Parent Night
Sign Up Sheets Available Before You Leave
1. Sign up on PTO class party list
2. Sign up for St. Lucia duties
3. Volunteer to bring a snack for state assessments this spring
Papers to Send Back With Your Child
1. Fourth Grade Discipline Policy
2. Internet Usage
What Will be the Same About 4th Grade?
Birthdays: Your child may bring a small treat for his/her birthday. You do not need to contact me ahead of time. Just send the treat in the morning with your child, and we will enjoy the snack sometime during the day. Please see the attached “Healthy Snack” handout for treat ideas that will promote healthy eating. Most often, we have birthday treats during our milk break time, when most students receive milk or juice. If your child has a summer birthday, June birthdays are celebrated in February, July birthdays in March, and August birthdays in September.
Book Orders: I will send home orders approximately three times during the year. Orders will be sent home at the beginning of the year, before Christmas, and again in the spring. If you are ordering books as gifts, please indicate that on the order and I will contact you (phone or e-mail) when the order arrives. If you would like to order books, please make checks payable to the book company.
Church School: Fourth graders have the opportunity to participate in the optional church school program. Church school begins in early September. Those students not participating in church school will spend the time reading, reviewing math skills in a variety of ways, or another alternative activity.
Computers: Third and fourth graders will be assigned a laptop to use while at school. In addition to the enclosed technology policy, specific guidelines and procedures concerning computer usage will be discussed with students by a member of the technology team.
Homework: We are using agenda books as an organizational tool for homework and general announcements. Agenda books do not need to be signed, but I do check to make sure students are recording their work. Homework should always be done in pencil. Your child should have a brief homework assignment reviewing a skill, usually in math or spelling. In addition to the math and spelling, students may bring home other unfinished work. Those not finishing homework at home, will have the opportunity to complete it at 12:05 pm each day (recess). If you feel your child is bringing home an excessive amount of homework, please let me know. I have found that students sometimes bring home things that are not intended to be homework but are long-term classroom assignments.For more information about the district’s homework policy, please refer to the student handbook you received at enrollment.
Illness: I will be happy to send homework home with a neighbor or sibling. Please contact the office early in the day to make these arrangements. My planning period is at 9:50, and that is the time I have to pull together work. Students must have a note to stay in for recess or sit out during P.E.
Personal Belongings: In order to keep the classroom and learning environment free from distractions, the fourth grade teachers ask students to leave personal belongings (cell phones, ipods, etc.) at home or in their lockers. It is important for you to know that student lockers do not have locks on them.
RAT PAK: This is a reading incentive program organized by our principal, Mrs. Watson. You have a detailed handout concerning this program.
Physical Education: Students need to wear soft-soled shoes to PE. Shoes not allowed: crocs, cowboy boots, snow boots, sandals, slip-ons, shoes with no backs and flip-flops.
What Will be Different About 4th Grade?
Class Meetings: I use class meetings in a variety of ways. We begin the year with class meetings to establish a classroom community and expectations. Meetings are used throughout the year to solve problems in our classroom and as a time to share.
Conferences: We will have two conferences, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. Our conference in the spring (early April) is a time for your child to share his/her progress in fourth grade. However, we are not limited to these two meetings. Please contact me if you would like to meet to discuss your child’s progress.
Handwriting: We have started the year by reviewing cursive. More and more assignments will be required in cursive. Spelling tests are not completed in cursive, unless a child chooses that option.
Schedule: I have included a copy of our class' schedule to help you. Parents sometimes like to join their children for lunch. Refer to the schedule (11:28) and let the office know if you want to eat a school lunch. If your child needs to leave school during the day for an appointment, the attached schedule will allow you to see what subjects will be missed. Math and reading are the most challenging and time consuming for your child to make-up. If you can avoid scheduling appointments during math and reading, that will help your child a great deal.
Strings: Fourth graders have already had the chance to sign up for strings, and they have been meeting with the strings teacher at the end of each day. The strings teacher will take care of the details concerning instruments, payment for rentals, etc. Please contact Mr. Littich if you have questions. Those students who are not in strings will spend time reading with an adult volunteer, playing math games, working on unfinished items from class, or working on other extension activities.
What Will 4th Graders be Learning?
Geography: The main focus in geography is the regions of the United States. We will concentrate on the natural resources, landforms, climate, industry and agricultural products of these areas. We spend time learning how to study and prepare for tests; students will receive a study guide before each test. Some class time is used to prepare for tests, but your child will also need to study at home. Test dates will be recorded in your child's agenda book.
Science: The three topics that will be covered in science are volcanoes and earthquakes, water, and the solar system. Your child should also study for science tests at home. Test dates will be recorded in your child's agenda book.
Language Arts: The focus in fourth grade is writing well-developed personal stories and paragraphs. We will continue to work on grammar and skills each day as we write.
Math: Smoky Valley’s adopted math series uses a lot of hands on activities to teach students how to solve problems. Many of the methods are different than the ones you and I used in grade school. Please let your child show you the ways he/she has learned to solve math problems. Introducing the ways you learned to do math problems may cause confusion during the learning process. Long division, multiplying big number, fractions, geometry, and measurement are just some of the areas we will study. Fourth graders also spend a lot of time solving word problems. Knowing math facts makes these multiple step problems less cumbersome.
Reading: Students are divided into five reading teams. It is our goal to work together to meet the needs of all students, and help them make maximum growth. Therefore, the reading teachers meet on a weekly basis to discuss student progress. It is not uncommon for the students to move to a different reading team where their needs will be better met. At the end of each nine week grading period, your child will receive a reading progress report (completed by the current reading team teacher) along with a grade card.
Spelling: Students will receive a spelling list on the first day of the week. This list can be used for practice at home. We will study the words throughout the week and work on related skills. Final spelling tests will be on the last day of the school week.
Letter grades: Fourth graders receive letter grades in all academic areas.
A96 - 100C73 - 76
A-90 - 95C-70 - 72
B+87 - 89D+67 - 69
B83 - 86D63 - 66
B-80 - 82D-60 - 62
C+77 - 79F 0 - 59
*Not all assignments are recorded for a grade. For example, when we are learning something new in math, I will not take a grade on work until students have had the opportunity to practice.
How Do I Communicate with Parents?
Occasionally, plans change and you need to get a message to your child. You can do this by contacting the office or emailing me. If you choose to email me directly, I will reply once I have given your child the message. If I do not reply to your message, you will need to contact the office. There are times that I am out of the building, school email is not working, or I simply have not had a chance to be at my computer.
In order to keep you posted on what we are working on here at school and your child’s progress, I send work home throughout the week. Your child has a take home folder to help organize these papers. On every other Friday, the office sends home a note with school wide announcements. Additional notes explaining special class projects will be sent home throughout the year. There are many new things in fourth grade,so if you have questions or concerns about what is going on, please ask! Your child may be able to answer your questions, but if not, don't hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to visit with me about a question or concern, please do not wait for a parent-teacher conference. Instead, send a note/email or leave a phone message in the school office, and I will contact you as quickly as possible (during my planning period, before or after school). I would be more than happy to visit with you in person after school. In order to use this after school meeting efficiently, it will work best if we make plans ahead of time. This will allow me to check my calendar for conflicts and gather relevant materials.
I know that if we all (child, parent, and teacher) work
together, your child will have a wonderful and
successful year in fourth grade.
Mrs. Jennifer Tillberg