Routines+and+Procedures

Drinks: Students will be permitted to keep water bottles at their desk, with their name on the bottle. The bottle is to contain ONLY water. Please put something around the bottle to absorb the moisture from it.

Snacks: Students are permitted to bring a snack each day. The snack should not be anything messy or anything that will require a spoon or straw. Crackers, fruit roll-ups, fruit snacks, or fruit are examples of good snack s to send in to eat. NO CANDY!

Gum: In my classroom students will be allowed to chew gum. The gum can be chewed ONLY in our classroom. If gum is found on school furniture or floor, I will send out a notification that gum will no longer be allowed.

**A. Grading** This year the Edgewood School District is revamping the grading system for grade K-5. Grades will be taken from in-class work, short cycle assessments, portfolios and teacher observation. Our grading timeline has also been moved from quarters to tri-mesters. There will be three report cards coming home this year. Grades will be given on a five point scale:

**B. Testing**  The students will be given a spelling sheet that will consist of some examples of the spelling pattern we will be working on and a list of high frequency words that will be included on the test. Please study spelling by generating a list of words using the spelling pattern. We will be doing this in the classroom as well. Each Friday, I will assess the students’ knowledge of the spelling pattern and high frequency words using a combination of dictated words and sentences.
 * Mark || Level of Progress || Mark Descriptions ||
 * 1 || Limited || The student has an introductory knowledge and understanding in a few areas of the content and has achieved limited competence on the indicators and skills of this standard. ||
 * 2 || Basic || The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a basic level of competence on the indicators and skills of this standard. ||
 * 3 || Proficient || The student has a proficient knowledge and understanding of the main areas of the content and a high level of competence on the indicators and skills of this standard. ||
 * 4 || Accelerated || The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding in a few areas of the content and a high level of competence on the indicators and skills of this standard. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations. ||
 * 5 || Advanced || The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence on the indicators and skills of this standard and can apply these skills to new situations. ||
 * 1. Spelling Tests:**

With our new grading system, students will be assessed on their growth. We will therefore be accumulating samples of work and placing the samples in a portfolio. I will also be observing students one-on-one and creating anecdotal notes. This will be a large piece of our assessments this school year.
 * 2. Portfolio/Observations**

Short cycle assessments will be given at the end of each month in all subject areas. These assessments are given district wide. These tests are aligned with the state standards and Edgewood’s Course of Study.
 * 3. Short Cycle Assessments**

Students will be bringing home an assignment notebook each night. In this notebook there will be a spelling sheet (containing our high frequency words and spelling patterns of the week) and homework assignment to be done that night. I ask that the assignment notebook be signed each night and returned the next day. Homework will be given every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The homework will be a review of skills that we have learned. This homework should take no more than fifteen minutes. Each night students should also read for at least fifteen minutes and study spelling words. This homework is expected to be turned in the next day. Students who do not turn in the homework each day may miss their afternoon recess. 4 missed assignments in a grading period will result in a detention. I will send a note home if your child has missed three homework assignments to let you know that the next missed assignment will result in a detention. Teaching students to be responsible for homework will improve their school performance for years to come.
 * C. Homework**

**D. Classroom Rules and Discipline Procedures** The school, as well as our classroom, have and will develop rules for the classroom, hallways, cafeteria, and playground. These rules are general in nature and will be introduced to the students through mini-lessons where children are taught how to be respectful and responsible. We will be keeping track of students’ behavior on a daily basis. Each student will have a star with his or her name on it. All students will begin the day with their star in the “Super Behavior” section. There will be five sections with the following indications. Green Section: Super Behavior Yellow Section: Warning (miss five minutes of recess) Red Section: Second warning (miss ten minutes of recess) Purple Section: Miss Recess Black Section: Phone call home and/or note sent home.


 * E. Classroom Information**
 * [[image:star]]Star Student:** A student will be selected each week to represent our classroom. This student will need to fill out the questions listed from the Star Student Questionnaire on index cards on Friday and bring them back to school on Monday. They may bring in a few pictures and items that they would like to share with the class over the week’s time. However, we ask that glass, valuable, or weapon items be kept at home.


 * Student Helpers:** We have classroom jobs that students will have the responsibility to complete each day. Each student will have the opportunity to experience each role, as jobs are rotated daily. The jobs include: Paper Passer, Chalkboard Cleaner, Office Messenger, Chairs, Line Leader, Caboose, and Trash. Students will be informed of the responsibilities of each role during the first week of school.


 * F. Cursive Handwriting:**Your child will be learning cursive handwriting this year. [[image:cursive align="left"]] Please work with your child and assist them when you see that they have forgotten the correct form of a cursive letter. An example cursive alphabet will be sent home in the handbook for your use as a reference when needed. Please put it in a convenient location for use at home.

Your child will meet the other third grade teachers throughout the school year through our social studies and science units. The social studies and science units have been divided between four teachers so that we may better prepare to cover the required material effectively. When a social studies or science unit has been completed with one of the third grade teachers, the teacher will move to another class and a new teacher will come to start a new unit.
 * G. Social Studies/Science**