2009-2010 School Year

Welcome Back Letter

Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to a new school year at Carterville Intermediate School. We are extremely excited about what we have planned for our students, and are looking forward to an effective and productive year.

This year, Mrs. Davis will be teaching math, social studies, and science. Mr. Fields will be teaching reading, language arts, and spelling.

We are both thrilled to have your child in our classrooms. Furthermore, we look forward to working closely with students and parents to make this a positive and successful, yet fun school year. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated, and we thank each and every one of you, in advance, for all your hard work and dedication to making this school year successful.

The following information is an overview of important policies, rules, and procedures for our classrooms. Please go over these with your child. It is important that each student understand the responsibilities towards his or her classroom.

Homework Policy:

A variety of homework will be assigned on a regular basis. This may include assignments not completed in class, assignments to strengthen skills, or assignments to enrich or extend a lesson. Further, homework may also consist of long-range assignments, such as projects, book reports, and/or essays.

As per the Carterville Intermediate School Student handbook, homework will generally be assigned at 10 minutes per grade level for the average learner. Thus, look for the 5^th graders to have about 50 minutes of homework each night. Please note that there may be times when extra studying is required for major projects and/or exams. If you believe your child is spending too much time on homework, please feel free to contact us to discuss the matter.

Late work will be accepted as per the policy stated in the Carterville Intermediate School student handbook. For 5^th graders, homework that is 1-day late will incur a 20% penalty. All homework that is more than 1-day late will receive a zero, but students may still be expected to complete the work. Please see the handbook for additional details regarding late assignments.

Assignment Planners:

5^th and 6^th grade students are required to have and use assignment planners. Each day, students will record homework and/or other important notes in their planners. The teacher will initial the planner to verify that the student has properly filled it out. Each evening, a parent or guardian must sign the planner, making sure that all assignments are completed. Checks for this signature will occur on a random basis. This assignment planner provides a means of communication between home and school. Please feel free to write notes as necessary.

Locker Information:

Lockers are available, and will be assigned, to all 5^th and 6^th grade students. However, due to the limited number of lockers, students will be sharing with one person. Locks are optional. However, in order to have a lock, all partners must be able to quickly open the lock without difficulty and interruption.

Friday Folders:

Each Friday, a folder (envelope) will be sent home containing all graded material and important notes for that week. A space is provided on the folder for Mrs. Davis and Mr. Fields to relay any comments, such as weekly behavior and/or work habits, to the parents. Please sign the folder, each

time it comes home, in the space provided, and ensure it is returned the following school day. Friday Folders are an effective and essential way to keep papers organized and ensure parents see student work and important notes. Thank you ahead of time for your cooperation.

Each time a Friday folder comes home, you will find a grade of either E for excellent, G for good, or N for needs improvement. This grade corresponds to the student’s weekly behavior/work habits grade. Throughout the week, we monitor the student’s behavior and work habits, recording codes when necessary. The codes are shown below. If a student gets through the week without any codes, they earn an E for the week. If a student has 1 or 2 codes, they earn a G for the week. Three or more codes and that student earns an N for the week. Five or more codes in a one week period will result in the student receiving a strike on the Great Behavin’ clipboard.

Friday Earned Recess:

Each Friday, at the end of the day, we will have recess. This recess must be earned. In order to receive the Friday Earned Recess, a student must get through the week with two or less codes for behavior and work habits. If a student has three or more codes in a one week period, they cannot participate in the Friday Earned Recess. They must stay in the classroom for study hall. In addition, if a student has two or less codes for the week, but is behind in their work, they will be required to remain in the classroom during this recess. Mrs. Davis and Mr. Fields will alternate duty each week. Please encourage your child to maintain good behavior and work habits so that they may participate in the Friday earned recess.

Grading Scale:

A+ = 100 B+ = 92 C+ = 83 D+ = 75

A = 99-94 B = 91-85 C = 82-77 D = 74-69

A- = 93 B- = 84 C- = 76 D- = 68

F = 67 or below

Classroom Rules:

In order to maintain an effective and positive classroom environment, each student is expected to follow two main principles:

Students Must Be

Respectful and Responsible.

The following is a list of Classroom Rules that Mrs. Davis and Mr. Fields feel are important to maintaining a positive environment for learning.

Classroom Rules

1. Treat everyone and everything with Respect!

2. Listen carefully and follow directions.

3. Keep hands, feet, and other objects to yourself.

4. Respect the feelings and property of others.

5. Be prepared, ready, and on-time for class.

Consequences for failing to follow classroom rules as mentioned above:

1^st Offence Verbal Reminder and/or Redirection

2^nd Offence Check by Name on Behavior/Work Habits Chart

3^rd Offence Second Check on Chart

4^th Offence Third Check/Lose Friday Earned Recess, & Possible Contact with Parent

Please Note: A severe or continued violation of any classroom or school wide rule will result in loss of privilege, notification letter to parent, and/or conference with the Assistant Principal, Mr. Webb.

PG Rated Movies

At times throughout the year we may view PG rated movies that we feel are appropriate for our students. If you have any concerns about your child watching such movies, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.

If you have comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact either teacher at any time. We can be reached in person at the school, by email, or by phone.

Mrs. Davis adavis@cartervillelions.com

Mr. Fields mfields@cartervillelions.com

Phone 985-6411.

We look forward to seeing you at the open house, where you will receive more information regarding your student’s classroom and academic program. Thank you for supporting your child’s education.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Davis and Mr. Fields