Open House Agenda

OPEN HOUSE AGENDASeptember 6, 2007
1. Welcome: Thank you for coming!
2. Who are our VIP's?
a. Room Moms- Mary Hughes, Kim Barfield, and Mary Kalafut
b. Earth Mom- Karen Lindsley
c. Art Dad- Chris Kalafut
d. Fundraising Parent- McCullough
e. Reading Parent- still a need
3. What opportunities do I have to work in the classroom?
a. Classroom Volunteers- Monday- Thursday from 9-10 to work on specific reading skills with students, prepare classroom materials, work one-on-one with a student, or help Mrs. McAuley with procedures
b. Mystery Readers- Friday's from 11:40-12:00- read aloud to the class- book will be provided unless you have a special one that you want to share with the class
4. If you have not joined PTSA or signed up for the PTSA newsletter yet, PLEASE DO SO ASAP!
5. Take your quiz! You will be graded by your child!
6. Please look through some of these materials: Writing Journal, Math Journal, Vocabulary Book, Art Sketch Book, New Math textbook, Junior Great Book, and the Newspapers that are published in the hallway.
7. Your child would appreciate a quick note in their writing journal. It would be a nice surprise for them to find when they open it to do their work next time.
8. What does a typical day look like for my child? Daily Schedule- see attached
9. What are Ford’s School Improvement Goals?- see attached
10. What are Georgia’s Performance Standards?- see attached
11. Reading- Guided Reading, small group and whole group instruction, Specific Reading Skills- Facts, Main Idea, Context Clues, Inference, Sequence, and Conclusions, chapter books, book reports, literature circles, and Junior Great Books
12. Reading requirement= Four 15 minute periods per week- Initial log and keep in their binder. I check these for minutes every Monday. This requirement is part of the Reading Portfolio for Third Grade. I am very impressed with the amount of reading that the students are completing at home. Many of them are also diligent readers at school who use their time wisely during the day.
13. Reading: We will have Guided Reading groups each day of the week. Mrs. Hebert and Mrs. Ferguson will also be teaching small groups during this time. The books for each group will be based on the student’s instructional level.
14. Accelerated Reading goals will be made for each nine weeks. There will be a special reward for the students who meet their AR goals each nine weeks.
15. Sitton Spelling: - We will be following the county-adopted Sitton Spelling program. The goal of this program is to help your child become proficient in using high frequency words correctly in all of his/her writing. Each week we will introduce five new words and use them to practice patterns that apply to spelling. These are their core words, and will become their No Excuse Words. On Thursday, a pretest will be administered in order to generate the student's spelling words for the following week. The dictation sentences will be one of the post tests that will be administered on Friday as a spelling grade. The Sitton dictation sentences continually recycle previous high frequency words that the student should already know.
16. Individualized Spelling Words: A Sitton Review will be administered each Thursday as a pretest for the following week. The words that a student is unable to spell on the pretest will be added to his/her spelling list in their agenda for the following week. These words become the spelling words that the student needs to learn for the spelling test on Friday. For the remaining words, each student will choose pattern words, content words, or challenge words based on their ability level. The blog will list the words from which the spelling lists will be generated. Partners will administer the spelling tests on Friday. Please refer to your child’s agenda for their individualized spelling list for the week. Each student will have 10-15 words each week.
17. Language Arts- writing- journals, Writing Process- Prewriting, drafting, editing, revising, publishing, 6 + 1 Writing Traits- Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Voice, Conventions, & Publishing, Grammar- Parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization, Daily Oral Language, Vocabulary, and cursive handwriting
18. Math- number sense, addition, subtraction, time, measurement, geometry, data and statistics, multiplication, division, and a huge emphasis on problem solving
19. Math Compacting: There is a new Math curriculum, which will affect the previous Math Compacting model. There is a unit of study for each of the nine weeks. Compacting will take place the last few weeks of the unit. You will be notified if this occurs. The letter will let you know which group your child will be placed in and which teacher they will be working with for extension, regular, or concept placement.
20. Math Facts: Each week your child will take a 7 minute/100 problem math facts quiz. To progress to the next level (+,-,x, /), they must achieve 90% accuracy. To become a Math Buster, they must work towards 100% accuracy. Please practice these basic math facts as often as possible. We will also practice multiplication facts with Super Star Math.
21. Science: Scientific Process Skills, Scientific Method, Experiments, Microscopes, Rocks and Minerals, Fossils, Soil, Magnets, Heat, and Georgia Habitats & Organisms.
22. Social Studies: Maps skills, communities, landforms, citizenship, government, economics, Georgia history, Native Americans (Creek and Cherokee). Mrs. Miller will be teaching Social Studies to the students for four weeks of the semester during integrated studies. We will continue to supplement the Social Studies curriculum in our classroom during guided reading and with map skills during Morning Work.
23. Health: Classroom Guidance, Safety, nutrition, growth and development, disease prevention, family living, personal health, mental health, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
24. Technology in the classroom- computer lab, lap tops, internet use, resources to use at home, and Blog
25. Character Education
26. Monthly Projects at Home- Book Reports, Research Projects, ect.
27. New and improved teaching strategies that are expected to be implemented in Ford classrooms this year- More manipulatives, less worksheets, instruction that is based on the Georgia Performance Standards, differentiation strategies, extension opportunities for students who show mastery of content on pre-assessments, essential questions that guide lessons, cooperative groups, partners, choices, project based assessments, Books of the Month, and the Principal's Monthly Challenge
28. What is inclusion? How can collaborative teaching benefit my child? What are some of the ways that Mrs. Hebert and Mrs. Coalson will be used in the classroom during instruction?
29. Million Dollar Store- How much can you spend? How do you earn money? How can your child earn a million dollars when you volunteer?
30. School Wide Discipline- “Give me Five”, BUGS tickets, after school detention
31. Lunch: 12:00-12:30- Breakfast= $1.00, Lunch= $1.60, Adult Lunch= $2.50- Please notify the lunchroom in writing if your child is not allowed to purchase “extras.”
32. Specials: 10:15-11:15- PE every other day- PE, Music, PE, Art, PE, and Writing Lab- Students must wear tennis shoes for PE and Music!
33. Snack: 9:00- Healthy, easy to handle snack and water bottle
34. Weekly information, curriculum/essential questions, homework, specials schedule, and upcoming events are updated on the blog each week.
35. Agenda and Homework Binder: This should be taken home and returned each day. The Agenda is where we record our homework. Please initial it each day to acknowledge your awareness of your child’s homework and behavior updates. The Homework folder has a pocket for homework (Bring back to school) and a pocket for graded papers, school info., PTSA notes, etc. (Keep at Home). Please look at your child’s binder every day. Homework should take between 30-45 minutes for reinforcement and practice. Please assist if needed and go over your child’s homework with them daily.
36. Behavior: McAuley Constitution- Classroom Rules, Behavior will be noted on the agenda with an “X” and a statement about the behavior. Please initial and discuss what needs to be done to avoid a reoccurrence. Three “X’s” in one week will result in the loss of the Friday Community Celebration or X-tra Activity.
37. Money: Payments for book orders or field trips: EXACT amount in the money envelope, please- Make checks payable to Ford Elementary.
38. Report Card: Four 9-week periods- Sample attached with letter explaining how grades are determined for each subject, general homework is not graded
39. Early Release Dates= September 19, October 17, February 6, March 4
40. Standardized Testing- COGAT- September 26-27, 2007- Mental AbilitiesIOWA- October 1-5, 2007- Achievement TestCRCT- April 23- May 2, 2008- Criterion Referenced Test- Must pass Reading in 3rd Grade
41. Conferences will be held in January from the 22nd to the 28th. The students will be dismissed two hours early. Please know that I am available to schedule a conference with you anytime before or after school, or during planning. Phone calls and emails are other avenues to pursue in order to keep in touch about your child. Academic Updates or progress reports will be sent home on each student at the 4 ½ week mark of each quarter. Report Cards will come home after the end of each nine weeks.
42. End of the 4 1/2 Weeks- Progress Reports sent home- September 17, November 16, February 8, April 23
43. End of the 9 Weeks- Report cards to follow after these dates- October 25, December 21, March 14, May 23
44. Field Trips:High Touch– High Tech- Magnets–Georgiology- Hands-on experimentsFive Part Environmental Program- 3 Field Studies at Ford and 2 Field Studies at Heritage Park- Partnership between Cobb County Schools, Chattahoochee Nature Center, and Cobb County ParksVulcan Rock QuarryPerforming Arts Field Trip- scheduled by the county
45. Transportation Changes: If your child will be going home a different way than normal, please send a note. For your child’s safety, I must have written permission. Transportation changes CANNOT be made over the phone or fax, unless it is to go to ASP. It is a good idea to pay the $10 annual registration fee and keep a $7 balance on your child’s ASP account for emergency purposes. No one will be allowed to stay unless they are prepaid. If you don’t ever use it, you can ask for a refund at the end of the school year. ASP is a pre-pay program only.
46. Safety: In order to maintain a secure building administration requires all visitors and volunteers to sign in at the office, and get a badge that is to be visible at all times while in the building or cottages. Also, cottages must be accessed through the school building. To maximize instructional time a scheduled appointment time is imperative. Students should not to be checked out after 2:00 pm.
47. Parking: Teachers have been assigned numbered parking spots this year. PLEASE do not park in any of the numbered spots. There is a section labeled for parent parking in the upper lot.
48. Attendance: Perfect Attendance means no absence, tardy, or checking out early during the day. If your child is absent from school they must have a note upon return to school with reason for absence. It is very important that your child come to school on time (7:50). We begin our academic day immediately following announcements.
49. Birthdays: If you would like to send in birthday treats, they must be precut, ready to serve single snacks. They will be served during lunch time ONLY. There will be no food other than light snacks served in the classrooms. This is a Cobb County Policy.
50. Medicine: All medication must have a letter of permission and dosage. This does include cough drops.
51. Communication: Please feel free to discuss any concerns you may have. You may contact me through voice mail at 678-594-8092 or through email at andrea.mcauley@cobbk12.org. My blog also has helpful information that will help you stay current with classroom procedures. http://mcauleyapples.blogspot.com/
52. Questions and Open Agenda