Back To School Night



Welcome Back to School- 5th Grade- Mrs. Bate

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to fifth grade! I am Mrs. Bate and will be your child’s Homeroom teacher this year. Here are a few things about my classroom and this year that you should know about:

Contact Information

• Please contact me with any comments, questions or concerns at: jbate@ or by calling before or after school at: 801-876-3041.

• Many of your questions may be answered by looking at my website:

• Teacher websites can be found by going to the school website and clicking on “Staff.”

• Your child’s other teachers can also be contacted before or after school at the same number or through the following emails:

o Mrs. Love: rlove@

o Mrs. Woody: ewoody@

o Mrs. West: mwest@

Text message reminders

This year I am going to try a program called “Remind.” If you would like to receive reminders through text messaging you can sign up by:

o Texting “@5thbate” to “81010” (or to 385-345-4144 if 81010 is giving you troubles)

o Or by going to:

▪ You can opt-out of messages at any time by replying, “unsubscribe @5thbate”

▪ Standard text message rates apply.

Philosophy

In fifth grade one of our biggest goals is to help students prepare for the big changes that will be coming their way once they enter the Middle School. In order for this to happen we will be expecting much from our students, but I promise that I will do my best to provide a safe and fun environment in which students can learn and make these changes.

 

Classroom Rules

1. Keep Teacher Happy (Don’t do anything that would make your teacher unhappy)

2. Respect (Self, Peers, Teacher, Others, School Property, etc.)

3. Hard Work (If you promise to do your best, I promise to help all I can)

 

Classroom Management

Our fifth grade team uses a program called Classdojo. This is a computer based program that allows us to give students positive or negative points based on behaviors observed throughout the day. The goal for all students is to maintain above 80% good behavior each week. This includes: being on time, being on task, participating, helping others, etc. We will contact parents if a child is not behaving appropriately at school. Parents will also be given access to view their child’s Classdojo reports online.

Each month our classes are also given the opportunity to earn rewards by earning points for being prepared, being on task, rotating quietly in the hallway, helping each other, etc.

School Policy

The school’s Parent/Teacher handbook should have been emailed to you. Please contact the office if you did not receive it or would like a printed copy. Changes are made to this handbook periodically. If you have read it in previous years, please take the time to glance through it again for updates and changes to such things as our tardy policy, absence policy, receiving citations (for students over the age of 8), dress code, etc. Much of this information can also be found at our school’s website:

District Policy

The district’s policies can be found here:

Transportation Policy

What happens on the bus is not within a teacher’s area of responsibility. We can refer incidents to the Principal who will then follow the outlined procedure in the district’s bus policy which can be found on the district’s website:

Students who are walking, riding a bike, or being picked up must leave through the FRONT of the school- never by the buses. This is for everyone’s safety. Students who are waiting for siblings may wait in the hall in front of the office.

Buses do not accept notes. Students are only allowed to get off at their designated stop. If a student normally rides but will be picked up they will also need a note informing us of this change.

Subject Areas

The Utah State Standards guide our teaching each year. You can find out what your child will be learning in 5th grade here:

In our school, each teacher is in charge of a core subject area and the students rotate from teacher to teacher. The core subject areas will be broken up between the four 5th grade teachers as follows: Mrs. Love will teach Math, Mrs. Bate will teach Science and Music, Mrs. Woody will teach Reading and Spelling, Mrs. West will teach Writing and Grammar. Teachers will have their Homeroom classes for Social Studies and Den Time.

The following is some information each teacher would like you to know about their subjects:

• Math: This year we are using GoMath! as our math program.  Students will be assigned their own account for online access to all materials as well as a consumable book.  The online component offers video tutorials if students have questions at home.  It is very important that students keep track of their math books as it will also be used for their notes.  At the beginning of each lesson, there will be an essential question that students will be required to answer in their math journals.  The math journals will be turned in at the beginning of class on test days.  Students are able to correct any problems that they get incorrect on assignments and tests for ½ points.  We will also focusing on mastering math facts (multiplication, division, subtraction, and addition.)  On most Wednesdays, we have an enrichment activity where we focus on reviewing and expanding upon difficult concepts.

• Science: The science core for this year includes Heredity- Survival Traits, Earth- Weathering and Erosion, Matter- Physical and Chemical changes, Magnets, and Electricity. Students will be doing a lot of researching, presenting, group projects, and hands-on activities and experiments. There will be little homework, but please be aware that students will be participating in a science fair near the end of the year where they will create and perform their own science experiment at home.

• Reading: Reading is such an important part of your child’s education! I can’t stress enough the importance of “just reading.” This year students will be reading independently at home as well as participating in different reading activities each school day. The following are some of the important requirements for reading:

o Monthly Reading Logs: Each month, beginning in September, students will be given a reading log calendar to log their minutes read at home. I will be following the school policy which is at least 20 minutes of reading per day, 5 days a week. Every 20 minutes of independent reading counts as 2 points. The logs will be graded based on the number of weekdays in the month times the 2 points per day. Students can receive up to 8 extra credit points per month by reading extra minutes. These logs are due the first school day of the next month and must be signed by a parent/ guardian.

o Quarterly A.R. Points: Students will participate in the Accelerated Reading program again this year. Each quarter, your student will be responsible for earning 8 A.R. points by reading books and taking the quizzes. There will be times offered weekly for taking their quizzes. Students can check to see if their book has an A.R. quiz by visiting the website . *Please note that books read for book reports can also be used for A.R. points if the quiz is taken and passed and the book report is completed.

o Book Reports: Students will be completing book reports in class this year. Information regarding book reports will be sent home each quarter.

• Spelling: We will be using “Words Your Way” again this year. New spelling lists will be given and studied every Monday of each full week. Students will then be required to complete two 50 point spelling activities at home each week to be turned in at the beginning of class on Friday, at the latest. A list of 50 point spelling activities will be given to each student to be kept at home for reference throughout the school year. This information can also be accessed on Mrs. Woody’s website: . Spelling tests will be given every Friday.

• Writing: The State Core focuses on writing informative and argumentative texts using valid reasoning and clear, concise information to convey ideas. We will also conduct both short and sustained research projects and write about what we learn. Included in the course will be the use of technology to produce writing. As it is available, we will write our work in a program called Utah Compose. We will also be on the lookout for FABULOUS words- juicy, descriptive words to help make our writing more interesting.

• Grammar: The first day of each week, our lesson will focus on a specific area of Grammar in order to help us write more effectively. The other days, Grammar will consist of a short bell work assignment to reinforce the previous lesson. When appropriate, a quiz will be given on Friday to test learning and see if further study is required.

• Social Studies: In 5th grade we focus on United States History. We also have an optional “Great American Award” program students may choose to participate in. More information is provided in another packet about this program.

• Super Skills: Computers, Art, P.E., and Library will be taught by our “Super Skills” teachers.

• Den Time: During this time, students are given time to work specifically on homework with a teacher available for questions and help.

Grading Scale

All 3rd-5th grade classes in our school district use the same grading scale. This scale uses percentages to give letter grades, but is a little different from the typical kind used in the upper grade levels. The biggest difference is that we have no pluses for our letter grades. In other words we have B and B-, but we do not have B+. Below is our grading scale:

95- 100%: A

85- 89%: B

75- 79%: C

65- 69%: D

0- 59%: F

90- 94%: A-

80-84%: B-

70-74%: C-

60- 64% D-

Citizenship

Students will receive a quarterly Citizenship grade.  This grade is based on behavior in school. We look at a student’s Classdojo average for the quarter and give a letter grade as follows: 

M (Meets Expectations) for 91-100%

N (Needs Improvement) for 81-90%

U (Unsatisfactory) for below 80%. 

Weekly Missing Assignment Reports

Every Wednesday we update student grades in our grading system called Aspire. Before going home on Wednesday, any students who have missing assignments will be giving a missing assignment report. Students are then given time to collect those missing assignments from all four of their teachers. If a student turns in an assignment that same afternoon, the teacher who gave that assignment will sign it off. This helps both teachers and parents know that it is no longer missing. Please note that if a student hands in an assignment Wednesday afternoon it may take a couple of days for us to get it graded and into Aspire.

We highly encourage you to check your child’s grades every Wednesday afternoon on Aspire. If you do not yet have an account, please go to the link below which will guide you through the process. The secretaries at the front office can also assist you.

• Aspire:

• You can find instructions for how to set up this account by going here:

(You will need to “Request a Username” during the setting up process)

 

Absence Policy

If a student is absent we still expect them to make-up the work we do in class. This make-up work will not count as a late assignment. I will simply grade it and enter in the score the student received. I prefer to have make-up work handed in no later than a week after the student’s return.

• The school handbook states: “If a child is absent, or will be absent, they will receive the work they missed when they return to the class.” I stick to this policy.

• Each teacher will have a crate with file folders for each day of the month. A student can find their missing worksheets in these crates before school, after school, and during den time.

• If your child is absent, please arrange a time with your child’s teachers before or after school to receive instruction on the information that was missed.

• Exceptions can be made for cases of extreme, prolonged illness. You would need to work with the teachers and Principal in such cases.

Late Work

With the exception of absentees, all work is expected to be handed in on time. I have a strict late work policy where I automatically take 10% off of an assignment if it is late. I also correct the assignment and take off any missed points on top of that. The responsibility to hand in work, and on time, is on the students. Both the parents/guardians and the teacher can encourage and remind, but students are more than capable at this age of being responsible for their own school work and it is expected of them.

• All late work must be turned in by the last day of the quarter. After that the grades are locked and I cannot change them.*

Extra Credit

I have very specific extra credit that I give throughout the school year for things such as on tests. This is the only extra credit I give. I will not give extra credit or extra assignments at the end of a quarter to help boost a student’s grade. Students may turn in missing assignments and use our redo policy to boost their grades if they so choose to do such.

Redo Policy

I believe that everyone has a bad day once in a while and that what I am teaching is truly important for students to understand in their life. Because of this I always allow students to redo any assignment/test after I have handed it back to them. Students only have to redo the problems they got wrong unless they no longer have the assignment, in which case they will need to redo the whole assignment. Students must also show their work (especially in math) when possible. Students can turn in the assignment to my “redo” basket and I correct it. I will then give them half the points back for each problem corrected (Example: If a student missed 10 points on an assignment and corrected it, I would then give them 5 points back). If a student does not fix a problem correctly I will not give them back any points.

Miscellaneous Reminders

• Recess- Unless the weather is extreme, children are expected to play outside during recess, please help remind them to dress appropriately. You will need to send a note if there is a medical condition or other legitimate reason your child cannot go out during recess time. Students are allowed to bring reasonable snacks for recess as long as they clean up after themselves.

• Arriving early- If a student arrives at school before the first school bus arrives, they will need to wait in the common’s area in front of the library. Once the first bus arrives, students may then go into their pod’s hallway, but need to wait in the hall outside their teacher’s classroom until the 8:25 warning bell rings unless they need specific help from one of their teachers.

• Birthdays- Students are allowed to bring a treat to share with everyone in class on their birthday if they choose. The treats will be handed out at the end of the day. We will celebrate students with summer birthdays on their half birthday. We ask that sugary treats be kept to a minimum and that there be NO homemade treats. Please refer to the school handbook for more information on bringing treats to school.

• SAGE Testing- At the end of each year we have our students take the state mandated SAGE tests. These test include math, science, and all language arts subjects. This year we will also be trying the SAGE interim testing. This is a pre-test given at the beginning of the year that will be compared to the end of year tests to show student growth. Parents are permitted to opt their students out of this testing. If you would like to do so, please make an appointment to meet with our Principal. Also, please be aware that the official opt-out paperwork must be turned into the school at least one day prior to testing or that student will still be required to take the test.

o For more information about SAGE testing please contact our Principal or look up the following link:

• Cashback for kids- If you are making an online purchase through places like , you can click on this link first and our school will receive part of the money spent. The link can be found on our school’s website.

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