What is a S.T.A.R Notebook?

A S.T.A.R. Notebook is a 3-ring binder notebook, put together by the teacher, that houses EVERYTHING the students and parents need to keep up with what is going on at school. No more wrinkled papers in the bottom of bookbags. No more lost notes, newsletters or calendars. No more searching the house to find paper to write the teacher a note. Everything is in one notebook!

Why is it important to have? This notebook helps students to establish good organizational skills tin heir first years of school - skills that can carry on throughout their time in school.

S.T.A.R Notebook is an acronym for

Students Taking Awesome Responsibility

The S.T.A.R Notebook will help your child stay organized and keep you in touch with our classroom.

S.T.A.R Notebook Rules

Take care of your S.T.A.R Notebook ; it will be used all year!

Clean out the "Classwork" every evening.

Take your S.T.A.R Notebook home everyday and bring it back each morning.

Keep your S.T.A.R Notebook clean

Show your S.T.A.R Notebook to your parents everyday - they will be so proud of your new responsibility!

S.T.A.R Notebook Dont's:

Don't make any marks or drawings in or on your S.T.A.R Notebook

Don't leave your S.T.A.R Notebook at home, in the car or bus, or at daycare.

Don't let anyone borrow your S.T.A.R Notebook or tear pages out of your S.T.A.R Notebook

Don't put any papers in your S.T.A.R Notebook that do not belong.

Don't eat or drink in front of your S.T.A.R Notebook!

The S.T.A.R Notebook contains the sections listed below. Items are put in the S.T.A.R Notebook daily so please look at all of the sections.

Zipper Pocket

This is where students put lunch money, book orders, and fund raising money and permission slips.

Spelling Words

A new list of words will be sent home each week starting in a few weeks. These will be words we work on during the week and other words that are stressed during that time. Please leave these in the notebook during the week so they will be handy to study. Students will also be expected to write a sentence using spelling words that I dictate to them.

Word Wall Words

The Word Wall Words are the most frequently found words in books that children read. The lists are in order they will be introduced. Children who learn these words have a good base for beginning reading. Many of these words cannot be sounded out because they do not follow decoding rules. These words must be learned as sight words. Please leave these in the plastic sleeve and help your child to learn these words. You can make flashcards for these words. Use the spiral index cards that were on your supply list. Write one word on each card. Flip through them nightly for practice.

Important Notices

This information is provided as a reference for parents for special announcements. Some notes need to be returned the next day.

D'Nealian Letter Formation Chart

This chart demonstrates the proper formation of letters. Please refer to it when working with your child at home. It will make the transition to cursive writing much easier if your child prints the letters properly. Leave this in their S.T.A.R Notebook so it will be handy for a reference.

Behavior Sheet

There will be a behavior sheet in your child's notebook. I will give your child a sticker for every day he/she stays on green or yellow. If your child is not on green or yellow at the end of the day you will receive a behavior note will be written in the communication log to let you know why he/she had to move his/her tab.
If students "choose" not to follow the classroom rules, then they also "choose" to lose certain privileges. We will use a colored tab system in all K-3 classes. Students will move a tab each time they choose to break a rule.

Consequences

Green = You're a star
Yellow = Slow down and think = Warning
Orange = You're headed down the wrong red carpet = 10 min off recess
Brown= The head director is grumpy = No recess.
Red = You're walking the plank= Call to parents and or a trip to Mr. Dudley's Office.

Snacks, Menus, Calendar

Please leave these in the notebook so you can refer to them when needed. Please make sure your child brings his/her snack on the assigned day. We eat lunch at 11:00 and it's a long time till 3:10 with nothing to eat.

Graded Papers

Your child will put their work done in class that they can now keep at home in this pocket. Please empty these papers as they are sent home. The Notebook will become too full if S.T.A.R this section is not emptied.

Parent-Teacher Communication Log

I will write notes to you in this section and I will look for communications from you also. Please have your child tell me if you have a note for me to read so I can reply to your comments/questions. If your child does not tell me, I may not know that you have something for me to read. I request that you leave any notes that we write in the notebook and date the entry so that we can look back and remember any communications we may have had. This will help me remember what we've discussed and when we discussed it.

Mrs. Kestner 628-3611 Please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as I have a break. E-mail gkestner@auburn.k12.il.us

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