Parent Survival Handbook Miss Rosner’s 5th Grade Parent Survival Handbook Dear Parents/Guardians, In order to ensure that the year continues on a path of success, I wanted to send you this Parent Survival Handbook that I have assembled to help you understand the 5th grade homework requirements and other important information that will enable us to make this a very positive and rewarding year for your child. I truly believe that communication is a vital element when it comes to a successful school year. Open lines of communication between the parent, student, and teacher are the key to promoting an educational climate that is conducive to learning. I am truly looking forward to continuing to work with you and your child. Together we can make a difference! Please feel free to contact me at any time if there is a question or situation you would like to discuss. You will receive additional communication throughout the school year, including a monthly newsletter. I look forward to building a relationship with you and your child and thus providing the best education possible. Thank you for your continued support! Sincerely, Miss Mary Rosner 

Work Habits & Academics Your child will have several assignments during the school day for which he or she is responsible. Due to uncertain circumstances, if your child for any reason is unable to complete an assignment, he/she is responsible for completing the class assignment on their own time. It is the student’s responsibility to return work to the appropriate area without any reminders. Please talk to your child about the importance of completing assignments. Homework & Agenda All homework is posted within the classroom. Please check your child’s agenda nightly to make sure all assignments are completed. In order to ensure that homework is completed, please initial your child’s agenda on a nightly basis. Reading Our 5th grade reading program incorporates many different components. Students will be participating in Guided Reading Groups, Whole Group Instruction (Shared Reading) and Independent Reading. Students may also have the opportunity to participate in Literature Circles (group discussion about a common book.) I am very excited to work with your child and help them develop a love for reading! Every day your child will be expected to read an independent book at home. This should be a book that your child has picked out at their “just right” reading level and is also interesting to them. Please try and listen to your child read as often as possible. Rereading books helps students develop fluency and increase comprehension. Reading comprehension is key to becoming an excellent reader. If the book is a longer chapter book, the child may only read a chapter or so. Please note that reading for 20 minutes nightly is a daily homework assignment. Their nightly reading must be recorded on their Monthly Reading Log and initialed by a parent. It is very important to be consistent with reading every night. The more opportunities your child has to experience text, the stronger reader they will become. Having trouble finding books? Check out the local library. The library is a great resource to take advantage of and children LOVE to pick out their own books. They have learned how to pick out a “just right” book in school. Please encourage your child to select both nonfiction and fiction texts as well. Happy reading!

Work Habits & Academics Writing Students may sometimes be asked to bring home their Author’s Notebook to work on rough copies. (This generally only happens if your child missed class due to an absence or lessons.) Students may take home their Author’s Notebook, at any time, if they choose. Students will be expected to complete final drafts by a posted due date. Students should have plenty of time to complete the final draft in class. Students needing more time will be expected to finish at home.   Math Math homework is assigned at the teacher’s discretion. Please feel free to check out the Common Core Math Newsletters on the 5th Grade Common Page for tips and advice. Please also encourage your child to practice their math facts as often as possible. Spelling Spelling will not be presented in a traditional manner, instead throughout the year, students will explore word patterns through word study. For example, they may break down words and analyze prefixes, suffixes, and root words. To clarify, there will be no weekly spelling lists and spelling tests. Science/Social Studies Homework will only be sent home if your child is absent from school or misses a class due to lessons. I do my best to send home study guides before each assessment. When a study guide is sent home, please encourage your child to review the concepts. Friday Newsletter Every Friday your child will be bringing home a Weekly Newsletter. This newsletter will allow you to learn all about the weekly lessons and activities taking place within your child’s classroom. It will also indicate your child’s weekly behavior determined by your child. Please be sure to read over and discuss the newsletter with your child. If you have any concerns or questions, please let me know by writing a note on the newsletter. You can also write a positive and encouraging note to your child on the letter. They LOVE to see positive remarks!

Classroom Rules & Behavior Management In order to provide the students with the excellent educational climate that they deserve, the students and I worked to develop a set of classroom rules that will be in effect at all times. They did a wonderful job coming up with common classroom rules and goals! During the first few weeks of school we wrote a Classroom Pledge together which described what our expectation for learning and behavior will be this year. Our Classroom Pledge reflects Akron Elementary School’s expectations as well.  Classroom Pledge I will always follow directions. I will respect others and their belongings. I will listen to the speaker. I will make GOOD choices. I will NOT be a bully.   If a student chooses to not follow the classroom rules and/or procedures, then they will be given a verbal warning. If a child continues to not follow the classroom rules and/or procedures then the student will lose a Brain Buck and/or receive a call home. See the next sheet for information on our Brain Buck system. Students LOVE to earn Brain Bucks!

How do you earn/lose Brain Bucks? Complete Classroom Job Getting Signature Healthy Snack Teacher’s Choice Positive Classroom Choice Whole Class Good Report Forget Classroom Job Missing Signature Selling Items Talking in the Hallway Negative Classroom Choice Whole Class Poor Report

Additional Information Absences Please make every effort to have your child present each and every day. However, I do understand that there are times when children need to be absent due to illnesses or other family issues. Parents need to send in a signed, written note when the student returns to school explaining the reason for the absence, the date(s) of the absence, and a daytime phone number.   All students need to be in the room no later than 8:10am each day. All students arriving to school after this time must be signed in at the office by an adult.  Agenda Students will be using an agenda book for homework assignments. Your child is responsible for writing all homework assignments in the agenda, taking the agenda home each day, having a parent read and sign it nightly. They are also responsible for bringing it back to school the next day. Please feel free to write any messages in the agenda to me as well. If you do include a note in the agenda, I recommend that you notify your child to ensure that the message is seen by the classroom teacher.  Birthday Celebrations If your child is celebrating a birthday and you would like to send in a treat: These treats must be precut and ready to serve due to time constraints. There are NO allergies in our classroom this year. Birthday treats should be provided for each child in the class. There are 22 students in our classroom.

Contact Information Communication Communication is vital for a successful school year. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Here is a list of ways to contact your child’s teacher. Email Email is the preferred method of contact. I am able to check my email before and after school. I do my best to respond to all emails within 24 hours. Telephone You are more than welcome to leave a message on my voicemail system. Please visit Akron Elementary School’s website for a list of staff telephone extension numbers. Message/Note You can also send in a note with your child or write a note in their agenda. Again, please notify your child in the morning so they remember to turn it in to the note bin or show it to the clasroom teacher. *MISS ROSNER’S CLASSROOM WEBSITE* Check out Miss Rosner’s classroom website to locate important classroom information and to find electronic copies of important documents. Miss Rosner’s classroom website also includes nightly homework assignments and a classroom photo gallery. Thank you for your continued support! http://www.akronschools.org/Domain/229 Teacher Email Address Miss Rosner CLASSROOM TEACHER mrosner@akronschools.org Mrs. Bakula SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER jbakula@akronschools.org Mr. Zazynski MATH TEACHER dzazynski@akronschools.org