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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Updated Monday, October 27th, 2008)
The purpose of this page is to answer some of the questions I receive that many of you might be wondering about! They are in no particular order, but feel free to scroll through the list to find out details about our classroom.
Yes, you do. I try to sign the scholars' assignment books every day before they leave my room, and your signature helps me know that you are seeing what is due when, as well as any other important information listed in the assignment book. More importantly, it reinforces with the children that there is consistent communication back and forth between home and school!
If a child does not get their assignment book signed on a particular night (Monday through Thursday,) then they receive a conduct mark for not being prepared for class. It is the scholar's responsibility to get it signed each night, and I have addressed that with them since the start of school. By getting it signed each evening, they are making a commitment to keeping their parents informed of what is going on at school. Also, they are making a commitment to being as organized as possible to help deal with the work they are responsible for each day at McCoy.
Yes! The children are encouraged to bring a healthy snack to school each day. We usually try to eat these around 9:35 or so, right after our morning flex time. Unfortunately, the scholars are not allowed to share or trade snacks, so if a child does not bring something to eat, they must wait until lunchtime comes.
Yes, and your child gets bonus points if I get something, too! :) But seriously, I think it's awesome if you send something up for the class to celebrate your child's birthday. We usually do this at the very end of the day as we are getting ready to go home. Please get in touch with me prior to sending the treats, and we can talk about what's appropriate and how you plan on getting them here.
Occasionally, I do give out extra credit assignments to the whole class. At other times, if a student requests some extra credit, I can give an assignment out for that as well. I usually don't give more than one or two extra credit assignments per class each nine weeks. Making corrections on assignments is another great way to bring up grades, as is making sure all missing work is completed and turned in to me!
While we may have some sort of celebrations for other reasons, there are three designated "parties" each school year. This year, they are the winter break celebration, Valentine's Day, and an end of year celebration. Feel free to contact a room mom, PTA representative, or me if you want to help in some way. EVERYONE is invited to attend!
The best way to get a hold of me is through email. I'm good about checking my work email each day here and at home, and I try to respond back before the end of the day. You can always feel free to call me at school, or send a note with your child. When sending a note, the assignment book is a great place to attach it because I look at those on a daily basis.
I think it's extremely important for everyone to be able to learn from their mistakes. With that said, my scholars are always allowed to do corrections on any assignment they score less than an 80 on. In some cases, they can do corrections on other assignments as well. It's usually easiest on me if a child takes a clean sheet of notebook paper and writes out their new answers. Then, they can attach it to the original assignment and turn it back in to be re-graded. The scholars MUST show their work, though! This especially applies to math corrections.
We take time throughout the year to do some cursive practice in class or as homework. In my math and social studies classes, I think the students should choose to write in cursive or print based on what they are most comfortable doing. However, I do think it's important that they know how to write and read cursive for future teachers who may have different requirements, and to communicate with anyone who prefers to write in cursive!
I definitely love to get out and watch my kids participate and succeed in outside of school activities! However, I can be a busy guy at times, too. The best thing to do is to send in a "game" or "activity" schedule, and I'll try my very best to get out and come support your child in whatever activity it may be. If I can't make it, it's not because I don't want to be there!
There are plenty of ways to help my class out without actually spending time here at school. For instance, there are occasionally things I need in my classroom that you can help me with. Also, if you are willing and able to contribute extra for kids who can't attend field trips, that is an awesome thing, too! We certainly want every scholar to have the same opportunities to enjoy experiences through school, but many of those experiences aren't free. So, whenever you can help out, that is appreciated beyond words!
Great question! Many of the things we do in class or even at home aren't always assignments I'm going to grade. Some of them are for practice purposes. Sometimes, we work on assignments together in class, either with partners or as a whole class. Other times, we check over particular assignments as a group before they come home. Once in a while, I might feel like the grades on an assignment weren't good because I didn't do a good enough job teaching a particular concept, so that may not count as a grade, either. In general, while the assignments all have a purpose and a value, they won't all be used for grading purposes. Furthermore, even if I haven't made any marks on the paper, it doesn't mean I haven't looked over it to see the "answers" your child came up with! : )
These tests are created and assembled by the Georgetown Math Vertical Team, and they are not counted as grades in the classroom. Rather, they are valuable pieces of information that help us, as teachers, and the students see what they know and what they have still to learn or practice. They are useful in that they allow the students to simulate the TAKS experience with problems that are at or even above the TAKS level of difficulty. For teachers, it gives us a chance to help scholars practice their problem-solving strategies and test-taking strategies. It also helps us look back at our teaching strategies and determine what succeeds and what we need to adapt on a year to year (or even month to month) basis. Obviously, we want the scholars to all do well on them. However, we do also know that the tests aren't always a definite indicator of the students' performance on the TAKS tests later in the year. Like everything else, they are one piece in a big puzzle that we look at to see how a scholar is doing in 4th grade.
A checkpoint test is created to test someone over what they were expected to learn in a certain amount of time. For instance, in math, we take checkpoint tests to test the scholars over what they are expected to learn in the first nine weeks, and then again for the second nine weeks. On the other hand, a benchmark is a test taken to show us what someone has learned compared to what they are expected to know by the END of the year. We take benchmark tests in subjects like reading and writing which help us see what we still need to teach and emphasize before the end of the year.
The Science Fair projects are OPTIONAL for all 4th grade scholars this year. This means they don't have to do a project, although it is highly encouraged! We, as teachers, will even reward the scholars who try their best and turn in a Science Fair project. Not only does the project take them through the scientific method in a meaningful way, but typically the scholars have a lot of fun and learn something important or interesting to THEM when they create a project. The due date is in February, and we do understand that it's earlier than we'd prefer. But the early due date gives our scholars the chance to participate and advance to the regional level, or even beyond, if their project is successful. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns about the Science Fair. An information packet has already gone home, but if you need another copy just let me know. Note: Science Fair information has not been determined for this year. I will update this once we have expectations set for this school year.
The discipline folders are used to communicate with parents and guardians about their child's behavior and work habits at school. These folders represent the good choices the scholars make (the "smiley face sheet") as well as the poor choices. (accountability cards.) These folders will come home every Tuesday with the take home papers. Please look over your child's card for that week and sign it and return it to show that you've seen the grade. I try my best to always write in a grade for the previous week, but if I haven't, there is a scale on the card that shows their grade based on the number of marks they received for a particular week. Please see the card for specific information, and note that extremely serious infractions (fighting, cheating, stealing, for example) will result in automatic office referrals. Also, poor conduct grades can result in ineligibility for the honor roll, regardless of grades in the academic subject areas.
Smiley faces are our "classroom currency." In other words, my scholars can earn "smiley faces" by doing great things at school and for school. Then, those smiley faces can be used to buy prizes and rewards, such as free time, the teacher's chair, or even free recess for the class. However, when students don't do what they are supposed to do, they can lose smiley faces, too. In general, the smiley face system is used to help reward those kids who do a great job on a consistent basis.
More to come soon!
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