4T Classroom Info

SCHEDULE:

Music with Mrs. Kenealey: Monday & Wednesday

Physical Education: We have P.E. in the gym Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We will have an OUTDOOR GYM CLASS or Climbing Wall on Friday.

SUPPLIES:

Students are supplied with all materials required to work at school. While it’s nice to have things like binders, gel pens, notebooks and markers, these items are unnecessary and result in extra desk clutter and parental expense. Specials items that are required for special projects will be requested through agenda messages. Recommended contributions that are not supplied include:

- pencil box or pencil case

- headphones (non ear bud style)

- box of tissues for our class to use

CLOTHING:

Students require two pairs of shoes: one for indoor use and the other for out of doors. We have daily physical education, so students must have appropriate running shoes at school every day. When the weather is appropriate, we may go outside for activities, so students need outdoor shoes that are appropriate for running and playing. In the winter months, it is essential for students to wear a hat, mitts, warm jacket, snow/splash pants and waterproof boots.

NUTRITION:

A child who eats nutritious meals at regular times does well at school. A complete breakfast is essential to your child’s well being. We have a mid-morning snack. Since only nutritious snacks are really beneficial, I will encourage those foods recommended in the Canada Food Guide as snacks. A piece of fruit, veggies, or cheese and crackers will foster good health. Please do not send candy to school. We will send uneaten foods home so parents are aware of what is being eaten.

As we are a “peanut aware” school, we ask that no known “nut” or “peanut” products come to school.

Children are allowed a water bottle (filled with water only) on their desks. A water bottle with a flip or squirt top is recommended to avoid accidental spills. Children are free to drink from the water fountains throughout the school day during our break times. We will ask the students to take the water bottle home every night.

CLASSROOM ECONOMY

Students in 4T earn points which encourages:
•    best effort in daily work : writing their agenda message neatly, Grade 4 level of daily writing, weekly spelling tests, etc
•    a positive contribution to the classroom community :being ready on time for activities, completing tasks on time, attending to instruction, staying on task, supporting their group members, etc.

Collecting classroom money also teaches:
•    math skills: addition, subtraction, counting, number order and making change

•    graphing skills (we count each group's money weekly and create graphs to represent the amount of money collected) which is also part of our grade 4 math curriculum

At the end of each month students in the winning group (students with the most points) have a chance to choose from a list of BONUS activities. The students will create the list of activities at the start of the year. The winning group will choose together THREE of these activities which they will be able to enjoy during the next month. These activities are a combination of student generated ideas and those I have created. They include things such as:
•    free gym time with a friend
•    lunch with a friend
•    pajama day with a stuffie
•    iPad or computer time 

At the start of each month the students will join a new group and attempt to earn classroom points with their new group members.

HOMEWORK:

Students in 4T will have their Home Reading homework every night. Please see the Home Reading notebook for more information or check out the Home Reading button on 4T website.

Occasionally, students will have math homework. Students are given ample time in class to finish the questions assigned. We start working on these questions after looking at the SMARTboard and doing some examples together. If a student does not finish these questions in class, they will be assigned the questions for homework.

Students will also be asked to occasionally demonstrate their knowledge of a specific math concept. This could involve finding a pattern in your home, finishing a multiplication/division question, or other similar questions.

TECHNOLOGY:

We will use the Nose Creek Elementary website to provide information and resources for families. The Internet will be used, as well as school supported software including Notebook software for the SMART board. The students have access to a chromebook to use in the classroom on an everyday basis. These are being used as a TOOL and not as a toy. Students are expected to use these responsibly and share with one student in 4B.

ELECTRONICS:

All Electronic hand held devices are not allowed at school. This includes cell phones and hand held games. Please have your child keep these at home.

TOYS:

HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNICATION:

We will be using the school agenda to communicate back and forth between home and school. It will come home each evening.Please sign the entry daily so that we know that you have read our message for the day as this is are only way of knowing that you have seen the message and received important information. Please feel free to communicate to us through the agenda, by email, phone, or dropping by the classroom after school.