Winter Donations

THANK YOU to those who contributed towards our classroom service project and THANK YOU to Mrs. Walters for organizing this project and delivering all of the items to those in need!.  I am so pleased to announce that we collected the following items:

8 men's coats
2 men's sweatshirts
2 women's jackets
5 women's sweaters
7 blankets
2 pair of boots
7 boys coats
12 girls coats
dozens of hats, scarves, and mittens

What a great learning opportunity for our first grade students!

Spirit Week Dec. 2-6

Monday-Holiday Colors
Tuesday-Dress as your favorite holiday character
Wednesday-Pajama Day (holiday or any)
Thursday-Dress as a holiday gift
Friday-Wear your candy cane colors

Winter Service Project

The First Grade Team at Banks Road has decided on our winter service project for this year. We would like to try and bless people in our community that may not otherwise be blessed this holiday season. The children voted and have decided to collect items to help those less fortunate keep warm this winter. Please look through your closets for items like coats, sweatshirts, hats, mittens, and blankets that you and your family have either outgrown or, like many of us,  just have a few too many of.  You can even recruit neighbors and other family members to clean out their closets and donate as well.

Please send in clean, gently-used items by Friday, December 5^th. We will donate these items to various homeless shelters and outreach centers throughout our community.

This is a great opportunity to teach your children about the joys of giving and helping those in need. Thank you so much for your generosity.

The First Grade Team

Message from Ms. Stephenson-Art Teacher

Another Exciting Art Residency Coming To Banks Road—

During this year’s Artist in Residency, every student at Banks Road will get to experience working with a professional artist during their art special.  January 21^st through 28^th  we will be hosting the environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck. The students will participate in her “Weaving Like a Bird” residency where they will use recycled materials, string, yarn, old sheets etc to weave a wall sculpture that will be installed in the school.

We need everyone’s help collecting fabric for us to use in our artwork! Please send in scrap fabric, old sheets or curtains, ribbons, and yarn! The more colorful, the better! If you would like to contribute but don’t have these things lying around, gift cards to fabric stores like Joanne’s Fabric would be very helpful and much appreciated as well.  Also, keep a look out for information on ways to volunteer to help with this residency.

Our art teacher, Ms. Stephenson, will collect all contributions. Please send in contributions through your child or bring them in to the office with Attn: Ms. Stephenson. She will begin accepting them immediately. Thank you for your support of Banks Road Visual Arts!

For more information about Bryant Holsenbeck’s Residencies check out her web page at:

http://www.bryantholsenbeck.com/weave.html

Contact Ms. Stephenson with any questions- mstephenson@wcpss.net

Thanks everyone!!

Megan Stephenson
Visual Art
Banks Road Elementary School

Yearbooks

FYI:  The deadline for ordering a yearbook is December 20th (track out day).  

 

Reminders from PTA

TONIGHT is Family Fitness Night from 6:30-8:15.  Try Zumba or Jazzercise, enter in the FREE Raffle to win some great prizes, or get your picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. Wuf!

Reflections DEADLINE has been moved up to Thursday, November 21st!  If anyone is interested in participating, please email the PTA at banksrdpta@gmail.com.

FREE Movie Night is scheduled for Thursday, December 12th at 6:00.  Wear your pj's and each student gets a FREE bag of popcorn.  After the movie, a Kindle Fire HD will be raffled off -- $5 for 1 ticket, or $20 for 5 tickets.

Will you be doing some Online Shopping for the holiday season?  If you like to shop on Amazon, please use the following link http://www.fundyourpta.org/banksroades.php --  we will get 6% back from all purchases, 4% from electronics.

Challenge Words for Week of November 12th (No school on Monday, November 11th)

uphill
mess-up
toss-up
nutshell
shellfish
refill
November
turkey

Letterland Challenge Words

Feel like your child is able to independently read and write the weekly homework words?  If so, please feel free to have your child practice these words at home.  Your child will still be responsible for the assigned weekly words on his/her spelling assessment each week.  Please let me know if you have any questions.
Challenge Words for Week of Nov. 4th
puffball
callback
mall-cop
pinball
kickball
pitfall
uphill
mess-up
toss-up
nutshell

Fall Centers

Thank you to Mrs. Walters and Mrs. Moose for helping us with this fun learning experience!

 The students enjoyed making a candy corn hand print and a pumpkin glyph.

 Our first time using QR codes in the classroom.  Students used QR codes to listen to pumpkin songs and stories-so fun!

 Students practiced place value with candy corn and candy pumpkins.  They also practiced with pumpkin seeds from inside of a real pumpkin :)

 Students looking for words written on pumpkins.  They had to sort these words and use one of the words in a sentence.  Great practice!  

Geologists at Work

Scholastic Orders

November orders were due today.  I am sending home the December order form today as well.  Scholastic books make excellent Christmas gifts!  If you are interested in purchasing books and you would like for it to be a secret, please let me know. I am happy to keep the books in the classroom for you to pick up at your convenience.  Thanks to all of you who have purchased books from Scholastic!  It helps us earn points towards free books for our own classroom and we love getting new books :) December orders will be due by December 22nd.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Curriculum Focus

Math-We are learning about place value (tens and ones), we are learning how to use ten sticks and ones to represent each number.  In class we use sticks to represent the tens place in a number and circles to represent the ones place in a number.  For example, in the number 82.  We would draw 8 sticks and 2 circles.   We are also learning how to compare two numbers with symbols, words, and ten sticks/ones. 

Reading-We are beginning to focus on reading/writing words with long vowels.  We are also focusing on retelling stories using the fiction story star.  Please remind your child to use this star when retelling stories at home.  

Writing-We are learning how to write persuasive letters.  Students are learning what different types of letters look like and how to use the basic format to write letters of their own.  We will use a special checklist to ensure we are including all the items we need in a persuasive letter.

Science-We are starting our unit on rocks.  How are rocks alike/different?  What happens when you rub rocks together?  What happens when you wash rocks in water?  Be sure to ask your first grade scientist/geologist :)

    

Report Cards Update

Dear Trailblazer Parents,

Please see the information below regarding Track 4 student report cards. They have been delayed due to system software issues. This information came home today with every student on Track 4. It is also posted on our school website. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you, Mrs. Graf 

Dear Parents, 

Due to an unanticipated software outage in a statewide computer system, first-quarter report cards for Track 4 students will be sent home beginning next week.

Pearson, the third-party software provider, is currently working to address the outage in its system, which has impacted teachers throughout the state. Once the system is restored, teachers will be able to continue to enter grades, and schools will be able to print report cards.

Based on communication from the software company, we anticipate that Track 4 report cards will be available beginning Friday, November 1.

Thank you,

Wake County Public School System


Queridos padres:

Debido a un interrupción en el sistema informático de todo el estado, las boletas de calificaciones del primer trimestre de los estudiantes con Ciclo 4 serán enviadas a casa empezando la próxima semana.

Pearson, el proveedor tercero de software, está trabajando actualmente para tratar la interrupción en su sistema, que ha impactado los maestros de todo el estado. Una vez que el sistema se restablece, los maestros podrán seguir entrando las notas y las escuelas podrán imprimir las boletas de calificaciones.

Basándose en la comunicación de la compañía, anticipamos que las boletas de calificaciones de los estudiantes con el Ciclo 4 estarán disponibles a partir del viernes 1 de noviembre.

Gracias,

Wake County Public School System

Coin Drive Reward

Pizza Party-Thank you PTA :)

Field Trips

FYI: Our grade level is in the process of planning two field trips for this school year.  Dates are tentative and subject to change.  More information to come!

Marbles Museum-tracks 2, 3, and 4 are all scheduled for March 18th

Poe Health Center-tracks 3 and 4 are scheduled for May 16th

place value stations

We are learning how to count by tens and ones.  Students worked in small groups to practice counting with hands on materials such as lollipops/beads and drawing pictorial representations.  Students also enjoyed using our classroom computers and Ipads to practice math concepts taught.  Check out our pics!

Tumblebooks

Tumblebooks

FYI: Students spend time here at school visiting the Tumblebooks website. This website has a variety of leveled books for your child to read. The website also has comprehension quizes that your child can take. Please assist your child in locating the website at home and have him/her read books from home several nights each week. It is a wonderful site to use at school and home to help improve reading!

www.tumblebooks.com

Username: banksrd
Password: books 

FYI

Tuesday, October 22nd: Career Day (What you want to be when you grow up) ;)

Wednesday, October 23rd: Pajama Day

Halloween "Boo-Grams"

The Student Council will be selling Halloween "Boo-Grams" from Monday, October 28th through Thursday, October 31st. Students will be able to purchase these 'boo-grams' to send to friends in other classes. We will be selling these during arrival time for 25cents each. "Boo-Grams" will be delivered to homeroom classes by Student Council representatives between 9:00 & 9:15 a.m. starting on Tuesday, October 29th. The last delivery day will be Friday, November 1st.

Trailblazers,
This Friday, October 11th we will be sending home the new elementary report cards with all students on Tracks 1, 2 and 3. Track 4 will receive their report cards on Friday, Oct. 25th.  These new report cards are formatted different from report cards in the past. I am sharing information from the WCPSS website with you to support your understanding of the new report card and its components.

The report cards will be accompanied by a letter giving you additional information. Please read below for more information on the grading scale and the report card distribution schedule.

Students will be evaluated on a 4-point scale, with a score of 1 showing that the student does not yet demonstrate an understanding of the standards, and a score of 4 indicating the student consistently demonstrates in-depth understanding of the concepts being taught.

Every report card will be accompanied by a guide showing parents how to interpret the new information it provides. View the guide and a helpful video online.

Report cards are just one way for teachers to communicate with students and parents about a student’s academic achievement, work habits, and classroom behavior. Parents may also request a conference with the teacher to discuss their student’s progress and ways to support their learning in and out of school.

As always, please feel free to contact me or your child's teacher should you have any questions. Thank you, Mrs. Graf

Report card schedule

Friday, October 11
Modified-calendar schools
Year-round schools
(Tracks 1, 2, 3)

Friday, October 25
Year-round schools
(Track 4)

Monday, November 4
Traditional-calendar schools

Questions for Informational Text (Non-Fiction)

Informational Text (Non-fiction) -What is the main idea of the text? -What did you learn from reading the text? -Are there any words that you do not know what they mean? -What are some new words that you learned? -Do you have any questions after reading? -Were there any important features (charts, diagrams, pictures) that were important? -Where could you find more information about this topic? -Did you like this text? Why or why not?

Questions for Fiction Text

Fiction Text -Who is the main character? Describe the main character-What did the character do? What did the character say? How did the character feel? -What was the setting (when and where) -What was the problem in the story and how was it solved (solution)? -What do you think will happen next in the story? -Why do you think the author chose the title for the story? -Do you like the title of the story? Why or why not? -Can you think of a different title for the story? -Which character from the story would you choose to be your friend? Why? -What part of the story was the most exciting? Why? -Did you like the end of the story? Why or why not? -Describe what happened first, next, then, and last (sequential order)and be sure to include lots of details

Spirit Weekend at Buffaloe Lanes

Banks Road Spirit Weekend at BUFFALOE LANES (Hwy 401)

October 11, 12, 13

Please take the Buffaloe Lanes card (coming home with students) and turn it in when you check out, and Banks Road will receive 50% of the bowling total!

REFLECTIONS ARTS PROGRAM

"Believe, Dream, Inspire"

Banks Road students are welcome to participate in the Reflections Arts Program.  They can choose from one of the following categories: (they may enter in more than one category)

*Dance Choreography

*Film Production

*Literature

*Music Composition

*Photography

*Visual Arts

Must be ORIGINAL work by one student inspired by the theme "Believe, Dream, Inspire".  All artwork must contain a title and and include an artist statement (less than 100 words).

DEADLINE for submission of entry or entries is Wednesday, December 18.   Please email the PTA at banksrdpta@gmail.com with any questions.

Fall Festival

Banks Road Fall Festival

Friday, Sept. 27th 

5:00 - 8:00

*Food - Snoballs - Popcorn

*Hayride - Games - Cake Walk - Inflatables

*Horses for Hope

*Live Band

*Basket Raffle - $1/ticket OR $10 for 11 tickets (Movie Night, Gift Card, Pet, Fun in Fuquay, Tailgating, Camping, Art/Crafts, Lottery, Summertime, Autumns Boliunty)

*Silent Auction - (Disney tickets, Tweetsie Railroad, Carowinds, Grandfather Mtn, American Girl Doll, Track Out Camps, Mudcats-Hurricanes-Railhawks-NC State Football tickets, Umstead Hotel, Golf, Big Easy-Olive Garden-The Pit-Red Lobster gift cards, and many, many more items!

*Dunk Tank - $1 for 3 balls

5:00 - 5:20  Ms. Blackmon

5:25 - 5:45  Ms. Stover

5:50 - 6:10  Ms. Chesser

6:15 - 6:35  Ms. Stephenson

6:40 - 7:00  Evan Froning (last year's Student Council President)

7:05 - 7:25  Mr. Day

7:30 - 7:50  Ms. Graf OR Ms. Livengood

Come on out for a fun evening with family and friends!

FYI
First-quarter report cards will be delayed for all year-round elementary school students.  Students in tracks 1, 2 and 3 will receive report cards on October 11. Track 4 students will receive report cards on October 25.

Report cards are delayed because of required software modifications to our new student information system, Home Base. The new system uses software called PowerSchool to track attendance, grades and assignments. The new software requires a change to accommodate the report card format. This issue affects elementary report cards only. We are currently working with the vendor to resolve the issue, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.  Teachers remain committed to keeping you informed regarding your child’s progress. If at any time you have questions regarding your child’s progress, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

Capital Improvement Program 2013

Q: What is Capital Improvement Program 2013 (CIP 2013)? A: CIP 2013 is the proposed new school building program for Wake County to provide 16 new schools; 6 major renovations creating an additional 1,343 seats; life cycle equipment replacement, technology, and security at most all schools; and land acquisition for new schools. The 16 new schools include 11 elementary, three middle and two high schools. Green ES, Vandora Springs ES, Lincoln Heights ES, Brooks ES, Rolesville ES and Garner HS will undergo major renovations. Here is the link to the webpage: http://www.wcpss.net/growing-forward/faqs.html.

NC Schools on UNC-TV

The  North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has partnered with UNC-TV to produce an hour-long program, North Carolina Schools and You: What Changes in Our Schools Mean for Parents and Students. This program will be broadcast twice on UNC-TV: once on Thursday, September 19, at 10 p.m., and again on Friday, September 27, at 4:30 p.m. Featured in the program are segments taped in local public and public charter schools and questions from a studio audience to State Superintendent June Atkinson, Chief Academic Officer Rebecca Garland and Deputy Academic Officer Angela Quick.

North Carolina Schools and You offers information and discussion around recent important changes in public schools and how parents can be more productively engaged in their children’s success.  Specific topics include:

-       Teaching and Learning:  What Students Are Learning and How;

-       Measuring Performance:  New Assessments and Accountability Model; and

-       Parent Engagement:  How Parents Can Support Learning.

To enrich viewer's understanding about these topics, NCDPI has prepared the attached Viewer's Guide with additional background information and helpful links to supplement the program. We hope these materials are helpful to you and your team as you work with parents and community members to support student learning. 

Common Core

KEY IDEAS FOR PARENTS
About the Common Core

Supporting The Common Core at Home
The Common Core emphasizes critical thinking. It requires students to analyze more, discuss more, evaluate more, justify more and explain their thinking & understanding deeply, especially in writing.
Take-Away:  Really thinking deeply is hard. Let it BE hard, help them talk it out.

The Common Core emphasizes proof & evidence. Long gone are the days of worksheets, fact memorizations and skill & drill. Students are not taught this way and they are not assessed this way.
Take-away: The new tests will require students to explain how they know.

The Common Core emphasizes learning across disciplines (reading with math & social studies standards combined into one task). Students spend more time working together with different settings, structures & tools. Take-Away: Problems & solutions happen everyday in the real world.

1 Ask *why* when children tell you they want something or want to do or not do something.
2 Use the word *because* after “No” or “Not tonight…”
3 Give reasons--you to them and them to you.
4 Encourage questions & explore answers (especially questions whose answers are not yes or no.)
5 Explain & discuss issues or problems in your house, neighborhood, & community. Brainstorm solutions.
6 Compare how things are alike and different-videos, movies, food.
7 Look for patterns
8 Describe & categorize stuff.
9 Tell your children what you value & why.
10 Encourage & celebrate opinions.

CC - 2013, by Jen Jones & Kate Duty
www.helloliteracy.blogpsot.com

Coin Drive Winning Class!

I am so excited to announce that our class won first place in our school for collecting the most coins! We collected over $300-WOW!!! Every student contributed regardless of the amount and I am so very proud of every student in my class! PTA will be in touch with me soon to plan a date for our pizza party. THANK YOU to every one of you for helping make this possible. The students are VERY excited! Happy Happy Friday :) Have a fabulous weekend!

Coin Drive

THANK YOU to those who have already sent in coins for our school wide coin drive. The students were so excited to hear our name announced this afternoon on the announcements. We are currently in first place for all track 4 classes in our school-WOW! This is a big accomplishment for first graders and I am very proud of my students. Please continue to send in coins throughout next week. I look forward to staying in the competition and hopefully winning a class party :) Thanks again and have a great weekend!

NC State Fair and BRES

Here's an excellent way for you to get your advance gate tickets to the NC State Fair (Oct. 17-27) and help Banks Road Elementary School raise money. For every $7.00 adult advance ticket sold, two dollars will be returned to the school. For every children's advance ticket ($3.00), one dollar will be returned to the school. Please feel free to forward this email to relatives, neighbors, and friends. The more tickets sold from Banks Road Elementary supporters, the more money is returned to the school. To be sure the money goes back to us, you will need to enter our school code number, which is 325 and is also available from the advance ticket online site: http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1742475&cobrand=ncstatefair13-wakecounty " Don't wait too late: Once the fair starts, the ticket price increases, and no money comes back to us.

Book Buddy Bags

BOOK BUDDY BAGS: the book included in your child’s bag is chosen based on your child’s instructional level, which was determined from the mClass beginning of year assessments. While your child may be able to read all of the words, it is important that your child is able to recall many details (both fiction and non-fiction) and answer both explicit and implicit questions about the text. Your child should also be able to read fluently and with expression. In addition, all students should also focus on reading and responding in written format. I encourage all students to read the book several times throughout the week and then retell the story with many details in sequential order to an adult. After retelling orally, please have your child practice writing the events/details. Please remind your child that sentences should start with capitals and end with punctuation.

Spirit Week

Spirit Week is scheduled for September 6-13.  There will also be a Coin Drive going on during Spirit Week, so bring in any loose change.  The overall class that raises the most money will win a Pizza Party.  The winner of each Track will have a Popcorn Party.  All money raised will go into the Grade Level Fund and used towards field trips, magazine subscriptions, classroom supplies, etc.

Friday (9-6) - Spirit Day (wear Banks Rd shirt or blue/green)

Monday (9-9) - Hat Day (any type of hat)

Tuesday (9-10) - Dress to Impress Day (how good can you look?)

Wednesday (9-11) - Patriot Day (wear red/white/blue)

Thursday (9-12) - Wacky Tacky Day (how crazy can you dress?)

Friday (9-13) - Spirit Day (wear Banks Rd shirt or blue/green)

Volunteers Welcome

Classroom volunteers are starting this week.  I have already communicated with several volunteers about their assigned day and time to come into the classroom.  If you are interested in volunteering and we have not arranged a day/time, please send me an email.  All volunteers must have been approved by the county.  

Thank you!  

Curriculum Focus

In math we have been working on finding the partners and the total, by counting up all of our circles from our circle drawing and then writing an additional equation. We talked about how the equal sign goes in the equation to show that the addition number sentence is true. So for example 7+2=9, would be a true addition sentence, since 7 plus 2, does equal 9. 8+1=10, would be not equal, since 8 plus 1 equals 9. We also worked on the counting on strategy. This is where we get the bigger number in our head and count on the lower number. For example if we have the problem 6+2, we could get 6 in our head and add two more to it, giving us 6: 7 and 8. This is a much easier and quicker strategy than using the counting all strategy where we count every number, like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and then adding two more 7 and 8.

In Letterland, we worked on three more word families this week: -am, -an, and –ack. –am and –an are glued sounds and they only make 1 sound. Have your child show you how to tap out the word “can.” It has three letters, but we only tap out two sounds. It would be /c/ and then /an/. –ack is also special because the /ck/ only makes one sound as well. For the word “back”, it would be /b/, /a/, and then /ck/. Our tricky words last week were: and, like, and I. These words will be added to the word wall since they cannot be tapped out. Once we have gone over the words, they are expected to spell these words correctly in their writing and be able to read them.

In Daily 5, students are continuing to build their "stamina" with read to self, read to someone, work on writing, and word work.

In writing, we have started writing conferences. As students are writing, I will come around and conference with students one at a time or I may use this time to work with a small group of students on a specific skill. I will tell them something they are doing great with and something they need to continue to work on.

Last week in Social Studies, we learned about community helpers. We found that these people, teachers, fire fighters, police officers, mailmen, doctors, nurses, and trash men are all important people in each community. Be sure to ask "what do you want to be when you grow up" and have them explain why.  

Box Tops

FYI-We are collecting box tops and we would love to be the winning class for collecting the most box tops in our school. Please begin saving box tops and feel free to turn them in anyday. We will collect box tops throughout this school year. Thank you to those who have already sent in box tops!

Friday Folders

FYI: Friday folders are not being sent home today-August 16th. We will send Friday folders home next Friday-August 23rd. More than likely, Friday folders will be sent home only twice a month depending on how many papers we have to send home. Thanks and have a great weekend!

Curriculum Focus

In math, we have been working on odd and even numbers. We have also been working on finding equal partners for even numbers. For example, 8 can have equal partners because it can have the partners of 4 and 4. But 7 and 9 cannot have equal partners. We have also been working on finding 1 more, 2 more, 1 less, and 2 less than a number between 0 and 20. In Daily 5, we began building our stamina for read to self and work on writing. We made an “I-chart” for each of these rotations and have talked about what the expectations are for students and for the teacher during this time. We started with 3 minutes for each of these rotations and have built our stamina up to 10 minutes so far. Our overall goal is to be able to work independently for 20 minutes. In writing, we have been focusing on stretching out words and writing down the sounds they hear. This is a great tool to use for homework too. As the year goes on, we will learn more about phonemic rules and our spelling will improve, but this is a great tool to always use. The last thing I want a student to do is stay stuck on a word. We started a phonics based program called “Letterland”. This week we are focusing on the letters a, b, c, d, f, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, and t. We learned the “character” that goes with each letter and the motion for each letter. Ask your child about these letters and their characters name and their motion. In Social Studies, we are learning about our community. We are focusing on the 3 different types of communities (rural, urban, and suburban). Be sure to ask your child what type of community they live in? What type of community they would like to live in and why?

Mrs. Bishop Absent

I will be attending training and out of the classroom all day on Tuesday, August 13th and Wednesday, August 21st. The students will have a substitute. Please email me with any questions that arise on either of these two days. Thank you! jbishop@wcpss.net

Ident-i-kid

Ident-i-kid will be here to photograph students for Ident-i-kid cards on Track 4 this Friday, August 9th. Flyers should have gone home in your child's daily folder. If you are interested in participating in Ident-i-kid program, please return the application with your payment.

Classroom Handbook 2013-2014

Mrs. Bishop’s Classroom Handbook


2013-2014

Dear Parents,

I would like to welcome you as well as your child to first grade because this year will truly be a joint venture between parent, child, and teacher. This is an exciting year as the children learn to read, write, process math skills, develop good work skills, and gain more independence. Below is some information that I hope will be useful to you. I look forward to working with you and your child this school year!

Your Teacher

A Little About Me- I received both my undergraduate and graduate teaching degrees from East Carolina University. My previous teaching experience includes kindergarten, first, and second grade in both Wake and Johnston County.

I live in Garner with my husband and four year old son named Christopher. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with Christopher and shopping-a little too much according to my husband 

I absolutely love teaching first graders and am looking forward to a wonderful year ahead!

Communication

Daily Folder- Your child will be given a folder that will be used as our way of communicating daily. This folder will carry your child’s homework and daily communications. This folder should be checked nightly and returned to school each morning. Homework will be located on the left side of the folder. In front of the homework will be a monthly behavior calendar. This sheet will remain in the folder all week. If you need to send me a note, lunch money, book order money, etc… please send it in this folder, as we do not check bookbags.

Friday Folder- In addition to your child’s daily folder, you will receive a manila Friday folder containing work that your child has completed in class. This folder will be inside of a gallon size Ziploc bag. Please empty out this folder over the weekend and send it back to school in the Ziploc bag on Monday.

Mrs. Bishop’s Contact Information-Email: jbishop@wcpss.net School Phone: 919-890-7333

Progress Reports

Conferences: Parent/teacher conferences are held twice a year. You will be notified if additional conferences need to take place and please feel free to contact me if you feel additional conferences are needed.

Report Cards: Your child will receive a report card at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter marking periods. They will be sent home in a special report card folder that will need to be signed and returned to school.

Homework

Each Monday, a sheet will be placed in your child’s Home-School Connection folder explaining our homework for the week. Assignments should be completed each night in order to develop good homework habits. Homework will be due on Friday unless otherwise stated. Please do not leave all assignments to be completed Thursday evening. Your child should do a little bit of homework each night. Developing good homework habits is very important in first grade!

Classroom Behavior

This year our school has adopted the PBIS behavior model. PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. The students in our school are encouraged to be responsible, be respectful, and be safe. We have established common rules for all of the children in the school throughout the common areas (cafeteria, restroom, playground, hallway, etc…). Your child will attend an assembly with administration to help learn and understand what these rules and expectations are. Along with our school-wide rules, we will also have classroom rules and other incentives.

Classroom Behavior Calendars: I have high expectations for how your child should act while at school both in and out of the classroom. During the first week of school, our class will establish a set of rules that should be followed each and every day. The goal of our classroom behavior system is to establish a set of rules that help us learn and keep us safe. We will work together to create a positive and safe learning environment for your child and for the other children in our class. I promote “making good choices” and encourage students to take responsibility for their own actions. Each month your child will have a calendar to keep track of their behavior which should be kept in the folder at all times. If your child has met our expectations for the day, he/she will receive a star for that day on the calendar. To promote positive behavior in the classroom, rewards will be given to students to demonstrate good behavior and they will receive a special treat at the end of the week. If a good choice is not being made, your child will receive a verbal warning to get back on track. If myself or another staff member needs to continue to speak to your child about their choices, they will receive a behavior code on their calendar. This code will explain what your child needs to work on in order to meet our expectations. Along with the behavior code, your child will fill out a reflection form that states what choice they made and what choice they should have made. This form will be sent home, should be discussed, signed and returned the next day. If your child’s behavior escalates and becomes disruptive to the learning or safety of others, an office referral to administration will be made along with a phone call home.

Blazer Bucks: Each day, your child will have the opportunity to earn “blazer bucks” when they have been spotted following a class/school rule. When your child earns their ticket, they will write their name on the back and add it to our class bucket. At the end of each week, I will draw a few names out of the bucket to earn a prize.

Compass Coins: Our class will work together as a team to earn compass coins for our Trailblazer poster. Once we have filled up our poster, our class will earn a reward. Our class can earn compass coins for modeling positive behavior in common areas of the school, such as on the playground and in the cafeteria.

Thank you for supporting our classroom behavior system. Good classroom behavior is vital to the successful learning of all children.

Attendance

Absences: If your child is absent for any reason, please call the school or email me (jbishop@wcpss.net) to let us know that your child will not be in class for the day. This is very helpful as I mark attendance and reasons for absences on the computer system. A note needs to come to school with your child as to why they were absent when they return. Any absence that does not have a note will be considered unexcused. Although good attendance is very important to your child’s learning, if your child is out sick, please do not worry about what they will miss at school. We will catch them up when they return.

Student Check In/Out: If your child is tardy or leaving early, please stop by the office to check them in/out. The office staff will call our room if your child will be picked up early and will meet you in the office. Please remember that our academic learning begins at 9:15 every day and does not end until 3:40. If your child is consistently late or picked up early, they will miss important information. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Cafeteria & Snack

Please make sure that your child is prepared for lunch every day. If you plan on having your child buy lunch, please make sure that they have money in their account. If a child does not have enough funds in their account, he/she will receive fruits, vegetables and water from the cafeteria. If you are sending lunch money to school with your child, please place it in an envelope labeled with their name and “lunch money” on the front. It can be sent in their daily home-school connection folder. If you plan on coming to school to eat lunch with your child, you can sit at the parent table in the back of the cafeteria.

Your child will have a time each day set aside to eat a healthy snack from home. Please see the healthy snack letter located in the parent packet for further information.

Birthdays

If your child is celebrating their birthday while we are in school, they are welcome to bring in a small treat to share with the class. Please make sure treats are store-bought and there is one for each child in our class. Snacks should not contain any type of nut product. Birthday cakes, candles, balloons, and treat bags are not allowed to come to school. Also, please do not ask us to give out birthday invitations in school. This needs to take place outside of the classroom.

Volunteering

There will be opportunities to volunteer with our class this year. Anyone wishing to volunteer must be cleared by the county. You can do this here at school. If you were a volunteer last year, you will need to go through the clearing process again this year. More information about volunteering will come home in your child’s folder.

Scholastic Book Orders

Throughout the year I will send home Scholastic book order forms with your child. You will have an opportunity to build your library at home as well as help us earn bonus points to build our classroom library at school! I use these points to purchase classroom items that correlate with our common core standards. You will receive specific information on how to order when the first book order is sent home.

Thank you for spending the time to read over our classroom handbook. I hope this guide will serve as a helpful resource for you this year. Please keep this in a safe place at home. If you have any questions once our year begins, please do not hesitate to ask.

Mrs. Bishop

Volunteering at Banks

Volunteering at Banks

All parents are required to register with WCPSS in order to volunteer in the school and in classrooms.  WCPSS will not require any approved 2012-2013 volunteers who plan to continue for the 2013-2014 school year to register for a new CRC;  However, any continuing volunteer must reactivate his/her status no later than 4:00 p.m. on October 31, 2013.
The following information describes the procedures for reactivation for continuing volunteers, the process for new volunteers to obtain CRC clearance, and a summary of the appeal procedures.
 Reactivation for Continuing Volunteers
All continuing volunteers approved for the 2012-2013 school year MUST reactivate as a volunteer no later than 4:00 p.m. on October 31, 2013 at a school site. Volunteers may go to any WCPSS site and register through the intranet.  Access to the volunteer system is:  WCPSS Intranet – Business Applications – Volunteer Registration.

• After October 31, 2013, individuals previously approved may not volunteer without a new criminal record check.  No later than October 31, 2013. 
• The volunteer system will be open daily for reactivation/registration from July 1, 2013, through October 31, 2013 for 24 hours a day. 
• From November 4, 2013, through May 19, 2014, the volunteer system will be open on Mondays only, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.  However, during this time period, the volunteer system will be closed on the following Mondays:  November 11, 2013, December 23, 2013, December 30, 2013, and January 20, 2014.

Why Can't I Skip Reading?

Readers Theatre and Picnic Rescheduled

FYI


Field Day is scheduled for Friday, June 14th. I was not aware of this when I scheduled our reader’s theater and class picnic-my apologies! I am rescheduling our reader’s theatre/classroom picnic to Monday, June 17th (10:30-12:30). If it rains, we will just plan to eat in a couple of our first grade classrooms. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you then!

Reminder:

*All adults will need to bring their own lunch and a towel or blanket to sit on outside.

*Each student will need to bring his or her lunch unless planning to purchase a school lunch.

Reader's Theatre and Class Picnic

You are invited!


What: Reader’s Theatre followed by class picnic

When: Friday, June 14th 10:30-12:30

Raindate will be on Monday, June 17th 10:30-12:30

Where: Mrs. Bishop’s Classroom

(picnic lunch will be held outside)

*All adults will need to bring their own lunch and a towel/blanket to sit on

*Each student will need to bring his or her lunch unless planning to purchase a school lunch

We look forward to seeing you then!

Spirit Week for Track 4

Track 4 Spirit Week (June 24th- 28th)


Monday: Black & White Day

Tuesday: Backwards Day

Wednesday: Wacky Tacky Day

Thursday: Hawaiian Day

Friday: School Spirit

Attendance

A message from Mrs. Graf:  As we approach warmer months and a time that some families take vacation, please keep in mind that it is imperative that your child is present in school regularly. It is also important to remember to have all students attend school from "bell to bell." Bell to bell is the time that covers the entire school day. School attendance is critical to the success of a student. Parents should continue to avoid picking up their child up early or dropping their child off after the tardy bell. Emergency situations or circumstances that occur on rare occasions are understandable. In order for us to ensure that we successfully educate all students, let’s work together to ensure that that we honor our instructional time in order to maximize student learning. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

Banks Road Family Dance

Our first Banks Road Family Fancy dance is coming up on Friday, May 24th from 5:45 to 7:45. All Banks Road students are welcome to attend with their family and celebrate another great school year!  Invitations will be sent home this week.  Please be sure to RSVP.  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there :)

Volunteers Needed (a note from PTA)

Trailblazer Parents,

We are reaching out to our registered volunteers to sign up and come teach Character Education classes to Pre-K, First, and 2nd Grade classes starting NOW! Not registered to volunteer? Go to any WCPSS school and ask to complete the online volunteer registration.

Please view the sign up schedule to see the available times and classrooms open for a volunteer from now until the end of the school year. Please view our Guidance Counselor, Ms. Esther Wu’s Blog for more detailed directions and available lesson plans to use during your visit.

http://bresschoolcounseling.weebly.com/character-ed.html .

Updated lesson guides, a book/activity list, and books for each month's volunteers are in the orange basket right next to the door when you walk into the guidance office. There are also extra copies of the lesson plan for volunteers to take home and look over for those wishing to prepare in advance. The lesson plan, booklist, and optional (time pending) activity list will also be posted on the Weebly site and linked onto the Sign-up Genius, and are also available for viewing at the beginning of each month. Thank you all for taking the time to provide a lesson on character and exposing students to additional role models in the community. The students love having visitors!

Please sign up for times that you are available to volunteer. For each Character Lesson we need 2 volunteers, the first will be the primary volunteer for that date/time. The second would be the backup in case the first becomes unavailable. Thank you for your time.

Note: New volunteers are required to register and agree to a criminal background check prior to engaging in volunteer work. You may register at the school's front office.

CREATED BY: Banks Road Elementary PTA

Family Fun Night

I hope everyone is having a fabulous track out!  FYI:  The PTA is having a "Family Fun Night" on Thursday, April 18th at 6:00 in the Banks Road Cafeteria. Come on out and play Bingo for FREE and win lots of great prizes.  There

will also be a raffle (1 for $5, 5 for $20) to win a Kindle Fire, $100 Gift
Card to Great Wolf Lodge, and NC Symphony Tickets.  You must be present to
win!  Feel free to bring dinner with you, and there will be popcorn, baked
goods, and drinks available to purchase.  To make sure there is enough
Bingo supplies, please let the PTA know how many will be attending by
emailing banksrdpta@gmail.com.  Thank you!

Zoo Animals-Live Cam

http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animal-cams-videos

Check out this site to see live cams of polar bears, apes, pandas, and elephants-really neat!  The students really enjoyed watching these animals in class today!

A Sneak Peek at our Geo Animals!

Baseball Camp (free for ages 7 to 12)

Parents,

I wanted to make you aware of the annual Blayne Brown/Broughton Baseball Camp. It is a free camp for kids ages 7 to 12 and it will be held at Wiley Warren Field on the campus of Broughton High School on Saturday March 23rd from 8:30 to 12. If you have any questions please contact contact Chris Newton at enewton1@wcpss.net.

Geo Animal Zoo

Parents, you are all invited to our first grade geo animal zoo! 
Date: Wednesday, March 20th
Time: 1:00-2:00
Location: Media Center

*Please remember that your child's geo animal is due on Monday, March 18th.  Thank you! 

Optional Math Activities for March

This is the last month that I plan to post optional math activities.  Please refer to the math section of Mastery Club for additional activities.  Please let me know if you do not have access to the Mastery Club and I will be sure to send it home with your child.  Thanks! 

Problem #1
There are four first grade teachers.  Ms. Esposito has a rabbit and a fish.  Ms. Bethel has three hamsters.  Ms. Bishop has eight fish.  Ms. Sinnott has two rabbits and six birds.  Make a graph to show the pets in the first grade.  What are two things you could tell from this graph?

Problem #2
Ms. Bishop and Ms. Sinnott went shopping.  Use your calculator to find out what items they might have bought. 
Hat-$4
Shirt-$6
Shoes-$12
Jacket-$15
Coat-$7
Belt-$2

______$27
______$11
______$10
______$16

If you had $30, what items would you buy?  Would you have any money left over?  Explain your answers.

Problem #3
Judy is 9 years old.  Donna is 6 years old.  Rod is 11 years old. 
Who is 5 years older than Donna?
Who is 2 years younger than Rod?
What is the difference in the girls ages?
What else can you tell about the children's ages?

Boosterthon Reward

THANK YOU so much to those who have been logging into funrun.com!  Our class set several goals that we have met.  I am pleased to announce that they students do not have any spelling or math homework this week.  They should still read each night for at least 15 minutes.  The students are very excited about this reward!  Thanks for all of your support with our school wide fundraiser!!! 

Boosterthon Update

Parents,

Thank you for your support of this year’s Boosterthon Fun Run! We are almost halfway through the program and the Boosterthon Fun Run is quickly approaching. So far as a team, we are up to $ 21 per lap. Our goal is $50 per lap.

The students are having a blast learning about MAKING GOOD CHOICES through the HIGHWAY USA theme! So far this week, we learned about how important it is to CHOOSE LEADERSHIP by being bold, setting a good example, and strengthening others with our words. Our class was also challenged to CHOOSE CHARACTER by making the right choice, even when no one is looking.

I hope that you are logging-on to funrun.com every night with your students and watching the Highway USA music videos, as well as getting pledges to help our school.

This weekend is a special challenge—the “Weekend Challenge.” Any student that gets $3 per lap OR $90 flat donation over the weekend, will receive the bonus Glow in the Dark Water Bottle reward on Monday. The students are super excited to rise to the challenge! Students can get pledges of ANY amount to add up to $3 per lap or $90 donated to receive the bonus prize.

Get creative! Aunts, Uncles, neighbors, friends from work or church, Facebook, and local businesses!

Thanks again for your help and support of our class! Let’s work together to finish strong and reach our goal as a team! I’ll see you at our Boosterthon Fun Run next Thursday.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Bishop

Boosterthon

We had our Boosterthon Pep Rally today and the students are very excited!  What is Boosterthon?  Boosterthon is our school wide fundraiser and all of our students will be participating in the Boosterthon Fun Run on Thursday, Feb. 28th from 9:30-10:30.  Please take time to log into the website (see phamplet that was sent home on 2-19 for access code) and create your top ten list of potential sponsors! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you!   

100th Day Fun!

We enjoyed sharing our 100th day projects.  We have some very creative students in our classroom!  THANK YOU to all of the parents who sent items in for our special snack.  It was very yummy! 

Optional Math Problems for February

Below you will find 6 problems.  I plan to add more later this month.  Enjoy :)

#1 Farmer Brown and his wife planted vegetables each day for a week. How many vegetables did they plant by the end of the week?

On day 1, they planted 5 vegetables.
On day 2, they planted 10 vegetables. 
On day 3, they planted 15 vegetables. 

#2 Arches are made with two squares and one trapezoid. If the builders have six trapezoids, how many squares do they need to make arches?

#3 What are the next three numbers in this pattern? 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, ___, ____, ____

What would the tenth number be in this pattern? 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, ____, ____,

#4 I have some pennies, nickels, and dimes in my pocket. I put three coins in my hand. How much money do you think I have in my hand?

#5 The students each had a nickel, a dime, a penny, and a quarter. The teacher said, “Put these coins in order from the smallest to the largest.” Students did not agree how to do this. What are two ways they might have ordered the coins? Explain.

#6 Sarah squirrel hid some nuts for the winter. She sent Sammy Squirrel out to gather them. “How many did you hide?” he asked Sarah. I hid a number that can be divided between us equally.” How many nuts does he need to find?

Items for 100th Day and Valentine's Day

Hello Wonderful Parents,
Thank you so much for signing up to send these items in for our special days coming up!  Please review the items and let me know if there are any items that you do not allow your child to have.  Thank you! 

Goldfish
M&M's
Skittles
Mini marshmellows
Bag of chocolate chips
Pretzel sticks
Rice mix cereal
Cheerios
Fruit Loops
Cheese Itz
Valentine Cookies
Juice boxes

QR Code for Book Fair

Scan the QR code and learn more about our book fair!

Message from Ms. McCool

Here are some upcoming children's events at the Barnes & Noble in Cary!
CHILDREN’S EVENTS
Friday, February 1 at 7:00 pm - American Girl Club - New American Girl Saige.
Friday, February 8 at 7:00 pm - Magic Treehouse Club - Night on the Titanic
Saturday, February 9 at 11:00 am - Special Valentine’s Day Storytime - The Perfect Hug - Activity/Refreshment
Friday, February 15 at 7:00 pm - The Raleigh Little Theatre performance: scenes from Snow White, The Queen’s Fair Daughter
Saturday, February 16 at 11:00 am - Meet Madeline for Storytime

100th Day of School and Valentines

It is time to begin planning our Valentine's Snack and 100th day of school.  Please refer to the sign up genius that was sent out for more information.  If you did not receive the sign up genius, please be sure to let me know.  Thanks!
 

Optional Math Homework for Month of January

Problem #1
Six dinosaurs had a race.  Two dinosaurs tied for second.  Speedy was one of them.  Little T was ahead of Goofy.  Goody beat Little Dino.  Sleepy came in last.  Steggy was beaten by only one other dinosaur.  Who won the race?  Show the order in which each dinosaur crossed the finish line. 

Problem #2
Joe bought 7 green lollipops.  There are 3 fewer yellow lollipops than green lollipops.  There are 2 more red lollipops than yellow lollipops.  How many lollipops are there?  Show how you got your answer.

Problem #3
Judy and Mary are at the fair.  They have ten more minutes before they have to leave.  They have three tickets each to ride three rides each.  What three rides could they ride before they have to leave? 
Roller Coaster-6 minutes
Ferris Wheel-2 minutes
Bumbper Cars-5 minutes
Swings-1 minute
Tea Cups-4 minutes

Problem #4
What time is it?  The short hand is on the hour.  It is an odd number.  It is between 2 and 4 o'clock.  Write a time puzzle for a friend.

Request from PE

Dear Parents,

Hello from the PE department! We hope that you are hearing great things about what your children are doing in PE this year. It is our goal for them to come home and talk your ear off about how much fun they had being physically active at school that day. J

Mr. Lundgren and I want to bring the 21^st century into PE. One of the biggest technology pieces that we can use is our Wii. However, we do not have very many things that our students can do on the Wii other than Just Dance. We were wondering if there were any families out there that weren’t using their Wii accessories or games. If you are not using them we would love to take them off your hands. Please do not buy us these items because we know they are expensive. The items we would like to have for our students are as follows       Wii fit balance board
Wii fit
 Wii Sports
Fit Plus
 Golds Gym Workout
Julian Michaels Fitness
Nunchuck
Wii Tennis Racquets
Wii Golf Clubs
Wii Baseball bats

If you can donate any of these items that would be so fantastic! The kids would so excited to be able to have a Wii station set up in PE. We would like to get our technology set up as soon as possible. You can drop your donations off at any time or you can drop them off in Morning Carpool the week of Jan 28-Feb 1.

Thank you so much for all you do to support your children and our school.

Tiffany Williford and Lars Lundgren

Physical Education Teachers

Banks Road Elementary

919-890-7333

Book Fair and Moonlight Reading

Our book fair will begin on January 30th and run through February 13th.  Our school will have a Moonlight Reading event that will take place on Thursday, February 7th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. This year's Moonlight Reading will include four 20 minute time slots for BRES families to attend different literacy "stations" around the school!

Our school library will be CLOSED for open circulation of any type (for students & staff) during the two weeks of the Scholastic Book Fair.  Students will need to check out new books & return old books by Tuesday, January 29th. If they miss this deadline, they will need to hold on to their books until February 14th.