Field trip slip for UNF Opera (Sept 23). Bring a sweater, it might be cold in the theater. Wear nice clothes to impress. We will be back at school for lunch. $6.50 for admission and bus.
Open House! Sept 17th 6:30-7:30. Come visit us!
Ms. FitzHarris's Class Information
Welcome to a new year at Axson! To help the year run smoothly, we (parents and teachers) need to form a cooperative partnership with your child as our focus. Below is information about our class.
Progress reports/Friday folder: Blue folders will be sent home every Friday. These folders will contain all graded work and any information/flyers. Please look at the work, empty the folder, return anything that needs to be filled out, and return it Monday. If you have a note about work, put it in the planner so I will make sure to see it right away. Please make sure you ask for the folder every Friday. There are only 3 reasons why you won't get a Friday folder:
1. We didn't have school that Friday 2. I was out sick unexpectedly 3. There was a problem and I wrote a note in the planner.
If your child didn't bring a note home and you don't know why, call me.
Grades: 4th graders receive letter grades in math, reading, language, and conduct. They receive S/N in the other subjects. 5th graders receive grades in every subject. We are on a 10 point scale as follows:
100 A+ (S+) perfect scores, usually working above grade level
90-99 A (S+) Excellent work, some work above grade level
80-89 B (S) Good work, better than average, working on grade level
70-79 C (S-) Average work, meeting grade level standards
60-69 D (N) Slightly below grade level work, not meeting the standards
59 or below F (U) Failing, below grade level work, not meeting the standards
Grades will be available online for parents to view. It is entirely normal for Upper Elementary students to receive B's or C's. Please be realistic about your child's grades; work to set goals together. Please contact me if you have questions about grades, how to improve, etc. Please remember, work is meant to be a tool for learning. All work below a C needs to be redone so your child can do better. Tests can not be redone. The highest a child can receive on a work that is done 2x is a B.
Conduct: Conduct consists of behavior at school and being prepared for school. Part of being prepared is having your school supplies for your lessons and having your planner signed. Constant excuses are not tolerated. Please note: it is your child's responsibility to make sure the planner is signed and he/she has the backpack and lunchbox every day for school. This includes homework. The best way to stay on A conduct in class is to follow directions with no backtalk, work quietly and consistently, be polite and respectful to others, and try to be helpful to classmates. If there is an issue, I will write a note in the planner.
Work Plans: We are using the planner as a workplan. Work that is scheduled for the week, needs to be completed. Students are responsible for finishing it either at home or at recess. However, I do try my hardest to plan only as much work as we can realistically do. All students should be able to complete the work without taking it home if they are not wasting time. If the whole class is behind, we reschedule the due date together. Ms. O'Reilly's students will have reduced work to compensate for being out one day a week.
Absences: If your child is going to be absent, please let me know ahead of time if possible. I will try to arrange work. Unfortunately, materials can not be sent home so not all work can be completed at home. Please send a note when your child returns to school. We need these for our records.
Homework: Spelling, reading, and math. Please read our class website for more detailed info.
Late work: Please encourage your child to stick to due dates. All major projects will be reduced by one letter grade for every day it is late. However, if there is a family emergency, let me know so we can arrange a new due date.
Schedule/ResourcesWe start working at 8:30 and work all day until 2:45. Please respect our work time and try to keep interruptions to a minimum. Every day we have lessons until lunch then, lunch at 12:40-1:10 and recess afterwards. We do writing after recess until time to go home. Music and library are Wednesdays (return library books on Tuesdays), Writer's Camp/Science Camp is on Tuesdays, PE and Art are on Fridays.
Snacks/Bdays: The snack schedule is posted on the class website and is in your child's planner. Please bring snack for your week, Monday thru Thursday. We can make popcorn on Fridays. Please only bring healthy items. We may not have sweets, even for Bdays (that is straight from Ms. Renfro). Please bring muffins, bagels, or popsicles if you want to bring a special bday treat. Bday celebrations will be on Thursdays and Fridays of your child's bday if possible, or when your child schedules it with me if they are a summer/holiday bday kid! Everybody gets to celebrate, even if it is your half birthday or unbirthday :)
Textbooks: Each child has a reading textbook that may be taken home each night if needed. There are also science and social studies books for checkout if your child needs one. Please return the textbook the next day for classroom use.
Reading Goal: Use ARbookfind.com to find out the reading level of a book your child is reading and how many AR points it is worth. Classroom books are available for checkout to read at home. Make sure your child is reading books on his/her level. It is useless to read a book way below or way above level. It does NOT improve their reading level to push them into harder books. Remember, it is a gradual process...your child will get there by practicing every night.
WARNING: Just a friendly warning. I know a lot of Upper Elementary students are on social networking pages. Please train them not to give out any personal information. Even info such as what school they go to, their friends' names, their teacher, what city they live in, etc. can be used by predators to lure them. Remember, many sites do not make you prove you are that age, so an older person can easily pretend to be a teenager to gain access.
Contact me for information on anything you need or if you just want to talk about your child. I can give 5th grade parents great insights on middle school choices, what to expect with puberty, and similar fascinating subjects! 992-3600 ext 144
