2. 10/12/20151 Back to School Night Miss Russo’s Fabulous Fourth Grade Class Room 405 September 1, 2015

3. 10/12/20152 Welcome! Back to School Night is the beginning of a great partnership in your child’s education! Thanks for being here and showing such tremendous support!

4. 10/12/20153 Topics of Discussion Information about me Class Schedule Rules/Procedures Curriculum & Instruction Homework Wellness Policy and Dismissal Absences Communication Opportunities to get involved Bound Books Field Trips Common Core Standards Contacting me

5. 10/12/20154 Who am I????????? This is my fifth year teaching! I did my student teaching in the district. Then I was hired as a reading intervention teacher before teaching 4 th grade. I got engaged this summer! My fiancé, Tim, is also a teacher and a football coach at Classical Academy High School.

6. 10/12/20155 Class Schedule (Most days!) 8:45-9:00 Morning routine 9:00-10:50 ELA/Writing 10:50-11:10 Recess 11:10-12:30 Mathematics/P.E. (Tues/Fri/Every other Wed.)/Other pull-outs 12:30-1:15 Lunch 1:15-3:10 Math/Writing/Social Studies and Science/Other pull-outs 3:10 Dismissal (2:10 dismissal on Wed.)

7. 10/12/20156 Rules/Procedures Classroom Rules Be prepared Be respectful Follow directions Treat others as you would want them to treat you Rewards Individuals can earn beach bucks that they can use to buy rewards Students can earn Dojo points and will receive an award for earning a certain number of points Table Points Eagle Tickets Consequences Warning Sign the book-Lose 5 Beach Bucks 2 nd Sign- Lose 10 Beach Bucks and loss of recess 3 rd Sign- Lose 15 Beach Bucks and note home The teacher always has the right to jump straight to #4 if behavior is deemed severe.

8. 10/12/20157 Curriculum & Instruction All curriculum is aligned to the Common Core Standards. We will be using supplementary materials such as various leveled novels, Scholastic Storyworks, TenMarks.com, Dreambox, and other various websites to enhance the core curriculum. Students are pre-assessed before each unit to make sure their instruction is at the appropriate level. A variety of instructional strategies are used including whole group, small group, and independent work to maximize the learning process for your child. The Leader in Me- Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Happy Kids

9. 10/12/20158 Curriculum & Instruction America Achieves: Website that provides tools that may be useful to parents as their children return to school, including math and reading quizzes, a library with discussion guides, conversation starters, videos and writing samples, parent-teacher conversation guides, and ways to support your child based on state test results. Sign up at Raise the Bar access these free resources. Raise the Bar http://raisethebarparents.org

10. 10/12/20159 Homework Homework will always be an extension of something that was already taught in class. It is meant to be practice/reinforcement, not learning something new. Monday through Thursday, students are expected to silent read for 20 minutes per night. Any extra time spent reading is always beneficial, but not required by me. On average, your child should spend approximately 30-45 minutes a night on homework. If your child has spent about 45 minutes on homework, and is still not complete, simply initial the homework indicating that your child has completed the necessary time to be considered complete. We will have homework planners this year. Please sign/initial each night in the planner.

11. 10/12/201510 Homework (cont.) Because I realize there may be extenuating circumstances, your child must either have his/her completed homework or a note from you explaining the situation (handwritten or email contact before 8:45 am). Baseball strikes Homework Black Book

12. 10/12/201511 Wellness Policy and Dismissal Wellness Policy – Please refer to the school website to review the district wellness policy. Dismissal – Please refer to the school website to review the traffic plan for 2015-2016. Please be patient!

13. 10/12/201512 Absences Please remember to call the attendance office when your child is absent. If your child will be missing more than just a day or two, make arrangements for someone to pick up his/her homework so that your child does not get too far behind with his/her studies. When your child returns to school, he/she will have two days to complete any missing work.

14. 10/12/201513 Communication Wednesday Envelopes- All forms will be available electronically via the school website. My website-I will update my website as often as possible. School Website- The school website is a great place to look for any upcoming events and important school information. Email--I am always available via email. I check my email often, so please feel free to contact me this way with any questions, concerns or positive interactions! brittney.russo@smusd.orgbrittney.russo@smusd.org Remind- Remind 101 for reminders of important events

15. 10/12/201514 Opportunities to Get Involved Classroom Volunteer-Room parents, parents to help with copying, recycling, art volunteers etc. are always extremely important. If you are interested, please sign up on the back table. Thanks so much! Classroom donations- We can really go through our classroom supplies quickly, so any donations that can be made throughout the year are greatly appreciated!

16. 10/12/201515 Bound Books Bound Books-This year we will be making a bound book. Each child will receive their own hardcover book with all the work they have completed during this school year (including photos, awards, etc). The cost of the book is $17 per child. We will be recycling water bottles/aluminum cans throughout the year to help offset this cost for those students who aren’t financially able to purchase their book. This is an amazing keepsake that I know your family will treasure in the years to come.

17. Field Trips This year, will be going on 3 field trips: 1. GIA 2. Mission 3. Biztown All 3 of these field trips are amazing, but Biztown will really require the most effort of all of our 4 th grade parents. It is an amazing opportunity for our students. 10/12/201516

18. 10/12/201517 Contacting Me I have an “open door” policy. Just call me or email me to let me know when you’d like to come! I welcome your comments, concerns and suggestions. We are working together to make sure your child gets a quality education! I check phone messages and emails at the end of the day. If you have an emergency, please speak with someone in the office, and they will contact me. Phone: 290-2600 x 3405 Email: brittney.russo@smusd.org

19. 10/12/201518 Questions???