Back to School

As your prepare to head back to school, you may want to check out this helpful article on different ways to ask your child, "How was school today?" Most of the time, kids will just say "good" or "fine" and this article provides some specific questions that will help you get more details from your kid.

Sneak peak of classroom 401

Kristin & Stefanie all smiles after a hard day's work

Purple Folders

On one of the first few days of school, each first grader will receive a purple home/school folder.  These folders will go home and to school on a daily basis.  Please get into a routine of checking your child's purple folder and making sure it is in your child's backpack every night.  While we communicate by email frequently, important papers such as permission slips and notices from the office will go home in the purple folder.

Thanks for your help with this!

Become a Class Parent!

Our class is looking for 2-3 class parents. Becoming a class parent can take on many different roles: from organizing snack schedules, planning class trips, parties, and bake-sale fundraisers to writing a class newsletter and collecting teacher gifts for the holidays. Being a Class Parent is an excellent way to volunteer for school, especially for those of you limited on time -- it is up to you how much time you are able to contribute.

If you decide to volunteer, contact us and Julie Brown Harwood (Class Parent Chair classparents@evcsnyc.org). Julie will put you on the Class Parent Google Group, where she will share important information from the PA, as well as provide a place for class parents to talk to each other, share ideas, and ask questions.

Check out the Class Parent Brochure for more information! Thanks for your help!

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Upcoming Important Dates

September
Thursday, 9/4 - First Day of School :)
Tuesday, 9/16 - Curriculum Night
Friday, 9/19 - Our First Family Friday - Families as Reading Buddies
Thursday, 9/25 and Friday, 9/26 - NO SCHOOL, Rosh Hashanah

October
Monday, 10/13 - NO SCHOOL, Columbus Day
Tuesday, 10/7 and Wednesday, 10/8 - School Photos
Friday, 10/17 - Family Friday - Storytelling Share
Saturday, 10/25 - Fall Ball

About Our Classroom, Room 401

School starts at 8:30am and ends at 2:50pm. Drop-off and pick-up are in the school yard in nice weather.  On rainy days, students arrive and dismiss from the classroom (our room is 401).  If you are late, please go to the main office. Obtain a late pass (to make sure your child will be marked late instead of absent) and then come to the classroom. If your child is going to be absent please either call the school or send in a note the next day. If you are running late to pick-up, please call the office. Children who are not picked up on time will wait in the school yard with a paraprofessional until 3:15pm and then will be brought up to the main office.


Adults Who Support Our Class
Aurora – Guidance Counselor
Jett – Physical Therapist
Jackie - Occupational Therapist
Mr. Scott – Speech Therapist

Sarit - Speech Therapist
Sylvia - ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language)
Liz M. - School Psychologist

Sarah - Social Worker

James - Parent Coordinator
Damon - Counselor with Jewish Board Child Development Center

Special Classes

This year, our students will visit three different special classes - music, dance and art.  Maggie will teach art again, and we welcome Reina as our new dance specialist and Stephanie as our new music teacher!

Birthday Policy
If you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday in class please just let us know ahead of time. We would like to celebrate birthdays at 2:15pm. Cupcakes or munchkins are better than cake because we don’t have to slice them! Also, juice boxes are better than juice because it makes the set-up and clean-up much easier.


Blog
Please check our blog regularly for updates about our class! To save paper, we will only occasionally send home notes in writing.

http://evcsfirstgrade401.blogspot.com


Homework
Homework will start in October. We will talk more about this on Curriculum Night.


Lunch Bills
Please pay all lunch bills in person in the office. Please do not send this money to school in your child’s folder.


Toys
EVCS has a "No Toys" policy. We follow this all-school rule as well. NO toys are allowed in our classroom.


James
James is the other 1st grade teacher. His room is right next door to ours. We will be collaborating and working with James often!

Water Bottles

First graders get thirsty! Students are allowed to keep a water bottle in school.  Please label your child's water bottle.

Welcome Letter

Dear Families,

We hope you are all having an enjoyable and relaxing summer vacation, filled with fun, family and friends. We are excited to welcome you to Stefanie and Kristin's first grade class!  We are looking forward to starting the school year and wanted to introduce ourselves to our new classroom community. 

This is our second year co-teaching together and we couldn’t be more thrilled.  We both graduated from Teachers College at Columbia University and are certified in general and special education.  We share a passion for social justice, creative conflict resolution and inclusion.  

First grade is an incredible year where our work focuses on community.  We believe in creating and sustaining an inclusive and democratic classroom community where students feel safe to take risks and share their ideas.  Our students develop skills around collaboration, social activism, critical thinking and empathy.

In our classroom, first graders are explorers, readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists. We will work hard to create a rigorous classroom environment full of rich academic and social opportunities.  We integrate our studies through project work and drama and we always make sure we have time to cook, sing, take trips and play inside and outside.

We look forward to working with you and learning with your child this year.  To help us prepare for the school year, we are hoping you can share some special information about your child.  We have included two surveys about your daughter or son, and look forward to learning about your child – our new student!  If you would like to support your child’s classroom, please check out the attached school supplies list. Thank you so much for your help!

School begins Thursday, September 4th.  It will be a full day. We will meet you in the schoolyard at 8:30am to pick up the class. Dismissal will be in the yard at 2:50 pm.  If you have any questions, please contact us by email - stefanieandkristin.evcs1@gmail.com.  We also strongly encourage you to visit our class blog for information about our classroom - http://evcsfirstgrade401.blogspot.com. 

We are eager to embark on this first grade adventure together and to learn alongside the children and families of our classroom. Enjoy the rest of your summer! We look forward to seeing you in September!

Sincerely,

Kristin and Stefanie

School Supplies List

Please do not label the supplies.  All items are shared communally.
Thank you so much for your help!

Everyone should bring:

1 backpack (no wheels and must be large enough to hold a folder and book baggie)
1 antibacterial hand sanitizer
Crayons or colored pencils
1 pack of construction paper
1 pack of regular pencils

It would be great if you could also bring some of the following:

1 package of watercolor paint
watercolor paper
1 pack of dry erase markers
1 pack of markers
1 box of band-aids
paper towels
1 box of tissues

Elmer’s liquid glue

Important Information

Contact Information

Please feel free to contact us at any time. The best way to get a hold of us is via email. Our email address is stefanieandkristin.evcs1@gmail.com. During the school year, you can also call the school and leave a message with the secretary. Please note that we generally check emails and phone messages between the hours of 8:00am and 7:00pm. Messages sent after 7:00pm may not be received until the following morning. There may be times during the year when we need to meet outside of the conference schedule. We will make every effort to meet with you before or immediately after school if a confirmed appointment has been made. While quick conversations at drop off or dismissal can seem convenient, it may not give you the individual attention and thoughtfulness that a conversation about your child requires and deserves.

Good Links to Bookmark
EVCS website (an often-updated website about EVCS and the PA)

Scholastic Book Wizard (a great website for finding just-right books for your child)

Cafeteria Menus (The Department of Education's cafeteria menus)

NYC DOE website 

DOE Calendar

Your Role As A Parent

Parents, as your child grows your role continues to be critical in your child’s learning. We look forward to getting to know all of you as we work together to make this year a success. At EVCS, we ask one or two family members from each class to take on the role of Class Parent. A Class Parent helps communicate important messages and announcements, helps with projects and field trips, coordinates our snack schedule, and assists in the fundraising for trips and materials. Please let us know if you are interested in being a class parent. Much of our exciting work depends on having extra hands and resources in the classroom. Of course, please don't forget about our Support-A-Classroom Fund as well. It is a great way to help support our project-based learning in first grade.