Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
Is it easy to communicate with you?
Absolutely. I send out a weekly Monday Memo that includes information about what we are doing during the upcoming week as well as how your child was the previous week both academically and socially. This Monday Memo must be returned signed every Tuesday and has space to write comments or questions. This website will also have an updated newsletter before the start of each school week. However, please call or e-mail at anytime if you have any concerns. I will always try to get back to you as soon as possible.Back to Top
Why does my child have SO MUCH homework?
(NOTE: This does not mean that your child WILL have a lot of homework. My answer is specifically for those who find themselves in a position of having a lot of homework.) There are a lot of possible answers to this question. I tell my students that it is because their teacher is extremely mean - that's always effective. However, if you can get past that there are some things you need to understand. How your child uses his/her work time will heavily correlate to how much homework he/she has each night. The term "homework" to me could mean very different things to different children. Let's say I ask students to come up with ten words from a novel we are reading that they find interesting. I give them 20 minutes at the end of the day to complete this and tell them that it is due the next day. Some kids will work diligently to finish because they do NOT want to take it home. Some kids will work diligently but need some extra time to finish it at home. Some kids will rush through it and do not plan on taking it home whether they finish it or not! Some kids will say to themselves, "I'll just finish this at home anyway so I'm just going to stare at the kid's head in front of me for the next 20 minutes." So, obviously there are many, many reasons why a student could have this particular assignment for homework. Let's take a look at Student A and Student B. Student A plays the flute, the violin, sings in the chorus,rides horses twice a week, does gymnastics three times a week, is on the tennis team, basketball team, softball team, volleyball team, soccer team, synchronized swimming team.... you get the point. Student B, on the other hand, is a Nintendo Wii champion. So when Mrs. Student A and Mrs. Student B meet up for their early morning run the next morning they can not understand why there is such a difference in the amount of homework between their two kids. Both kids could be equally busy (and Nintendo Wii can be addicting!), but how did they utilize their time both in and out of school. Of course there are so many other variables but if homework is a concern just pick up the phone and call me. We'll figure it out. One of the biggest things I try to teach all of my students is independence and responsibility. In relation to homework, the change will occur within the first couple months of school. Students will see the importance of writing down their assignments each night and also get into the habit of finishing all of their work before arriving at school since I require them to turn all of their work in first thing in the morning (so no chance to finish up a worksheet right before a 4th period math class). Students who can master the responsibility of finishing all of their work in 5th grade will find that their future years of school will be much easier when they have five different teachers. I also use the term homework, but in reality, when I say "homework" I really mean any work that I give students. If it is something that we are not going to be working on together in class again, I expect it to be done at home. Even though I have said all of this, there are always other reasons why a student may have too much homework or even too little. I am always happy to talk individually to parents about this so please do not hesitate to give me a call or write me a note if you have any concerns. This may all sound overwhelming, but as the year progresses things will fall into place and the changes in their personal responsibility level will drastically increase.Back to Top
What can I do to help my child with his/her homework?
The key here is "help"; You could certainly do all of your child's homework for him/her each day and your child will probably turn in some immaculate work. But who cares? Students are not going to earn a college scholarship in 5th grade! However, they ARE going to learn the skills in 5th grade to become great students the rest of their school careers and then maybe get that scholarship or whatever else they decide to do with their lives. I have high expectations for every single student in my class. No two students are alike so my expectations are different for everyone, but one thing is the same. My goal is to extract all of the creative and intellectual juices out of their little brains and let them use those bits of knowledge in the classroom. Instead of giving your child the answer, ask them questions to help him/her find the answer on his/her own. When students do not do their homework, I give them a homework slip that must be returned signed by a parent/guardian the next day along with the completed assignment. It is very important that you do not accept these. If kids feel like it is no big deal to you, then it is no big deal to them. On the other hand, I am very aware that I have very high expectations so I reward students who meet these expectations. My students work hard and I make sure they are rewarded for it in a variety of ways all year long. I'm not talking about handing out Jolly Ranchers. My reward system is much more spur of the moment such as giving out Dingos for doing a great job, verbal praise, or allowing a student to lead in some activity the next day. I would ask that you also reward your kids for being good students. Just like you, your kids have a full-time job, and their payment should come from you in the form of praise when they do a good job. If they do really good, maybe give them a little "promotion."Back to Top
What's the deal with the Monday Memo?
The Monday Memo is a memo I send home to parents every Monday that does two things: 1) It gives a brief summary of what we are doing during the week and also includes important announcements or class news. 2) It gives the parent/guardian a report of how their child did over the course of the week. This will include their ability to work with peers, their work responsibility in the classroom, their general behavior, and their current homework status. Sometimes I even will place notices or long term assignments on the back that students have received but leave in school. This will give you the opportunity to stay very up to date on what we do on a weekly basis.Back to Top
Is it true that Mr. Lynch is really mean?
It's true.Back to Top
How often should I visit this website?
I recommend that parents check out my website's "Weekly Newsletter" section at least every Monday. I usually update the site on Sunday evening and I include detailed information about what we are going to do in each subject over the course of the week. I give the basic important information for the week on the Monday Memo that I want every parent to see (that is why I require every student to have it signed and returned every Tuesday). However, if you are reading this right now it tells me two things. 1) You have access to the internet. 2) You care about your child's education enough to read detailed questions and answers about their classroom. So, for you, I urge you to come to the site at least once a week to check out what's going on and to see new pictures of what your child is doing in school. I take pictures of many of our activities throughout the year and use them for both the website and for the classroom slideshows and DVDs I create for students.Back to Top
When will the Red Sox win another World Series?
In 2098 - they are allowed three championships every 90 years or so. But if you would like to visit the website of a team that will win many championships in the meantime please visit www.yankees.comBack to Top
Dingos are our class currency. These are treated like gold in my class and they should be. Students can earn Dingos by getting our Riddle of the Week correct, signing up for a weekly class job (and doing it), writing down their assignments (I do random checks), doing all of their homework, winning special tournaments, being helpful in the classroom, or basically any other reason I want. Dingos are treated like gold in my class because having enough Dingos can buy students out of a detention or even get an extension on a homework assignment (this is expensive so students don't get this very often). Students also earn Dingos by working at our class store, Bungles. As long as they do their job and show up to work on time, they receive a paycheck on Friday. They really need this paycheck because all of my students have to pay rent on their desks. (They can buy their desk to avoid this rent - this is explained in another section.) Dingos can also buy students things like computer time or other rewards. Everyone has a bad day or just needs something to boost their spirits so Dingos are a great way to help students out in this department.Back to Top
Bungles is our class store that is completely owned and operated by students. One thing I discovered in my first couple of years of teaching was that throughout the year students spend a lot of money on random things such as snacks in the cafeteria or other school supplies like pens, pencils, highlighters, or new notebooks. This is completely normal, but I decided that I wanted to do something about this anyway. For our class store, we buy the items in bulk or at very cheap prices and then students have these items available right in the classroom when they need them. Our store managers slightly mark up the price (although it is usually still cheaper than at most retail stores) and Bungles uses the profits to stock up on new items. It's really a win-win situation financially for both the buyer and the seller. Bungles uses real money, keeps real inventory, and hands out real carbon-copy receipts. There is nothing fake going on here. There is math involved in keeping the store running effectively and I will do different activities during the year to supplement our math program with Bungles related topics. The managers work very hard doing inventory during their free time and keeping track of financial records. As the year progresses the profits really start to add up. I sell shares of Bungles stock throughout the year (purchased with Dingos) and students get voting privileges as well as other classroom benefits for each share of stock that they own. All students have the job as either a store manager, sales representative, or advertising agent in our store. All of these jobs are very important and showing up to work on time and doing the job correctly earn students their weekly paycheck. Store managers monitor this activity and decide if students should be paid or not - they also choose an Employee of the Week who earns additional Dingos for this honor. In the first year I ran this we used our profits to give to charity, buy a gift card for our Xavier High School volunteer, send many boxes of supplies to U.S. soldiers in Iraq, hold two luncheons for students (one Chinese luncheon and one pizza luncheon), and buy raffle items for our end of the year Bungles Raffle. Students were actively involved in the store throughout its inaugural year and it proved to be a great success.Back to Top
Can parents ever help out in the classroom?
Absolutely. Over the course of the year, I have all kinds of opportunities for interested parents to help out with various activities in the classroom. The two biggest areas that are good for parents to come in are during reading when we are doing Literature Circles and during math activities. Literature Circles are great for volunteers because students are working in a small group with other students who are reading the same novel. Each day students have a specific task they need to complete and present to the group. After each student does their job they discuss what they read last night and then assign new tasks for the next day. In the past, parents have worked with individual groups and joined in their discussion to liven it up and get them to talk more. Science activities are great for volunteers because the four major units we do are all hands-on and students are working either independently or in groups at their own pace. Extra assistance is always appreciated from the students. If you are interested in helping out give me a call or write a note and we'll set something up.Back to Top
Do you really make students pay rent for their desks?
You bet I do. Students have to pay rent (one Dingo) to me every Monday to use their desks. Once they have saved up 10 Dingos they can buy their desk from me and I will present them with a Desk Title. Once they are a desk owner they are no longer under any obligation to pay rent. Once a student owns his/her own desk he/she can actually purchase other desks that I still own. If they own someone else's desk they now collect rent from that student. I have even sold my own desk for 25 Dingos in the past (it took about four months before someone had enough Dingos to buy this) and I paid the new owner two Dingos a week in rent. Not only does this whole process teach students to save, it also teaches them something about long term investing. A few years ago, one student spent the first few months of school saving and buying up every desk he possibly could. At one point he owned five desks (including mine) as well as two lockers (I had a few extras I sold off). While some other students spent their Dingos as soon as they received them (living "paycheck to paycheck") he saved and invested wisely. For many months he earned six Dingos a week in rent and another one for his paycheck! Needless to say, he became very wealthy and even purchased enough stock in Bungles to own 30% of the company. Despite this success story, there are other students who have a lot to learn about budgeting and spending habits. If students fail to pay their rent they get evicted. This means that they must move all the items from their desk into their locker. (Oddly enough this actually helped organize the students this happened to.) Only a handful of students had this happen to them - most students borrowed from their friends if they were short on rent any particular week. However, just like in the real world, students who borrowed too much or too often found their lenders now unwilling to help them out. Spending money wisely is a very important life skill and if kids could "get it" when they are 10 or 11-years-old it will make a huge difference in their financial future.Back to Top
Why do you have a whole section on your website dedicated to Harry Potter?
Because J.K. Rowling is an absolute genius - what other author has captivated millions of readers and "non-readers" across the world with extremely lengthy books that kids will hole themselves up for hours in their rooms to finish? The answer is no one. Seven books that are filled with thousands of pages have been read by not only kids but adults too. I was working at an overnight basketball camp the week one of her books was released. I watched 16 & 17 year-olds head straight back to their rooms after the nightly activities so they could keep reading rather than hanging out. These were the same kids who as 9-year-olds began reading the series and got hooked. J.K. Rowling has done so much for literacy throughout the world and I would highly encourage anyone to read her novels.Back to Top
What field trips do you take in 5th grade?
It varies from year-to-year, but in 2008-2009 the fifth graders at Thompson Brook went to Old Sturbridge Village, Winding Trails, Newgate Prison, and Camp Chase.Back to Top