1st Grade
Teacher: Mrs. Karen Parker
Mrs. Parker has 29 years of teaching experience. During her 18 years of teaching kindergarten through 4th grade, the majority of her teaching experience has been in a 2nd grade classroom. Mrs. Parker also served as a librarian for 11 years.
Mrs. Parker earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Austin Peay, a Master of Arts in Administration and Supervision, and a Media Specialist/Library Endorsement in 2004.
During the 2015-16 school year, Mrs. Parker worked at GTCS in a librarian/PE teacher role this year, while also working as a substitute, aftercare teacher, and various other roles. Although she worked on a part-time basis, Mrs. Parker put her whole heart into working with students, and we are looking forward to having her teach full-time this year.
Curriculum: We use a variety of curriculum resources for first grade. These include the following Abeka, Purposeful Design, Houghton-Mifflin, and Studies Weekly.
Classroom Size: We value each individual student and are committed to keep class size low (12-16 students), in order to have a small student to teacher ratio.
Activities: First graders participate in daily hands-on classroom activities; occasional field trips and special theme days; weekly music, drama, art; daily P.E.; and seasonal sports, such as flag football and soccer.
4-Day School Week: First graders are required to attend class four days per week at GTCS: Monday-Thursday, from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Our Friday enrichment program is available for those who desire a 5-Day/week option.
Homework: Student assignments for the week are neatly organized in a binder format to help students and parents know exactly what is due each week.
Parent Involvement: We encourage parent involvement at GTCS. We are thankful for the parents who have partnered with us for the purpose of educating their children, and we encourage them to be involved in classroom projects, trips, and activities. Parents are able to see teacher lesson plans each week and view grades throughout each grading period by using their RenWeb log in.
