AASA TEST
Starting in 3rd grade, every student in the state of Arizona must take part in the AASA. State law (A.R.S. § 15-701, § 15-704, and § 15-211) requires that students "demonstrate sufficient reading skills" on the AASA test to be promoted to 4th grade. I work closely with parents, administration, and the reading specialist to ensure every student is ready to take this test.
Throughout the school year, students will take part in a district assessment we call the AASA Practice. The data from these practice tests help us track growth and progress but also provides information on what skills the students have mastered and which ones need extra support.
ABSENCES
Students are encouraged to be in school as much as possible. Please make every effort to schedule appointments and vacations outside of school. While sometimes independent work can be made up, the instruction that a student misses cannot and it is important for students to be in class to gain the full educational experience. If a student is sick with fever, vomiting, or diarrhea please keep them home until they are symptom free for at least 24 hours without over-the-counter medication. This will help greatly to ensure no other students will miss class by catching something that is contagious. I will work with families on a case-by-case basis to make up missed work but please understand that work will not be sent home ahead of time to accommodate for vacations.
If you know your child will be absent, please notify me and the front office a ghesatt@pvschools.net.
ACCELERATED READER (AR)
We use AR in our class to help monitor reading and also provide opportunities for students to select their own reading to practice independently. Please see my AR page for more information.
ARRIVING ON TIME
Arriving on time each day is essential to starting our day of learning off right. The first bell rings at 8:40am. Students should be on campus by then and headed toward our class line outside. The second bell rings at 8:45am, at which point students not with their class are considered late. If you are bringing your child late anytime after 8:45am, please walk them into the office and sign them in. All students arriving late must have a late pass from the office.
BATHROOM
Students are permitted to leave the classroom to use they bathroom but they are strongly encouraged to not leave during direct instruction unless it is an emergency. Students are also reminded to use the bathroom during their recess time so that they don't need to leave the classroom. When leaving the classroom, students must sign out when they leave and sign back in when they return.
BIRTHDAYS
We love to celebrate birthdays in our classroom. When it is your student's special day, they will receive a small gift from the class. We will not serve edible birthday treats in class (please see the section FOOD below) but if your child would like to bring a non-food item (i.e., pencils, stickers, small toys) to share with the class, that would be acceptable.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Personal electronic devices, including smart watches and phones, are not permitted during the school day. If a student has a personal electronic device, it must remain in the backpack and turned off during schools hours. The school is not responsible for any lost or stolen items.
If parents need to relay a message to a student during the day, like a change in pick up procedure, they may email the teacher or call the office.
FOOD
Please refer to recent legislation regarding food served in school (HB2164). Please refrain from sending food to be served to the class, such as birthday treats. Individual lunches and snacks are permitted as long as students do not share with each other.
HANDBOOK
Click here for the PVSchools Family Student Handbook
HOMEWORK
Each Friday, students will receive a homework log. It is due the following Friday first thing in the morning. Students are expected to read each night for 30 minutes and record it in the log with a response to the nightly question. Please answer in complete sentences. Also included on the homework log is a place for students to record their nightly math fact practice as well as a weekly reflection.
Furthermore, students are also expected to complete any work that didn't get finished during class time (including Zearn). It is the responsibility of the student to communicate at home when there is unfinished work to complete.
Students who need extra support may bring home supplemental work to practice. This will be a case-by-case basis and I will be sure to communicate if parents should expect this.
INFINITE CAMPUS
Student grades are kept online through Infinite Campus. Parents should be checking the grade book at least once a week. I encourage students to check daily. I set up the grade book to automatically drop the lowest grade in each subject per quarter. If an assignment is missing, it will count as the lowest grade and not be calculated towards the subject grade.
To set up your parent account, please visit https://www.pvschools.net/families/infinite-campus. If you have any questions about Infinite Campus, please let me know.
LATE/MISSING WORK
Students are encouraged to complete assignments and submit them on time so the feedback they receive will be most beneficial.
Missing assignments are calculated as a zero in the grade book, so it is very important that all work is submitted. If students are missing their copy of the work, they may first check the "Extra Copies" bucket. If there are no available copies in the bucket, students may request that I make a new copy for them.
LIBRARY
Each week, our class has a designated library time. Students are permitted to check out up to 3 books at a time and they are allowed to keep the books for 2 weeks before returning/renewing them. I strongly encourage students to use their ZPD to help them select books that can be read at home for the weekly Homework Reading Log.
Students may review what books are checked out by going to Follett Destiny in the Authentication Portal.
If you are interested in reading a book to our class during our weekly library time, please go to the Volunteer tab on the Membership Toolkit.
LUNCH
We eat lunch everyday in the cafeteria. Students may bring a lunch from home (cold lunch) or purchase a lunch from the cafeteria (hot lunch). A lunch menu will be sent home each month on the back of the class calendar.
If you would like to set up an account for hot lunches, please go to EZSchoolPay. You can either put a set amount or set up your account to add money once the balance gets to a certain point. Students may only purchase one lunch a day. If your child is still hungry after lunch, please have them speak with their teacher.
The school also serves breakfast in the morning. Students must arrive before school and be finished by the time the first bell rings at 8:40am.
MTSS
Each day, we have time in our schedule for MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support). We will do this for Math and ELA. During this time, I will be pulling small groups to work on specific skills that meet their individual needs. These groups will change frequently based on what individual students need support with. While I am with the small groups, the rest of the class is expected to be working on something independently (a Must Do or a May Do).
MUST DO/MAY DO
Must Do
These are assignments in class that must be done first, before going to a May Do. For the Must Do items, please go in number order.
Complete the current assignment that has been given
Complete any assignments from earlier in the day
Work on your Zearn for the week (you can put a sticker on the chart if you have completed 4 lessons)
Work towards your AR goal (look for the gold star on the AR wall to know where you should be)
May Do
These are enrichment activities that can be done only after all the Must Do items have been completed. For the May Do items, you can do them in any order. All of these items are chosen with the intention that they are providing enrichment to help students extend their learning. Students who are finished must continue to work quietly and independently so as to not disturb those who are still working.
Go on Typing Club
Practice Math Facts (Xtra Math in Clever or with flashcards)
Go on Clever apps like Splash Learning or Happy Numbers
Write a story, letter, or in your Writer's Notebook
Read for pleasure
Select an activity from the Enrichment drawers
SNACKS
Students will have time during recess to eat a snack on the playground. Please do not share snacks.
SPELLING
Our spelling words will be pulled from our phonics instruction program, Really Great Reading. Spelling Tests will be every other Friday. Please see the weekly newsletter for dates. For each test, students will have 10 words from the assigned list to study and then 3 words pulled randomly from previous tests, making the test out of 13 words total. Students are encouraged to review previous tests for words not spelled correctly and add those to their study of the list being tested.
WEDNESDAY PAPERS
Every Wednesday, I will send home any papers that have been passed out to the students, such as graded work or fliers. Please go through these papers with your child and review any feedback I have left.
On rare occasions, something might be sent home on a day other than Wednesday, such as a PTO reminder. So, please check your child's take home folder nightly. Just know that most papers will come home on Wednesdays.
ZEARN
Zearn is a computer-based program that goes with our math curriculum. It is a repeat of the lessons we do in class but it is self-paced for the individual learner and provides remediation for students who need it. Students must complete Zearn independently and will be given time in class to complete it. Students are expected to complete four (4) Zearn lessons each week, starting Monday and ending Sunday. So, if they do not finish their 4 lessons in class, they will have time on Saturday and Sunday to get caught up. Each lesson will have 4 parts. Students may review their calendar in Zearn to see how many lessons have been completed each week. This will be a completion grade that will be included in their math grades.