Riverdale Elementary

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Welcome to Kindergarten!

I am looking forward to a wonderful year
of fun and learning with your child.

About Mrs. Bailey
I am a 2005 graduate of Ferrum College in Southwestern Virginia.  I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Studies with a minor in Elementary Education.  This will be my 7th year teaching in Southampton County and I am very excited to begin a new school year of academic excellence.  As a student in my classroom, your child will have many opportunities to grow in academic, social and character development.  I want to do my best to give each student the skills that he/she will need to succeed in first grade and continuing on in their educational journey.  I believe that each student can and will gain knowledge and I will work hard to ensure achievement for your student. 

Keeping You Involved
Communication Folders, Behavior and Money
One aspect of my teaching philosophy is keeping you, the parent(s) involved in our learning process as much as possible.  It is my intent to send home weekly Newsletters informing you of our upcoming subject topic areas, Virginia Standards of Learning covered, homework assignments and important dates. Your child will have a communication folder that is sent home daily.  There will be a monthly calendar inside indicating your child's behavioral performance each day.  I will be using a color-coded system to display student behavior (see attached).  I will indicate a color on his or her folder daily to keep you aware of his/her behavior choices for the day.  My behavior system is based on rules and your child's choices of whether to follow those rules or not.  I believe this system will help show students that life is based on choices and those choices render consequences, both good and bad.  Attached you will find the rules for my classroom and the consequences and rewards your child will receive for his or her choices.  Please look at your child's folder and remove papers daily.  There will be a Ziploc bag included in the folder; these bags are for holding breakfast, lunch and ice cream money (ice cream sold only on Fridays).  It is important that the money be placed in this bag because I will not handle money.  Please label all money placed in the baggie for example: $1.60 Lunch.  This will ensure that the Cafeteria Manager as well as myself,  know what your child's money is to go toward purchasing.  I would also encourage you to pay for breakfast and lunch by the week or month in order to minimize daily handling of money. Other items such as notes, homework, field trip forms, school calendars, menus and announcements may be found in this folder.  Completed and graded work will be sent home every few days for your review.  Please go over this work with your child and discuss what we have been learning together.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the knowledge he/she is gaining.

Medicine
Students are NOT allowed to have or bring medicine to school, including cough drops. If your child needs to be given medicine during school hours it must be brought to school by an adult and you must have a prescription or a doctors note.

Snack
Each day your child will have the opportunity to have an afternoon snack.  Each parent/child is asked to bring snack for the entire class one or two days a month as we move through the roster.  Your assigned snack day will be indicated by your child's first name on the appropriate date on the daily communication calendar.  When planning snacks, please plan for 25 students.  Some suggestions for snack are: bags of chips, pretzels, animal crackers, fruit, pudding, carrot sticks, fruit snacks or goldfish.  If you send an item that requres spoons, please provide them.  If you bring drinks, I ask that you please bring boxed drinks with straws.  This minimizes spills associated with having to pour drinks.  I will provide snacks for the first two days of each month and the entire first week of school. I will also try and plan your snack day on your child's birthday, in case you wish to send celebration items.
Please notify me if your child has any food allergies.


Dismissal
At the end of our school day, your child will either be put on a bus to go home or be sent to the Cafeteria for Parent Pick-Up.  It is of VITAL importance that you inform the office of any changes to your child's regular dismissal routine.  We cannot put students on a different bus or hold them for parent pick-up without written permission.  You may put a note in your child's folder or fax a note to the office.  Keeping a schedule, planning and open communication will prevent questions during afternoon dismissal. School hours are from 8:00a.m. to 3:15p.m.  I cannot stress enough the importance of attendance to the total learning experience.  We have so much to learn and your child has much to contribute to our classroom.  In the event your child must miss school, when he/she returns please send a note explaining the reason for the absence.  If your child is tardy please report to the office to sign-in your student.


Creating an Educational Community and Family
We must all work together to ensure that your child has the most thorough learning experience possible. If your child is experiencing behavioral or academic difficulties, you will be notified.
Thank you in advance for your support.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. Riverdale Elementary School (757) 562-3007.  I check my email once in the morning and once in the afternoon. hbailey@southampton.k12.va.us
I am expecting great things from your student!
We are going to have a phenomenal year!
Sincerely,


Mrs. Hannah A. Bailey