Welcome to Mrs. Molsbee's

Fourth Grade Class

Welcome to

Mrs. Molsbee’s

4^th Grade Class

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Fulbright Elementary! I am very excited to welcome you and your child to fourth grade! We have a busy, but exciting year in store for us. I know that together we can build a group of responsible, independent, lifelong learners. It is extremely important that we maintain a close relationship regarding your child. Feel free to contact me by e-mail (celeste.molsbee@lrsd.org) or by phone (447-4768) anytime. I check my e-mail frequently, so it's the best way to reach me. No question is too big or small. Let's ensure your child's success by keeping the lines of communication open.

Our school is online at www.fulbrightelem.org . I encourage you to long on the find information about our school and classroom. You will find important information if you follow the fourth grade link to my home page. I will do my best to update the site as often as possible and hopefully it will be a great tool for keeping you informed.

v    Attendance

Fourth grade has a very fast-paced, challenging curriculum. Attendance is extremely important, but I realize sometimes absences are necessary. It is the responsibility of the student to request and complete all missed assignments on the first day back to class. If it is an extended absence, you may call the school to arrange pick-up of missed assignments. However, if it is a planned absence, I generally do not provide make-up work in advance. Students will have 2 days to make up work for every day they are absent.

Students may enter the classroom at 7:38 and our school day begins at 7:40. Please be punctual! We begin daily morning assignments at the bell and tardiness will cut into the time your child has to complete these assignments. It is also a disruption to the rest of the class. Please refer to Fulbright's Tardy Policy. Tardiness will prevent your child from earning perfect attendance, and habitual tardiness will require an administrative conference.

v    Classroom Procedures

Your child should bring his/her homework folder home daily. This is a communication folder that must be purchased from the school store and is one of the required supplies. This folder will contain notes, graded papers, homework assignments, and a weekly assignment and behavior sheet. Please remove all papers and be sure the folder is returned daily. You will be required to sign and return the assignment and behavior sheet every Monday.

When sending money to school, please send it in an envelope with your child's name, purpose for the money, and amount written on the outside. This is to ensure that the money is credited correctly.

Fulbright requires that each student in grades 3-5 purchase and use an assignment notebook, sold in the school store. These are excellent communication tools. It is a great place for the teacher and parents to jot quick notes to each other. Feel free to also use this space for questions, concerns, or comments.

PTA information will be distributed at the beginning of the year. The PTA makes many of our programs possible. We would not be the school we are without the support of our wonderful parents. Please take time to join the PTA. Our classroom goal is 100% membership in our PTA. Don't forget – friends and relative can join, too!

            Our class will have a weekly newsletter that will be sent home on Mondays with information about that week. The newsletter will contain vital information about upcoming events, spelling lists, and homework assignments. This will be kept in the clear slip pocket on the back of the homework folder for students and parents to reference throughout the week.

v    Supplies

            It is very important to the learning environment that your child has the proper supplies. This is needed in order for your child to complete their assignments, Please make sure that your child has what they need at all times. Our supplies are consumable and need to be replenished as the need arises. Our school cart sells many of the basic school supplies. You may send money for your child to purchase the items they need.

v    VISITORS

All visitors entering the building must report to the office before going to the classroom. You will be given a visitor tag to wear for the safety and security of all children in the building. Visitors are asked not to interfere with the teaching process, nor to request a conference while students are in the classroom. I am not available to visit with you regarding your child while students are in the classroom. Please be sure to set up an appointment beforehand.

v    CONFERENCES

The school district schedules two conference days per year. A few weeks before conference day, I will send home a note with your scheduled time. If at any time during the year you would like to have an additional conference, please contact me to schedule one.

v    Homework

LRSD policy states that fourth grade students should have nightly homework. Homework will be assigned every night except Friday and will not exceed an hours time. Assignments will be posted on the assignment board daily for students to copy onto their assignment sheet. We stop every afternoon at 2:00 to copy down homework assignments and begin afternoon dismissal routines. If used wisely, this is an adequate amount of time in which to copy down all homework assignments.

Homework is to be completed and returned to school the very next day. Students receive participation points for completed homework. If homework is not returned, students will pull a card and homework will be completed during their recess time for deducted points. If homework is missed for an unexpected event, please notify me.

v    Curriculum

Fourth grade has a very rigorous, hands-on curriculum. Writing will be integrated into all subject areas. For more detailed information, please click on the curriculum link on the fourth grade opening web page.

v    Discipline

The discipline policy used in my classroom is designed to reinforce positive behaviors, provide consequences for negative actions, and teach responsibility and life skills. It will combine a color changing system with a good behavior lottery system. The students will be asked to change their color for inappropriate behaviors and/or poor choices. There will be no more than one verbal warning before changing a color.

     Green Card – Star Student

     Yellow Card – Warning

     Orange Card – Loose 5 minutes of free time

     Red Card – Behavior Document or Parent Contact

Depending upon the severity of the offense, an administrative visit may be required. If problems continue to arise it will result in a parent/teacher/ administrative conference. If you are concerned about your child's behavior at any time, please feel free to contact me about it.

Good behavior lottery system: students are able to earn rewards for good behavior. When a student is spotted being a STAR STUDENT (following directions, acts of kindness, making good choices, etc) they are rewarded a Star Student Ticket. They write their name on the ticket and place in my lottery jar. As the class makes good choices I will pull tickets from the jar. If a student's ticket is pulled then they are allowed to choose a prize from our classroom treasure chest or they can receive a Homework Pass.

**I will need parental support in keeping our treasure chest stocked with fun prizes. Dollar Stores and Oriental Trading have great items! Thanks in advance for your help!

Each Friday afternoon we will have a Star Student Celebration! Students receive extra recess, free time, or game time. If a student has not pulled any cards for the week or no more than one yellow during the week they will enjoy the entire celebration. If a student has been on yellow or orange frequently during the week, they will spend their time writing about how to make better choices.

v      Projects

           In the fourth grade, a heavy emphasis is placed on students working independently. We understand that the nature of our curriculum can be monotonous at times. Because of this, we incorporate projects into our class studies. Depending on the assignment, projects are to be completed at school or at home.

Projects to be completed at home assess the child’s ability to work independently and responsibly, as well as knowledge of the content. You will receive the assignment sheet within 2-3 weeks of the due date. Parents are allowed to assist their child, but we strongly recommend that the child complete the project on their own. Some assistance may be required if use of the Internet is needed. If a student does not have access to resources to complete the project, the parent or guardian MUST contact the teacher immediately through a note, phone call, or email, and arrangements can be made.

Projects must be turned in on the due date. No unexcused late projects will be accepted. Depending on the particular circumstances, I reserve the right, in my sole discretion, to accept a student’s late project the day after the due date for half credit. Projects range in point values of 100-500 points. In some cases, this could be ¼ of your child’s grade in a subject area. Creativity is highly valued in projects and in some cases earns a student bonus points.

v    Accelerated Reader

AR is a reading program at Fulbright. It encourages students to read books and then take a test on the book. You will find all the tests listed by title, author, and book level at www.arbookfind.com . The tests are on computers located throughout the school. By answering questions correctly, your child will receive points based on the length of the book and its reading level. Each month the students get to go attend the AR store and spend their points. This is an excellent reading motivational tool. I will assign each student a point goal for each quarter. You will get a chance to track your child's progress each week when they print off their own progress report to bring home for you to sign. Those who reach their goal for that quarter will receive a prize from me! Goals will be based on previous performance and can be adjusted as I see fit. Students will have an opportunity each day to pick a book, comfortable spot to read, and take AR quizzes. Students can read when they finish their work and can also take home library books. I have a classroom library, but these books are not to be brought home. Please encourage your child to meet their AR goal!!

v    Academic Improvement Plan (AIP)

Early in the year, I will begin reviewing test data from last year's IOWA exam. If your child scored below proficient, it will be necessary to develop an AIP. Please be sure to attend any conferences related to the AIP. We are required to have at least two throughout the year, and failure to participate may result in retention of your child.

v    SOAR

SOAR is a computerized assessment program which will be utilized throughout the year. Students will use this program to take benchmark tests at the end of each 9-weeks. We will utilize this testing information to track your child's progress and to help guide remediation and instruction. We have found this information invaluable as well as a direct influence on student achievement.

I hope this letter helped answer some of your questions; however please feel free to ask me any further questions you may have. Again, I look forward to everything this year has in store for us!

Sincerely,

Celeste Molsbee

Contact Info:            celeste.molsbee@lrsd.org (work email)

                                    celer19@hotmail.com (home email)

                                    447-4700 Fulbright Front Office

                                    447-4768 My Voicemail