Wacona Elementary School
Waycross, Georgia
Welcome to third grade! We can look forward to an exciting year of fun, adventure, and hard work. Third grade is the year the children experience one of their hardest challenges in school. The expectations for academic achievement are extremely high, but with a lot of patience, perseverance, and hard work, we as a team will exceed all the expectations that are placed upon us. When parents and teachers become partners in education, a child’s attitude about school will be very positive and their growth in learning will be enormous.
This is to inform you of how things are done in my classroom and to answer as many questions that you might be thinking about. The way I keep parents informed is by sending home a newsletter every Monday, which will be accompanied with the student’s papers from the previous week. If a child is absent, they need to get make-up work in as soon as possible. If there are papers that are missing at the end of the nine weeks, it will automatically turn into a zero. You will also have access to the Parent Portal that is available through the Ware County and Wacona websites. You will be able to access grades through this portal to see how your child is doing academically and to see any announcements for the school. You can do this by stopping at the office for a password and you will have this access.
To insure that your child has the most productive and safest school year, the following classroom discipline plan will be in effect at all times.
Classroom Rules
1. Follow directions.
2. Be prepared for class.
3. Respect the rights and property of others.
4. Always say nice things to each other.
5. Walk quietly in the buildings.
If a student chooses to break a rule, the following will result:
1st offense Warning
2nd offense Isolation for a brief period
3rd offense Isolation for an extended period
4th offense Call the parents
Severe Disruption Immediately sent to the principal
Endangering another person Immediately sent to the principal
Students who behave appropriately will be rewarded with praise, stickers, notes, treats, and Fun Friday. Fun Friday is for those students who do their best work and behave for the week. They will have this time to enjoy special activities that include science experiments, project time, arts and crafts, etc. The student can have up to 3 behavior tags pulled to receive these rewards. If they have 4 behavior tags they will not participate in any extra activities including recess.
Homework: Your child will be given homework Monday through Thursday. Please initial their Assignment Sheets in their folders every night whether or not they have assignments. If your child does not have his/her homework, then your child will miss part or all of recess the next day to finish any assignments.
Snacks: The students enjoy having a snack mid-morning to help them through their busy morning. I am asking that every parent send in snacks once a month. If everyone participates, then we should be able to cover the entire month. You can send them in at the beginning of each month and I will let you know through the newsletter if we get low on snacks.
Reading: I will be encouraging your child to read as much as possible this year and I hope you will also encourage them to read at home. A good way to get them in routine is letting them have 30 minutes quiet time and let them read anything they want whether it is a comic book, library book or magazine. It would also be good for you as a parent to have the whole family have quiet time together and read as a family. The children will have an opportunity to order Scholastic Books every month at school. This is beneficial to both the child and our classroom. The children get to choose books that interest them and the classroom earns free books for the children to read. The more the children buy; the more free books we earn.
Accelerated Reader: AR is a big part of my classroom and I expect every child to accomplish their AR goal that is set in the classroom. It will be part of their Reading grade at the end of each nine weeks. They will have a grade for finishing their goal and having a percentage average at 85% or better. If they complete their goal ahead of schedule, they will be able to read any material available, not necessarily AR books.
Assignment Sheets: I expect assignment sheets to be initialed every night and returned the next day. This assignment sheet tells you what homework they have, special announcements, and their behavior for the day. I will be posting the weekly assignments on the website so you will be able to check if your child is completing the assignments or forgets their homework.
We are a 21st century classroom with a lot of new technology. We will be learning together how all of this will be incorporated into the curriculum. I am very excited about this challenge and I know the children will be excited as well. My website will be full of all kinds of information that might be useful including assignment sheets, spelling lists, study guides, websites and pictures of student activities.
If the need arises and you need a conference, please call the office secretary for an appointment or email me. This will give us a chance to have a conference when it is convenient for both of us.
I anticipate this will be a great year for the students and hope that your child will make great strides academically, socially, and emotionally during our year together.
This is to inform you of how things are done in my classroom and to answer as many questions that you might be thinking about. The way I keep parents informed is by sending home a newsletter every Monday, which will be accompanied with the student’s papers from the previous week. If a child is absent, they need to get make-up work in as soon as possible. If there are papers that are missing at the end of the nine weeks, it will automatically turn into a zero. You will also have access to the Parent Portal that is available through the Ware County and Wacona websites. You will be able to access grades through this portal to see how your child is doing academically and to see any announcements for the school. You can do this by stopping at the office for a password and you will have this access.
To insure that your child has the most productive and safest school year, the following classroom discipline plan will be in effect at all times.
Classroom Rules
1. Follow directions.
2. Be prepared for class.
3. Respect the rights and property of others.
4. Always say nice things to each other.
5. Walk quietly in the buildings.
If a student chooses to break a rule, the following will result:
1st offense Warning
2nd offense Isolation for a brief period
3rd offense Isolation for an extended period
4th offense Call the parents
Severe Disruption Immediately sent to the principal
Endangering another person Immediately sent to the principal
Students who behave appropriately will be rewarded with praise, stickers, notes, treats, and Fun Friday. Fun Friday is for those students who do their best work and behave for the week. They will have this time to enjoy special activities that include science experiments, project time, arts and crafts, etc. The student can have up to 3 behavior tags pulled to receive these rewards. If they have 4 behavior tags they will not participate in any extra activities including recess.
Homework: Your child will be given homework Monday through Thursday. Please initial their Assignment Sheets in their folders every night whether or not they have assignments. If your child does not have his/her homework, then your child will miss part or all of recess the next day to finish any assignments.
Snacks: The students enjoy having a snack mid-morning to help them through their busy morning. I am asking that every parent send in snacks once a month. If everyone participates, then we should be able to cover the entire month. You can send them in at the beginning of each month and I will let you know through the newsletter if we get low on snacks.
Reading: I will be encouraging your child to read as much as possible this year and I hope you will also encourage them to read at home. A good way to get them in routine is letting them have 30 minutes quiet time and let them read anything they want whether it is a comic book, library book or magazine. It would also be good for you as a parent to have the whole family have quiet time together and read as a family. The children will have an opportunity to order Scholastic Books every month at school. This is beneficial to both the child and our classroom. The children get to choose books that interest them and the classroom earns free books for the children to read. The more the children buy; the more free books we earn.
Accelerated Reader: AR is a big part of my classroom and I expect every child to accomplish their AR goal that is set in the classroom. It will be part of their Reading grade at the end of each nine weeks. They will have a grade for finishing their goal and having a percentage average at 85% or better. If they complete their goal ahead of schedule, they will be able to read any material available, not necessarily AR books.
Assignment Sheets: I expect assignment sheets to be initialed every night and returned the next day. This assignment sheet tells you what homework they have, special announcements, and their behavior for the day. I will be posting the weekly assignments on the website so you will be able to check if your child is completing the assignments or forgets their homework.
We are a 21st century classroom with a lot of new technology. We will be learning together how all of this will be incorporated into the curriculum. I am very excited about this challenge and I know the children will be excited as well. My website will be full of all kinds of information that might be useful including assignment sheets, spelling lists, study guides, websites and pictures of student activities.
If the need arises and you need a conference, please call the office secretary for an appointment or email me. This will give us a chance to have a conference when it is convenient for both of us.
I anticipate this will be a great year for the students and hope that your child will make great strides academically, socially, and emotionally during our year together.
