I do not assign regular homework. I believe that work should be left and work extends to kids as well. That being said, there are some ways that you can help your child to succeed in school. The first way is to have your child read for 30 minutes a day. Research has shown that the more a child reads and is exposed to written language, the easier reading becomes and the better they do in school. 4th is a pivotal year in education. This is the start of the upper grades band. For the last 3 years, your student has been learning and solidifying the fundamentals of reading and math. This includes subjects such as phonics, letter sounds, decoding, fluency, and basic facts of multiplication, addition, and subtraction. 4th grade is the year they stop teaching the basics and start requiring students to use that knowledge for higher-level thinking. For example, we expect students to use their fluency skills to determine theme, main idea, and inferences. In math, we use fact fluency of multiplication to multiply two digits by two digits numbers (example: 23 x 47). We stop spending time on phonics and move that time to science and social studies. If your child is behind in math or reading, 20 minutes of I-Ready at home will be extremely beneficial for them. The only homework that will be coming home is incomplete classwork. If your student uses their class time well, they shouldn't ever need to bring something home. Absent or off-task students will have work sent home. Test reviews before each test will also be sent home. 

Life happens, sometimes breakfast doesn't. I do allow healthy snacks in class. Candy will be limited. The last thing that I want is for your child to feel hungry in school. If you would like to send them with mess-free snacks, please feel free. There is a 3 strike policy. If your child leaves the classroom a mess or disrupts others, they may lose the privilege of eating in class. 

Should there be a remote learning day, the work will be posted on the class website. Students can find help and a walk-through video from me on the site. Assignments will be posted to Google Classroom as well as a link on the class website. 

Trailside Elementary has a few items in the student handbook that are allowed or not allowed at school. Phones are not permitted at school. Students may wear a smartwatch but it is expected that they will not use it to text, call, or play while in class. Please help your student abide by this rule to allow them a distraction-free learning experience. Hats are allowed as long as used appropriately. I also have an additional class rule: toys are not permitted in the classroom. Any toy that leaves a backpack will receive a warning to put it away. If the toy does not stay put away, then I will take it until the end of the day and your student may pick it up on their way out. This goes for the same reason as the phones. We are trying to create a learning environment that helps students to learn. Toys are a distraction to the student as well as the students around them. I have also seen too many unfortunate things happen to toys coming to school with them being lost, stolen, or broken. They are just safer and better off staying home. If your child needs a fidget to help with focus, that is allowed. 

Please be mindful of your student missing class. Every day we learn something new. Any days missed will result in your child missing key content. If it is a planned absence, please talk to me before the absence so we can coordinate keeping your student up to date and not missing anything. If it is unplanned, have your student see me upon returning so we can get them caught up.