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Everything You Want to Know About Your Child's Fourth Grade Year in Mrs. Renz's Classroom |
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I
believe in providing excellent communication to parents and students in
my class. You will find my classroom web
site loaded with information for parents and children.
I update our site daily, so you can be sure what you are reading is
up-to-date information. I must admit, I'm proud of our web
site and its contents, so be sure to check it out!
You will find parent announcements, homework assignments, our spelling lists, a calendar of events, curriculum, helpful web sites to reinforce our grade level skills, photos of classroom projects and memories, individual student web pages, classroom projects, Mastery Club challenges, parent conference schedules, our school supply list, our schedule, and much more! Be sure to bookmark our site or add it to your favorites list for quick access. Address: www.mrsrenz.net Mrs. Zistel's website: www.mrsrenz.net/zistel/index.html |
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Parents,
I check my e-mail during the day.
It is a great way to get instant feedback to your questions or
comments, and I encourage you to contact me this way.
My e-mail address is heather.renz@redmond.k12.or.us
and I also receive school
NOTE: Please don't rely on an email if you want to check your child out early or change after school "pick up" directions. Please call our front office instead at 541-526-6400. |
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POLICY: Homework for fourth graders is assigned for the first three school days, and should take about 30-40 minutes each night (per Redmond School District standards) to complete. Students will receive a homework packet each Thursday. The completed packet is due the last school day of the following week. Students use their "MUSTANG" Folder to take work to and from school. Most of the homework handouts are also posted on our web site. Reading: Research says that children become better readers by reading at their ability level. Students will read for a minimum of 15 minutes each night. Students will keep tack of their reading minutes and get a parent initial. Students will earn $1 of "Collegiate Cash" for each minute of reading completed at home (maximum $45 per week with parent signature). |
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Classroom assignments are generally due the next school day after they are assigned. Class time is always given to complete assignments. Students may need to finish an assignment at home if it is not completed during the given class work time. This is in addition to the normal assigned homework. |
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Report cards will be brought home by students on these dates: Term 1: Dec. 7-9, 2009 conference week report card Term 2: Mar. 17, 2010 Wed. Term 3: June 16, 2010 or you may pick this report card up in the office June 15-19 |
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Work from the previous week and notes from school will come home for you to look at each night in the folder. The folder is organized with two pockets. On the left side you will find work which is to be "left" at home (work with grades of "4" and above). The right side of the folder will be for homework and work that needs to be corrected or completed and turned back in (grades of "3" and below). See the MUSTANG Folder note. |
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When students are absent, they are responsible for making up the
work. Students will have an “Absent Folder” on their desk
when they return. Students
have the same number of days they were gone, for example, if John misses
two days of school, he would have two days after he returned to school to
make up the work. Much of
our classroom activities cannot be done at home (group work,
experiments, in-class games, buddy class activities, etc), so regular
attendance is encouraged. |
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Each month one student will be chosen as the "Wise Owl Award" recipient. The winner will have his or her name engraved on our trophy, which will remain in our classroom until Mrs. Renz retires. The student will have his or her picture taken with the Wise Owl and will receive a special certificate of his or her achievement.
Another Wise Owl goes traveling and is the same as the owl that is on the trophy. The award winning student of the month takes this home and keeps it for the month. This owl is carefully wrapped in a plastic box and travels to and from home and school, visiting wise owl students and their families.
The Wise Owl is awarded to the student each month who has best exhibited one or more of the following traits:
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Intermediate grade students receive
grades Grading
Scale: 98 - 100% = 6 90
- 97% = 5 80 - 89% = 4 60 - 79% = 3 40 - 59% = 2 0 - 39% = 1
Any assignment with a grade of "3" or below are not up to grade level standards and
should be corrected and turned
back in.
Other
grades which you may see include: A
grade of "T" means the assignment was turned in A grade of "E" means excellent A grade of "S" means satisfactory A grade of "P" means demonstrates progress A grade of "N" means needs improvement |
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Students are always expected to turn in their best work.
Students are highly encouraged to correct low scores to make sure
they understand what was being taught.
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This
year students will learn about life skills and problem solving,
nutrition, exercise, safety
(personal safety, drugs/alcohol, earthquake safety, fire safety, intruder
drill procedures, playground safety), the skeletal system,
and growth and development (girls only). |
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It would be great if students would bring and use a plastic water bottle with a spill-proof lid. This avoids 30 students standing in line for our one drinking fountain! |
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A respectful learning environment is crucial. School wide, we emphasize 3 rules:
If student behavior disrupts the learning of others, the student will be reminded of the classroom and school rules and asked to fill out the "Think Time" slip telling what behavior was unacceptable and what his/her plan is for the future. I will call you if this happens. For repeated problem behavior, students will visit with Mrs. Seeberg, our principal and may take a note home for parents to sign showing awareness of the situation. Parents - see the "Discipline Pearls of Wisdom" section. |
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Classroom Incentives and Rewards When students follow the rules and do the right thing (doing the right thing, following rules, turning in homework on time, completing projects, returning items requiring a parent signature, etc.) they will earn classroom money, called "Collegiate Cash." Responsible students will earn privileges like extra computer time and extra reading time.
Class "Compliments Points" can be earned for things like: being ready to learn when I ask for their attention, being ready to listen when I count backwards from five to one, cleaning up classroom messes (especially without being asked), treating others with respect and kindness, and things like that.
Sometimes our staff members give compliments to our class for things like traveling through the building quietly or for respectful or responsible. Each compliment point is tallied on the board when we get back to the classroom. Compliment points from our principal are worth five points and fire drill compliment points are worth five points. When our class has earned an average of four points per student, the students earn a video party at which they may bring healthy food and juice to share with others and they each get four gumballs (the gumballs represent the points earned per student). |
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Every week a different student will be our special
"Star of
the Week". This person will
get to help in the classroom, and gets special privileges, like using
the special roller chair, eating with friends at the back table, and
leading the line all week. At
the end of the week, students will write a page to be made into a
special book all about the "star" person.
It promises to be a special keepsake.
Read
the Star of the Week letter. |
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I believe students should be challenged to learn as many new things as they can. Saying "I'm bored" is not going to happen in my classroom! Students may become members of my classroom Mastery Club. Students who achieve 16 accomplishments or more become members of the Hall of Fame and will have their name added to the Hall of Fame wall. These challenge activities may be done at home or at school. Students will also earn $50 "Collegiate Cash" for each challenge mastered. |
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We have a classroom economy that runs all year long. One of our fourth grade standards involves money and banking so there is no better way to learn the concepts than to "live" them.
Students earn "Collegiate Cash" for completing assignments and projects on time and for outside of school reading. Students apply to be "Renz Bank" employees. I hire a bank president, vice president, managers and tellers. Students show they possess the skills necessary to run the bank by taking a banking test. The students are assigned positions based on the most number of correct items on the test. Bank employees earn $10 "Collegiate Cash" for each day worked.
Student bank managers will manage the accounts, check deposits and withdrawals for accuracy, and pay interest on the savings accounts. Later in the year students will get checking accounts and will pay for fines and fees with this account.
Students will also pay their income taxes on April 15th. |
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At the end of the year, students will spend the "Collegiate Cash" they have earned and saved all year. I will hold a classroom auction comprised of garage sale and sale-type items I have collected. If you have any items to donate, I would appreciate it very much! |
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Conferences are during the week of December 7-10, 2009 and if needed April 1st. The conference time is meant to be a three-way conference between parents, teacher, and child. Parents will receive information about academic and social progress, discuss TAG plans (if appropriate) and discuss questions and concerns. Your child will lead the conference. |
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Students may bring a healthy snack to eat mid-morning. Good items to send for a snack would be fruit or vegetables, applesauce, yogurt, cheese sticks, crackers, or juice. Please DO NOT send items with lots of sugar in them (no candy, pop, etc.) |
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Students have homework four nights a week, for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Students who turn in 100% of their homework ON TIME (meaning the first thing Thursday morning) will become members of the 100% Homework Club! Students must maintain a 100% average for the entire term to become lifetime members of this elite club. At the end of each term students receive a certificate showing their accomplishment. |
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We will take several field trips over the course of the year. I will send a note home with the dates and cost for each trip. Check our field trip page for more details. If you would like to volunteer, be sure you have filled out the necessary school district volunteer form at least two weeks prior to the trip. |
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Click here to go to our curriculum page to see what fourth graders will be learning.
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Brain Busters is a math problem solving program open to all of my students who wish to add a new wrinkle to their brain! Students simply work the problem and put their solution on the Brain Busters answer sheet and put it into the Brain Busters can before Friday at noon. Those students with the correct solution will receive their name on the Brain Busters Super Solvers Page! Good luck and may you use your brain to its full potential! All students who attempt to solve a problem earn "Collegiate Cash" for their efforts.
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Click here to go to the fourth grade school supply list for this year. Please make sure supplies are replenished throughout the year. |
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I cannot
imagine teaching without the assistance of parent volunteers! Parents
play a critical role in the functioning of our classroom. In order to
help in the classroom or chaperone on field trips, all volunteers must
fill out the district volunteer form and be approved at least two weeks
prior to the field trip. This form will be sent home but may also
be requested from our office. I encourage you to fill out the form
to keep your options open throughout the year.
Please let me know your talents and skills and I’ll put you to work!
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Students will be rewarded for great behavior and for following the rules. When an average of four compliments per student have been earned, the students have a class party. They vote upon, and watch, a G-rated video and bring treats to be shared. My motto is: "Do the right thing, even if you think no one is watching." |
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Discovery Quest or a Current Event is the "speaking" part of our curriculum. Once a month please choose either one of the quests for the month or to the newspaper current event form to prepare a speaking presentation for your assigned week. Presentations are the last school day of the week. |
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Word Within the Word teaches students about word stems and their root origins. It helps students "unlock" meanings to unknown words as they are reading.
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You may have heard of a method of discipline by Jim Fay & Dr. Foster Cline called, "Discipline With Love and Logic." I attended a week-long workshop by Jim Fay and Betsy Geddes. Jim's methods are fabulous for parents and educators alike. Listed below are a few of the topics you might be interested in. |
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