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Welcome

            Welcome to the 5th grade!  I am very pleased to be teaching at Sierra View School.  I had a restful summer, and I’m looking forward to a wonderful year with you.  I hope to meet all of the parents at our Back-to-School Night, Thursday, August 27 at 6:30.  I have included some information below that may be helpful with some of what we are doing..

Weekly Report

            Beginning next Friday, students will be receiving a weekly report.  The weekly report contains brief information on academic progress.  Hopefully your child will cheerfully present it to you every Friday showing that they got all of their work in for the week.  If, however, you should get a pink report, the assignments that were missing will be noted on the report.  Please sign the report and have your child return it along with the missing work.

Accelerated Math

            We will be augmenting our regular math curriculum with a program called Accelerated Math.  Basically, the program prints out customized homework sheets for each student based on where they are and what they have accomplished so far.  The year is broken up into 182 objectives.  Each objective is a small math concept.  Fractions, for instance, takes about 30 objectives to get through and one objective might be adding like denominator fractions. 

Each student must go through two stages to get credit for mastering an objective.  The first stage is a practice or exercise consisting of 6 problems per objective.  They must get at least 5 out of 6 to pass and they can get as much help as they want. 

The second step is a test with 5 problems per objective.  The tests are given in class and the students must prove that they can do the work with no help.  They must score at least 4 out of 5 to pass the objective and make it mastered.  The students are required to pass 5 objectives per week and can move ahead much faster if they so desire.

The math grade is calculated by taking the percentage of objectives that the student has mastered vs. what they should master to finish the coursework for the fifth grade over the course of the year ( I hope that makes some sense).  That number is 65 objectives per semester.  If they achieve 65 or more objectives prior to the end of the grading period they get an “A”.  58+ is “B”, 51+ is a “C”, 44+ is an “D”, and less is an “F”. 

There is more to the program than this but this should help you to become more familiar with some of our terminology. 

Homework

            Homework is posted on the board everyday and students are given time in class to work on it.  Whatever is not finished during class time is homework and is due the following morning.  If students use their time in class efficiently, they will not have much homework.  Late work is accepted but is only given 2 points instead of the 5 points on-time work is given.  Three late assignments in a week will result in a trip to study hall.

Study Hall

        Any student that does not finish their required work for the week will go to study hall on Friday instead of participating in a fun activity.  They will get a pink slip to take home and will need to get the slip signed by a parent (a note indicating you saw the slip is sufficient) and bring it, and the missing work, back on Monday.  The student will also miss first and last recess the following week to help them get out of that week’s study hall.

             I hope this helps some.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to come in after class or email me.  I am looking forward to the school year and believe it is going to be a good one.  Thanks!

Other things to note:


  • Label everything: Backpacks, clothing, and lunches all need to have first initials and last names on them.
  • Tardies/Absences: Students that arrive in class more than 10 minutes late need to get a "late slip" from the office before coming to class.
  • Birthdays: To prevent hurt feelings, birthday invitations may not be distributed at school. Your child may celebrate his/her birthday at school by bringing a treat for all. Check with the teacher for appropriate times. C
  • Parent Volunteers: For safety reasons, parent volunteers sign in at the office and wear a nametag while on campus during school hours. Any parent wishing to drive on field trips must have an insurance form on file.
  • Conferences/Progress Reports: Conferences are held in the Fall.  Additional conferences can be made by special arrangement with the teacher. Progress reports are given every Friday.