“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
- Confucius
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
- Nelson Mandela
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”
- W.B. Yeats
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
– Albert Einstein
- Confucius
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
- Nelson Mandela
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”
- W.B. Yeats
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
– Albert Einstein
Welcome to our class!
One community, many voices!
Effective Effort:
Time: A willingness to spend the hours needed to finish the job well!
Strategies: If one approach isn’t working, keep trying different ways until you find one that works.
Resourcefulness: Knowing where to go and whom to ask for help when you’re really stuck.
Focus: No TV or distractions: Concentrate only on the work!
Use of Feedback: Looking carefully at responses to your work so you know exactly what to fix.
Commitment: Being determined to finish and do the very best work.
Assignment Notebooks:
Each day at a designated time, students will copy assignments for that night's homework. Students are expected to copy each assignment accurately and completely. Occasionally there will be assignments that not all students will need to complete, and these will have a (* ) preceding the assignment. My belief is that fourth graders are able to manage this task independently, but there may be certain circumstances where I will monitor this task. If you find that your child is not effectively managing this, please contact me. If you are unsure of the nightly assignments, please call a classmate to get the information needed to complete the assignment. All assignments are due the next school day.
Organization of materials:
Each student has a three ring binder that includes the assignment notebook, along with 2 pocket folders. One folder is designated as "Homework" and includes labels for each pocket-"To be completed" and "To Turn In". The second folder is designated as "Work in Progress" for ongoing activities and assignments. There will also be lined paper and grid paper that can be used for home and school assignments.
Students will also have separate folders for certain subjects. These are color coded and used for in class work. They will also have composition books designated for different purposes.
Students are always guided to put materials in a designated location. It is my expectation that students use these organization systems independently. While we will occasionally use class time to rearrange and clean our work spaces, students should not rely on this. I may request students do this during recess time if they need time to organize.
Home writing assignments:
Students are required to use lined paper when completing writing homework. Students may also opt to type and print. It is expected that pages are neat, handwriting is legible, and names are on each and every assignment.
Weekly Writing Journals:
During several weeks of the school year, students will be assigned one night a week to complete a nightly writing assignment. The prompts will be reviewed in class at the beginning of each "cycle", and over the course of several weeks, students will take a turn responding to each journal prompt. It is imperative that students return these journals the next day in order for the next student to use that journal.
Communication Log:
Most weeks, I will complete a communication log for each student. This will include notations of social and behavior observations, along with notation of any missing work for that week. This form needs to be signed by both a parent and the student, and all missing work needs to be completed and returned at the start of the following week. Often students will say they turned in an assignment that I have listed as missing. If this is the case, students should check work with no names, along with the corrected papers that are found in their mailboxes. Occasionally there will be times that I do actually have the paper, but almost always it is in the student's possession. If there is a discrepency regarding turning in homework, please communicate this through the weekly communication log or through emails. Communication logs will not be given on weeks prior to winter, February and April vacation, or on weeks with fewer than 4 school days.
End of Week Folders:
On the last day of an instructional week, students will bring home any corrected homework and classwork, along with notices from the front office. Occasionally there may be time sensitive notices that go home during the week. These will be stored in the homework folder in the student binder.
Math Tests:
Each math topic includes an assessment of topic objectives. Once corrected by me, students will bring tests home, make all necessary corrections to any wrong answers, and get the test signed by a parent. Once signed, these will be returned to me, where I will keep them on file until the end of the school year.
Email:
I will most often communicate with parents through email. Please ensure you provide me with current email addresses so you will receive regular communication from me. If for some reason you do not receive periodic emails from me, please call the school and leave me a voice message with your email address so I may include you.
Absences:
Please notify the office if your child will be absent. If you want to request the day's assignments, please do so by noon so I have ample time to collect necessary materials. If your child will be out for several days, whether due to sickness or vacation, please give me plenty of notice to put together work for your child.
Classroom Behavior:
At the beginning of the year, students will help create a list of expectations that are necessary to a productive learning environment. Students who are interfering with the learning of others, or who make poor judgments about their behavior, will have a consequence determined by me. Usually this means a private conversation to discuss my concerns, but could result in an email to parents, loss of recess, conference with parents, or others. In the event that a student breaks a more significant school rule, students may receive a standard school-wide discipline form. If, during the school year a student receives 3 such notices, detention will be assigned. This is held after school in the principal's office.
Time: A willingness to spend the hours needed to finish the job well!
Strategies: If one approach isn’t working, keep trying different ways until you find one that works.
Resourcefulness: Knowing where to go and whom to ask for help when you’re really stuck.
Focus: No TV or distractions: Concentrate only on the work!
Use of Feedback: Looking carefully at responses to your work so you know exactly what to fix.
Commitment: Being determined to finish and do the very best work.
Assignment Notebooks:
Each day at a designated time, students will copy assignments for that night's homework. Students are expected to copy each assignment accurately and completely. Occasionally there will be assignments that not all students will need to complete, and these will have a (* ) preceding the assignment. My belief is that fourth graders are able to manage this task independently, but there may be certain circumstances where I will monitor this task. If you find that your child is not effectively managing this, please contact me. If you are unsure of the nightly assignments, please call a classmate to get the information needed to complete the assignment. All assignments are due the next school day.
Organization of materials:
Each student has a three ring binder that includes the assignment notebook, along with 2 pocket folders. One folder is designated as "Homework" and includes labels for each pocket-"To be completed" and "To Turn In". The second folder is designated as "Work in Progress" for ongoing activities and assignments. There will also be lined paper and grid paper that can be used for home and school assignments.
Students will also have separate folders for certain subjects. These are color coded and used for in class work. They will also have composition books designated for different purposes.
Students are always guided to put materials in a designated location. It is my expectation that students use these organization systems independently. While we will occasionally use class time to rearrange and clean our work spaces, students should not rely on this. I may request students do this during recess time if they need time to organize.
Home writing assignments:
Students are required to use lined paper when completing writing homework. Students may also opt to type and print. It is expected that pages are neat, handwriting is legible, and names are on each and every assignment.
Weekly Writing Journals:
During several weeks of the school year, students will be assigned one night a week to complete a nightly writing assignment. The prompts will be reviewed in class at the beginning of each "cycle", and over the course of several weeks, students will take a turn responding to each journal prompt. It is imperative that students return these journals the next day in order for the next student to use that journal.
Communication Log:
Most weeks, I will complete a communication log for each student. This will include notations of social and behavior observations, along with notation of any missing work for that week. This form needs to be signed by both a parent and the student, and all missing work needs to be completed and returned at the start of the following week. Often students will say they turned in an assignment that I have listed as missing. If this is the case, students should check work with no names, along with the corrected papers that are found in their mailboxes. Occasionally there will be times that I do actually have the paper, but almost always it is in the student's possession. If there is a discrepency regarding turning in homework, please communicate this through the weekly communication log or through emails. Communication logs will not be given on weeks prior to winter, February and April vacation, or on weeks with fewer than 4 school days.
End of Week Folders:
On the last day of an instructional week, students will bring home any corrected homework and classwork, along with notices from the front office. Occasionally there may be time sensitive notices that go home during the week. These will be stored in the homework folder in the student binder.
Math Tests:
Each math topic includes an assessment of topic objectives. Once corrected by me, students will bring tests home, make all necessary corrections to any wrong answers, and get the test signed by a parent. Once signed, these will be returned to me, where I will keep them on file until the end of the school year.
Email:
I will most often communicate with parents through email. Please ensure you provide me with current email addresses so you will receive regular communication from me. If for some reason you do not receive periodic emails from me, please call the school and leave me a voice message with your email address so I may include you.
Absences:
Please notify the office if your child will be absent. If you want to request the day's assignments, please do so by noon so I have ample time to collect necessary materials. If your child will be out for several days, whether due to sickness or vacation, please give me plenty of notice to put together work for your child.
Classroom Behavior:
At the beginning of the year, students will help create a list of expectations that are necessary to a productive learning environment. Students who are interfering with the learning of others, or who make poor judgments about their behavior, will have a consequence determined by me. Usually this means a private conversation to discuss my concerns, but could result in an email to parents, loss of recess, conference with parents, or others. In the event that a student breaks a more significant school rule, students may receive a standard school-wide discipline form. If, during the school year a student receives 3 such notices, detention will be assigned. This is held after school in the principal's office.