Guidelines

Attendance - 

It is very important to have your child attend school regularly and on time. Students will meet me outside of the classroom by 7:35. Please have your child in school no later than 7:40 AM. Breakfast begins at 7:15 AM. When your child will be absent, please call the school and let us know. This will help us ensure that all children have arrived safely. If calling is not possible, please send a note the following day.If your child will not be riding a school bus, please make sure that you are there at 2:55 to pick them up each day.


Homework - Your child works very hard all day at school-- I ask a lot of them and expect them to be present and engaged from the time they walk into our classroom in the morning, to the time when they walk out to go home in the afternoon.  Therefore, it is important for their mental and physical well-being that evenings and weekends are not bogged down with tons of homework.  Studies show that this is not an effective instructional method.   It is important that students have this time to spend with families, try extracurricular activities, and just PLAY!  Don't underestimate the value of free play to foster creativity!

That being said, learning DOES NOT stop when they leave the school building!  There are many things that should be happening at home to practice skills and allow your child to learn while at home.  Here are some suggestions that I believe would be the best uses of your child's time:

• READ, READ, READ!  Read a variety of genres and for a variety of purposes.  This should be enjoyable for students, and can be a social, family-bonding activity as well!  Help them find books, websites, or articles about topics that interest them, or something they wondered about earlier in the day.  Students should be reading at least 20 minutes each night.
• Join one of Elsa England's extracurricular learning opportunities!  Math Superstars, reading Bluebonnet books for library voting parties, Student Council and other clubs.  Keep your eyes and ears open for these awesome opportunities that are always free and available for your child.
• Practice math skills on a website from our class page or another third grade teacher's page.  Practicing with flashcards to learn basic math facts quickly is something all students can do, and will help them solve more complex math problems in class.  This is something they should be doing daily until these facts are comfortable and fluent.
• Give your child responsibilities around the house (ex: set the table, feed the pets, lay out clothes for the next day, collect laundry and bring it to the laundry room, etc.).  This is non-academic and may seem trivial, but students who have responsibilities at home are more likely to be responsible and independent at school!

Birthdays - When it is your child’s birthday, they are allowed to bring in a treat to share with the class. Please contact me so that we can decide what time of day would be best to share this.

Clothing - All 3rd graders are encouraged to wear sneakers/tennis shoes every day. Although we do not go to P.E. everyday, we do play and run outside each day. Sandals and slick bottom shoes can cause injuries.

Thursday Folders - Thursday folders will include notes and flyers from the school and PTA, as well as any graded / completed work. Please take the information out of the folder so your child can return the folder the next day. Also, please note that not everything we do in class is assigned a grade. For example, if we do a math activity as a class or with a partner, I may just take a completion grade, or assign a check, check plus, or check minus.

Lunch - Children have the option to either bring their lunch or purchase a school lunch. When they arrive at school each day, they will choose which lunch option they want for the day. If they are tardy, they will still be able to purchase a lunch, but may not get their first choice...it will just depend on what is still available. If you choose to purchase a school lunch, you have two payment options.

1.  You can pay CASH or CHECK. The check must be made out to RRISD Lunch Fund and your driver's license number must be written at the top. You can pay for the month, or as much time as you feel comfortable with.  Your child will have a card that they use like a debit card.  This money should be paid to the cafeteria in advance of the day your child wishes to eat at school.

*****Please do not send your child with loose change or money in their pocket.  Money must be put into an envelope or baggie marked with the AMOUNT and the CHILD'S NAME.

2.  MySchool Bucks is another option.  This is an online payment system that is easy to update!

Snacks - Students may bring a healthy snack to eat. Snacks should be easy-to-eat finger foods (like carrot sticks, crackers, pretzels, as opposed to pudding with a spoon).  Please do not send any snacks that leave your child’s hands filled with cheese and/or feeling sticky.  I ask this because the students may be working or reading during this time, and I do not want their notebooks or classroom library books to be damaged.

Water Bottles - I strongly encourage every student to bring a water bottle to school each day (water only!!). To prevent them from getting lost, water bottles should be labeled with your child's name.  Also, I would suggest that your child’s water bottle be in a plastic Ziploc bag if it is housed in their backpack.  If the water bottle leaks it will get on all of your child’s belongings.  In addition, it could damage the library books your child checks out from the school.

Toys / Electronics - Toys and electronics should not be brought to school. If your child carries a cell phone, please remind them to turn it off when they arrive at school. They can turn it back on after dismissal.

RRISD Grading Policy - 

Students earn numerical grades on a 0-100 scale.

Redo/Retake

According to District Policy (EIA Local), “a classroom teacher shall provide students a reasonable and fair opportunity to retake or redo failing work.”  In our elementary schools, the focus is on reteaching to provide the student an opportunity to learn the objective and demonstrate an understanding of the concept.  This reteaching will occur within 10 days, and corrections may be made to improve a grade up to a 70%.

Number of Grades per Quarter

District Policy (EIA Local) states that grading guidelines shall ensure that grades reflect a student’s relative mastery of an assignment and that a sufficient number of grades are taken to support the grade average assigned.  Elementary teachers will take a minimum of seven grades each quarter in each core content area (reading, writing, math, science, social studies).

Grading Categories (weighted):

Classwork/Daily Grades 70%

Assessments 30%

When calculating a nine-week average for a content area, no single grade will count more than 30% of the total average.  No two grades will count more than 50% of the total average.

Late Work

Our goal is for students to learn concepts being presented in class, regardless of the work being late. A deduction for late work may be given but will not exceed 10 points. The focus will be on finding ways to support students in being successful in work completion.

Progress Reports/Conferences

A progress report will be sent home during the fourth week of each quarter if a student is not passing.  A teacher shall request a conference with a student’s parents at the end of a nine-week period if the student’s grades are not passing.  Parents and teachers may request a conference at any other time for other academic or behavioral concerns.  Parents are able to view grades at any time through the Home Access Center.