August 2016

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to grade one! This year is sure to be full of new
experiences and opportunities for your child. This year,
seven of us will be working with your child as part of the
Grade 1 team.
Grade 1 Teachers and Teaching Assistants:
David Walbert and Ana Tarus
Naomi Sherlock, Ramona Clinciu and Liviu Clinciu
Lisa McKay and Sabina Chiris
The following document provides some basic information
regarding routines and expectations in Grade 1. We will
go over much of this information during the Back to
School Night which is held at AISB next Tuesday 30th
August beginning at 5pm.
We look forward to working with you and your child this
year!
Sincerely,
The Grade 1 Team

ABCs of Grade One

Absences
If your child is ill, you must notify the PYP Office and
inform the secretary of your childs absence. You must
contact the PYP Office by 8:00am. If your child becomes
ill during the school day and must leave school before
afternoon dismissal they will need to be signed out in the
PYP Office.
Attendance
Your childs progress at school is influenced in large part
by their daily participation. For this reason, regular
attendance without tardiness is essential. Any preplanned
occasion or circumstance that includes educational,
religious or special family events involving a students
absence from school requires a parent to request in
advance principal authorization for a prearranged
absence.
Please refer to the AISB's Attendance Policy for more
detailed information in the Parent Handbook, page 24-25.
Arrival and Dismissal
Children are expected to be in their classrooms at 8:00am
each morning as classes begin at 8:00am. Students who
arrive after 8:10am must check in at the PYP Office and
will be marked late in the attendance. Before 8:00am
students are to play outside on the Central Park
playground where there is adult supervision. Children
and their parents are not to wait in the hallway
before 8:00am.

Students are dismissed at 3:00pm with the

exception of Wednesdays when they are dismissed at
2:00pm. Grade one students are dismissed from the
outside door of their classroom. Please wait outside
to gather your child at the end of the day. You must
provide the PYP Office with the full names of the people
who are permitted to pick up your child. In order to
ensure your childs safety, we will not send your
child home with anyone other than their
designated pick up person/bus without written
permission from you. If there is a change in the way
your child is to get home from school, this information
must be sent in writing. Please send a note or email to
the PYP Office by 12:00 should your child be picked up
that day by anyone other than their parent, guardian or
driver.
Behavior
Please read the Elementary Behavior Policy for
information about behavioral expectations in grade one in
the Parent Handbook, page 31.

Birthdays
We will celebrate classroom birthdays on a monthly basis.
On the First Wednesday of each month, a birthday
celebration will be held in the classroom where all
students celebrating a birthday in that month will have
the opportunity to celebrate alongside their peers.

Parents are welcome to bring in a healthy

snack to share with the class for the
celebration.
Calendar
The Elementary calendar is available on AISB's website.
You can import these calendars to your own electronic
devices to ensure you receive the most up to date
information about upcoming events.
Clothing
On days your child has Physical Education (PE) they will
be required to wear an AISB issued PE uniform. Please
make sure to check your child's class schedule to know
the days your child has PE. We recommend that you
label all of your child's PE clothing with their full
name.
On days your child does not have PE they may wear their
own clothing provided it complies with AISBs dress code
outlined in the parent handbook.
There are occasions where your childs clothing may
become soiled at school. To ensure your child remains
clean and comfortable throughout the day, we ask that
you send to school an extra change of clothes for your
child. It is important that this change of clothing is
appropriate for the current weather.
Students will be going outside during recess nearly every
day. It is important they are prepared for the weather as it
changes throughout the year. In the summer, a hat and

sunscreen are recommended. In the winter we

suggest that students have a hat and gloves as
well as appropriate outerwear.

Communication
We look forward to keeping an open line of
communication with you throughout the year. If you need
to get a message to your childs teacher, there are
several ways to do this:
1. Send a note to school with your child. It will be your
childs responsibility to check for notes when he or she
arrives at school each morning.
2. For non-urgent issues, you can send an email to your
childs classroom teacher. As we are working with children
throughout the school day, we cannot guarantee that we
will read your email during school hours. We aim to
respond to your email within 48 hours.
3. Schedule an appointment with your childs teacher via
email. We would be happy to provide you with some
possible times we can meet.
4. For urgent matters call the PYP Office and leave a
message. The secretary can then relay a message to your
child's teacher.
Please note that drop off and dismissal are some of the
busiest times of the day. Our full attention needs to be on
the children to ensure they have a smooth start to the

day and are dismissed safely in the afternoon.

These are not ideal times for us to stop and
discuss individual student progress. We ask that should
you wish to discuss your child's individual progress before
or after school, you do so only when you have an
appointment.
Contact Information
It is important you know how to contact both the PYP
Office as well as your childs teacher.
PYP Office
Cristina Iordache
Elementary Secretary
# 021-204-4301
Classroom Teachers
David Walbert: dwalbert@aisb.ro
Naomi Sherlock: nsherlock@aisb.ro
Lisa McKay: lmckay@aisb.ro
Electronics
We ask that you do not send mobile phones and other
electronics to school with your child. Children using
mobile phones throughout the school day will have their
mobile phones confiscated and sent to the PYP Office.
Field Trips
We believe that learning outside the classroom is just as
important as learning inside the classroom. We aim to
take children to places on field trips in and around
Bucharest that support what we are learning in the

classroom. You will receive a permission slip

from your childs teacher ahead of a field trip.
Food
If you have volunteered to bring food to share for
classroom celebrations we ask that you provide healthy,
nutritious snacks and/or meals eg fruit, small sandwiches,
yogurt tubs. Please be aware that we have a child in
Grade 1 with and egg allergy. Birthday and other
celebrations that have food will still be available to
all students in this child classroom, and a separate
treat will be brought to the school for the student
with the allergic reaction to eggs. Please be
mindful, however, by providing an ingredients list
so that we know if the student can enjoy the treat
or not and talk to your child about the importance
of not sharing food.
Health
Please inform the school doctor of any important
information regarding your childs health including
allergies and medication. It is your responsibility to
ensure that the doctor has the most up to date
information.
If your child requires medication during the school day,
including over the counter medication and homeopathic
remedies, they must be given to the Health Office so that
the school nurse or doctor can administer them.

Homework
All grade one classes will have the aligned
homework practice. Weekly homework expectations
should be posted on the weebly.

Illness
If your child is sick, it is best for them to remain at home.
If they are sent to school they are at risk of spreading
their illness onto other children. By staying at home, they
can rest and recover more quickly so that they can
participate fully in their learning during class activities.
Please do not send your child to school if they have had
fever, diarrhea or have vomited in the last 24 hours.
Library
Children in grade one will have the opportunity to visit
the library once a week. During this time, your child will
have the opportunity to browse the books in the library
and check out up to three books. Should your child wish
to return their library book and check out a new one
before their scheduled library day, they may do so during
recess or with a parent after school. Parents may also
visit the library and are able check out up to ten books at
a time.

Lunch and Snack

Flavours provides students with a snack and lunch at
school. Parents can opt to pay for their child to receive
school lunch. In the event you do not wish for your child
to have the meals provided by Flavours, you may send a
packed snack and lunch to school with your child.
Newsletter
A newsletter will be sent to you electronically twice
during a unit of inquiry; once at the beginning of the unit
and once in the middle of the unit. This means you will
receive a newsletter every 2-3 weeks. The purpose of
these newsletters is to share with you what your child will
be learning in each unit and how you can support their
learning.
Recess
Your child will have a 25 minute recess in the morning
and a 45 minute recess after lunch. During this time
children play outdoors under adult supervision. Please
ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the
weather. In the event of rainy conditions your child may
have indoor recess. We do not keep students inside for
recess due to illness unless we are provided with a
doctors note. Recess and playtime are important parts of
your childs day at school. If your child is too sick to play,
then they are too sick to learn and a day at home is more
appropriate.
Schedule

Your childs class schedule can be found on

Weebly. Please bookmark this webpage so that you may
refer to it throughout the year.

Shoes
Children are asked to bring two pairs of shoes to school;
one pair to be worn as outdoor shoes and one pair to be
worn as PE/indoor shoes. For safety reasons we ask that
you do not send slippers as indoor shoes. As we have
limited space for storing student shoes we ask that you
do not send more than two pairs of shoes to school.
Please note that in an effort to promote independence,
we do not tie shoelaces for students. If your child wears
shoes with shoelaces, they are responsible for tying them
themselves.
Toys
No toys are permitted at school unless a teacher has
requested students share them for learning purposes.
Water Bottle
Every child will need a labeled, reusable water bottle.
These water bottles will stay at school throughout the
week and will be refilled as needed. They will be sent
home at the end of each week for cleaning.
Volunteers

At times throughout the year, we may require

parent volunteers to help us in the classroom or on trips
outside of the school. Your teacher or room parent will
contact you in advance when volunteers are needed.
Zzzzzzs
Making sure that your child gets plenty of rest will help
them be ready to learn at school. You can help your child
get the rest they need by setting and keeping a regular
bedtime each night.
Adapted from the ABCs of First Grade by Shelly Coreno Aspec