Birthdays
If your child would like to celebrate his/her birthday at school, you may send a treat to school. Please let me know in advance so that I can plan accordingly. If your child has a summer birthday we can celebrate his/her half birthday! There are students who have allergies to nuts. Please avoid these foods, as we would like all 25 students to participate.

Book Orders
I will send book orders home several times a year. They are a great way to get cheap books for your child, while at the same time helping our classroom to earn free books for our library! Thank you ahead of time for your support!

Checkbooks
The students are responsible for maintaining a checkbook. They earn a weekly salary of $1,000. This salary is earned when students meet daily expectations. There are gains and losses for the checkbook. Checkbooks are balanced by the student and monitored by the teacher. Losses include late homework, behavior issues, and not following expectations. Before the students have a loss for a behavior, they are given one warning. Gains are given to students who display behavior that is above and beyond expectations. The mystery motivator is also tied into the checkbook. The students select the reward party, and the teacher picks a mystery amount that ALL of the students must have in order to earn the reward party.

Communication
Please be sure to check your child's accordion binder every night for important messages from school. The binder is where you will find the newsletters and notes that are sent home, as well as any homework that needs to be completed. The newsletter will help you keep up with important happenings in our classroom. I will also send home progress reports or make phone calls if I feel that your child is not progressing as expected. I am available to meet with you at any time during the school year.

Computers
This year our class will be using the COWS (Computers On Wheels) on a frequent basis. It is very important that students begin to feel comfortable using a computer and acquire typing skills. Students will learn how to use and care for the laptop computers properly so that they will be accessible for future use.

Conferences
We will have two scheduled conferences during the school year (one in the fall, one in the spring). If you have concerns and would like to have an additional conference, please let me know and we will set up a time to meet.

D.E.A.R.
D.E.A.R. stands for “Drop Everything And Read.” This is the period of time during each day in which students read a book of their choice independently in a quiet atmosphere. At times, students may also participate in a short conference with me to discuss what they are reading and the active thinking skills they are using as they read.

Differentiation
All students learn differently. Because of this, not every student can be treated the same when it comes to school work. Your child may have different work than another child, but rest assured that students are learning the same concept, just in a way that is best for them.

We will be learning what these expectations mean in the beginning months of this school year, and continue to enforce and practice them as the year progresses.

Field Trips
We will be going on several field trips throughout the year. Please be sure to fill out all permission slips in a timely manner. If you are interested in being a chaperone for any of these trips, don't hesitate to let me know!

Gym
We have gym (Physical Education) everyday. Please be sure your child has the appropriate clothing, gym shoes, and socks to participate each day.

Handwriting
Students are expected to write in cursive on every assignment. If you feel that your child needs extra practice with cursive handwriting, please let us know.

Homework
Per Grove policy, your child will have between 45-60 minutes of homework every night (30 minutes of independent reading is included in this time). A typical week of homework will include daily math, spelling, and writing. G.R.O.W. will be due every Wednesday. In addition, there may be a social studies, science, or reading activity. Your child should bring home his/her assignment notebook every night. We spend a few minutes of each day recording assignments in the students' assignment books. Please check the assignment book each night with your child to make sure they have completed all of their work. If a student does not turn in a homework assignment on the day that it is due, they will receive a “homework alert” form that will need to be signed by a parent and returned the next day. Students will also lose $200 from their checkbook and complete the missing work in a lunchtime study hall. Developing good homework habits is important for a successful year. We encourage you and your child to set up a scheduled time and quiet workspace for homework each day. Students should be able to do most assignments independently, but please help if it is necessary. If you notice that your child does not understand how to do an assignment, please send me an email or note. I will contact you if your child is falling behind or turning in poor work. If homework becomes a constant problem, I will contact you immediately, and we will look at the problem and create a plan to ensure that homework is being completed.

Possible Homework Schedule

Independent Reading
Your child will be required to read for 30 minutes each night of the week. It is very important for you to monitor your child's reading each night. “The more you read the better you get; the better you get, the more you read!” Students will also benefit from shared reading time with a family member.

Jobs
Students who are interested in having classroom jobs will hold their position for one week. Students will randomly be assigned to different jobs, which include teacher assistant, courier, lunch basket transporter, and librarian. Students will receive 100 dollars per shift toward their checkbook.

Kindness
Being kind is very important in our classroom. We need to treat each other the way in which we would like to be treated. When someone is found not being kind, their behavior will be corrected. Please contact us if your child is having a problem with another student that you believe they have not shared with us.

Library
Our class will attend library once a week. Students will be able to checkout books to bring home or keep in the classroom each week. Please help your child remember to bring the previous week's library books back to school on library day so that they may be returned or renewed.

Lunch
Please be sure your child has money for lunch if they are planning to buy hot lunch. Students that are not ordering an entire “hot lunch” meal may want to bring money to purchase food from the fresh fruit and vegetable cart or from the snack cart. The scheduled lunch period for fifth graders is from 12:00-12:20.

Mastering Math Facts
Mastering Math Facts is a research-based program used to enhance student ability to have a quick command of basic facts. The students work on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Students work at their own pace and are also responsible for charting and keeping track of their own progress. This supplemental component to our math program is very important. Please encourage your student to be practicing these skills at home.

Newsletter
I will be sending home newsletters. It will keep you informed of upcoming dates and activities in our classroom, as well as recapping what we did over the past week. I will be sending out the newsletter electronically through email in order to conserve paper. If you would like a paper copy, please let me know.

Outdoor Recess
Students will be going outside for recess every day unless it is raining during that time or below a certain temperature. Students will go outside on days that it has rained in the morning and on snowy days. Please make sure that your child has the appropriate clothing.

PTO
Our PTO is a great organization that helps get parents involved with their children. Your support of our school means a lot!

Questions
If at any time you have questions about your child or their progress, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. The easiest way to contact me is through email. mdebruin@barrington220.org.  You can call me at school at 847-381-1888.

Report Cards
Your child will receive three report cards this year. Report cards consist of a written narrative describing the child's progress as well as a letter grade indicating the child's achievement level in specific areas.

Snacks
It is important for students to bring at least one healthy snack daily to help keep up their energy and concentration. Snacks may consist of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and solid cheese (string cheese, cheese sticks/squares). Students may bring more than one snack if they would like to have one during the morning and one in the afternoon. Students may also keep a bottle of water on their desks. Please encourage students to fill water bottles at home before coming to school.

Supplies
This year the school has purchased student supplies in bulk. It is nice to have similar products and reduced clutter in student desks.

Transportation
If there is a change in your child's regular transportation, please be sure to let me know through note/email so I can be sure to send him/her in the right direction.

Unique
It is important to remember that all children are unique. Something that works for one child in our classroom might not work for another.

Volunteers
I will try to provide many opportunities for parents to volunteer and visit our classroom. Your support can be shown in many ways. These include helping with parties, assisting with special projects, sending in treats for parties, chaperoning field trips, reading to the class, and working with students to improve their ability to recall math facts. We love to have volunteers in our classroom!

Website 
 You can  access our classroom website through the Grove Avenue School website, http://www.barrington220.org/grove/, by clicking on “directory” and “Fifth Grade”.

Please check this website to find daily homework assignments, important dates, links for parents and students, pictures from our classroom, and much more! It's the next best thing to actually being in our class every day! I would appreciate any comments/suggestions you have on how I can make the website most useful for you and your family.

Writing
The students will be participating in a daily writing workshop. We follow the Lucy Calkin's program, entitled Units of Study for Teaching Writing.

XXV
We have 25 children in our class. Please keep this in mind when sending in items to be distributed to the whole class.

Your Ideas
Your suggestions and ideas are always welcome. Please contact me at any time.

Zzzzz!
Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It will help him/her stay alert and ready to learn each day.