LITURGY SCHEDULE:

Each class at Immacolata takes turns in planning the all-school liturgy. Our dates for the 2011/2012 school year are :

February 8 

May 2

 Each student in 1B will have a turn to participate in one of our two masses.

Behavior Management

 The behavior management policy of the first grade centers around teaching and practicing appropriate classroom behaviors. First and foremost, if children are expected to follow rules, They need to know two things: What the rules are, and why they are so important. Secondly, instead of making rules and expectations a negative thing, I focus on turning them into positive statements. For example, instead of saying, "don't touch others", we say "please keep your hands and feet to yourself." Instead of saying, "Don't distract others while working", we say, "please use your quiet voice while working and always try your best."  During the first weeks of school, I will be communicating our behavior expectations to my students. We will discuss and practice classroom procedures frequently throughout the year. Appropriate behaviors need to be reinforced constantly. They are not something that can be taught in a day. I believe that spending the time to teach and practice good behavior, will eliminate problems and negative feelings in the future, and will instill within the students, a sense of responsibility.

 The second part of this policy is teaching the results of behavior. I want students to learn that there are consequences to their actions. As teachers, we know that consequences only work if they are fair and consistent. I believe that a child learns best from his or her mistakes when the consequence is directly related to the behavior. For example, if a child tears another child's picture, having them miss recess would not be related to their negative behavior. Instead, the consequence would be for that child to apologize and help the other student tape their picture back together, or draw another picture for them. This way, the consequence is relevant.


 

The third part of the policy, and possibly the most important, is reinforcement of positive beahvior. Children respond much better to praise than to punishment, so rather than focus on negative behavior, I make it my personal goal to recognize the positive, desireable behaviors that they display, and praise them for it.

Lastly, is communication with parents. Behavior management will not be possible without help from you, the parents. Kids learn from consistency. I ask that you please reinforce these positive behaviors and expectations at home, and talk to them about your own expectations of them for school and for home. We can work as a team to make this school year a very positive experience for your child. Thank you for all that you do!