Welcome to open house

Behavior Expectations Conduct Folders Conduct v. Work Habits “Fantastic 4” School Values Grade determined at the end of the 9 weeks Parents initial every time a teacher signs. Make any comments on a separate piece of paper rather than writing in the folder. Cougar Cash Reward for making good choices “Cashed in” for coupons corresponding to rewards on reward menu

Voice Levels 0 – Silent 1 – Whisper 2 – Partner (Table Talk) 3 – Classroom (Presentation) 4 - Outside

Grading Policy A variety of grades will be taken over the course of the nine week grading period. Formative Assessments (50%) – spelling tests, weekly math tests, weekly reading/ELA quizzes, etc.) Classwork (10%) – exit tickets, morning work, IXL, graphic organizers, etc. Summative Assessments (40%) – end of unit tests, cumulative assessments *Students will be given the opportunity to retake a summative assessment when they receive a grade lower than 70%. In this instance, the two grades will be averaged.

Graded Work Be sure to check folders each Tuesday. Sign the signature page to indicate that you have seen the work. Graded work does not have to be returned. Review work you see your child having trouble with. Contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions. There are many great resources available on the Internet. If you search for a specific concept or skill, you can find many practice pages, online games, background information, etc.

Homework *Assigned Monday-Thursday *No homework on Spirit Nights *Up to 40 minutes a night *Used to review skills *Students should be reading 20-30 minutes every day outside of school hours *It is important to set up a regular routine for doing homework and making sure it is returned to school the next day. *Through December, students will have time during Enrichment Lab to complete homework.

Enrichment Lab We will use our extra 55 minutes (through December) as a time for students to finish classwork and complete homework. Students will be expected to read silently after work is completed. (This is part of homework expectations.) Extra time will be used for ongoing independent projects or whole group activities.

Conferences *Fourth grade teachers are available by appointment on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:05-9:35. Please contact either one of your child’s teachers to schedule an appointment. In order to best meet the needs of your child, both teachers will meet with you.

Important times to know: Schedule Important times to know: First bell – 7:35 Tardy bell - 7:45 Instruction begins immediately Magnet – 8:55-9:40 P.E. will take place during magnet time once a week. Science Lab – Friday Library - Thursday Recess – 11:10-11:40 Lunch – 11:50-12:20 Dismissal – 4:00 (through December)/3:05 (starting in January)

Snacks Morning and afternoon (through December) snack Individual, single serving, easy to eat item that does not require silverware or excessive clean-up Water in spill proof container No sharing food

Global Learning At Kolter, each grade level focuses on a region of the world. Fourth grade focuses on South America. Mrs. O’Reilly – Ecuador Mrs. Curry – Peru Mrs. Groce – Brazil Mrs. Lidsky – Venezuela Throughout the year students will participate in a globally-based lessons and projects while they acquire attitudes, skills, and knowledge needed for global competence.

Testing Dates for 4th Grade STAAR Writing – April 10 STAAR Math – May 14 STAAR Reading – May 15

VIPS Clearance We will be taking a field trip to Camp for All (near Burton, TX) in the spring. We love to have volunteers! Remember that VIPS clearance is an annual process. You must show your driver’s license at the front office every year. Please take care of this early. The clearance process can take 2-3 weeks.

Birthday Treats Served at the end of the day Store bought Finger foods (No utensils needed to eat.) No products containing nuts! Please send napkins. No drinks *These restrictions are for the safety of our students and to maximize instructional time.

C A F E Comprehension Accuracy Fluency Expand Vocabulary

Words Their Way Differentiated spelling program Students are responsible for bringing words home Monday Spelling homework is given Monday – Thursday Don’t wait until Thursday to begin studying Words from previous weeks’ lists will be on test as a review (15 current + 5 review) Test on Friday

Social Studies We use Texas Studies Weekly. Students will be given tests approximately every three weeks. Students will complete study guides which will help them prepare for these tests. Check the wiki and your child’s agenda to know when these tests will be given, and remind them to review their study guides.

STAAR Writing Test 1 day test (April 10) 4 hours 1 composition + multiple choice revision and editing questions 1 style of writing– Expository 1 page/26 lines Parent Information Writing Night

STAAR Math Test 1 day Test (Monday, May 08, 2016) 4 hours Multiple Choice and Griddables TEA Website has Released Practice Tests

Math Websites http://www.ixl.com http://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do https://login.thinkthroughmath.com

Math Instruction GO Math Interactive Notebook Whole Group Small Group Exit Tickets/Unit Tests Assigned IXL skills (starts in November) Intervention Differentiation (Math Menus)

Math Instruction

Partial Quotient Example Math Instruction Partial Quotient Example

Science Science Fusion Book Science Lab every Friday We will take at least 1 Science grade a week

Questions