Classroom Management Philosophy:
All children have an inherent desire to discover and expand their knowledge.
All children have a right to an environment conducive to learning; one where they FEEL SAFE, SECURE, and have a SENSE OF BELONGING.
Having high, but reasonable expectations for children helps them reach their highest potential in education and in life.
Grading Policy: Grades A,B,C,D, and F will be assigned in math, reading, language, social studies, science and spelling for all four marking periods. A=93-100; B=85-92; C=75-84; D=67-74; F=66 and below. Grades will be available on line for parent viewing. Please look for information coming home the first week of school on the JPAMS system. If at any point an error is noticed, please send a note or email. Grades will be double and triple checked before posting, but please know that errors are possible and will be corrected in a timely manner.
School Rules/Maggie Bones: Magnolia Trace Elementary has defined our school rules in the Student Handbook that will be sent home on Day 1. Please read and discuss these school rules with your child. In addition to these school guidelines, the following will highlight more clearly our classroom policies and procedures. Our class follows the school wide “Maggie” behavior plan. The plan encourages positive classroom behavior. Each student is responsible for managing his or her own behavior. A well-managed classroom provides the best learning environment for all students. The students begin each day on the “Ready to Learn” Blue bone. Students may move up to Orange, Purple, Pink, or Off the Chart for making positive choices in their day. For negative choices, students will move down to Green, Yellow, Red, or the Dog House. A weekly behavior calendar can be found on the backside of their weekly overview called, Super in Second. This behavior calendar should be initialed nightly. Notes home, emails, or phone calls will be made as necessary.
Classroom Rules: In the classroom, a philosophy called, The FISH! Philosophy will be employed. The FISH! Philosophy includes four simple, interconnected practices:
· Be There: When people need you, they need all of you. Setting aside distractions and judgments to be fully present is a sign of respect. It improves communication and strengthens relationships.
· Play: You can be serious about your work without taking yourself so seriously. Play is a mindset more than a specific activity. It allows you to throw yourself with enthusiasm and creativity into whatever you are doing, in a way that is natural, not forced. "Playing” with ideas helps you find solutions to everyday challenges.
· Make Their Day: Simple gestures of thoughtfulness, thanks and recognition make people feel appreciated and valued. When you make someone else feel good, you feel good too.
· Choose Your Attitude: To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. When you get up, decide who you want to "be" today. Moment-to-moment awareness is key. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?"
Through The FISH! Philosophy, we build stronger relationships with the team classmates we work with, the students we teach and the people we love. SOURCE: http://www.charthouse.com
In addition to the FISH! Philosophy we will create our own classroom rules as a team. This will allow students ownership for their classroom environment while aligning with FISH! Philosophy.
Rewards: Students will be recognized for their positive behavior as individuals and as a whole class. Rewards may include, but are not limited to, verbal praise, special privileges (classroom job, lunch with the teacher, etc.), homework pass, extra recess or a special treat to name a few. Intrinsic motivation is also encouraged in the classroom. Though the reward is intangible, it encourages the children to try their absolute best and always try to improve for self-satisfaction.
Newsletter: Every Monday a weekly class overview called, Super in Second, will be sent home. This newsletter will list the units the students will be studying in reading, math, spelling, science and/or social studies. If a digital copy of the newsletter is desired, please look at the school website or send a request via email. Further, this overview will contain a weekly behavior calendar displaying your child’s daily behavior and homework. Please initial each of these daily as you discuss behavior (both negative and positive) and homework with your student.
Take Home Folder: The students will be bringing home a Take Home/Bring Back folder each school day. Please check this folder each evening and look for checked daily work, school newsletters, homework, miscellaneous community announcements, field trip permission notes, important notes from the PTA, the office, or Mrs. Jelley. Please review and remove all necessary paper work ASAP. This will help to
keep your child organized and provide a better school/home connection. Also, please put any notes, lunch money, or office paperwork in this folder.
Homework:
· Homework is a useful tool that helps your child review material we cover in class. Each day your child should come home with his or her Take Home/Bring Back Folder. This will help your child stay organized and keep YOU in touch with our classroom.
· Your child‘s homework will be sent home nightly for math and weekly for spelling & ELA. Homework will be listed on the backside of the weekly overview. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure homework is recorded daily.
· Homework is expected to be completed nightly. Homework for both Math and ELA will include spiraled material (multiple skills) that will increase in difficulty as the school year progresses. This approach is used to keep all students sharp on multiple skills regardless of those focused on in class. With that said, please review all work completed in our class nightly to prepare for weekly assessments. Math and ELA homework will be checked daily as part of our warm-up routine.
· Spelling homework consists of a tic-tac-toe sheet. After students complete a pre-assessment on Monday, they will write down words missed onto their homework sheet. This allows students to only study words not yet mastered. If a student gets all words correct on the Monday Pre-Assessment, they are exempt from Spelling Homework. However, they must still turn in the spelling packet with the pretest on Friday. This allows the students to review at the parent’s discretion during the week and allows me the opportunity to compare the pre-assessment to the weekly progress assessment at the end of the week to check for regression. Students will continue to work on the complete list during class lessons.
· Students are welcome to work ahead in their homework if extra time allows them to in order to allow for nights with light homework due to extra-curricular activities outside of the school day. This includes at home when a weekly packet has been provided and during the school day during early finisher time. I feel this is an excellent way to learn time management and responsibility. However, please find time to read nightly and review the day’s schoolwork. It is important, as a parent, to play an active role in both the completion of homework and review of the day’s schoolwork.
· Incomplete homework will result in the student signing the homework book. Students who consistently forget homework will be expected to complete homework during recess. Homework packets will come home weekly in your student’s Test Folder (VIP Folder). If your student was missing homework for the week you will be asked to sign the homework report and return it in your student’s VIP Folder. (See VIP Folder below.)
· Worksheets, project instructions, notebook paper, games, etc. will be sent home as needed to complete the assignments. Please check over any written assignments your child completes at home for errors – it is a good way to see what we are learning and how well your child understands and applies learned concepts. In addition to any written assignments, your child should read at least 10-15 minutes each night.
· Projects are assigned throughout the school year. Any supplies needed for these projects (as specified on the project rubric) can be brought home from our classroom. This allows for all
students to have equal opportunity in the completion of projects. Students are always welcome to go beyond the specified guidelines of the project. Those additional supplies may need to be purchased at the parent’s discretion.
VIP Folder: Your child will have a weekly test folder called their VIP Folder. This stands for Very Important Papers. In this folder you will find all graded work including school wide testing documents to be sent home and report cards. Graded work that has a D or an F must be signed and returned to school the following day. You will also find your student’s Homework & Daily Warm-up Packet included among the graded papers. Please sign the homework packet form when needed (see above). Additionally, there will be a Communication Log in the folder. The log will list the number of graded documents in the folder being sent home as well as a space for teacher and parent comments for communication purposes.
Snack: Students are allowed to bring a simple, healthy, mid-afternoon snack to school. We will not be able to provide a snack for those students who do not have a snack. Dry cereal, fruit bars, pretzels, raisins, or yogurt are suggested. Students need to provide their own utensils. Please do not send anything with peanuts, due to allergies, as well as sticky items, candy, or drinks other than water.
Water: Students are welcome to bring a water bottle to school daily if they choose to. They may keep it at their desk unless it becomes a distraction. The only requirements are that they only bring water and the bottle must close (ex: a sports bottle). Please understand that this is not a necessity as we do have a water fountain in our classroom. Further, students must bring them home nightly so reusable bottles may be cleaned. Any disposable bottles will be thrown away if left in the room.
Accelerated Readers: Accelerated Reader is an exciting computer program that enhances reading comprehension. A student will first select and read a book of his/her own choosing from our school or class library. After reading the selected book, the student will take a short comprehension test on the computer. Points are awarded for correct answers and the points are added to the student’s total score. Students in my class will be encouraged to read several Accelerated Reader books a week and take the corresponding test. Please encourage your child to keep reading!
Parent-Teacher Conferences: If at any time, you feel a meeting would be beneficial, please call the office to schedule an appointment. Teachers do not schedule appointments; they must be made through the office.
Volunteers: Magnolia Trace offers many wonderful ways for you to volunteer your time and talents to our school and students. At Open House, there will be a sign up sheet posted in our classroom for you to assist our class either at home or at school. If you would like to volunteer before open house, please send a note with your child or email me.
Open House: You are all encouraged to come to Open House. Please check the weekly newsletter for updates. It is so special for the children to be able to show you the place where they work so hard each day! I look forward to seeing all of you there.
Contact Information: Magnolia Trace Phone: 626-8238
· Use this phone number to schedule conferences or leave me a message.
Magnolia Trace Website: http://www.magnoliatraceelementary.stpsb.org
· You can look up school menus, important dates and information, website links, plus pictures of our wonderful school and students!
· Additionally, you can access our weekly overviews. In the event that your child forgets his/her folder or is absent you will know what is happening in our class.
Email:
· Email is definitely the best way to contact me. I check it often and respond quickly! J
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Let’s have a great year!!!!!!!!!!!
Your Partner in Education,
Carlena Jelley