COVINGTON SCHOOL, 4 th GRADE!

1. COVINGTON SCHOOL, 4th GRADE! Mrs. Gustafson – Miss Coffman – Ms. Nemsick

2. WELCOME TO THE 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR!

3. OUR MISSION LEARNING TODAY FOR A SUCCESSFUL TOMORROW

4. LEARNING AND SUCCESS IN D123 GROW HAPPINESS BELIEVE TOGETHER HISTORY STAMINA OU T S T AND I NG CONFIDENCE EXPLORE GRIT CHALLENGE FAMILY T OMO R R OW SUCCESSFUL THINKER LEARNING CAREER EXPER I ENCE LITERACY WI SDOM WEAL TH COMMUNITY BELIEVE TODAY ACHIEVE LEARNER ART S M I L E MATH MAKE A DIFFERENCE EXPERT POWER EDUCATION SCIENCE SUPPORT TEACH DIFFERENCE

5. CHANGING TO THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS • THIS YEAR, OUR DISTRICT CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT OUR TRANSITION OVER FROM THE ILLINOIS STATE STANDARDS TO THE NEW, COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE CCSS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION, PLEASE VISIT: http://www.corestandards.org/.

6. WHAT YOU CAN DO Keep Calm & Support Common Core

7. REPORTING OF PROGRESS AND GRADING • THIS YEAR, WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE A STANDARDS BASED REPORT CARD FOR LANGUAGE ARTS. MATH, SCIENCE, AND SOCIAL STUDIES WILL BE REPORTED THROUGH TRADITIONAL LETTER GRADES UNTIL WE TRANSITION TO A FULL STANDARDS BASED REPORT CARD. • MID-TERM REPORTS WILL BE SENT HOME EACH TRIMESTER • CONFERENCES WILL TAKE PLACE IN NOVEMBER. • AS ALWAYS, YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER WILL REACH OUT TO YOU IF CONCERNS ARE PRESENT IN ANY AREAS.

8. BALANCED LITERACY • WE WILL CONTINUE TO BREAK OUR LITERACY BLOCK INTO THREE SUB AREAS: • “WIN,” OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OUR ENRICHMENT PERIOD • WORDS THEIR WAY (WTW), OUR SPELLING PROGRAM WHICH FOCUSES ON SPECIFIC PHONOLOGICAL SKILLS THAT ARE TAUGHT IN A PROGRESSION • CORE LITERACY – NEW READING AND WRITING SKILLS NOTE: IN MOST CASES, YOUR CHILD WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT TEACHER FOR “WIN” AND WTW. THOSE TEACHERS MAY CHANGE AS THE YEAR GOES ON

9. MATHEMATICS • During the next few years our math curriculum will transition from Everyday Math to Common Core State Standards for Math. These are based on the highest state standards across the country designed to ensure all students are college and career ready. The major change in our district is the gradual change from a spiraling math curriculum to deep understanding of specific grade level standards that are built upon, but not repeated each year.

10. SCIENCE • WE WILL BE COVERING THREE MAJOR UNITS IN SCIENCE THIS YEAR: • MAGNETS AND ELECTRICITY • EARTH MATERIALS • PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE CYCLES

11. SOCIAL STUDIES TOPICS Branches of Government Voting Process Early Western Civilizations

12. PBIS - THE COUGAR CODE • BE RESPECTFUL • BE RESPONSIBLE • BE SAFE

13. Helpful Hints: • PLEASE SEND GYM SHOES FOR PE DAILY • LUNCH BALANCES CAN BE CHECKED AND PAID IN HOME LOGIC • PLEASE MAKE SURE STUDENTS ARRIVE NO EARLIER THAN 8:10, SO THEY ARE SUPERVISED BY TEACHERS UPON THEIR ARRIVAL EACH DAY • STUDENTS SHOULD BE READING FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES EACH EVENING AT HOME • ON LATE START DAYS, STUDENTS ARRIVE ONE HOUR LATE • (THE NEXT LATE START IS WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2ND)

14. STAYING INFORMED “LIKE” D123 ON FACEBOOK & FOLLOW D123 STAFF ON TWITTER!

15. REMEMBER! WE ARE A TEAM! WORKING TOGETHER, TEACHERS AND PARENTS CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE IN WHAT AND HOW A CHILD LEARNS. YOUR SUPPORT AND VALUE OF EDUCATION IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED!  FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT ANY TIME WITH CONCERNS, QUESTIONS, OR IDEAS THAT YOU MAY HAVE!

16. THANKS FOR COMING TO CURRICULUM NIGHT! I LOOK FORWARD TO AN AMAZING YEAR!

17. REFRENCES • DUTY, K., & JONES, J. (2013) 3 KEY IDEAS FOR PARENTS ABOUT THE COMMON CORE; WWW. HELLOLITERACY.BLOGSPOT.COM