Parent Orientation

Parent Orientation August 13, 2013

Agenda • Parent sign-in • Greeting/share • Volunteer sign-up • Wish List • Attendance • Lunch/lunch money • STAR Binder • Wednesday folders/graded papers • Uniforms • Hopes and Goals/Class Rules • STAR reading assessment • Homework • Conference Sign Up

Attendance • All students should be in their classrooms by 8:00am. Late students will receive tardy slips. • In the event of an excused absence, the student must give the teacher a doctor’s note, or note from a parent, explaining the reason for the absence within 2 days of absence. You MUST include the date/s the student was absent. Please refer to the yellow SCS handbook for the attendance policy.

Lunch/Lunch Money • Pre-paying by phone, or online, is the most convenient method. You can prepay online, using a credit/debit card. You can access MyPaymentPlus from the SCS website. Click on the Nutrition link under the Parents/Student tab, then click on the Online Prepayment link. I also have this link posted on our class blog. You are encouraged to add money to the “General Account” as this will allow the purchase of a meal or “al a cart” options. • Cash payments and prepayment will also be accepted by teachers each morning before 8:30am. • Lunch Pricing: Full pay: $2.25/meal Reduced pay: $.30/meal Attention: Please have your child enjoy birthday cupcakes and other treats at home. These can not be served to the class at school, per SCS Nutrition Policy. We are allowed such treats only twice a year on our Riverwood designated celebration days (Winter Break Celebration and the End of the Year Celebration). Thank you for your cooperation!

S.T.A.R Binder • Students • Taking • Academic • Responsibility • This binder will be a growing resource for you and your child. This binder is expected to go home each day, and return to school each day. • Students will use the binder to collect important academic resources as the year progresses • This binder will also include a Parent Communication section where you will find the class newsletters, SCS calendar for 2013-2014, and the monthly Riverwood calendar of events, etc.

Wednesday Folders • The green folders are sent home every Wednesday and due back to class by Friday. • Contents: progress reports, graded papers, assessments, letters from the teacher, flyers and information from Riverwood or SCS • Please returnall graded papers and assessments. • Please sign all incomplete papers and papers with a grade below 75%. • Please help your child make corrections to any assignments with a grade below 75%. Please guide your child to complete any incomplete assignments. • Please remove all letters and flyers from the folder before returning it to school. • If additional time is needed to review work, please send me a note so I know you have seen the folder and its contents, and return the folder on Monday.

Uniforms • Pants/shorts/skirts/dresses must be khaki, navy, or black • Shirts must be collared with short or long sleeves (no tank tops/sleeveless shirts). They should be white, navy, or a Riverwood issued collard shirt. • Riverwood tie-dyed “Spirit Shirts” may be purchased from the bookstore and worn on Fridays, only. • Sweaters and lightweight jackets must be a uniform color in order to be worn inside the building. All coats that are not uniform colors will be kept in the students cubby until dismissal. (Please write your child’s name on all coat tags.) • Please, no jewelry as it often becomes distractions in the classroom and/or a safety hazard at recess and P.E.

Class Rules • During the first week of school. We began talking about our hopes and goals for third grade. • I asked the students, “What kind of classroom do we need to have in order for you to reach your goals and achieve your hopes? What are some rules we should have in place to help us achieve this?” Using their suggestions, we worked to create rules for our classroom. 1. Respect our learning 2. Respect each other 3. Respect our environment

STAR Reading Assessment • Your child was given a diagnostic reading assessment to determine his/her current reading level. • Please notice your child’s “GE,” which is their “grade equivalent” for reading. • Students were also given their ZPD (AKA: AR level), and your child should be choosing and reading books within this range. • You can check a book’s level through the Accelerated Reader website. There is a link to this site on our class blog. • Students will take quizzes on books they have read within their ZPD, and they will earn AR points for passing these quizzes. Each student will have a unique AR goal, based on his/her current reading level. Your child’s reading level will be regularly assessed to measure growth.

Homework • All 3rd grade students should read “good-fit books” for a minimum of 20 minutes at home, everyday to build fluency and strengthen comprehension skills. Students will use their reading logs each day to track reading at school and home. • Students are encouraged to practice math facts for 5-10 minutes a day, until they are fluent with “adding doubles” and multiplication facts 0-12. Building fact fluency will aid students in solving more complex math problems. • Incomplete class work due to “off task” behaviors will become homework. • Any additional homework will be given on a “needs basis.”

Questions, Comments, and Concerns • If you were unable to attend the “Parent Orientation,” you might have questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me. • If you would like to discuss any personal questions or concerns about your child, I would be happy to set up a time to meet! • Simply send a note to request scheduling a conference, or email me. SHIPMANLA@scsk12.org • To access our class blog, visit the web address below. http://mslaurenshipman.edublogs.org/

Parent Orientation