Welcome to 6th Grade Open House!

Monday, August 18, 2014

@ Chapman Elementary 440-572-7140

Mrs. Christine Fitzgerald

(Be sure to include the “c” after Fitzgerald)

440-268-5312

Ms. Miriam Klein

440-268-5311

Mr. Dean Mates

440-268-5316

Dear Parents,

I am pleased and excited that your child will be in my class. I am looking forward to and anticipating many special learning experiences with your child. Though I am not new to the Chapman Community, I may be new to some families and would like to share a little about myself personally and professionally. My husband and I graduated from OhioStateUniversity. We have lived in Strongsville for the last seventeen years. We have been blessed with two boys. Sean is going into tenth grade and Joel is going into ninth.

I began my teaching career in Columbus, Ohio, spent some time in Chicago, Illinois, then moved to the Cleveland area and taught briefly in a parochial middle school before having my 2 children. For the last 6 years I have enjoyed working with Strongsville students and I am looking forward to working with and getting to know your student better.

My goal is to meet each child where he or she is learning and through a variety of experiences help your child to grow. Your child will acquire many different problem solving strategies as we work and learn together and I will provide a program that adheres to the common core state standards.

Our communication with each other is essential to the positive growth and development of your child. Please email or call me with any questions or concerns you may have so that together we can ensure your student is learning to the best of their ability. The phone number at Chapman is 440.572.7140 and my email address is . I look forward to working with you to make this a successful and memorable year for your child.

Sincerely,

Christine Fitzgerald

We Learn…

10% of what we read

20% of what we hear

30% of what we see

70% of what is discussed with others

80% of what we experience personally

95%of what we TEACH someone else

Sixth Grade Parent Meeting

Monday, Aug. 18, 2014

I. Welcome

**If your child is in my homeroom, PLEASE sign up for a fall conference prior to 9/30 using my website if you would like a conference with me.

**Fill out the parent contact/student information sheeton my website as soon as possible & sign up for Remind101 if you would like to receive quick reminders via text.

II. Class schedule

Monday / Music with Mrs. Koch / 9:15 – 9:50
Tuesday / Art with Mrs. Sigan / 9:15 – 10:20
Wednesday / PE with Mr. Lewandowski / 9:15 – 9:50
Thursday / Music with Mrs. Koch / 9:15 – 9: 50
Friday / PE with Mr. Lewandowski / 10:30 – 11:10
Daily / Recess & Lunch / 12:20 – 1:20
Quarterly / Book project due dates
More information will be given about this to your student by the second week of each nine weeks. / Tentative Dates:
Friday, Oct. 3rd
Friday, Dec. 12th
Friday, March 13th
Friday, May 22nd

III. Communication – The best way to reach me is by , but if you have an emergency between 8:30 – 4:00please call the school office @ 572-7140 and let them know so I can be informed about your child’s needs. Also, I have a website on that I will update with daily homework, upcoming dates/events. You can get to the class website by logging onto strongnet.org, click on schools (Chapman), then teachers (Fitzgerald). Please know that SS, LA, Math need to be written down in the students’ Assignment NB as these my not get updated daily.

  1. Assignment note books
  • Look for this notebook to come home every night
  • Please do not write notes in the Assignment notebook, it is helpful to have any questions written on a separate sheet of paper. I will answer as soon as possible, by writing back or a phone call to the phone number you provide.
  1. Interims/report cards
  • Grades are now available for you to see at any time on Powerschool. Just go to click on information, then Powerschool parent/student sign-in button, and enter your student’s username and password. Please see Mrs. Spokane in the office if you have not already created a Powerschool account for your student(s). She can provide you with a temporary password.

IV. Homework – Homework is assigned for many reasons. It helps reinforce concepts learned in class, prepares students for upcoming lessons, and teaches responsibility as well as time management skills.

Homework is assigned on a daily basis. It includes reading, studying vocabulary words (all subjects), and working on assignments in different subject areas.

Homework should take students 60 minutes to complete. Please remember that not all students work at the same rate, so some students will spend more time and some will spend less.

A check of the assignment notebook by a parent will be especially helpful at the beginning of the year to establish and build organization and responsibility.

Homework is expected to be turned in on time. If projects are turned in one day late, a student will earn partial credit. The grade is lowered by one letter grade each day it is late after the third day; the student will earn no credit. Assignments will be due on the date assigned unless a student is ill or there is an emergency. In case of an EMERGENCY, a note from home explaining the circumstances is all that is needed to get a new assignment date. Students need to begin to realize that schoolwork comes before extracurricular activities and therefore, extracurricular activities will not be accepted as an excuse for non-completion of assignments.

V. Tests - I try to give at least 4 days notice for unit tests and 2 days for short quizzes. Days assessments are given will vary depending on the length of the school week and any extra activities/assemblies that might interfere with the typical school schedule.

VI. Grading–In sixth grade, letter grades are given for all subjects including Art, Music, and Gym. Grades are based on a combination of things including class work, homework, effort, cooperation, participation, projects and tests. Not every item that students complete will be graded. However, all class work and homework does have a purpose.

VII. Sixth Grade Curriculum

  1. Vocabulary – Wordly Wise Workbook and Core Class Text Books

Building vocabulary is very important to comprehension, fluency and writing skills. We will work on building vocabulary throughout the school day in all subject areas.

B. Reading – Mrs. Fitzgerald

  • Shared reading – Harcourt Text and Novels at varied levels and genres
  • Guided reading – leveled passages, novels and literature in a small group,
  • Independent reading – Various projects will be assigned with novels – one per quarter. Students should have a book to read in class at all times.
  • Read aloud – teacher read aloud to model use of good reading strategies and expose students to additional vocabulary
  • Mini lessons – focusing on strategies to become a better reader, speaker and audience member as well as crafting well written responses to various forms of reading and the types of questions they may encounter depending on the genre they are reading.
  • – A website that assess students where they are at, determines gaps and helps students grow at their own pace

C. Science and Health – Mrs. Fitzgerald

  • First, Second, Third and part of Fourth Quarter – We will be using a new science series for our text: Pearson Interactive Sciencethat aligns with Ohio state standards as well has additional hand outs and mini projects
  • May - June we will cover human growth and development in health
  • Student science book website can be accessed by going to and clicking on the “grades” tab in the upper right corner
  • Login and password are individualized for each student and connected to the Powerschool grade book system.

D. Social Studies/ LA(grammar/ writing/spelling)– Ms. Klein

E. Math – Mr. Mates

  • Everyday Mathematics
  • Some math websites for practice –


VIII. Discipline

Rules – posted in class and in the school handbook

**Students are to respect one another. I also stress responsibility for their actions, including homework and behavior. Other behaviors expected of sixth graders are:

1. Be prepared for class with supplies and homework

2. Be respectful of others and all school property

3. Follow directions, as well as keep hands to self, and be safe

4. Listensilentlywhile others are speaking and work quietly

5. Give your best effort

  1. Rewards – individual praise, candy,whole class rewards for meeting a class set goal
  1. Consequences – Failure to follow school rules will result in consequences ranging from a warning, to missed recess time, to parent phone contact, etc. Students may also be required to complete a Think Sheet that will need to besigned by a parent and returned. A Think Sheet requires the student to reflect on their actions and come up with alternative solutions to solve the problem they created for themselves or others.

IX. Other Information

  1. Special to Me Board - Students may bring a picture of something special to them to hang up on the “Special to Me” board at any time. This includes family, pets, awards (newspaper clippings), or special vacation / memory. Please encourage students to share any special moments that occur in extracurricular activities throughout the school year.
  1. Arrival / Departure
  • School begins at 9:05 am. Students arriving before 8:50 am do not have any supervision.
  • Your child’s school day ends at 3:25 pm. If your child is being picked up or taking another means of transportation home after school, please send a note or call the office at 572-7140. I am not usually able to check email between the hours of 8:45 – 3:45.
  1. Absences
  • Notify the school office (572-7140) that your child will not be in school.
  • If you would like the homework sent home with a sibling or neighbor let the office know before Noon. Otherwise a list of work missed up will be on their desk upon return to the classroom.
  • # days absent equals the # of days available to make up missed work
  1. Snacks
  • Students may bring ONEnutritious snack each day. No chips, candy, or drinks other than water permitted. NO BUYING SNACKS UNLESS DONE BEFORE 9:05AM
  • If a snack requires a spoon like yogurt or applesauceplease send one. Students must be able to clean up after themselves
  1. Birthday Treats - Treats are always welcome! Please send in treats pre-cut or prepackaged. If your child has a summer birthday, they are welcome to celebrate their half birthday.
  2. NO NUT products please.
  1. Testing - The Achievement tests will cover only Reading and Math in April. It is extremely important that your child is present to take all parts of the test;otherwise they will miss classroom instruction while making up the test upon return to school. Iowa tests take place over a five day period in October and are an assessment of where students are academically at the beginning of sixth grade as well as one of the tools used for determining which students should be challenged beyond grade level material in seventh grade.
  1. Volunteers – Our sixth grade curriculum follows the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) model please feel free to contact me if you have any special knowledge or talents that can help us in any of our units of study. If you have any contacts for guest speakers that might be appropriate for our students, please let us know. Thank you!
  1. Band and Orchestra
  • Lessons are during class time – 30 minutes per week. Students are responsible for getting information or assignments missed by either coming in during recess or speaking with a responsible fellow classmate, but not during instruction of another class.
  1. Field Trip – to Albion Middle School in May
  1. Questions???

THANK YOU FOR COMING!!!