Hello Parents

I look forward to meeting many of you at Open House tonight. Here is the information that will be discussed this evening in a more formal format for your reference.

Introducing 5^th Grade Procedures

Homework Expectations

Each weeknight students are generally expected to:

Complete a study link related to that day’s math content

Read for 30 minutes

Complete any specific writer’s workshop or reader’s workshop tasks assigned by their teacher

Review and revise math, science and social studies concepts as needed

Complete any homework requirements from specialist teachers

Homework will be written down each day in the students’ agenda (diary, assessment book) and will usually not be given over the weekend unless a project is being undertaken

Assessment Practices

Math

There will be an end of unit test given as summative assessment at the end of each math unit (there are 12 for the year). Students will know about these test dates at least a few days before the test is given. They will receive their raw score as soon as possible after completing the test, we then go over the test together as a class and the students are then asked to have the test signed by a parent and returned on the next school day.

Formative assessments will also be completed in class and these may include mad minutes, oral questioning, submission of study links and spot quizzes.

Language Arts

We complete six units of study in our Writer’s Workshop lessons and at the end of each unit (approximately 4-6 weeks long) a piece of work will be published and the student will receive comprehensive feedback for that work in the form of a rubric.

Formative assessments will also be completed in class and these are generally based on anecdotal evidence collected by the teacher during conferences and class participation during the mini lesson.

In our Reader’s Workshop students are asked to maintain reading logs whether in their Reader’s Notebook or through their blog. Students also maintain their Notebook and regularly confer both with their Reading Buddies and their teacher.

Science and Social Studies

These subjects are generally project based and may involve the student maintaining notebooks, completing posters worksheets and tests and completing tasks that will be introduced to the parents through the classroom teacher’s blog.

Standardized Tests

Throughout the year there are several opportunities for the children to be tested in a standardized manner. Parents will be notified when their children are to take part in the I.O.W.A. and E.R.B. tests and also the D.R.A. test that will be taken by each student twice a year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. A spelling inventory is also undertaken in the first month of the year to gauge what areas need to be focused on in our Word Study lessons.

Technology Requirements

5th grade students will be set up with their own blog before the end of September. Students will be taught during class time how to maintain and add to their blog responsibly. There will be opportunities to enhance student learning through the use of the blog and it is an expectation that students have some access to a computer in their home. Classroom teachers will communicate with their class the requirements that need to be met here and if any parents need clarification they should immediately e mail the classroom teacher.

Completing writing and research tasks whether on the blog or the Internet in general does not mean that students take over their home computer for hours on end playing games and adding widgets!

It is very useful for your child to have their own usb stick/thumb drive that they keep with them in their school bag.

Parent Teacher Communication

E-mail is the main form of communication between teachers and parents and we aim to return your e-mails on the same day we receive them. If it is urgent that you relay a message to your child, please call Carol in the office and she will get a message to us a.s.a.p.

Teachers would appreciate the parents viewing their blog at least once per week and suggest the best day to do this would be Monday. While we may be adding to our blog more often than once weekly it will often be specifically aimed at the students. Our goal is to relay the most important news to you at the beginning of the school week.

In other news

Just a reminder that the Scholastic book order forms and catalogs went home with your fifth grader today. Knowing that it is sometimes difficult to find English language books for your children here in Shanghai, the Scholastic book orders are a great way to buy books for your child to have on hand when they’ve finished up their library books and need something to read or to have to take on a holiday break or even to keep on hand for gifts. Best of all, every time a child orders a book from the Scholastic catalog, the teacher earns points from Scholastic that they can use to order books for their classroom. What a great way to build your child’s library and their classroom library at the same time?

Please note that the students’ due date for this order form will be Monday, September 13th, 2010. As there is always a crunch for time, the teachers will not be able to process any orders received after this cut-off date. Also note that money must always be paid at the time of the order in the correct amount (no change will be given) and in R.M.B.