Mrs. Buhac 4 th Grade

1. Mrs. Buhac4th Grade 2013-2014 Team Up in Room 21!

2. Welcome to the “Bee Hive”! • Room 21 is known as the “beehive” for several reasons. • As a matter of fact, it all started with my last name! Buhac can be a challenging word at first, so I’m usually known as Mrs. B by many students! That led to my decision to create “the beehive” in my very first classroom…it worked so well, I’ve used it since! • Bees are a very useful way to show how successful we can be if we work together and believe in one another ~ in fact, it is the animal used to show the Cooperation block of the John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success! • Imagine how happy I was to find that Coach Wooden agreed that bees can be a great way to teach students about the importance of Cooperation. That led to my discovery of the Pyramid of Success character program for children. We will use this EXTENSIVELY in my classroom, as in the other 4th grade classrooms as well.

3. My Goals & How we will achieve them

4. C.H.A.M.P.S. CHAMPS is a school wide behavior program that we will be using this year. Students are provided with clear expectations for every activity and each period of time in the classroom, as well as around the campus. This will help students by having consistent expectations and rules no matter where they go. We are very excited to share this positive and proven method to help our Vine Eagles achieve their Personal Best! • C- Conversation • H – Help • A – Activity • M – Movement • P – Participation • S - Success

5. Room 21 Expectations I have very high expectations for your child, and I strongly believe that children respond to what is expected of them. As such, students will be expected to be kind, safe, responsible, and honest at all times. In addition, the MOST important standard in our class, our grade level and our school is to show RESPECT towards classmates, teachers, and other adults. Anything less will not be tolerated.

6. Room 21’s Rules • Follow directions immediately. • Use positive language. • Work and play in a safe manner. • Work quietly and do your best. • Keep the classroom neat. • Follow the CHAMPS signs. The students in Room 21 worked together to create these rules, signed them and know that they are responsible for following these rules. These are the things they decided were important to them and what they need to do to be successful 4th graders. Please support them by reminding them to always follow THEIR rules.

7. Room 21’s GUIDELINES THE SIX “BE’S” • BE responsible! • BE kind! • BE respectful! • BE trustworthy! • BE a team player! • BE loyal! Guidelines and Rules are two different tihngs so as a class, students in Room 21 worked together to create these guideline as well. Guidelines help students think about how to act, behave and “be” at any given time. Please talk with them about their understanding of the different between guidelines and rules and why they chose these.

8. Positive Consequences Team points Bee Bucks Eagle Awards Teacher recognition Peer recognition Negative Consequences Yellow Card – Warning Blue Card – Loss of a privilege and/or parent contact Red Card – Visit with Dr. Torres and parent contact Behavior & Consequences Please review your child’s life folder as their behavior card color will be recorded for each day of the week. Team points will be given to encourage teamwork among students. The table that has the most points at the end of the week will be able to pick their jobs for the following week.

9. Life Folders • Go home every Tuesday • Weekly Progress Report • Missing assignments • Color of behavior card • Area for comments • Bi-weekly newsletter to keep you informed * * * * * * * * • PLEASE review the life folder with your child every week. This is one of the most crucial forms of communication between school and home.

10. Homework vs. Classwork Homework is usually built into my classwork and there will NOT always be another assignment required. Please ask your child to explain their agenda to you. When homework is assigned it will be posted daily on the board. It is the student’s responsibility to copy these into their Student Planner. Daily and Weekly Must Do assignments not completed in class ARE TO BE COMPLETED AT HOME. This is the majority of homework in this class. Classwork assignments should be copied into Student Planners so students can plan their time properly. Spelling words are to be copied into Student Planners on Monday. All Must Do’s are due by FRIDAY. Monthly/Quarterly projects based on curriculum Reading Log Research has never shown a convincing link between traditional nightly homework and a positive effect on student learning. However, it does show that students become better readers by reading at their ability level or at a slightly higher level. It also shows that children who read consistently will have a richer vocabulary and writing ability. Reading Logs sent home as needed Must be enjoyable and not below reading ability for Reading Log Can they read a favorite book that IS below their ability? Homework & Reading Log

11. 4th Grade Curriculum • English Language Arts • Imagine It! • Emphasis on skills and strategies for phonemic awareness, comprehension, writing, spelling and vocabulary development • Mathematics • enVisionMath • Understand large numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers. • Describe and compare simple fractions and decimals. • Understand properties of plane geometric figures. • Science/Social Studies • California Science • Our California/California Studies Weekly • Life, Earth and Physical Science • California history, geography, civics and government, economics and culture • Physical Education • Sparks • Emphasis on healthy choices • Cardiovascular health and endurance • Teamwork

12. Grading • Daily Practice: • Stamps, smiling faces, stars, stickers, check marks • Formal Grading: • 1: Student is working far below grade level. Minimum effort or understanding. • 2: Student is working at a basic level (starting to get it but not quite there yet). Keep trying! • 3: Student work is proficient and meeting grade level expectations. Pyramid of Success being used. • 4: Student work is above grade level expectations. Personal best in effort and achievement. • Rubrics

13. Book Orders • Monthly or every other • Use checks made out to Scholastic Book Clubs • Send book order (with STUDENT NAME) in an envelope marked “Book Order” with child’s name and amount enclosed. • Competitively priced and great for • class points to build our library

14. Communication • Call of the Day • Life Folders!!!** • Student Planners • Phone • Email** (jbuhac@wcusd.org) • Website** at http://teacherweb.com/CA/VineSchool/MrsBuhac

15. Website • http://teacherweb.com/CA/VineSchool/MrsBuhac • Weekly Must Do assignments • Spelling words • Vocabulary words • Homework assignments • Announcements • Helpful websites and links

16. Team Eagles Important News • There are some new polices as well as some to remind you of - • Perfect Attendance: NO tardies, must attend school until at least 12 p.m. EVERY DAY. • Parking lot is closed, an adult MUST pick up the student. I will not send students across the parking lot or across Vine without an adult. • Kinder gates/new front gate: Kinders must enter through the kinder gates and all other students must enter through the front gate. The gate between K-land and the main campus will be LOCKED. New front gate is a safety measure, please be sure to get a visitor badge upon sign in at the office.

17. Classroom College • Dream Big! • University of Hawaii • Wednesdays are College Team Spirit Day • Order from U of H website, www.fansedge.com, Amazon.com, etc.

18. Pyramid of Success • Make each day your masterpiece! • www.coachwooden.com – USE IT!

19. Team Eagles E – Expect success; learning is our job! A – Accept responsibility G – Give our best effort L – Learn tolerance E – Encourage others S – Show respect to everyone! Be part of the team…JOIN PTA!