Paper Bridge Building STEM Lab
Hi 4th Grade Families,
I am so looking forward to meeting with each of you at conferences this week! :) It is hard to believe that 1/3 of the year is already over. I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving with your families. This Thanksgiving I am reminded how grateful I am to be a part of this community. I am so thankful that I get to teach your children everyday! They bring a lot of joy into my life.
Sorry for the long, wordy newsletter today- I just want to keep you all in the loop!
Behavior
After a busy first trimester, it was very clear to me that 4th grade behavior needs to be reined in and we need a reminder of appropriate behavior in the classroom and on the playground.
The 4th grade had a long class meeting this morning where we reviewed all of our class and school rules and expectations. In the beginning of the school year the students determined that our class rules would be: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Kind, Be Honest & Responsible, and Try Your Best.
This morning we reminded ourselves exactly what it means to be safe, kind, respectful, honest and responsible. We discussed very specifically what this should look like. Some of the big take-aways that I hope they got from the meeting are:
We also talked about consequences. If students are not following school and class rules they will receive an oops slip. An oops slip can be given by any staff member on campus. This is a warning. If a student receives two oops slips in a trimester, parents will be notified. If a student receives 3 or more oops slips in a trimester they will have to serve detention after school. If there continues to be a pattern of this behavior, a parent- teacher conference will be in order.
I appreciate your support of our school policies and rules. Please continue this conversation at home. I hope this conversation and explanation of rules and consequences results in better behavior on the playground and in the classroom.
Report Cards will be going home during parent-teacher conferences this week.
I was very lenient in accepting late work this trimester because it is the students' first trimester using gradelink and receiving letter grades. I know that it can be a big adjustment. I hope that students make it a habit of checking their gradelink each week from now on so that there will not be any problems in the future. A great routine is looking at graded work and then checking gradelink together (when it goes home on Wednesday).
I graded over 50 late assignments and re-take tests in the past 2 weeks. I also threw away over 15 no name papers that students should have gotten credit for.
I WILL NOT be so lenient 2nd and 3rd trimester. Please see my homework and late work policy on my website.
Book Reports- I recommend that students plan to finish their classic novels during the Thanksgiving Break. Their next book report is due December 11th. This project has many pieces to it and will take a long time. Students should allow themselves 2 weeks to complete it. We went over the project a few weeks ago in class. I passed out the guidelines and rubric and they are also posted on my website.
SJA Canned Food Drive ends this Friday! Please send in non perishable items with your child to support this cause.
Social Studies Screencast- the class did an AWESOME job on their Native American screencasts. If you have not seen your child's project yet, please ask them to show you. I was very impressed by their presentations!!
The Scholastic Book Fair is open before and after school this week! Students can also bring money to shop during their library time on Wednesday.
PE uniforms- I know it is getting colder, so this is just a reminder that students may wear solid blue or grey sweatpants on PE days. Leggings, or any other colors will not be accepted and will result in an oops slip. Sweatshirts should have an SJA logo on them.
I've been noticing that many of the boys are not wearing belts and have been lazy about tucking in their shirts. I've also been seeing nail polish on a lot of the girls. Please see the handbook if you have any questions on proper uniform attire.
Math Extra Credit Opportunity- I gave the class an optional extra credit opportunity that needs to be turned in before Friday at 8:00. They can earn up to 5% credit toward their math test this week.
Coming Up
Chapter 4 Math Test is this Friday
Spelling Test this Friday
Grammar Quiz on Nouns this Friday
Peacemaker Awards this Friday!
Noon Dismissal W-F this week for parent-teacher conferences.
I am so looking forward to meeting with each of you at conferences this week! :) It is hard to believe that 1/3 of the year is already over. I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving with your families. This Thanksgiving I am reminded how grateful I am to be a part of this community. I am so thankful that I get to teach your children everyday! They bring a lot of joy into my life.
Sorry for the long, wordy newsletter today- I just want to keep you all in the loop!
Behavior
After a busy first trimester, it was very clear to me that 4th grade behavior needs to be reined in and we need a reminder of appropriate behavior in the classroom and on the playground.
The 4th grade had a long class meeting this morning where we reviewed all of our class and school rules and expectations. In the beginning of the school year the students determined that our class rules would be: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Kind, Be Honest & Responsible, and Try Your Best.
This morning we reminded ourselves exactly what it means to be safe, kind, respectful, honest and responsible. We discussed very specifically what this should look like. Some of the big take-aways that I hope they got from the meeting are:
- We need to keep our hands and bodies to ourselves.
- We need to treat others the way we want to be treated.
- We need to take responsibility for our actions.
- We need to treat all adults on campus with respect by being good listeners and following directions the first time we're asked.
- We need to be prepared for class everyday by turning in our homework on time, being in proper uniform and having everything that we need for class.
We also talked about consequences. If students are not following school and class rules they will receive an oops slip. An oops slip can be given by any staff member on campus. This is a warning. If a student receives two oops slips in a trimester, parents will be notified. If a student receives 3 or more oops slips in a trimester they will have to serve detention after school. If there continues to be a pattern of this behavior, a parent- teacher conference will be in order.
I appreciate your support of our school policies and rules. Please continue this conversation at home. I hope this conversation and explanation of rules and consequences results in better behavior on the playground and in the classroom.
Report Cards will be going home during parent-teacher conferences this week.
I was very lenient in accepting late work this trimester because it is the students' first trimester using gradelink and receiving letter grades. I know that it can be a big adjustment. I hope that students make it a habit of checking their gradelink each week from now on so that there will not be any problems in the future. A great routine is looking at graded work and then checking gradelink together (when it goes home on Wednesday).
I graded over 50 late assignments and re-take tests in the past 2 weeks. I also threw away over 15 no name papers that students should have gotten credit for.
I WILL NOT be so lenient 2nd and 3rd trimester. Please see my homework and late work policy on my website.
Book Reports- I recommend that students plan to finish their classic novels during the Thanksgiving Break. Their next book report is due December 11th. This project has many pieces to it and will take a long time. Students should allow themselves 2 weeks to complete it. We went over the project a few weeks ago in class. I passed out the guidelines and rubric and they are also posted on my website.
SJA Canned Food Drive ends this Friday! Please send in non perishable items with your child to support this cause.
Social Studies Screencast- the class did an AWESOME job on their Native American screencasts. If you have not seen your child's project yet, please ask them to show you. I was very impressed by their presentations!!
The Scholastic Book Fair is open before and after school this week! Students can also bring money to shop during their library time on Wednesday.
PE uniforms- I know it is getting colder, so this is just a reminder that students may wear solid blue or grey sweatpants on PE days. Leggings, or any other colors will not be accepted and will result in an oops slip. Sweatshirts should have an SJA logo on them.
I've been noticing that many of the boys are not wearing belts and have been lazy about tucking in their shirts. I've also been seeing nail polish on a lot of the girls. Please see the handbook if you have any questions on proper uniform attire.
Math Extra Credit Opportunity- I gave the class an optional extra credit opportunity that needs to be turned in before Friday at 8:00. They can earn up to 5% credit toward their math test this week.
Coming Up
Chapter 4 Math Test is this Friday
Spelling Test this Friday
Grammar Quiz on Nouns this Friday
Peacemaker Awards this Friday!
Noon Dismissal W-F this week for parent-teacher conferences.
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