Dear Families,
Welcome to the 5th grade! I am looking forward to an exciting school year with you! We are embarking on a great learning adventure and I am very excited to “get to know” all of my new fifth grade students.
Classroom Management
Lindbergh is continuing the PBIS – Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support – school wide. You will receive a copy of the Lindbergh Matrix to review the behavior expectations with your child. Students are encouraged to be responsible, respectful, and safe in all areas of the school. The school uses a clip/color system to monitor behavior. The ultimate goal of this program is to teach/reward positive behaviors. We are also continuing our journey as a Leader In Me School, and we aim to practice the 7 Habits on a daily basis in our personal and academic life.
Student Planner
Students will be expected to complete all homework on time. Students will be given a planner and homework folder as organizational tools. Homework assignments and future test dates will be recorded in the planner daily. Please review the planner nightly and sign.
Arrival/Dismissal
The safety of all Lindbergh students is one of our main concerns. ALL adults (parents, grandparents, guardians) that need to come into the building at any time should enter through the front door and check into the office. Also, please wait outside for your children at the dismissal time. School begins at 8:40 and ends at 3:35 on full days.
Lunch/Snack
Our lunch time is 12:22 – 1:00. Students are allowed to have two healthy snacks in class. Snacks should be something quick and easy to eat while the students are working. Please no pop, candy, or dessert-like food. Students are encouraged to bring in a water bottle, just make sure the cap closes completely!
Recess
Students will have two 15 minute recesses this year! One will be in the morning and one in the afternoon. Students will also have an extended lunch recess on most days (we will be going outside after our lunch).
Communication
I welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your child’s learning experiences. Your child’s feelings are important. If at any time your child expresses concern, unhappiness, or worry about coming to school, please contact me through email at bushl@dearbornschools.org
You are always welcome to volunteer or visit our classroom. If you would like to volunteer this year in our classroom, a background check must be completed and on file in the office. All parents who wish to participate in classroom parties or field trips must have this done. This is for the safety of our children. I encourage everyone to come in to the front office and complete this paperwork early in the year! Many parents have already done this, but you may want to check with Ms. Pina to ensure your paperwork has not expired.
I am looking for a room mom(s)/dad(s) to assist in planning parties and activities in our class. If you would like to volunteer, please let me now as soon as possible by sending a note or email.
Homework Expectations
Students will record their “homework” in their planners daily. Reading independently is a BIG part of their nightly homework – please help your child set aside a good chunk of time to read. Don’t ever let them tell you, “I don’t have any homework!” Fifth graders should have about 50 minutes of nightly “study time” which can include reading, practicing math facts, practicing spelling words, and studying for tests, this includes educational computer time on MobyMax or MyOn. Homework is important. Students learn to plan ahead, manage time and “put first things first” …all skills that will help them to be successful. We try not to overburden students with a lot of homework, but please do not ignore the importance of independent reading and preparing in advance for test. Students who read just 20 extra minutes per day have an improved vocabulary and overall do better in school. Students who are prepared for tests earn better scores and feel less anxiety about taking tests. Those are win-wins!
Eureka Math
I am excited to announce that we have a new math program this year! This new program is called Eureka Math. The students will have a series of consumables that supports differentiation and remediation while keeping student materials organized and accessible. This Learn, Practice, and Succeed series also offers coherent and therefore, more effective-resources for Response to Intervention, extra practice, and summer learning. The three books that they will be using are called:
Learn
This consumable will serve as a student’s in-class companion where they show their thinking, share what they know, and watch their knowledge build every day. Learn assembles the daily classwork – Application Problems, Exit Tickets, Problem Sets, templates-in an easily stored and navigated volume.
Practice
Each Eureka Math lesson begins with a series of energetic, joyous fluency activities. With Practice, students build competence in newly acquired skills and reinforce previous learning in preparation for the next lesson.
Succeed
This consumable will enable students to work individually toward mastery. These additional problem sets align lesson by lesson with classroom instruction, making them ideal for use as homework or extra practice. Each problem set is accompanied by a Homework Helper, a set of worked examples that illustrate how to solve similar problems.
Important Upcoming Dates
Open House – Thursday, September 13th from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
We are looking forward to a wonderful school year. Please check out our classroom blog frequently as we post important dates, notes and other classroom information.
Sincerely,
Laurie Bush
*A special note….
At the Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony we like to do a slideshow presentation. We are looking for a couple people that would be willing to take on this task. It requires you to take pictures throughout the school year. If interested, please let us know.