4^th Grade Information

Welcome to the fourth grade.  We are looking forward to the year and getting to know all of you better.  We thought it would be helpful for you to have some information about a few things that might be different now that your child is in 4^th grade.

Switch Classes

Students will be switching classes this year.  They will have different teachers for different subjects.  By now your child should be able to tell you who his/her teachers are.  Students may feel a little overwhelmed at first, but they quickly adjust and will soon be sailing smoothly through the day.

Grades

Reading levels are higher and they will be learning many new math skills this year.  Students are also working out of textbooks for the first time and using them to research and locate information.  Sometimes this can be a difficult transition. Grades may slip at first, but with time and practice it will get easier.

Dress Code

The dress code for 4^th grade students is a little more strict, so please be sure to read that information in the handbook.

In the Mornings

The doors open at 7:20, and all students will go to either the cafeteria for breakfast or the intermediate gym.  Students will not be allowed to go to their classrooms before the 7:40 bell rings.  They will be considered tardy if they are not in class by 7:45.

Parent Conferences

We will schedule a conference with each parent beginning the first few weeks of school.  Since there are so many of you and such a limited amount of time, it will take a while to meet with all of you.  If you have something you think we need to know before then, please write us a note to let us know.  You may also feel free to e-mail us at any time.  Our e-mail addresses will be on the 4^th grade newsletter that we send home weekly.

Visitors

All visitors must have a visitor tag from the office.  Please don’t think that we are trying to be rude if we ask you to report to the office for a tag.  Not only is this a safety issue to protect our students, but we are required to do this as part of our job.

Volunteers

All volunteers must have a criminal background check.  Go ahead and fill this out at the beginning of the year even if you aren’t sure about volunteering.  If you wait until the last minute, you may not be able to help out because it takes a while to process these.

Graded Papers

Graded papers will go home weekly, usually on Tuesday.  Please look at all of your child’s papers, and let us know if you have questions.  Please sign the graded paper folder and any papers that have a grade below 70, and return those to us the following day.  Any paper that is a 69 or below may be corrected  for a 70.

Conduct Sheet

Your student will have a conduct sheet that will go home daily so that you can see what type of day he/she had.  Please sign this conduct sheet after the week is over and return on Wednesday with the signed graded paper folder.

Homework

Students will have a homework folder that goes home each day.  In this folder your child should have their conduct sheet, assignment sheet that they have copied their daily homework on, the assignment itself if not from a textbook, and notebook paper.  Please make sure to look at your child’s assignment sheet each day so you know what homework they will need to do.  They will have homework every night except for weekends.  However, weekend homework may be assigned on occasion.  Students need to bring their homework folder to school every day.

Bus Wristbands

The district requires the students to wear yellow bus wristbands each year.  We will let the students know when the bands are no longer needed.  Please do not remove or allow students to remove the wristbands at home.  Doing this causes us to have to make new ones which will take up valuable class time.

AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL

We understand that coming to fourth grade can often be seen as scary, not only for the kids, but the parents as well.  We promise to make it as pain-free as possible.  It is just like learning to drive – at first you might be nervous, scared, or maybe you even think you won’t be able to learn how to do it.  But after a little practice, you are hustling down the road with all your friends like you’d been driving all your life.  We will help your children through this process.  We are all here because we love children, and yours will be no exception.

Looking forward to a great year,

Mr. Thompson

Mrs. Willingham

Mrs. Thomason

Mrs. Bergeman

Mrs. Robertson