Fifth Grade Team’s Mission Statement

1. Fifth Grade Team’sMission Statement We will provide focused instruction in a safe, positive environment while motivating students to be proactive, self-directed learners. How are we going to accomplish this? Individualize our instruction based on the needs and strengths of students Students will understand their own data and set goals based on the information Build a classroom ‘family’ or community Involve students in the lesson-planning through interest surveys and understanding data

2. Behavior • Buck Strips: • Fifth grade will use “bucks” this year. • Students will start each week with 12 bucks. • Students can lose bucks for not following directions, breaking classroom rules, missing homework, etc. • Students can earn bonus bucks for demonstrating outstanding behavior and academic achievement. • There will be an auction after each quarter where the students can spend their bucks.

3. Behavior • Learning: • We expect the students to show several learning behaviors this year. • Students should practice active listening. • Look at teachers • Listen carefully • Not play around or talk during lessons • Students should complete all learning tasks and homework to the best of their abilities. • Students are expected to give their personal best at all times.

4. Social Behavior • Appropriate social behavior is vital to the school environment. • We expect the students to treat others with dignity and respect. • Listen to others’ ideas • Keep hands and feet to themselves • Utilize appropriate problem solving and conflict resolution skills • Compromise when disagreements arise

5. Behavior • Husky Rock • Husky Rocking Behavior should include the following: • R: Respect Students should show respect for school property and their fellow students and teachers. O: Organization Students are expected to be organized in the classroom and prepared. C: Cooperation Students are to cooperate with teachers, teachers, administration and fellow students, not only in the classroom but in the hallways, cafeteria, restrooms, buses and playground. K: Kindness Students are expected to show kindness to everyone throughout the school building, being polite, courteous, and understanding are key components of “Rockin” behavior.

6. Husky Rock (cont.) • Students can and will receive Husky Rocks tickets for demonstrating the Husky Rock behavior. Students can receive tickets from any staff member when “caught” demonstrating the ROCK behavior traits. The tickets will be turned in and students will receive rewards for their behavior in their classroom and a “special” treat which will be raffled weekly and monthly.

7. Bullying • Bullying occurs when a student attempts to threaten or harm another student physically, emotionally, verbally, etc. • Not including students during free-play or lunch • Tormenting or picking on students • Making fun of clothing, language, personality, or health issues • Physical violence • The majority of bullying occurs in restrooms, on the playground, and in the hallways. • We expect all students to demonstrate appropriate behaviors in these common areas. • We will be working with students to recognize bullying and teach them ways to prevent it. • Serious consequences are in place if bullying occurs.

8. Auctions • As a part of our behavior plan, each quarter students can spend the “bucks” they have earned. We try to have a variety of items from school supplies to games to sporting equipment.

9. Auctions Parents can help with donations or by assisting on the day of the auctions.

10. DARE Program 5th graders participate in Drug Abuse Resistance Education. They learn about the harmful effects of drugs as well as how to be confident in saying “no” when placed in difficult situations.

11. DARE All graduates write an essay about what they learned in DARE. Each class is represented by one winner who reads his/her essay at the graduation ceremony. Our DARE officers, Sergeant Logan and Deputy Meyer listen to one student share.

12. Hawaiian Week At the end of the year, we have activities that tie to a study of Hawaii. Many of these follow academic standards and our wellness initiative. It’s a great way to have fun while still learning!

13. Snack Shack This year we are introducing the Snack Shack as a way to help us fund our auctions and other special events. Funds will also help us update our selection of paperback novels. The cart will be open on Fridays only for 8:45-8:55a.m. All items will cost $1 and can be eaten during the regular classroom snack break.

14. SnackShack • How can you help? • Donate items off the school-approved snack list that are healthy options for snack time. • Volunteer to work on Fridays to sell items to students. • Volunteer to organize and keep the cart supplied. • Emails and a letter were sent home on Friday for those who have already shared interest in volunteering & donating. • PLEASE CONTACT MRS. ALLISON IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE AN EMAIL OR LETTER.

15. Biztown Elementary school students are not old enough to drive, work, vote, or be the boss. But that doesn't stop them from operating banks, managing restaurants, writing checks, and voting for mayor at JA BizTown! The program combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to this fully-interactive simulation. The program helps students connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world. Through daily lessons, hands-on activities, and active participation in this simulated community designed to support differentiated learning styles, students develop a strong understanding of the relationship between what they learn in school and their successful participation in a worldwide economy. For more information check out: http://www.jaindy.org Our 5th grade classes will be visiting Biztown on October 6th & 7th 6th: King, Provence, Crawford 7th: Allison, Smith, Engle, Bowyer This experience requires the help of many parent volunteers. If you are interested in helping with Biztown, please let your child’s teacher know!

16. National Institute of Fitness and Sport (NIFS) As part of our school district’s push to get fit, Mr. Clark, our physical education teacher, accompanies our 5th graders to NIFS for the day, where they have the opportunity to see just how fun getting fit can be! NIFS is 65,000 square-foot fitness center located in downtown Indianapolis on the IUPUI campus. It has over 4,000 members and some of the most up-to-date exercise equipment in the industry. Our classes will be visiting NIFS in January. More information will be coming home with your child at a later date!

17. Honor Roll Each quarter, students will receive letter grades for their progress in the various subjects. If a student receives nothing lower than a B- he or she will land a spot on our 5th grade honor roll! At the conclusion of each semester, there will be a special reward for those who made the honor roll for both quarters during that particular semester. Some of our rewards in the past have included……. •After School Movie Party • Special Snack at Lunch • Swimming at the High School • Kickball against the 5th Grade Teachers (with t-shirt) As a 5th grade team, we encourage you to check your child’s grades often, by utilizing the parent portal portion of Power School.

18. Data • What is it? • Simply stated… Assessments! • Daily observations • Conversations (conferences) with students. • Grades on student work • Acuity • Scholastic Reading Inventory • Writing LDAs • Fluency scores

19. Data • How is it used? • To create individualized lesson plans based on the needs of your child • Group students based on similar needs & strengths • Notice any trends or changes in the needs of students (school wide; grade level wide; etc.)

20. Data • What types of assessments will be used? • Observations • Behaviors • Tendencies • Areas of struggle or strength • Conferences • Meeting one-on-one with students • Reading and writing primarily, but can occur in any subject

21. Data • Reading Fluency • Words per minute • Goal = 140 • Smooth, interesting reading; not speed reading! • Correct • Smooth • Even paced • Voice inflections (question? Excitement! Normal.) • Fluency is directly linked to comprehension! • Encourage your child to sound interesting when they read. No boring readers!

22. Fluency Chart

23. Fluency Test

24. Data • Acuity • Tested Quarterly in all subject areas • Based on Indiana Academic Standards • Used to help direct our instruction- Where do we go from here? • Used to inform parents of current achievement • What does an Acuity report look like?

25. Acuity Student Portfolio Report

26. Data • Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) • Lexiles (text difficulty) • 700-1000L • What are the lexiles for common books? • Helps teachers decide how difficult/easy a story needs to be in order for the student to read and understand • Helps students decide what types of books they can be successful at. • What does an SRI report look like?

27. SRI Read for Life Report

28. Data • Writing LDAs • Locally Developed Assessments • Provides practice for the ISTEP+ writing portion • Provides the students with much needed practice for high-stakes testing • Score of 1-6 (4, 5, 6 is passing) • Sample rubric

29. Writing LDA

30. Home & School Communication • To contact by phone: dial (317) 984-3547 and enter teacher’s extension • Mrs. Bowyer: 3121 • Mrs. Engle: 3120 • Miss Smith: 3119 • Mrs. Allison: 3118 • Mrs. Crawford: 3117 • Mr. Provence: 3115 • Mrs. King: 3114

31. To contact by email: initial of teacher’s first name and complete last name before @mail.hhsc.k12.in.us example: nsmith@mail.hhsc.k12.in.us Mrs. Bowyer: lbowyer Mrs. Engle: aengle Miss Smith: nsmith Mrs. Allison: aallison Mrs. Crawford: lcrawford Mr. Provence: kprovence Mrs. King: aking

32. Other modes of communication: • Student assignment notebook: review daily for homework assignments, current and upcoming class activities, and behavior reports • Daily notes: can be sent to school with student as needed regarding changes in after school activities, lunch visitors, etc. • Newsletters / class websites: vary upon teacher

33. Problems / Concerns If a problem or concern arises, we ask that you please contact the classroom teacher first. This ensures that the teacher is informed and made aware of the issue. The classroom teacher will then contact other faculty members and/or administrators as it is needed.

34. When & how will you hear from us? • Daily through assignment notebooks • Daily/weekly through newsletters/class websites • By phone or email as needed • Daily/weekly through PowerSchool updates

35. If you have further questions, please contact your child’s teacher! We look forward to working with you this year!