Dear Guardians,
I am looking forward to working with all of you this year. I am excited to have the opportunity to get to know your children and to help them unlock their talents and reach their goals. I would like to share my homework policy, discipline plan, and our class schedule with you. Please read through all of this information carefully and be sure to let me know if you have any questions. After you have read and discussed these with your child, please sign the bottom portion of this letter and return to me by August 27th.
Homework:Homework is used in my classroom as reinforcement of material that has been covered in class. It is extremely important that your student does their homework so that they can “fine tune” the skills they have learned. Because homework is extra practice, I do not take official grades, but I do take a participation grade. Therefore, if students do not complete their work it will affect their overall grade. Assignments will be written down in student planners to help students learn responsibility. Parents must sign the planner so that I know that you are aware of their homework. This is also a great way to send me notes and to communicate with one another. Homework will vary from night to night and can be found in the homework folder.
Language Arts:· Spelling: Fridays will be spelling tests.
Day | Activity | How do I do it? |
| Monday | Rainbow Writing | Write your spelling words in pencil and then use four different colored crayons to trace over the words. |
| Tuesday | Red Vowels | Write your words in pencil. Then trace over the vowels with a red pencil, pen, or crayon. |
| Wednesday | Consonant Circles | Write your words in pencil. Then circle the consonants with a pen, colored pencil, or crayon. |
| Thursday | Pyramid Writing | Write the first letter of your word, and then on the next line, write the first two letters of your word. Continue doing this until you have the word spelled. C Ca Cat |
· Reading: Students are expected to read 30 minutes every night except for Wednesday. Students should record their reading on the reading log found in their homework folder. Parents must sign and date this form. This can be any type of literature: books, newspapers, magazines. However we will be using the AR reading program, so students should have an AR book from the library to read in order to earn points. They need to earn 10 or more points per semester. On Wednesday students will have a practice EOG story.
· Math: Every Tuesday students will have a Keeping Skills Sharp Sheet. Every Thursday students will have an EOG problem solving for practice.
· Science / Social Studies: In our class, because of the focus on End Of Grade testing, we switch every four weeks between these two subjects. Usually students will not have homework in these subjects, but occasionally they will.
Behavior Plan:We will be using a Responsible Choices clothespin system. Every day each student begins on the level “I am responsible”. The goal is to remain on “I am responsible” all day. They will move down the chart if they break the rules. The levels are as follows:
· Green: I am responsible.
· Blue: Oops! (Warning)
· Yellow: Silent Lunch (Isolation Table)
· Orange: Walk Laps With The Teacher at Recess (Conference about what I did)
· Red: Office and Call Home (Office Referral and Student will Call Home)
This plan helps students take responsibility for all their choices. At the end of the day, when I check the planners, I will place a check that is the same color that your child was on for the day so that you will have immediate knowledge of your child’s behavior.
REWARDS:
· Verbal Praise
· Good Notes Home
· Raffle Tickets for Class Raffle
· Tickets for school wide Behavior Plan System
· Classroom Rewards
· Homeworkopoly Game (when homework is turned in)
CLASS ROOM RULES: I allow for students to work together at the beginning of the year to help design our classroom community. With my guidance, they will work together to come up with four main rules for our class.
SCHOOL RULES:
RESPECT
*We Respect ourselves by being prepared, being on task, and by giving our best effort.
* We Respect others by listening and following directions, sharing when necessary, treating others nicely, and keeping things to ourselves.
* We Respect learning by listening to instruction, completing tasks, helping others, and returning materials and furniture properly after use.
CONSEQUENCES: - verbal reminders
- move clothespin on choices chart
- silent lunch
- time away from the group
- conference with teacher
- conference with principal
- phone call to parents
BEHAVIOR JOURNAL: This is a journal that is kept in the classroom where students record incidents when they do not follow the rules. There is a form inside where they write about why they made the choice that they did, what the consequences were, and ways they could have made a better choice. They will be given a copy of their log for a parent to sign and return. Students only fill this form out when they are sent to the office.
MONDAY FOLDERS: Each Monday, your child will bring home a Monday folder containing work that has been completed that week and it will also contain newsletters and other notes. Please review the week’s work and sign and return the folder on Tuesday. You may keep your student’s work.