Welcome to 5th grade!
This is such a great year for your students! They are finally the "big kids" at school. With that great power comes the great responsibility of setting a good example for the younger students.
I have created this website with you, the parent, in mind. I want you to be informed as to what my expectations are as well as well as what is going on in our classroom. I have included many links to other websites I feel will inform both you and your child.
This is a year of growing independence. You can help foster this growth by encouraging your child to establish a routine of laying out their homework folder and agenda, emptying the folder, and giving you papers to sign and/or school notices. Once HW is completed, agenda signed, and notices taken care of, encourage your child to re-pack their folder and backpack.
Oral reminders (which your child may fondly refer to as nagging) will help your child gain independence this year. Often, when a child does not have a completed HW assignment with them at school or has left a textbook at home, it seems to be because "their parents didn't pack it." Help your child understand it is their responsibility to be prepared for school, not yours. In our very busy households they can learn to be independent enough to make sure that they have what they need for school.
There is a wonderful feeling of pride for a child to show their parents how responsible they really can be! Thank you.
BEING PREPARED FOR SCHOOL
Make a list for them to check that they:
* eat a healthy breakfast
* have completed their homework (and return it to class)
* bring a healthy snack
* bring lunch or lunch money
* bring a sweater (it gets cold in our room)
* bring glasses if needed for school
* bring any necessary materials
RESPECT CODE
1. I will follow school directions given by adults.
2. I will behave so that other students may learn.
3. I will respect and be kind in my words and actions toward others.
4. I will not destroy or steal school property, other students' property, or adults' property.
5. I will accept an adult's directions without answering back.
6. I will not start or take part in a physical fight.
I dreamed I saw a studio
And watched two sculptors there.
The clay they used was a child’s mind
And they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher-the tools he used
Were books, music, and art.
The other, a parent, worked with a guiding hand,
And a gentle, loving heart.
Day after day, the teacher toiled with a touch,
That was careful and sure,
While the parent labored by his side
And polished and smoothed it o’er.
And when at last, their task was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had molded into the child.
Could neither be sold nor bought.
And each agreed they would have failed
If either had worked alone.
For behind the parents stood the school
And behind the teacher, the home.
