Welcome to Fourth Grade ELA Mrs.Lavender 2016-2017

Who am I? Product of the Birmingham City School System Attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa Attended Montevallo University Sixteen years of teaching experience Youngest of nine Married for fifteen years Three children (21, 13, and 4)

Expectations for Students Be respectful. Be a team player. Have a positive attitude. Work to full potential. Complete work of quality. Be ready for class and remain on task. Learn from mistakes. Be responsible for your actions.

Expectations for Parents Communicate questions and concerns to teacher via email and/or Class Dojo. Be a team player. Keep an open mind. Support classroom discipline. Volunteer Attend conferences and seminars. Regularly check STI. Set up a Gmail account for your child.

New Reading Program Journey’s : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Spiraled Skills are: Story Elements Fact and Opinion Compare and Contrast Understanding Characters Conclusion and Generalizations Theme Textual Evidence Author’s Purpose Figurative Language Sentence Structure Modes of Writing Writer’s Craft

Novels for the 2016-2017 School Year First Nine Weeks: Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by: Brenda Woods Second Nine Weeks: Lillian’s Right to Vote by: Jonah Winter, Shane Evans Third Nine Weeks: The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963 by: Christopher Paul Curtis Fourth Nine Weeks: Gone Crazy in Alabama by: Rita Williams-Garcia

PBIS Positive Behavior Interventions and Support A proactive school-wide system that focuses on preventing inappropriate behaviors and recognizing appropriate behaviors. Students demonstrating appropriate behavior receive Gotcha Bucks. Each nine weeks, students may spend their Gotcha Bucks at the Gotcha Store. If you have clean, good condition items you would like to donate to the Gotcha Store, please bring or send them to school.

PBIS Platform Chargers HONOR Help others Own their actions Navigate quickly and quietly Organize Respond with self- control Which encompasses the 3 R’s: Respectful, Responsible, and Resourceful

Morning Arrival All car riders are to be dropped off at the front of the school. In order to assist with independence, parents will not walk students to their class after the third day of school. Doors open at 7:15 am. All students will report to the cafeteria or gym. No students should report to classrooms. Students will be dismissed from the cafeteria or gym at 7:45 am. Tardy bell rings at 8:00 am.

Afternoon Dismissal Grades K-5 will be picked up on the side of the school where the gym is located. Afterschool care will be dismissed to the lunchroom(afterschool care) from the gym. Grades 6-8 will be picked up on the opposite side of the building (bus entrance). Siblings of 6-8 students should report to the front of the school to be picked up. Car riders are dismissed at 2:50p.m.; walkers dismissed at 3:00p.m. Bus riders begin dismissal at 2:55 p.m. Please be patient with us the first two weeks! Most likely there will have to be adjustments and we want your child to get home safely!

Volunteers Anyone wishing to invest time into their child’s educational journey, please complete the volunteer form! Fieldtrips School-Wide Functions Class Activities/Parties Room Parent Class Needs Read Alouds

Parent Compacts Please be sure you and your child sign the Parent Compact before you leave today.

Birmingham City Schools Code of Conduct The code of conduct is an important source of information about Birmingham City Schools policies and procedures. Please take a moment to read, sign, and return the back page of the book when you receive your copy. You may view the document on the Birmingham City Schools webpage listed below. http://www.bhamcityschools.org/Page/4632

Important Dates: Reading Logs will begin Monday August 15, 2016. Copies of the log can be found on my webpage under files. We will begin reading our first in class novel (Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods on Monday August 29, 2016.

Thank you! I look forward to being your partner in education this school year! Please contact me if you have any questions and/or concerns.