Welcome to 5th grade!

Dear 5th grade families, I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer and is ready to embark on another year of learning and growing together. I am very excited at the opportunity to get to know you, and am looking forward to a happy and productive school year. Family involvement It is my hope that all parents and guardians will find the time to support our class by volunteering in Portable F. Throughout the school year there will be many opportunities to spend time in our classroom, which include Friday Family Read Aloud, Math Centers, field trips, and fundraising. In addition to this, it is important to know that families are welcome in our classroom at all times. I will welcome you any time you wish to join your child in our class and observe or participate in our learning. Please complete the attached parent survey to help me learn how you want to volunteer in our classroom. Field trips We will take about 4 field trips during the school year. These will likely include trips to the San Leandro Public Library, the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and the A’s Home Run Readers game. In addition to this, fifth grade students have the amazing opportunity to attend Outdoor Education at YMCA Camp Arroyo in February. Please keep an eye out for more information on Outdoor Education soon, and check out this blog post about last year’s trip to Walker Creek: http://speargrade5.edublogs.org/2014/02/17/outdoor-education-2014/ Attendance Your child’s success as a student is dependent on their daily attendance to school. Please make sure your child arrives at school on time every day. Breakfast is available to all McKinley students in the multi-purpose room at 7:40am daily. Students with perfect monthly attendance will be awarded a Perfect Attendance certificate and will be featured on our class blog. Communication

• Most of the communication from Portable F will be through email, telephone/text, and our class blog. If you have no access to these forms of communication

please let me know and I will make accommodations to ensure you stay informed.

• Your child will receive a McKinley Elementary folder, which will be sent home weekly containing important correspondence from McKinley. This folder will be sent home every Monday, and should be returned to school on Fridays.

Homework San Leandro Unified requires 5th grade students to have 50 minutes of homework and 30 minutes of reading daily. I expect all students to complete their homework on time. Your child will fill out their student planner each day. à You can help your child be successful by:

• Checking their student planner daily • Asking them questions about their homework • Keeping a regular homework schedule and sticking to it • Turning the TV off during homework time • Checking Engrade to ensure your child is turning in all of his/her work • Reading with your child

Grading

• I record all student assignments using the website www.engrade.com Parents/guardians and students will have access to their grades on Engrade and I expect all families to check Engrade on a weekly basis.

• An email invitation to your child’s personal Engrade website will be send out within the first 2 weeks of school.

• I make student grades accessible to parents/guardians because it enables you to support your child and hold them accountable. In the 5th grade we are getting reading for middle school, and it is extremely important that your child prepares for the academic responsibilities they will have as they progress in their education.

• Student report cards are based on the California content standards. McKinley Family/Student Handbook All rules, policies, and procedures outlined in the McKinley Family/Student Handbook will be followed to in this class. Please make sure you review the Handbook with your child at the beginning of each year.

I hope to see you at Back to School Night on September 11, 2014! Please contact me with any questions

Ms. Katie Spear Email: kspear@slusd.us Phone: (510) 618-4320 x2956 (classroom) Portable F Blog http://speargrade5.edublogs.org/

Supply List About supplies in Portable F To ensure that each student in Portable F is prepared to learn every day, they will share materials from a community supply box at each table group. The supply list is divided into two sections: supplies that will be donated to the class collection of supplies, and materials your child needs for him/herself. If you are unable to purchase any of the supplies below, families should send a note to Ms. Spear or speak to her in person by September 2, 2014. No child will go without the supplies they need to be successful. Each student needs... (Please bring to school on 9/2/14, not earlier)

• 2” Binder • 1 set of eight 3-hole tabs • 3-hole wide rule lined paper (This will need to be replenished during the year) • 2014-2015 school year planner (Ms. Spear has purchased enough planners

for each child in the class. The suggested donation for your child’s planner is $3.50, payable to Ms. Katie Spear by September 2, 2014)

• 2 spiral notebooks • 1 composition notebook

To be contributed to class supplies (Please bring to school by 9/2/14)

• 1-2 boxes of #2 pencils • 2 black dry erase markers • 1 box Kleenex • 1 container All-purpose/disinfecting Wipes

What about homework? Your child will be assigned nightly homework, and will need supplies at home to successfully complete their assignments. Please keep a supply of pencils, eraser, highlighter, glue stick, crayons/markers/colored pencils, scissors, and a dictionary/thesaurus at home. Students are not permitted the following items

- Sharpies/permanent markers - Mechanical pencils - Toy/play erasers - Calculators - Pointers/Finger pointers - Trading cards (Pokémon, etc…) - Cell phones/tablets/video games, etc…

We are also in need of various items to make our class more productive, clean and fun. Check out our Class Needs page on the Portable F Blog. http://speargrade5.edublogs.org/information-for-parents/class-supply-needs

Child’s Name __________________ Please return by Monday August 25th

Parent/Guardian Survey

Parent/Guardian #1

Name ______________________________________________________

Relationship to child ___________________________________________

Phone number (_______) ______ - _____________

Can you receive text messages? ___ Yes ___ No

Email _______________________________________________________

Do you have a computer with internet access at home? ___ Yes ___ No

Primary language _____________________________________________

Do you need a translator for parent-teacher conferences? ___ Yes ___ No

Do you work? If so, where? _____________________________________

Parent/Guardian #2

Name ______________________________________________________

Relationship to child ___________________________________________

Phone number (_______) ______ - _____________

Can you receive text messages? ___ Yes ___ No

Email _______________________________________________________

Do you have a computer with internet access at home? ___ Yes ___ No

Primary language _____________________________________________

Do you need a translator for parent-teacher conferences? ___ Yes ___ No

Do you work? If so, where? _____________________________________

Please return by Monday August 25th

Child’s Name __________________ Your name _________________

It is my hope that all parents/guardians will have the opportunity to

volunteer in Portable F. Please check the different volunteer options that you

would be interested in committing to

___ Friday Family Read Aloud (At least one time during the school year)

___ Field Trips ___ Translating emails/blog posts

___ Math Centers (1-2 morning/week) ___ Fundraising

___ Misc. classroom help (Based around your availability)

Are you interested in attending Outdoor Education at Camp Arroyo as a

parent chaperone? We will attend Outdoor Education Feb. 23-25.

___Yes ___ Maybe ___ No

Are you able to be a Class Parent? Some responsibilities of our class

parent/guardian would include organizing parent volunteers, picking up

classroom snacks, supporting classroom events such as the Cultural Artifact

Project, the 5th grade Walk-a-thon, and calling/emailing families.

___Yes ___ Maybe ___ No

What other ways you would like to volunteer for our class?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Please return by Monday August 25th

Tell me about your child!

Child’s Name __________________ Your name _________________ What are your child’s strengths as a reader and learner?

What are your child’s hobbies and interests?

What is your typical morning like? What is your typical evening like?

What do you and your child enjoy doing together?

What suggestions do you have to help me support your child’s learning?

How does your child get to school? Walk, bike, bus, car?

Is there anything else you would like to share?