Syllabus
Mrs. Banning Third Grade Syllabus for 2022-2023
Welcome to the Third Grade. I hope this information will be helpful in answering any questions you may have about what to expect during our year.
Contact Information
You can email me at the school website: nbanning@greenville.k12.sc.us
School phone number 355-7614. This number will let you leave me a voice message.
I check my emails in the morning at 7:00 and at the end of the day at 2:45. If there is something that is important for me to know during the day, call the office at 355-7606.
Scope and Sequence for 2022-2023
Copy of Grade Weightings and Assessments
Change In Transportation
Change in Transportation requests should be in writing from the parents by completing this survey:
Spanish:https://forms.gle/29AkaCPG1tjQp3adA
Attendance and Tardy Policies
The Greenville School District follows the South Carolina law that states “students must be in school 170 days in order to be considered for promotion to the next grade level”. There are “lawful absences” that do not count against perfect attendance and these are stated in the Pelham Road Elementary handbook.
Instruction begins at 7:45. Ten tardies will count as an absence and will count against perfect attendance recognition awards.
Communication
I will communicate with parents by way of a newsletter that will be sent home, by email, each Friday. The newsletter will inform parents of the skills we will be covering the next week, upcoming test/quizzes, and special dates. The newsletter will also be posted on the website.
Graded papers will be sent home each Friday. Parents are asked to review the graded papers with their child, then sign, and return all the graded papers back to school on Tuesday.
All Greenville County Grade Level Test, such as Unit Test, will not be sent home, but parents are welcome to visit the class to see their child's test.
I will also send home a weekly behavior sheet on Fridays with the graded papers.
Third Grade Responsibility
Your child should be responsible for cleaning out their own folders. They should be able to read their student planners and tell you their homework assignment. They should be able to get homework, worksheets, books, lunchboxes, parent notes, library books and student planners to and from school on their own. They should be able to tell you what papers need to come back to school and which papers stay home. They need to be responsible!
Procedures for Non-Instructional Routines
Check-In – Upon arrival to class students should proceed to their desk, unpack, sharpen their pencils and read the board for instructions. Begin morning work.
Restroom- students are allowed to go to the restroom at will, unless they abuse this privilege by playing in the restroom or using “going to the bathroom” as a means of not completing their work.
Student Mailboxes- each student has been assigned a numbered mailbox that they are responsible for emptying each day. I will place their graded papers, daily flyers from the office, and checked homework/classwork in the mail box for them to take home.
Collecting Class Work- A basket has been placed in the classroom to collect work completed in class and test papers.
Fire Drills- When we have a fire drill, the students will go out the classroom door, turn to the left and exit out the back door and proceed around to an area beside the road, where they will stand quietly until we receive the all clear signal that will allow us to return to the classroom. I have an emergency bag packed, that is positioned by the door, that contains first aid supplies and a class roster as well as a parental information sheet, that will be taken outside in case of an actual emergency.
Student Planners- Students are responsible for writing their homework assignments in their student planners every day. We stop every day and write down our assignments together, and I tell them what to pack up to go home. Homework assignments and the items they need to take home are also written down on the board. No student will be allowed to return to class after school to pick up forgotten items.
Conferences – will begin after the first nine weeks. This will give me time to assess your child’s progress. If you need a conference before this time, please contact me. At any time you feel that we need to conference, please let me know and I will set up a time that is good for both of us.
Lunch time for us is 12:30 - 12:55. Lunch and breakfast is free to all students. At this time due to Covid restrictions parents are not allowed to come to lunch. If you do not want your childto buy snacks in the cafeteria or if you only want to allow them to buy snacks on certain days or a certain number per week please send a note to be given to the cafeteria manager.
Snacks- You are always welcome to bring a snack for birthdays or “just because”. No homemade snacks are allowed due to allergies and dietary restrictions of some students.
Birthday Parties- If you don’t invite everyone in the class, you are not allowed to pass out invitations at school. The only exception to this, is if it is an all girl or all boy party. Parents are welcome to send in treats for a birthday . All treats must be store bought and should be individually wrapped or pre-cut to serve the students in our class. We have 20 students.
Rules for Student Behavior
Please refer to the Pelham Road Elementary Parent Handbook for the general school-wide rule of students’ behavior for the school bus, lunchroom, hallway, patio, and front patio.
Classroom Rules
In the classroom the students are expected to:
Show up.
Be nice.
Do your “job”.
Be responsible.
Do what is right.
Discipline Plan
Students will be able to earn personal rewards and class rewards by retaining their behavior card. Students will receive a special card that will be used to chart their daily behavior. Students that are in their best personal behavior will turn in their card at the end of the day to receive a sticker. When the student has earned 20 stickers, they will exchange their card for a reward of their choice.
Discipline Steps
1st step-Several verbal warnings- no consequences
2nd step- Star taken away, no sticker for that day
3th step- 5 minutes of Silent Lunch
4th step- 15 minutes of Silent Lunch
5th step- Silent Lunch / Note / Phone call home
6th step- Go to the Office
Graded papers – We will grade a majority of our papers in class. This gives the students an opportunity to review what they missed and to ask questions. I will send home graded papers every Friday. That will give you the weekend to look over your child’s work. I need you to sign that you saw the graded papers, and return all graded papers to me on Tuesday. Greenville County common assessments are not allowed to be set home. Contact me if you would like to come in and view these graded papers.
Students Records
Grades will be recorded in my grade book and on the computer.
The teacher will keep an individual file on each student that will contain all graded papers and assessments.
Schedule of Major Assessments:
Spelling Test will be given each Thursday.
Math fact tests will be given each Friday.
Math, Science, Social Studies, and Health tests will be given at the end of each unit of study.
Quizzes for all subject areas will be given when necessary to assess mastery.
Other forms of assessment will include:
Daily work
Oral discussion
Teacher observations
Projects- to include computer projects, students created displays, or reports.
Homework Policy Homework-
My philosophy on homework is that if your child gives me a good day of work, then I don’t ask for a lot of homework. They are expected to study their spelling words, math facts and do the weekly reading assignments.
All students should have a homework folder and a student planner. Students will be responsible for copying their homework assignments. Homework will not be graded, but students are required to complete all assignments. Homework is given so students will have additional practice at home on concepts that will need to be mastered. Homework assignments are due on the following school day unless otherwise specified. If there is an emergency or illness that prevents the work from being done, the teacher must be notified by a note to excuse the missing assignment. If homework is not turned in on the due date, the student will have silent lunch.
If homework is consistently not being returned, then a conference will be scheduled with the parents.
The student’s planner is expected to be reviewed daily by a parent or guardian.
Missed work/ Make-up Work
Provisions for make-up work missed during excused absences shall be arranged with the teacher(s) concerned at the earliest time possible, but should not exceed five (5) school days after the student returns to school.
Grading Scale
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60- 69 D
50-59 F
All students will be given a numerical grade on their report cards.
Report cards will be sent:
October
January
March
June
Testing
Benchmark Testing
#1 = Oct.20-29
#2 = Jan. 19-28
#3 = March 30 - April 8
State Testing -
Language Arts- We read a variety of materials in third grade. We have a Social Studies newspaper, novels, self-selected books, magazines, and leveled reading books. Students will be tested on reading comprehension weekly. Spelling Test will be given on Thursdays.
Library – Students have the opportunity to go to check out books online. I require each student to always have a book from the library to read at home and at school. We do self selected reading every day in class. Students are allowed to check out three books from the library at a time.
Field Trips
Parents who wish to be a chaperone for field trips must complete a chaperone application and get cleared in the office with their ID in order to chaperone a field trip. This must be completed at least two weeks prior to a field trip. Chaperones must also be cleared ONE week prior to each field trip. If a chaperone application has not been completed and cleared you will be asked to leave the field trip area.
All students must ride the bus to and from the trip. Children who are not part of the class will not be allowed on a school-sponsored field trip. All students going on the trip will be expected to pay the fees and return a signed permission slip at least three school days before the trip. ALL CHAPERONES MUST PAY ANY REQUIRED FEES. Chaperones must also sign in at the school and have a yellow sticker prior to going on the field trip. We reserve the right to limit the number of chaperones for a field trip if we have too many for the buses reserved, or if it becomes a liability issue for the place where the students are going to visit. No early dismissals will be granted while on the trip.
GCS Student Email Accounts Information
Every GCS student has an email address assigned to them, but only 3rd-5th graders at PRES will be taught how to access their account. Each student has a username and email that will remain the same as long as they are a student at a Greenville County School. The email for our district is your child’s username followed by @greenvilleschools.us.
This account is very important because it allows access to Google Apps for Education. It is also the account that will be used as the logon for Chromebooks. This account is owned by GCS and can be accessed by tech support if there are problems. This is not a private account and it should only be used for educational purposes. DO NOT use this account to sign up for other online accounts unless it is approved by the school. DO NOT use this account for personal email.
So what is Google Apps? Google Apps is the platform that GCS has selected for our technology needs. It includes:
● Drive - the master file manager containing all documents created and shared
● Docs - word processing
● Slides - presentations
● Sheets - spreadsheet data
Students are able to collaborate and share projects online and turn in assignments directly to teachers. Some teachers will even use Google Classroom to organize and assign work. Assignments will be saved to the student’s Google Drive, which is connected to and accessed by this email address.
While it may seem overwhelming to give elementary students email accounts, it is important to start teaching kids early how to responsibly use this technology. Their world is much different and moving at a faster pace with regards to technology than any generation that has come before them.
PRES and GCS are constantly working to keep up with changing technology and to educate students how to use it responsibly. Parents can help by monitoring students at home and keeping track of usernames and passwords. While we stress the importance of password safety and secrecy, it has been communicated that parents are the exception and should know this information.
Some basic rules we are teaching about responsible use:
● Only use GCS account for educational purposes.
● Do not post, comment, or send anything you wouldn’t want your teacher or parents to see.
● The internet is forever - just because you delete an item doesn’t mean it is gone.
● Keep your password a secret.
● GCS can access the account if there is a problem.
● Tell a parent or teacher immediately if you receive communication that is inappropriate or from someone you don't know.
It is extremely important that students, families, teachers, and schools all work together to monitor and guide our students while they navigate this constantly changing technology. Advancements are made at an exhausting pace, but if parents and educators communicate and model safe and responsible use, our students will be better equipped to handle these changes and be responsible digital citizens.
Medical Health Services
GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOLS
In an effort to decrease the spread of contagious illness at school, the school district would like to remind you of the following: If your student has fever, they must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school (this means without the use of fever reducing medications). Fever is defined as a temperature of 100.4 or greater. If your student has diarrhea, they must be diarrhea free for 24 hours before returning to school (this means without the use of diarrhea suppressing medication). Diarrhea is defined as 3 or more episodes of loose stools in a 24 hour period. A student must not come to school if vomiting 2 or more times in 24 hours. A student should have 1 or 2 meals without vomiting before returning to school. If you have questions concerning your student’s health, please contact your school nurse. Thank you for your assistance in decreasing the spread of illness.