August 13, 2013
Dear Parents,
Welcome to 4th grade at Cheney Elementary School! I am excited to teach 4th grade this year! Fourth grade has a wonderful curriculum that I absolutely love! We will learn about many interesting topics. I believe that we will have an awesome year with lots of growth academically, socially, and emotionally. You are welcome in our classroom anytime and I encourage you to come see the exciting activities we do! I believe you and I are partners in your child’s education and together we can help your child reach their full potential.
For those who do not know me, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Laurie Thisius and this will be my 23rd year teaching. I live about 5 miles southeast of Cheney in the country with my husband, Todd; our sophomore son, Alex; our eighth-grade son, Jeff; and our two dogs, Roxy and Pepper!
Below and attached is some helpful information about our classroom expectations and procedures. If you ever have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 542-3137 or e-mail me at . Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to participate in your child’s growth. Sincerely,
Mrs. Thisius
Standards:
There are words you hear quite often (along with “Common Core Standards”). “Standards” are a list of educational objectives from the Kansas State Department of Education that are taught at each grade level. There are specific standards for Communications (reading, writing, speaking & listening, and language), Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Common Core Standards were developed on a national level so that students would be receiving the same benchmarks no matter where they lived. College and Career Ready Standards are the state of Kansas’ version of those national standards. The standards are aligned with rigorous content and application of knowledge through high order skills so that students will be college or career ready when they leave high school. The expectation of students continues to be higher each year. As a teacher, I always want my students to put forth their best, push themselves to perform a little more, and set higher goals than expected and to achieve them. They will be very successful with the Common Core/ College and Career Ready Standards if they do so.
If you would like to have a copy of the standards, they are available on the Kansas State Department of Education website (www.ksde.org). These standards are what your child will learn this year and also what your child will assess on when it’s time for the reading, math, and science state assessments this spring (March and April).
Rocket Math Facts:
Rocket Math will continue in 4th grade similar to 3rd grade. Students cannot move on to higher level reasoning and problem-solving in mathematics until they master and memorize their basic math facts. Our school uses an exciting program called “Rocket Math”! Our math class will practice daily on math drills. This year we will focus on multiplication, division, and subtraction. Be on the lookout for more information soon!
Parents can help at home by practicing daily with the papers sent home or computer programs. You can even call out math facts to your child while driving in the car or while waiting in the doctor’s office (they should be able to answer within 3 seconds). Students not meeting quarterly goals will stay in for part of one recess to practice until the goals are met. Students should be practicing for 5 minutes each night.
Reading:
Accelerated Reading will continue similar to past years. In a few weeks, students will set their reading goals. Reading goals are set for the entire quarter with weekly “checkpoints”. Students will monitor their goals by checking the weekly “checkpoints”. Grades are taken at mid-quarter time (students are expected to be at 50% or more of the quarterly goal at that time) and again at the end of the quarter (100% of the quarterly goal).
The Accelerated Reader program is a reading incentive program and is a part of our reading program. Students read books from a selected list and then take short computer quizzes to test their comprehension and vocabulary. Students earn points based on the difficulty of the book and their performance on the quiz. Incentives are offered to students according to the number of points accumulated. As part of our reading program, students are required to meet an individualized point goal and maintain a reading comprehension average above 85%.
Students are tested at the beginning of the year to find out their approximate reading level. This allows me to recommend books in a particular reading range for each student. Students will record their books and test results in their Reading Logs. Updates are sent home weekly in Friday Folders so parents can also monitor their child’s reading progress.
Cheney Elementary School is starting a new program as part of our reading time called Daily 5 - CAFÉ Literacy. It will build their daily reading stamina and enhance their personal reading strategies in (C)omprehension, (A)ccuracy, (F)luency, and (E)xpand Vocabulary. More information will come home soon!
Spelling:
We use the Sitton Spelling program for grades 3-5 at CES! The Sitton Spelling program is designed to empower kids to spell correctly for a lifetime in the real world (not just learn the word list for the Friday test). Students study high-frequency words and word patterns, develop careful proofreading skills, and practice making sure they spell their “no-excuse” words correctly in all their writing. Some homework is part of the program. We will send more information home soon!
Assignments/Homework:
Students have class time to finish most assignments. However, some students work slower than others and need to finish work at home. In many cases, homework is simply class work that was not finished in class. All assignments are due first thing the next school day.
In addition to uncompleted class work, “homework” includes: reading A.R. books, studying spelling words, memorizing basic math facts, or completing bi-weekly math “homelinks”, “test-ready” papers before spelling tests, or reading fluency passages homework.
The general rule about homework is “10 minutes times the school grade”. Therefore, a fourth grade student should expect to spend about 40 minutes each night working on “homework/assignments” every night. If you find you are spending more than this amount of time on homework/assignments each night, please let me know.
Daily Folders and Friday Folders:
Green Daily work folders will come home every day. Please check your child’s school bag each and every day for this folder. In this folder, you will find an assignment sheet (agenda) with daily assignments listed. Daily work folders are due back to school each and every day.
Yellow Friday folders are sent home on Fridays. It will contain your child’s schoolwork for the week, special bulletins, and notes from the teacher. Please take time to talk with you child about their work.
There is a parent/teacher communication sheet that is enclosed in the Friday Folder. This sheet will show you how your child did during the week on their behavior and completing schoolwork. This paper will also show individual “points” your child has earned each day (these are collected as part of our class “Celebrations”). This sheet should be signed by a parent and the packet should be returned to school by the following TUESDAY.
A class reward is given for kids who return their signed folders early on Monday!
Tests
I will save the test students take for all subjects in their portfolios throughout the school year. However, I don’t want you to have to wait to see their tests until the next conference time, so I will put a SIGN AND RETURN stamp on each test and students will be required to return the test the following day.
I will send home test in their green daily folder and they need to come back the following day in their green daily folder. I will not send test home in Friday folders. It will be too confusing on which papers to return and which to keep at home. If you have any questions about tests or test items, please let me know!
Grading:
In fourth grade, your child will receive a percentage grade for their schoolwork. Please take the time to talk with your child about his/her grades. If you have any questions, please let me know. Fourth grade students receive a percentage grades in Reading, Mathematics, Spelling, English, and Social Studies. The Cheney Elementary grading scale is as follows:
90%-100% = A
80%-89% = B
70%-70% = C
60%-69% = D
59%-below=F
With our online “PowerSchool” program, parents can monitor student’s individual grade from home throughout the quarter! I highly recommend monitoring your child’s grade through PowerSchool! I will generally update grades once a week. Parents can set up PowerSchool to send you weekly grade updates.
Information about this program and logging in is sent home from the school office. If you do not have your child’s username and/or password, please contact me or the office and we will send you the information. If requested, a mid-quarter report that gives you a progress check on your child’s work habits as well as their behavior will be sent home through the school office. Formal report cards are issued every 9 weeks. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Technology:
Years ago, Cheney Elementary fourth grade classes received a technology grant funded by the Kansas State Department of Education. The goal of our “technology-rich classroom” grant was to improve academic achievement by integrating technology into daily learning activities. Two years ago, Smartboards were added to our classrooms. This year, we are adding iPads to the classroom. More information about iPad usage will come home very soon!
After teaching with technology for nine years, I would not want to teach and learn any other way. Technology will not replace traditional teaching instruction and learning, but is used to enhance it. Each classroom has access to a wide variety of technology. Various technology equipment used includes: iPads, desktop computers, wireless laptops, digital video and still cameras, Internet, Smartboards, suspended LCD projector, and more! Possible projects include science explorations, communication organization and writing, and social studies investigations. Look for thrilling learning from your child!
Behavior:
We use positive reinforcement in our classroom. This consists of mutual respect between student and teacher with a goal of building self-disciplined, self-motivated, responsible children. The environment in our classroom will be positive, safe, and one in which all students can learn and find success. We will follow the Cheney P.R.I.D.E. core values (Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Dependability, and Empathy).
Our society has rules & it would be unfair to our students to lead them to believe otherwise. The consequences for inappropriate behavior will be related to the problem, reasonable, respectful. Children are not allowed to disrupt the learning process of others. Along with school-wide expectations, as a class, we will have the following class expectations:
#1: Follow directions the first time they are given.
#2: Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
#3: Remain quiet when someone else is talking.
#4: Adjust your voice level to suit the activity (inside = use an inside voice).
#5: Raise your hand before speaking.
#6: Remain seated unless you have permission to do otherwise.
If a student chooses to not follow a rule, then they also choose to accept the consequences.
Our overall behavior plan will use our “behavior clip chart”. The chart is labeled as follows: Purple (Olympic Champion!)
Blue (On Fire!)
Green (Got the Gold!)
Yellow (Almost Silver!)
Orange (Bronze Athlete!)
Red (No Place!)
All students will start the day with their clothespin on green (Ready to Go for the Gold).The first time an incident occurs; I will discuss it with the student(s) and give a warning.
The 2nd time an incident occurs; they will receive a warning and move their clothespin to yellow on our “behavior clipchart”.
The 3rd time an incident occurs; the card is changed to orange and the student loses recess.
The 4th time an incident occurs; the next card change is red and will result in lost recess, call home, and possible visit to the principal. We may set up a conference time to discuss ways we can help the student do their best.
If a severe disruption occurs, a student will be sent to the office immediately.
If students are caught doing well, they can move their clothespins up the clipchart to blue and then purple. After the purple, they receive a special treat from the teacher at the end of week.
In addition to our behavior chart, we have special “CELEBRATIONS” throughout year. Students will individually earn rewards toward these “celebrations”. More information about “Celebrations” will be sent out on a separate note!
Absences:
Attendance at school is very IMPORTANT! If you know ahead of time that you child is going to miss school, please let me know. I will send as much of their missing work as possible so they will not be so far behind when they return to school.
If your child is ill, please call the school office to request missing work. For each day your child is absent, they will have two school days to make up their assignments before the assignment becomes “late”.
Students MUST be checked out through the school office. This is for your child’s safety.
Communications:
I believe that we must form a “partnership” that will encourage and support your child’s learning. There are several ways of communicating that work well. You may call the school (542-3137), e-mail me at school (), or send a note with you child. I will always answer you as soon as possible.
I will send home all of my parent letters (and homework) on COLORED paper, so be on the look out for anything on colored paper. I also welcome any visits to our classroom, comments, questions, or help!