CIS does not have a cafeteria. Thus, normally students bring their own lunches from home and eat either in their classroom or outside on picnic tables when weather permits. As an alternative, there are vendors who deliver meals to the school. CIS also provides for nut-free rooms for those students with allergies. ORDER HOT LUNCH
Snack- Please send in a nutritious snack daily. We recommend carrots, an apple, orange slices, crackers, cheese, etc. Please do not send in unhealthy snacks such as soft drinks, doughnuts, cupcakes, etc. Also, a reusable water bottle labeled with your child’s name is essential as well as reusable cutlery as we are an environmental school.
We will assign homework every night. This includes 20 minutes of reading, a spelling tic-tac-toe choice board and Math assignment. We will have special projects throughout the year as well. Our nightly homework is a review opportunity of objectives we are covering during our day in the classroom. We will never give homework that covers a skill or objective your student is unfamiliar with. It is our goal to meet the needs of our students allowing for differentiation within the monthly choice grid format. SPELLING: Weekly spelling list given out on Friday, so students have a full week to complete homework and study for the spelling test (every Friday). MATH: Math Homework is updated in the COMETS binder daily and due on Friday of every week. READING: Nightly reading (20 minutes) is necessary to build sight words knowledge, practice reading skills and build up important comprehension skills.
Testing Practices in First Grade: MAP: An assessment given at the beginning, middle and end of the year to assess where students are academically in terms of reaching 1st grade standards. Running Records: An assessment where student reads text and the teacher follows the reading with comprehension questions. It highlights your child’s reading and retelling behaviors, strengths and weaknesses. Math: End of Chapter Tests Reading: Bi-weekly phonics, language-usage, and comprehension assessments are given to monitor growth. Weekly Journey’s Assessments Spelling: Weekly assessments follow sound spelling patterns covered to monitor mastery. SS/Science: Hands-on approach taken where exposure is highlighted and students are measured with vocabulary and skill mastery demonstration tasks in a wide variety of ways. We will have Formal quizzes and assessments at the end of units.
Categories for grading: participation, homework, tests/quizzes, projects, class work.
All Categories are graded 1-3.
Each is weighted equally.
3: Mastery- meets expectations
2: Partial Mastery- demonstrates partial understanding or can perform with assistance
1: Little or No Mastery- cannot demonstrate mastery, even with teacher assistance
Though parents may purchase school-appropriate attire anywhere, to assist parents we have partnered with Tommy Hilfiger School Uniforms. We suggest parents visit this vendor website as it displays a variety of appropriate clothing for CIS and thus will help parents/student to visually understand our dress code. You can also download How to Order information sheet for additional information.
Labeling-Placing your child’s name and the teacher’s name on any item will better your chances of it being returned rather than forever lost. We suggest you label anything you do not want to have to replace. Jackets, sweatshirts, bottles, lunch boxes, hats, and gloves are a few items you may want to consider labeling. You cannot depend on lost and found!