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Welcome Letter August 20, 2007 Dear Parents/Guardians: Welcome back to school! I am very happy to be teaching here at Chester Valley, and am looking forward to getting to know and to work with your child. I would like to start by introducing myself to you. My name is Vonda Oswald. I received my degree in Education at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in 1991. I chose early on to work as a substitute teacher so that I could also have time to stay home with my children. I have worked several long-term positions all over the district and began my career as a regular classroom teacher last year. I come to Chester Valley from Scenic Park where I taught fourth grade. My children attended Scenic Park so I was very active with the PTA and in the classroom as a volunteer parent. Our class routine will be very informal. The first week will be a time for us to get to know one another and set up the rules of our room, learn new routines, as well as time to assess where your child is in math and reading. The first item you should look for when your child comes home is their homework folder; I will start to send this out the second week of school. In your child's homework folder will be an Assignment Sheet. At the end of each day we will all stop to talk about our day, what we learned, what we need, homework that needs to be completed, reminders for the next day and if there were any behavioral problems during the day. I ask that you read this every evening and sign it on the last day of the school week. This assignment sheet will be due on the following Monday. This is considered a homework assignment and they will be graded on whether it is completed. During the course of the year we will be going on fieldtrips to enhance our learning experience. If you are able to help us out by being a parent driver or chaperone I would appreciate your help. I am attaching an insurance form for you to fill out and return with your child. The Anchorage School District requires that you file one of these forms every year in order for you to drive any of the students on a fieldtrip. Attached to this letter is the Anchorage School Districts approved snack list. As of last year no candy or sweets will be passed out during the school year. I will be asking for snack donations for the class, so please choose something healthy. I am sorry, but this new policy also means no birthday treats will be distributed at school. As for school supplies I do have a couple of items to add to the generic list that is in the office: snack to be shared with class, two composition notebooks, and surface wipes. Most of these supplies will be shared. Please put your child's name with permanent ink on his/her backpack and winter outdoor items. I will also be happy to take old magazines for the children to use for various class activities. If you have a subscription to a child's magazine, I would be happy to take them when you are done reading it for the class library. I know this is a lot of information all at once, but we will all get use to the routine quickly I am sure. I hope you will all be able to attend our open house in September. This would be a wonderful time for your children to introduce you to their class and tell you all about their new routines and show you what they are learning. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at school from 8 AM until 4PM ( 337-9502) or by email (Oswald_vonda@asdk12.org). I look forward to a terrific year of working with you to educate your child. Mrs. Vonda Oswald |
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Curriculum Overview General Teaching Practices: Flexible grouping is used. Children are grouped for specific needs and for short periods of time. Cooperate learning is a regular part of instruction so that children can learn to work together in teams. Student seating is arranged to promote cooperation. Writing: Writing is a valuable part of the classroom. We will be writing in all areas of the curriculum. We will focus on creating different forms of writing, nonfiction, compare and contrast and descriptive writing. I will be teaching them how to organize their writing, generate ideas, how to write fluently, sentence structure, and conventions. Reading: Chester Valley uses the Houghton Mifflin program for reading instruction. Our Language Arts instruction will be from 1:30-3:00 everyday. It would be very beneficial for your child's reading success if you do not pull them out for any appointments during this time frame. Materials are provided at varying levels and interests. The students will be introduced to a variety of texts and receive direct instruction in reading strategies. Math: Over the years math instruction has changed, therefore, my
program may look different from the one you experienced as a
child. I will occasionally send home a letter that will tell
you what we are learning in math. Attached to the letter will
be an answer key to various math homework assignments I may send
home. Our math day will start with either a math message or
fast math. The math message will focus on various types of math
skills that we will be working on this year. They will be asked
to write the massage in their math message notebook then go off
to solve it with their classmates. On alternate days we will
be working on fast math activities, starting with addition and
ending the year with division. Social Studies and Science: The social studies curriculum this year will focus on Alaska and the different Native cultures. We will learn about the history of our state and the people who first lived here and those that joined them as our state grew to what it is today. In science we will be focusing on charnge as it relates to the seasons, change of weather and plant life. This is a yearlong science kit focus. These areas are taught through hands-on activities, research,
and group projects. We will utilize guest speakers and fieldtrips
to reinforce concepts |
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Homework Policy I believe that homework for children should involve their family. It encourages responsibility and good working habits. Please show your child that homework is an important priority and you value its worth by establishing a set time and place for homework to take place. The homework assignments will be written down daily on the assignment sheet that is kept in their communication folder. Please be sure to read this nightly and sign it on Friday; the assignment sheet is graded on Monday. If your child comes to school without his/her communication folder on consistent bases, he/she will call home and leave a message or speak to someone if parent/guardians are home. It does not mean you need to run it up to school. It is just to let you know that it was not at school today and please help them to remember to bring it in the next day of school. This way we reinforce that it is the child's responsibility to bring the folder to school each day. Homework will be assigned on Monday. Homework is to give your child extra practice, reinforce
learning, build study habits, and teach responsibility. Homework
will not always be graded with a letter grade. |
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Evaluation and Report Card Grades Evaluation takes place through each student's math, spelling, reading and writing benchmarks, teacher observations, and student-teacher conference times. Children improve and gain confidence in learning new things through regular practice working in whole class groups, small groups, and individual work. Children will be asked to do self-evaluation of work habits and skills learned. Self evaluations and samples of work created by your child will be kept in their personal portfolios. Any child that receives a below average grade will be asked to redo that assignment. It is his/her responsibility to do it and turn it in. All graded assignments are recorded on a grade sheet then put into the computer for the report card.
Report Card Grades Effort and Achievement Grades O=Outstanding Outstanding: Works to full potential Satisfactory: Works to potential Needs Improvement: Below satisfactory work Attendance: If a student is absent, his or her work may be sent home with a friend, sibling, or parent. Please let me know ahead of time if your child will be gone for more than one day. They will be given additional time to complete assignments. Please be sure to send a note with the reason for the absence to me the day your child returns to class. Behavior Guidelines: This year we are focusing on being Positive, Productive, and Peaceful People. When a child is caught doing something positive, he/she may be asked to "pull a card." Students have a goal to get to green. When he/she gets to green the Husky Pride coupon in the envelope is taken out. The student keeps these and gets to turn them in for rewards that we come up with as a class. I believe that effective classroom management and productivity
will prevent most discipline problems. Students who are engaged
in learning generally do not cause problems. However, sometimes
problems occur. For problem solving purposes, I use the STEP
program. When the problem first occurs I will give the child
a warning. If the problem persists I will ask them to sit in
the back of the room quietly and observe positive behavior in
the classroom. If the problem continues at that time I will
ask them to go to our buddy room and write out what negative
behavior they are choosing to engage in and how they will do
things differently next time. If I need to send your child out
of the room I will send home a behavior slip explaining the problem
and ask that you sign it and return it to me the following day.
If the buddy room did not help with the situation I will then
send your child to Mrs. Mitchell's office. |
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A Day in Our Class 8:50 The first bell rings and students come in. They are to place their picture in the hot or cold section of the attendance board. They are to put their things away and turn in homework assignments. We have silent reading first thing in the morning. 9:00-9:30 Silent Reading Math Math will follow silent reading. Our math block time will run for one hour to one hour and thirty minutes. We begin our math time with a math message, or fast math activity. We then go onto a whole class discussion about the skill we are focusing on for the day. I may assign a group activity or individual task after our group discussion. Science We will have whole class lessons or work on experiments in small groups while writing down our observations and lessons learned in our science notebooks. Language Arts Block We will work on whole group activities focusing on word study activities, themes in reading, daily oral language, computer time writing stories, and whole group lessons on parts of speech. Our Language Arts time is in the afternoon from 1:30-3:00PM. Read Aloud Student gather around on the floor to listen to some literature. I will use this time to model reading strategies. Lunch and Recess takes place from 12:30-1:20. You are always welcome to join your child for lunch, just remember to sign in at the office and get a visitors pass. Social Studies We will work as a whole group, small groups or individually on various activities centered on the topic of the state of Alaska and Native Cultures. Library is on Tuesday from 9:35-10:25 Computer Lab is on Tuesday from 2:15-3:15 Music is on Wednesday from 1:25-2:25 Art/Health is on Thursday from 10:20-11:20 PE is on Friday from 10:20-11:20 |
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Class Celebrations According to the Anchorage School District rules we are allowed three celebrations this year. During our weekly class meetings we will decide on what kinds of celebrations we will have. I will notify you in advance when we have made our selection and what days we have chosen. Class Fieldtrip Plan Mrs. Wilson and I have put in for several fieldtrips to compliment our curriculum for this year. We must wait until they are approved by Community Resources before I can give you a set date and time. The following is a tentative schedule: September/October: *Campbell Science Center to study Alaskan plants November: *Anchorage Museum to study Native Cultures and Alaskan history February: *Alaska Performing Arts Center to watch a performance of Jamal, African Acrobats. May: *Alaska Performing Arts Center to watch a performance of Shidara a Japanese drumming troupe. |
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Child's Name: _________________________________________ Parents'/Guardians' Names: ________________________________________________ Phone Number: _________________________________ I can help with the following each week: ___ working with students needing extra help ___ reading with students ___ helping with teacher preparation i.e. photocopying/bulletin boards I can help once in awhile with: ___ field trips-if driving you will need an insurance form
on file in ___ helping with a special class project ___ class book orders ___ telling about a trip, hobby, or subject in which I am trained* *Please describe: I can help in the evening or on weekends from home with:
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