Agendas - Students will be responsible for completing an agenda each day. In this
agenda, students will highlight or write down what we did each day and any work
they need to finish. Your child is responsible for sharing the agenda with you and
asking you to sign it every day. MTB stands for ‘Make the Bed’ and they should
respond with ‘yes’ of ‘no’. Next month we will be placing ‘LOC’ in the agenda for
‘Lay out your clothes the NIght Before”. You may suggest other tasks that they
may perform to transfer the idea of being responsible at home and at school. We
have an open book monthly notebook quiz and it includes questions regarding the
information that we have added to our agendas. Students should also read 15 - 20
minutes per night and place their nightly Reading Minutes (RM’s) in their agenda.
You may make suggestions to alter this requirement; however, the idea is that this
requirement will help them reach their AR trimester goal. We will receiving our
first Reading Contract this week.
Blog - We have information and links on our blog
(http://mrkrupafourthgrade.blogspot.com) or link to it from the district website.
Be sure to check it, especially when the agenda says, ‘Blog Alert’. If you don’t have
internet access, let us know so we can send a copy home. I place something on the
blog each and every night... well, almost every night except on the weekends.
Conferences - We will be meeting two times this year for Parent-Teacher
Conferences. Our first meeting is in October which gives you the opportunity to
learn about how your child’s year has gotten started. I look forward to working
closely with you to assure that we are doing our best to meet the interests and
needs of your special learner. Please check the Conference Schedule near the door
to verify your scheduled time slot.
Different end of day schedule - If for any reason your child has a change in their
routine at the end of the day, we are required to have a note from you or we will
have to send them to their regular place/bus. If it’s a sudden change, please
call the office or call me and talk directly to your child and me. Our Discipline
Policy allows for a ‘cooling off’ period and I provide the student with the
opportunity to complete a ‘Write the Rule’ activity which gives me a chance to
discuss the situation with the student. Sometimes consequences need to be
enforced immediately and warrant a parent phone call. I utilize a ‘Krupa Dollar’
system which rewards and encourages good behavior. These tickets may occasionally
be used as ‘fines’ for repeated inappropriate behavior. If late work becomes an
issue, the fourth grade staff may provide ‘Choice Time’ activities that are
additional learning opportunities for those that complete their work on time.
Students that have late work will not be able to attend, as their time will be spent
completing their work or assessing their poor judgment. I was incorporate a
Thursday team building activity for those that have their work completed. In the
past, we have asked that students stay after school to complete missing work or to
discuss inappropriate behavior.
Exciting Extras - Field trips provide a wonderful opportunity for learning outside
the walls of the classroom. You will hear more about these field trips as they
approach. Students will also have the chance to participate in various lyceums and
mini field trips around the school grounds throughout the year. So far, we have
scheduled a bowling trip in December and a DQ trip during the last week of school.
We are currently putting together another field trip, but are waiting to see if it is
financially feasible.
Focus Fridays - Almost all of our 2 hour late starts will be on a Friday this year.
Each of these days will be considered a ‘Focus Friday’, where the entire school will
have activities focused on a certain topic. The first 2 hour late start will be
October 1st.
General Mills Box Tops - Remember to bring in all of those box tops, milk lids, soup
labels, etc. that you’ve been saving. Once again we’ll participate in these programs
that donate to our school. The money from this program has helped fund many
special events at Pleasantview. The Growing Healthy video will be shown in May.
Parents will be given an opportunity to view this material before the students. It
stresses the importance of good personal hygiene.
Handwriting - We will spend a few few months of school reviewing the individual
letters and connections in cursive. After we have reviewed all letters, the use of
cursive handwriting will be encouraged, with most assignments being required to be
written in cursive during the months of February thru March.
Individuality - Each learner is special and unique in his/her own way. During the day
we will strive to offer a variety of activities which will challenge and stretch each
learner to his/her potential. Motivation to accept and respond to a challenge is
something which must be supplied by the learner. Our Reading contracts are meant
to extend the learning process and to keep students working toward their AR goal.
We will be identifying our preferred Multiple Intelligence's throughout the year.
Our Invention Unit will begin in December and your child will need to create an
invention to share with our class and the student body. The Invention will be due in
January.
Join Us for Lunch - Join us for lunch sometime when you are available. Our lunch
time is 12:10- 12:30 PM each day.
Keeping Track of Progress - There are several ways we’ll keep track of progress
throughout the year. Progress reports will be sent home 3 times during the year,
but watch for corrected assignments to come home too! You may want to have your
child bring home their accordion folder, three -ring binder, or notebook on occasion
to check their progress and view what we having been studying. ‘PS’ stands for
Parent Signature or Please Sign. If you see this on a paper, it needs to be return
to school for your child to earn several Krupa Dollars.
Language Arts - Our language program coordinates reading, word study, and writing
skills. Throughout the year students will learn about the 6-Trait approach to
writing. A variety of reading materials will be used to further develop vocabulary
and comprehension skills. There will be time each day for silent reading, this helps
develop independent reading skills and allows the students to read something of
interest to them and at their level. We will also utilized audio books to
demonstrate proper pronunciation, fluency , and expression. Often misspelled words
and several of the words on the next spelling test will be added to the agenda.
Please take time to practice these words with your child. Most spelling tests will
occur on Friday.
Mathematics - We expect all 4th graders to have mastered the basic facts by the
end of the year! Please review the subtraction, addition, and multiplication facts
with you child . Your child should begin mastering the division facts as soon as
possible. I will be providing a team building activity each week entitled, Made In
A Minute. To be able to participate your child will have to have all assignments
completed.
Night Of the Twisters - We began the year reading a very exciting and interesting
novel. Your child will be taking their first Accelerated Reading test sometime this
week. Please discuss the story with your child. We believe that communication
between school and home is important for the success of this school year. Always
encourage your child to be reading AR books to themselves or aloud and taking AR
tests to improve their comprehension and fluency. We set an AR goal for every
child attending PV and will have a reward activity at the end of each trimester.
Our fourth grade goal is eleven points for the first trimester, twelve for the
second trimester, Andean for the last trimester. AR tests must be completed
with at least an 80% accuracy rate, otherwise they do not count toward their AR
goal.
Other Teachers - During each school week, your child will work with specialists in
the areas of Physical Education, Music, Art, Computer, and Media. We also do some
activities with the other classrooms (Mrs. Hopper and Mrs. Bakke).
Peanut Allergy - We do have students with peanut allergies in our school, so please
be careful about which snacks you send to school. You can get a list of peanut safe
snacks from the school website, or let us know if you need one.
Questions and Answers - Should you at any time have any questions about your
child’s progress or any concerns you wish to discuss you may contact us by writing a
note in the agenda or other paper, or telephoning Pleasantview Elementary School at
253-0506. We can also be reached by e-mail at david.krupa@isd47.org . If we don’t
reply to an e-mail in 24 hours, please give us a call - we have some trouble with out
of district e-mails. Please put srrstudent in the subject line to be sure it gets
past our filter.
Reading - It is very important that students spend some time reading at home.
Research has shown that this is one of the biggest contributors to success in
reading. I expect them to set and meet a Reading Contract goal each month! They
will be expected to turn in the record of their reading minutes beginning on
September 20th. This reading contract should be signed by you and returned no
later than Friday, September 21st. Their AR goal for this trimester is 11 points
and most student easily meet and exceed this goal. The list of AR books can be
accessed through the Pleasantview media link at www.isd47.org or I have copies in
my room and their are copies in the Media Center. Students may checkout books
during the day, if permission. Our scheduled book checkout time is Day 4 at 11:00
AM
Snacks - We will have some time set aside for a snack each day between 9:30 and 10
AM. Students who wish to bring a snack for themselves should bring a small,
nutritious snack.
Time to Complete Assignments - Homework assignments will usually be the result of
work not completed during class time or a special project to be completed at home.
If at any time there is a problem completing the assignment or a question arises,
please feel free to contact me to discuss the matter. Late slips may be given for
work that is not turned in on time or not completed. Our second story is due on
Friday, September 17th.
Unique - Each year of your child’s life is a time of exploration and experimentation.
Please remember that your child’s year should be a journey and not a race. Your
child will set his/her own pace. He or she may stumble and may even fall a time or
two. It is through our combined encouragement, guidance, and support that your
child will achieve his/her greatest success.
Voice Mail - If we’re teaching or not in our classroom, the office will connect you
to our voice mail. We’ll return your call as soon as we can. If you don’t need to
speak to me directly, an e-mail is best.
Weekly Book Check-Out - Your child will have an opportunity to be a newscaster on
WAEL (Where All Ears Listen), if you would like to watch your child perform, please
contact me and I can get you a schedule of when your child’s report will be
televised. Our scheduled day for checking out books from the Media Center is Day 4.
I really encourage students to check out books to have for our Daily 5 reading time
and to read at home. Hopefully they’ll discover or expand their interest in reading
this year. Often, I put a list of books that each child is reading on our blog.
eXtra Credit - Many opportunities will be given for the students to stretch above
and beyond the required. We’ll have incentives available for going that extra mile!!
Please use the Reading Contract grid as a way to extend your child’s learning.
You and Your Special Child - You are a very important teacher for your child. We
look to you for any information you may share that will help us identify your child’s
individual interests and learning needs. We look forward to working with both you
and your child throughout our year together.
Zeroing in on Successes - During the year we will be celebrating the many good
things about being part of 4th grade at Pleasantview Elementary!
Students Name_______________________________
Your name__________________________
Please feel free to leave a question blank if it does not apply or if we have already discussed the
issue.
Please provide several strengths that your child possesses.
Are there any special conditions that I should be made aware of in regard to your child?
In what ways may I assist in your child’s learning and feeling comfortable and secure at school?
Please inform me of your child’s attitude and general feeling about school and our classroom
environment, so far?
Are there any other questions that you may have that were not addressed at the PIN gathering?
If there are activities and procedures that your have heard about or remember that have taken
place in our classroom in the past, please list them along with a description of their success or how
they could be improved.
Thank you for your attendance tonight!
