Reed Elementary 2014-15
Absences and Tardies:
 School begins promptly at 7:55 am.
 **Students arriving after 7:55 am must sign in at the
reception desk and obtain a tardy pass before coming
to class.
 In the event of an absence, parents should call the
school office prior to the start of the day. Messages can
be left on the school answering machine before and
after office hours. A hand-written parent note should
be sent with your child upon returning from any
absence. (Doctor notes are appreciated too.)
School and Home Communication:
 Red Agenda folders will have agendas, communication log, and









ongoing classwork.
Blue Tuesday folders will have school information and weekly work
including any assignments students may redo.
Homework Envelope will contain any homework for the evening.
Class news and important information will be sent via email.
The Reed website has each teacher’s webpage.
The Eye Opener will be sent via email on Mondays.
School Messenger calls to relay important information.
Progress reports will go home after the first 4 weeks of the grading period.
Report cards will go home every 9 weeks.
Feel free to email your child’s teacher and ask for an update.
 Together, parents and teachers are a team dedicated to your child’s
success! We will help him/her thrive in fifth grade!
Graded Work:
 Daily work and homework will make up 60% of the
student’s report card grade.
 Tests, quizzes, and projects will make up 40% of the
student’s grade.
 Students may redo most failing assignments. Work
will be sent home on Tuesday and needs to be
returned by Friday of the same week.
 10 points will be taken off per school day for late work
up to three school days. After three days, a zero will be
placed in the gradebook for the assignment.
 Late work is defined as any assignment that is not turned in
the date it is due as long as the student is not absent that day.
Homework:
 Reading-
Students need to read at least 20 minutes every day. At home
reading may be completed using a free choice text – chapter
book, magazine, online article, etc.
 Math Students will have math homework Mondays, Tuesdays, and
Thursdays. (refer to Math Expectations page on Mrs.
Dingler’s website)
 Science –
Homework assignment Monday – Thursday, THINK Sheets,
due on Friday.
 Any other assignments not completed during the school
day.
Make-up Work:
 Students are responsible for getting make-up work
when they are absent.
 Students have one day for each day they are absent to
complete their work before it is counted as late.
 If work is not turned in, it will be counted as late/
missing.
Updating my Child’s Information
Electronically through Family Access :
 Allen ISD is requiring all families to update student
information electronically this year.
 If you have not yet updated your child’s information,
please see Mrs. Deschenes in the office at your earliest
convenience. She can provide you with a password and
answer your questions!
 All forms must be updated as soon as possible.
How can I support my child’s
learning at home?
 Encourage your child to put his/her school materials in the same place
every day.
 Check your child’s agenda daily.
 Establish a "homework-comes-first" policy.
 Set limits on your child's television watching/ electronics before
bedtime.
 Tell your child that you expect him to write down all assignments in
his/her agenda.
 Have your child do the harder assignments earlier in the evening when
he/she is most alert.
 Put up a checklist in a prominent place to remind your child of
materials to be brought to school daily.
 Mark on the family calendar tests, projects, and important school
activities.
 Have your child put all school materials inside his/her
backpack before going to bed.
Language Arts and Social Studies
Curriculum:
 Our ultimate goal is to help every child feel
successful by becoming critical thinkers, problem
solvers, and avid readers and writers.
 We will use the district-wide units of study as we
plan our lessons and integrate our subjects.
 Possible projects this year:
 History Alive lessons
 Research on a given topic – related to social studies
 Six Flag Reading Challenge in the spring
 Bluebonnet Book Challenge with Mrs. Steffens
 Scholastic News
Math Curriculum:
Problem Solving
Place Value of Decimals to the
Thousandths place
Addition/ subtraction decimals
Measurement and Geometery
Multiplication and Division- whole
numbers and decimals
Display and Interpret Data
Fraction Concepts
Algebra Review/ Enrichment
Probability
Patterns and Relationships
Financial Literacy
Coordinate Grids and Patterns
 Homework – Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
 Homework is due the day after it is assigned.
Science Curriculum:
Unit 1 – Scientific Processes
Unit 8 – Energy
Unit 2 – Cycles
Unit 9 – Earth’s Energy Sources
Unit 3 – Weather & Climate
Unit 10 – Landforms
Unit 4 – Ecosystems
Unit 11 – Space
Unit 5 – Adaptations
Unit 12 - STAAR Review
Unit 6 – Physical Properties of
Matter
Unit 13 - History of Science
Unit 7 - Force
Homework: Think Sheet, sent home at the first of week, due on Friday of
that same week. Students may discuss answers with family members.
Answers need to be complete sentences. This will count as a “homework
grade” for the nine weeks.
How can I contact the teacher if I
have questions or concerns?
 Email us:
christi_stinchcomb@allenisd.org (Science)
jennifer_miller@allenisd.org
(ELA/SS)
jennifer_dingler@allenisd.org
(Math)
 Call 972-727-0580
 Schedule a Conference : 8:05 am – 8:45 am
Our School Parking Lot:
 Use the northwest entrance only.
 Do not drop off students anywhere but along the sidewalk. Students should never





be asked to walk through the parking lot unattended.
When visiting the school, please do not park along curb in the front of the school,
this area is reserved for buses and daycare vans only. Always use a parking space
when coming inside.
5th grade students will be dismissed at 2:55 pm
Remain in your car and follow the flow of traffic around the lot. Teachers and
students will be watching and students will be sent to your car.
Student Safety Signs are provided to each family picking up students by car each day.
Please attach it to your visor or place it on the dashboard of your car each day during
pick up. The signs will speed up dismissal and are also helpful during rainy
weather when students wait in the gym. School staff can quickly see which child
you are picking up and bring him/her to your car.
Car signs are also a safety measure to ensure we are releasing students to the
correct adult. Please help us by ALWAYS having your car sign visible.
Parent Waiting Area:
 This is a location for parents who choose to park and walk to the
school to pick up their children each afternoon.
 To help staff ensure we are releasing students to the correct adult, we
ask that parents have the student safety sign provided by the school
that states their student’s name and grade. Parents will show the sign
to the staff member on duty and students will be sent to the
parent.
 The Parent Waiting Area is NOT an attempt to keep parents away from
teachers or to extend the amount of time it takes to unite parents with
students after school. It was created to provide a place for parents
to wait that will still allow teachers to focus completely on
ensuring all students are dismissed safely. Your child’s safety is
our number one concern!
 Parents who need to speak to a teacher can still do so by scheduling an
appointment or waiting until approximately 3:15 when students are all
dismissed for the day.
Camp Information:
 Collin County Adventure Camp Dates – Nov. 5 – 7.
 Payments are due September 19th.
 We accept cash, checks payable to Reed (with DL #) and online
payments through the web store.
 You may make multiple payments or all at once – whatever is
easiest for your family!
 Our goal is that every child who wants to attend camp, gets that
opportunity. If you have concerns – please contact us!
 Camp Chaperones are still needed! Let’s Talk!
 Online information
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you
have any concerns or questions.