Disclosure Document 2025-26
Mr. Casey Johnson, 6th Grade
Grovecrest Elementary
Dear Parents,
I am thrilled to have your students in my class this year! My philosophy and hope is to provide a stimulating, risk-free environment that facilitates the building of self-esteem and esteem for others, thereby providing success in all facets of learning. My desire is to work with you and your student as a team for the best interest of the student and his/her education. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me so we can stay focused on our team effort and have the most successful year possible.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Curriculum: My class will follow the standards and goals for the 6th grade as outlined by the Utah State Core Curriculum. (For specifics, go to the district website: www.alpineschools.org or the UEN website: www.uen.org/core. For 6th Grade’s Essential Standards, click here.)
Homework: This year's homework expectation for English Language Arts is that a student reads for at least 30 minutes at least 5 days a week (with 10 of those minutes being read out loud). Occasionally, there may be specific assignments for reading, but it will normally be student-choice. Any and all specific reading assignments will be emailed so parents and students are aware of them.
This year's homework expectation for Math is that a student will complete a homework page from our text. Math homework will be assigned about 3 nights per week. Students shouldn’t spend more than 20-25 minutes on math homework. If it is taking longer, they should stop and bring what they have. If an individual problem is giving them trouble, they should skip it and try the next one.
Ample time is usually allowed during class time to work on class assignments. If an assignment is not completed, it may be considered homework.
Students may have occasional projects to work on or complete at home with a reasonable amount of time before the due date.
Homework is vital to understanding concepts in class. It is created to help students practice and be able to demonstrate proficiency in essential standards more readily.
Student Planners
As part of good organizational habits and self-responsibility, the students have individual planners. Homework, tests, and special projects will be written in the planner with due dates as well. This is also where home reading will be recorded.
Report Cards
Our district has adopted a Standards-based Report Card. This allows parents to have a better understanding of how their student is progressing in more specific Essential Standards. For each standard, students can receive a...
4- Beyond Mastery: Student has consistently demonstrated high proficiency beyond grade level expectations and has shown deeper understanding of the standard.
3- Mastery: Student has mastered grade level expectations and sufficiently demonstrated proficiency of the standard.
2- Limited Mastery: Student is below grade level expectations and has demonstrated limited proficiency of the standard.
1- Insufficient Mastery: Student is well below grade level expectations and has demonstrated insufficient proficiency of the standard.
Please try not to equate these with traditional letter grades. Instead, view the report card as a checklist of what areas your child has achieved proficiency. As students progress, these may improve throughout the year, as students will have many opportunities to show their learning.
Absences and Tardiness
Frequent absences and tardies disrupt the learning process and give the impression that school is not important. They can negatively impact a student’s performance. With the switch to standards-based report cards, the focus is no longer on turning in assignments, and has shifted to demonstrating understanding. This means that attendance is more important than ever.
If your student is absent, please notify me and/or the office. I will be happy to gather work at the end of the school day when needed. I will allow a reasonable amount of time to make up assignments missed. A student is considered tardy after 9:15. Students arriving at school after 9:30 should check in at the office. District policy dictates that if a student has 3 unexcused absences throughout the year, parents will be contacted. After 5, 10 and 15 unexcused absences, the principal will be informed and will contact the parents.
Discipline
We follow the school wide discipline policy and school rules. Each student is responsible for his/her own behavior. The students know the school rules and motto. The students also know the classroom rules and are expected to act accordingly. These rules are made to create an atmosphere of learning. If students disrupt the learning process, appropriate consequences will follow depending on the seriousness of the problem. Warnings, Think Time, teacher/student conference, parental contact, loss of recesses, principal visits, and a behavior contract are used as disciplinary measures as needed.
Specialties Schedule
The 6th grade specialty classes are held at 11:05-10:35 on Tuesday through Friday. Our class’s schedule is as follows:
Tuesday: Art
Wednesday: Computers
Thursday: PE
Friday: Music
Library will be at 1:40 on Tuesdays.
NOVA is a program taught by a local police officer. It teaches students about making good choices in all areas of life. Our officer is Lieutenant Carl Nielson. He will be in our classroom on Mondays at 10:30-11:15. This will run from August 25th to around December.
Treats/Allergies
If you bring treats for parties, birthdays, etc. (this is optional), please do not bring homemade items or balloons, as these are against district policy for health and safety reasons. Treats should be store-bought and prepackaged. Our custodial staff has requested that all drinks brought to school be clear, and that soda not be brought into the classrooms.
Medications
As part of the Alpine School District policy, all medications must be dispensed from the office, accompanied by a parent and/or doctor’s note. Please remember that if your child isn’t feeling well, we ask that they stay home.
If a student needs to be checked out of school, please check the student out at the office. The office will then contact me to send the student there. For our students’ safety, we cannot dismiss a student until we have heard from the office. Please DO NOT come straight to the classroom to check a student out, even if you have just been there to volunteer. Please DO NOT ask a student who is calling home to meet you in the parking lot.
Electronic Devices
It is our district’s policy that students do not use personal electronic devices in school. If a student has a cellular phone, gabb watch, etc., he/she may keep it in his/her backpack, but it should be turned off (not just “asleep”) during school. If students need to contact parents (or vice versa) during school, they should use the school’s phone.
Thank you for your support of our efforts to work with you and your student as a team for his/her last year in elementary school. You are welcome to contact me at any time with a question or concern. My website is a good resource for copies of the assignments, activities for practice, and calendared events, etc.
Have a great year!
Sincerely,
Mr. Casey Johnson
Contact Information:
Phone: (801) 610-8109 ext. 166205
Email: caseyjohnson@alpinedistrict.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/alpinedistrict.org/mrjohnson