Absences:  Attendance is very important!  Your child’s progress, both academically and socially, is greatly influenced by daily participation.  If your child misses school due to an illness or emergency, please call the school, e-mail me, or send in a note the next day.  All absences are considered unexcused unless the school is notified. 

Accelerated Reader (AR):  AR is a motivational reading program that allows your child to take quizzes after reading books approximately 3 times, unless it's a chapter book. After feeling confident with the story, they will take a comprehension quiz on the computer. Students accumulate points as they pass each test.  Every nine weeks I will set a goal for your child.  If their goal is met, they will attend a school-wide AR party at the end of the grading period.  I encourage children to read a variety of books, not only AR books.  This is why this program is optional, but used as a motivational tool. No grades will be taken from this program.

Arrival:     The first bell will ring each morning at 7:45, and instruction will begin promptly at 7:50 (when the tardy bell rings).    If your children arrive at school later than 7:50, please walk with them to the office to sign them in and get a tardy slip. Please help ensure that your child arrives at school on time and prepared for class.  Before school begins, students will go to the P.E. pavilion or the cafeteria (if it is raining or if your child eats breakfast on campus).  Here they will be supervised by designated staff members until the school day begins.  Classrooms will not be open before 7:45 a.m. because teachers often have morning conferences or pre-school planning.  Therefore, please request and schedule all conferences with me in advance. 

Birthdays:  Please contact me prior to your child’s birthday if you plan on bringing in a birthday snack to share with the class. Students may share their special snack during our class’s lunch time or during outside recess.  Birthday snacks should be cookies or cupcakes only (no cakes, please) and possibly juice boxes or CapriSuns. Students are not allowed to hand out invitations at school, unless all of the students in the class are invited.

Breakfast:  Research show that children who eat breakfast learn and perform better than those who do not.  So please be sure your child eats breakfast daily.  Our school cafeteria serves breakfast ($1.25) every day from 7:15 -7:45 a.m.  Students who will be eating breakfast at school should go to the cafeteria as soon as they arrive at school.  This will allow teachers to begin their daily instruction on time.

Behavior Management:   I work hard to create a positive environment of friendship and respect in my classroom.  I will be helping students learn the importance of making responsible choices everyday. Throughout the day, I will reward students who make good choices in class by giving them tickets.  Students will write their names on the tickets and place them in the designated ticket container.  At the end of each day, I will draw a ticket from the container and the winning student will be able to choose a prize from the treasure chest.   

In order to monitor student behavior, I will use a stoplight system.  If students display great behavior all day, their clips will remain on the green light.  If students display undesirable behaviors or do not make responsible choices, I will give them a verbal warning.  The next time I have to speak to the same student(s) about their behavior, they will move to the yellow light and have a 5 minute time-out during recess.  If students move their clips to the red light, they will lose all of recess.  If a student misbehaves after the clip is on the red light, he/she will receive a parent alert.  Behavior Report Sheets will be sent home in the Friday Folder each week, and parents will be asked to sign them in order to communicate that they are aware of their child’s behavior during that week.

Conferencing:   Communication between teachers and parents/guardians is crucial to a child’s educational success.  Please do not ever hesitate to call or e-mail me if you have any questions or concerns.  Your thoughts and concerns are very important to me, and, for that reason, I want to give you my undivided attention (which I cannot do during the regular school day when students are in the classroom).  If you would like to schedule a conference, please fill out the Conference Request Form on our class website.

Dismissal:   We will start dismissing our class around 1:50 p.m. each day.  If your child is a car rider, you must have a car sign provided by PTA, or you will be asked to park and check the student out in the office. This is for the safety of our students!  If you need to change your child’s afternoon transportation plans, please send a written note to school with him/her or call the school office prior to 1:00 p.m. that day.  If you send me an e-mail about last-minute transportation changes, I may not receive the message prior to the end of the day.  If your child needs to leave school before the regular dismissal time, you must go to the office to sign him/her out. Our secretary will call for your child to meet you in the office.

Field Trips: We are planning to go on field trips during the school year that are both fun and educational for the children.  Permission slips will be sent home in advance, informing you of all the details regarding the trip.  Please return permission slips and money as soon as possible once they are sent home. We will often request parent volunteers to chaperone field trips. Please mark the field trip form if you are available to chaperone. Remember you must be an approved volunteer to chaperone.

Friday Folders:    Folders will go home every Friday and will include behavior reports, graded work, miscellaneous information, and newsletters (always on colored paper).  Please read our weekly newsletter to stay informed about what we are doing in class.  You will notice that the two pockets of the Friday Folder are labeled “Keep at Home” and “Return to School”.  Please read through all of the information in both pockets, sign any papers that might be stamped, and return necessary papers to school the following Monday. 

Grades:     Parents/Guardians will be able to review their child’s grades weekly, as all graded assessments are sent home in the Friday Folder.  Progress reports are sent home at the halfway point of each nine-week grading period. Progress reports are designed to reflect the progress your child is making toward the grade level expectations for that nine-week marking period.  Report cards are sent home every nine weeks at the end of the grading period.  Please also see our class’s Grading Policy page.

Homework:  Students should expect to read 20 minutes each night at home (please refer to the RAH section).  Students will also have math homework each night (please refer to the Math section).  Additionally, students will be expected to study for spelling, vocabulary, and other tests at home.  Special projects/tasks may be assigned periodically, but students will be given advance notice. 

Other than this, I generally do not assign much homework.  I believe that homework should serve a specific purpose.  Therefore, students may be assigned additional homework when they need extra practice or assistance from parents.  For example, if students perform poorly on a spelling test, they may be assigned spelling homework the following week in order to help them practice and study their words.

Homework will be collected each morning.  If homework is not complete when it is collected, students will lose recess time.  I understand that your children are busy people, and they are often involved in many extra-curricular activities in the evenings.  However, it is very important for students to complete homework as assigned. 

Homework Folders:   Homework Folders will go home each day and will contain school work, Reading At Home (RAH) logs, notes from the office, etc. for you to review with your child. At times, some items may need to be signed and returned to school, as well!  Students should place completed homework inside their Homework Folders each night, and bring these folders back to school each morning.

Lunch:     Our class lunch time is 11:45 - 12:15. The price of school lunch is $2.00. You may put money in your child’s lunch account by visiting the cafeteria or sending money with your child (in a properly marked envelope, please). You are always welcome to come join your child for lunch.  However, please meet us in the cafeteria.

Math:  We will be using our newly adopted Harcourt GO MATH! Series. Each day, we will have a time of whole group math instruction, as well practice during small group stations.  During the whole group time, the students will learn a new mathematical concept as we complete the practice worksheets together.  After each lesson, they will complete an “On Your Own” practice page, and we will check this together.  These math pages will be sent home each day so that parents can see the concept learned that day.  Students will also have another math practice page to complete for homework each night, unless they were able to complete this in class.  Math tests will be given at the end of each chapter, and Benchmark Assessments will be given after correlating standards have been covered.  The students’ GO MATH! textbook and lessons can be reviewed online at anytime.  Please look for the link on our classroom website.

Reading At Home (RAH): Twenty minutes of reading is required each night, except for on the weekends. Students may select their choice of reading material, or complete Guided Reading assignments at night to count towards their RAH minutes.  RAH minutes will be recorded each day, and parents must initial each entry in the reading log.  Any entries not signed by parents will not be counted.

Reading Buddies: The students in Mrs. Ramsey's Pre-K class will be our reading buddies on Friday mornings.

Reading Curriculum-Harcourt StoryTown (Basal Textbook): We will be using our basal readers as our shared reading for the whole class. Students will be taking story-related tests which require them to answer comprehension and story element questions. We will also focus on the major skills taught in each story.  Students will be encouraged to use their books to look back at the text for context clues and answers as they complete daily activities and weekly tests. My goal is to help students become aware that looking back at the text is a sure way to eliminate most mistakes on reading tests.  Students may also read and review the weekly story online, using the link provided on our website.  Because students are encouraged to utilize their textbooks during assessment, retakes will not be allowed on reading tests.

Reading Curriculum - Guided Reading: Fiction and Non-Fiction readings in small groups will be guided by group discussions, questions and promptings from me. This is a time for explicit comprehension and skill instruction based on the individual needs of students. I will be keeping anecdotal records on the progress and skills of each student during this time.  At times, students may also be participating in novel studies, or Book Clubs, during guided reading.

Scholastic Books:  Throughout the year, I will send home Scholastic Book Club fliers and students will be able to order books from them. The Scholastic Book Club is a great way to help foster your child’s love for reading and to help your home libraries grow. Not only does it benefit your child, but it also helps our classroom accumulate bonus points.  I can then use our bonus points to purchase classroom books and other great resources and materials!  I will enroll our class so that parents can order books online through Scholastic’s website.  You can also send the order form back to me at school, but please make all checks payable to Scholastic Book Clubs.

Snacks:     Since our class has a late lunch this year, we will have time for students to eat a snack during class.  If students would like to eat a snack each day, they should bring something that is easy to eat.  Snack will be eaten while we work. 

Spelling and Vocabulary: This year we will be using the spelling and vocabulary word lists that go along with our Harcourt Reading Series. Spelling words for each week will be based on word families and patterns that are seen within our reading series.  The vocabulary words will also be taken from our weekly reading selection.  Both lists will be sent home on Mondays and tests will be given on Fridays.  Even though we will work with spelling and vocabulary words in class daily, students will also need to practice these words at home in order to study for the tests.

Volunteers: We love our volunteers!  We will need parents to help with filing papers, copying, helping with special activities, chaperoning on field trips, etc.  Whether you can volunteer on a regular basis or just on special occasions, please fill out and return the volunteer form that went home in the orientation folder.   There are many ways you can help us out throughout the year. Also, please note that a Bay County School Volunteer Application must be filled out two weeks prior to volunteering at school OR chaperoning on a field trip.

Writing:    Each day, I will be using the 6 + 1 Traits Writing Model as I give writing instruction. This model teaches the seven areas that are essential to good writing: Ideas, Organization Voice, Sentence Fluency, Word Choice, Conventions, and Presentation. Students will work on completing writings during our Writing Workshop time each day.  Student-writing pieces will be graded according to the traits and skills that have been recently taught. As the year progresses, students will be responsible for demonstrating mastery of more traits, but not until they have been taught how to use those traits in their writing. Writings will be based on a combination of narrative and expository prompts, as well as creative writings. During each nine-week grading period, students will complete “Patronis Writes”, which is a timed writing on an FCAT-like prompt. This will help students become comfortable demonstrating the skills they have learned under time constraints.  At school, students will be able to get teacher and peer editing advice. Students may also periodically bring home their weekly writings so that they can receive feedback from parents/guardians. These writings will come home accompanied by a list of skills being assessed.  Each graded writing will be sent home so that parents/guardians are aware of writing grades.