Dive into 1

st
Grade @ Voyage
Academy
Classroom Disclosure

I am so excited to have your child in my classroom this year. First grade is a
very fun year filled with new friends, fabulous discoveries, unforgettable
experiences, and adventures worth remembering!

Attendance
The first school bell rings at 8:20am and the tardy bell rings at 8:25 am. School is dismissed
at 3:10pm Monday through Thursday. Friday is our early out day and students are dismissed
at 1:10pm.
Absences

Please make every effort to have your child at Voyage, on time, every day. When a child
misses class, they are missing essential learning activities that cannot be replicated. The
worksheets and assignments well send home to try to help the child learn the material they
missed, just cannot lead to meaningful learning.
Of course, if your child is sick, keep them home so they can recover quickly (and not pass
any germs)! However, avoid unnecessary absences by doing things like scheduling family
vacations during school breaks. We are a crew and every member contributes. Your child is
needed. Your child will be missed. Our crew is not the same without them. I trust you will
do your best to help your child be in class and ready to learn every day.

Classroom Management
My strategy for discipline is to promote positive behavior using a clip chart. Students
clothespins begin the day at Ready To Learn. As the day progresses, their choices will
determine the movement of their clip. Even though a student may make a poor choice,
the opportunity to move in a positive direction is available. The chart gives the students
an opportunity to make better choices and move their clothespin back up the chart, as
well as recognize hard-working, responsible students. Negative behavior will result in a
move to Think About It. If the behavior continues, a move to Teachers Choice will
occur and result in loss of privileges and/or recess. Disruptive behavior that continues
will result in a move to Parent Contact with a behavior note sent home and/or a phone
call to the parent. Positive behavior will be reinforced when their clothespin reaches
Outstanding with praises, stickers, as well as a note home saying Hooray I made it to
Outstanding Today! Even though most students have outstanding days every day,
landing on outstanding is very random, which is why it is so special. Only a couple of
students will make it to outstanding each day. Please praise your child for their
positive behavior even if they dont make it to outstanding every day.

It is important that my classroom be a safe, comfortable, and happy place for
your child to be each day. Thank you for your support.





Homework
Homework in 1st grade is designed to teach students responsibility, good study habits and
to practice the skills learned in school at home. Your student will bring home their SHARK
homework folder each Monday and return it every Friday. Please take time to go over
their homework and help them when needed. This is a great opportunity for you to show
interest in what your child is learning and see how their skills are progressing in various
concepts.
Reading is our number one priority in 1
st
grade! Students are asked to read at least 15
minutes daily. It is not important that your child knows every word on the page, but that
they develop a love for reading. Remember to talk with them about what was read to aid
with comprehension. Record their reading on the Home Reading Calendar that comes home
in the SHARK folder. It will be counted as part of their reading grade.
In addition to nightly reading, students will be required to complete two math practice
pages a week.

Please refer to the homework SHARK folder for an additional explanation of our
homework.

Birthdays
I like to celebrate students on their special day! Each student will have a chance to be the
Surfer of the Week during the week of their birthday. If your child has a summer
birthday, we will celebrate on their half birthday. Birthday treats are certainly not
expected, but if you choose to send something in with your student, the school requires you
send in a treat that it is not homemade. To avoid hurt feelings, please do not send
birthday party invitations to school with your child. There are 27 students in our
class, but please verify this as numbers change frequently.
Reading
50% of reading instruction will be done during guided reading. Students will
work in small groups with the teacher daily. They will work on decoding skills,
complete word work, and work on comprehension skills. Each student will be
placed in a small group based on their reading level.
The other 50% of instruction will be whole group. We will be using the Engage NY
Skills Strand to focus on phonics, decoding, blending, comprehension, and more.

Phonics
For phonics we will be learning from the Fountas & Pinnell complete phonic and word study
curriculum. We will also study a vowel pattern of the day and learn a new sight word every
day.

Writing
We will be following Lucy Calkins Writers Workshop daily. Her method of instruction
focuses on the goal of fostering lifelong writers. It is based on four principles; students
will write about their own lives, the will use a consistent writing process, they will work in
authentic ways, and it will foster independence. Students have a large amount of choice on
their topic and style of writing. The teacher acts as a mentor author, modeling writing
techniques and conferring with students as they move through the writing process.






Spelling
Spelling words will be given every week. All words will be tested the last day of the week.
Words will be sent home on Monday in the Weekly Wave. Please use these spelling words to
complete the spelling activities 2x each week.
*At the beginning of the year spelling words will not be sent home for about 6 weeks.

Literacy Centers
During literacy centers students will work on individual and cooperative projects in their
centers. They will be engaged with the content at a deeper, more meaningful level. Literacy
centers also give the teacher an opportunity to meet with small groups for direct
instruction. Centers combined with guided reading provide multiple opportunities for
success for all students.

Math
We will be following the enVisionMATH program in a guided math format. Math will start
with a 15 minute whole group mini-lesson then students will visit math stations. Math
stations allow students to practice and apply skills from the mini-lesson and provides the
teacher an opportunity to work with students individually or in a small group setting.

Expeditions
Our two big expeditions this year will be plants and maps. Our Plants expedition will start in
the fall and cover most of the first grade science standards. Maps will be our second
expedition and will start after Christmas break, it will cover our first grade social studies
standards. Both expeditions will include language arts, writing, and math standards. The
social studies and science standards that are not covered during these two expeditions will
be covered during mini case studies throughout the year.

Design Principles
We will be learning the 10 Design Principles throughout the year. We will focus on teaching
one design principle during morning meetings each month. All design principles will be
integrated throughout everything we do during the day.

Morning Meetings
Every class at Voyage Academy will start their day in Morning Meeting (CREW time). It is
a very important part of our day. Morning meeting will help us build community and
classroom culture, among other things. Please read the parent letter for more specifics
about our morning meeting.

Sight Words
Sight words are a big part of 1
st
grade. Students will be expected to read 107 sight words
by the end of the year. We will learn a sight word a day as a whole class. We will practice
sight words in guided reading. Students will work at a sight word center all year and a
parent volunteer will work on sight words one-on-one with the students. The list of 107
words is located in the SHARK folder if you would like to practice them at home.







Student Supplies
Students should bring a backpack or something to carry their things to and from school
EVERYDAY. If possible please send items from the supply list before or on the first day of
school. Please NO pencil sharpeners (they make a huge mess). Also no toys should be
brought to school. If they are, the toys will be taken and returned to parents at
conference
Supply List
Labeled Supplies
2 white 3 ring binder with clear plastic cover
Avery Clear Sheet Protectors
Blue Plastic Pocket Folder with prongs
Green Plastic Pocket Folder with prongs
Yellow Plastic Pocket Folder with prongs
1 Black and White Composition Notebook
Community Supplies
1 box of 24 count Crayola Crayons
1 box of 8 count Classic Color Crayola Markers
1 box of 12 count Crayola Colored Pencils
1 package Expo Dry Erase Markers
12pk of Ticonderoga #2 Pencils
Glue Sticks
1 pair of Fiscar Blunt Tip Scissors

Communication

Every Monday, I will send home a class newsletter with the spelling words for the week,
important reminders, events, and what we are learning that week. If you ever have any
questions, please call, email, or send me a note. I will get back with you as soon as I can. I
want to stay in contact so we can best meet your childs needs. If I cannot get to the
phone, the office staff will send you to my voice mail or take a message for me. I check
my email frequently, so that is a great way to contact me. My email address is
atroyer@voyageacademyutah.org

I also have a class website you can visit @ http://troyercrew.weebly.com/ There you will
find information about upcoming events, reminders, and fun things we are doing in class.

I will also be using Remind 101 text message service that allows you to receive text message
reminders from me. Our cell numbers will be kept confidential, but I will
be able to send you messages. Just text @958fb to (801)784-6638 to sign up or visit
https://www.remind.com/join/958fb to sign up to receive these reminders.

Thank you so much!!!