Class Expectations

Absences, Tardies, & Early Check-Outs

When your child is present, he/she is able to actively engage in growth and feel more confident as a 3rd grader. While I understand circumstances such as sickness and family emergencies are unavoidable, please make every effort to make sure your child has the best chance at a successful school year by being present. 

Should your child be absent, it is his/her responsibility to ask me for missed work. Students have the amount of days absent to turn work in to me. For example: If your child is absent two (2) school days, he/she has (2) school days to turn in all missed work. 

As much as possible, please keep classroom disruptions to a minimum. This includes parents checking students out of school early. Scheduling appointments outside of school hours would be very much appreciated. When students become distracted or are consistently absent from the school day’s activities, it is difficult for them to catch up since we pack so much into our days together. This is especially true for Fridays as these days are typically designated for end-of-week quizzes and tests. Thank you for your support. 

APS Handbook

Classroom Celebrations

Birthdays

You're welcome to send in treats for the class to celebrate your child's birthday. Please send them with your child before school. We have 26 students in our class. 

Holidays

I am sensitive to cultural beliefs surrounding holidays. If you prefer that your child not participate in holiday class celebrations, please let me know as soon as possible. 

Classroom Management Plan

ClassDojo points will be used to encourage and enforce positive behaviors and will help students earn small prizes individually or class prizes for all students to enjoy together. You can frequently check in with your child to see how they are doing with ClassDojo and use this as an ongoing conversation at home to encourage positive behaviors at school.

At the end of each month, students will receive the amount of tickets that coincide with the amount of ClassDojo points they have. At this point, they can choose how many tickets they'd like to enter into a drawing for the chance to win a bigger prize from my treasure box, sticker store, pet store, or snack bar. At the beginning of each month, ClassDojo points will reset. 

Classroom Rules

My rules are: Be kind, Be Respectful, Be Safe, and Be Responsible. 

When rules are followed, we are able to smoothly and cooperatively move through our school days. We are also able to stay on track with our schedule. When rules are not followed and we need to pause our learning to redirect negative behaviors, it creates disunity in our classroom and halts our academic growth. 

This being said, when rules are followed in my classroom, students will be rewarded with ClassDojo points. I also give incentives such as extra recess minutes, time to play educational games, treats, or class celebrations.

When rules are not followed, students will undergo the following consequences:

1. Redirection of Behavior 

2. Loss of ClassDojo Point

3. Fill out a Think, Inspect, Correct form to be signed by the student and the parent

4. Loss of Privilege (Class Celebration, Field Trip, Other Classroom Incentive)

5. Behavior Referral and Call/Message Home 

Communication

I pride myself on have great communication with my families. I understand that you are entrusting me with your child and I take that responsibility very seriously. The best ways to contact me are through ClassDojo, email, or through a message written in your child’s agenda. Please keep in mind that if you send me a message through ClassDojo or email during the school day, I may not respond until the end of the day. I will also communicate with you through a monthly newsletter with reminders and upcoming events and through this class website. If there is ever a question or concern, please communicate with me as soon as possible for an explanation or clarification. Together, we are a team!

Drop Off/Pickup 

Drop off and pick up arrangements for your child need to be set up by the time he/she arrives to school each day. I cannot ensure I will receive messages about changes made to these arrangements because I am teaching during school hours. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this important matter.

Field Trips

3rd Grade loves going on field trips! Field trips are a great way to make learning fun and engaging for kids. While we are excited to venture off of school grounds and explore outside of our normal educational environment this year, please understand that field trips are a privilege, not a right. Students must display proper behaviors and attitudes prior to and for the duration of each field trip. 

We need parent volunteers to attend field trips with us! If you need to get background clearance for the first time or you need to renew (every two years), please scroll down to the School Handbook link, look for "Background Check" and follow the directions to become an APS approved parent volunteer. This process takes awhile, so please complete it sooner rather than later in the year.

Food & Drinks in the Classroom

Snacks, drinks (other than water), and gum are not allowed in my classroom. This includes chips, crackers, other snack items, and colored drinks like Gatorade, soda, juice, etc. We need to keep our learning environment clean and free from outside creatures. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

Students are allowed to bring healthy snacks to enjoy at recess. Please make every effort to send snacks with your child that will fuel their bodies and brains for their school days.

Grading Policy

All work needs to be completed on time and with the student’s best effort. All daily work is assigned to help prepare students for end of unit tests, so it is of great importance to get the work done so practice and mastery of concepts are achieved. Collectively, all weekly assignments, quizzes, writing, projects, and tests will be graded and averaged out for a final grade, each grading period.

Incomplete work will go into the grade book as a “0”. You may use ParentVUE at any time to check your child’s grade. If your child has a grade he/she or you would like to be raised, he/she will need to request to fill out an assignment re-do form,  complete or redo the assignment and turn it in attached to the form and the previous assignment for me to grade. Redone assignments are accepted up until one week prior to the end of the grading period. Quizzes and tests cannot be redone.

Homework

I firmly believe in a well balanced child, so family time, hobbies, and commitments outside of school are important. However, homework helps my students retain what they have learned in my class throughout the day. It will consist of daily reading, spelling, math practice, and any unfinished classwork from the day. If your child is coming home with a lot of extra work, this is an indicator he/she is not using classroom time wisely. In addition, I will also assign occasional projects which students will have ample time to complete. 

REMINDERS: 

• Please use pencil only on assignments. 

• Please use both sides of each page for spelling notebook homework activities. 

Learning Readiness Behaviors

In my classroom, learning readiness behaviors help us focus our attention on learning and growing, as a class. We practice these behaviors daily.

Magma Binder 

Mission Statement

School Handbook

Here, you will find information about school policies regarding topics like: attendance and tardies, parent volunteer clearance, cell phone use, dress code, drop off/pick up procedures, field trips, and student checkout procedures. Please refer to this useful resource to help clarify any questions or concerns about  our school.

Technology

We have a class set of Chromebooks that are available for students to use in the classroom. Chromebooks are not sent home with students. Students understand that they must mindfully utilize Chromebooks in a respectful way, as they are expensive pieces of equipment. They are not to damage or destroy the screen, keyboard, or any other part of the device. When we handle our Chromebooks, it is with care. We don't throw, toss, or slide them around. We never leave them on the ground. If your child's assigned Chromebook is not respectfully used, you will need to pay for damages or replacement of the device. In addition, students must only visit school approved, age appropriate sites when using their Chromebooks. I monitor all student activity on Chromebooks using GoGuardian.

Toys 

Please ensure that your child refrains from bringing any toys, games, or fidgets to school. This includes personal pencil sharpeners. We do not need them. I provide an ample supply of sharpened pencils each day. All of these things become a hindrance to their focus on learning. If they are brought to school, I will confiscate them and will not return them until the end of the school year. In addition, please have conversations with your child about the importance of using school supplies for their designated purposes, not for taking apart or playing with during instruction. I appreciate your cooperation and support as we steer away from unnecessary distractions and strive towards a focus on qualitative learning.