How to be… Agendas All students are issued an agenda, which is to be kept in their M.O.N.S.T.E.R binder. Every morning, students will fill out their agenda with the “day’s happenings” and any assigned homework. While packing up in the afternoon, I will sign agendas to confirm accuracy of written information. I do not require parents to sign agendas, unless a student has more than 2 missed assignments within a one week period. Absences Please send a note from home or a doctor’s note when your child is absent. If make-up work is applicable, students will have the same amount of time to makeup the work, as the time missed. (i.e. 2 days missed = 2 days to make up work) Arrival School starts at 7:40 a.m. and dismisses at 2:40 p.m.. Students report to the gym each morning and sit with their class. I pick-up the students from the gym at 7:35 a.m. and walk them to class. It is very important at this age for students to have a sense of independence. Therefore, please refrain from walking your child to the classroom before school. The students have a morning routine to following and at this age can handle it independently. If you need to speak with me before school, please arrive between 7:10-7:30 am. Once I pick-up the students from the gym I will not be able to give you the attention needed. Backpack Your child should bring a backpack to school every day. Roller bags are not permitted at J.W.W. (Girls: Purses are best kept at home/no makeup items please.) th Behavior In 4 grade, students should have a clear understanding of the behaviors expected at school. Therefore, in our class we keep it simple and have 3 basic agreements: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, & Be Safe. In our class, we use the Clip-Chart system. All students have a specific clothespin that starts out in the middle of the chart. (See the chart below.) When students are caught making great choices, they are asked to “clip up.” The goal for each student is to get to the top of the chart. Because we ALL, even myself, make mistakes…students sometimes have to move down the chart for poor choices. When a student consistently makes poor choices, they will be asked to “clip down.” When students reach one level below the “Ready to Learn” tab, it is considered a “warning.” After going one more step down the chart, students will have to walk 1-2 laps during recess, or completing some other form of “community service” for our school. Along with their service, students will also fill out a “think sheet,” which allows students to reflect upon the choices made. If students are located at the top of the chart during our afternoon pack-up time, they are given a piece of “bling” to add to their clip. This bling allows them to show-off & display the outstanding choices they’ve made. Once students have added 5 “bling’s” to their clip, I then add the clip to our Hall of Fame, and students will receive a new clip. *Students who make it to the hall of fame at the end of 9 weeks are eligible for special class rewards! **Parents can keep track of their child’s behavior by viewing the “Outta This World” Behavior Log, located in our M.O.N.S.T.E.R binder. Birthdays Your child’s birthday is a very special day! Class Birthday parties are celebrated on the last Friday of the month. During the month of your child’s birthday, you will receive a note regarding food & drink items. Please do not send birthday treats at other times as we will not have the allotted time to enjoy them. Book Orders Every 9 weeks, I will try to send home book order forms for you & your child to look over. These clubs offer wonderful books at reduced prices-what a great way to build your home library! You can send cash, checks made to the book club, or you can conveniently pay with credit card online! More information will be sent home with the 1st book order in September. Change in Transportation Please send a note or write in your child’s agenda if there is a change in transportation. Without a note I am required to follow their usual daily transportation routine. Communication Communication is a KEY ingredient in a successful classroom. A weekly newsletter is emailed and sent home every Monday to ensure you stay informed of what is happening in the classroom. I cannot stress enough the importance of reading the newsletter. It is your best resource to staying informed. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to write a note, email, or call. In addition, my website is a great form of communication, and is updated frequently with important upcoming dates and announcements. If you have online access, please check www.mrswhiteswisekids.blogspot.com to be most currently informed. If you wish to call, I prefer calls before 7:30am and after 2:45pm. However, feel free to leave a message with the office staff, during the school day, and I will return your call during planning (8:509:35) or after school. Cone Awards Each Friday, students will have the opportunity to win one of our class Cone Awards. There are different categories for Cone Awards, such as: Best Hall Manners, Bucket Filler Award, Class Citizenship, and Best Morning Procedures. Students will proudly display the cones on their desk throughout the week, and receive a small reward from me. Our Cone Awards Ceremonies are conducted on Friday mornings, after Morning Announcements. 4-H 4-H is a mandatory in the classroom per Sumner County guidelines. Therefore, participation in completing 4-H projects is required and will count as a class project grade. 4-H meetings are more fun, enjoyable, and effective when the students participate. You will always be notified at least 1 month in advance of the upcoming projects. The 4th grade projects are: 4-H posters, Speech, Recycled Craft, Baking corn muffins, and completing the Explorer Book. Grades To gain better understanding, I use a “total points” scale. I include the letter & percentage on all graded assignments. *Please note, many assignments are NOT graded because they are for practice purposes, not assessment. I frequently use stickers, stamps, or check marks to indicate to parents that the assignment was checked by me for understanding and completion. I check to make sure the work is completed; directions were followed, and note any inaccuracies so that I can address specific problems with students in small group settings or individually as needed. The only assignments that receive letter grades are those which students are expected to demonstrate mastery. Tests will be graded on a 100 point scale. Tests are doubled in the grade book, as they are a reflection of the student’s independent knowledge, as opposed to class or home assignments that may be aided. During the first few weeks of school the students will be continually reminded to make sure their work is neat, include their name and number, headed correctly and followed all directions. Following directions is a skill that is very important for students to master early in the school year. Students who miss questions due to lack of following directions will have the opportunity to re-do the assignment correctly & will receive partial credit for correcting their mistakes. Turning in accurate, timely work is an important like skill. I appreciate your support in this area as we work together to instill a solid work ethic in your child. Grading Scale 93-100 A 85-92 B 75-84 C 70-74 D 69-below F Grades Online Grades are accessible online through the Sumner County Parent Portal. Information regarding the Parent Portal will be made available sometime during the 1st few weeks of school. This year, I will also be using the online grading system, EnGrade. You may access this site by visiting www.engrade.com. I will be sending custom, individual login information for each child within the first few weeks. With this system, students will be able to perform assessments on the computer, and scores will instantly appear on their account for you to access. Handwriting In third grade, students learned cursive handwriting. In fourth grade, they will be asked to “show-off” their new skill on a regular basis. All daily assignments and journal entries should be written in their best handwriting, manuscript or cursive. Weekly letters and published pieces should be written in cursive. If your child is having difficulty with cursive, there is a writing reference page in their M.O.N.S.T.E.R. binder that can be used for practice at home. Homework O Homework is practice, & practice makes perfect! O There is great debate over the issue of homework. First and foremost, I want to will never assign homework, “just to assign work.” I truly feel that homework serves as a valuable learning tool, giving students additional time & additional resources to sharpen their newly learned skills. Homework Schedule: Typically, I do NOT assign homework on Friday’s or Wednesday’s. *There is not an “assigned schedule” of how work will be assigned, or what subject it will occur in. I feel that in order to meet each student’s needs, conforming to a certain schedule would take away from that objective. Please remember to check your child’s agenda for homework assignments. Remember, I will sign/stamp all agendas daily! **In the case that homework is not completed, the student will be required to utilize his/her recess time to complete the activity. This is called “The Opportunity Room.” There, students are given another “opportunity” to complete the missed assignments. If an assignment has been missed, I will send a note/stamp in your child’s agenda informing you of the incompletion. ***If your child has trouble with a homework assignment, PLEASE write a quick note…and sign…letting me know. ****Spelling Relays: Weekly Spelling Relays will be completed in order to better prepare your child for their weekly spelling assessment. Students are given class time to complete the relays, as well as time at home to complete. Some relays require parental assistance, such as the take-home practice test. Lunch Lunch money should be sent to school in an envelope or baggie. Please send it inside your child’s M.O.N.S.T.E.R. binder. Please label the envelope/baggie as follows: Child’s name, S. White, Lunch Money Learning Targets Learning Targets are simply what your child is expected to learn & master in 4h grade. We refer to these learning targets multiple times throughout the day, and can be often found at the top of your child’s notes from the day. Before dismissal, we re-visit our learning targets, and discuss our newly learned skills. Remember to ask your child what targets they were able to hit the “bulls-eye” on every day! M.O.N.S.T.E.R Binder Materials Organized Neatly, Students Taking Extra Responsibility M.O.N.S.T.E.R is a special notebook that your child will carry to and from school every day this year. This will help your child stay organized and keep YOU in touch with our classroom. **PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO TAKE GREAT CARE OF THEIR BINDER. REPLACEMENT BINDERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE.** Make-up Work *Please visit the Absences section to learn more about the make-up policies! Math Fourth graders will continue to develop various math skills through the use of the EnVision Math Program. We will study number operations, geometry, measurement, & more. We will also focus on data analysis, problem solving, etc. *This year, per state mandates, your fourth grader will undergo 3 Constructed Response Exams. These exams will have a spotlight on fractions. More information will be sent home when available! **Multiplication facts are CRITICAL to students mastering fourth grade math concepts. Students will take Fact Family- Timed Tests during the first week of school, and we will test on certain days throughout the weeks thereafter. ALL students should master all multiplication facts by Thanksgiving, as NO Multiplication charts will be provided after Thanksgiving. Memorization of Multiplication Facts is considered a third grade learning target, and is critical for success in fourth grade. I have plenty of flash card sets that I am more than happy to send home with your child. If you are interested in checking a set out, please send me a note in with your child! Newsletter *Please see the Communication tab for more info on our class newsletter Pencils Please send in only plain, #2 pencils, with your child. For classroom management purposes, we all share pencils. If a pencil falls on the floor, gets lost, or broken, there are no issues over whose pencil it is. All pencils are sharpened and go into the class pencil bucket or into group buckets. You may save the fancy pencils to use at home for homework. I will allow students to use mechanical pencils, but if it becomes a distraction I will ask your child to leave them at home. PTO Your involvement in our classroom and school helps tremendously! Take time during the first few weeks of school to join our PTO! Your support to JWW means a lot! Progress Reports Progress Reports are sent home every 4 ½ weeks. These reports are created, simply to allow you to gain a better understanding of the progress your child is making. I do require progress reports to be signed & returned. Students who return their signed reports by the set date will receive class rewards. (Once I receive the report back, I simply cut off the signed section, and return the report back to you for keeping! q) Reading This year, students will be reading “Good Fit” books that they choose based on their interest and reading abilities. Therefore, your child will NOT be bringing home a reading textbook. Instead, your child will bring home books that are perfect for their reading abilities and areas of interest. Throughout the day, students will be participating in small group reading instruction with me, as well as purposeful, meaningful learning stations. Our stations include: Read to Self, Writing, Word Work, Computers, and Skill Building. Students will also be participating in the CAFE Reading Strategies. Students will meet with me individually to reflect on their current readings, and discuss strategies to help them grow as a reader. Report Cards Report Cards will be sent home every 9 weeks. All report cards are required to be signed & returned. Once returned, I will cut off the signature piece, and return your child’s report for your keeping! Science & Social Studies Students will explore many new & interesting concepts this year. In science, we will use many hands-on activities to experiment with electricity, cells, energy, and more! Social Studies will lead us to investigate maps, and explorers, as well as, Tennessee’s History. The steps leading to the American Revolution and the events following will be our greatest focus. Study guides for Science & Social Studies tests/quizzes will be sent home, at least, one week prior to all major tests & quizzes. Many study guides will be prepared by your child. It is important for them to write legible and include all details. Please help your child prepare for these assessments. In addition, students will create interactive notebooks for each subject, which will include specific topic “fold-ables,” timelines, etc. These pieces will be graded using a specific rubric, which will be available to your child at the time of creation. Snacks Do you go from breakfast to lunch with no snacks in between? If you’re like me, you are able to concentrate more fully at work when you take a short break to have something to eat and drink. But eating the wrong kinds of snacks can trick our bodies into feeling energized but only for a short period of time. Then we again start to feel tired and unfocused, as our bodies use its energy to break down those sugary treats. Children are encouraged to bring a daily, small, HEALTHY snack that is not messy to eat, such as one from the list below. Please send these snacks in a small zip lock bag. No large bags or containers, as this takes up a lot of desk space, and can cause a distraction. Peanut butter Goldfish crackers Veggies & Dip Granola Bars crackers Raisins Cereal Nuts Dried Fruit/Fruit Cheese Crackers Pretzels Trail Mix Yogurt Please do not send soda, candy, chips, or other snacks with little nutritional value & high sugar/fat content. These items will be saved until lunchtime. The purpose of providing a snack time at school is not just to fill our bellies, but also to learn to make good choices about what we eat! Many children do not like foods that are good for them, but eating healthy snacks every day will soon establish new eating habits, especially when everyone around them are making good choices as well, and the junk food temptation is not there. It is absolutely acceptable to send a water bottle to school with your child. These bottles must have a secure top that will not spill easily. Unless it is an emergency, I do not allow students to go to the water fountain during class times. Please do not send in bottles of flavored water, carbonated drinks, or breakable bottles. All water bottles will be thrown away at the end of each day. Students whose snack or water bottle serves as a distraction to their learning or the learning of others will no longer be permitted to bring them. Study Sessions Home Study Sessions: In your child’s M.O.N.S.T.E.R binder you will find a Study Sessions log sheet. When a major test is scheduled, students will be required to study at home. Parents will need to assist their child in preparing for the test & sign the Study Sessions log sheet. Supplies Community supplies are SHARED supplies in the classroom. They are those supplies which are “consumable,” meaning they get “used up.” This method will help us build cooperation, social skills, and responsibility within our classroom. It is so important for students to have a sense of belonging & ownership in the classroom setting. The supplies are located in an area accessible to all students. Students have access to all supplies needed during the school day. Students are encouraged to use supplies responsibly, and do not have to ask my permission prior to use. Please refer to the 4th grade supply list for needed items, and the additional supplies Page in your Parent Pack. We begin using supplies the first day of school, if possible; please have your child’s supplies as soon as possible. Tardies If your child is late for school, please sign them in at the office before sending them to the classroom. Any assignments missed will be sent home that night for completion. Tests You will always be given a tentative test notice and study guide one week prior to the test. This way, your child can study a little each night, and be well prepared. Please be aware, I might not always have extra copies of study guides available and many will be accessible online. Visitors J.W.W has a policy that ALL GUESTS are required to check in at the school office. The purpose is to eliminate interruptions during classroom activities or instructional time. The office will contact me if your child needs to leave early, come to the office, or if you need to speak with me. Typically, it is difficult for me to speak with parents during instruction time. It is best to contact me prior to 7:30am, during my planning (8:50-9:35). or after 3:00pm. Volunteers I feel that it is very important for a child to know that his or her parents support their education. As such, I will try to provide many opportunities for parents to volunteer and visit our classroom. Your support can be exhibitied in a number of ways. These include helping with parties, assisting with special projects, sending in treats or party goods, chaperoning field trips, reading to the class, and preparing materials at home. If you are ever interested and/or available to make copies, laminate/cut, etc. please let me know as well! We love and appreciate our volunteers in Room A-10!! ; Website As mentioned earlier, our website provides you & your child with a WEALTH of information. It allows you and your child to download assignments/study guides, access grades, find homework information, and more! I also post snapshots & slideshows weekly so you can catch a sneak peek of what your child experiences throughout the year. It also allows you to view upcoming dates, announcements, student’s published work, and answers probably 99% of your questions! Please check weekly for updates. You can now access our website easily by using the following web address: www.mrswhiteswisekids.blogspot.com Weekly Work Student work will be sent home in their Weekly Work Folder bi-weekly. These folders will be sent home on every other Friday, and expected to be returned on the following Monday. Please sign & return the parent signature page located on the right side of the folder after looking through your child’s work. There may be times when you are asked to sign & return test papers/quizzes. Please take a little time to look over these papers with your child. This lets them know you care about their work, and are interested in what they are learning. The Weekly Work folder is an excellent way for you to see for yourself how your child is progressing. If your child has a paper that says “re-do,” please have them correct their mistakes and return it by the end of the following week. Students will earn partial credit for corrections, and will gain an understanding of what they missed & why. If you ever have questions or concerns about your child’s progress, or their weekly work, please do not hesitate to write me a note or contact me at school! *Any work that does not contain a note/stamp can be kept @ home! A Fabulous in Fourth Creation How to be… Class agreement I have read & understand the “how to be…” guide, & agree with the written policies noted in the manual. I promise to do my very best, and give 100% effort at all times! Student Name: ____________________________ Student Signature: _______________________________________ Parent Signature: ________________________________________ Date: _____________________________ Student #: ___________ n Once you have read over our class guide, and signed the class agreement, please return both the handbook & signature page to Mrs. White. Our class guide will ALWAYS be located in your child’s M.O.N.S.T.E.R Binder for future reference. Thanks for your help!