Fifth grader will come straight to the classroom at 7:00 am for homeroom. Students are supervised by their teacher and will be able to eat breakfast, get prepared for the day, work on missing work, and complete their morning routine. Instruction will begin promptly at 7:30 am.

Students are considered tardy if they are not in class by 7:30 am each day. If a child arrives after this time he/she must get a tardy slip from the office. Please keep in mind, instruction starts at 7:30 so it is very important to be on time if not early. Any student who arrives after 7:25, will still receive breakfast, but will also be responsible for completing their morning routine and class instruction during this time. 

Students who get an early dismissal before 11:30 am will no longer be eligible for perfect attendance. Attendance is important to learning and is part of our Zero Tolerance Policy.

Since students will have more than 1 teacher this year, it is very important that students are at school ALL day to receive instruction.

The preferred method of contact is email or Classroom Dojo for day to day communications. Important information and reminders will be sent via email/Dojo Messenger. Please make sure you check your accounts often (daily or every other day). The school dojo page is a great resource for information from administrators. 

• Mr. Brown- Science, Social Studies 

• Ms. Sanders - Math asanders@lex2.org

• Dr. Portune- ELA & Social Studies bportune@lex2.org 

• Mrs. Carpenter - Math & Science acarpenter@lex2.org

• Ms. Kammerer- ELA skammerer@lex2.org

Faculty and Staff will be utilizing an app called Classroom Dojo to encourage positive student behavior throughout the entire school. Classroom Dojo allows teachers to recognize students for positive behavior associated with O.W.L.S.

• Own our actions

• Work together

• Lead by Example

• Show Respect

 The app also serves as a communication tool between parents and teachers/school. Fifth grade students may “cash-in” their Dojo points for a variety of things throughout the year. 

Transportation: Transportation requests/changes will not be accepted via email or phone call or Dojo. All requests must be made to the front office in writing!

Nurse: The school nurse is for emergencies only. Every student who visits the nurse will receive a pass with notes from the nurse about the visit. It is our policy that students complaining of headache, pain, or “not feeling well” wait for 20 minutes to see if symptoms persist. Teachers will monitor students during this time closely. Students who have inappropriate clothes will NOT be sent to the nurse for extras, she does not have any clothing. Parents will have to bring clothes to school. Any medications MUST have a written prescription in order to be given. 

Bathrooms: Students will be allowed to use the restroom during their morning routine time, and to and from special area, lunch & recess. To limit class time missed, students will sign in and out to track their frequency. Instruction is important, but we understand when emergencies happen.

Playground: All fifth graders go to recess on the big playground, weather permitting. Students are expected to follow school rules while on the playground. Students are not allowed to bring their own equipment to school for recess, however, there will be a grade level bag of equipment for students to use.

Birthdays

Many parents like to bring in a treat (store bought only if food) for their child to share with the class on their birthday DURING LUNCH.  The students really do appreciate this.  Please feel free to do this, but, we ask that you communicate in advance with your child’s teacher via Dojo message or call. Please also note that some students may have allergies, so do not send food containing nuts. Lunch is from 12:00 - 12:30 each day. 

Field Trips

We are currently planning this year’s field trips. If you would like to be a chaperone for a field trip, you will have to complete volunteer forms and have a SLED check to participate. Contact the school office for more information early on as the process takes some time.

**We will send out information as soon as it is available.** 

Students have access to Google Classroom for most assignments and can check their progress in Student Portal and portfolios.

Standards-Based Grading Guide

What is standards-based grading?

Standards-based grading communicates how students perform on a set of clearly-defined learning targets called standards. The purpose of standards-based grading is to identify what a student knows, or is able to do, in relation to those standards - as opposed to simply averaging grades/scores over the course of the grading period, which can mask what a student has learned or not learned.

Why standards-based grading?

Standards-based grading reports what students should know and be able to do within each content area at each grade level. The real-time monitoring of student performance reflects a more accurate picture of student achievement. Additional reasons for standards-based grading include:

• Other methods of grading do not accurately indicate what a student knows and is able to do.

• Students will be able to explain what they learned or did not learn, rather than recite a percentage or letter grade.

• It can benefit all learners - students who struggle and students whose learning is accelerated. Students’ progress toward proficiency of standards can assist teachers in determining intervention or enrichment opportunities.

• Parents/guardians are provided information on specific standards while receiving meaningful feedback.
  
  

How does standards-based differ from traditional grading?

A standards-based grading system measures a student’s mastery of grade-level standards by prioritizing the most recent, consistent level of performance. A student who may have struggled at the beginning of a unit when first learning new material may still be able to demonstrate mastery of key content/concepts by the end of the school year.

In traditional grading systems, a student’s performance for an entire quarter is averaged together. Early quiz scores that were low would be averaged together with more proficient performance later in the unit or quarter, resulting in a lower overall grade than current performance indicates. Standards-based report cards also separate academic performance from work habits in order to provide parents/guardians a more accurate view of a student’s progress in both areas.

How are my child’s “grades” determined?

What students know and can do will be assessed through a variety of measures (conversations, observation, checklists, student writing, formal assessments, etc.) to determine proficiency with a standard. Proficiency scales explain what a student needs to know and be able to do in order to earn a specific proficiency rating (1-4 scale).

What are the levels of proficiency and what do they represent?

4 - Student demonstrates advanced mastery and application of grade-level content

3 - Student demonstrates proficiency with all aspects of the grade-level standard

2 - Student possesses foundational concepts toward achieving the grade-level standard

1 - With help, student demonstrates partial success with score 2 and 3 skills

Work habits will be assessed using the following scale:

3 - Frequently exhibits

2 - Occasionally exhibits

1 - Rarely exhibits

Where can I find more information regarding proficiency scales for my child’s grade level?

We encourage all parents/guardians to be informed regarding the academic content and concepts students will learn each year in school. Information on grade-level proficiency scales can be found on the Lexington Two website at https://www.lex2.org/scales/.

For reading, proficiency is also based on reading grade-level texts.