Hello First Grade

2023 - 2024

Hi! My name is Mrs. Freestone. I am so excited to be teaching first grade at Antelope Canyon Elementary. I have taught school for over 20 years and I learn something new every year! I love being a teacher because it is exciting to help young children discover the joy of learning. I love to see their growth and excitement. Teaching feeds my soul.
My husband and I enjoy living in West Jordan. We have two sons and one daughter. One is still in college at USU and two have graduated (UVU and BYU). Even now they keep me on my toes. I love to spend time with them.
I want to partner with you to help your child thrive in my class. Your insights into your child help me understand how to best help them learn and continue to grow. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or ideas. I can be reached through email, the school phone, or we could set up a virtual or in person meeting. I look forward to working together to make this a wonderful year.

Nathan, Courtney, Christopher

Here are some of my favorite things!

I love to travel with my family. I especially like to explore the outdoors and go on hikes.

During the summer, I like to work in my yard.

I love children's books. I share some of my favorite authors with my class each year.

I like to make colorful quilts.

School Wide Expectations

Antelope Canyon has a Code of Conduct. This helps students understand school wide expectations and what will happen for following and not following those expectations. The Antelope Canyon Elementary school wide expectations are outlined below.

Classroom Expectations

Come to school happy, healthy, and ready to learn! In our class, we are respectful, responsible and safe. We focus on these three words and discuss how we can be respectful, responsible and safe in different ways.

We celebrate successful behavior daily. When a mistake or poor choice is made, we discuss what happened, decide how to make a better choice, and then make a plan.

At Home Reading

Take-home books will come home on Monday. Students read the books during the week and return them on Friday. Communication folders will come home weekly on Monday with important papers and the sight words we are working on at school. Thanks for your support!

Please read 20 minutes a day. Here are some ways to practice reading each day.

Sight Words: Please take some time to practice reading the sight words (heart words) during the week if your child does not know these words. We will provide several activities that you can use to practice these words with your child.

Take-Home Reading: We are sending home 2 take-home library books each week. Students will return them on Friday and then get new ones each Monday.

*Reading with your child at home is critical for their reading development. Please read with your child often.

Curriculum

The programs we will be using this year are FOSS science, author studies for language arts, Math Expressions, Blast Foundations for phonics/spelling, and Walk to Read for reading. We are going to be using the program Second Step for social and emotional learning. During social studies, we will be learning about different communities, cultures, and our place in this world.

Get to Know You Bag

I want to get to know each child in my class. The "Get to Know You Bag" will help your child share what makes them awesome. On the first day of school your child will get a brown paper bag to take home. There will be instructions about what to put in the bag to share with the class. Please return the bag by Monday, August 28th. We will spend the first few weeks of school getting to know each other.

Birthdays

I know how important your child's birthday is to them, so I want to make sure to recognize them on their birthday. You do not need to send a treat, but if you choose to, it needs to be a nut free store-bought individually wrapped treat. We are a nut free classroom. I encourage you to send non-food items like pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. This is especially helpful for students with allergies. Summer birthdays will be celebrated at the end of the school year. Birthday party invitations can not be delivered at school.

Star Student

In our class we will spotlight each child. In September your child will be given a large star to take home and decorate. Please have your child decorate their star with things that describe them (pictures of favorite foods, colors, activities, etc.). Your child can draw things, use stickers, or print pictures out to decorate the star. Please include a picture of your child in the center of the star. We will display the stars in the classroom. Please return the star to school once your child has completed it.