Every Child, Every Day, Whatever It Takes!

August 9, 2013

Dear Parents,

Welcome to our class! I am very excited to be working with you and your child this year. The following pages are a synopsis of the basic procedures in our classroom. We will be discussing and practicing procedures throughout your child's 5th grade year, especially during the first week. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns, and read/discuss this letter with your child. After reading, please detach the last page, sign, and return – keep the information pages for your reference. I look forward to working with you this year. Together, we can make every child successful!

Sincerely, Carly Parr Ledbetter

WJIS Motto: EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY, WHATEVER IT TAKES! Mrs. Ledbetter's Class Expectations, Procedures, Notes, Etc.

About Mrs. Ledbetter This is my eighth year teaching fifth grade at WJIS. I received my high school education at Jackson County Comprehensive High School, and earned my Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of West Georgia. I am an assistant cross-country and track coach at JCCHS. I live in Commerce, GA with my husband Stephen, our three dogs Buster, Freida, and Ezra.

Highlights of Fifth Grade Fifth grade is a very exciting year! Something special you will be able to experience this year will be team teaching! Mrs. Ledbetter and Mrs. Bryant will share responsibilities of teaching both homerooms. Mrs. Bryant will teach both classes of science/social studies (alternating days within the week for each subject) and Mrs. Ledbetter will teach both classes of math. Mrs. Ledbetter will teach her homeroom reading and language arts and Mrs. Bryant will do the same with her homeroom. We are looking forward to this change and hope it makes a positive impact on instruction.

Ledbetter’s students will be setting numerous personal goals throughout the year, known as Panther Performance Goals (PPG). After pre-assessments and data-digging, students will set a personal goal that applies to the particular area and will work hard to achieve their goal. And with goal achievement, there will be celebrations! We’ll have classroom celebrations, grade-level celebrations, and the culminating monthly celebration at the Panther Pride Assembly. In addition to awards for Math Facts in a Flash and Accelerated Reader (AR) points, students throughout the school will be recognized for achieving their PPG(s) at the Panther Pride Assemblies.

Once a month, the 4H instructors come to visit our classroom. During this time, we learn ways to help our family, friends, community, and world. There are also extracurricular activities that you can choose to participate in with 4H. We’ll have an officer election prior to our first 4H meeting. We plan on taking some field trips during fifth grade. In past years, we have visited our Capitol in Atlanta, WJMS, science exhibit at East Jackson High, and last year we were able to organize a trip to Washington, DC! More information to come :-)

5th graders have the opportunity to be a part of the Reading Bowl team. A list of Georgia Book Award nominees will be provided and students will read a variety of these books. Their goal is to become “experts” on these books so they can answer as many questions as possible. More information will be provided soon.

5th graders also have the opportunity to be a part of the News Crew. Applications will be provided by Mrs. Barber. When Mrs. Barber has received all of the voluntary applications, stars will be chosen and assigned dates to deliver the announcements. Mrs. Barber will be providing more information during our introduction to the media center.

February 2014 will be our fundraising 5k race (The Shadow Shuffle) in Hoschton. Flyers will be created soon but the running/training can start now! Come out and support our school with your entire family.

The annual fifth grade talent show will be held in March. This is a time for our fifth graders to express a wide variety of special talents. Look for more information around December.

In March, our students will take the State Writing Test. Their writing will be assessed on ideas (x2), organization, style, and conventions. There will be three mock writing tests throughout the school year for your child to practice the testing environment in the narrative, persuasive, and informational genres.

The CRCT will be held towards the end of April. The fifth grade test is critical. Fifth graders must pass the reading and math portions of the test. Discipline Policy As a fifth grader, we (the fifth grade team) feel that your child should be responsible for his or her actions. Using this philosophy, we apply the “Hot Sheet” system in our classroom.

The “Hot Sheet” is located in all fifth grade classrooms, as well as the classrooms of support teachers that work with fifth grade. When a child is exhibiting an inappropriate behavior, he or she will be asked to sign the “Hot Sheet.” Each child will have a “Quarterly Card” in their binder which will be the communication piece between homeroom teachers, support teachers, and parents concerning your child’s daily behavior. Teachers will mark the Quarterly Card according to the behavior exhibited by the student.

Each “Hot Sheet” lasts for only one day. Following is a list of consequences.

Number of Times on “Hot Sheet” Consequence First Loss of Five Minutes of Recess Second Loss of Recess Third Parent Contact and Silent Lunch Fourth TAP (temporary alternative placement) Fifth PAD (placement all day) Sixth Detention Seventh Office Referral

Positive Rewards The fifth grade has adopted a reward system called “Panther Paws.” Each paw is worth one point or “buck”. Students can earn paws for numerous things including completing responsibilities (i.e. getting their agenda signed by a parent each night, completing all homework assignments, etc.) positive attitudes and behaviors, exceptional work ethic, following directions, on-task behavior, etc. Students may redeem “Panther Paws” for a variety of rewards when the Panther Store is open on various occasions. *Mrs. Muldrow, the music teacher, will be implementing this plan as well and will have her own “store” this year! Grading Policy I value your child’s education. Therefore, there will be no “busy work” in our classroom. Every assignment will be linked to specific fifth grade Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) and the “new” Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) in math and language arts. My goal is to integrate literacy and writing into each subject area each day. Students will have response journals for each subject (math, science, social studies, language arts) and a “working portfolio” in writing. Jackson County has adopted a standards- based report card for all elementary schools. More information will be provided about the standards-based assessment throughout the school year.

Homework Philosophy Homework is an extension of what we do during the school day. All homework will be based upon specific fifth grade skills and standards. Following are some helpful homework hints adopted from the National PTA as well as successful schools from across the country.

 Assume that your child will have studying/homework to do every night.  Read your child’s “Essential Questions”, or EQ's (written weekly in their agendas) each night to ensure that you know what we are studying in class. Ask your child to describe the homework assignment before beginning. This will ensure that they understand the assignment. If they do not understand the assignment, work a few examples together.  When graded assignments are returned to your child (to be placed in their binder), please ask to see them and describe what they did or did not understand. Periodically, sit with your child and flip through his or her notebook. This is a great way to have your child explain what we have been working on in class and to brag on some of their “best pieces.”  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you and your child do not understand an assignment or if you identify that your child is struggling with a particular skill. Remember, we all want the same thing - for your child to learn and be successful!  Show your children that homework time is important.  Make praise a habit. Missing Assignments Students are expected to complete assignments on time. If a student does not turn in an assignment, his or her name will be placed on the “zero tolerance” list. Students will remain on the list until the assignment is complete. It is the student’s responsibility to remember to turn in late assignments. If the assignment is not turned in by the time the current grading period rolls around, the student will receive a “DNM” for that particular assignment.

Agendas The agenda is one of the best forms of communication between home and school. Students are required to write their homework in their agendas each day. A parent must SIGN the agenda EVERY NIGHT. I check agendas each morning for 1) parent signature 2) correct writing of homework assignments 3) any notes written *If your child has been absent and you’re presenting a parent note/excuse, please write it on a separate piece of paper instead of the agenda. I keep all absentee notes in the student files. Thank you! Each week your child will write down the “Essential Questions” from the white board in their agendas. These questions guide our learning throughout the day/week. Please use these to ask your child what he or she has learned in school each day.

Our class website address - http://sites.jackson.k12.ga.us/cledbetter Our classroom BLOG - http://sites.jackson.k12.ga.us/ledbetterblog

These sites will be used frequently. The class website will be used to make announcements/reminders, post assignments, pictures, etc. There are also MANY helpful links for your child to use (divided by subject). The blog site is new to my classroom this year. Students will login (using their computer login ), read a topic of discussion I've created, and type a response. Soon, they'll be responding to other students' responses. All responses will be checked by me before being posted for the public :-) PLEASE provide an email address (or two if you'd like to add both parents or a family member's address) that you'd like me to add to the subscriber list of the classroom website and Study Island. You'll receive an email each time a post is made on the website. You'll also receive a weekly report of your child's progress on his/her Study Island assignments. Study Island can be accessed at home.

Notebooks Your child will be responsible for keeping a notebook (binder). The notebook should contain your child’s agenda, Quarterly Card (behavior list), as well as a divider for each subject (morning work, math, reading, language arts, science, and social studies). The notebook will monitor your child’s growth over the year. Notebooks will go home daily for you to review. Please do not remove papers from your child’s notebook. The purpose is to collect student data to be displayed and discussed during student-led conferences.

You Are Welcome In Our Class! We love to have visitors! Please feel free to stop by our classroom for lunch, to volunteer, or simply to observe!

How to Contact Mrs. Ledbetter You can contact me by calling the school at (706) 654-2044, through your child’s agenda, or e-mail at [email protected]. If you need to contact me after school hours or on the weekends, please know that I check my school e-mail each night.

One Last Thing! I am so excited about this school year! These procedures are subject to change based on the class needs. I look forward to working with you in order to help your child be successful!

EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY, WHATEVER IT TAKES! Please return this page of the parent letter after reading and discussing with your child. Please keep the attached letter for your reference.

I have read the attached information and have discussed it with my child.

Child’s Name ______

Child’s Signature______

Parent(s) Name(s)______

Parent(s) Signature(s) ______

Your email address (1 or more) to be added to the subscriber lists (class website and Study Island alerts)