Birthdays: Due to large amounts of food allergies, our class will allow only NON-EDIBLE treats for birthday celebrations. If your child would like to bring a birthday treat to celebrate with the class, he/she may do so. Summer birthdays may be a random day or on a half birthday. Please make sure that each child has a treat, we have 26 students in our class. Treats need to be dropped off in the morning and will be passed out after 3 PM.
Book Reports: Throughout the year there will be a book report project every quarter. The book your child chooses needs to be approved by me and must be an AR book that is at your child's reading level or slightly above. To make sure your child is choosing an AR book you can go to the CHVE Learning Links page to click the link or go to www.arbookfind.com. Book reports will have a written component, as well as a presentation/sharing component. I suggest that the book your child is reading nightly for their 20 minutes of reading HW be a book that they can use toward their book report project.
Class Points In addition to raffle tickets we will have class points. Our class will earn a point for every week that the entire class is at a 75% or higher on dojo. Once a point is earned it will not be taken away. Once the class earns 5 points the students will get to choose an activity to do as a class (extra recess, game, lunch etc.)
Class Work: If a student is off task during independent work time and they do not get their work completed, I will work with that student to come up with a plan for when the work will be completed (this could mean it comes home for homework). I am not one to keep students in for their recess time, I believe that recess is a much needed break and all students should be outside moving and enjoying the fresh air. Everything that goes into the grade book will be graded by myself. The students frequently revise their work so if work comes home with red pen markings, do not be alarmed. This is all part of the learning experience.
Communication: Email is the best way to get ahold of me at Email. Please do not hesitate to email me about anything; I will get back to you within 24 hours. However, I do not answer emails on the weekends or after 4 PM on weekdays. If you would like to schedule a face-to face meeting please email me and we will set something up.
Conferences: For Fall and Spring Conferences this year we will be using sign up genius to schedule individual conferences for students. Follow the link www.signupgenius.com and look for the fall conferences sign up under find sign up. You will need to type in my e-mail in order to find the sign up. Then proceed to sign up for a time that works for you. If you have any questions, please email me.
Grading Below you will find a list of the different subjects students receive grades for and what goes into each of those grades. I check homework for completion purposes but not a grade since there is varying levels of support at home on homework.
Math (this is only for students in my math class): In class assignments (25%), quizes (35%), tests (40%)
Reading: In class assignments (30%), wordly wise (25%), assessments (40%), book reports 5%
Writing: Writing unit essays (20%), grammar assessments (15%), spelling assessments (15%), idiom assessments (15%), and short essays (35%).
Science/ Social Studies: In class assignments (25%), quizes (35%), tests (40%)
We do at least one in class assignment per week that is for a grade. Grades will be sent home as we finish up units.
Homework: The grade level expectation for time spent on homework in 5th grade is 60 minutes. This 60 minutes includes the 20 min. of independent reading, plus any other work your child may have. If your child is in an advanced math class they may have more homework and it may take longer. If at any time the homework is causing major problems at home please contact me and we can come up with a plan to help your child.
There will be weekly homework that your child should be spending some time on each night. Weekly homework will be due on Thursdays. Weekly homework will often be language arts based. Your child may also need to be studying each night for upcoming tests, or working on long term projects, so please help them manage their homework and their time wisely. If there is going to be a problem completing a homework assignment or project, please let me know in advance of the due date so we can work out something so your child can get their work in on time. Your child is responsible for copying their homework from the classroom planner into their planner so they know what they need to do each week.
I try to instill as much responsibility and choice in the kids as possible. I understand that life happens and value balance, so if homework is just not going to happen one night, just let me know and we will work it out!
Planner/ Assignment Book: Students will receive a planner at the beginning of the year. The purpose of the planner is to help your child plan ahead and stay organized with upcoming homework, assignments, and projects. I will provide time each day for students to write down their assignments. They will be responsible for bringing it home each night, completing the work and getting it signed by a parent/guardian indicating that they have successfully completed the work. Planners will be checked each morning in class and students will get a positive dojo point for having all of their homework completed (this includes a parent signature). The planner is also another way to communicate with me. At times I will write notes home in the planner and you are welcome to write a note to me there as well. If at any time you feel that your child has not completed their planner and may be missing the HW, you are welcome to contact me. If this becomes a problem, then we can work together to help your child so that he/she is being responsible for their HW.
Raffle tickets/Friday Raffle: As a positive reinforcement for good behavior, good choices in school, positive study habits, etc., the fifth grade teachers will be passing out raffle tickets to students this year. In our class students will be awarded raffle tickets based on their dojo score for the week. Students will receive a raffle ticket for each dojo point they earn. Students will collect their raffle tickets, and on Friday we will put them in a bag, mix them up, and draw for prizes. Examples of some prizes may include fun school supplies, gift cards, treats, and books. Students may save their tickets for a particular prize they are interested in, or put them in every week. After the raffle on Friday, the tickets that were in the bag will be dumped out and we will start fresh the next week. Typically there will be one prize per week, but there may be weeks with multiple prizes. Math teachers and specials teachers can also award tickets to be used in the child's home room raffle on Friday. Once a student has earned a ticket it is theirs, we will not take tickets away for poor choices etc. Students are responsible for writing their name, in pen, on their ticket and keeping it in a safe place. Teachers are not responsible for lost tickets and will not replace them.
If parents are interested in donating prizes ($5-$20 gift cards, books, toys, etc.), you are welcome to.
Recess: Students have one recess each day before lunch. With few exceptions, I expect all students to go outside for recess, movement and fresh air are healthy for the mind, body and soul! Students may earn extra recess time as a class reward for good behavior.
Snacks: Students may bring a health snack and a water bottle to keep in the classroom. Snacks and drinks need to be healthy, please avoid sending anything with sugar or nuts to school. Water is great as well as fruit, crackers, and veggies. Your child may eat their snack at anytime they are hungry except during mini- lessons and guided group instruction.
Spelling: Spelling pre-tests will be given the Thursday before the upcoming week of spelling words. There will be 20 words on the pre-test. Based on how well your child does on the pre-test, they will then have 20 words, or 25-29 with added Challenge Words and/or Wordly Wise Words. The word lists will go home on Fridays, so your child can be studying for the test taken on Thursdays.
Volunteers: At Back to School Night there will be a sign-up, if you can't make it, send me an email with your information and what you are interested in doing and I will contact volunteers as needed.