WELCOME TO ROOM 15!
2015-2016 Classroom Staff:
Miss Kimmy Dauksha – Teacher
Mrs. Tanya Garcia – Paraprofessional
Mrs. Melonie Fisher – Paraprofessional
Mr. Tom Lynes – Paraprofessional
Mrs. Mikey McAnulty – Speech/Language Pathologist
Mrs. Emily King – Occupational Therapist
Mrs. Charlene Morgan – Physical Therapist
Mrs. Christy Winski – Behavior Specialist/CLM Coach
Home/School Communication Books:
Your child will be bringing home a blue binder daily. This will serve as their home/school communication book. Please sign the communication sheet each night, so that I know you have received the information that I have written. Feel free to write a note with any questions/concerns and/or information about your child’s evening/morning that may impact his/her day at school. Your child will also have a take home folder in it where papers from the day will be placed.
Homework:
Homework will be assigned on an “as needed” basis and will only be a review of material taught in school. If your child is included for any academic subjects, he/she may have homework more frequently. Your child will have a homework folder that will be kept in the front of his/her blue communication binder. Please check this folder daily.
School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan:
Lawnton Elementary School has revised the school-wide behavior plan for the 2015-2016 school year. There are 4 school wide rules that will be explicitly taught to students at the beginning of the school year. To go along with the “Jungle” theme, these rules will be referred to as the “Rules of the Jungle”.
School Rules:
- Be Respectful
- Be Responsible
- Be Prepared
- Be Safe
Each classroom will have a color-coded clip chart. The clip chart will be used as a visual to help students regulate their behavior. Students will begin at green “Ready to Learn” everyday. Students exhibiting desirable behaviors throughout the day will have the opportunity to move up the chart to other colors (blue, purple, and silver). When students exhibit undesirable behaviors, they will move their clips down (yellow, orange, or red). This chart is fluid, so students can move up and down throughout the day. Consequences will be delivered as students move up and down on the chart. For example, if a student moves up, he or she may earn a Sand Dollar or Star Buck (play money that can be used to purchase things at the school store). If a student moves down on the chart, he or she may have to complete work at recess, owe time at recess, or be removed from the group for a specified amount of time.
At the end of the marking period, students who have ended the day on green or higher for 90% of the marking period will have the opportunity to attend a special school-wide celebration activity.
School Store:
As part of the school-wide behavior program, Lawnton Elementary will have a school store for the 2015-2016 school year. Students in the Autistic Support program (Rooms 13/15) will be running the school store. The students will be practicing social skills, math skills (i.e. counting, money skills, etc.), and fine motor skills (i.e. sorting, etc.) while running the store. The store will be open every Friday from 1:40 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The first school store date will be Friday, September 18, 2015 (K-2). Grades K-2 and 3-5 will alternate visiting the school store every other Friday. Every Monday, students will be responsible for taking inventory of all of the items that were sold on the previous Friday. Throughout the week, students will be participating in lessons to help them learn and practice the skills necessary to run the school store successfully.
Classroom Behavior System:
In an attempt to keep the Room 15 system similar to the school wide system, I have once again modified our classroom behavior system.
Each student will have the opportunity to earn “Monkey Money” and “Jungle Bucks” throughout the school day for following the rules. Monkey Money is worth $1.00 and Jungle Bucks are worth $5.00. These tickets can be exchanged at the school store every other week.
Additionally, students will have a tracking sheet with their schedule on it. They will earn a for following all of the rules during an activity. They will earn a if they only followed some of the rule, and they will earn a if they do not follow the rules during an activity. At the end of the day, they will count the number of smiley faces and trade them in for a free choice activity. The more smiley faces that they have earned, the wider selection of free choice activities they will have to choose from.
We will still continue to use the terminology red choice/green choice. If your child makes a red choice (i.e. breaking a rule), then he/she will meet with a classroom staff member to complete a “Think Sheet”. The purpose of the “Think Sheet” is to help your child process the Red Choice and what he/she should have done instead. A copy of this sheet will be sent home when it occurs.
Lunch/Snack:
If you feel your child would benefit from having a snack during the day, you are welcome to send one in. You may send one in daily or send things in all at once, and I will let you know when the supply is getting low. Please keep in mind that Lawnton is a “PeanutFreeSchool”. Due to peanut allergies, your child may NOT have peanut products in the classroom (i.e. snacks); however, he/she may bring something with peanuts to eat in the cafeteria.
Please note that we are no longer allowed to have refrigerators and microwaves in our classrooms. Therefore, we do not have a means to keep your child’s lunch cold or heat it up. Please plan accordingly when packing your child’s lunch.
Specials Schedule:
Day 1 - ______
Day 2 - ______
Day 3 - ______
Day 4 - ______
Day 5 - ______
*Remember to bring your library books on library day and wear your sneakers on gym day!*
Clothing:
Accidents happen! If your child is prone to accidents and/or is uncomfortable if they get a little wet (i.e. puddles on the playground, when washing hands, etc.), please send in an “extra” set of clothing for us to keep at school.
Classroom Website:
I utilize my classroom website as another means of communication between school and home. I post the dates/times of classroom/school-wide activities, upcoming events, classroom schedule, and links to websites that we utilize in the classroom.
To access my website, go to Click on “Find a School” at the top of the page and choose Lawnton. Then click on staff and then my name.
Questions/Concerns:
If you have any questions/concerns throughout the school year, please feel free to contact me via e-mail (), phone (717-558-9430 ext. 78338), or write a note in your child’s communication book. Please keep in mind that although I do have a phone in the classroom, I typically do not answer it during the school day because I am busy teaching students. However, if you leave a message, I will return your call as soon as possible.
I look forward to a fun and exciting school year!!!