September 1, 2015
Dear Parents,
We have had an exciting first week here in fourth grade at Spencer Loomis School! The students and I are settling into some routines.
Behavior Management:
 Stickers: Students earn stickers for being responsible learners including completed homework and signed assignment notebooks.
When they accrue 25 stickers on a chart, they can redeem these charts for various rewards: homework pass, lunch with
teacher, sit in a special chair for the day, have our penguin sit with them for the day, bring their own stuffed animal, just to
name a few.
 Class DoJo: Students earn points for positive behavior following our classroom expectations, they also have points detracted for
not following the expectations. We look at overall point accumulation, but do work with individuals who are struggling with
meeting expectations. Both parents and students have access to this account. Please let me know if you need your child’s
information regarding signing into Class DoJo.
 Expectations: Our expectations are simple:
o Respect: We show respect to property, to others, and ourselves through our words and actions.
o Responsibility: We should responsible to ourselves and others by being kind, helpful, and following through on
obligations.
o Safety: We maintain a safe environment by accepting other people as they are, cleaning up after ourselves, supporting
each other during times of struggle, and following school expectations in the hallways, bathrooms, playground and the
cafeteria.
We have the following projects and events coming up:
Upcoming Events

Curriculum Night: Come to curriculum night tonight, Tuesday, September 1st at 6:30 to hear about our classroom and
procedures. Stop in the cafetorium at 6:15 to meet with Mrs. Allen and Mr. Jezuit.

Assignment notebooks: Please review and sign your child’s assignment notebook every night. There are often times important
details and goals your child is working on in addition to nightly assignments.

DoJo: This is a class management system to help us reinforce positive behavior in our classroom. The students earn points
when they meet expectations as well as lose points when they struggle. The overall points are measured and the students earn
stickers in class for improvement in their scores. So far we are doing fantastic!
Curriculum Bites: In our newsletters, we will highlight the upcoming topics/concepts in curriculum we will be studying so you will be able to
discuss and assist your students. Here are the concepts we will be learning about over the next few weeks.

Literacy:
o Workshop model: How we use reading through skills, structure and strategies to make meaning for deeper
understanding.
o Signposts: We will use 6 different signposts to help us dig deeper into text and look for connections.
 Contrast and Contradiction is the first signpost we are working on. This helps us look at characters and how
they are changing. Ask your student about this important signpost!
o Reading expectations at home: Read 20 or more minutes every day. Record your book on your log at school.
Parents ask your student a question about their reading such as, “Tell me about your story so far.” “Why would the
character do that?”
o Writing: We are working on the writing process beginning with ideas and brainstorming. The students have a writing
journal where we write a journal entry every day. They also have a writer’s notebook where they collect words and
ideas for future writing.
 Homework: Most of the writing will be completed in class; however, there will be assignments to collect words
and practice structure, mechanics and grammar of writing. This week we will be working on sentence
structure.
o Words their Way: We have completed the pre-assessment to place the students in their sorting groups. We will
begin the sorts the week of September 14.

Math: Our class begins with place value and will continue to work on these concepts through module 1, including comparing
and ordering up to 5 digit numbers, exploring square numbers, and rounding up to 5 digit numbers.
 Homework: There is less homework with Origo, however, we will send home the workbook nightly to complete
if necessary and for the students to review their daily school work at home with you.

Social Studies: In fourth grade we study the regions of the United States. We begin by discussing reasons people move
including economy, culture, geography and climate. This week will be focusing on constructing social studies notebooks to collect
information on the regions.
 Homework: The students will have an assignment to interview a family member and reasons why the moved
to their current home. It will be due on September 14.

Science: We will begin by investigating the scientific process. This understanding will help the students to understand their
science project that will be assigned later this year.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sharon Price
Sharonk.price@lz95.org
847-719-3300