Welcome to the Fourth Grade!

2017-2018

Welcome to the Fourth Grade!

Your son or daughter is excited to share their classroom experience with you. I have put together this handbook to address some of the general procedures in the classroom. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about anything.

Schedule

I have attached our weekly schedule. I will continue to team teach withMr. Sheptyck. We plan our daily lessons together and Mr. Sheptyck will be teaching your child Science three times a week while I teach his students Social Studies.

Grading

In Grade 4, the students’ quizzes/tests are graded with a ratio/fraction. If you wish to convert this to a percentage simply divide the number of correct answers by the total number of problems. The range is as follows: A=90-100%, B=80-89%, C=70-79%, D=60-69%, and F=59% and below.You will notice that some assignments are D.W.T. (Done With Teacher) or C.W.T. (Corrected With Teacher). These are practice papers that help the students see their errors right away. If your child receives below a 70%, I will ask for your signature.

Homework: Agendas/Binders

According to the school committee policy on homework, fourth grade students should spend approximately 30-45 minutes on their homework each night. Homework will usually consist of one math page

(a “Home-Practice page on line) and one spelling job each night except on Fridays.Students will also be asked to read for 20 minutes each night. Spelling will usually follow this schedule; Monday: Writetwo “clue” words for all 20 core-spelling words. Tuesday: Spelling workbook page,Wednesday: Write each spelling word 3 times each, Thursday: study for Friday’s spelling test. Your child will write homework assignments in his/her agenda each day. Homework will also be posted on my website, however, students should rely on their agenda and call a friend as a back up. Agendas will be kept in the student’s binder and should be brought home each day. We will spend time in the classroom the first week setting up our binders. There will be five dividers for five subject areas: Literacy, Math, Science, Social Studies and Spanish. Students will also designate an area in their binder where they will keep notes going home and homework to and from school. Please ask your child to check their binder for important flyers and notes from school.

I have explained the “Homework Book” in the classroom. If a student forgets or doesn’t do his/her homework then they must sign the homework book. Two missed assignments a month will signal that I will become a “homework buddy” with your child. This means that I will initial the student’s agenda unit he/she has handed in homework for five consecutive school days. If a student misses three assignments in one month, I will send a note home notifying you that the assignments were missed and that you need to initial your child’s agenda until he/she has handed in homework for five consecutive school days. Please let me know if you have any concerns.

Independent Reading/Accelerated Reader (A.R.)

Students must read a minimum of two books from the Accelerated Reader list and complete two on-line quizzes independently. As part of nightly homework, your child should read for at least twenty minutes. A.R. books can certainly be part of nightly reading as many of the titles are available in the Duxbury Free Library. Research shows that silent reading time helps kids develop some very intellectual skills such as making predictions. Brain imaging studies show that the reading brain activates critical regions across both hemispheres. Research also shows that the amount of time a child spends listening to parents and other loved ones read continues to be one of the best predictors for later reading habits. A helpful site for finding out the level of a book is

Spelling Routine/Homework

Our spelling routine will usually be the same each week. On Mondays we have a pre-test on twenty regular spelling words and five challenge words. Students will glue their spelling list into their agendas. On Fridays we will have our post- test. Each challenge word will be worth an extra point and students are not penalized if they try the challenge words and miss them. Spelling homework on Monday nights will be to write two “clue” words that would besynonyms for each spelling word. We usually play the Clue game with our own class or with Mr. Sheptyck’s class on Fridays. Clue words may not be proper nouns; they have to be one word and cannot include any form of the spelling word. This game helps students learn how to use a thesaurus and dictionary while having fun! Spelling homework on Tuesday will be a page from the Spelling workbook.. Wednesday’s spelling homework is to write each spelling word 3 times. Thursday night’sspelling homework is to study for Friday’s post- test. Your child may want to write out his/her words on a white board or study by typing them or perhaps by playing a spelling bee game at home. There are some fun spelling games on

Math Homework

Students will be assigned a Homework & Practice page (on-line) from the enVisionmath program each night. Envision Math also has a Family Letter that goes with each topic that parents cankeep at home for reference.

enVision sign- in link:

(students have their username & password in the back of their agenda)

Report Cards

The fourth grade report card is a standards based report card. This means your child is being measured against the state standards for fourth graders. Grades are beginning, developing, approaching and proficient. There are three terms. The report card portal will be open sometime in December, March and on the last day of school.

M.C.A.S./P.A.R.C.C.

The fourth grade state tests usually take place in April for Literacy and in May for Math. Mrs. Whitaker will inform you of the specific dates through the school website.

Passport Club

Passport Clubis an individualized geography program for schools.Its main purpose is to help students learn some, or all of the world's countries over the course of a school year. Students are not graded on Passport Club on their report card, however the program provides an excellent enrichment opportunity for all. This year, Passport Club checks will take place during our library time once a month. More information can be found at:

Conferences

Conferences will be held on half days in October (early release days) for the fall. I will also have optional spring Conferences in April. I hope to also see all of you for Theme Night, which is going to be February 16thfor all fourth graders this year.

Birthdays

A birthday is a very special event in a young child’s life. If you would like to celebrate, please feel free to send a small trinket for the class (23 students). You may leave the trinket (no food items) at the office for your child to pick up. Please note: Summer birthdays can be celebrated on any day selected by you and your child.

Daily Snack/Lunch

A mid-morning snack is a great way to keep up your child’s energy level. Water bottles are allowed at students’ desks but should go home each night to be washed or recycled. Lunch cost $2.50 (cash) or $2.25 (POS). Milk costs $0.55 and water and snacks cost $0.95. To sign up for a lunch account you can go to the District web site . Please put any loose money in an envelope or baggie. Loose money is easily lost in the classroom. We also welcome donations of pretzels or crackers for students who forget.

Book Orders

I send home a book order from Scholastic Book Club every month. This is a completely optional way to obtain books for your child quite inexpensively. Please place your orders in an envelope labeled with both my name and your child’s name. Checks should be made out to: Scholastic Book Club. No cash, please. You may wish to enter your order electronically instead. Simply go to and enter my class code H64YX.

Volunteers

Opportunities to help include: assisting in the art room, library, computer lab, field trips and special celebrations. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up at Open House.The Homeroom Parents will be contacting you to set up the volunteer schedule. Please note that all volunteers must be CORI cleared before helping in the building or on class trips. Contact the main office for further information on CORI forms.

Classroom Management

On our first day we discuss what rules we think we need to have a great year together. We will brainstorm a list of classroom rules and everyone will sign it as our “Constitution.” If a student breaks any of the class rules they will be asked to put a check in the “Oops” Book. Three checks in oneday results in a note being sent home for a parent signature. The “Oops” Book is private. It is not meant to embarrass but just helps students to get back on track. Should your child receive a note, please understand that he/she needed to be spoken to at least three times that day about following the agreed upon classroom rules. We are asking for your support in reinforcing the importance of following rules and striving to do your best. At note home needs to be signed by an adult family member and returned to school the next day.

“Catching Them Doing Good!”

Our team also frequently uses positive behavioral interventions and supports to reward class success at meeting behavioral expectations and individual student success for demonstrating excellent classroom behavior. Our class can also earn the letters to spell out the word Compliments. We earn these letters from our behavior as a class in the school hallways, lunchroom, and at specials. Finally, Alden Dragon Deeds are given out for individual effort. Shifting the focus to the good behaviorminimizes behavioral problems and increases quality academic time for all students!

Absences:

A note from our assistant principal: "Excused absence notes may behandwrittenand sent in with the student or emailed to the school nurse, Kathy Carney, at.

In the case of excessive excused absences, the school may ask for further documentation from a physician. An email to the child's teacher will not result in that absence being changed to excused. In order for it to be an excused absence, you must hand write a note or email the school nurse."

From Mr. E on May 12, 2017

Communication

My email is . I try to check my email a few times a day but sometimes on a hectic day, I do not get to it until after dismissal. IMPORTANT: If you are making changes to your child’s dismissal plan, you must send in a note or call the office directly. The school phone number is: 781-934-7630

Our class website may be accessed by the following steps:

1. Go to:

.2.Click on “Teacher Pages” on the top

.3.Scroll down to Geigle, Laura

Homework assignments are there as well as useful sites.

We will also hold conferences in October. At that time I will go over your child’s progress and answer any questions you may have. There will also be optional conferences in the spring. Please contact me if you have a question or concern.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year with your children! Thank you for promoting your child’s success in fourth grade!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Laura Geigle

The excerpt below was taken from the State Laws on Family Engagement in Education Reference Guide obtained from

“Children in grades k-3 whose parents participate in school activities have good work habits and stay on task. Children whose parents provide support with homework perform better in the classroom. Children whose parents explain educational tasks are more likely to participate in class, seek help from the teachers when needed, and monitor their own work.”