Class Routines Please read this carefully and keep it in a safe place so you may refer to it throughout the year. STAR Folders Your child will maintain a STAR folder in order to facilitate communication between home and school. Your child’s papers will be put into this folder, as well as any correspondence from the school or me. Any notes that you send to school should also be put into the STAR Folder. Please clean it out daily so important papers DO not get lost. Every week you will receive graded papers with a weekly behavior report. Please review the papers with your child, sign and return the front page of the packet. Homework & Planner Your child will have homework each night, Monday through Thursday. Language Arts homework is to read fifteen minutes each night (any printed material as well as science or social studies and an adult reading to the student periodically is fine too) and complete a word study activity each night. Math homework will consist of Home Links, which will be given as a unit and kept in the STAR folder. Our math program also includes Family Letters that contain important information about what your child is learning each unit. These will be sent home in a folder at a later date. In third grade we will be learning to multiply and divide. It is essential that third graders know their addition and subtraction facts. If your child does not know the single digit + and – facts by rote memory, please practice these at home. Science and Social Studies will be mainly to study for a test or quiz as they come up throughout the year. We will review for the SOL tests each week by completing questions in an SOL folder which will be sent home at a later date (please look for a letter soon to further explain this process). Please check your child’s planner each night and initial that homework has been completed. Students will be keeping a daily record of their reading beginning in October with the Pizza Hut program, Book-It. In 3rd grade your child should be reading chapter books of at least 50 pages and picture books on the third grade level. At the end of each month, when the completed calendar is returned to school, the student will receive a certificate for a free personal pan pizza. Another reading program that is available to Fairfield students is the Accelerated Reader program. I would like students to take and pass at least two AR tests per month at the child’s APPROPRIATE READING LEVEL. Pamphlets are available in our school library for those not familiar with this program. (Get 2 birds with one stone and read AR books for Book-It!!) It is helpful to have a homework routine. This routine should include a specific place and time for homework. I also recommend creating a Homework Kit that contains pencils, crayons, scissors, and a glue stick. Keeping these supplies together makes homework time go more smoothly. Class and School Rules School rules are school wide and are posted in each room. Our class will be holding regular “Class Meetings” to discuss behavior issues and concerns, as well as the positive behaviors observed in the classroom. Infractions unable to be addressed in this matter will require the student to write a note home, addressing the inappropriate behavior and what would have been a better choice. All behavior notes must be signed and returned by the parents. Breakfast and Lunch Children may bring or buy their lunches. If your child will be buying lunch, milk or ice cream, please provide him/her with a check or cash. The student will put this money in an envelope, with their name on it, and it will be kept in a basket until lunch time. Breakfast is also available each morning. I encourage you to prepay for your child’s lunches. You can decide how much to pay at a time (by the week, month, etc.). All students are assigned a lunch code at the beginning of the year to keep track of their balances. Students will be told by the cashier when their balance is low. Parents are always welcome to eat lunch with their children. Just sign in at the security desk, and wait for us outside the cafeteria. There is a special family table for you and your child to sit. I will ask that you say goodbye to your child at the cafeteria so we can continue with our day. Birthdays If your child has a birthday during the school year, you may send a special treat for the class to eat at lunch. Please do not send party favors. Snacks could include cupcakes, brownies, cookies or rice crispy treats. You may bring the snack to school before 8:00, at lunch time, or send it with your child. If you bring it after school has started, please drop it off in the office. We will celebrate summer birthdays at the end of the year. Sometimes children will want to invite classmates to their birthday parties. This can be a sensitive issue; therefore, students will not be allowed to pass out party invitations unless the entire class is invited. Transportation At the beginning of the year, you will give information regarding where your child will go at the end of the day. If this information changes during the year, the school must be informed of the change in writing. You may send me a note, or give one to the office. Sometimes children may go home a different way for just one day, or get picked up from school. Remember that without a note, your child will go home the usual way. You will also need to send a note if someone other than a parent or legal guardian is picking up your child. This is very important, as your child will not be released without a note and proper identification. Letter Grades/Report Cards Students will receive letter grades beginning in third grade. This is generally a major transition for both the parent and student. I am providing the school wide grade system. Please encourage your child to be patient as they become accustomed to using this system. Percentage/Letter Grade 94-100 A 86-93 B 78-85 C 70-77 D 69 & Below F Communication To make this year successful for your child, communication with me is essential. I will send home, electronically, a parent letter each Monday with our upcoming schedules as well as what we will be working on in each area of curriculum. The homework will come home each week as well as it will be printed on the class website. During the school day the best way I can be reached is via email. If you have an emergency, (ex. a change of transportation for the day) please call the office. The phone number to the school is 648- 2480 and my extension is 51236. Please do not hesitate if you have any questions or concerns about your child…I am available to schedule conferences in person or on the phone. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I look forward to a fabulous year.
