Rules/Guidelines
CLASS RULES:
The class rules in both classrooms will be the same.
*Listen carefully
*Follow directions the first time they are given
*Do not disturb others who are working
*Raise your hand and wait to be called on
*Respect others, yourself, and school property
HOMEWORK:
Students will be assigned homework to reinforce daily lessons and in-class work. Students must record ALL assignments from each classroom in their homework planner. Please check and sign your child’s homework planner each night.
Students will be expected to turn in their homework for my class in the appropriate tray as soon as they come into my classroom each day.
HIGHLAND NORTH’S GRADING SCALE:
A 90-100 Superior
B 80-89.99 Above Average
C 70-79.99 Average
D 65-69.99 Below Average
F 0-64.99 Failure
S Satisfactory
U Unsatisfactory
DISCIPLINE POLICY:
In my classroom, I use a colored pocket chart to keep track of students’ discipline. I will have one chart for 4th grade and one chart for 5th grade. Each student will have a pocket with their name and number on it along with 4 colored cards. A green card = excellent behavior, a yellow card = a warning, a red card = bad behavior/consequence, and a black card = principal’s office.
Each morning, every single student will start out with a green card in their pocket. Throughout the day, if a student misbehaves, they will flip their card to a yellow card, and that is their only warning for misbehavior. If they continue to misbehave, a consequence will occur (ex: no extra recess on Fridays, no participation in fun class events, low conduct grade, missed recess, etc.).
Once a student has flipped their card, they will fill out a “Discipline Notice” slip. On this slip, the students will write down what color they had to flip their card to, why they had to flip their card, how they can fix their behavior, and the date. They will staple this “Discipline Notice” in their homework planner so you can see it when you sign their planner at night. The Discipline Notices are another way to communicate with parents and keep you up-to-date.
The students will be in charge of keeping track of their daily behavior in their STAR Binders. Each student will have a Behavior Documentation sheet/chart where they will keep track of their daily behavior by coloring each day’s square with the particular color they earned that day – green, yellow, red, or black. (This Behavior Documentation sheet will come in handy during parent-teacher conferences so parents can see their child’s behavior progression.) The Behavior Documentation Sheets will be stored in each student’s STAR Binder.
HOMEWORK:
Students WILL have homework on a fairly regular basis. Ms. Howard and I will try not to overload the kids with homework, especially on the same day. However, please keep in mind that the amount of homework your child has each day is largely based on how wisely he/she used their class time!
Students will be assigned homework to reinforce daily lessons and in-class work. The kids will usually have time to start their homework before they leave my classroom; I rarely give them homework assignments as they’re walking out the door. Students must record ALL assignments from each classroom in their homework planner. Please check and sign your child’s homework planner each night.
When students come into my classroom, I will either collect their homework altogether or they will turn their homework into the appropriate tray, depending on what I tell them to do. If a student does not have his/her homework complete the day it is due, they will owe recess the next day.
HOMEWORK PLANNERS:
The students are required to write down their homework in their homework planners every single day. Ms. Howard and I go over homework assignments each day and post them in our rooms, but we do not go around to each student to make sure they wrote it down. It is the students’ responsibility to write the assignments down themselves. Your child’s homework planner will be located in the front of their STAR binders (5th graders may put theirs in a different spot depending on what Ms. Howard tells them.)
Once they get home, it is your child’s responsibility to show you their homework planner with the assignments written down under the appropriate day. Once you have seen their planner, please sign your name in the appropriate section for that day. (Please sign your full name instead of just writing down your initials. In the past, we have had problems with kids forging their parent’s initials in their planner.)
Your child should always write SOMETHING down in their planner every single day. Even if they have no other homework, your child will always write down “Read” in their planner. If their planner is blank, that means they didn’t write down their homework in class. Please write me a quick note saying that your child’s planner was blank. If your child does not get their planner signed OR if you write me a note telling me it was blank, they will owe 10 minutes of recess the next day.
It is very important that you check and sign your child’s planner each night. Ms. Howard and I often use homework planners as another means of communication; we frequently write notes to you or attach information you may need in the planners. Any important papers or notices will be in the first section of your child’s STAR binder.
ABSENT WORK POLICY:
When students are absent from my class, they will be expected to independently obtain their assignments from our “Absent” folder/notebook when they return to school. Each day, all of the homework assignments will be written in our “Absent” notebook and any worksheets/hand-outs will be put in our “Absent” folder. Absent students will be expected to gather these materials independently when they return to school.
Once the students have all of the necessary materials, they will have the same number of days they were absent to complete all of the work. (Example: If a student is absent for 2 days, they will have 2 days to make up missed work.) If students have any questions about the content of the work they missed, they can ask me questions during an appropriate time.
LATE WORK POLICY:
Students are expected to turn in their homework for my class as soon as they come into my room each day. If a student does not have his/her homework done the day it is due, it is considered LATE. Late assignments may be turned in before the beginning of class the following day, but 10 points will automatically be taken off. Work that is not turned in at this time will be counted as a zero. I will not allow students to redo or make up work after this time. The students need to learn responsibility and will be held accountable for their work and effort. A phone call will be made home after 3 missed/late homework assignments.
GRADES:
Grades will be posted on Progress Book (a web-based school tool) so you don’t have to wait until report card time to know your child’s grades. If you need information on how to log into Progress Book, please contact the school at 419-768-2631. I enter grades into Progress Book every other day or so, so it is really the best way to see how your child is doing in my classes.
In my class, students will earn their grades in multiple ways through projects, presentations, tests, quizzes, reports, participation, journals, A.R. tests, homework completion, etc.
STAR BINDER (Students Taking Academic Responsibility):
Each student will be responsible for maintaining their individual STAR Binder, a black 1-inch or 1 ½-inch 3-ring binder. The STAR Binders will be divided up (with index tab dividers) into 5 different categories:
(1) Fliers & Important Papers (a clear plastic sleeve or folder will be used for this)
(2) Homework (a folder will be used for this - one side will be "to do" and one side will be "graded)
(3) Schedule/Behavior Chart (see DISCIPLINE POLICY)
(4) Accelerated Reader (AR) information
(5) Classroom Information/Rules
These STAR Binders are very important for your child to keep track of and take care of because they contain extremely important information and will be a useful tool during Parent-Teacher conferences. Students must bring their STAR Binders to and from school every single day; NO EXCUSES! If a student forgets his/her STAR Binder, an appropriate consequence will occur.
TEXTBOOKS:
Please make sure your child covers their textbooks by the 2nd week of school. We would like these textbooks to last as long as possible and book covers really help. You can buy cloth book covers or make your own from brown paper grocery bags or some other sturdy material.
EXTRA CREDIT:
I rarely give out extra credit during the school year. I think that students need to take their school work seriously everyday and try their best on every assignment. I feel many students think they can mess around for most of the 9 weeks, then do a lot of extra credit at the very end and bring up their grade.
I do give extra credit to students who meet their A.R. reading goal each 9 weeks (see “READING” section.) This extra credit significantly helps the kids’ reading grade, but they have to earn it by meeting their A.R. goal each 9 weeks. Please do not send me a note asking what extra credit your child can do to bring up their grade. If I do decide to make extra credit an option, I will inform the students as well as the parents.
READING:
Students will be expected to read 20 minutes EVERY NIGHT; this is a daily/nightly homework assignment. Students will have the opportunity to check books out of the school’s library each week and I also have a library of books in my classroom. (My books, however, must stay in the classroom; students CANNOT take my books home.)
Accelerated Reader Program: Highland North uses the computer software Accelerated Reader (AR) program. All of the books in the school's library have colored AR stickers on them so students can pick out books that match their appropriate reading level. (Many of the books in my classroom also have AR stickers on them.
To determine each child’s A.R. reading level, each child will take a computerized STAR reading assessment at the beginning of every 9 weeks. The students read a passage, then answer comprehension questions. The program then determines each individual child’s A.R. reading level. Once I receive the scores, I will give each student the following information: their S.S. (Scaled Score), their G.E. (Grade Equivalent), their range, and their new A.R. goal for the 9 weeks. This AR information will be stored in their STAR Binder in the AR section.
The S.S. is the score your child will get overall on the S.T.A.R. reading assessment – the higher the number, the better. The G.E. is what level your child is reading on (example: if your child’s G.E. is a 5.6, that means he/she is reading on a 5th grade level in the 6th month of the school year.) The G.E. will also be your child’s new A.R. level. The range lets your child know what books they can read comfortably (example: if your child’s range is 4.8-5.7, they can read books as low as 4.8 and as high as 5.7 and still comprehend them.) The kids should not go above or below their specific range.
The A.R. goal is how many points your child should earn by the end of the 9 weeks. Each A.R. book is worth a certain amount of points, so each time they read a book and successfully take and pass an A.R. test on it, they earn points. The points add up and they should eventually reach their A.R. goal. If any child meets their A.R. goal during the 9 weeks, I will give them extra credit in reading. If they double their A.R. goal, I will give them double extra credit in reading (example: if a child's A.R. goal is 20 points and they earn 40 points by the end of the 9 weeks.)
At the end of the 9 weeks, I will take two A.R. grades to put in along with the rest of the students' reading grades. I will use their A.R. reading comprehension as one grade (worth 100 points), then their total amount of A.R. points as another grade (100 points.) If a student needs 20 points, for example, and they earn 20 points, they will get a 100% for their "A.R. Goal" grade. If they need 20 points and they only earn 17 points, they will get an 85% for their "A.R. Goal" grade (17/20 = 85).
