FIFTH GRADE HANDBOOK

Welcome to Fifth Grade!  My goal for Fifth Graders is to have the students grow in the love of Christ, learning to become a stronger part of the community of believers and learners at St. Paul's Lutheran School.  Learning to be a servant of Christ takes a lot of work and commitment.  We are called to serve God by serving others, and the Fifth Graders will have several opportunities during the year to do that.

Fifth Graders work hard all year, learning more about the word responsibility.  Parent involvement in homework and projects is still important, but Fifth Graders take a giant leap toward independence and personal responsibility during the year.  That's a great and wonderful step!  When that step falters, parents become more involved in giving guidance and holding students accountable for their work.  One of the objectives for the year is to prepare Fifth Graders for the transition to Middle School in the sixth grade.  It's a different world in Middle School (lockers, multiple teachers, etc.) and Fifth Graders need to be ready.

In the following sections, you will read more about classroom procedures.  You will also read about choir, band, Chapel, and physical education.  A class schedule is also included, as well as a grading scale.

UPON ARRIVAL

Our day begins promptly at 8:45 AM with the pledge to the flag and a brief devotion.  It is best if your child arrives between 8:30 and 8:40 so he/she has time to unpack and hang up his/her backpack, hand in homework, sharpen pencils, hang up a coat or jacket, and put his/her lunch box up.  I realize that with traffic delays and the unavoidable difficulties of carpools, some days your child may arrive a bit late.  Our school policy is to mark "tardy" those students who arrive past the 8:45 start time.

HOMEWORK

Fifth Graders will have homework assigned nearly every day.  They will have more homework than they had in Fourth Grade.  There is time built into the day for much of the work to be accomplished at school.  Some students choose to save all homework to do at home, and that makes for a long evening of work.  The best policy is to do a generous amount of work at school and finish up at home.  I like the students to work at school so that any questions they may have about the subject can be handled by me during the school day.  It is appropriate for parents to check over work, but it is also good for the students to learn to handle this on their own.  A good balance is reached during the year.  Some students will be ready to do all work (except for projects and reports) totally on their own; others may need more support.  You know your child and what he or she needs.

I expect homework to be handed in when the day begins.   File trays are arranged by subject on one of the counters and work (with name, date, and subject) is to be placed in the correct tray.  Workbooks are piled on the counter.  Work that is not handed in on time will be considered late and subject to a penalty.  For the first quarter, 5 points will be deducted from the grade.  For each consecutive quarter, 5 additional points will be deducted from the grade.  Late work does not include work handed in following an illness, or work not handed in because of an early morning appointment.  Late work generally means that the student was in school on time and did not hand in an assignment by 8:45 AM.  If a student is chronically late with work, I will have a conference with the parents to discuss this problem.  After several weeks of school, late papers will also result in loss of afternoon recess.

Your child needs an organized system to keep track of his/her work.  On the first day of school, your child will be given an assignment book to use during the year.  For the first several weeks of school, I will check the book periodically to make sure all assignments and long-range projects have been entered into the book. Daily assignments are also posted on the chalkboard.  If a student is not completing work, then I will ask a parent to sign the book indicating that work has been completed. On the first day of school each student will also be given a hard plastic folder for assignments.  One side will be for work that still needs to be completed; the other side will be for work ready to hand in.  When your child arrives at school, it will be a simple thing to slip the papers from the folder and into the correct tray.  This also keeps papers from being folded and mashed in a book or bookbag. 

There are some assignments (such as Spelling) that are completed totally in school and must be handed in before the day is over.  I generally check through those papers before the end of the day to remind students to hand the work in.  Work that is not handed in by the end of the day will be given a grade of 0.  Not all of that work may be made up.  Again, the word responsibility plays a key role!  Homework and class work grades are averaged together, and count for 60% of the grade; test scores count for the remaining 40%.

MID-TERM GRADES AND REPORT CARDS

Fifth Graders receive mid-term grades each Quarter.  This is one way of letting you know the progress of your child.  The papers will be signed by both you and your child.  One copy of the mid-term is retained by you; the other copy is returned to school.  At the end of the Quarter, report cards are issued.  Fifth Graders who maintain an average of 94% and above are on the Distinguished Honor Roll.  Students who have an average of 90%-93% are on the Honor Roll.  The grades for seven subjects--Memory Work, Reading, Math, Language, Social Studies, Spelling, and Science--are averaged together to determine the Honor Roll or Distinguished Honor Roll.

MAKE-UP WORK

It is a simple fact of life that students will miss school.  When your child is absent, I will write up the work that was missed for the day.  You may pick up the work and books at the end of the day.  If your son or daughter has a sibling in the school, he or she may take the work home.  I do not have a firm deadline for when work has to be finished when a child has been ill.  Many times a child does not feel well enough to work effectively.  I expect the work to be done in a reasonable amount of time.   I try to explain how the work is to be done on the assignment sheet, and I expect parents to help.  If your family is electing to take a vacation and your child misses school, I will not give homework ahead of time.  Your child will have to make up that work when he or she returns from the vacation or trip.

FRIDAY FOLDERS

I try very hard to have "Friday Folders" ready for the class to take home at the end of the week.  The folder will contain graded homework, class work, and tests.  The folder may also contain the handouts we are asked to distribute.  I encourage you to review the week's work with your child.  Praise him or her for good work; help him or her to understand why other work was less successful.  I do not require work to be redone, nor do I ask you to sign the folder.  It is the child's responsibility (there's that word again!) to show you the work.  I do ask that the folder be returned to school the following Monday so work can be filed during the week.  If your child loses his or her folder, please replace it as soon as possible.  If a child has not handed in his/her folder by Friday, no papers will go home that day.

MEMORY WORK

There are two kinds of memory work.  One kind of memory work is assigned when we have completed a  lesson in our Religion books.  It is generally to be ready by the following day.  When our day begins, a quiz will be given on the assigned memory passage.  The student will see a paper with a lot of blank spaces in it.  At the bottom of the page are the missing words, in alphabetical order.  The task is to place the appropriate word in the appropriate space!  The child should also have the verse reference memorized (extra credit points for spelling the name of the book of the Bible correctly).  If a memory verse is assigned on Tuesday, it will usually not be due until Thursday, since we generally have Chapel on Wednesdays.  If a memory verse is assigned on Friday, it will be due the following Monday.  This work is graded, and is one of the subjects averaged in to determine the quarter average.  This work is always in the religion book, and I encourage the students to take it home and learn it.  Some students struggle with memory.  You can help by reviewing it with your child while you make dinner, wash the dishes, or drive to school in the morning.

The second kind of memory is found in the student's "Memory Folder".  This is memory work our pastors have asked us to have the children learn.  It is required, but not graded.  For the most part, the children have learned this material in an earlier grade.  The First Quarter the children will say the names of the books of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and eleven Bible passages.  The Second Quarter the Ten Commandments and their meanings will be done.  The Third Quarter will be the three Articles of the Apostles' Creed and their meanings; the Fourth Quarter will be the petitions of the Lord's Prayer and a Bible verse.  All of these will be in the Memory Folder, which should be available at school every day.  Each day has a time set aside for the student to come to my desk and say a piece of memory.  I will mark it off in his or her book, check it off on a checklist, and give the student a small piece of paper to fill out with his or her name and what was memorized that day.  Those papers fill our Great Wall of Memory.  The students may say the memory for that Quarter in any order.  It simply needs to be completed by the end of the Quarter.

HYDRATION POLICY

Fifth Graders are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school to use during the day.  The bottle must be a “sport” bottle, rather than one with a screw-off cap.  If the water is frozen, the student must fold a paper towel to make a coaster so the desk does not get wet.  Students may not drink from the bottle of water while I am instructing them.  Students may not share water with one another.  I encourage them to bring a separate bottle of water for use during PE class on Fridays.

Fifth Graders have time when we return from recess to get a drink of water from the drinking fountain.  This happens following lunch recess and again following an afternoon recess.

Water bottles may be refilled from the drinking fountain when we leave for recess.  It simply takes too much time for me to allow students to refill a water bottle when we return from recess.

Students who do not bring water from home will be allowed to get a drink if I am asked.

BATHROOM POLICY

Fifth Graders are encouraged to use the bathroom, if needed, before school begins in the morning.  I do not have a bathroom break time in the morning.  If a student needs to use the bathroom, he/she may ask permission, and the permission will be given, unless it is during a test, or during instruction time.  Provision for “emergencies” will be made.

Students have a bathroom break opportunity at 11:30 AM when we break for lunch, and again at our afternoon recess break.

On Fridays, the children will have a bathroom break time before PE class. 

I prefer that students use the bathroom at the beginning of recess, rather than at the end of recess.

During bathroom break times (not at recess), the students leave in groups, one group at a time.  When all the students from one group have returned, the next group may leave, etc.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

On Fridays our class will be lead in a physical education period.  On those days, the students should dress in clothing appropriate for playing outside, and wear athletic shoes.  The class will run from 11:45 until 12:30.  Since it is not practical for the children to eat lunch prior to the class, I would like them to eat a healthy snack that morning at 10:15 AM.  A healthy snack could be a piece of fruit, a box of raisins, or a handful of almonds or peanuts.  The children will not be allowed to eat a snack high in sugar.  I also encourage them to bring extra water to drink during PE class.  They may NOT bring sweetened drinks or "sports" drinks such as Gatorade. 

BAND

Fifth Graders have the opportunity to take music lessons with a band teacher and learn to play an instrument.  There is an additional cost for this.  It is not included in the tuition.  I encourage students to express their musical gifts from God by joining the band.

CHOIR

Fifth Graders may elect to join the Junior Choir.  For the 2006-2007 school year, the choir will rehearse on Wednesdays.  Students who have a gift of singing should consider praising God this way.  Singing in the choir also involves a commitment to singing at various church services and programs during the year.  The choir director will provide more information about this.

CHAPEL

The whole school body gathers to worship God on Wednesdays.  Parents and grandparents are warmly invited to join us.  Several times a year each grade has the privilege of presenting Chapel for the rest of the school.  We are especially happy to have you join us then!  Our guests sit in the back of the sanctuary, not with the children.  We ask that you model good behavior for the children by sitting quietly and reverently.  Please turn off cell phones!  If you would like to visit with other parents before Chapel, please do so in the Narthex.  An offering is gathered each week to support a mission project selected by the faculty and students.

For the 2007-2008 school year, our class will be "chapel buddies" with the Pre-K-4s.  The Fifth Graders will walk into chapel with their buddies, sit with them, and help the little ones learn to worship in a group setting.  During the year, there are several activities that the classes will do together to strengthen the friendship between the 4s and the Fifth Graders.  This is a wonderful way for the Fifth Graders to share their faith and their love for Jesus with some very receptive children.  I am delighted that our class has the opportunity to serve our Lord in this way!