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Back to School Night

Mr. Faulkner’s Fabulous Fourth Grade ClassRoom 403

September 1, 2015

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Welcome!

Back to School Night is the beginning of a great partnership in your child’s education!

Thanks for being here and showing such tremendous support!

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Topics of Discussion• Information about me• Class Schedule• Rules/Procedures• Curriculum & Instruction• Homework• Wellness Policy and Dismissal• Absences• Communication• Opportunities to get involved• Bound Books• Field Trips• Common Core Standards• Contacting me

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Who am I?????????• This is my ninth year teaching! I worked in the

district as a P.E. instructional aide, as well as completing my student teaching in the district. I served on the district CCSS Math team that helped develop the math curriculum for the district.

• I am married to my wife Sherri. She is a third grade teacher at Richland Elementary. My daughter Madison is 14 years old and will be a 9th grader at Mission Hills High, and my son Troy is 12 years old and in 7th grade at Woodland Park.

• I help run the SEES News program.

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Class Schedule (Most days!)• 8:45-9:00 Morning routine

• 9:00-10:50 ELA/Writing

• 10:50-11:10 Recess

• 11:10-12:30 Mathematics

• 12:30-1:15 Lunch

• 1:15-3:10 Writing/Social Studies and Science/P.E. (Tues/Fri/Every other Wed) and other pull-outs

• 3:10 Dismissal (2:10 dismissal on Wed.)

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Rules/ProceduresClassroom Rules• Be prepared• Be respectful• Follow directions

Rewards• Individuals can earn Eagle cash that they can use to

buy items from our store/auction or for other rewards• Eagle of the Day-Award given almost every day for a

student who has had an exceptional day in class both behaviorally and academically

Consequences• Warning• Lose Eagle Cash• Lose Eagle Cash/Note Home/Loss of 5 min. or more of

Recess• Lose Eagle Cash/Loss of Recess/Call and note home• Lose Eagle Cash/Loss of Recess/Call home/Referral• The teacher always has the right to jump straight to #5

if behavior is deemed severe.

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Curriculum & Instruction• All curriculum is aligned to the Common

Core Standards.• We will be using supplementary materials

such as various leveled novels, Scholastic Storyworks, TenMarks.com, Dreambox, and other various websites to enhance the core curriculum.

• Students are pre-assessed before each unit to make sure their instruction is at the appropriate level. A variety of instructional strategies are used including whole group, small group, and independent work to maximize the learning process for your child.

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Homework

• Homework will always be an extension of something that was already taught in class. It is meant to be practice/reinforcement, not learning something new.

• Monday through Thursday, students are expected to silent read for 20 minutes per night. Any extra time spent reading is always beneficial, but not required by me.

• On average, your child should spend approximately 30-45 minutes a night on homework. If your child has spent about 45 minutes on homework, and is still not complete, simply initial the homework indicating that your child has completed the necessary time to be considered complete.

• We will have homework planners this year. Please sign/initial each night in the planner.

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Homework (cont.)

• Because I realize there may be extenuating circumstances, your child must either have his/her completed homework or a note from you explaining the situation (handwritten or email contact before 8:45 am).

• Baseball strikes

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Wellness Policy and Dismissal

• Wellness Policy – Please refer to the school website to review the district wellness policy.

• Dismissal – Please refer to the school website to review the traffic plan for 2015-2016. Please be patient!

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Absences

• Please remember to call the attendance office when your child is absent.

• If your child will be missing more than just a day or two, make arrangements for someone to pick up his/her homework so that your child does not get too far behind with his/her studies.

• When your child returns to school, he/she will have two days to complete any missing work.

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Communication

• Wednesday Envelopes- All forms will be available electronically via the school website.

• My website- I will update my website as often as possible.

• School Website- The school website is a great place to look for any upcoming events and important school information.

• Email-I am always available via email. I check my email often, so please feel free to contact me this way with any questions, concerns or positive interactions! dean.faulkner@smusd.org

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Opportunities to Get Involved• Classroom Volunteer-Room parents, art docents,

recycling, etc. are always extremely important. If you are interested, please sign up on the back table. Thanks so much!

• Classroom donations- We can really go through our classroom supplies quickly, so any donations that can be made throughout the year are greatly appreciated!

• Parent teachers- If you have an interesting career or something you would like to share with our class that you think would benefit our understanding of something we are learning, please let me know and I would love to have you come in and speak to the class!

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Bound Books

• Bound Books-This year we will be making a bound book. Each child will receive their own hardcover book with all the work they have completed during this school year (including photos, awards, etc). The cost of the book is $17 per child. We will be recycling water bottles/aluminum cans throughout the year to help offset this cost for those students who aren’t financially able to purchase their book. This is an amazing keepsake that I know your family will treasure in the years to come.

Field Trips

• This year, will be going on 3 field trips:1. GIA2. Mission3. Biztown

All 3 of these field trips are amazing, but Biztown will really require the most effort of all of our 4th grade parents. It is an amazing opportunity for our students.

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Contacting Me• I have an “open door” policy; you are

always welcome to come in the classroom and visit. Just call me or email me to let me know when you’d like to come!

• I welcome your comments, concerns and suggestions. We are working together to make sure your child gets a quality education!

• I check phone messages and emails at the end of the day. If you have an emergency, please speak with someone in the office, and they will contact me.

Phone: 290-2600 x 3403Email: dean.faulkner@smusd.org

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Final Thought

•Coming together is a beginning.Keeping together is progress.Working together is success.- Henry Ford