Welcome to our classroom website. You will find a wealth of information throughout the year on this page. The links above will take you to some of the websites we use in school as well as some sites that your child can use for extra practice across subject areas. Have fun exploring!
Educationally yours, Mrs. Kathy Pace
My Routines and Procedures
Dear Parents,
I am very excited about starting this school year with your child! We will learn many wonderful things together and have fun in the process. The beginning of the year typically means that parents are flooded with lots of paperwork and new routines to learn for the classroom, so I have outlined many routines for you to review. Below you will find a summary of many of the routines and policies that will be in effect for this year. Please take a moment to review this information and feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns. Thank you!
Homework/Planners: Homework often consists of assignments that could not be completed during the school day. All daily work is due the next day unless otherwise noted. I like to provide immediate feedback on assignments so that you can see how your child is progressing. Projects or other larger assignments will have a specific due date that will be sent home. Grade level expectations can be demanding for fourth grade. On average homework should take about 15-20 minutes plus reading time. In the event your student is consistently spending more than 30 minutes per night on homework, with concentrated effort, please contact me.
All work will be recorded daily in your child’s planner at the end of each day. Students can check off what is finished and bring home anything that needs to be completed. This should be brought home daily for you to see. All students will need to have their planners signed at least once a week (every Thursday), unless I contact you for a daily signature. This is a great tool to see what your child does in school every day and also acts as another avenue of communication between home and school.
Please see planners for official school handbook. This is to be read and signed, plus all math summer packets are due by Friday, Sept. 11, 2020.
Redoing work/Growth Mindset: If a student fails to understand certain concepts, he/she will be asked to redo the assignment and resubmit it, sometimes with a parent signature. This year I will be encouraging the students to “grow their mindsets” and view their learning as a process that can always be improved. I want my students to know that failure does happen and that it is okay. Students will be given opportunities to demonstrate their growing understanding of the math and language arts standards. In regards to Science and Social Studies students will be allowed to complete test corrections (per teacher guidelines) and redo graded assignments.
Missing Assignments: If a student is missing or has not completed an assignment, I will circle it in their planner and ask for a parent signature. You will also have access to your child’s grades by logging onto the Parent Portal website and using your password. As stated above, all daily homework is due the next day unless otherwise noted. If late work is not turned in by the end of the instructional week, the grade will be a zero. All assignments and tests (with the exception of math and language arts being graded on a Standards Based System of 1, 2, 3, 4) are graded on a percentage system and consequently it is advantageous to turn in all work as even an “E” grade will contribute points to the averaged report card grade. Avoid scoring a 0 for an assignment, as this quickly reduces the report card grade! Recess detention is given if there are missing assignments at any given time; s/he will lose afternoon recess privileges and be required to complete the missing work in the assigned detention room, missing all of last recess time. Turning work in late not only affects your child’s understanding of the core concepts in fourth grade, it will lead to a decreased “work habit” grade on the report card. Persistent disruptive behavior may also lead to recess detention.
Word Study: Students will not be given traditional spelling lists this year. Instead, fourth graders will be engaging in a word study program in which they will gain a deeper understanding of important Greek and Latin roots that will help contribute to their vocabulary development across all subject areas.
Snack: Students are encouraged to pack a healthy morning snack every day for school. Fourth grade lunch is from 12:15-12:50, which is a long time for a student to wait to eat, especially if breakfast is skipped and no snack is packed. Please choose an appropriate item, such as a fruit or vegetable, crackers, yogurt, or other item that is quick and easy to eat (within 5 minutes). Please, no junk food (chips, cookies, high fat/sugar treats ect.), peanuts or food with peanut products, or messy items please! We encourage students to bring reusable water bottles for drinks during the day. These are to be kept in the cubby area and can be used during non-instructional time. If your child needs a utensil to eat the snack then please be sure to send in that utensil.
Accelerated Reader and Weekly Reading Logs: All students are required to complete a minimum of 10 accelerated reader points in the first trimester. I set the new marking period goal at the beginning of each marking period, and the goal is gradually increased as we progress through the marking periods. 2nd trimester will be 15 points and 3rd trimester will be 20 points. A weekly required reading log of 100 minutes will also be assigned throughout the year. These will be due every Friday morning and your child will receive a new one for the upcoming week. Your child should be reading at least 15 minutes per day regardless of whether or not a book is brought home, but your child can also break up the minutes in a way that works for them. The deadline for AR points to be earned is typically one week before the end of the marking period. Students also have daily access to their records. Please feel free to call or email me at anytime if you would like me to look up the current point total for your student.
Volunteers: I love volunteers, but I do not have a consistent schedule made for them. I like to keep a list of names and numbers of parents who are willing to come in and help and I’ll contact one or some depending on the task. I usually need volunteers for running copies, working with small groups of kids, helping with school projects, and/or even planning holiday parties. Please let me know if you would like to help out.
C.U.B.S.: Throughout the school year each student will have ongoing opportunities to earn “CUBS” for excellent behavior and positive choices. Students may receive these from me or any other staff member. Students accrue C.U.B.S.and become eligible for incentives as they increase the total amount earned. This is a program that is focused on encouraging positive choices!
In my classroom, within a single day, minor behavior will be addressed first with a verbal warning. Second offense = second warning and a fine of $2.00 (classroom money). Third offense = afternoon recess detention. Fourth offense = a phone call to a parent and/or a visit to the Principal's office. Please see planner for major/minor offenses.
Morning Math Quizzes: Each Friday all students will take a short math quiz focused on computational math skills. There will be four rows of problem with each row having a separate mathematical concept highlighted. For example, row one may be subtraction problems, row two addition problems, row three multiplication problems, and row four fraction problems. When the quiz is graded the score for each row is evaluated to determine if 75% or higher was obtained for that row. If the criteria were not met, then your student will receive a page of math homework that addresses the concept missed. Thus, a student may bring home no homework or up to four pages of math problems depending on the results of the quiz. This homework will always be due on Friday of that week unless otherwise noted. Please look for this homework to come home no later than Tuesday night. It is imperative that you check with your student to see if he or she received this homework assignment each week!
Here are student examples of what this will look like. My student Bill takes the quiz. In row one he receives 100% on the subtraction, row two 100% in addition, row three 50% in multiplication, and row four 75% in fractions. Based on this test result Bill would receive one page of multiplication homework due on Friday. Mary, on the other hand, scored 75% or higher on each row and subsequently does not have any homework. John scored below 75% on each row and he qualified for the full set of four pages of extra practice homework. This assignment is designed to meet the needs of each individual student with the goal being to give only extra practice in the areas that your student demonstrates a need in.
Consequently, if your student receives homework this means that additional support is needed. Please take the time to work through the problems with your student if confusion is evident and at the least correct all problems and have your student redo the missed items. Initial the homework each week prior to having your student turn in the assignment indicating that you have reviewed the material and corrected the work with your student. I do give letter grades for both the quiz (all rows are combined into one grade for the gradebook) and also for the homework assignment. If your student did not qualify for homework then he or she will be excused out of the assignment or appropriate pages for the week. If a student completes an assignment, but does the entire page wrong then the only accomplishment is lots of practice doing math incorrectly. I strongly encourage parental involvement on this assignment! I found last year that initially students qualified for 1 or more pages of homework, but as the year progressed more and more students tested out of the assignment. My goal is to have everyone test out of the homework!
Classroom Money: I have a money system in my class that kids really respond to every year. Students can earn money and possibly be fined at various times throughout the year. Money can be spent at my classroom store (store donations are always welcome!!). Everyone has a “treasure” drawer at home and usually those things are great to donate to the store. Please make sure items are still in good condition AND that your child is willing to part with it. Shopping days are TBD. Ask your kids about it after the first week of school. They can get a quick jump on their personal bank by bringing in one box of Kleenex, liquid soap, and a canister of disinfecting wipes during the first week of school ($5.00 each!). Ask your child for more information about the money.
Please contact me for any reason! Communication is a critical part of your student’s success! You may call me at extension 784-2640 ext.2668, email me at [email protected], or send in a note. If you need a personal conference, please call so we can set up a date and time. *Note: school policy states that all classroom calls are routed to voice mail during school hours. If you have an emergency, please contact the office. Many times I can return emails faster than phone calls!
I know this is a lot of information and there is so much more to tell, but I’d rather be up front with you with the basics right from the start and leave out any mystery as to how I manage my classroom. I will fill you in on other happenings with my newsletters. Don’t forget to check out my website at http://www.kathypace.weebly.com for excellent sites your child can use anytime.