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My name is Sandy
Hollstegge and I will be your child's teacher this year.
I am excited to have your child in class and am eager to get to
know and work with you. The
most important aspects of the parent-teacher relationship are
communication and teamwork. Please
communicate with me often regarding the progress you see, areas of
concern that might develop, or questions you may have.
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Rules Fourth grade is a year of great transition. Students will find that we have very high expectations for learning and behavior. Students are expected to take full responsibility for their own behavior and learning. School rules are listed in the WVE handbook and in the classroom, and it is expected that they will be followed. Classroom rules are brief and should be easy to follow. They are 1) Come prepared to learn.
(This includes bringing necessary supplies, homework, planbook,
etc. It also involves coming
to class with a ready to
learn attitude.) 2) Let the teacher teach. 3) Let others learn. I am sure you and your child will
find these rules to be fair and reasonable.
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Switching In
4th grade, students have switch” times.
During this time, students receive instruction from the other 4th
grade teachers. Mrs. Swiecki
teaches science and health, Mrs. Heinrich teaches social studies, and I
teach math to all classes. Mrs.
Averdick is the resource teacher that will work with some fourth grade
students. Students will
rotate to the other two 4th grade rooms for science and
social studies. This is
different from 3rd grade when the teachers moved from class
to class. This will require
the students to be very
organized. During a
typical week, students will have social studies and science/health
Monday-Thursday and math Monday-Friday.
Each teacher teaches language arts to her homeroom class.
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Monday Music Tuesday Phys. Ed. Wednesday Music & Library Thursday Phys. Ed. Friday Art Lunch is at 12:30 and recess is from 12:45-1:15. ***TAG students have lunch & recess at an alternate time on Fridays.
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Newsletters
& Behavior Report Cards Each
Monday, students will receive a class newsletter, telling important
information about school and class events, projects, tests, homework,
and more. On Fridays,
students will receive a behavior report card.
The behavior report card (BRC) will give you an idea of your
child’s behavior during the previous week.
Students earn a stamp on their BRC for every day they have no
“flips” (a color flip indicates a broken rule).
The rule broken will be noted.
Please sign the behavior report card and return it to school by
the following Wednesday. Students
receive "cat cash" to spend monthly at the WVE Cat Store for each
stamp earned on a signed BRC. |
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Each
quarter, students will have an AR reading goal to work towards.
This point goal is based upon the number of points students earn
by reading books on their level and taking related quizzes.
Another part of the goal is based upon the average score they
earn on their AR quizzes. The
percent of goal achieved along with the average percent correct will
together account for one third of the quarterly reading grade. You can monitor your child's AR quiz activity and progress towards their goal by visiting the following site. For username and password, simply use your child's logon info. |
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Every other Monday, students will take a spelling pretest in class. Most of the words will follow a pattern, but five of the words will be based upon current units of study and students' past performance. These words will be included on the pretest paper and in the newsletter for reference. They will have assignments to complete using their words for the rest of that week and the following week. A test will be given on Friday of the second week. All spelling assignments are to be done in cursive. Spelling grades will also be taken from written work in other subject areas. Students who are misspelling words they should know in any subject area will have points deducted from their final spelling grade. Students
who exhibit exceptional spelling skills through outstanding pretests and
daily spelling will work on alternate words with different activities
for the week to meet their needs in this area.
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I
believe that homework is a valuable tool for reinforcing what students
have been taught, providing practice, encouraging study skills, and
assessing students' learning. Please
read the WVE homework policy in the parent handbook.
Students are expected to record all daily assignments in their
planbooks. Please review the
assignments nightly and sign the planbook every night as well.
The planbook will be checked each day to be sure it is signed.
Students will face negative consequences for not having their
planbooks signed. Students
should expect homework (about 40 minutes) each night.
Usually we try to avoid giving homework over weekends, but it may
become necessary on occasion. Although
it may not be recorded in
their planbooks,
all students have a nightly
assignment to read for at least 20 minutes, including weekends.
Please enforce this "unwritten rule" for your child's
benefit. |
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Students who fail to turn in
an assignment on time will receive a homework
stamp in their planbook. This
is to make you aware of late or missing work.
Your signature on the planbook page will indicate your awareness
of the missing assignment. They
may turn in the work late, with the score lowered one letter grade for
each day the assignment is late. If
the work is not turned in by the fifth day, they will receive a zero for
that assignment. I expect
students to be responsible and organized, so late homework should be a
very rare occurrence. |
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Grades will be recorded for most, but not all, assignments. Assignments will usually be returned to your child the following school day. If an assignment is stamped "complete" this means it was checked for completion, but no grade was recorded. Please ask your child to see graded papers regularly or check the "stay home" section of the Home Folder. Tests are expected to be signed within two school days. This is one way that we make sure parents are aware of their child's progress. All students and parents have an account in Progress Book, our online grading system. Please make sure to check your child's progress regularly, so there are no surprises. Midterm progress reports will be sent home halfway through each quarter for parents who do not have access to Progress Book online. This will give you an idea of your child's achievement in that subject to date. It will also indicate AR progress. Report cards include final grades in each subject. They will be sent home approximately a week an a half after the end of the quarter.
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Grading
Scale A+ 98-100 |
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In late April, your child will take Achievement tests in the areas of reading and math. These tests are designed to measure student mastery of concepts and curriculum taught from grades K-4 in these core subjects. Although I don't believe in teaching to the test, I will design lessons so that students become familiar and comfortable with the format and expectations of the test and have the necessary skills to be successful. Students will take practice tests to help us to identify areas of concern where intervention may be needed. Intervention classes will be scheduled. You will receive more information about testing as the year progresses.
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From time to time I will send
home book club order forms. These
clubs usually offer a variety of literature and activity packs at
reasonable prices. While
providing children with lots of interesting books is an excellent way to
encourage a love of reading, you are by no means obligated to buy any
items at any time. Borrowing
books from the library or friends is a great alternative. When the order forms come home,
you will usually have about a week to place an order.
Look in the newsletter for the ordering deadline.
Please send the forms back by this date so I can submit the order
and get the books to you as soon as possible. NO
MATTER WHICH FORM YOU ORDER FROM, PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO
SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUBS. Return
payment with the order slip in an envelope with your child's name on the
outside. You can also follow the Scholastic link on this site's main page to place your orders online. f you are looking for
suggestions for books on your child's reading level, check with me, a
librarian, or the AR book list available at school or on the AR Home
Connect Website.
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While
we don't make a big event of birthdays, students are
welcome to bring in birthday treats to celebrate their special day with
the class, if they choose. The
district Wellness Policy encourages nutritious snacks that are
individually wrapped, but this is at your discretion.
Please try to send in related
items like napkins, plates, etc. as needed.
Please send items to school with your child in the morning, if
possible, so we can celebrate as our schedule allows.
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I am always interested in speaking with parents about their
child's education. The
best ways to get in touch are *Email me at sandy.hollstegge@southwestschools.org *send a note (or write in planbook) telling me a convenient time to call *call the office and leave a message *stop by the classroom AFTER school (mornings are very busy)
Please make sure that all of the following have been turned in:
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