Dear Parents, August 22, 2016
I am so excited to start our new year and to have your child in my class. I have been teaching fourth grade at Chaney-Monge for fourteen years and just love it! Fourth grade is a year of additional responsibility and as your student matures, more will be added.I believe that as very important members of your child’s educational team, the more we worktogether the more your child will benefit. I hope you are willingfollow theareas labeled "Parents will" and I thank you in advance.
Planners Teacher will: initial once student has written assignedhomework (HW) or what we did in class with notes/reminders on bottom. InA.M. will look for parent's signature, give for student showing responsibility and give rewards for earned at the end of each month
Student will: complete planner correctly writing HWor what we did in class, include notes/reminders, at home show parent HW and planner, complete HW then ask parent to sign planner, put HW back in folder, show teacher planner in A.M., get and rewards each month
Parents will: read planner, check folder for HW in each subject, read notes/reminders, sign planner once HW is complete and checked by parent, help remind student to place HW back in folder, see on student's face when rewarded
Homework Teacher will: explain, assign, help with and give time to start - in am will check in and keep track of HW on HW charts in room, teacher will keep track of weekly HW reward cards, will assign HW 5 or 10 points depending on the length of assignment, check and correct all papers to see how well lessons arebeing learned, explain all projects that have rubrics and points.
Students will: try their best on all HW, if unsure willask for help from teacher, parent or another person but will not ask for the answers, put allHW in communicator/take-home folder, bring hometo be checked by parent and PUT BACK in folder - in A.M. bring to school, turn in HW, earn 's and rewards
Parents will:expect students to bring homeHW that was written in planner (you can come back to school to get the homework as long as an adult is with the student), check HW and help ifneeded, have student correct errors, encourage good work, remind student to put HW back in folder and in backpack
Note about HW: It is expected that students will complete HW every night to be turned in the next daysince HW is for practice of a skill or concept. It is very important that they do not fall behind as most subjects build on the lesson from the day before. As a courtesy to family time, I rarely give homework on Friday.In all,homework should take no more than 40-60 minutes to complete. If it is taking longer, please let me know right away and I will offer suggestions to help keep time shorter.Some students finish HW in school, butthey are still expected to bring it home to be checked. If students need help andyou are not surewhat is expected, please contact me and I will explain it to them in the am.I do keep the weekly Spelling list up on ourclass link on the school website chaneymonge.usjust in case.
Monday Mail:Teacher will: keep graded papers which will be sent home weekly in Monday Mail folder so that parents are not filtering through papers every night.
Students will: show parents all papers, look over HW and read teacher comments, ask parent to sign Monday Mail folder to show they looked over papers and to earn chance ticket to be used for rewards, return folder on Tuesday
Parent will: ask student for Monday Mail folder and look over each paper with student, read teacher comments, sign on line by Monday's date and help student remember to return folder on Tuesday
Grading Teacher will: grade papers fairly and in a timely manner, provide specific feedback, send graded HW home in Monday Mail folders, send quizzes, tests and projects home once graded, enter grades in the computer so parents may view grades from the parent link on the school website, take participation into consideration as well as work completed on time, offer extra credit, use study guides and give advance notice of tests, assign 5 or 10 points to HW, 25 points to quizzes and 50 pointsto tests, will stamp with "please sign" on a "D" or"F" test to keep parents informed of these grades
Students will: do their best to earn the best grade possible, show parents graded papers fromMonday Mail folder,get tests signed that earned "D" or "F" and bring them back to school the next day, read all teacher feedback and make suggested changes
Parents will: check HW after student completes it, have student fix any errors, read over gradedpapers, sign tests that earned "D" or "F", keep up on grades through parent web module (chaneymonge.us)
Rewards Students have many opportunities to earn rewards in my classroom. These can be earned when 5 HW assignments are turned in on time, they show “Good Character”, turn in all their HW on time for a week, get their planner or Monday Mail folder signed, or when the whole class earns something extra special (such as all A’s on a test or quiz, all HW in on time for the week). Some of the rewards they earn are small prize, piece of candy, larger prize from prize box, ½ HW pass, lunch with the teacher, extra free reading time or computer time or use cushioned chair for one subject. There are also larger class rewards such as earning a movie each quarter. Students can also earn rewards for keeping a neat area, working quietly, smooth transitions or following expected line behavior.
I hope I have explained everything you will need to know, but please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Please write a note in your student's planner, call the school (815-722-6673 ext. 115), or email me at (link on website) or through ClassDojo. I will try to get back to you A.S.A.P. I look forward to a wonderful year with your student!
Thank you,
Mrs. Moody
______
Please sign and date to let me know you have read this letter and ask your student to do the same. The whole class will earn their firstreward once all signed slips are returned.
______
Student print your namestudent sign your name (cursive)
______
Parent/guardian signature date