Welcome to Open House

4th Grade!Mrs. Davis’

Class

Varner Elementary 4761 Gaydon Road Powder Springs, GA 30127770-222-3775

Meet the Teacher

Mrs. Monica Davis 12 years teaching experience B.S. Early Childhood Education P-5th Master’s in Reading Instruction P-12th

EdS. Early Childhood Education Live in Dallas with my husband and two

sons, Harrison, 7, and Alex, 4.

Daily Schedule7:15 – 7:50 Morning Work/Announcements7:50 – 9:05 Integrated Math Instruction9:05-9:55 Specials (Music, PE, Art, Lab, PE)9:55-10:15 Math Instruction wrap-up/closing10:15-11:04 Integrated Social Studies/Science/Health11:04-11:34 Lunch11:34-11:54 Social Interaction11:54-12:20 Spelling/Word Work12:20-1:10 Writing Workshop1:10-2:10 Reading Workshop2:10 – 2:30 Announcements/Dismissal

TransportationHow your child goes home from school is just as important as getting them to school on time!!! All transportation changes must be in writing. A note in the Agenda is fine as along as it is not a change in the bus #. To ride a different bus home it must be approved by administration that day.

Car Riders MUST have a car number/tag from the office or ID will need to be shown upon pick-up in the office.

School Time

School begins at 7:50 a.m.Breakfast ends at 7:45 a.m.

students must be in the cafeteria before 7:45 a.m. to receive breakfast

Absences and TardiesPlease send a note from home if there is an absence or change in dismissal.

Prompt arrival and regular attendance is vital to your child’s success in third grade.

Work missed while out of school will be sent home the following day.

Clinic Information ALL medications must be

sent to the clinic in the original container.

Please send a note with all medications.

Cafeteria Notes Encourage your child to make healthy choices

at lunch. Please utilize Meal Pay online or send lunch

money in an envelope for your child to take to the cafeteria. Children $2.15 Adults $3.25

Please come eat with your child if you wish. Lunch time is 11:04 a.m. – 11:34 a.m. Please check-in at the office and wait for us at

the cafeteria doors. No outside fast-food is allowed in the cafeteria. If you wish to offer a birthday snack or treat,

this may only be given at lunch.

Class Blog: http://

varner.typepad.com/davis/

Email: Monica.Davis@cobbk12.org

COMMUNICATION

Rules to Follow for Good Citizenship

Follow Directions Active Listening Respect Others and Yourself Walk Everywhere Do Your Best Always W.A.V.E.

Life-Long Guidelines & Life Skills

The Life-Long Guidelines and Life Skills provide a common language that helps to guide us in determining appropriate expectations for behavior that supports learning, and they set the stage for a safe and learner friendly environment. •Trustworthiness

•Truthfulness•Active Listening •No Put-Downs•Personal Best

When we do our personal best, we must use the following lifeskills:

•Caring•Common Sense•Cooperation•Courage •Curiosity•Effort

•Flexibility •Friendship•Initiative•Integrity•Organization•Patience

•Perseverance •Pride•Problem Solving•Resourcefulness•Responsibility•Sense of Humor

Behavior Management Plan

Individualized Clips will be moved

for negative behavior ~ If your child’s clip is moved to red, you will receive a note, email, or phone call home.

Incentives Tickets from

teacher for making good choices each day, tickets can be turned in for prizes

Important Information Daily Homework

and Agendas Please check your student’s take home binder daily for school work and important information. The binder must return to school everyday.

• Homework will be sent home weekly for the students. It will be due on Friday.

• Students will use agendas to record quiz/test dates and other reminders.

Varner Elementary Mission Statement

Anchoring in Excellence in a Safe Harbor for Learning

School Improvement Goals

Improve math achievement.

RAHRead At Home

Research has proven that students who read at home meet success. Reading Logs will be sent home throughout the year.

Reading 20 minutes each night is a minimum. Students who meet the goal of average of 100 minutes per week will receive a treat at the end of the quarter!

CURRICULUMWe are a standards based classroom which also encourage Higher Order Thinking! PICASSO and the Georgia DOE have great resources for listing the standards for fourth grade. http://varner.typepad.com/fourth/curriculum-standards.html

The main idea is for the student to “K” Know it, “D” Do it, “U” Use it, “C” Communicate itIt is my belief that ALL students can learn!

Overview: Balanced Literacy Classroom: (Pearson, Good Habits, Great Readers)

Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Independent Reading, Shared Writing, Guided Writing, Writer’s Workshop, Words their Way, and more.

“To” Students (direct instruction) “With” Students (Interactive Instruction)

“By” Students (independent Practice)Balanced Math Program: (Think Math, Harcourt) Mini-lessons, Direct Instruction, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, Math Workshops, fluency with timed math quizzes

Curriculum ContinuedScience:

Georgia Standards Performance based curriculum which includes:Earth Science: Physical Science:Life Science: Scientific Skills: analyze, measure, observation, investigation, comparison, questioning, safety

Curriculum ContinuedSocial Studies:

Origins of American democracy, study of ancient Greek democracy

Lives of Americans who expanded people’s rights and freedoms, Paul Revere, Frederick Douglas, Susan B. Anthony, Thurgood Marshall, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and others.

Locate major places on a map: Mississippi, Ohio, Rio Grande, Colorado, Hudson Rivers; Appalachian, Rocky Mountains; equator, prime meridian, latitude and longitude lines, Greece.

Basic levels of governmentGoods and services

Health: Good habits, nutrition, safety

ConferencesConference Week will be during the week of October 21, 2013. (Conferences will only be held once this year).

Report cards will be sent home at the end of each nine week grading period. Progress reports will be sent in the middle of the grading period.

Fourth Grade will have letter grade Report Cards this year as well as online access to grades through Synergy. More information about the new grading system will be coming.

Report CardsReport Cards starting in fourth grade are based upon a numerical system for Reading, English (Composition/Writing), Spelling, Math, Social Studies, Science and Health. The grading scale is: 90-100 = A80-89 = B74-79 = C70-73 = D0-69 = FThis year we are using the Synergy online grading system. You may access the grades and keep track of your child’s progress as their grades are earned.

Fourth grade is a HUGE transition to letter grades! Please encourage your student to complete and turn in all assignments! Zeros are AWFUL on an average!!!

Local Benchmarks or Quarterly testing are expected.

CRCT:Criterion Reference Competency Test

April 23 – May 2

TESTING

PECS: Parent Email Communication System

PECS is an email system to enhance communication with parents. Our goal is to send as much information as possible to parents electronically through email.

I have found email to be very quick and effective for the majority of the families. If you have more than one email, that is not a problem!!

If you would like to use this system, please submit your email address on the form provided in the classroom. (NOTE: Parent email addresses are not visible to others in the school-wide distribution list as we use a BLIND COPY format to send.)

PTSAJoin the Varner PTSA today! Only $6. The PTSA does so many wonderful things for the school, students and teachers! The goal is 100% membership!

http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/VarnerPTA/

Thank you for all you do! Thank you for coming tonight!

You are your child’s first teacher! You’ve done a

great job! Great kids!! Awesome Class!!! We are going to

have a great year!!!

Take a moment to write a note to your child and leave it at their desk for them!

If you have any questions, let me know.