Saturday, July 6, 2013

Discipline Policy




In order for our classroom to be a pleasant and safe environment for every child,  I  have developed a discipline plan that gives every child the opportunity to develop good self-discipline habits. Your child deserves the most positive educational climate possible for academic growth. Therefore, this plan will be in effect at all times.


Rules and Consequences
Following the rules is extremely important not only for your safety but for your learning as well.  At Green Tree, our rules are simply to be Safe, Respectful, and Responsible Students.

We discuss what each of these rules mean and develop a chart together of how we want our classroom to look, sound, and feel.


Our classroom will use a clip chart to monitor behavior. A clip chart is a
great tool that allows students to be rewarded for positive behavior,
while discouraging negative behavior.

Each student has a clothespin, or clip, with his or her name on it.
Everyone will start on green at the beginning of each day, and clips can
be moved up and down throughout the day based on behavior.

The Outstanding level is reserved for outstanding behavior. A student
who reaches this level will earn a special note home, and a jewel on his/her
clip. After five jewels, clips will be retired to the Hall of Fame and a new
clip will be given!

Students can move to the Awesome level for continuing to display good
behavior. You should be very proud of your child for reaching this level!

Students will move to the Great Job level for showing that they are
making the right behavior decisions! Ending the day on this level is great!

Every student will start the day on the Ready to Learn level. As the day
goes on, clips can be moved up and down, based on behavior. This level is
is a good one to be on!

A student will be moved to the Think About It level as a warning about
his/her behavior, and a reminder to follow the rules.

Students who continue to display poor behavior can move down to the
Teacher’s Choice level. Here, the teacher can decide what action to
take. Loss of recess will be the most likely choice.

When a student moves to the Contact Home level, the teacher will
notify parents via note or phone call. A visit to the Principal’s office might
also be in order. Students on this level will also lose recess time, etc.


My students clip up when they:
  • go the extra mile to help a student in need.
  • are the first or second to do what I ask.
  • are extra polite and respectful.
  • do amazingly good work.
My students clip down when they:
  • interrupt me when I'm teaching.
  • are disrespectful to another student or adult.
  • cannot sit still or purposely keep another student from learning.
  • do not behave during lunch time or specials.
The children quickly realize how to behave appropriately in all kinds of situations. To make it to the top of the chart (or beyond) means so much to them because they see how proud I am of them. They are six feet tall when asked to clip up.




 



A Cupcake for the Teacher Button

Rockstar of the Week

 Your Child will be Rockstar of the Week

We will go in random order so kids aren't picked because of the order of their last name. 
2013-2014 list Under Construction


  
While your child is the Rockstar, each day of the week will consist of an exciting event or activity to honor him or her and to help us get to know our special classmate. (The days can be switched!!!)

*MondaySharing Sack:   Please help your child collect special items from home to bring to school on Monday to share with his or her classmates.  Try to encourage your child to choose items that have some sort of meaning rather than just a collection of toys. 
On the bulletin board, there is a photo holder that can display twelve 4 x 6 pictures.  If possible, have your child pick 12 of his or her favorite pictures to display for the class.  The pictures will be returned at the end of the week.

*Tuesday: Favorite Book: Your child brings one of his or her favorite picture books to read to the class (or have the teacher read to the class) at our class meeting.

*WednesdayParent Letter: Parents, you will write a letter to the class telling us how special your child is to you.  Send the letter in a sealed envelope to school with your child, and I will read the letter to the class at class meeting.  The content of the letter is up to you, but you may want to choose from one of the following ideas: describe special or funny stories about your child for the class to hear, write a silly or serious poem about your child, tell us some neat things we may not know about your child, send silly or special pictures with a letter describing the pictures, or write a short story with your child as the main character.  You may also send a special video for the class to watch if you choose. (Sometimes parents have taped messages or choose to send in a funny baby video for the class to see.)

*ThursdayLunch Buddy: If possible, join your child in the cafeteria for a special lunch on this day.  You may also choose to invite a sibling or a favorite relative to be your child’s lunch buddy.  You can have the buddy be a surprise or let your child know ahead of time. You can bring lunch from a favorite restaurant to the cafeteria, or you can order lunch at school. 

Friday: Your child will be presented with letters written by his or her classmates.

* The events planned for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday can be swapped in order to accommodate your personal schedules if you are planning to be a lunch buddy during the week.


  

Please let me know if you have any additional questions about the exciting upcoming week!

Cursive Handwriting

                                
Hey guys!  Ready to practice cursive?  Click on the links below to see an interactive animation of how to form each letter.

Uppercase Cursive      lowercase cursive You can also print off cursive practice sheets at this website.

Homework

Why is homework assigned each night?  Doesn't my child work hard enough at school?
Third grade is a crucial year for establishing life long study skills that will help your child succeed all through his/her school career.  Students learn that their education is very important and that they must structure time afterschool for homework along with their extracurricular activities.  Family time is EXTREMELY important, so homework should not take longer than 30-35mins each night. 

What is expected for homework each night?
1. Read for 20 minutes each night or 100 minutes each week. 
2. Complete your assigned Singapore Math workbook problems.
3. Complete any unfinished work.
4. Study for your Word Study Test.
5. Ask one of your parents to look at and initial your assignment notebook each night.

Scientific Method Project
Students in third grade will be completing a Scientific Method Project.  This is NOT a Science FAIR project.  Third grade curriculum requires students to complete an experiment using the scientific method.  To assess this unit, students will need to complete an experiment at home using all steps of the scientific method.  They need to present their information on a poster board.  More information will be forthcoming.
Due date: To Be announced.
 Because students will be completing a science project, they can choose to purchase a Science Fair board for $5.50 and enter the project in the Green Tree Science Fair.  We encourage students to enter their work in the Science Fair but DO NOT REQUIRE IT!! 

Homework Help