Procedures and Expectations in Room 203
Welcome Welcome to Fifth Grade! I am very excited to be working with your child this year. Our class has gotten off to a great start. Our first couples of days have flown by and have been terrific. We are establishing the foundation of our room and setting our goals to make this a successful year for all of us. We are spending quality time getting to know one another so that we will work well together. This is it, the big year! We will work all year to become better organized, prepare for tests, and learn different strategies to help us become better learners and to be prepared and successful in middle school. I like to refer to fifth grade as the year of Choices and Responsibility!
Rules & Routines
During the first three days of school, we will spend some time on creating what I call PAPR; Procedures, Agreements, Policies, and Rules. The procedures include how we enter our room each day and what we do the first ten minutes to become organized, turning in lunch money, and etceteras. Some of our agreements are ideas like; we have the right to learn, listen, and raise our hand. Some of the policies include being responsible for missed assignments when they are absent, at band, or out of the room. As far as rules for our room, I only have one and that is RESPECT. Which pretty much covers everything from people, to property, to feelings and ideas? When that rule is broken, there are consequences. The first consequence is a warning, then a chat or written reflection, miss recess, note home or a phone call home, and finally a chat with Mr. Chleboun. As a school we incorporate the three R’s; Respect, Responsibility and being Ready.
Throughout the year, I will be using many different teaching strategies and techniques to help your child become more successful and to be a better student and learner. Many of the techniques I use are based on brain research and help individuals to focus, retain, and process information better. The students will also use many different kinds of manipulative to aide in their learning and help them to explain how they solved a problem and what they did to solve it.
Communication: School & Home
A copy of the Mannella Messenger will go home twice a month in on a Friday. The newsletter will inform you on what we are studying, when tests will be given, when projects or long term assignments are due and we will also share exciting events in the lives of the children of room 203, as well as important school news.
I strongly invite and encourage students and parents to visit our class web page where daily assignments are posted along with other important reminders. The website contains the most current up-to-date facts concerning our classroom. You can access our web page via the Liberty Website. Go to classroom web pages, fifth grade and click on Mrs. Mannella. I am currently switching to a different webpage and will let you know when it is up and running properly. I try my best to update the website daily and I do not erase the previous day’s homework. Most assignments are kept on the website for a month. This is also a great resource to check when students are absent or gone for a period of time. I also expect students to write correctly. I strongly emphasize capitals to begin a sentence, punctuation at the end and a minimum of seven words in a sentence to convey a message. We also want to provide specific examples to support our ideas and our thinking.
Assignment books are on order and have not been distributed. Once they arrive I will expect students to use them on a daily basis. I am not asking parents to initial the assignment notebook every night but please check that your child is using their assignment books to write down the assignments. I will also try to check them daily. Feel free to write quick notes to me in the assignment books as well. This is an important communication tool for all of us.
Homework Policy
This week two copies of our Fifth Grade Homework Policy will be sent home. The students and I will discuss the policy and how missing and late assignments will affect their grades. Everyone comes in each quarter with a clean slate, where they go from here is up to the students, for their grades are earned. The second copy is for you to keep at home as a reminder. Homework is usually due the next day, with the exception of long or short-term projects. When a student is absent, they have two days to complete the work and turn it in. It is the student’s responsibility to turn in homework. If students go on vacation during the school year, it is school and district policy to make-up the work when they return. When students do not have their assignments completed they miss recess until the work is completed and turned in to me.
As far as homework is concerned, the amount of homework assigned during the day varies from day to day. The average amount of time spent is about 55 minutes. Twenty minutes of that should be spent on reading. I strongly encourage nightly reading to promote fluency, improve comprehension, and improve vocabulary. During those twenty minutes students may read comic books, poetry, magazines, non-fiction or fiction. Read, Read, Read! The next ten minutes should be focused on math facts. Students should practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Fifth graders should have these basic facts mastered because it is the foundation for many of the concepts learned in fifth grade.
Band and Orchestra
Miss Rock and Mr. Storer gave a presentation on the band and orchestra instruments available to fifth grade. Those interested in playing in band and orchestra will need to return the interest slip by the end of August. A recruitment day will be held soon. Please note that students will miss a half an hour of instruction for lessons and usually around October, full band and orchestra will begin, which entails another half hour of instruction. We (the fifth grade teachers) support the music programs and opportunities for the children, but also stress the importance of making a commitment and being organized and responsible. It is the student’s responsibility to make up and turn in work. Choosing not to turn in work or receive notes from others results in zeros and lower academic grades.
Miscellaneous
It is a school policy that students are not allowed to bring in birthday treats in the form of food due to the high number of children with allergies in our school. Students may bring in small items such as pencils or erasers to celebrate with the class. Or they may purchase a Birthday Book for our school library. Please no goody bags either. We are always looking for guest speakers to visit our classroom. So if you have a special collection that pertains to something we are studying or are an expert in a certain field, let us know. We love having guests visit and share their information with us.
Please feel free to contact me at anytime, I am usually at school by 7:30 and leave around 3:30. I can be reached at 224-484-4874 or you may leave a message on my voice mail. Feel free to stop by anytime before or after school, or drop me a note. My e-mail address is: [email protected]
Our class specials are: Monday; Music, Tuesday: Music, and PE, Wednesday: Media, Thursday: PE
and Friday: no special
Our 2014-2015 Class Members:
Brianna Aguilar, Sarah Bialas, Abraha Bynum, Emma Casey-Fusco, Milagros Castillo, Jayleen Cordero, Bella DeLordo, Ryan Flaskamp, Estepanie Gonzalez, Manny Gonzalez, Jason Huber, Esther Im, Brandon Japkowski, Elisabeth Kania, Jimmy Koza, Gavin Lee, Henry Nangle, Monica Narciso, Shaun Palmero, Litzy Pasillas, Alex Pasternak, Dennis Quinton, Noel Rodriguez and Jose Sosa Herrera
Rules & Routines
During the first three days of school, we will spend some time on creating what I call PAPR; Procedures, Agreements, Policies, and Rules. The procedures include how we enter our room each day and what we do the first ten minutes to become organized, turning in lunch money, and etceteras. Some of our agreements are ideas like; we have the right to learn, listen, and raise our hand. Some of the policies include being responsible for missed assignments when they are absent, at band, or out of the room. As far as rules for our room, I only have one and that is RESPECT. Which pretty much covers everything from people, to property, to feelings and ideas? When that rule is broken, there are consequences. The first consequence is a warning, then a chat or written reflection, miss recess, note home or a phone call home, and finally a chat with Mr. Chleboun. As a school we incorporate the three R’s; Respect, Responsibility and being Ready.
Throughout the year, I will be using many different teaching strategies and techniques to help your child become more successful and to be a better student and learner. Many of the techniques I use are based on brain research and help individuals to focus, retain, and process information better. The students will also use many different kinds of manipulative to aide in their learning and help them to explain how they solved a problem and what they did to solve it.
Communication: School & Home
A copy of the Mannella Messenger will go home twice a month in on a Friday. The newsletter will inform you on what we are studying, when tests will be given, when projects or long term assignments are due and we will also share exciting events in the lives of the children of room 203, as well as important school news.
I strongly invite and encourage students and parents to visit our class web page where daily assignments are posted along with other important reminders. The website contains the most current up-to-date facts concerning our classroom. You can access our web page via the Liberty Website. Go to classroom web pages, fifth grade and click on Mrs. Mannella. I am currently switching to a different webpage and will let you know when it is up and running properly. I try my best to update the website daily and I do not erase the previous day’s homework. Most assignments are kept on the website for a month. This is also a great resource to check when students are absent or gone for a period of time. I also expect students to write correctly. I strongly emphasize capitals to begin a sentence, punctuation at the end and a minimum of seven words in a sentence to convey a message. We also want to provide specific examples to support our ideas and our thinking.
Assignment books are on order and have not been distributed. Once they arrive I will expect students to use them on a daily basis. I am not asking parents to initial the assignment notebook every night but please check that your child is using their assignment books to write down the assignments. I will also try to check them daily. Feel free to write quick notes to me in the assignment books as well. This is an important communication tool for all of us.
Homework Policy
This week two copies of our Fifth Grade Homework Policy will be sent home. The students and I will discuss the policy and how missing and late assignments will affect their grades. Everyone comes in each quarter with a clean slate, where they go from here is up to the students, for their grades are earned. The second copy is for you to keep at home as a reminder. Homework is usually due the next day, with the exception of long or short-term projects. When a student is absent, they have two days to complete the work and turn it in. It is the student’s responsibility to turn in homework. If students go on vacation during the school year, it is school and district policy to make-up the work when they return. When students do not have their assignments completed they miss recess until the work is completed and turned in to me.
As far as homework is concerned, the amount of homework assigned during the day varies from day to day. The average amount of time spent is about 55 minutes. Twenty minutes of that should be spent on reading. I strongly encourage nightly reading to promote fluency, improve comprehension, and improve vocabulary. During those twenty minutes students may read comic books, poetry, magazines, non-fiction or fiction. Read, Read, Read! The next ten minutes should be focused on math facts. Students should practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Fifth graders should have these basic facts mastered because it is the foundation for many of the concepts learned in fifth grade.
Band and Orchestra
Miss Rock and Mr. Storer gave a presentation on the band and orchestra instruments available to fifth grade. Those interested in playing in band and orchestra will need to return the interest slip by the end of August. A recruitment day will be held soon. Please note that students will miss a half an hour of instruction for lessons and usually around October, full band and orchestra will begin, which entails another half hour of instruction. We (the fifth grade teachers) support the music programs and opportunities for the children, but also stress the importance of making a commitment and being organized and responsible. It is the student’s responsibility to make up and turn in work. Choosing not to turn in work or receive notes from others results in zeros and lower academic grades.
Miscellaneous
It is a school policy that students are not allowed to bring in birthday treats in the form of food due to the high number of children with allergies in our school. Students may bring in small items such as pencils or erasers to celebrate with the class. Or they may purchase a Birthday Book for our school library. Please no goody bags either. We are always looking for guest speakers to visit our classroom. So if you have a special collection that pertains to something we are studying or are an expert in a certain field, let us know. We love having guests visit and share their information with us.
Please feel free to contact me at anytime, I am usually at school by 7:30 and leave around 3:30. I can be reached at 224-484-4874 or you may leave a message on my voice mail. Feel free to stop by anytime before or after school, or drop me a note. My e-mail address is: [email protected]
Our class specials are: Monday; Music, Tuesday: Music, and PE, Wednesday: Media, Thursday: PE
and Friday: no special
Our 2014-2015 Class Members:
Brianna Aguilar, Sarah Bialas, Abraha Bynum, Emma Casey-Fusco, Milagros Castillo, Jayleen Cordero, Bella DeLordo, Ryan Flaskamp, Estepanie Gonzalez, Manny Gonzalez, Jason Huber, Esther Im, Brandon Japkowski, Elisabeth Kania, Jimmy Koza, Gavin Lee, Henry Nangle, Monica Narciso, Shaun Palmero, Litzy Pasillas, Alex Pasternak, Dennis Quinton, Noel Rodriguez and Jose Sosa Herrera