“The race for excellence has no finish line.” Goals Night

1. “The race for excellence has no finish line.”Goals Night Presented to you by the 5th Grade Team: Ms. Forge Mr. Gordon Ms. Minor Mrs. Roddy Mrs. Williams

2. Welcome to 5th Grade! Parents, we need you!

3. Winning is a habit!What you can do… • Email, call, set up a conference, or write notes to your child’s teachers. • Never be O.K. with a failing grade. • Teach and enforce proper behavior. • Make sure your child is on time for school. • Send extra supplies for the class. • Volunteer (field trips, classroom, field day). • Ask questions (about everything).

4. Perfect Attendance Please be on time; EVERY tardy counts 1 day at home can be excused with a handwritten note 3 or more days require a valid [original] doctor’s note EVERY absence requires a note Excessive absences directly affect learning

5. Daily Schedule • Breakfast/ Arrival 7:30 – 8:00 • 1st Period 8:00 – 9:30 • 2nd Period 9:30-10:45 • 3rd Period 10:45-1:50 • Co-curricular/Teacher Planning 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. • Lunch 12:20 – 12:50 p.m. • Recess 12:50 – 1:20 p.m. • 4th Period 1:50 – 3:15

6. Managing Behavior Communicate with teachers (esp. new phone numbers/addresses) Parents, you too exhibit positive character traits (say please, thank you, excuse me, show how to get along with others, give compliments to others, praise each other) Self-Discipline (behaving when no one is watching) Structure (order, organization, respect)

7. Let’s be Positive • Parents, you too exhibit positive character traits (say please, thank you, excuse me, show how to get along with others, give compliments to others, no cussing, praise each other) • Praise your children for their effort, for trying, for working hard, for taking risks, etc.

8. Learn and Grow “It's not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it, myself.” ~Joyce Maynard

9. Change can be Good “If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”  ~C.G. Jung, Integration of the Personality, 1939

10. Actions speak louder than words… “In bringing up children, spend on them half as much money and twice as much time.”  ~Author Unknown “What's done to children, they will do to society.” ~Karl Menninger

11. Grading Policy • A = 90-100 * B = 80-89 * C = 70-79 * F = Below 70Subjects: Reading/ELA, Math, Social Studies, & Science Categories: • Daily Work 70% - homework, classwork, common assessments, minor projects, participation, journals, etc. • Major Grade 30% - tests, major projects (requires multiple days of independent work), research papers, benchmark tests

12. Ways You Can Help Let your child do the assignment independently Ask them to explain the work to you Check that work is being completed Provide a quiet spot and designated time

13. Shooting for Success… • Supplies Teacher requested materials for special projects: • Desoto City Library Card • 2 – Science Fair Tri-fold Display Board 36”x48” • 1 – Poster boards 22”x28” (any color) • 1 – Poster boards with ghost lines • 1 – USB Flash Drive 4GB • For home, please keep a supply of:Notebook paper, ruler, pencils, scissors, markers, crayons, glue, construction paper • Common Assessments and Benchmarks are scheduled throughout the school year each six weeks • Newsletter (every 6 weeks) • Progress Reports (every 3 weeks) • Check the homework folder daily (for agenda, information, flyers, forms, assignments, notes from the teacher, etc.)

14. Field Trips Field trip volunteers needed- See Ms. Hamilton in front office for volunteer background check (2 weeks in advance). Students with continued behavior concerns must be escorted by a parent. Parents will be notified in advance. To ensure securing the trip, permission slips and any costs must be met by the deadline.

15. Math • Use place value to represent whole numbers up to 999,999. • Use place value to read, write, and compare whole numbers. • Use addition and subtraction to solve problems including whole numbers and decimals. • Round whole numbers to the nearest tens, hundreds, or thousands. • Students need to memorize the multiplication facts (fact fluency) to 12

16. Investigating Science • Understand and illustrate safety rules of the science lab. • Understand our responsibility to reduce, reuse and recycle. • Study the physical properties of matter. • Observe and record changes in the states of matter • Conduct laboratory investigations. • Communicate valid conclusions. • Construct simple graphs, tables, and charts. • Compare and contrast a variety of mixtures and solutions.

17. Social Studies • Identify and describe the cardinal direction. • Identify and use all components of a map. • Compare and contrast Texas regions with other regions in the United States. • Apply the geographic tools of a compass, symbols, grid systems, legends, and scale to interpret maps.

18. Reading • Read everyday for at least 30 minutes • Difference between fluency and comprehension • Your child needs to be reading 150 words per minute fluently • For comprehension: • Preview the text before reading • Make predictions • Visualize, ask questions, and check periodically for comprehension • When done, summarize the reading. • AR Tests • iStation • Spelling City – www.spellingcity.com/kforge

19. STAAR Test Students: • Will take the STAAR test • Math – March 31 • Reading – April 1 • Science – April 22 • Have 4 hours to take each test

20. The 5th Grade Team The “Awesome” Amber Terrace Elementary 224 Amber Ln. 972-223-8757 Dr. Emory Price, Principal Ms. Forge Reading,LA 5A Keegan.forge@desotoisd.org Ms. RoddySocial Studies 5B Lavalda.roddy@desotoisd.org Ms. Minor Science 5C Sharay.minor@desotoisd.org Mrs. Williams Math 5D Latoya.williams@desotoisd.org Mr. Gordon Bilingual 5ERichard.gordon@desotoisd.org

21. Let’s Have A Soaring Good Year!