We hope these first days of school have gone well for you and your child. We spent this week getting to know each other, learning our schedule, and classroom procedures. It can be overwhelming at first, but we are all getting acclimated to our new learning environment.
Communication Between Home and School
We believe that communication between parents and teachers is one of the most important factors of student success. We will communicate with you in the following ways:
We will email home every other Friday to share information about what we are learning, due dates and team events. It is extremely important that your current email address is on file with the district. We sent a message today letting you know about this newsletter. If you did not receive an email, please check that your address is correct. Please send an email to [email protected] and request that your email address be updated.
We also use MISTAR to communicate about grades and missing assignments. Please be sure you are able to login to your MiStar account. We will send progress reports home approximately every two weeks. At this time students will have time to ask questions and gather missing work. Please feel free to write a note, email, or follow up with a phone call if you have concerns or questions.
Students will use a daily planner with assignments and due dates. We ask that they participate in home school communication by explaining the assignments in the planner and getting your signature daily.
Our team website is another resource for communication. The website is used in class daily with our class adenda, similar to the planner. We also update the website with team news and helpful resources. Please take a look at our site at http://5thgradewonder.weebly.com and bookmark it for future use.
Birthday Treats/Snacks
We love to celebrate birthdays! If you would like to send in a treat for your child’s birthday, send us an email message, give us a call, or send a note in advance so we can schedule it into our day. Students are able to snack whenever necessary. Please remember to send a healthy snack. Examples include fruit, veggies and hummus or ranch, goldfish crackers, cheese sticks, or pretzels.
Messages to Students
If you have an important message that needs to be delivered to your child, please contact the office. We are not able to check our messages and email during the day as we are busy teaching. We are not always able to deliver your messages in a timely way.
Independent Reading Time
Research shows that reading skills are developed with daily practice. We dedicate time daily to practicing this skill. Students will be tested at the beginning of the year to determine their reading level. They are encouraged to read books at or slightly above this reading level. Our goal is to complete 20 books by the end of the school year. Please monitor your child’s book selection and expect at least 15 minutes of reading time per evening. Students need to have a book in class at all times. We will go to the library every Wednesday to renew or exchange books. Students will complete assignments in a reader’s notebook related to their independent reading. Attached are some questions you may find helpful while reading and discussing books with your child.
Parent Information Sheet
Attached to this newsletter you will find several questions about your child. This information is valuable to us and we refer back to it several times during the year. We appreciate your time in filling it out. Please return it to your child’s homeroom teacher at your earliest convenience.
Questions to ask your child
How are you enjoying 5th grade?
Are you asking your teachers for help if you need it?
What is your book choice for IR right now?
Thank You!
Thank you for all of the donations for our classrooms. We appreciate your generosity.