Classroom Information

Absences & Tardies:

School hours are: 7:55 am-3:12 pm

If your child is going to be late to school or absent from school, please call and let the office know as soon as possible. If your child needs to leave school early, please call the office or send a note/email to Mrs. Podoski. The office phone number is (715) 693-3660.

If your child is going to be absent for more than a day, and you know ahead of time, please let Mrs. Podoski know so she can work with your student beforehand. Your child is always responsible for making up any work that is missed during their absence.

Snacks, Drinks ,& Birthday Treats:

Each day, we will have a snack break. If your child would like a snack during this time, please send them with a healthy snack. If you want to send a box of crackers, granola bars, etc. to last them for the week or so, they may keep it in their lockers. Due to allergies, please do not send snacks with any nuts or peanut butter in them.

If you and your child decide to bring in a treat for their birthday, they may bring in a pre-packaged treat of their choice. It can be cupcakes, cookies, etc. because it is a special occasion!

Your child may bring a water bottle (to be filled with water only) to keep at school during the week. Each Friday, I will send all water bottles home to be washed and they can bring them back for the following week.

Planners & Homework:

As a part of fourth grade, your student will have homework each night. Students should spend no more than 40 minutes a night on their homework (10 minutes per grade level). The purpose of the homework is to have students practice what we learned in class that day and to become accountable and responsible students. If homework is taking longer than 40 minutes, please contact me so we can brainstorm a solution.

Each evening, your child will have a math assignment. We are using the Eureka Math Program this year and it has some new ways of teaching students math. I will have math video links that you and your student can use as a reference while they are completing the math.

Each assignment that your child needs to complete will be written in their student assignment planner. The assignment and due date will be written in the planner. Assignments are expected to be completed by 8:00 am on the due date. The assignment itself will be found in your child’s homework/take home folder.

In addition to completing any given assignments, please make sure your child is reading each day and practicing their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division math facts.

Each evening, please go through your child’s planner with them to ensure they are completing all necessary items. In addition, please sign your child’s planner each day, as I will be checking planners every morning.

Daily Math Fact Practice in the Classroom:

Math fact fluency is a very important part of our fourth grade curriculum. Proficiency in fact fluency lays the foundation for much of the math we will be working through this year. Please join me in solidifying your student’s fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts by practicing them a little every night. The method of practice is entirely up to you as there are so many great resources available: flashcards, device apps, websites. If you’d like help finding a method that works best for your child and family, please reach out to me and I’d be happy to find some resources for you.

Each day, students will practice their basic math facts within our classroom by taking a test. This is not something that impacts their report card by any means, but is a way for students to set goals for themselves and to work at their own pace!

Monday- Addition

Tuesday- Subtraction

Wednesday- Multiplication

Thursday- Divison

Friday- Multiplication

On Mondays and Tuesdays students will work on their addition and subtraction facts. Students will get five minutes to complete as many problems out of 100 as they can. It’s my goal to correct and get the tests back to students as quickly as possible, so they can set a new goal for the upcoming week. Students should aim to try to complete one more problem than they did the week before. Once students accurately complete all 100 problems two weeks in a row, they will move down to four minutes. This routine will continue and students can continue moving down in time.

Your child will have a weekly multiplication test on Wednesdays and Fridays and a weekly division test on Thursdays to check for mastery on a specific fact group. If the fact test is passed, your child will move to the next fact family. For example, if the student passes the 3 facts this week, then next week they will take a test on the 4 facts. If they don’t pass the 3 facts test this week, then the next day/next week they will retake the 3 facts. Every week the tests will be cumulative – Meaning, if the student is on their 4 facts tests, they may see facts from 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 facts. This will keep the students practicing the facts they previously learned from other tests. We will be learning the facts in the following order:

0, 1 , 5, 10, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12.

This may make students nervous at the beginning of the year, but as the weeks go on, it just becomes a part of our routine and the students want to do the math fact practice in class to continuously improve their scores and meet their goals. Students are able to work on their own pace and feel proud of their accomplishments with their math facts.

Take Home Folders:

Your child will have a designated take home/homework folder that MUST come home with them each day and MUST be sent back to school each day. On the right side of the folder, there is a label “Bring Back". On the left side of the folder, there is a label “Leave Home”. These labels will help your student to stay organized and will help you know what to do with the items that get sent home. Please make sure to check your child’s take home folder each evening.

When your child has a math problem set packet in their take home folder, that problem set packet is to help them with their math homework, but it needs to come back to school with them everyday. They will need their problem set packet for our daily math lesson.

I will be working with the fourth grade students this year on organizational skills and how to use their tools and resources wisely to help them with their school work, as these are important skills your child will need to have as they continue with their schooling.

Seesaw

Seesaw is going to be a very important part of our year! We will be using this tool when learning in person and will also utilize this tool should we need to transition to virtual learning.

Your child will add work to Seesaw to share their learning with you. I'll also send important messages and reminders using Seesaw. When there are new posts or messages, you'll be notified and can see what's new! Seesaw is private, so families will only see what their child has created or what I’ve shared.

Students can access their Seesaw account by going to the following web address: http://app.seesaw.me

Families can download the Seesaw Family app for free on any device.

If you have any questions please reach out to me and I’ll be happy to help!