Back to School Handout

4th grade information

Mrs. Figgs--Reading/Language Arts, Religion

Ms. Gowen--Social Studies

Mr. Benteman--Math

Mrs. Rocha--Science

Our classroom needs to be a safe and positive learning environment. We will be reading aloud, presenting our writing, answering questions etc., and all students need to keep comments positive and be constructive when suggesting changes.

Students and parents are expected to utilize the 4th grade Google site to check for assignments, spelling lists, current lessons in reading and the parent note.

This can be accessed through the Mater Dei School website.

I am generally in the building by 7:00 a.m. Students are to come upstairs and unpack if they are here before 7:30. Once students are on the playground walking, students are not allowed to come up without special permission.

We will pledge the flag and pray together at 7:50 a.m. and be ready to start our day at 8:00. We start with prayer and then small group reading and it is imperative that students be here on time.

Homework:

Homework will consist of anything not completed during the school day. It is due at 8:00 a.m. the following morning unless otherwise noted. If a paper is late, students will lose 10%.

If your child is absent, they have 2 days to complete the work, but as long as they are making progress, I am willing to work on this time frame.

Discipline:

Cheating on an assignment, on in class work or a test is an automatic zero for the work/test and a detention that will be served at 7:00 a.m. on a day convenient for me.

Name left by a substitute for misbehavior = detention (parent handbook, pg. 12)

Dress code is enforced, including the wearing of belts and tucking in of shirts. I will give reminders the first quarter, but after that students will sign the behavior notebook.

Flicking or throwing food in the cafeteria = detention (parent handbook, pg. 19)

Planners:

4th graders will be filling out their planners during the school day. It will be their responsibility to make sure that all required papers and books are gathered to be taken home. Please check each evening to make sure that they have completed all work and then sign off on the planner.

Houses:

Mater Dei students are placed into multi-age groups and they will meet every other Tuesday. We will do activities that help to foster community and leadership. We will sit at Mass by “House” unless we are planning the Mass.

Spelling:

We concentrate on identifying patterns used to spell sounds. Alphabetical order, synonyms, proofreading for mistakes, classifying, working with analogies, context clues.

Reading:

Different types of selections (poetry, nonfiction, fiction, biography) work on reading vocabulary, comprehension, synonyms, antonyms, prefixes and suffixes.

We will also be working with story elements such as plot, conflict/resolution, compare/contrast, characters etc.

Reading is taught in 2 different sections. Tier 1 will be whole group instruction. Tier 2 is the entire class in small groups with various adult helpers.

Students are expected to read on their own and should always have a silent reading book in the classroom.

Students will work on getting more comfortable with the Journeys website. From here they can access the reading book, workbooks, audio of the stories, leveled readers, vocabulary cards etc.

This can be accessed through the Mater Dei School Website.

English:

Grammar skills including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions.

Writing:

We’ll be working on constructing well thought out paragraphs connecting writing to our own lives. It is imperative that students use proper writing including complete sentences in each class. Communication in Science class is every bit as important as it is in reading class.

Religion:

Different saints, The Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, helping in liturgies, studying the liturgical year. We will be writing different types of prayers, finding different passages in the Bible etc.

Students are expected to participate in all parts of Mass, singing, responses, Holy Communion (when appropriate). Students will be in charge of Mass parts on a rotating basis. I will keep track of what parts students have had in order to give everyone a chance to read, cantor, present gifts etc.

Mass is a very large part of attending a Catholic School and we do discuss the weekend mass readings as well. Please make every effort to attend Mass with your child on the weekend. Our school masses do NOT take the place of Sunday Mass.

Birthdays or 1/2 birthdays are celebrated in the classroom. Please read the parent handbook, page 7 about treats and let's work together to make sure that they are appropriate. Anything delivered to the school will be in the office until the end of the day.

Book orders will be going home on a monthly basis. Our online class code is GQKWK or you can send in a paper order form as well with a check made out to Scholastic.

It is going to be a GREAT year and I am looking forward to it. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me early and often so we can stay on top of things.

Mrs. Figgs

figgsa@materdeischool.org