Welcome to Back to School Night!

1. Welcome to Back to School Night! Thursday, September 24, 2017

2. A Little About Me: • Erin Jones • Bachelors degree in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara. • Multiple Subject teaching credential from Cal State East Bay • Masters in Education at Cal State East Bay. • This is my 12th year teaching, but 1st in Dublin. • I feel incredibly lucky to get to be a part of the Dougherty community! • I have 2 daughters – 2 years and 4 months!

3. My Contact Information • The best way to get a hold of me is through email. My email is: joneserin@dublinusd.org. My extension at the school is 5875. The best time to call is after school. • I also have a website through the school. First access the Dougherty website at: https://www.dublin.k12.ca.us/Domain/40. Then click on the ‘Teacher Sites’ tab and click on my name under the Js. • I will be updating my website occasionally throughout the school year.

4. Student Teacher Parents My Philosophy: • I am a firm believer that a child’s education is a team effort between the student, teacher, and the parents. Open communication between student, teacher, and parents is crucial to success. It is my goal to help every child experience success in my classroom. Differentiated instruction is a key component of my classroom, which helps to address the needs of all my students. Education

5. Classroom Rules/Management • Personal Standards – Show Respect, Make Good Decisions, and Solve Problems • Tickets – Students receive tickets for completing homework, demonstrating good behavior, and winning table points. • Table Points – table groups compete with each other to earn more points. Table points winners receive special privileges the following week. • Popsicle Sticks – All sticks begin in the green basket. Blue = warning, yellow = Wall Slip, red = Red Day Notice sent home. • Silent Auction – at the end of each trimester students use their tickets to bid on items for sale.

6. Work in Progress assignments are weekly classwork assignments. Students are responsible for making sure all Work in Progress is completed by Friday afternoon. I list the assignments on the board as they are assigned so students can keep track. If Work in Progress is not complete by Friday afternoon students may bring the work home to be finished over the weekend. All work is due on Monday morning for full credit. Work not turned in on Monday morning is a zero. Each student must have a Work in Progress folder. This folder NEVER goes home. It must stay in students’ desks. Work in Progress Unfinished Work • If Work in Progress is not completed by Friday afternoon you will most likely receive an email. • This email will indicate which assignments need to be completed over the weekend. • If you end up receiving these emails on a regular basis, that is an indication that your student is wasting class time.

7. Homework Policy • Homework is assigned most days. • All homework is worth 5 points. • If homework is one day late = half credit. Any later than one day = no credit. • Math homework is assigned Mon.-Thurs. and some Fridays. If a homework page is assigned on Friday it is due on Tuesday. • Spelling Homework – If we have spelling, students are given their words on Mondays. Spelling homework is due on Thursdays. Students must complete 15 points worth of spelling homework from a list of possible assignments. • Your child is responsible for bringing home the appropriate materials necessary to do homework. Please understand that I will not make extra copies for students who lose homework papers. • Most homework assignments are not collected, just checked off. Students are given time in the morning to self-correct their homework.

8. Problem of the Month • Every other month (or so) students will work in pairs on math problems created by the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative • The focus is on problem solving skills and each problem contains increasing levels of complexity. • These problems are designed to help students see that math is not about rote memorization, but about relationships between numbers, critical thinking, and problem solving.

9. Interactive Journaling • Each week your child is responsible for writing one journal entry • Each week I will be responding to 6 journals. • This is a great opportunity for me to get to know your children better. Typically students feel they can really open up to me in their journal, which helps me to further establish a connection and sense of trust. • Journals are credit/no credit. I do not take a red pen to them. I just read and respond.

10. Thursday Folders • Folders go home every Thursday. • In the Thursday Folder you will find: • Graded assessments • Graded classwork (with a stamp) and some homework • Field trip permission slips • Other communication from me • Please make a habit of reviewing the contents of the Folder as it is an indicator of your child’s performance. • Please return the folder to school on Friday. • Your child is responsible for emptying the contents of the folder when they turn in their homework on Friday morning. I do not go through all the folders myself. • It is strongly recommended that you keep a box or file at home of all your child’s old papers for the school year. Do not throw things away in case there is a discrepancy later over a grade!

11. Required Materials for Rm. 20 At the very least your child must have these materials: • 2 folders with inside pockets (one for HW, one for W in P) • 4 composition notebooks (journal, writing, reading, and science) • 1 graph paper notebook for math • pencils, eraser, and a red correcting pen • loose binder paper (not in a notebook) • colored pencils/crayons **A complete supply list is available on the school website.**

12. Grading Policy: In my classroom homework and classwork are worth a combined 30%. Tests and projects make up the remaining 70%. The breakdown of grades is standard: 100-97% = A+ 79-77% = C+ 96-94% = A 76-74% = C 93-90% = A- 73-70% = C- 89-87% = B+ 69-67% = D+ 86-84% = B 66-64% = D 83-80% = B- 63-60% = D- 59 and below is an F

13. Field Trips • The 4th grade team is hoping to plan a few field trips for the kids this year. • I will need parents to chaperone these field trips in order for them to be possible. • We will be using busses for transportation. • Field trips are supposed to be free and local. • More details will be shared as plans are made!

14. Parent Volunteers: • As of now I need help with the following items: • Field Trips: I will need chaperones. • Thursday Folder help: I need someone to come in on Thursdays to file the students’ papers so they will be ready to be sent home. • Art in Action: I need someone willing to run the art program for the class • Room parent to fulfill room parent responsibilities • Help with various tasks around the classroom.

15. Contact Information: • It is VERY important that I have your contact information! • Please go to my website: https://www.dublin.k12.ca.us/site/default.aspx?DomainID=1643 • Click the link for the parent contact form. • Fill out completely and submit! Your info will automatically be exported to a spreadsheet that only I can see. • If you complete this task tonight your child will be rewarded with extra tickets tomorrow morning when I collect homework! 

16. Classroom Donations • Books – anywhere from 2nd grade to 6th grade levels • Hand sanitizer • Construction paper of various colors • Copy paper of various colors • Pencil sharpener!

17. Questions?? • If you have any questions please write them on the post-its in the middle of the table and I will answer them in an email as soon as possible! • Please make sure you have: • Signed in • Signed up to be a room parent or a helper. • Make sure to fill out the contact info when you get home! • Thank you for being here!!