Mrs. Cline’s Class and The Peanuts Gang
On An Educational Journey
Our Theme
This year, with the help of some fictional friends (Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and the rest of the Peanuts Gang), our class will be exploring the the exciting curriculum of third and fourth grade. Each month will bring new study concepts which we will investigate through our skills in reading, spelling, writing, math, social studies, science, health, the arts, technology and physical education.

Schoolwork
We have a 3/4 combination class this year, therefore, you may be concerned that your child will receive the proper amount of instruction at their level. I assure you all students will be involved in a variety of daily learning activities within their grade and ability level. Work that is completed in class will be sent home in homework folders. Please take a moment to review all your child's work. A star, check, sticker or stamp on the paper indicates that I have reviewed it. If I make any correction marks on the paper please encourage your child to review those skills. Tests and project papers will be given percentage. Only papers with a percentage grade are recorded for report card purposes. Any work receiving a grade of 60% or lower will need to be signed by a parent and returned to me.

Homework
Children in third and fourth grade can be asked to spend up to 40 minutes Monday through Thursday on homework. The homework is designed to be a reinforcement of what is being taught in class, as well as, being an instrument for teaching responsibility and accountability. Therefore, students will be responsible for copying the daily homework assignment(s) onto (a homework contract for third grade) and a (homework planner book for fourth grade). Children need to be sure they have the necessary materials for doing the assigned work each day. I will ask for their homework contracts and planners along with their completed assignments at the beginning of each school day. In addition to the assigned homework, a student’s unfinished class work may occasionally be sent home for homework. I certainly understand when circumstances arise which make it impossible or very difficult to complete homework. Should this circumstance happen to you, please write me a note or initial the homework item (s) that couldn’t be completed on the homework contract otherwise, I will expect to see all homework returned to school.
All homework is grade level appropriate and not meant to be an avenue for advanced curriculum. My philosophy on homework is to work hard with the students in class and keep homework to a minimum manageable amount. I encourage families that want more quantity or challenge to meet those needs through personal reading. I will review all homework and record each child’s effort weekly. Some homework will be self corrected by your child in class. Only homework requiring a second look by you will be returned.

Progress Reports
It is my intention to keep you as informed of your child's progress in my class as possible, therefore, in addition to comments on your child’s weekly work, I will be sending home periodic progress reports and or using online grading. Depending upon the student’s work some reports may be short and informal and others they may be quite detailed.

Report cards
Report cards will be given out at the end of each trimester. They will be accompanied by parent / teacher conferences at the first (November) and second (March) trimesters.

Birthdays
Birthdays are very important days to our children and I always recognize them in our class. All July and August birthdays are celebrated in June. While it is certainly not necessary, parents often like to commemorate the day by sending in class treats. Please keep in mind that in order to promote good health habits, our school has adopted a no food treat policy. Therefore, you may want to consider the birthday donation program set up by our PTA .

Book Clubs
I will send home book club flyers bi monthly. You are welcome to order books for your children. Your orders do help us to earn points to build up our class library and the book selections are very good and reasonably priced. You will need to fill out the order form and attach a check payable to the proper book club for each order. Orders turned in after the due date will be returned to you as my orders go in exactly on the due date. Or you may want to order books on line from scholastic - our class earns extra books for all online orders.
I will furnish you with the sign in passwords for our class with our first order form.

Sharing in Class
We do not have a formal, personal sharing time in class. Therefore, students are welcome to share only items that may be of interest to a unit of study in our class. If you or your child are unsure if an item is appropriate please feel free to ask me about it a day before.

Getting To Know Our Classmates
It is important for children to share about themselves, as well as, learn about others. In grades K through 2 your child most likely had an opportunity to do this by being a “Star” of the week or some other form of recognition. In my third/fourth grade class, we will be creating “Personal Information Folders” in the first couple of weeks of school. There will be some at home information components that will need to be filled out (details to follow soon). We will share these folders by way of oral presentation in class. We should know each other quite well when we are finished. I also have several get aquatinted activities planned for the beginning few days of school. I hope to create a caring, sharing, and respectful atmosphere for all students.

Classroom Volunteers
In third/fourth grade, students are working more independently and do not require the same amount of parent involvement in the classroom that you may be accustomed to in the lower primary grades. However, I do welcome parent assistance with our class needs and I look forward to working with some of you. I address my helper needs at back to school night and I will have sign up sheets available for those interested! When we have class parties, I am always happy to welcome any parent that wishes to join us.