Ms. Jones’ 3rd Grade Classroom Policies & Guidelines
Dear Parents and/or Guardians,
Welcome to 3rd grade. I would like to take this opportunity to express my delight in having your child as part of
our 3rd grade family. Information is the key to knowledge and success, so please read this letter carefully with
your 3rd grader. After reading and sharing this with your student, please sign the acknowledgement page (last
page) and return it in your student’s BEARS Binder. Positive incentives are available to students who return it
promptly.
Here is some general information about our classroom 
1. BEARS Binder – Starting the 2nd week of school, your student will bring home their BEARS (Being
Efficient and Responsible Students) Binder every evening, Monday through Friday. Inside you will find a
Communication Sheet, weekly homework (beginning Monday, September 14th), a monthly Class Calendar,
blank lined paper and student resources to support learning at home. Your 3rd grader should complete all
assigned homework and discuss his/her behavior chart with you every day. Teacher comments will be made
for days receiving a color of green, yellow, orange or red. After you and your student have completed
these tasks, please initial the communication sheet on the appropriate day. It is very important that
BEARS Binders are brought back to school, initials by a parent and/or guardian every day. When a
student does not bring their BEARS Binder back to school, it results in two color changes and a 5-10 minute
recess loss. When a student brings their BEARS Binder back, but not initialed, one color change occurs and
possibly 5 minutes of recess loss. When students bring their BEARS Binder signed, every day of the week,
they will receive Class Cash. Class Cash is used to buy items in our Class Store each month. Two
consecutive days of a student not returning their BEARS Binder to school or signed, parent phone calls are
made.
1. Homework – Beginning the 2nd week of school homework packets will be sent home and are due every Friday
unless otherwise stated on the Communication Sheet. These homework packets will contain daily Math &
Reading 4 Today and Daily Language Review (DLR) homework practice. Beginning the 4th week of school,
students will also need to practice math facts for 10 minutes every night and read their individually leveled
Reading AtoZ Book that will be sent home in a 5 x 7, tan envelope in the BEARS Binder. This book needs to
be read a-loud, each night, by your student to a family member. Students start reading from the beginning
and read the whole book each night. This repeated reading will build confidence, increase fluency, and
support good comprehension. These are very important skills needed by 3rd graders to move from “learning
to read” to “reading to learn”. AtoZ Books must be placed back in your student’s BEARS Binder and
brought back to school each day. Comprehension questions related to the book will be completed in class
every Friday. These comprehension questions will count as a Major Grade. Math 4 Today, Read 4 Today,
DLR, Math Facts, Reading AtoZ and a Words this Week Assessments will be given every Friday. A
Daily Grade will be given for Math 4 Today, Read 4 Today, DLR and Reading AtoZ Homework. All
Assessments given on Friday will count as a Major Grade.
Completing homework on time will support your 3rd grader in mastering 3rd grade objectives. If homework
is not completed at home, it will have to be worked on during recess. Not completing homework is not an
option in 3rd grade. When homework is not completed, parent calls are made. Please help me keep them
responsible and on task. I realize families and students have other activities they participate in during the
school week. This is why homework is given on the first day of the week and not due until Friday; to
provide some flexibility in completing it. Homework will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour each
night. 3rd grade is a pivotal year in a student’s academic career. It is important to academic success that
homework is completed each week. Please show your support by putting homework at the top of the
priority list each day. Thank You .
2. In- Class Assignments – In-Class assignments are due when indicated in class. I do realize that students
work at different paces. There will be opportunities (in class) for students to continue working on an
assignment if it is not completed during the designated content time. However, if an in-class assignment is
still not completed by the end of the week, it will be sent home on Friday for weekend homework and must
be returned completed on Monday (or the following school day; in case of a holiday) for a maximum grade of
70. Weekend homework does not happen very often. When students stay on task, all in-class assignments
can be completed. Weekend homework usually happens when staying on task is the classroom is not going
well.
3. Communication Sheet – By signing your student’s communication sheet located in the BEARS Binder, you are
acknowledging that your child completed their homework and discussed their behavior color with you. It is
your student’s responsibility to get them signed every evening. Please encourage responsible behavior by
giving your student friendly reminders, and signing the communication sheet each day.
4. Behavior Chart – 3rd grade uses the color chart method to manage and communicate behavior. The
behavior definition of the colors are located in the chart below.
Color
Purple
Definition
Great Day  No Reminders
Students start here who are in the classroom by the
first bell, at 7:30am.
No verbal reminders or redirection were need today.
Blue
Good Day  1 Reminder.
Students arriving after the 7:30 tardy bell start here
and remain if a verbal reminder was given, responded to
positively and the undesired behavior did not continue.
Green
Okay Day  2 Reminders.
The verbal reminder was not responded to positively
and/or the undesired behavior continued.
Yellow
Bumpy Day  3 Reminders
The student did not make positive choices for
him/herself after the verbal warnings and color change
to green.
Orange
Tough Day  4 Reminders
The student continued to make negative choices in
his/her behavior.
Consequence
These can add up to…
*Lunch with the teacher
*Shop first in the Class Store
*Seat cushions
*Great self-confidence 
2 blues = 1 purple
These also can add up to…
*Lunch with the teacher
*Shop first in the Class Store
*Seat cushions
*Great self-confidence 
Lose 5 min of Recess OR have a 5
minute Behave-Out in class. Parents
are notified with teacher comments in
the student’s BEARS Binder.
Lose 10 minutes of recess OR BehaveOut in class for 10 minutes.
Parents are notified with teacher
comments in the student’s BEARS
Binder and an email
Lose ALL of Recess OR have a BehaveOut in another classroom for 15
minutes.
Parents are notified with teacher
Red
Office Day  No more Reminders.
Undesirable behavior has continued and/or escalated.
comments in the student’s BEARS
Binder and a phone call.
Office Referral
Parent is contacted by Ms. Jones and
the principal, assistant principle or
counselor.
5. Rewards and Positive Incentives – It’s no fun making great choices and not having something to show for
it! So, here are the great things students have to work toward.
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Positive notes, emails, and phone calls to parents.
Campus wide “Pawsitive Behavior” coupons for weekly campus-wide prize drawings.
EAFK Character Coupon that is read during Morning Announcements and office reward given
Each student earning 15 or more purple days in a month (2 blues = 1 purple) will receive a free pencil and
eraser from the Class Store and eat lunch in the classroom with Ms. Jones as we watch cartoons. This
will occur one day during the first week of the following month. They will also be the first students to
shop in the Class Store.
Each student earning 20 or more purple days in a month (2 blues = 1 purple) will also receive $20 in
Class Cash.
The group or row of students having the most purple days during the week will get to use a seat cushion
the following week.
Students that bring their BEARS Binders back to school signed by a parent every day during the week
will earn $5 in Class Cash.
When students are taken to the restroom as a class, it should not take longer than 5 minutes for the
whole class to go and come out when it is used responsibly (their best time, so far, is 3:20). Each time
this goal is met, they will have two extra recess marbles moved over from one box to another. When
all the marbles have been moved over, the class will receive an extra 30 minute recess.
When the class is walking down the hall and another teacher gives a positive comment on their hallway
behavior, the class moves two marbles over. If Mrs. Moore or Mrs. Tucker gives a compliment, the
class moves five marbles over.
Marbles and Class Cash can also be earned spontaneously when caught making the right choice without
being asked and especially in the midst of challenges.
Class Cash is earned and saved by students to purchase a variety of items from the Class Store at the beginning of
each month. They can choose from pencils, erasers, homework passes, various types of toys and games, and gift
cards to the Sugar Shack. The Class Store is not only an exciting incentive for students to do their best, but it
also encourages good “money” management habits of budgeting, saving, and the responsibility and satisfaction of
buying something for themselves.
Our Class Store contains small, inexpensive items purchased from Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Dollar General, and
Oriental Express. Emile Elementary does not supply items or money to purchase items for our Class Store. I
purchase these items myself, with my own personal funds. Any small toy or prize items or cash donations for to
help purchase our Class Store items would be greatly appreciated! Thank You 
Please sign and return the last page of this packet. The class will earn 20 marbles for returning it by the end of
the week. Together, we can make model students and responsible citizens with a sense of accomplishment; yielding
a drive of ambition. Please, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have at djones@bisdtx.org or 512772-7620 until 4:30 pm. My daily conference time is 10:10-11:00am. Please email or call to make a conference
appointment so I can better serve you and give my full attention. Walk-ins are very challenging to serve.
Ms. Jones’ 3rd Grade Classroom Policies & Guidelines
Parent & Student Acknowledgment Page
I, _________________________________, acknowledge that I have read and discussed
Parent’s Name
with my student the Ms. Jones’ 3rd Grade Classroom General Policies & Guidelines.
I, ________________________________, have read these with my parent and/or guardian.
Student writes his/her name
I agree that I will do my very best to follow our class rules and procedures to be a successful
3rd grade student.
Parent’s Signature _____________________________________ Date: ______________