“Quality Education Today for a Successful Tomorrow”

Cindy A. Lemar

Nodaway-Holt R-VII

Fifth Grade eMINTS Teacher

Phone 660.935.2514 or 2515 (school)

Fax 660.935.2242

Home 660.939.4535

Email: clemar@nodholt.k12.mo.us (school) buiehill@grm.net (home)

Class web site: http://teachers.emints.org/fy05/lemarc/index.htm

School web site; http://www.asde.com/~nodholt/

Welcome Fifth Graders and Parents,

This is an exciting time in all of our lives. Each one of us will have many opportunities to find successes and reach personal goals in this new school year. I hope this year meets, and even exceeds, all of your expectations.

We can probably expect that there will be many changes, probably even to this handbook, as the year progresses. New information will be given to you when those changes occur. Until then, please use this as your guide to this year. Please read carefully the policies concerning late work and the grading system. New to the fifth graders is the information on the I Can Club. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or e-mail me at the above numbers.

I am looking forward to a fun, but rewarding year. I am especially anxious to have a larger group for more cooperative learning strategies and new, different perspectives on objectives.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lemar

“Quality Education Today for a Successful Tomorrow”

2009-2010

Fifth Grade

Zach

Nicole

Haley

Macie

James

Maddie

Chase

Brody

Rachel

Jon

Trenton

Randy

Jakub

Samantha

Maddie

Marisa

Dakota

Aaron

Dallys

Ali

Eli

Kaiden

Carey

Zach

GRADING POLICY

I follow the grading policies and dates as outlined in the student handbook. All tests, reports, projects, and daily work carry the same grading weight in my grade book. Percentages are given and averaged to determine the final grade. Mid-quarter progress reports will be mailed home each quarter. I use a grading program on my computer and can tell you up-to-date grades at any time upon your request. Quarterly awards may be given to all students who receive the highest percentage in academic subject areas at a classroom awards assembly at the end of first-third quarters. Yearly awards for highest percentage will also be presented at the end-of-year assembly. Please study the grading system included in the school and class handbooks.

HOMEWORK

Homework is an important way to review and reinforce both old and new skills. Fifth graders will generally have homework in Math most nights. They will probably have some Communication Arts homework ( Reading, Spelling, and/or Language). Other than preparing for tests, there is little homework in Science and Social Studies. It has been my policy to allow time for working on assignments after the lesson is presented so I am available to assist students. Any late work will result in missing recess and staying in at recess for Homework room to complete the assignment(s). I also plan to utilize time during the day for students to read at school, but encourage even more reading at home!

Please review the policy concerning late work. Students will receive a homework coupon each month that can be turned in to avoid getting one late homework slip per month. Coupons may not be used for long-term assignments such as monthly book reports or writing projects. Otherwise, fifth graders are not penalized in any way for using their monthly homework coupon (i.e. I Can Club or awards). Students with no late homework will receive a homework award at the end of each quarter.

A plan should be devised to get homework home to sick students (neighbors, siblings, etc.). If you are coming in to get work for a sick child, please call the office first thing in the morning, and I will have it ready by early afternoon. If a student knows they will be gone, they should get their homework before their absence and it should be returned completed when they come back to school.

MARK TWAIN BOOKS

Twelve books are chosen every year to win the Mark Twain Award. Copies from the last several years are available in my room and the library. A list of those books and their authors is included in this handbook. Every student will read and report on one of these books monthly for August, September, April and May.* Scoring guides for the book reports including deadlines for passing the Reading Counts quiz will be distributed the first of each month. Students who read at least 15 Mark Twain books from any year(s) in the past have traveled to Warrensburg to the Mark Twain Literature Festival in March to visit with some of the winning authors and obtain autographed books. We are hoping to continue this reward for our students. These books also have quizzes for the Reading Counts program. *See Pizza-Hut section for requirements for October thru March.

Mark Twain Club

Fourth through sixth graders will have the opportunity to attend Mark Twain Club meetings beginning in September. We generally have five or six meetings per year which run from 3:15 – 5:15 p.m. Students are encouraged to bring a drink and a healthy snack for our break. Students must attend at least three meetings in order to go to the literature festival and participate in the Mark Twain Sleepover in April. Fifth graders need to read 11 Mark Twain books in order to attend the sleepover.

Pizza Hut/Book It

Students will be given a certificate for a free personal pan pizza each month (October through March) upon completion of a passed Reading Counts quiz on two Mark Twain book. Students who earn a certificate for all six months of the program will be given an award at the end of the year and have had the privilege of going for pizza for lunch in May.

Reading Circle Certificate

Fulfilling the Mark Twain requirements (15 books) to attend the Literature Festival will entitle students to the Reading Circle Certificate at the end of the school year.

Classroom Guidelines

• DO WHAT IS RIGHT (Be courteous, respectful, do not interrupt others, keep hands off others and others’ stuff, etc.)
• DO YOUR BEST (Always give 100 % and please do not say, “I can’t.”)
• TREAT OTHERS (AND THEIR STUFF) AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.

Class Parties

The class will observe the traditional holiday parties during the year: Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. Parents should be prepared to provide store-bought treats and plan an activity for at least one party during the year. A sign-up sheet will be available at Open House and reminders will be issued in the monthly newsletter the oldest child in each family brings home. Students will also be striving to achieve classroom parties based on positive behavior and academic successes. I will supply the treats for these incentive parties.

Students are welcome to celebrate their birthdays or un-birthdays at school. Please let me know one week in advance so our plans can be arranged for the party.

Visitors

Parents may visit our classroom and are encouraged to do so throughout the year. Please let the office or me know at least 24 hours in advance, and be sure to sign in when you arrive.

We’d love to have you (or other guests of your child’s) come eat with us, but the cooks need an accurate count by 9:00 a.m. on the day you’ll join us for lunch. Please call Janice by 9:00 a.m. and let her know when you’ll be eating with us. (Please consider calling the day before on popular menus like pizza, stromboli, and noodles!)

Notes

Please send a note if your child will NOT be following their normal end-of-day routine because they are staying for an activity, going home with someone else, etc. It is very hectic for Mrs. Ungles to field calls at the end of the day, especially on early out days.

Curriculum

Copies of the fifth grade curricula are available in my room. I will be revising and improving some of all Curricula this year according to new grade level expectations that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have developed. These expectations are supposed to be aligned with the skills each grade will need to score successfully on MAP tests and other standardized tests. According to DESE schedules, fifth graders will be taking the MAP test in Communication Arts, Science and Math this year. The Terra Nova will be administered in Social Studies.

Newsletter

Mr. Sickels does a fantastic job of preparing a monthly newsletter for our school. Please take the time to read it as it contains pertinent information about upcoming tests, projects, supplies needed for activities, etc.

Pyramid of Intervention

The elementary will continue the program Pyramid of Intervention. Please see the elementary handbook for the details on this new plan.

Fifth Grade Basketball

I will soon start receiving information about the upcoming fifth grade basketball tournament schedule. As soon as coaches are selected, let me know. I can post practice schedules on the web site and school newsletter and like to put pictures there as well.

Field Trip

As many of you already know, the fifth graders have traveled to Omaha, NE for an overnight field trip at Henry Doorly Zoo. This is a fantastic educational opportunity, and one the students will never forget! I strongly encourage at least one parent per family to attend. Please watch the newsletter and web site for more details as they become available.

Mrs. Lemar’s Schedule

2009-2010

Class Times per week Minutes per week

Math 5 @ 45 minutes 225 minutes

Band 5 @ 30 minutes 150 minutes

Communication Arts 5 @ 75 minutes 375 minutes

Sustained Silent Reading 1 @ 30 minutes 30 minutes

Time for Kids 1 @ 30 minutes 30 minutes

National Geo. Explorer 1 @ 30 minutes 30 minutes

Library 1 @ 30 minutes 30 minutes

Music 2 @ 30 minutes 60 minutes

PE 2 @ 30 minutes 60 minutes

Lunch 5 @ 30 minutes 150 minutes*

Recess 5 @ 30 minutes 150 minutes*

Science 1 @ 30 minutes

4 @ 60 minutes 270 minutes

Social Studies 5 @ 30 minutes 150 minutes

Art 1 @ 60 minutes 60 minutes

POI 5 @ 30 minutes 150 minutes*

Counseling 1 @ 30 minutes 30 minutes

* May be used for intervention

  Mark Twain Book Nominees 2009-2010

The Big One-oh D. Pitchford

Blown Away J. H. Harlow

Bravo Zulu, Samantha! K. B. Duble

Deep and Dark and Dangerous M. D. Hahn

A Friendship for Today P. McKissack

Gabriel’s Horses A. Hart

Garden of Eve K. L. Going

The Invention of Hugo Cabret B. Selznick

Night of the Howling Dogs G. Salisbury

Paint the Wind P. M. Ryan

The Story of Jonas M. F. Dahlberg

Way Down Deep R. White