Pick-Up and Drop-Off: Starting at 8:30am, students are allowed to be on the playground and there will be teachers/staff for adult supervision. If you drop your child off earlier than 8:30am - THERE WILL BE NO ADULT SUPERVISION. I will pick the children up to start our day at 8:55am. Please make sure your child is at school when the bell rings!
At the end of the day, I will walk the kids out to the playground (West side) at 3:45pm. Students that go to Kaleidoscope, ride the bus or have after-school clubs, will also be dismissed at this time. Children MUST hi-five me AND point out their parent/guardian before I let them go. If someone different will be picking up your child, please notify me as soon as possible.
Please make sure to pick up your child on time. I will be outside with your child until 4:00pm. At that time, I will walk your child to the office to make a phone call home. Again, students are not allowed to play on the playground after 4:00pm unless they are with a parent/guardian.
A few more expectations in order to ensure that the kids are safe:
Buzz in to the front office if you need to enter the building for any reason during the school day. This helps our administration know who is around our students.
Sign in at the front office and get a visitors badge if you need to walk about the school. This controls classroom disruptions, mistrusting stares and in general helps us all feel a little more secure.
Please make sure to talk to the front office about a background check if you plan to be a classroom volunteer.
Contacting me Please use email to contact me whenever possible, [email protected]. I will check emails in the morning and after school each day and get back to you as soon as possible. If email is not an option you can call the front office and they will take a message. I hope to keep our lines of communication open all year!
Classroom Environment In my classroom I use a management style that encourages students to learn and use problem solving skills to think through the consequences of their actions. Students will be provided clear and high expectations for their behavior. If behavior deviates from those expectations, they will work with me to help develop the tools to change the behavior(s) and to find the appropriate consequences for the given action(s). Parents/Guardians will be notified regularly with updates on students' performance in class. I base much of my classroom management on the philosophies of Jim Fay and Love and Logic. Please see here for more information.http://www.loveandlogic.com/t-what-is-for-Love-and-Logic-teachers.aspx
Positive Behavior As a school, we are always on the lookout for positive behaviors from our students. Staff and students will be looking for others who are being Cooperative, Committed, and Curious (The 3 C’s). When students are “caught” demonstrating one of these “C’s”, they will be given a slip recognizing that behavior. They will earn an academic reward and then be eligible to win a larger reward in our monthly drawing.
Snacks Students are expected to bring a small, healthy snack for class everyday. Our lunch is late (1:05) and it a snack helps to refocus everyone. We call it "Snack and Back" because students eat while they are continuing their work. Healthy snacks can include: fruit, nuts, veggies, baked chips, juice etc. Please make sure students have a clean water bottle in class daily.
Attendance It is incredibly important that your student is at school. There is no way to make up an absent day of school. I can give make-up work, but that does not come close to replacing the learning experiences during the school day. I understand that absences occur due to illness and emergencies. Please try to limit absences as much as possible.
Homework Policy Homework is an important part of your student’s learning experience. With that being said, I understand and believe in the importance of family time and extra-curricular activities. My goal with homework is to give enough that students continue their learning beyond the school day, but not so much that they cannot be balanced. This is what you can expect for homework. I do reserve the right to change homework during the year as needed.
Homework Packets will be given on Fridays.
They will be due the following Friday.
Homework Guidelines: * Students should be able to do homework on their own. If they cannot, it is my fault. Please write me a note letting me know that your student did not understand the homework. Connect: **https://hosted252.renlearn.com/245193/HomeConnect/** Students may read both at home and at school to meet this goal. * If students do not bring their homework, the expectation is that they finish it at home the next night and bring it back the following day. They will be provided with a reflection sheet to complete during Fun Friday. * Students should be reading as much as possible. The purpose of reading at home should be for practice, and to develop a love of reading. I expect all of my students to reach their Accelerated Reader (AR) Goal. We set these goals each trimester and you can monitor them using Renaissance Home
Restroom Policy In fourth grade, we use a tickets for restrooms and drinks. Students receive 6 tickets at the beginning of the week (1 ticket per day and a bonus). They use these tickets each time they need to leave the room to use the restroom or get a drink of water. At the end of the week, tickets that are left over will be put into a box for a drawing. Prizes will vary throughout the year. They are also encouraged to use the restroom before school and during non-academic times throughout the day. Please contact me with any medical conditions that might prevent your student from using this policy.
Bullying I take bullying seriously in my classroom. I believe that every student has the right to enjoy school. I will do everything in my power to ensure that my students do not get bullied.
What is Bullying? Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. (stopbullying.gov)
We, at Brown International, value a cooperative community that works together to provide a quality education for the whole child. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about our class expectations. Please visit IBO.ORG to learn more about the IB philosophy and Units of Inquiry.