Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! I am very excited to be your child’s first grade teacher. I am married to my husband, Michael, and have two daughters, Cianna and Emerson (who attends St. Mary's as a Pre-K 4 hedgehog), and a one-year-old boy, Severide.
We will be working on the following rules in class:
For homework, your child will have a reading log for 20 minutes of nightly reading. They will need to practice handwriting, sight words, spelling words, and prayers. I will post any homework on the first grade webpage. Homework will be placed in the front pocket of your child’s homework folder. No homework will be given during the first half-week of school.
In the front pocket of the blue homework folder, you will find all of the homework your child needs to do for the day, if they have any.
In the brackets, you will find a reading log. Your child needs to read for at least 20 minutes every night (Monday-Friday). You should fill out the reading log for your child. Behind the reading log, you will find blank notebook sheets of paper. This can be used for you and me to communicate. I will write notes about your child's behavior from time to time (both good and not so good) and you can write me notes whenever you like and I will respond.
In the back pocket, you will find a conduct chart of your child's behavior for the entire first quarter. Conduct will be marked in the chart on a daily basis.
My goal for your child is that he/she will develop a love and joy for learning. I want your child to love school and to love reading. You are an important factor in your child’s learning and with your support and participation, we will make a great team. I want to thank you in advance for your help.
Dress code:
Boys are to wear blue and white striped shirts (Mass shirt) or light blue polo shirts with the school logo daily. On Mass days (Thursdays) boys must wear mass shirts, pants, belts, and ties.
Girls may wear a light blue polo shirt with school logo and navy skorts or navy jumper with school logo and white shirt. On Mass days (Thursdays) girls must wear their jumper with school logo and white shirt.
Spirit Days will take place every Friday. Spirit Day dress is as follows: gray St. Mary’s Catholic School t-shirt, properly fitted blue jeans with a navy, black, or brown belt, and school shoes or tennis shoes. Capris and walking shorts are also allowed.
Only school sweaters and school-emblem fleece jackets can be worn inside the classroom and church during Mass. Each child has a hook in the classroom to hang up winter coats or rain jackets. During cold weather, winter coats and other non-school jackets will be placed under the pews during Mass.
Field Trips:
Parents will be needed to provide transportation for field trips when we can have them. Parents must be in compliance with the Diocesan requirements when volunteering at St. Mary’s. All volunteers within the Catholic Church are required to complete an application that will be kept on file with the Diocese and attend an EIM workshop every three years. More information can be found at www.austindiocese.org. The link directing you to the correct section of the website is eAppsDB.
Drop off and dismissal:
Students may be dropped off in the cafeteria beginning at 7:00 a.m. before school. They will be supervised until 7:40 a.m. when they will be released to their classrooms. Please see the letter from Mrs.Wyles about the drop-off and pick-up procedures. All students should be prepared for the day by 8:00 to join the school in the Pledge of Allegiance and opening prayer. It is extremely important that your child is in the classroom by 8:00 a.m.
We will dismiss at 3:25 p.m. after closing prayer. You may choose to come inside to pick up your child in the cafeteria or come to the drive-up line in the culdesac and then park by the cafeteria where we will bring your child out to you.
Curriculum:
Students will receive instruction in the following classes: math, language arts, religion, science, history, music, art, physical education, and Spanish and Latin. The TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) are the objectives that will be taught for the academic subjects of math, language arts, social studies, and science. The standards for Religion are provided by the Diocese.
We have several new classical books and programs that we are using this year: Fundations for teaching Phonics and Reading, The Story of Civilization and The Story of the Bible for History, and Spirit of Truth for Religion. I have many great classical books that I will be reading aloud, so students can hear quality literature. They will do a lot of memorization this year as part of our new classical curriculum.
Accelerated Reading:
We utilize the Accelerated Reading program to help students improve their reading skills. Students will take a computerized test to assess their reading level and identify areas for improvement. With this information, students will create goals for each grading period and will read to accomplish their goals.
Students will read books that are on their level, and then take a test to show comprehension. The program will track their progress, keeping a record of the books they’ve read and their success on the tests.
Birthdays:
The school has birthday stickers and we have a bulletin board recognizing their special days. If you would like to send some cookies or cupcakes on their birthday, please let me know ahead of time.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. My email address is hfabry@stmarys-temple.org.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Fabry