WELCOME TO FIFTH GRADE!!

 BACK-TO-SCHOOL-NIGHT

Dear Parents,

        WELCOME TO FIFTH GRADE!  This information has been compiled with the hope that it will be helpful to you as your child progresses through his/her fifth grade year.  We’re excited to be teaching your child.  We’re looking forward to wonderful accomplishments from the students this year.

        We would like to encourage all parents to involve themselves with their child’s education.  By working with you, we feel that great progress can be made in the educational development of your child.  Studies show that the home is the strongest influence in a child’s development and success in learning.

        Curriculum is established through teaching standards identified by the State Board of Education in the Utah Core Curriculum Guide.

        Attendance is an important part to the student’s education.  This helps a student keep current on assignments, checking work and participation in class discussions.  There are many school experiences that cannot be duplicated or sent home.  When a student is absent it is their responsibility to get missed work.  (We are more than happy to explain it to them.)  It is helpful if you have a friend take it home or have a parent come in and pick it up the day your child is absent.  An attendance reward program will be in effect this year.

        School begins at 8:50.   Students should plan to arrive between 8:35-8:45.  (Please do NOT come earlier.)  School ends at 3:30, except on Wednesdays when we end at 1:30.  During the two weeks that we hold parent conferences school ends EVERY day at 2:30.  Upon arriving at school students should go directly to their classroom unless eating breakfast or paying lunch money.  When students finish in the lunchroom they go immediately to class.  Students will have a bell work assignment to work on each morning when arriving at school.  This is extremely difficult to make up if a student is late for school.

        Our lunch is from 11:45-12:30.  It is helpful to pay for lunch monthly or weekly before school.  Lunch is $2.00, breakfast is $1.25 and milk is $.35.  If your child will be eating school lunch and has any food restrictions, the lunch nutrition manager will need to be informed.  We will have a few opportunities for students to be lunch workers during the year for one week time periods.  Please make sure to sign the permission slip for this.

A bright green DAILY PLANNER  is used in class.  Each student should write all assignments given throughout the day on the planner. Daily home reading is recorded is recorded on the planner.  Students should read at least 20 minutes each day at home(7 days a week or 30 minutes for 5 days.). (2 hours and 20 minutes a week.)Before the planner is returned on Monday, the reading time should be totaled and parents need to sign the bottom of the planner.  It is very important that the planner be RETURNED EVERY MONDAY.  The student receives points for each signed/returned planner.  They also receive a grade for home reading.  We need parents to help their child in being responsible with this.  If the planner is not being filled out completely, please ask your child to be more complete in doing so.

        Most assignments can be completed at school.  Exceptions would be math(especially when we get to long division etc.), studying spelling words, nightly reading, studying times tables and a few projects that will be assigned during the year.  ANY work that is not completed during class can and should be taken home to finish.  Assignments need to be turned in on time.  A study hall is held during our afternoon break time.  Students who come to school unprepared with any assignments are required to attend study hall.  The first newsletter and progress printout will be sent home on Wednesday, September 9.

        There will be a few assignments during the year that will require your help at home.  Math homework is fairly common.  Students will make a volcano at home.   Science Fair is in the spring and we do a Famous American’s program in May, where students dress as a famous American and participate in a play.  We will give plenty of notice in our newsletters about any of these upcoming projects and when they are due.

        PROGRESS PRINTOUTS COME HOME AND OUR NEWSLETTER WILL BE POSTED ON THE BLOG, TWICE A MONTH.  These require a parent signature.  Make up work must be turned in before the next printout(2 weeks.)  Students know daily what assignments are due and which, if any, have not been turned in.  We also have Worker’s Holiday activities at mid-term and at the end of each term for students who not missing ANY work and have an 80% or higher average.  Some activities may be read-a-thons, dress-up days, kickball games, movies, etc.  Some of these activities may require us to ask for small donations to cover the cost.

        The classroom rules are set up so that each student will have the best opportunity for learning.  Students can be recognized for good behavior by verbal praise, receiving a certificate getting treats/rewards, or by earning extra privileges.  We have a class reward system where we earn class activities as well.  Consequences for misbehavior can be conferences with students and/or parents/principal, loss of free time, or missing certain activities.  Our school has a skill building class to assist students in achieving success in the regular classroom.  (A student will not be placed in this program unless parents have been notified.)

        In our fifth grade team we each teach some subjects, which means that your child may be receiving instructions from all the fifth grade teachers.  During the Orchestra time, on Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30, the remaining students are placed in ARTS groups.  They attend three different classes on a rotating schedule.  The classes are:  MUSIC/DRAMA(Mrs. Williams), KEYBOARDING(Mrs. Payne), and DANCE/HEALTHY LIFESTYLES(Mrs. Little).    IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ORCHESTRA STUDENTS TO HAVE INSTRUMENTS HERE ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY!  Students must commit to orchestra for the entire year.  Orchestra will require practicing, but the benefits will be great!

        The two of us, Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Little, work very closely together!!  Mrs. Williams teaches math every day for both classes and Mrs. Little teaches each class reading daily.  Mrs. Williams teaches social studies and Mrs. Little teaches science.  We each teach language arts.   We will send information about the school spelling bee as it becomes available to us.

        We have a fifth grade reading incentive program this year called READING REVOLUTION, where students can be awarded Judicial, Congressional, or Presidential awards at the end of the year.  Students will need to read one book from each of the eight genres plus four books, to earn Judicial.  Two books a quarter are “required.”  If you will help your child(and we will also) choose the different genres for this, every child can earn the Judicial award just by doing the required reading plus four additional books.  In order to receive the highest level, Presidential, a student would complete 20 books, which is about one book every 2 weeks.   Students will complete a book report form for each completed book and parents sign it.  This can’t be done in just the last month of school but must be worked on all year long.  Battle of the Books reading counts towards Reading Revolution.  We will also have our 5th grade Battle of the Books in May.  Be sure to do book reports on your Battle Books.

        Our PTA began the school wide spelling bee several years ago.  We encourage students to work on this more diligently, so that we can have better student participation this year.  This is something you need to start working on as soon as you receive the spelling list.  The words are very challenging, but we feel that our students are capable of this challenge.

        We go to a PE specialist once a week. We go to the ART specialist once a week and the MUSIC specialist twice a week. We use the computer lab/Chromebooks and go to Library weekly.  We hope to go on two or three field trips this year.  Parents are always welcome on field trips.

        We probably haven’t covered some things, but we hope this information will be helpful to you.  Please don’t hesitate to e-mail, call, or come in if you have questions or concerns, or if you just want to see what we are doing.  WE LOVE TO HAVE PARENT VOLUNTEERS HELP IN OUR CLASSES, if it is possible for you to do so.  Really helpful times are between 10:00 and 11:45, during math and reading.   We love teaching and are happy to be teaching your child this year!!

                                                                    FIFTH GRADE TEACHERS,

       

Mrs. Julie Williams                        Mrs. Darcy Little

586-2850(school)                          586-2850(school)

586-7379(home)                          865-7796(home)

julie.williams@ironmail.org        darcy.little@ironmail.org

PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL, with just your child’s name for the subject, so that we can have your most current e-mail. Communication through e-mail works great for us, with those who have that capability to do so.

PLEASE check the school web-site http://south.ironk12.org/South/Home.html  to look at the calendar, blog, and fifth grade information.  You also have access to check your child’s grades on line. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ELECTRONICALLY SIGN YOUR CHILD’S SAFE SCHOOLS, COMPUTER PERMISSION, FIELD TRIPS, ETC.. BY GOING TO SOUTH’S HOME PAGE AND SCROLL DOWN AND CLICK ON THE How to access and electronically sign our computer…

THE FIRST PROGRESS REPORT WILL BE SENT HOME WITH YOUR CHILD ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 AND WILL REQUIRE A PARENT SIGNATURE.  WE WILL ALSO HAVE A NEW BLOG POST THAT DAY AS WELL.