Policies & Procedures

I am very excited to be teaching your child.  Here are a few of the often asked about policies and procedures for our classroom.  Please feel free to contact me with any further questions or concerns. 

My belief is that if a student feels welcome and safe, they can learn. In order to do this, we work on our community at all times. ALL students in our class are a part of our community. The definition of community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. I tell the students the minute they walk through that door, we are a family who takes care of one another during the school day and eventually, into life. I am excited for your child to join our family! 

Planners

Each student has been given a personal, year-long planner.  We write in these as a class every single day.  I will display an example of what should be written and also discuss each aspect of the homework listed in the planner.  If you have questions about homework, please check your child’s planner.  It is the student’s responsibility to write down the correct homework assignments and to bring the planner back and forth to school everyday.

Homework

I see homework as a tool for children to revisit what we have worked on in class, create a routine, and show understanding of the subject.  I also ask for a reading log to be completed and turned in on Friday.  As fifth graders, the expectation is to read 120 minutes a week and do 30 minutes of math fact practice a week on an as needed basis.  This does not have to be divided evenly each night, but each child can make it work based on his or her activity schedule. Because students can create their own schedule with reading and math fact practice, when they do, their minutes are up to your family's schedules. It can be done from Friday to Friday or Monday to Friday, however you choose to structure it. Reading time can be reading independently, reading with an adult or a younger sibling, listening to books on tape (but if you do this, you must also follow along with the book) and should be a fun, enjoyable time. 

Besides the reading log, homework will be turned in the following day unless noted otherwise.  We will have a nightly math page.  If homework is not turned in, students will be required to fill out an OOPS slip and have it signed by a parent.  If the homework and signed OOPS slip are turned in the following day, I will consider it completed on time.  It is important to know that I will give appropriate amounts of work time in class for assignments to be completed.  If students do not choose to use the time in class to do work, then their class assignments will also become homework.

Homework should not take more than 50 minutes a day.  If you are finding your child’s homework takes more than that, please let me know and we will modify assignments that are too difficult.  Also, homework should not be a frustrating battle every night. Students will be prepared to do the homework from our work in class, and if something becomes too frustrating, please STOP working on it, and send me a note.

OOPS Slips

Our OOPS slips are simply a way for me to keep track of students’ homework and to communicate with parents if their child forgot to turn in or complete their homework on time.  If students receive two OOPS slips in a week, expect me to reach out to discuss a plan to help your child get back on track.  

Students may also receive an OOPS-like slip for behavior.  It is the "OOPS, I MADE A MISTAKE..." Think Sheet. The intention of this slip is only for communication purposes between the student, teacher, and parents. I will sit with the student and fill out the OOPS slip and it will come home to be signed. If the child does not bring home an OOPS slip that night, then the student and myself will either email or call (depending on the severity of the behavior) that morning. 

Word Work

Gold Rush is implementing a multisensory, structured language program that systematically and explicitly studies words. Teachers have been trained in research-based procedures that will build a deep understanding of the following critical language components:  

• Phonics

• High Frequency Words

• Vocabulary

• Morphology (prefixes, suffixes, root words)

Study will be taught in a 20-30 minute block outside of the Readers’ and Writers’ workshops.  In this additional block, teachers will provide explicit, whole group instruction on foundational skills all students need to meet college-readiness standards.  This instruction also ensures all students have a common language and understanding of words, regardless of their reading level. 

Grading Explanation

On most assignments, I will make comments about individual problems or questions and then give an overall grade of 1-4. This rubric stands for:

• Exceeding Expectations or (+)  The work is exceptional and the student’s explanation, quality of work, or evidence of deep thinking is above and beyond my expectations.

• Meeting expectations or checkmark (v)   The work is clear, well explained, and meets all explanations.

• Partially meeting the standard/target  or check-minus (v-) The work meets some expectations, but may be somewhat unclear or  have minor inaccuracies.`

• Not meeting the standard/target or minus (-)  The work is inaccurate or unclear and does not meet expectations.

Please remember that each assessment or assignment will be graded on its own merit so that if your child receives a (-) on one assignment, they may receive a (+) on another depending on the work done and shown.

Sometimes I only glance at work to get a sense of the progress being made, but do not use the assignment as a grade.  If you see ungraded work, please feel free to review it.  As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns about graded material sent home.

I do not "grade" homework, but we do review it in class daily and I look over it to make individualized plans for students who need help on a concept.  I also record homework as complete or incomplete to reward the effort and behavior behind completing it.

Many assignments are assigned through Google Classroom, which is a Google based central platform where I can create, assign, and grade assignments and projects on the computer. Please feel free to look at your child's Google Classroom at any time to view assignments, writing, or graded work. I will comment on their writing directly onto their document by using "comments" on the document.  You can access Google Classroom through my blog with your child's Google login which can be located on a sticker in their agenda.

user name: lastnamefirstnamemiddleinitial@s.dcsdk12.org Password: Dcsd + lunch number

Birthday Celebrations and Class Parties

Celebrating students' birthdays in class is always welcome! I am always open to treats being brought in to acknowledge the day. We will celebrate birthdays during snack time (10:55). Treats should either be individually packaged or provided as individual treats (i.e. cookies, donuts, etc). Please provide a complete list of ingredients so we can ensure that students with allergies are not exposed to any allergens. Students will no longer be allowed to pass out birthday treats to staff. 

We will be having four class parties this year: Halloween, winter holidays, and Valentine’s Day. We will send home information about the parties several weeks in advance so that each family can prepare for it.

Attendance

When students are absent, I will collect the work that they missed in a "We Missed You" folder and leave it for them.  They have two days for each day absent to complete the work and turn it in.  If you would like me to send the folder home with a sibling at the school, please contact me as early in the day as possible so I can coordinate that.

If you know that your child will be absent ahead of time, please let me know in writing and I will provide them with their assignments when they get back.  Please understand that much of a school day’s learning experiences cannot be replicated in homework.  However, if your child will be missing a number of days, the following activities are ideas of substitutions for missed class work.

• Read and record a reading response as well as reading time.

• Keep a journal of places visited or experiences.

• Gather information about the places visited and prepare a report.

• Practice math facts or play math games from class.

• Free write in a writing journal.

Behavior Expectations

I have the same expectations in my classroom that we have at Gold Rush as a whole.  The school motto is to “Go for the Gold”: Give respect, Own your actions, Listen and learn, and Do your best."  I model and discuss my expectations for student work and behavior daily.  As a class, I encourage students to work together to achieve a goal.  If an individual student is caught exemplifying the school motto or classroom motto, they will earn a Golden Ticket.  Not only do we Go for the Gold, but have also established norms in our classroom that we all believe in: Be Respectful, Be Kind, Be Ready to Learn. Students are responsible for their individual behavior in class. As a result, students will be treated as individuals in the classroom when it comes to being respectful, kind, and ready to learn. If a student is having difficulty, they will receive a warning. The next step/warning is a reflection step. Individually, if a student is not meeting classroom and/or school expectations, they will be required to fill out a “Think Sheet” to reflect on their behavior; your child will then discuss their behavior with me one on one. You will receive this reflection sheet.  This is just a means of communication between myself, you, and the student in the hopes that we can solve this issue together.  It will need to be signed and brought back to school the next day so that I know you were notified of the situation. Of course, if the situation warrants a phone call home that day, I will do so. If a student displays consistent behavior problems, I will communicate with you my concerns and we will work on a plan to address those problems. If necessary, we will involve the administration as well to address the problems.

To highlight positive behavior in my classroom, students are working on creating a "key chain" full of "key" behavior. They will be adding to it daily or weekly. 

Snacks

We will have one quick working snack break every day around 10:55 so please have your child bring  nutritious snacks to school.  This snack should not be an additional meal, but simply a quick and easy supplement.  I encourage students to bring healthy, sustainable snacks to class which do not include candy, cookies, or sugar based items.   Also, please have your child bring a water bottle to school that they can leave on their desks.

Communication

I will be posting on my website and emailing you once a month, if not more. I will notify you when a new post is made. Please read these so that you are aware of the learning taking place in our class.  The website is also a great place to look for resources, links, project information, homework, etc… I will send home graded work in your child’s homework folder. On occasion, I will require a parent signature on an assignment so I can make sure it gets home to you! ;)  Email is a wonderful way to communicate with me and I can be reached at kelly.broecker@dcsdk12.org.  I try to answer all emails within 24 hours.