Fourth Grade Parent/Student Handbook
2008-2009
PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK:
The fourth grade year at
Assumption St. Bridget School presents unique and exciting opportunities for
both students and parents. To run effectively, it is imperative that everyone
involved in our community understands and supports our program. For this reason
we have put together a handbook to acquaint parents and students with our
policies, procedures, and expectations.
FOURTH GRADE TEAM:
Jan Myers and Kori Boyd—Fourth Grade Teachers
Mary Jo Marshall—Instructional Assistant
The fourth grade team for
the 2007-2008 school year consists of two full-time
teachers and one full time instructional aide. The class will be divided into
two groups of 30 which will change each trimester. This group will serve as the
students’ “homeroom” where they will touch base and begin their day. However,
throughout any given school day students can expect to be placed in a variety
of groups led by different team members and school specialists. For example, a
student in Mrs. Myers’ homeroom may start the day with her, move to Mrs. Boyd
for social studies class and end the day in a science group led by Mrs.
Marshall.
CLASSROOM SPACE:
As you know, the fourth
grade shares its learning space with many other groups and activities which
creates some unique challenges to our routines. Extended Care takes place in
the back of our classroom both before and after school everyday and Boy Scouts
meets in the fourth grade on Monday evenings. Please be aware of these
activities when scheduling meetings/conferences with us and let us know ahead
of time if you would like us to find a more “private” space to meet.
Also, the auction, the fall
play, and the spring musical all require the use of our classroom during the
school year. We make accommodations to attend field trips and complete other
activities during these times.
It is extremely important to
remember that our classroom is used and utilized by a large number of groups
and school related activities throughout the year. While we make every possible
attempt to keep our things safe and secure, it is not always possible. Please
make sure that your child does not leave anything of value in the classroom,
especially when class is not in session.
PARKING/DROPOFF/PICK UP:
Students should line up
under the basketball hoops against the south gym wall. For safety reasons, it
is imperative that you drive through the loop and drop off students at the
proper location and not before. Additionally, we ask that you do not drop off
or pick up your child using the parking lot outside the fourth grade classroom
during school hours. Please use the loop, big toy, or other assigned locations.
If you are picking up your child during the day, please go to the office first
and sign your child out there. We will get a call and make sure your child gets
to you safely.
CONTACTING THE FOURTH GRADE TEAM:
If you need to contact us,
we ask that you use email whenever possible. Each member of the team will check
email a number of times during the day and you can expect a timely response.
Telephone voicemail is available but is not checked on a daily basis.
Email Addresses:
Kori Boyd kboyd@asbschool.org
Jan Myers janmyers@asbschool.org
Mary Jo Marshall mmarshall@asbschool.org
Academic/Curriculum Concerns:
Any questions or concerns
about curriculum or student performance should be directed to your child’s
homeroom teacher.
Attendance/Absences:
If your child will be tardy
or absent please email Mary Jo Marshall with information. If you have a
pre-planned absence, please also inform your child’s homeroom teacher.
ABSENCES:
In the case of an unplanned
absence due to illness or emergency, students are allowed make-up days equal to
that which were missed to complete assignments. All
assignments due on days missed must be turned in upon returning.
Homeroom teachers should be
notified of any planned absence at least one week in advance. Assignments will
be given prior to the absence, and unless other arrangements have been made,
will be due upon their return to the classroom.
HOMEWORK:
On average, students can
expect between 30-60 minutes of homework each night. Students are expected to
read 20-30 minutes each night as part of their homework. For the first several
weeks, there will be no other homework on the weekends. Starting at the end of
October, students will be expected to complete some assignments over the
weekend. Longer-term projects that include homework will also require weekend
work.
Students will record their
daily homework in an assignment notebook. For the first part of the year, we
require parent initials in the assignment notebook each day. If students do not
complete or turn in an assignment, they will attend morning study hall during
morning recess and will be required to fill out a homework note and have it
signed by a parent.
Some homework will be sent
home regularly, while other work will be kept at school for placement in the
students’ assessment files and/or personal portfolios.
ASSESSMENT:
We use a variety of methods
for evaluating students’ progress. This includes observations, portfolios,
reading and writing continua, anecdotal notes, and traditional pen and paper
assessments. On formal assessments (progress reports and report cards), grading
is not letter-based or directly tied to averages and percentages, but they are
taken into consideration and often times included in reports.
ASB fourth grade students
will also prepare to take the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL)
instead of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. This test covers
Family Binders: New this year is the family binder. This will be taken home and
returned to school each day. It will contain all student homework and class
handouts as well as any home/school communication. Each week on Thursday
students will also bring home class work in the binder along with a Week in
Review sheet that outlines our objectives for the week and a student reflection
on how well they feel they met those objectives. We will take time to sort
through the papers and choose pieces that represent their current progress and
place them behind the correct tab in the back of the binder. Please take time
prior to Monday to look through this work. At the end of each six week grading
period, we will use this binder as a portfolio of your child’s sample work,
along with our other assessment pieces. We also have provided a parent comment/compliment
section on the Week in Review for you to add your own thoughts about the
week. At the end of each grading period,
the sections will be emptied into the students’ year long portfolio journals
which are kept in the classroom, but available to you at any time.
DISCIPLINE:
There are four class rules
that are firmly adhered to: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Reasonable, and
Be Ready. Courtesy and respect are expected at all times. There are a series of
school-wide behavior sheets which will be used when significant or repeated
problems occur.
White slip—This is a “time out” for the student to reflect on behavior
and make a plan for change in the future. Parental signature is required on the
white slip in order to alert parents to any school incident.
Green Slip—This slip is given in the case of repeated or more serious
behaviors. These are very serious incidents. Additional consequences usually
accompany a green slip.
BIRTHDAYS:
Parents and other family
members are welcome and encouraged to join their student in class for a
birthday lunch during our regularly scheduled lunch time (11:55-12:20). Please
notify your child’s teacher in advance of when this will take place.
Because we are a combined class of 60
students, birthdays and half birthdays occur quite often (on average 2-3 a
week). Due to this, “birthday treats” can at times become quite excessive. We will have monthly celebrations at which
time we will celebrate all birthdays occurring in that month. In addition, we
will have separate “half-birthday celebrations” at which we will honor those
with birthdays occurring over the summer. Parents will be notified in advance of
these dates so they can contribute to the treats if they choose.
FIELD TRIPS:
The following is a list of
field trips in the planning stages, along with the approximate cost (when
available). We will collect fees before each event. Scholarship money is
available; please contact Kathryn Almy for more information.
Pacific Science Center/Imax $TBA
State Capitol Building $5.00
Seattle Mariner’s Baseball
Game $12.00
SCHEDULE:
The following is an outline
of our weekly schedule. All times are approximate and classes are changed as
needed.
Weekly Schedule
|
|
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thurs |
Fri |
|
8:30-8:50 |
Business/DLR |
Business/DLR |
Business/DLR |
Business |
Business/POD |
|
8:50-9:20 |
Monday
Meeting |
Daybook |
Writing |
Lib1/Tech
2/ Handwr 3 |
Lib
2/Tech 3/ Handw 1 |
|
9:20-9:55 |
Drama
Red/ Writing
Blue |
Religion |
Spell/Grammar |
Lib 3/ Tech1/
Handw 2 |
|
|
9:55-10:30 |
Recess/ Snack
**duty** |
Recess/ Snack |
Recess/ Snack |
Recess/ Snack |
Recess/ Snack |
|
10:30-11:25 |
Math |
Math |
Math |
Math |
Math |
|
11:25-12:20 |
Recess/ Lunch |
Recess/ Lunch |
Recess/ Lunch |
Recess/ Lunch |
Recess/ Lunch |
|
12:20-12:30 |
DEAR/ Read
aloud |
DEAR/ Read
aloud |
DEAR/ Read
aloud |
DEAR/ Read
aloud |
DEAR/ Read
aloud |
|
12:30-1:15 |
Drama
Blue/ PE Red |
PE Blue/ Music Red |
PE Red/ Lit
Circles Blue |
PE Blue/ Music Red |
Religion |
|
1:15-2:00 |
Community
Time |
Writing Red/ Music Blue |
Science
Lab |
Lit
Circles Red/ Music Blue |
Current
Events |
|
2:00-2:45 |
XXX |
Science |
Social Studies |
Family
Journal/Portfoli |
Art |
|
2:45-3:00 |
|
Homework/
Dismissal |
Homework/
Dismissal |
Homework/
Dismissal |
Homework/
Dismissal |
***Schedule Explanations
Lib/Handwriting/Tech: Each student will attend each (library, technology, and handwriting)
once a week. They will go in groups of 20 on a rotating basis. These groups
will remain the same throughout the year.
PE/Music:
Students will attend PE and music classes twice a week in groups of 30 (red or
blue).
Drama/Lit circles: Students have will meet in
literature circles and attend drama class once a week on Monday in groups of 30
(red or blue). These groups will also remain the same throughout the year.
CURRICULUM:
Writing:
Our writing program will emphasize writing for a variety of purposes and
audiences. We will write every day, in both our Writer’s Workshop and in other
areas of the curriculum.
Students will learn the five
steps in the writing process and become proficient in its use in our Writer’s
Workshop. This process includes prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and
publishing. We will also teach the six traits of writing: ideas and content,
organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.
Spelling:
Students will have a spelling test every other week. Each test will consist of approximately
16 words, broken into two categories. Six words will be chosen based on our
grammar rules theme, and 10 will be content or “working words” which we will be
using frequently in other curriculum areas, these are vocabulary words and
therefore the student will be required to not only spell the word, but identify
it by it’s definition.
Tests will take place on
every other Wednesday.
In addition to literature
circles, students will have time to work through our Daybook workbooks which
focus on traits of successful readers, reading for specific purposes, and
connecting reading and writing.
We will also focus on
developing skills necessary to read specialized material—including textbooks,
newspaper and magazine articles, pamphlets, and encyclopedias, to find specific
information.
Another important component
of our reading program is the completion of regularly scheduled book reports.
Students receive guidelines as to what type of literature to read, and they
will complete a project which demonstrates what they learned from the book. Not
all book reports will be worked on at home. We will keep you posted on them
through our newsletters.
Also, students will have
time each day to read literature of their choice for a sustained period during
Drop Everything and Read or DEAR. Students may read chapter books, poetry,
short stories, or book report books, as well as an occasional comic book or
magazine. It is an opportunity for students to take time independently to read
and appreciate literature. It is
imperative that students have a choice book to read in class each day.
Individual reading
assessments will come from the QRII assessment of reading and DIBELS reading
program. One-on-one reading conferences and independent testing will take place
multiple times throughout the year and will focus on fluency and word count,
recall, and comprehension of grade level selections.
Math: We
will use the Silver Burdett Ginn Mathematics: The Path To Math
Success math text to provide the foundation of our math focus this year.
Main topics include: place value, multiplication, division of three-digit
numbers, fractions, decimals, geometry, probability, estimation and graphing.
We will also emphasize the memorization of basic math facts. We will practice a
variety of problem solving techniques, and apply them in math activities that
connect math to students’ everyday lives. Students will keep a math journal in
which they explain their understanding of concepts and problem solving
strategies.
In addition to our regular
math curriculum, we have incorporated a MIC (
Social Studies: We will study current events weekly. We will work on a variety of
activities in class to acquaint students with newspapers and other mass media
outlets. Each student will be responsible for finding and summarizing
information on an event happening in our world. This will occur on a rotating
basis and students can expect to report on a current event about every five
weeks. We will look at international, national, local, sports, and arts and
entertainment news.
Our primary focus for the year is
Students will complete major
units in the following categories:
Families
- including origins, ethnicities, and cultures
US States and Capitals
- students will learn to match and locate all 50
states and their capitals
- complete a state poster and research one of the
states
- Research and examine life and culture of
Northwest Native Americans
- Create a replica of an artifact that may have
been used by a
Government
- Levels/Branches of government
- How laws are created
- Visit state capitol building in
Famous Washingtonians
- Research a figure from
We will also complete a
cross curricular study of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which will take place
primarily in literature.
Science:
Students will participate in as many hands-on science activities as possible.
We will focus on teaching the scientific method as we explore the water cycle,
the human body, measurement, and magnetism and electricity. Students will keep
a science journal in which they will take notes and record their thinking and
findings on in-class experiments.
Religion: The
main focus of religious instruction will be on the Ten Commandments and the
Beatitudes. We will use the Call to Faith
text at times, but rely mostly on primary documents (scripture) as the basis of
our instruction. Students will be required to learn the Nicene Creed and the
Prayer of St. Francis. Students will also participate in planning and carrying
out prayer and liturgies throughout the year, and will lead the school in our
annual Grandparents Day and Thanksgiving liturgy.
In addition to our study of
doctrine, we also emphasize Christian living in our religion curriculum. This
is often discussed and examined through our weekly class meeting discussions of
school life and events, as well as the Second Step program which will be led by
school counselor, Lori Landes.
Community service is another
large part of our religion curriculum, and we focus on service at the local,
national, and international level in fourth grade. Our local service projects
include pie baking for the Sand Point Housing residents at Thanksgiving, and
our Christmas family. Nationally, we will continue to support St. Rita’s School
in
Technology:
In fourth grade we are lucky to have our very own computer lab which we can use
throughout the day. Students will attend technology class once a week, and are
provided numerous other opportunities to use the computers in conjunction with
other classes. This year students will: work with keyboarding instructors (and
other keyboarding programs) to work on their typing skills; practice power
point; create brochures; learn proper ways to use and search the internet, and
learn note taking strategies for classroom projects.
We would like to thank you
all for the opportunity to work with you and your child this year. We look
forward to the challenges and learning opportunities which lie ahead. Feel free
to contact us with questions, comments, or concerns at any time during the
year. The number at the school is 524-7452, or you can email us at the
addresses listed below.
Jan Myers janmyers@asbschool.org
Kori Boyd kboyd@asbschool.org