1. Christina Smith-Corleone, M.A. Room 14 School Year 2012-2013

2. Welcome Parents! About Me Christina Smith-Corleone, M.A. Last year taught at Cimarron Ave. Elementary School Have taught Kinder, 3 rd, 4 th, & 5 th grade Graduated from California State University, Northridge

3. Grading  Grades are based on points.  Points are based on:  Class participation (effort)  Completion of Home Activities  Completion of assignments  Completion of projects and reports  Assessments/Quizzes Grading Scale 90-100% = A = 4 85-89% = B = 3 80-84% = B- = 3 75-79% = C = 3 70-74% = C- = 2 60-69% = D = 2 51-59% = F = 2 Below 50% = F = 1 4= Advanced 3= Proficient 2= Approaching Proficient 1= Not Proficient

4. My Goals  To give your child the academic and social skills you need to progress to fifth grade.  To provide a supportive and fun classroom environment.  To help your child discover new interests.  To assist your child’s in finding a value for learning, success, and college.  To embed in them that is important to care for others.

5. Special Projects this Year 1.Room 14 Government Election 2.Class President Book Report 3.California Mission & American Indian Project 4.Classroom Spelling Bee 5.Family Heritage Project 6.Global Awareness Project 7.“The Witches” Book Report 8.Portfolio

6. Reading Fluency Expectations 4 th Grade Unit 1125 wpm Unit 2130wpm Unit 3139 wpm Unit 4143 wpm Unit 5148 wpm **Practice multiplication, addition, and subtraction facts Reading Practice and Math Basic Facts Goal: students to read at home out loud 20 minutes a day on their independent reading level to a parent. At least one hour per week should be dedicated to studying.

7. Responsibility for Class work and Home Activities  Bring Home Activity packet, binder, textbooks, notes, and appropriate materials to class everyday.  Know due dates, and submit all coursework on time. Tardy work will lose a grade. For example, if you earned a 3 you will receive a 2. Late work or not completing work will result in your child not participating in fun activities like computer lab, psychomotor, recess, library time, art, etc. Turning work on time shows he or she is responsible and deserve his or her fun time.  Ask me questions when you find your child doesn’t understand. Send me a note or email me.

8. Behavior Card Each student has a color coded behavior card that specifies how he or she is behaving throughout the day. Blue= Great Day! Star quality performance Green= Good Day! Met expectations and followed rules. Yellow= Improvement Necessary. Needed reminders of expectations and rules. Red= Unsatisfactory. Difficulty following rules and meeting expectations throughout the day. blue codes: You can be student of the week and receive a special reward certificate. red codes: You will complete a “Choose to Be Responsible Behavioral Journal” during recess to reflect on his or her behavior and brainstorm ideas for improvement. If you frequently receive red codes I will send a letter or email to your parents or explore disciplinary actions with the principal if necessary. Behavior cards are sent home daily and should be viewed, discussed, and initialed by a parent or guardian, then returned the following school day. The behavior card was designed to aware parents of daily behavior progress. If you fail to return behavior cards initialed by a parent or guardian to school you will not participate in recess play.

9. Home Activities  Home activities will be given everyday, Monday through Thursday.  Activities may include any of the curriculum areas (Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Health, and Art) and several times throughout the year may include a report or project.  At the top of the packet are announcements for you to be kept informed of current events in room 14 and on the school campus.  Parents or guardians should initial on the home activity cover sheet that the homework is done to the child’s best ability. Homework will be briefly checked every day; however it will be checked for grading purposes on Fridays. All home activity packets will be sent home on Fridays as well so behavior cards can be initialed by a parent/guardian and will be collected on the following Monday.  Students that have packets that are incomplete on Friday will not participate in recess play. Students that return over the weekend on Monday with homework still incomplete will not participate in recess play on Monday.

10. Important Materials For Beginning of School Year  One box of tissue for the classroom  Pencils and erasers  White 1 ½ inch binder with plastic cover on outside (for portfolio)  One 1 ½ inch binders (color optional) for your desk folder and  One thin two pocket folder for your science folder  Three sets of 8 tabs (subject dividers) for binders  Thin homework folder  Backpack  Individual stapler  Individual pencil sharpener  Blue ink pens  Colored pencils  Ruler  2 Glue stick  Supply box/pouch (transport materials in backpack between home & school)  3 Yellow Highlighters  1 Pair of Scissors  2 spiral notebooks, college rule size.  1 Flash Drive

11. Let’s Have a Great Year!