CLASSROOM OVERVIEW

Ms. Morron's Classroom Overview

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back! I am thrilled to be starting another school year with the GCS Community! I am looking forward to getting to know all of the students and all of you as parents/ guardians as we work together this year.

This letter is designed to provide you with specific information about the “little things” that pertain to this particular class. You also received a Student/ Parent Handbook that contains important information about whole-school expectations. This should also be shared with your child because many of the topics in that document will be reinforced throughout the year.

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Agenda Book: Students will write their homework assignments each day and any other important information in this book. Please look in the agenda book each night with your child to confirm homework assignments and due dates.

Book Orders: I will send home book orders a few times throughout the year. This is not only a great opportunity to support your child’s learning by adding to your home library, but each purchase earns points which I can then use to add to our classroom library. You can also place your order online, which is very easy and convenient! If you would like to order books online our class code will be posted at a later date.

Communication: I believe that communication is the key to a great parent-teacher relationship. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns at any time. Email is best for me, amorron@sau50.org, but feel free to send in a note or call me at school.

Homework: The purpose of homework is to reinforce skills taught in school and to teach responsibility and time management skills. It is also another opportunity for me to gather data and to help me see where students may be struggling. Students will be required to read at least twenty minutes each night. That being said, there has recently been a good amount of research that suggests that most students do not benefit from being given nightly worksheets to do at home which is why I will be practicing a homework philosophy of “less is more”. All of these assignments should go home and come to school in your child’s Star Binder.

Labeling: Please write your child’s name on their belongings, i.e. outerwear, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. This can help keep things out of the lost and found. You would be surprised by how many children have a hard time recognizing what is theirs.

Morning Meeting: Every day we will start the day with a morning meeting. This is a time when we greet one another, review our schedule for the day, and cultivate a strong sense of community in our classroom.

Rubrics: Evaluation rubrics will play a major role in evaluating student performance this year. A rubric is simply a rating system that clearly spells out for students what is expected with a particular task in order to be successful.

Snack: We have snack in our classroom every day. I ask that you send in a healthy option for your child and please remember to send the proper utensils (straw, spoon, fork) for your child’s snack. Since COVID, we try to eat snack outdoors as much as possible.

STAR Binder: This will go home each day, along with any homework/important paperwork, and must be returned the following morning. Please send any notes, lunch money or important papers in this binder. This will help your child learn to be organized.

Unified Arts: Fifth grade has 6 UAs (this year). They work on a rotating schedule of STEM, Spanish, Music, Art, Media, and PE/Health. Our UA rotation is:

A day = STEM

B day = Spanish

C day = Media

D day = Art

E day = PE

F day = Music

I know this will be an amazing school year! If there are any other topics you have questions or concerns about please don’t hesitate to email me or send in a note. I am looking forward to getting to know you all as the school year progresses on!

Alanna Morron

Amorron@sau50.org