SNACK:
We will TRY to fit in a snack every afternoon. Your child is to provide his/her own snack. I do not provide snack for the children. I am asking that snacks be HEALTHY and not too messy. There will be days we have a working snack so it should be easy to eat and not make much of a mess or require two hands to eat. Thank you for helping me out with this.
HOMEWORK:
Your child’s homework is due the DAY after it is assigned unless otherwise noted. Your child will have one day to turn in an assignment that is not completed on the due date. There will be a penalty for late work, anywhere from 10 to 20 points depending on the assignment and the number of times a child hands in late work. I will give time during the day for a STUDY HALL. Your child should have anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes for quiet work time during the school day, depending on our schedule. If we do not have a study hall during the day, the homework load will not be as heavy. Please understand there will be times during the year when it seems like there is an “overload” of homework. I do my best to make sure the load is as light as possible, however things happen and sometimes work is inevitable. If this poses a problem, just let me know.
**ALL HOMEWORK MAY BE CORRECTED AND RESUBMITTED WITH THE AVERAGE OF THE TWO GRADES TAKEN**
**Corrections MUST be handed in the Monday after they are returned**
TEST/EXAMINATIONS may always be corrected in order to improve understanding, but the original grade will remain in the books.
RECESS:
Recess is a privilege, not a RIGHT for your child. There will be times your child will need to stay in for recess and/or work during recess if his/her class assignments are not complete OR if their behavior warrants it. Recess should be a time your child “takes a break” from the school day and enjoys some quality time with friends. I do not like to take recess away nor does your child like to lose it. Please encourage your child to get all work done and to behave properly so this course of action will not need to be taken.
If recess is taken away then your child will be asked to do one of the following:
- Sit along the wall on the playground
- Sit at a designated table in the cafeteria, or in the hallway near the office
- Visit the time out room during recess time
Rarely do I have students come to my room during recess as it is my time to get things done in the room. I like to reserve having students visit my room during recess for REWARDS of good behavior, rather than a punishment.
BEHAVIOR CARDS:
We use a behavior card system in 5th grade to monitor classroom behavior. Each child has four cards. The first card is a warning, the second is a loss of recess, the third is a visit to the principal, Mr. Storms, and the last is a call home along with a note to be signed by parents. The warning card is basically a “freebie”. If your child pulls the warning card it is due to not having homework or behaving inappropriately. If your child pulls the second card, he or she WILL lose recess for the day AND write about why they lost recess and how they can prevent it next time. If your child needs to pull a third card, a visit to Mr. Storms will be made to discuss why your child needed to be spoken to at least 3 times during that day. Mr. Storms may or may not decide to call you, depending on the circumstance. However, if after talking with Mr. Storms a fourth card needs to be pulled, YOUR CHILD will call you and explain why AND I will send home a deportment slip for you to sign. Most-likely some time-out room service will be applied during recess time or even during class time until your child can behave properly.
THE GOOD NEWS…if your child goes the entire week without pulling a card, he or she will be entered into our weekly raffle. Two students each week will win a prize. Those who are entered into the raffle and don't earn a prize will receive a small "treat" like a piece of gum for their hard work!!
Being GOOD definitely has its rewards.
BOOK PROJECTS
Approximately once a month your child will complete a book project. Sometimes the projects will require some creativity on your child’s part. I will grade their projects AND their presentation of the project. Make sure your child reads the requirements of the project. Reading the directions is part of the grade. Each project will count as 3 grades in their READING average. It is important they complete the project on time. Please note late projects pose a tremendous problem for me as I plan a certain amount of time during our day for presentations. If your child’s project is late I need to try and find time to fit their presentation in at a later date, which causes disruption in our schedule. Thank you for understanding. J
COMMUNICATION
I have an open communication policy. Please come to me with any questions/concerns/problems BEFORE they become a HUGE issue. I can only help you and your child if I know what is going on. I’d like to think I know everything that is happening in my classroom, in the hall, on the playground, but I am only 1 person and I am human, no matter what else you may have heard. (heeheeJ)
Seriously, please let me know when and how I can help you with your child. If we work as a TEAM, your child will have a successful year. Your child is part of this team and needs to do his/her part as well.
CONFERENCES:
Parent/Teacher conferences are of utmost importance for the success of your child. As mentioned above, we are a team and we need to meet together and plan for the future of your child. I will send home a sign up sheet for conferences well in advance of parent/teacher conference day. You will be asked to choose three times that will work for you OR offer me times that you are available. It is up to YOU to schedule a conference with me.
If you have scheduled a conference with me and an emergency arises which causes you to miss our conference, please give me the courtesy of calling to let me know so I don’t wait around or cause other people to be late waiting for you. Call the front office, 643-6200 OR my room at 643-6277 to cancel your conference.
MIXED FAMILIES
We have many mixed families in this classroom. Please remember we all need to work together. I have 21 children in this room and only so much time to do conferences. Any time we can have a conference with BOTH sets of families it will be GREATLY appreciated and very much preferred. I don’t mind accommodating separate conferences if absolutely necessary, but please remember, we are all here for your CHILD and your CHILD is the priority.
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