PLE Mrs. Dunlap - Info & Policies

Daily / Weekly Items:

Cell Phones: I understand that cell phones are an important tool in everyone's daily life. However, in the classroom, they become a major distraction from learning. Students will place cell phones in a bin inside the classroom at the start of the day, and will not be given access to them until dismissal at 4:00 PM. If you need to get a message to your student during the day, please call the main office and have the message delivered that way.
Smart Watches: Smart watches are viewed as a safety feature for some families. Smart watches are allowed at school only with appropriate use. No messages should be sent or received during school hours. For privacy reasons, no audio or visual monitoring through a smartwatch will be allowed. Failure to follow school guidelines on smart watches will result in student’s losing the privilege to carry or use this type of device.
Water Bottles: Hydration is important! Please make sure your child comes to school each day with a leak-proof water bottle, containing only water. Students are not permitted to have flavor additions, alternative water drinks (coconut water, etc) or soda/energy drinks in the classroom - all of these stain our classroom carpets (spills happen daily). Students will be given opportunities during the day to refill their water bottles.
Snacks: There will be a daily working snack time. Students will be given 10 minutes during class time to have their snack, while working. Please send a healthy snack to school with your student. We ask that no candy be sent to school for snack time. Due to severe allergies in our classroom, make sure that snacks do not contain peanuts or tree nuts.
Backpacks & Supplies: Students are expected to carry a backpack to and from school each day. They should store their binder and pencil pouch in their backpack at the end of the day to take home. This ensures that homework and other necessary resources are readily available to complete their assignments. Other supplies (Benchmark workbook, math workbook, computers, etc.) will remain in the classroom.
Thursday Folders: Each week, your child will bring home a folder provided by the school. It will contain flyers from school, PTO info, class information, graded work etc. Please go through this every week and send back the empty folder the following day (Friday).
Google Classroom: We will use Google Classroom as our main platform for all electronic assignments. Most of your child’s literacy assignments will be on Google classroom. As a parent you can view their Google Classroom at any time to see their progress and missing assignments. Grades are often not given on this platform, but we are happy to answer questions about grades if you have them.
Class Dojo: Class Dojo is an app we will be using to communicate with families in addition to our newsletters. This app has a messaging feature, a sharing feature, and a behavior tracking feature. It is an easy way for us to have constant communication about your child’s experiences in the classroom. We will use it to share quick reminders, pictures, etc. as well as to track positive behaviors and areas that your child might be struggling in on that day.
Excellence Trackers: Excellence trackers will be sent home each Friday. This allows parents to see how their child is doing in school both academically and behaviorally on a weekly basis. Please sign and return on Mondays. If they are not returned, you will receive an email and students will have dojo points taken away.
We are a peanut and tree nut aware classroom! Please help us protect our CREW; do not bring foods into the classroom which contain these allergens.

Arrival

School starts at 9:10 AM. On Fridays (starting Aug 21), school starts at 9:55 AM.
Before arriving in the classroom each day, students should complete the "5 B's of Arrival"
- Breakfast: Student's first stop should be the cafeteria for breakfast, if applicable.
- Bathroom: Following breakfast, students should stop by the restroom if needed to take care of business to avoid classroom disruptions.
- Water Bottle: Arrive to class with a filled water bottle (water only, with no additives).
- Backpack: Students should remove all necessary supplies, binder, lunchbox, snack, water bottle, phone, etc. and hang their backpack on the hook. All of these items should be taken home at the end of the day.
- Look at the Board: Students should look at the whiteboard for any instructions, schedule changes, or other important information for the day.
Arrive to Class Prepared: Students should arrive to class each day, with the following supplies in hand:
- Binder
- Any assignments/homework to turn in or work on during class
- Pencil Pouch/Box
- Charged Computer (stored at school)
- Independent Reading Novel

Homework

One of our goals in 5th grade is to prepare your child to enter middle school, where homework is a regular/nightly responsibility. Accordingly, your child will have weekly homework to help them practice the various skills associated with homework: time management, prioritization, organization, independence and topic/lesson review.

Clever Access from home (Access point for i-Ready, Khan Academy, and many other school applications)

Username: Lastname(first initial)(middle initial)@s.dcsdk12.org

Occasionally there is a number after the middle initial

Example: stairscd@s.dcsdk12.org or stairscd1@s.dcsdk12.org

Password: Dcsd(6 digit lunch number), Example: Dcsd234432

Late Work Policy

Students are responsible for knowing what assignments are due, and when. Late work will be accepted with the following conditions:

Late work should be turned in as soon as possible following the due date, with an "Assignment Accountability" form.
All assignments and homework for a unit must be turned in before that unit's final test or project due date
Excessive missing assignments may result in additional consequences.

Absences

If your child will be absent for more than 3 days, please notify us as soon as possible, as well as the office. Because most schoolwork requires teacher instruction, there are some lessons and activities that cannot be made up or given in advance of the absence. We recommend the student read their independent novels while they are absent, and work on building math fluency (multiplication facts 0-12, and multiply/divide multi-digit whole numbers quickly and accurately).

Plagiarism

All work submitted must be original and created by the individual submitting it. Plagiarism—including copying text, ideas, or work from others without proper credit—is strictly prohibited. The use of AI tools (such as ChatGPT or others) must be disclosed and appropriately cited if they contribute to the final product. To ensure authentic learning, any instances of plagiarism or unapproved AI-generated content may require the assignment to be redone and resubmitted, and could lead to loss of technology privileges or additional disciplinary action. We are committed to fostering a culture of integrity and respect for intellectual property.

Toys and Fidgets

Toys are not allowed at school. They get lost, stolen, and/or broken and many times they contain gooey substances that stain classroom carpets and furniture. If your child brings a toy, I will ask them to put it in their backpack and not bring them back. This includes pop-its, squish balls, slime/putty, stuffed animals, etc. If toys continue to come in to the classroom, they will be confiscated and a parent/guardian will have to claim them from the school office, and may be confiscated until the end of the year if it becomes habitual.

When utilized correctly, fidgets can be a great tool to promote focus; however, they have become a major distraction to learning over the past few years. Students often use them as toys, which is not the intended purpose of the device. Therefore, fidgets will not be allowed in the classroom. Our administration supports us in this policy. Unless your child has a legal document such as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 that directly specifies the use of a fidget as a modification to support academic achievement, fidgets will not be allowed and are expected to stay home.

Birthdays

We love celebrating birthdays in class! Unless your student declines, we will automatically recognize your student's birthday on or around their special day. If you would like to send something special, I ask that you communicate with me, in advance, what you would like to do. Please know that we cannot have any peanuts, tree nuts in our classroom as we have severe allergies to these foods in our CREW!

Dismissal

PLE will continue to use PikMyKid for dismissal.
If there is a one-time change to your child's normal schedule - please call the office before 3:30 PM so that they can let your child and I know ASAP.
If there is a permanent change, you can email myself and the office so we can update the records for end-of-day dismissal routines.
If dismissal is changed for weather, you will be notified through the various district communications and someone listed in your child's emergency contacts will be required to pick up and sign out your child in the classroom.

What We Study in 5th Grade at PLE:

Math: We use the ReadyMath curriculum in 5th Grade, with supportting activities from enVisions and Khan Academy. Students will make regular use of the skills they have already learned. Much of the 5th grade curriculum is about accurately and quickly calculating solutions with multi-digit values, including decimals and fractions. We will also focus on breaking word problems apart to determine the best approach and modeling the situation in various ways, before working towards a solution.
- - Multi-Digit Operations: Fluency (accuracy + speed) in multiplication and division of whole numbers using more efficient strategies.
  - Volume Measurement: Understanding volume as an attribute of solid figures and real-world problem-solving.
  - Place Value and Operations with Decimals: Understanding multi-digit numbers, powers of 10, decimal place value, and rounding.
  - Operations with Fractions: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions and mixed numbers.
Literacy: Benchmark will be a centering focus for the literacy instruction in 5th grade.
- - Oral Expression and Listening: Students learn to collaborate effectively in discussions and summarize diverse information (e.g., read-alouds, media), as well as present opinions and topics logically with supporting details.
  - Reading: The focus is on foundational skills, such as decoding multisyllabic words and vocabulary acquisition (roots/affixes), along with "Key Ideas and Details" and "Craft and Structure" for both literary and informational texts. This includes quoting from text to support inferences, determining main ideas or themes, and analyzing text structures or points of view.
  - Writing: Students practice opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative writing, focusing on structure, logical organization, precise language, and narrative techniques like dialogue and sensory detail. They also focus on the writing process and the conventions of Standard English grammar.
  - Research, Inquiry, and Design: Students conduct short research projects using multiple sources to build knowledge, gather information, and draw evidence from texts to support their analysis.
Science & Social Studies: Science and Social Studies will be taught through specific instruction as well as through incorporation with other content areas (literacy, STEM) and will cover the following topics this year:
- - Physical Science: Structure and Properties of Matter and Energy
  - Life Science: Energy and Matter in Ecosystems
  - Earth Science: Earth's Systems and Resources
  - Space Science: Stars and Solar Patterns in our Galaxy
  - History: Early North American and U.S. History
  - Geography: Using Geographic Tools to Understand Regions
  - Economics: Early American Commerce and Trade
  - Civics: Citizenship and the Structure of the U.S. Government
  - Personal Financial Literacy: Managing Personal Finances, Financial Institutions