Parent Information Letter August 10, 2017 Dear Parents, I am looking forward to a terrific school year with all of my new Terrific Tigers! During our first week of school, we will tour West Navarre Intermediate School to become more familiar with some very important places. We will explore such areas as the Media Center, the Art Room, the Music Room, and the Principal s Office. My goal is for each of the Terrific Tigers to meet Mrs. Dorsey and Mrs. Colin! Initially, our focus will be to become familiar with each other and to learn the rules of our classroom as well as those of West Navarre Intermediate. We will establish our classroom rules as a team, and we will practice the rules for acceptable classroom behavior to ensure success for each student. Working and playing together as a team will be our goal! Once we have established our classroom procedures, we will focus on our curriculum for the year. I am very excited about our year together. In order to maintain good habits and communication, I thought it would be helpful to update you on certain important items which will help us to be better partners in your child s educational process. Please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Ann Thompson
The following information is provided to help answer questions you may have regarding school and classroom policies. SS/Science 8:25-9:00 12:54-1:35 SCHEDULE: Our school utilizes a seven day color rotation to determine days we attend special activities. The color schedule rotates in this order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Students will attend class four out of the seven days, so please remember to send a pair of sneakers with your child each day if he or she does not wear them to school. Students without safe footwear will not be allowed to participate in the activities. (Students are welcomed to leave a pair of sneakers at school in his or her cubby.) Our color rotation will begin on Tuesday, August 15th and will follow the order listed above. The schedule below will indicate how our class will flow during the day. RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE INDIGO VIOLET SS/Science SS/Science SS/Science SS/Science SS/Science SS/Science 8:25-9:00 8:25-9:00 8:25-9:00 8:25-9:00 8:25-9:00 8:25-9:00 12:54-1:35 12:54-1:35 12:54-1:35 12:54-1:35 12:54-1:35 12:54-1:35 Media Art Music TRANSPORTATION: It is very important that I know how your child will get to school and leave school each day. Please provide this information before the first day of school. No changes in transportation can be made without a note or (a fax or email to front office) from home. A child cannot come to school and give a verbal change of destination.
All vehicles should enter the school premises from Sunrise Drive not Cotton Bay Lane. Parents checking out students must do so by 2:00 p.m. SURVISION: Supervision at WNIS is provided from 7:55 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Parents are solely responsible for student supervision until 7:55 a.m. NO STUDENT SHOULD BE LEFT UNATTENDED. ABSENCES: If your child is sick, please send a note to school within three days of the absence(s) in order for the absence(s) to be excused. ***ALL REQUESTS FOR EXCUSED ABSENCES DUE TO UPCOMING EVENTS MUST BE RECEIVED FIVE DAYS PRIOR TO THE ABSENCE.*** VISITORS: When you are visiting the school, you must check into the office first. TOYS: No trading cards, electronic games, CD players, make-up, animals, or toys of any kind are allowed at school or on the bus. These items will be collected and kept until the student s parent or guardian retrieves them. MEDICATION: All medication must be brought to and picked up from the clinic by a parent or guardian. Please do not send your child to school with any type of medication. CHECKS: Please make all checks payable to West Navarre Intermediate. ACTIVITY FEE: The activity fee cost is $15.00. This money goes directly to fund classroom projects and materials. A portion of the fee goes to Art, Music, and as well. Please try to turn this in as soon as possible. CLASS SHIRTS: Class shirts may be purchased for $15.00. Please make checks payable to Vickie McMaster. Examples of the shirt sizes and design are available for display and purchase.
LUNCH: Our lunch break is from 12:24 until 12:54 pm. Please feel free to join your child for lunch. If you plan to eat with your child, you can purchase the school lunch or bring one from home. Please do not bring in fast food or sodas. The cost for student lunches is $2.55. The student cost for breakfast is $1.05. Adult lunches cost $3.25. LUNCH MONEY: money may be paid in advance through the online service at www.myschoolbucks.com. You will need your child s ten digit ID number and a valid credit card or debit card. You may also add money to your child s lunch account by sending in cash or a check. SNACKS: We will be having a daily snack. Your child will be responsible for bringing his or her own snack daily. There is a water fountain in the classroom; however, the children are permitted to bring in water bottles. WEEKLY FOLDERS: Each Friday your child will bring home any completed work or tests from the week in a Take-Home folder. Please go over any work papers or tests with your child to help him understand any errors. Occasionally, I will request the return of corrected papers. Otherwise, please keep all returned work papers at home, and please return the folder to me on Monday. I will begin sending folders home on Friday, August 25th. Informational notes from the office will also be included in this folder. Please watch for these letters and respond accordingly. Weekly conduct reports will be sent home in the Take-Home folder on Fridays as well. Please sign these reports and return them on Monday with the folder. ASSIGNMENT POLICY: Each child is issued a planner in which work assignments, test dates, and notes of communication will be recorded. Planners should be checked daily for information regarding test dates, homework and class work that needs to be completed for the next day. Please sign your child s planner each night so that I will know that you have seen it. Please feel free to write notes to me in the planner if necessary. Any class work that is not finished during the day is automatically a homework assignment!!! All classwork is due the morning after it is assigned unless it is a weekly homework packet. Late work assignments will not be accepted.
HOMEWORK: Homework will be an extension of concepts which have already been taught in class. Assignments will usually include spelling practice incorporating reading skills, a math exercise, and/or reading comprehension practice. Homework assignments may vary according to students needs. Homework which is turned in past the due date will result in a completion grade of zero except when the delay is a result of an absence. Each student is required to read at least 20 minutes each night, and this reading should be documented daily in the student s planner. CURSIVE WRITING: We will begin this subject after we have practiced manuscript writing procedures. Please encourage your child NOT to write in cursive until I begin instruction. SLLING: A spelling pretest will be given each Monday. Students will practice missed words from the pretest for the spelling test at the end of the week. READING: We will begin a new reading story each Monday. A reading comprehension test and vocabulary test will be given at the end of each story. MATH: tests will be given at the end of each chapter. Therefore, tests are not normally given each week. WRITING: We will begin with reviewing complete sentences. Next we will focus on writing topic sentences with three supporting sentences. We will then move into writing longer passages using common writing techniques. GRADING POLICY: Papers will be graded and returned in a timely manner. Often, I will correct the papers as I grade them. This way, any incorrect responses will become learning tools. All papers will not be included in the calculations of grades. Many of the assignments will be performed as a class to assess understanding of new topics. Some grades will be derived as a Packet Grade. This will depend on the subject area and the type of assignment. If you ever have a question about a grade, please do not hesitate to contact me.
GRADING SCALE: The following is the scale used to determine your child s grades: 100-90-A 89-80-B 79-70-C 69-60-D 59-below-F BEHAVIOR POLICY Students are expected to follow all school rules as well as our classroom rules. The West Navarre Intermediate School rules are as follows: Respect yourself and others Take care of school property Be on time and ready for class Walk quietly and in an orderly manner We will develop our classroom rules together. Once the rules are written and all policies and procedures are practiced and established, reward cards will be punched as students follow the procedures and rules without being reminded and /or exhibit excellence in academic performance. When all tabs on the card are punched, students may use their cards to purchase various reward items. When rules are broken, a reminder of the rule and a chance for correction will be given depending on the severity of the offense. A second offense will lead to an opportunity for the student to self-correct the behavior in a time-out area with the completion of a Refocus Form. This will allow the student to reflect upon the situation before rejoining the class. If the behavior persists and requires more than two Refocus sessions in one day, the following steps will be taken: 1. Student will lose his or her classroom job title for the day. 2. Student will lose free-time privileges. 3. Parent or guardian will be notified by phone. Parents should sign and return all Refocus Forms.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SYSTEM West Navarre Intermediate School is a positive behavior support (PBS) school. The staff and students at WNIS work together as a team to promote an environment which is supportive, friendly, and free from bullying. Our Communities program will teach expected behaviors through the utilization of positive reinforcement. It will foster schoolwide unity and student leaders. The five expectations include: 1. Loyalty 2. Respect 3. Responsibility 4. Truth 5. Courage CONFERENCES: Please let me know of ANY concerns you have for your child. I will be happy to schedule a meeting with you. I can be reached at 936-6060 or by e-mail at thompsone@santarosa.k12.fl.us. I am looking forward to a terrific year with your terrific child! Thank you!