Welcome to 4th Grade Family Night

October 11, 2012Teachers: Mrs. Eason & Mrs. Reuther

Room#415

Students are allowed to go their teacher’s classrooms at 8:45 am.

Students who are car riders should be picked up before 4:15 pm.

Any transportation changes will need to be in writing to the teacher or place a call to the front office. If I do not have a note, your child will go home the way he/she normally leaves school.

Conferences should be scheduled in advance. Students should be in appropriate school

uniform unless otherwise notified.

WCES Expectations

Please remember that tonight is not a night for conferences. However, if you feel that a conference is necessary in the near future, I will be more than happy to schedule one with you at the times listed below:◦Before school @ 8:15-8:30 & 8:30-8:45-8:35

◦During my planning 10:00 – 10:30 (M, W, R)

◦Conference Day – November 6th 9:30 – 3:30

Conference Availability

Communication Notebook (BEE Book): We will utilize this notebook as a key tool for my students to keep up with their homework, notes, newsletters, and all other pertinent correspondence between home and school. Specific instructions for notebook usage will be included in notebook. This notebook is VERY IMPORTANT! It will travel from home to school everyday.

4th Grade students use a BEE binder in their classroom. ◦ 2 inch Clear View binder with BEE cover sheet◦ zipper pouch◦ BEE Binder guidelines◦ Dividers◦ Homework sheet or agenda◦ Behavior sheet

Bee Binder

BEE = Bring Everything Everyday

The BEE notebook is another valuable part of the home/school communication in my classroom. Students will keep all materials in this notebook. The notebook is divided into sections. Please be sure to check the behavior and homework sections each night. The sections are as follows:

Front (inside) pocket of notebook◦ Important Papers – This section will be for any important papers

that are sent home from school. Some may need to be signed and some may be for your information.

Clear Sheet Protector/Newsletter◦ Clear Sheet Protector (provided by teacher) - The clear sheet

protector will be utilized for our Weekly Newsletters. It should ALWAYS remain in the front of your child’s BEE Book (in front of the first divider).

BEE Book

Subject Dividers – There are 7 dividers in your child’s Bee book. The dividers should be labeled as follows:◦ 1st tab- Behavior Chart: This section contains a behavior chart for the week. Your child

receives a weekly conduct grade based on the conduct scale at the bottom of the behavior sheet. See Behavior Management Sheet in Welcome Packet for more information.

◦ 2nd tab –Homework: All homework activities will be located in this section. Students will have homework in Reading/LGA and Math weekly. Students may also have homework in Unit (Science, Social Studies, & Health). It is important that students copy all of their homework because they will be expected to do it.

◦ 3rd tab – Reading: Notes taken in class can go in this section.◦ 4th tab – Language Arts (LGA): Notes taken in class can go in this section.◦ 5th tab – Math: Notes taken in class can go in this section.◦ 6th tab – Social Studies: Notes taken in class can go in this section.◦ 7th tab – Science/Health: Notes taken in class can go in this section.

Parent/Teacher Communication- This pocket of the blue communication folder in the BEE notebook can be used for parent notes, doctor excuses, absentee excuses, and etc. Please make sure that your child knows there is a note for me to read. Thanks!

Back pocket of Bee notebook◦ Keep at Home – This section may have daily work that has been completed in class.

Please remove nightly and review with your child if more practice is needed.

Please note that if something is marked/graded in red pen, it was checked and corrected by your child. I will not use red pen when I grade. Thanks!

BEE Book Continued…

BEE BOOK RULES: 1.) Take care of your BEE book. It will be

used all year. 2.) Clean out the “keep at home” section

every evening. 3.)Take your BEE book home everyday and

return it every morning. 4.) Do not eat or drink while using it. 5.) Each day show your BEE book to your

parents. They will be so proud of you!

BEE Book Continued…

4th Grade Math Fact Fluency◦ Students should know their math and division

facts.◦ Our expectation is to have all students mastering

90% or above on their math facts test.◦ Students should be practicing at home nightly.◦ Math drills are given daily, and fact quizzes are

given weekly.◦ Websites for practice:

www.multiplication.com www.mathdrills.com www.aaamath.com

Math

Students in 4th grade must demonstrate their competency in Reading to be eligible for promotion to the next grade.  The requirements will increase in each of the next four years.

Students must make an 803 or more on the CRCT.

Students must have a Lexile score of 590. You can find your child’s current Lexile score on their SRI report that was sent home last month.

Promotion Requirements

Weekly behavior sheets Tuesday Communication Folders Progress Reports and Report Cards Graded Papers (Graded papers are sent on

a bi-weekly basis with averages. Please note that a new set will not be sent home until the old set has been returned.)

We need your signature on….

Field Trips: We will go on several field trips throughout the year. Please make sure that all money and field trip forms are turned in on time. I do not have time on the day of the field trip to call parents for permission slips or money. So, please make sure that all permission slips are turned in before the day of the trip or your child will not be able to attend.

Field Trips

Scholastic.com – You can order books directly from Scholastic using your teacher’s unique activation code.

Donorschoose.org – Coming Soon!! Classroom Webpage- Each teacher has

their own classroom webpage on the WCES school site.

http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/wces/teachers/Eason/default.aspx

Lexile.com – Learn more about Lexile scores, relate scores to AR levels, find books on your student’s level, etc.

Important Websites

Literacy (Weekly Fluency Checks & Focus on Nonfiction passages) Students should be able to read at least 120 words by the end of the year. By the end of this marking period, your child should be reading 90 wpm (words per minute).

Writing (Mrs. Reuther will be working with the students on writing. Students should be writing at least 4 complete paragraphs by the end of the year.)

Wait, there’s more!

Specials: Fourth Grade Specials time: 9:50 – 10:30

Classes in the rotation are: Music, Art, Science Lab, Media, & P.E.

Breakfast & Lunch: (Please see cafeteria staff for more information about lunch prices.) Students must eat breakfast prior to arriving to class. Therefore, students must go to the cafeteria as soon as they arrive at school. Also, please make sure that your child has his/her lunch or lunch money each day when arriving to school. Please note: If a child does not have adequate lunch money on his/her account, he/she is given PB & J or cheese toast, fruit, and white milk. This is out of my control, so please monitor your child’s account if they eat school lunch. Thanks!

Specials, Breakfast & Lunch

Grades: Students will receive progress reports and report cards. In addition to this, We will send home graded papers and current averages on a bi-weekly basis. This will give parents the opportunity to keep track of their child’s progress in between progress report and report card time. Please look over the grades, sign the grade slip, and return everything (grade slip and assessments/work) the following day. These assessments/work need to be kept in your child’s academic folders at school.

Behavior Expectations: Appropriate classroom behavior is a huge part of making this a successful and conducive learning environment. Students are expected to obey all school and classroom rules at all times.

Behavior System: A behavior sheet will be placed in your child’s Communication Notebook. To find out your child’s conduct grade, please look at the key at the bottom o f the behavior sheet. (The fourth grade team will implement a clipboard system that will travel with the class. Students will be given a warning. After the warning, students will be given a number on the clipboard for the rule that was broken. If a student receives numbers, the numbers will be recorded on the behavior/conduct sheet located in the front of the child’s BEE Book in the behavior section.)

Grades, Behavior Expectations, Behavior System

Homework: Students will have a homework sheet in their Communication Notebook to record homework. Homework will be given daily. It is each child’s responsibility to copy his/her homework from the board each morning when they arrive in the classroom. (This is the first thing your child should do after unpacking his/her bookbag.)

Spelling/Vocabulary Words: Spelling and vocabulary words will be written on the board the Friday prior to the week of instruction involving the words. Students will have Friday and Monday morning to copy spelling and vocabulary words in preparation for spelling homework on Monday evening. Newsletters will go home on Tuesday with all upcoming events, tests, standards, and spelling & vocabulary words. (Nevertheless, it is imperative that students utilize their classroom time efficiently to copy their spelling and vocabulary words for their homework on Monday.)

Newsletters: Newsletters will be sent home weekly (every Tuesday) unless stated otherwise on the newsletter. Please check it weekly for upcoming events & tests.

Homework, Spelling/Vocabulary Words, & Newsletters

Accelerated Reader: Students are expected to read and test on at least 25 AR books this year. This is the minimum set by the Board of Education. Students must complete an AR book report prior to taking a test on the computer. Students are rewarded monthly for reaching their goals.

Procedures for Accelerated Reader (AR): Before students take a test, they should have read over their book at least twice (unless it’s a chapter book). After reading their books, students will need to get an AR book report sheet from our AR tray by the computer. The students will fill out this sheet, take test, record grade on this sheet, and file this sheet in their AR folder. You can check your child progress on Renaissance Place:

https://hosted11.renlearn.com/55848/default.aspx

Accelerated Reader

Transportation: Any change in how a child gets home from school must be in a written note to the teacher. If a note is not received, the child will go home as usual. Please understand this is to ensure your child’s safety. (Please note: ‘First Student’ (Bus Services) will not allow bus swapping this year. Students can only ride one bus. If he/she must change buses due to a move, documentation must be provided in order to submit paperwork to ‘First Student’.)

Absences: If your child is absent for any reason, please be sure to send a note with your child when he/she returns to school. All make-up work should be completed and returned within 3 days of returning to school.

Transportation, Absences, Make-Up Work, & Uniforms

Birthday Parties: Birthdays are very special and I would love to honor each child! I understand that parents and students enjoy celebrating this special day at school. However, I do not have birthday celebrations in the classroom due to loss of instructional time. If you are interested in bringing in a cake and/or cupcakes for your child’s birthday, please bring in the items during our scheduled lunch time at 12:10-12:40 or during our recess time at 12:50-1:20. This will give the students the chance to celebrate without losing our valuable instructional time. Thank you so much for your cooperation!

Snacks: There will not be a snack time in the classroom. However, if your child brings in snack foods, he/she can eat them at lunch time. I do not allow the students to eat and play during recess because of choking hazards. As a mother and teacher, safety comes first! Birthday celebrations are an exception because all students are participating, and no one is playing until they’re done with their cupcakes/cake.

Birthday Parties & Snacks

Talking and/or cheating during a test: Talking and/or cheating during a test will result in a zero. There is no excuse for a student to talk or cheat during a test. Students are given ample opportunity to prepare for tests. The only person a student should talk to during testing time is the teacher (with permission). Testing time is a time for a child to demonstrate what he/she knows from the information presented and reviewed in class.

Talking and/or Cheating during a Test

Contact Information: Please make sure that the we have all current phone numbers for you and all alternate contacts throughout the school year in case of an emergency. Thanks!

Communication: If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact us at school. The number is (912) 395-3600. You can also contact us via email. Our email addresses are located on the front of our Fourth Grade Parent Night Packet. We will do our best to respond the same day or within 24 hours (unless we’re absent from school).

Contact Information

Classroom Website: Please visit our classroom website for information and upcoming events at the link listed below. I will update our page on Monday evenings. http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/wces/teachers/Eason/default.aspx

Scholastic Orders: Please support our classroom library by ordering online with our class code listed below. Thanks for all you do!◦ Please visit the following Scholastic Site

below:◦ http://clubs.scholastic.com/ 

Enter the following Activation Code after completing the registration: 19DXM

A Few Friendly Reminders

Thank you for coming out to 4th Grade Parent Night!

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Thank You!