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I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to our class. I am looking forward to a wonderful year of learning together! 1 st grade is an exciting time as children embark upon new adventures in the world of learning.
My fellow 1 st grade teachers and I are truly blessed to be given this opportunity to get to know you and your child. It is our desire to instill a love of learning that will last throughout your child's years of schooling. I understand that you and your child may meet this day with excitement or apprehension (or a little of both), and I hope that this handbook will help you to know what to expect in
1 st grade this year, and answer any questions you may have.
I am looking forward to establishing the best possible learning environment for this group of children, helping them to achieve their full potential. Each child will progress at their own rate, acquiring skills as they are developmentally ready. Maintaining each child's self-esteem and building a secure foundation for future growth will always remain a priority in our 1 st grade at Heritage Trails. With teamwork and cooperation among parents, teachers, and students, we will have a successful year!
Love,
Mrs. Mayfield 
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Absences/Attendance-Your child's regular and punctual attendance at school is crucial to their success. They need to be in school all day and every day. I can't emphasize this point enough! Most 1 st grade learning activities are small group oriented and involve explicit instruction. Therefore, it is next to impossible to make up all work at home. Interaction with classmates promotes social growth and learning, and we need all of our class friends at school daily!
Please view school as a priority (schedule appointments or trips after school hours, or during breaks). In case of illness or emergency please send a written and dated excuse for absence within two school days after returning to school.
If you know your child is going to be absent please contact the office by 9:15 a.m. If you do not report the absence to the office you will be contacted by the district automated dialer. ABSENCES WITHOUT NOTES WILL BE
CODED UNEXCUSED (review student handbook). Your child is only allowed 5 unexcused absences per 9 weeks. If a child arrives late or needs to leave school early, you must sign in/out at the school office BEFORE coming to the classroom. Breakfast will begin at 8:45 a.m. If your child arrives before the first bell at 9:05 a.m. they will need to wait in the cafeteria until a 1 st grade teacher escorts them to their classroom. If your child arrives after 9:05 a.m., they may go on to their own classroom on their own. The last bell rings at 9:15 a.m. Your child will be counted tardy after the last bell.
Accelerated Reader- The Accelerated Reader program is a program in which students read books and take computerized tests over those books to assess their comprehension. The students earn points for the test and will be required each month to earn a minimum number of points. The purpose of the
Accelerated Reader program is to improve students' comprehension skills, fluency, and increase their desire to read. It also gives me feedback on your child's reading level.
Alphabet Knowledge-In 1 st grade, we will review both upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet as well as the letter sounds and then we will delbe deeper into more phonics patterns. (ex. Long vowels, digraphs and dipthongs)
Letter and sound recognition are key ingredients to your child’s reading
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success. Please work diligently with your child to master these skills. I will do a full letter/sound knowledge assessment on your child each nine weeks.
Arrival- Because we try to encourage independence in 1 st graders, we encourage you to allow your child to come into the building alone after the first week of school. (Once your child learns the way to our classroom, they feel very “big” when they get to come in all by themselves!)
Assessment-We use several instruments to assess students in 1 st grade. The
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment is used
3 times during the year to assess your child’s strengths and weaknesses. This assessment helps identify children at-risk for reading difficulties and helps set learning objectives and develop instructional plans for these at-risk children. For more information on what is assessed and why, check out this website at: https://dibels.uoregon.edu/resources/big_ideas/big_ideas.php
Report card assessments are done every nine weeks, progress reports will be sent home periodically, and the Star Early Literacy Assessment will be utilized as well. The purpose of STAR Early Literacy is to assess students' early literacy skills in preparation for reading. SEL identifies student reading levels
(e.g. Emergent Reader) and provides student performance results for pre-K through third grade students.
Awards- A separate document will be coming home that will list and explain the first grade awards that will be given out at the end of the year. Once a month we do recognize outstanding students at our Trail Mix assembly. If your child is chosen as our “Trailblazer” or student of the month, you will be notified in advance. At these assemblies we will also recognize students who have completed all of their first grade sight words.
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Backpacks- Your child’s backpack should be big enough to hold a 1” binder.
Backpacks help your child carry folders, notes, projects, and books to and
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from school. Please check your child’s backpack DAILY. Please write your child’s name on his/her backpack.
Birthdays-Birthdays are a very important time in the life of a 1 st grader. We will celebrate each child with a birthday song on their birthday. Please feel free to send treats (store-bought) or goodie bags on this day. Please let me know in advance, so that I may let you know how many students are in our class at that time. You will no longer be allowed to bring birthday invitations to school to pass out. You may also choose to celebrate your child’s half-birthday with us if their birthday is over the summer.
Book OrdersPeriodically I will send home a Scholastic Book Club order.
Ordering from Scholastic is completely optional, but it does give you the opportunity to do two things. First, you have the chance to order quality children's literature for your child at VERY reasonable prices! (Some are as cheap as 99 cents!) And secondly, you get to help us earn FREE books and materials for our classrooms! For every dollar you spend, we earn Bonus Points that we can then use to order books and materials for free! You also never pay sales tax or shipping and handling. Many of the books that Scholastic offers are Accelerated Reader books, which allows your child the opportunity to read more at home as well as take these tests at school.
Ordering is very easy! There are TWO options when wanting to order from
Scholastic - Choose the way that is the most convenient for you.
Ordering through the catalog sent home:
Look through the flyer that we send home and select the items you would like to buy. Mark those items on the order form on the back page of the flyer. Fill in the totals and your child's name at the bottom and cut out the order form.
Put the order form and a check or money order made payable to "Scholastic
Book Clubs" (No cash, please!) in an envelope. Seal the envelope, label it with your child's name and "Book Order Money," and send it to school in the pencil pouch in your child’s STAR folder. That's all there is to it!
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Ordering online:
Scholastic now offers a new, convenient way for you to place your Book Club orders. You can now send me your Club orders online! A class user name and password will be set up soon. You will receive notice when this is available.
Breakfast – To ensure a great start to the day, make sure your child eats a good healthy breakfast each morning. For those who are interested, breakfast is served beginning at 8:45 a.m. each morning. The cost of breakfast for a child is $1.35, for an adult it is $2.00. Please see the paragraph on lunch to learn more about meal payments.
Bus Riders–Located in your Moore Public Schools handout is a bus contract to fill out. You can also find more information, important safety tips, a link to the bus stop finder website, and guidelines for bus conduct at the Transportation department’s website. Go to www.mooreschools.com
, click on departments, and then find transportation. The transportation phone number is (405)-735-
4070.
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Calendar-A school calendar and MAPS calendar (Music, Art, P.E.) are included in your child’s STAR Folder. I will update the calendar on my website as well.
Check these locations frequently for special activities taking place in the school and in your child’s classroom.
Clothing-Please dress your child in comfortable clothing that is appropriate for
1 st grade. 1 st graders are involved in activities that require jumping, running, climbing and the like. In 1 st grade, students will be using markers, using glue, working with play dough, and other "messy" stuff. Please select clothing that is both comfortable and appropriate for these activities. Moore Public Schools does have a dress code that can be located in the Moore Public Schools
Handbook. It is a good idea to label all coats and sweaters.
CommunicationI believe that your child’s success is dependent on a partnership between school, home and the child. As a member of this
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partnership, I will communicate with your family regarding classroom events, your child’s progress, etc. If you feel the need to talk to me, please call the school at 735-4520, send me a note in your child’s STAR folder, write in the communication notebook in your child’s STAR folder, or email me at jessicamayfield@mooreschools.com . I will get back with you as soon as I can.
My plan time is from 2:20-3:00 and lunch/recess is from 12:10-1:00.
Computer-Your 1 st grader will have computer time. 1 st graders can strengthen their reading and math skills with our Successmaker program, Destination
Reading program, or visit some educational websites selected by the teacher.
A permission slip must be signed to use the internet. (See MPS
Parent/Student Handbook). Parent Volunteers are much appreciated during this time to help students log on, answer questions, and allow time for me to individually assess and tutor students.
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Daily Five – The daily five ( read to self, read to someone, working with words, listen to reading, and writing) is a program that puts in place activities for students to practice reading and writing skills while I work with individual children or small guided reading groups. The center activities are designed to strengthen letter/sound knowledge, listening skills, oral language expression, phonics skills, writing skills, rhyme, letter formation, and cooperation.
Discipline Policy- As you know, good behavior and learning go hand in hand.
Rules have been established to ensure your child experiences a positive and safe learning environment. Even at the young age of 6 or 7, children need to learn the importance of accepting responsibility for their actions. We place more emphasis on positive behaviors than on negative or attention seeking behaviors, by stressing the importance of making good choices. Even so, there are times when some children will need additional support. In our classroom, we keep track of our behavior with a clip chart. Every child has a clip with his/her number on it. On the chart, I have posted a series of colors. At the beginning of each day, every child’s clip starts out on green. Our goal is to keep all of our clips on green during the day. There are 3 levels above green for students who make exceptionally good choices throughout the day. Your child may move up if
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I “catch” them doing something above and beyond in the classroom or for another child or adult. A higher color will not necessarily be an everyday occurrence and your child should not be upset if they do not attain it because a green clip is still a priority, however purple (super nova) should be highly praised!
If a child has difficulty following a rule or directions, he/she is first given a verbal reminder about the correct behavior along with a strategy for making better choices.
If the same child continues to have difficulty, he/she will be asked to “take a break,” and his/her clip will be moved to yellow. “Taking a break” means that they will need to take time out at a designated spot, where they will have to think about their actions and ways they can do better. The child will need to stay at the designated spot until a one-on-one conversation about the action(s) and what can be done differently is able to occur without disturbing the rest of the class. The child will then receive a logical consequence for the action.
If a child refuses to “take a break” his/her clip will automatically be moved to red, they will be referred to the office, and parents will be called.
If behavior continues after “taking a break”, the child must move his/her clip to orange, receive a logical consequence, and a note will be sent home notifying the parent of the behavior. Continued difficulty will be moved to red and referred to the office; parents will be called.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about our behavior chart. A picture of it can be found on our classroom website. Often times a visual is easier to understand.  Just remember, our goal is GREEN!
Dismissal-Dismissal begins at 3:45 for walkers and car riders. If your child rides a bus or daycare van they will wait in the classroom until their bus number or daycare van is called. A teacher will escort them to their pick-up area. If you need to check your child out early please check in at the office first, be prepared to show a photo id. Every family will be given three placards that are to be used when a child is a car rider. Parents will need to display the placard when they pick up their children. Anyone without the school placard
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will not be able to pick up their children unless they check them out from the office.
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E-mail-I can be reached by e-mail at my school address jessicamayfield@mooreschools.com
Emergency Info-At least two working phone numbers are required in order to contact parents in case of illness or emergency. If your contact numbers change, please inform me as well as the office staff so that appropriate changes can be made to your child’s file.
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Fire Drills-Your child will participate in frequent fire drills throughout the year. We will practice the procedures before our first fire drill so that your child will be prepared.
Fund Raisers-Our school participates in several fund raisers throughout the year to raise money for various things for our school. We hope that everyone can participate, but it is not required.
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Guidance-Our school counselor, Mrs. Cox, will conduct classroom guidance lessons. These sessions focus on key 1 st grade issues.
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Hawks Nest - Hawks' Nest is a before/after care program specifically designed for kindergarten through 6th grade students at Heritage Trails
Elementary. This program not only offers a convenient child care option for our patrons, but also features a fun, educational setting where our students can enjoy a variety of activities. Students will be given opportunities to complete homework, do arts and crafts, exercise, and have fun all under the supervision of Heritage Trails faculty. The Hawks' Nest will be open according to the district school schedule. The rates for Hawks' Nest are as follows:
Mornings only: $34 per week
Afternoons only: $52 per week
Before and after care: $75 per week
Operating Hours:
7:00-8:40 a.m. 3:50-6:00 p.m.
A non-refundable enrollment fee of $30 for the first child plus $15 for each additional child will be charged per school year. As of right now, Hawks Nest is full and there is a lengthy waiting list.
Homework-Your child will have homework periodically and occasional home projects. This homework will be related to our math/reading activities, spelling words, sight words, and/or reading log. The homework activities are all designed to be done with an adult. This means your child will need your help!
Please read the instructions we send with the homework, and help your child complete it. Doing so gives you an opportunity to see what we are doing in class, and gives your child an opportunity to practice new skills with your help to avoid frustration and incorrect practice! Please let us know if your child has a lot of trouble with any of the activities we send home so that we can make adjustments to ensure that everyone is getting the most possible out of our 1 st grade program!
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Handwriting-We have a program called Handwriting Without Tears. HWT is a simple, developmentally based curriculum for writing readiness, printing, and cursive. The multi-sensory approach teaches to all learning styles-visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic. At the Parent Meeting, you will receive a letter and number formation chart. See www.hwtears.com
for more information on this program.
Health-Please let me know of special circumstances which may affect your child. These could include medication that may make him/her sleepy, a death in the family, etc. Also, please let me know of any allergies your child may have, especially food allergies. We sometimes have snack or food activities to complement lessons in 1 st grade and it would be helpful to know when I plan our recipes.
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Illness-Please do not send your child to school if he/she has a temperature.
If your child becomes ill at school you will be called to come and get your child.
We need at least two working phone numbers at all times to contact you.
Immunizations-All students must be immunized against certain diseases or must present a statement that the student should not be immunized. Please keep your child’s immunizations current.
Injuries - Bumps and bruises are a regular part of the elementary school experience. Students will be given bags of ice, band-aids, and other items to treat minor injuries. However, if a larger incident takes place we will be sure to notify parents based on the phone numbers listed on the enrollment form.
Because of this procedure, it is important to contact the school if any of your personal information changes. Heritage Trails has a nurse on duty only one day per week, so it may become necessary to contact parents for advice concerning the well-being of your child. If a parent cannot be notified, any other numbers on the enrollment form will be used.
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Journals-After the first part of the year, we will spend time each day writing in our journals. Writing and reading abilities are highly correlated, so let your child write, write, write all the time using invented spelling. Letting them do this will help them to grow in their confidence as writers and will help them progress beyond your wildest imagination! Journal writing is a process that usually begins with your child writing using their own invented spelling. This process could start with your child writing words with just beginning sounds, then beginning and ending sounds, to beginning, ending, and middle sounds, with a progression to transitional spelling, and then on into traditional spelling as they learn those skills. This developmental process will be looked at more in depth at our first 1 st grade parent meeting. Keep in mind that all children progress at different rates. You should see consistent growth in your child’s writing throughout the year.
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Library-We will be visiting our school library and be able to check out library books to take home and read . The library will be open from 9:05-3:35 everyday. We really want to instill in your child that books are treasures!
Please encourage your child to take special care of the library books! We suggest choosing a special spot in your house where library books will always be kept. This way, you don't ever have to worry about losing them! Feel free to return the library books as often as you and your child would like as you finish each book, but re-reading is also fun and encouraged! Your child will only be able to check out a new book if the previous one is returned. Should a library book get lost or damaged while it is checked out to your child, we will simply ask that you pay to replace it before checking out another book. If this happens, we will let you know the cost of the particular book. Check out the media center section on the Heritage Trails website for more information.
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Lunch – From the Moore Public Schools website: www.mooreschools.com
you can find quick links on the right hand side for lunch menus and an application for free and reduced lunches. You can also navigate from that page to the
Heritage Trails website by clicking the drop down menu in the top left hand corner that says “select a school” and then finding Heritage Trails
Elementary. Once you are on our home page there are quick links to the right for the lunch/breakfast menu and for Mealpay Plus. Parents are encouraged to pre-pay their child’s meals by sending a check or cash to add to their cafeteria account. Another easier option is to click the quick link for
Mealpay Plus or log on to www.mealpayplus.com
and make payments by using your credit card. You can also view your child’s account history (there is no fee for viewing account history), set up auto pay, and request email alerts when the balance gets low. Payments are accepted by phone as well at (866)-
682-9274. Student lunches are $2.35 and adult lunches are $3.25. If you have any questions you may call 735-4030 or the parent support # is (877)-
237-0946.
Your 1 st grader’s lunch time is from 12:10-12:35 and recess is from 12:35-
1:00. If you would like to eat lunch with your child you may do so at the tables located in the Hawk Hangout on both sides of the main entrance.
Please check in at the office before you eat lunch with your child.
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Medication-If your child needs to take any medication at school please notify the office, so the proper paperwork can be filled out.
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Newsletter-A newsletter will be sent out periodically through email and/or through your child’s STAR folder. It will contain information about our thematic unit, classroom activities, announcements, and upcoming school events.
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Outside
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Your child will go outside for recess, unless the temperature is below
40 degrees, including wind chill, above 100 degrees, including heat index, or if there is inclement weather. Please keep this is in mind when helping your child to select clothing for the day.
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Parent Volunteers-Our 1 st grade program could not survive without the help of parent volunteers! We can always use your help in our classroom! We use our parent volunteers for a wide variety of things! If you would be interested in volunteering, information will be coming home explaining the different ways to help and what they entail or see Mrs. Mayfield.
Parties-We will have a couple parties throughout the year. Our homeroom parent or I will contact you to help with our celebrations.
Pictures – Twice a year the LifeTouch, company will come to take individual pictures of your child at school. The spring pictures will be included in the yearbook. We will also have class pictures in the spring.
Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence-Each morning we will recite the pledge of allegiance to the United States of America, the pledge to the State of Oklahoma, our Heritage Trails creed, and will observe one minute of silence.
Principal/Assistant Principal– Our principal is Dr. Jason Perez and our assistant principal is Mr. Patrick Chase. They work throughout the building in order to develop relationships with the students and maintain a strong learning environment. If you need to contact Dr. Perez or Mr. Chase, and they are unavailable, you may leave a voice mail which will be returned ASAP.
Progress Reports – Progress reports will go home periodically throughout the year.
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PTA-(Parent/Teacher Association) All parents are encouraged to join the school’s PTA. I hope we get 100% membership for our classroom!!!
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Questions-Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s education. I will make every effort to meet with you and discuss your concerns.
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Reading-Please read to your child daily and let your child read to you!!! It is important that every 1 st grader know that they can and do know how to read using one of the three types of reading: pretend reading, picture reading, or by reading all of the words.
Read to Self-This is special time each day where each student can from his/her own reading tub. Books found in this tub are at each student’s individual reading level and selection is guided by student interest. I use this time to conference with students on specific reading strategies and help them establish goals for improving their reading skills.
Report Cards- We are on a nine week grading period. Your child will receive a report card each nine weeks. After the first and third nine weeks, I will have a scheduled conference to discuss your child’s strengths and weaknesses. If you would like to schedule a conference at any time other than those mandatory ones please feel free to contact me at the school or by email anytime.
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Safety- Your child’s safety is top priority. I take every precaution when your child is in my care. If you have any safety concerns regarding your child please speak with me A.S.A.P.
Secretaries – Our fabulous secretaries are: Principals Secretary - JayLynn
Kooken, Office Assistant – Wendy Peterson and Office Assistant – Hailey
Donaldson.
Shoes- It is very important to wear comfortable shoes. I suggest closed toed sneakers for all of our 1 st grade activities. Running around at recess and P.E. means that flip-flops are not a good idea.
Sight Words - These are high frequency words that are repeated often in books and print. These words will help us be more fluent readers and writers.
Your child will be assessed periodically on their ability to fluently read the first grade sight words. They will only be given 10 words at a time to practice.
During the week we will do a variety of activities with our words. Your child should be able to recognize all sight words by the end of the year. Please review as often as possible.
S.T.A.R. Folder – (Students Taking Awesome Responsibility) A STAR folder packet will be coming home detailing all that this folder contains and will be used for. It is a 1” binder that will be used to transport school-related information to you.
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Transportation-If your child will be going home a different way than what I have in my files, you MUST call the school, email me or send me a note. I will not let your child go with another adult or a different way unless you have notified me.
Tardies- A record of tardies is kept and is documented on your child’s report card. Please be aware that two tardies equal one absence.
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Toy Policy
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In the past, there have been problems with children bringing toys to school. Students bring them out during inappropriate times. Sometimes, the students will only share their toys with certain groups of friends. For these reasons, there is a "no toys from home" policy in our class. Your child should not bring toys to school. The exception is if I request your child bring one for an educational activity. You will be notified in writing when your child will need to bring a specific toy from home.
Tornado Drills- Your child will participate in frequent tornado drills throughout the year. We will practice the procedures before our first tornado drill so that your child will be prepared.
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Units-The 1 st grade year is divided into one, two, or three week theme units of study. Look periodically for theme related activities you can do at home on my website or in the newsletter!
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Visitors-We encourage visitors in our classroom. Please make sure that you sign in at the office before you come to the classroom.
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Website- Our class has a website which can be accessed from the Heritage
Trails Website. Check in regularly to find information about curriculum, special events, and school news. Go to Our Schools from the Moore Public
Schools website at www.mooreschools.com
, click on the drop down menu in the top left hand corner that says “select a school,” choose Heritage Trails
Elementary, from the Heritage Trails home page choose our school staff and then find my name. Or you can use your smartphone to scan this QR code. 
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Wish List-Throughout the year we sometimes need supplies above and beyond our classroom materials. These needs will be posted in the class newsletter, outside of our classroom, and on my website. Extra items that you think we might be able to use are always welcome!
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Yearbook-You will have a chance to buy a yearbook in the spring. What better way to capture those elementary years than with a Heritage Trails yearbook?
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ZZZZ’s-Your child should get plenty of rest each night. It is so important for your child to be alert and ready to learn each day. Set a bedtime and be consistent.
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In closing, I would like to thank you for allowing me this opportunity to work with you and your child this year. I am looking forward to a great year! Encourage your child to discuss school activities with you. Always talk positively about school in front of your child. The way your child perceives your feelings about school will have a direct effect on how they will feel about school. I am looking forward to working with you to make sure your child starts school on a positive note. If I can be of any assistance to you or if you have any questions; please feel free to contact me. I appreciate your support and anticipate a fun and successful school year.
Mrs. Mayfield 
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