Classroom Information ~ Everything you need to know will be on my website. There are a few things that you must do to stay up-to-date on our daily activities:
Sign up for Classroom Text Reminders online at https://www.remind.com/join/halvorson1 or on your phone: text this number 81010 and text this message @halvorson1
PTA Text Reminders: on your phone, text this number 81010 and text this message @tcpta
School Text Reminders: https://www.remind.com/join/tcjags
Our classroom text reminder will ONLY be for our classroom (and not remind you of any school wide activities). It is important to sign up for all three text reminders to be up-to-date on the exciting things going on in our building and classroom. This tool will be extremely helpful to remind you of small things, like sending in field trip forms or when scholastic book orders are due!
Visit our Classroom News link to sign up for updates on the far right side below my photo. An email will be sent in the evening when I update the classroom news. This is where I will post fun things we are doing in class! I will take photographs of your child. Please let me know if you do NOT want pictures posted of your child!
While on my website, be sure to familiarize yourself with the Information link. Here you will find our class calendar (with specials days, birthdays, no school days, classroom party dates, and more!) and important pdf documents you can download and view at your convenience.
Sit down with your child and peruse the Website link. It will be utilized during instruction time & students will have access to it during center time, so get them used to the site by practicing some fun games at home!
**My school calendar may not display and some games may not play on certain devices.
Snacks ~ We will have snack time in the afternoon. Your child needs to bring one individual quick snack to eat at that time each day. Finger foods that do not require silverware are the best choice (crackers, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.). Please choose healthier options (no candy) and please do not send soda or juice drinks.
Birthday Celebrations ~ If you choose to send in snacks for your child’s birthday celebration, please be sure they meet our district’s snack policy. You can find a list of Approved Snack Items on my website under the Information tab. If you child has a June birthday, we will celebrate it in May before school ends for the year. If you child has a July or August (prior to school starting) birthday, we will celebrate their half birthday in January or February. I will send you an email a few days prior to your child’s birthday to remind you of the snack expectations.
Water bottles ~ I strongly encourage your child to bring a water bottle to school. However, I am pretty particular about the kind of water bottles that can be used. They must be easily refillable (so no disposable bottles with small caps) and they need to have an easy pop top (NO flip lids with straws, please). I found some 14 oz $1-2 Rubbermaid water bottles at the Dollar General store in Raymore last year and they fit perfectly in our table baskets, are easy to refill, and names can be clearly written on the side. I send water bottles home with students on Friday to be washed. Per our custodian’s request, no drinks other than water can be sent in.
Lunch ~ If your child will be buying a school lunch, please discuss what he/she will be ordering before school that day so your child will be ready to let me know what his/her lunch choice is (one less thing for them to worry and think about). If your child will be bringing a lunch from home, make sure he/she is aware of a packed lunchbox and if a drink is included or if milk should be purchased. Our lunch menu can be accessed it from the district’s website and I have a direct link to the menu on my website under the Information link. **Please keep the packed lunch and daily snack separated so your child does not get confused.** At times, little ones think the snack is their lunch and eat that at lunch time — oops!
Help your child practice their lunch code. A practice keypad will be sent home the first few weeks of school. You can also find a downloadable lunch code practice page on the Information link. Put the keypad on the fridge and have them practice each night a few times. They will need to have this memorized by the end of September!
If you want to have lunch with your child, we go to lunch at 11:05. Please check in to the office by 11:00 and wait outside the cafeteria kitchen entrance on the wooden bench close to the recess doors. You can either bring a lunch or send in money and buy a school lunch.
Special Classes ~ We are on a three-day cycle for our specials rotation.
Day 1 ~ PE (Please have your child wear tennis shoes on the first day of school!)
Day 2 ~ Art
Day 3 ~ Music
Check my online calendar on the Information tab if you forget what day it is!
Daily Folders ~ your child will be given a “Timber Creek” daily folder on the first day of school. This folder will be our means of transporting important information to and from school every day for the rest of the school year. Please have your child empty this folder each evening and review the contents. Return the folder to school with any information (change of transportation, doctor’s note, etc). I will help your child remember to check their folders each morning, but help out by reminding your child of any notes they are bringing to class.
Please do not email me during the day if there is a change in transportation or other important information you need me to know prior to the end of the day. Call the office and I will contact you as soon as I can. I sometimes cannot check my emails but a few times a day and the phone in our classroom is for in-school use only.
In the front pocket of the daily folders will be a calendar. Students will mark what color they were on at the end of the day. Students have clothespins and can move up and down on our behavior chart. Here are the color codes:
Blue ~ Role Model
Green ~ Ready to Learn
Yellow ~ Think about It
Red ~ Safe Seat/Note home
Promoting Reading ~ I will be sending home monthly book logs to encourage your child to spend at least 10 minutes a night reading. You can download a book log on the Information link or email me if it gets lost. Pizza Hut Book It! tickets will be given to students who fill out the monthly book log. They are good for a free personal pan pizza! Refer to the Reading Tips for Home downloadable pamphlet found on the Information link. Although you may not have a ‘reader’ yet, the pamphlet offers ways to help motivate and encourage your developing learner! Also watch for Scholastic Book Order forms and easy online ordering directions coming home soon! Scholastic is a great way to build your child’s library – consider buying books for gifts, too!
Transportation ~ If there is a change of transportation, please call or email the office! Car riders will be picked up in the front of the school. Be sure to have your orange sheet placed on the dashboard to make pickup go as smoothly as possible. Bus riders are escorted to their designated bus (all year) by 4th grade Safety Patrol. If your child is a walker and you are meeting them after school, meet them outside the Caring court doorway (the north side exit).
Sign up for Classroom Text Reminders online at https://www.remind.com/join/halvorson1 or on your phone: text this number 81010 and text this message @halvorson1
PTA Text Reminders: on your phone, text this number 81010 and text this message @tcpta
School Text Reminders: https://www.remind.com/join/tcjags
Our classroom text reminder will ONLY be for our classroom (and not remind you of any school wide activities). It is important to sign up for all three text reminders to be up-to-date on the exciting things going on in our building and classroom. This tool will be extremely helpful to remind you of small things, like sending in field trip forms or when scholastic book orders are due!
Visit our Classroom News link to sign up for updates on the far right side below my photo. An email will be sent in the evening when I update the classroom news. This is where I will post fun things we are doing in class! I will take photographs of your child. Please let me know if you do NOT want pictures posted of your child!
While on my website, be sure to familiarize yourself with the Information link. Here you will find our class calendar (with specials days, birthdays, no school days, classroom party dates, and more!) and important pdf documents you can download and view at your convenience.
Sit down with your child and peruse the Website link. It will be utilized during instruction time & students will have access to it during center time, so get them used to the site by practicing some fun games at home!
**My school calendar may not display and some games may not play on certain devices.
Snacks ~ We will have snack time in the afternoon. Your child needs to bring one individual quick snack to eat at that time each day. Finger foods that do not require silverware are the best choice (crackers, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.). Please choose healthier options (no candy) and please do not send soda or juice drinks.
Birthday Celebrations ~ If you choose to send in snacks for your child’s birthday celebration, please be sure they meet our district’s snack policy. You can find a list of Approved Snack Items on my website under the Information tab. If you child has a June birthday, we will celebrate it in May before school ends for the year. If you child has a July or August (prior to school starting) birthday, we will celebrate their half birthday in January or February. I will send you an email a few days prior to your child’s birthday to remind you of the snack expectations.
Water bottles ~ I strongly encourage your child to bring a water bottle to school. However, I am pretty particular about the kind of water bottles that can be used. They must be easily refillable (so no disposable bottles with small caps) and they need to have an easy pop top (NO flip lids with straws, please). I found some 14 oz $1-2 Rubbermaid water bottles at the Dollar General store in Raymore last year and they fit perfectly in our table baskets, are easy to refill, and names can be clearly written on the side. I send water bottles home with students on Friday to be washed. Per our custodian’s request, no drinks other than water can be sent in.
Lunch ~ If your child will be buying a school lunch, please discuss what he/she will be ordering before school that day so your child will be ready to let me know what his/her lunch choice is (one less thing for them to worry and think about). If your child will be bringing a lunch from home, make sure he/she is aware of a packed lunchbox and if a drink is included or if milk should be purchased. Our lunch menu can be accessed it from the district’s website and I have a direct link to the menu on my website under the Information link. **Please keep the packed lunch and daily snack separated so your child does not get confused.** At times, little ones think the snack is their lunch and eat that at lunch time — oops!
Help your child practice their lunch code. A practice keypad will be sent home the first few weeks of school. You can also find a downloadable lunch code practice page on the Information link. Put the keypad on the fridge and have them practice each night a few times. They will need to have this memorized by the end of September!
If you want to have lunch with your child, we go to lunch at 11:05. Please check in to the office by 11:00 and wait outside the cafeteria kitchen entrance on the wooden bench close to the recess doors. You can either bring a lunch or send in money and buy a school lunch.
Special Classes ~ We are on a three-day cycle for our specials rotation.
Day 1 ~ PE (Please have your child wear tennis shoes on the first day of school!)
Day 2 ~ Art
Day 3 ~ Music
Check my online calendar on the Information tab if you forget what day it is!
Daily Folders ~ your child will be given a “Timber Creek” daily folder on the first day of school. This folder will be our means of transporting important information to and from school every day for the rest of the school year. Please have your child empty this folder each evening and review the contents. Return the folder to school with any information (change of transportation, doctor’s note, etc). I will help your child remember to check their folders each morning, but help out by reminding your child of any notes they are bringing to class.
Please do not email me during the day if there is a change in transportation or other important information you need me to know prior to the end of the day. Call the office and I will contact you as soon as I can. I sometimes cannot check my emails but a few times a day and the phone in our classroom is for in-school use only.
In the front pocket of the daily folders will be a calendar. Students will mark what color they were on at the end of the day. Students have clothespins and can move up and down on our behavior chart. Here are the color codes:
Blue ~ Role Model
Green ~ Ready to Learn
Yellow ~ Think about It
Red ~ Safe Seat/Note home
Promoting Reading ~ I will be sending home monthly book logs to encourage your child to spend at least 10 minutes a night reading. You can download a book log on the Information link or email me if it gets lost. Pizza Hut Book It! tickets will be given to students who fill out the monthly book log. They are good for a free personal pan pizza! Refer to the Reading Tips for Home downloadable pamphlet found on the Information link. Although you may not have a ‘reader’ yet, the pamphlet offers ways to help motivate and encourage your developing learner! Also watch for Scholastic Book Order forms and easy online ordering directions coming home soon! Scholastic is a great way to build your child’s library – consider buying books for gifts, too!
Transportation ~ If there is a change of transportation, please call or email the office! Car riders will be picked up in the front of the school. Be sure to have your orange sheet placed on the dashboard to make pickup go as smoothly as possible. Bus riders are escorted to their designated bus (all year) by 4th grade Safety Patrol. If your child is a walker and you are meeting them after school, meet them outside the Caring court doorway (the north side exit).