Room 172 Fall 2012

Welcome Kindergarteners! Get ready for a fun and exciting year!

Save the Dates

etter of Introductio

L

Dear Parents and Guardians, Hello!  My name is LauraPastuovic and I am going

to be yourchild’s kindergarten teacher thisyear!  I am so excited to work withyour child and get to know yourfamily.         Let me first start by sharingsome information about myself,professionally and personally.  I am the third of five children growing up in a military family, most recently in the greater Chicago area. My hobbies include traveling, cooking, and playing sports, especially soccer and field hockey. During my sophomore year of college, I studied abroad in Alicante, Spain, where my Spanish speaking and writing abilities improved greatly. One of my favorite activities outside of school has been volunteering at local schools. I am a graduate from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. This is my first year teaching here at Prairie View Elementary. I believe that our school is dedicated to providing quality education and caring for our larger community. This year I hope to work with you and your child and achieve academic success for your child. I look forward to meeting you all.

Sincerely, Laura Pastuovic

Open House and Expectations Night

Ice Cream Social

[8.30.12]

[9.7.12]

This is a great opportunity for us to meet and talk to one another! We will also review the expectations of our school and the classroom.

Please join us for ice cream. Meet other members of the community and socialize with other families.

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Classroom ProceduresThese classroom procedures are

meant to help your child learn to the best of his or her ability. Student Expectations

Students are expected to come to school everyday prepared to learn. This means that students should have all of their necessary school supplies at school (refer to school supply list). Once students enter the classroom they are expected to complete hard work. Students should follow all classroom rules at all times. This year it is very important for students to begin learning about responsibility. Every Friday, students will be asked to complete one or two homework assignments. The assignments are due each Monday. Please help your child complete these assignments. If the student is sick from school, the student will meet with me to figure out new due dates for all missed assignments.

1. Respect your teachers and your friends.

2. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

3. Keep hands and feet to yourself.

4. Take care of all school supplies and classroom materials.

5. Raise your hand if you need the teacher, want to answer or ask a question, or make a comment.

6. Clean up your mess.

7. Use inside voices when completing group work.

8. Be a problem solver.

Room 172 Fall 2012

Homework Policy

Classroom Rules

School Wide

Rules1. Respect Others

2. Respect Self

3. Respect School Property

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Management Strategy

Room 172 Fall 2012

My management strategy incorporates the school wide behavior management plan and my individual classroom management styles. It is based off primarily positive reinforcement but there is a consequence system as well.

Homework Return Policy

Every week if the student turns in his or her homework he/she will be rewarded with the choice of a BUG slip or a prize. The prize must stay at home, in order to not cause distractions in the classroom.

Students will not receive a discipline for not completing homework, but it is good practice for students to complete homework. In later grades there will be consequences for incomplete homework.

Rewards Most of the time when a student does something well, they will earn recognition through teacher praise or they will receive a BUG slip. A BUG slip is a piece of paper that the child will receive for being caught for respecting others, self, or school property. Students will collect BUG slips. If the student has the magic number of BUG slips at the end of the quarter than the student will be able to attend the BUG Consequences

When a student misbehaves, these are the following steps that will be taken:

1st – Student is given first verbal warning.

2nd – Student is given second verbal warning.

3rd – Student will be asked to sit in timeout for a certain amount of time or student will be asked to owe the teacher time during choice time or snack time.

** If a student hits another child or says a swear word, the student will get an automatic Pink Slip and a phone call home. A copy of the Pink Slip is given to the principal to make sure the principal is aware of the student’s

In addition…Students will notice that I use a lot of positive reinforcement to help other students look at others for examples of good behavior. Kindergarten students are highly motivated by teacher praise.

Embracing Diversity

In my classroom, I embrace all the differences the students carry. When I teach, I differentiate my instruction to reach the needs of all of my students. I realize that my students will have unique qualities such as their ethnicity, gender, culture, or socio-economic status. My goal in my classroom is for all students to treat others with respect even if they may be different. I hope to educate my students on other cultures and differences and learn to embrace our differences. Please feel free to come and share unique traditions or characteristics your child or family carry. Expanding each student’s knowledge of other people will have a positive impact on the

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More Information…

Room 172 Fall 2012

Student AbsencesSchool attendance is extremely important. Parents/guardians must call the office to notify them that the student will be absent. When calling the office please be able to give an explanation for the student’s absence. If a student is tardy, he or she must report immediately to the office at his or her arrival with a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must sign the student in with an explanation as to why the student was tardy. The student will then immediately go to class with tardy slip. The student is responsible for making up all missed work.

Snack TimePlease make sure that your child comes to school after eating a healthy breakfast. At 2:00pm the students will all receive snacks (unless it was taken away due to poor behavior). A student will provide the snacks each day. Monthly, I will send out a snack schedule. Please make sure to mark down your child’s snack day. I ask that you send healthier snacks like fruit, crackers, or granola bars as opposed to cookies and cupcakes. Please send 25 snacks with your child the day of his or her snack

day. Field TripsParents and guardians are welcome to join us on field trips throughout the year! Every field trip we are limited to 3-4 chaperones. Please sign up for which field trip you would most prefer, and we will try to plan it accordingly. (Field trip sign-up form will be sent out during the third week

of school.)

Student of the Month

The teacher will nominate one student each month as the “Student of the Month”. This student is nominated because of their good behavior and hard work shown in the classroom. The student will attend a special lunch with the principal and other “Student of the Month” winners and receive a medal.

Leader of the Day

Students will be randomly selected to be the “Leader of the Day”. The “Leader of the Day” will be looked to as a model for the whole classroom. The leader will get to be the first in line and wear a special shiny vest too.

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Developing Community

Contact Information

Room 172 Fall 2012

My goal this year is to make my classroom become its own community. This means that I want all of my students to feel safe and comfortable in our school, but specifically my classroom. Students will have an opportunity to work with all of their classmates at different times in order to better establish friendships between classmates. Also, during lessons, students will have the opportunity to work with their table communities. Group discussions will always be monitored to ensure that no one’s feelings get hurt during the conversations. Our classroom will be social, fun, and educational. We will learn from each other. Every student will come into the classroom with their own experiences and my goal is to share these experiences with

Please do not hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions, comments or concerns about your child. You can always schedule meetings with me as well if you would like to talk in person.

Weekly updates will be sent home with your child in the newsletter in his/her Friday folder. Please check your child’s backpack daily for important papers sent home.

Email: laurampastuovic@gmail.com

Phone: (817)928-2928

Thank you for your help and corporation.

Prairie View Elementary