Welcome to Curriculum Night!
Fifth Grade Handbook
Griffith Thomas Elementary School
2012-2013
Fifth Grade Teachers
Mr. Andrews
andrews_tim@dublinschools.net
Mrs.Howard
howard_marilyn@dublinschools.net
Mrs.Mast
mast_janine@dublinschools.net
Mrs.Tucker
tucker_janae@dublinschools.net
School Phone Number: (614) 764-5970
School Fax Number: (614) 718-8879
This is an exciting year for fifth graders!! All
students are assigned to a homeroom. The students will
arrive in his/her homeroom every morning and be with
these students throughout the day. The students will
switch classes for all academic areas. The following are
the subjects each teacher will be teaching this year…
Language Arts= Reading, Writing, Spelling
• Mr. Andrews- Science/Social Studies
• Mrs. Howard- Language Arts (will teach 2 classes of LA to half of
the fifth grade)
• Mrs. Mast- Math
• Mrs. Tucker- Language Arts (will teach 2 classes of LA to half of
the fifth grade)
Daily Schedule
9:05-9:20
Second Bell, Lunch Count/Morning Work
9:20-10:30 Class 1 for Andrews/Mast
• 9:20-11:40 Class 1 for Howard/Tucker
10:30-11:40 Class 2 for Andrews/Mast
11:45-12:30 Related Arts
12:30-1:15
Lunch/Recess
1:23-2:33
Class 3 for Andrews/Mast
• 1:23-3:33 Class 2 for Howard/Tucker
2:33-3:33
Class 4 for Andrews/Mast
3:33-3:40
Pack Up/Dismissal
Academic Curriculum
Skills and concepts taught are aligned with the
Dublin Curriculum as well as the State of Ohio's K-12
Academic Content Standards.
Grades
Students will receive grades in fifth grade for all
subject areas. Below is the grading scale we will be using
this year.
Grading Scale
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 63-66
D- 60-62
F 59-0
OAA Testing
There will be Ohio Academic Testing for fifth graders in
the spring. They will be tested in Reading, Math, and
Science this year. Practice tests are available at…
www.ohio3-8.success-ode-state-oh-us.info/PracticeTest
More information about testing will be sent home
throughout the school year. The dates of this year’s
tests are: Reading-April 30, Math-May 1, Science-May 2.
Guidance
Mrs. Cooper is the Guidance teacher and is always
here to help with any problems or concerns. She will be
teaching the students a series of lessons. More detailed
information will be sent home soon.
D.A.R.E.
We will be participating in the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) program this year with a Dublin
Police Officer. This program helps students understand
bad choices concerning peer pressure and drugs.
This will take place during the first trimester.
Spanish
There will be Spanish classes during the second
trimester. They will occur once a week. More information
will be sent home closer to December.
Conferences
There will be two sets of Parent/Teacher conferences
this year. During the first set of conferences every
parent will be invited to meet with your child’s homeroom
teacher. We can discuss every subject area. But due to
time and the amount of students you will be unable to
meet with every teacher during the first round of
conferences. During the second round all teachers will
meet in one room with the student’s parents to discuss
specific issues or concerns. The dates for the
conferences are as follows:
Thursday, October 18th or Wednesday, October 24th
Thursday, January 31st or Wednesday, February 6th
Absences
When a student is absent, there will be a "missed
assignments" sheet filled out and given to the student
when he/she returns. Please check to make sure your
child has completed assignments he/she has missed. If
you do not feel that your child has had ample time to
complete an assignment, please email that subject’s
teacher to ask for more time.
Supplies
Each student is required to bring several supplies at
the beginning of the year. Supplies will be kept in
his/her binder and "extra" supplies will be kept in the
classroom to use as needed. The following list is the
supplies 5th graders will need this year.
Binders
Every student will have a binder. All subject areas
will use this binder. It will have dividers to help keep the
five subject areas organized. Students' supplies should
also be kept in this. Students will need to make sure that
they take home and bring this to school everyday. It is
your child’s responsibility to take care of their binder.
Encourage your child to stay organized and to put their
work in the proper place.
Planner/Take Home Folder
Your child will be bringing home a Planner/Take
Home Folder everyday. It should remain inside their
binder. This is where we record all homework
assignments. Please make sure you are checking this with
your child every night to make sure all assignments are
completed and you receive important information.
Completed work assignments should come back to school
in this folder. Use this folder to send any important
notes or information to us. If you notice your child
coming home without their assignments filled in, please
inform your child’s homeroom teacher. It is important
that they are recording their homework each night. If
there is no homework for that night they should be
placing a NH in the box. There should never be a blank
box. Please see the example on the next page of the
fifth grade planner.
Behavior Expectations
We have a Positive Behavior System that is slightly
different from what the students have used before. This
is a plan that helps students make good behavior choices
and rewards them for positive behavior. Teachers will
record inappropriate behavior with a check system. The
expectations are…
1- Show respect for your teacher by quickly doing
what is asked.
2Take turns sharing your thoughts by raising your
hand and participating in class.
3- Use your time wisely to do your best work, and
have a purpose when up and around.
4- Come to class with all of the supplies needed to do
your work.
5- Use kind words and actions.
If these expectations are met, the students will be able
in to bring in their electronics (DS, Game Boys, MP3
players, etc.—no cell phones) to use for 30 minutes at the
end of the day on Fridays. They are also welcome to bring
board games. Students will be given “tickets” randomly
for good behavior for weekly/monthly drawings.
Your child’s behavior will be recorded daily in the
Planner/Take Home Folder. We would appreciate parent
involvement in this area by enforcing consequences at
home for negative behavior displayed at school.
Progress Book
Progress Book is a program in which students’ grades
are recorded. Parents are able to view student’s progress
and homework at any time. Instructions to access this
program are included in the Planner/Take Home Folder.
“Progress Reports” of student’s grades will be sent home
at the end of each trimester. Parents are required to
check their child’s academic progress weekly in Progress
Book and sign the space provided in their Planner/Take
Home Folder. Interims for each trimester will be viewed
online.
Communication
If you need to contact us for any reason, please feel
free to do that through a note, phone call, or e-mail. All
of the fifth grade teachers prefer e-mail. That usually is
the easiest and fastest way for us to communicate with
you. E-mail addresses are on the front page of this
handbook. Please contact the specific academic area
teacher for concerns with that subject area. Emails
are usually viewed at the beginning of the day and at the
end of the day. Any last minute notices should be
directed to the office.
Weekly Newsletters
You will be receiving a weekly newsletter regarding all
subject areas. It will be information regarding the week’s
activities. The newsletter will be posted under the
Thomas 5th grade teachers' home pages on the Dublin
City Schools website. (www.dublinschools.net). In order
to make it easy to access, we will be sending parents a
link to this website every Monday morning in an email.
Please make sure that we have your current email at all
times.
Birthdays
We welcome the opportunity for your child to bring
in a treat to celebrate his/her birthday. We will
celebrate birthdays in the commons during our lunchtime.
The students love to get out to recess after eating, so it
is necessary to distribute treats promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Visiting The School
If you are visiting the school for any reason, please
stop in at the office to sign in and get a Visitor's Badge.
Please help us to insure a secure building. If you would
like to visit the classroom, please schedule a time with us
prior to your visit.
Related Arts
The students will have "Related Arts" this year. The
four areas are art, music, phys.ed. and library. They will
rotate on an A-B-C-D schedule. Please make sure your
child wears appropriate shoes/clothes on phys.ed day,
and returns library books on library day. The following is
the 5th grade rotation.
Andrews
Howard
Mast
Tucker
A-
Library
Music
Art
Phys. Ed.
B-
Phys. Ed.
Art
Library
Music
C-
Music
Library
Phys.Ed
Art
D-
Art
Phys. Ed.
Music
Library
We are looking forward to a GREAT year
with your child!! 