Parent Communication

If you need to contact your student’s teacher, please feel free to e-mail any time.

If you need to call, please do so before the start of the school day, after dismissal, or during our planning time, 9:05-9:55. Another great form of communication is to write us a note or email. We will respond as soon as possible. Don’t forget that we also communicate through our classroom newsletters that go home in Friday folders and are posted on our classroom web page.

Daily Homework Folders

Your child will be bringing home a homework folder daily. This folder contains a homework log, which is used for daily parent communication and daily homework assignments. Students will be given time at the end of the day to fill out their log, if it is not already filled out by the teacher. It is their responsibility to fill out the homework log as needed. Also included is a daily behavior indicator. It shows whether your child has met daily behavior expectations. Please initial this homework log each night.

Northern Stars

Fourth Grade Handbook

2012-2013

Meet Your Teachers

Mrs. Cook

Ms. Hunley

Mrs. Young

Mrs. Caudill

Parent Volunteers

Parent volunteers are always welcome and encouraged to come. We can use help to make file folders, games, prepare Friday folders, make copies, or read with a group of students. You could even volunteer to be a guest reader in our classroom, where you could read a book, a selection from a book, or a poem, and share with us why it is your favorite.

It is important to let your student’s teacher know when you are available to come. That way, we can schedule a time, and have materials organized for you. We can contact you via e-mail, phone, or a note in your student’s homework log. Please remember to fill out our volunteer information sheet and return it with your child’s forms.

Thank you so much for your help!

Star Student

Each week, a student who has shown ”Star Student” behavior will be chosen from the class. “Star” behavior includes displaying good manners, helping others, being respectful, making good choices, following classroom rules and procedures, etc. The weekly Star Student will have their poster displayed in the classroom. They will have special jobs in the classroom, write a weekly summary on our classroom blog, and be featured in the weekly newsletter.

Grading Policy

The grading scale is as follows:

92%-100% A

83%-91% B

74%-82% C

65%-73% D

64% and below F

A report card will be sent home every nine weeks to inform you of your student’s progress. In addition, a mid-term will be sent home in order to keep parents up to date. You will be notified of these dates in the weekly Fourth Grade newsletter.

Homework Policy

Homework is assigned Monday through Thursday, and is due the day after it is assigned. We give homework, because it reinforces what has been taught in class, prepares students for upcoming lessons, teaches responsibility and independence, and helps students develop good study habits. These assignments are written, (or previous typed) on their homework log, and reviewed every afternoon before dismissal. Please be sure to check and sign the log every night. This lets us know that you have seen their assigned work. If a student is missing an assignment, this will be indicated on their homework log. They will have five school days to turn in missed work after the due date to receive full credit. If the student has not turned in missed work after the five days, they will receive half credit when the assignment is turned in.

Each night students will have:

Reading (20 minutes)

Reading assignment (10 minutes)

Math ( 5-10 problems)

Spelling practice (10 minutes)

Language, Science, and Kentucky History homework will be assigned as needed.

Friday Folders

Your child’s work will be filed away in a mailbox or folder daily. On Fridays, a blue folder will be sent home to be viewed by parents/guardians. It will contain your child’s work, important information from the school and community, and the Fourth Grade newsletter for the following week. Some of these papers will need to be filled out or signed and brought back to school in this folder on Monday.

Fourth Grade Newsletter

Our Fourth Grade newsletter will be sent home in the Friday folders. It will contain important dates and information. Our newsletter will also include the following week’s objectives for each content area, and the spelling list. Don’t forget that it will also be posted on the classroom webpage! We suggest that you post this newsletter on the refrigerator or any other visible location for easy reference.

Fourth Grade Projects

Independent Science Fair Project (as well as periodic science projects to reflect learning)

Monthly Book Reports (beginning in November or December)

All projects are worth 100 points.

Monthly book reports are worth 50 points.

Webpage

Your child’s teacher will maintain a webpage that posts the weekly newsletter and blog. This will help you to stay informed of what is happening in the classroom weekly. We also include power points, Jeopardy games, and websites to help students prepare and review for assessments. Go to www.scott.kyschools.us, Northern Elementary, Teacher Online Website, then choose your child’s teacher to access their webpage.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Teacher-parent conferences provide an opportunity to increase communication between school and home. By attending conferences, parents stay informed about their child's progress, and develop a plan for their future. Through conferences and involvement, positive relationships will form between home and school.

As always you are welcome to schedule a conference any time you would like to speak with your child’s teacher about their performance or for a general concern. This year our school will be hosting special parent/conference nights.

Remember, education is like a three-legged stool. It takes the parents, student and teacher working together to accomplish the goal!

Raise Money for Your Child’s Classroom!

You can make a difference for our classroom every time you shop for groceries! Just clip the Box Tops coupons from hundreds of your favorite products and send them attached to the Box Top sheet that is regularly sent home in your child’s Friday folder.

When your child returns a sheet of 10 Box Tops, they will get to choose from a reward of one of the following:

1.  Treasure Box Visit

2.  Candy Treat

3.  Reading or Spelling Homework Pass

Behavior Expectations

Fourth Grade

We feel that it is important to have behavior expectations in our classroom to:

  • Facilitate a positive, controlled and predictable learning environment.
  • Identify a common set of rules and consequences.
  • Increase consistent implementation of rewards and consequences.

There are three main components to this system:

  • Expectations
  • Positive Intervention Strategies
  • Consequences

“Most behavior problems in the classroom are caused by the teacher’s failure to teach students how to follow procedures.” The First Days of School, by H. Wong

If you want it, teach it!

My process is:

  • Teach/Model the procedure/behavior.
  • Practice the procedure/behavior for muscle memory.
  • Indicate expectations for behavior before each activity.
  • Reinforce the behaviors positively.
  • Re-teach during a time that is valued by the individual (clinics) if the expected behaviors/procedures are not followed.
  • If a student does not need to practice a procedure/behavior for the entire week, they are eligible to be Star Student for the following week.
  • This process works! However, it does help when teachers and parents work together and form a support system.
  • Homework is also an important part of our student’s day. We need your help to make sure homework is completed each night.