Homework assignments reinforce content covered in class, help build organizational strategies, and develop time management skills. In fifth grade, homework is generally expected to take 40-50 minutes each night Monday through Thursday. Please note that long-term projects may run into weekends. Late projects and assignments will receive a reduction in grade. Late work may not be turned in after two weeks. Students are expected to complete homework independently. A parent’s job it to provide an appropriate work place, check that work is finished, and to make sure assignments are in the binder and ready to be turned in on the due date. Please monitor your child’s time spent on homework. If a particular assignment is taking an inordinate amount of time to complete, please indicate minutes spent on the assignment and sign the page. Your signature will serve to excuse the rest of the assignment and will provide me with valuable feedback about your child’s instructional needs. Students are capable of consistently producing high quality work in which they take great pride; sloppy or incomplete work will be returned to students to revise.
Practice work is assigned to give students an opportunity to develop a skill or concept will be marked with a check or a stamp to indicate completion. Homework generally falls into this category. Projects, tests, and assignments used to determine mastery will receive a percentage score and/or a letter grade.
All student scores will be recorded in Power School, St. John’s online gradebook. You will receive log-in details for Power School’s Parent Portal at curriculum night. Please check the Parent Portal weekly throughout the year to track your child’s progress and work completion.
Each student will be provided with a planner on the first day of school. Students are expected to record all assignments and projects at the end of each day. It is critical for parents to read and review the planner on a daily basis to ensure work is being completed. Please initial your child’s assignment notebook every day during the first trimester.
Students earning a score below 80% will be given additional instruction and an opportunity to retake some tests. Please know that due to the nature of certain content, make-ups are not available for all tests–for example, end of unit tests. To retake a test, students must fill out and submit a Request to Retest form (you can print one off my teacher website). Retake dates and times are coordinated with the teacher of that subject.
Work ready to go home will be sent on Mondays in a folder called a Boomerang. The returned assignments are yours to keep. Please sign the cover sheet to indicate receipt and return the empty folder to school on Tuesday. Be sure to review all assignments in the folder…if any need to be redone, you will find them marked as such. Kindly help your child re-do work as needed and make sure it gets turned in again when completed.
Being mindful of how our actions affect others is an important skill to develop. In our classroom, positive choices are rewarded and gentle reminders and problem solving strategies are offered for redirection. If, after several reminders in a day, a student continues to make poor choices, he or she will complete a Setback Form detailing the inappropriate behavior and take it home for parent signature. A student may be asked to stay after school for an additional 15 minutes if necessary to reflect upon ways to improve behavior in the future.