Welcome to 5th Grade

Mrs. Degener and Mrs. Gibbs

Yes, I was once a fifth grader.

Mrs. Degener

0Graduated from Tri-Center in 2005, Associate of Arts from University of South Dakota, and Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Iowa State

0Third year at Audubon0Kyle 0Ames

Mrs. Gibbs0 Graduate of Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD

0 Elementary and Special Education0 Daughter, Georgie, in San Francisco, Elementary Librarian0 Son, William,in Las Vegas Crew Chief for USAF Thunderbirds and wife Lauren, number one mom.0 Three grandchildren 6 months, 2 years, 4 years

Wiki

0 I have a wiki page0 www.audubon.k12.ia.us

0 http://5thgrademrsd.wikispaces.com/

Morning Routine

0Breakfast at 7:4505th grade stays in the cafeteria until 8:000Students MAY come up to the classroom at 8:00 0Students are marked absent or tardy at 8:18 unless we are notified of a late bus.0At 8:18 the fun begins.

Absences

0Please let the teacher and Kathy know if your child will be absent due to illness or for other reasons. You may email the teacher and Kathy or just call Kathy.

0 If your child is running a fever they must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to class.

0For every day that your child is absent they have one day to make up work.

0Classrooms are no longer “worksheet classrooms,” we cover a lot of material in class and do group work.

Report Cards and Conferences

0Report Cards0 Grades are on JMC

0Conferences0 November 3rd and 5th

0March 1st and 3rd

You may check your students grades on JMC at any time. Please talk to Kathy or Kristi if you have not used the online grade book. You may need a password.

School Closings or Delays

0KSOM Atlantic0KJAN Harlan 0Channels 8 and 13 out of Des Moines0You may sign up for text caster to receive notices on

your phone or email, instructions are on the school web site and Carla can answer any questions.

Holidays and Birthdays

0Christmas party only in the afternoon. We do not bring gifts. Please don’t bring gifts for the teacher. If you feel the need please buy a book for our class library and sign it as a donation from your child and the year. Classroom libraries are purchased by the teacher.0We do not have birthday parties but students are

allowed to bring treats for the class. We must follow the Wellness Policy, no homemade treats .

Field Trips

0Symphony in January0Living History Farms, 300 Years of Farming in April

Book Orders

0Book orders are a highlight for readers0You are not obligated0Teachers do earn credit to expand their classroom

library.0Make checks payable to Scholastic0Much cheaper than B &N or Amazon

Lunch

0Serving yourself0Need to move quickly but make sure that you are

eating a well-balanced lunch0Lunch numbers are your student ID numbers (same

as last year)0Lunch will be posted under “Lunch” on the Mrs. D’s

corner board0Cafeteria monitor will show you where to sit and let

you know when you can get a la carte (if you can.)

Reading

0 Students will…0 READ0 READ0 READ

0 CAFE is the reading strategy we use. CAFE is an acronym for the four major components of reading. They are:0 C for Comprehension0 A for Accuracy0 F for Fluency0 E for Expanding Vocabulary

Reading0The children will learn reading strategies within each

category. These strategies will become tools for the children to use to help themselves become better readers and writers.

0We will also analyze reading structures through reading four novels; Wonder, Number the Stars, Hatchet, and Holes. At our discretion we may add more.

Writing0Students will have three large writing assignments

0 Persuasive/Argument0 Informative/Explanatory0 Narrative/Expository

0They will also be doing writing projects within SS

Students will be writing daily.

Math0 Pretest

0 A grade student will do selected problems (No post test.)0 B+ or A- Student will complete odds or evens (Optional

test.)0 Any score of B or lower, student will complete all

problems the student has not mastered and take post test.0 Students will keep results of daily work and tests,

assignments will be based on their results.0 Daily work is practice and credit is given for completed

assignment.0 Test are 80% of their grade.

Science

0Mrs. Gibbs teaches both groups0Learn how to read a science textbook0Use evidence to support a statement0Some inquiry based learning0Classroom learning0Very little homework

Social Studies

0 Mrs. Degener teaches both groups0 Major Units:

0 Africa and Asia0 Migration0 Native Americans0 Colonies0 American Revolution0 Iowa History

0 Big Projects in each and in between – attendance is VERY important!

Specials

0Band0 Ms. Victoria Chargo

0Music and Choir0 Mrs. Tami Meiners

0Art0 Mrs. Julie Hanson

0PE0 Mr. Michael Strasko

0Every day0Do not need to bring clothes the first day

Homework

0Students will have math homework if it is not finished in class. Class time will be given.

0 Incomplete homework: parents must sign off on a late slip.

0Students that have three late assignments will be required to stay for after school study hall.

0Students that have a D or F are required to stay for after school study hall.

0Please check agendas for homework or to see what your student did in class.

Homework Continued

Testing

0 September: MAP testing is completed on the computer and results are usually available to teachers within a week

0 January: IOWA Test results are usually given out at March Parent/Teacher’s Conferences.

0 May: MAP testing will be given again so teachers can look for student growth and areas that may need more attention.

0 Please make sure your child comes to school well rested on those days. Try not to schedule appointments on those days as students will have to make up the tests and miss valuable class time.

Behavior

0Students exhibiting poor behavior will write their name on the board. The second time they will put a check mark behind their name. The third time they will lose privileges. Usually they will have isolated lunch. Could lose assembly or field trip privileges.

0 If a student consistently exhibits poor behavior you will be contacted and further consequences will be discussed.

Lockers

https://youtu.be/35ndqw6Kf0A