Welcome to Fourth Grade

Welcome back to school! During fourth grade, we expect students to gain responsibility and become accountable for their actions.  We encourage them to use their conscience to make good choices, even if an adult isn’t nearby.  This is possible when the students are given the opportunity and taught more responsibilities at home and school.  There will be days students make mistakes, and chances are your child will not be happy about making mistakes.  These mistakes are okay - they will learn from them.  Learning from mistakes helps your child grow and become more independent.      
This year will be challenging, but also rewarding as you watch your child grow and mature.
If you have a question or are confused about a situation that involves your child, we encourage you to ask your child about the situation first.  If you still have questions or the situation is unclear, please do not hesitate to ask.  Communication is key!  
The information below will help you understand how you can help your child become successful in fourth grade.  
Treat others the way you want to be treated - Golden Rule!  Students are expected to be respectful toward teachers and classmates consistently throughout the day.  If students fail to do so, consequences may be: removal from group/task, loss of recess, writing a letter home, meeting with Mr. Gregson, or a family/teacher meeting.

• Behavior Expectations: If your child doesn’t make strong choices, he/she will write a letter home explaining his/her actions.  Please talk with your child about the situation they were involved in.  After talking to your child, if you have questions, please reach out to us for clarification.
• Agenda: Students are expected to write homework in his/her agenda every day.  We spend the first couple weeks of the school year doing this as a class, then it is the student’s responsibility to do this each day. You should cross-check your child’s agenda with the Homework Central website (updated daily) if they are not routinely writing in it.  Remind your child to write in his/her agenda as well. The goal is for your child to become independent with this task, but guidance may be necessary.
• Homework: Students are expected to have work completed on time.  Exceptions will be made for certain circumstances, but if an assignment is late, students will lose credit toward their grade until it is turned in. 
• It is the student’s responsibility to complete and turn in any work missed due to an absence.
• If your child will be missing school due to a vacation/out of town sporting event - work will be gathered each day they are absent and it will be given to them to make up upon their return.  (The number of days absent are the number of days your child has to complete the work while also completing current assignments.)
• Student work may be handed back at times to make corrections.  An average of the old and new assignments will be taken as the final grade.  If the “second attempt” assignment is not turned in the next day, the original grade is recorded. 
• Students need to be responsible for assignments handed out in class - photocopied assignments will not be accepted (certain exceptions may apply).  An assignment should never be completed with someone else’s handwriting.

• Tests: In fourth grade, preparing for tests is different than previous years.  Your child will need to take time to study at home before tests. Notes will be taken in class and will help your child form helpful study skills. Students will be encouraged to take notes, but they will not be checked. Some tests will be open book, others will not. Students will be aware of this before test time.  Tests for the week will be in the newsletter, on Homework Central, and in your child’s agenda.

• Classroom Websites: Each class has a website that can be accessed from the ICS Homepage.  These provide helpful websites and the link for “Homework Central”.  
• Google Classroom (GC): Students will be instructed how to navigate GC for all of their needs. Links to websites such as Math, Religion, and SS are all available in GC.  All of these textbooks can be accessed online.  Students will be given log-ins and passwords and store them as a document in their GC. Classroom websites may also be accessed through GC - we will encourage students to use this as a ‘one-stop shop’ for their online learning needs.

• Study Time: Students will have a study time almost every day.  Students should not be coming home with hours of homework as long as they are managing their time appropriately in class. We are willing to help students with any questions/problems they may have with their work before they go home!   

• A.R.: Accelerated Reading will be based on a point system.  At the beginning of the school year, students will take a test and a point goal will be assigned.  These points need to be acquired before the end of the quarter for credit. Students will keep a record of books read and points earned for AR.  This log will be kept in their Reading/English folder to keep them on track to attaining their point goal for each quarter.  It will be the student’s responsibility to be sure they are keeping up with points.  
• Snack:  Snacks/Lunches MUST be NUT-free.  We encourage students to bring in healthy/non-messy snacks.  We try to go outside when it is nice for snack/break time, however, sometimes our break time is limited and students will need to eat at their desk. 
• Contacting Teachers:  We are happy to answer your questions, but we ask that you contact us in an appropriate/professional way via phone call at school or school email.  We will not respond to social media messages, personal texts, or personal emails when it is a school matter.

We look forward to guiding your child through this school year and watching him/her grow and mature.  Remember, do not hesitate to ask us any questions!  

Sincerely,
Mrs. Ettling    aettling@icsmail.org
Mrs. Donjon    mdonjon@icsmail.org

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