Part of getting ready for 5th grade is understanding expectations. It is important to know what is expected of you, as well as what you can expect from us. Your 5th grade year will assist you in developing skills of organization, responsibility, note taking, preparation for quizzes and tests, becoming a more proficient proofreader, and allow you to enjoy your core subjects.
You can expect Mrs. DeWald & Mrs. Dreher to create classrooms conducive to learning. Our goal is to create an environment that fosters success. A multitude of teaching approaches will be implemented to help you reach your potential. Work completed following preset guidelines will be returned in a timely manner so you have the opportunity to evaluate ways to improve your work before errors become habitual. We will do our best to ensure that lessons are presented in an interesting, informative manner.
A quote that we live by is, “If you plan to learn, you must learn to plan.” Know that it is your responsibility to write down assignments from the board in the school-provided agenda and mark incomplete/complete tasks. Open communication between school and home is essential to success. The agenda, binders, web page, and weekly newsletters will provide advanced notice and allow you to share your progress with your parents daily. Agendas will be check for parent/guardian signatures during the first nine weeks to assist in creating the habit of communicating about assignments that have been completed and those that have been assigned as “homefun.”
Organization is a necessary life skill. Be prepared to maintain your binders daily. This task will only feel like a mammoth chore if you choose to neglect it over a period of time. The binders will include daily assignments, essays, quizzes, tests, notes, and other important information. Your binder will be graded based on organization and thoroughness at the end of each nine weeks.
The scores for our classes will range from 10 points for mid-quarter reports to 200 points for essays (100 points for content & 100 points for mechanics). All work turned in should be your own. Plagiarizing and/or copying other’s work will result in a zero for those involved. Your work is a reflection of your effort. Any scribbled-on work will be returned and considered late until resubmitted.
Late work is unacceptable; plenty of time will be allocated for each assignment. If you choose to turn in work late without an excused absence, it is your responsibility to make it up within one day. The highest score a late paper will receive is 75% of the possible points. A “0” will be recorded for work that is not turned in by the next morning. Remember than anything is better than a “0” and that keeping up with your assignments allows you to avoid the stresses associated with the “make-up” game. Regular attendance will also help you feel prepared. Show up daily and give us your best, and we’ll do the same!
Our discipline cycle is in place to ensure student success. Behavioral expectations are high at St. Patrick’s. Our DWP program is a major part of our curriculum, and it is critical that our students recognize that success results when all students learn and follow the behaviors and expectations taught in the program. Choosing to follow the steps outlined in our D.W.P. program ensures a positive learning environment with minimal distractions. The incentives for choosing the proper behaviors include strengthened focus during class time, pleasant passing periods, a sense of pride in a job well done, and a quarterly drawing (for a gift card) of students’ cards that have not received demerits during the monthly period(s). In the event that a student strays from the expectations, he/she will earn a demerit.
Demerits are formal signs that student actions are in direct conflict with St. Patrick’s behavioral guidelines. Accumulations of demerits indicate a lack of self-discipline and on-going behaviors which could prove detrimental to the school community and St. Patrick’s educational mission.
The staff at St. Patrick’s will work with students to create an effective learning environment. Inappropriate student behavior will be consistently corrected, and staff members will give demerits if/when necessary. Demerits are cumulative over the course of each month. Students will receive a new card at the beginning of each calendar month, allowing them to start with a “clean slate.” The demerit card provides students and parents with a tangible record of behavior and should be reviewed regularly. Merits will also be given as students demonstrate exemplary behavior.
Students are required to carry their demerit card during the school day. Failure to produce the card as requested by a staff member constitutes in lack of preparation and cooperation, resulting an automatic detention (to be served that day).
Specific consequences for accumulating demerits and the corresponding formative action follow.
Level Consequence Formative Action
5 demerits Same day detention (30 minutes) Parent notification by phone
10 demerits 1 – 30 minute detention and loss of Parent notification/Conference
recess for 1 week with principal
15 demerits 2 – 30 minute detentions and loss Parent and student conference
recess for 1 week with principal
Above 16 demerits (After School) School/Parish Service hours Parent/student/principal
**as determined by principal conference
Positive consequences include verbal praise, notes sent home, D.W.P. Movie Points, praise cards, a better learning environment, and so much more! We will have fun while gaining valuable information. All it will take is all of us doing our best. Get ready for a fantastic year!
The purpose behind form for papers is to provide you with a guideline for writing your papers now & in the future. Work you turn in reflects the effort you put into it. This, in turn, affects your grade.
Turn in work that makes you feel proud!
1. Any papers with scribbles, doodles, tears, or “scratch outs” will be returned without receiving a grade. Once corrected & resubmitted, the assignment will be considered late. Avoid this situation by turning in work that is your best the first time.
2. When using ink, use only one side of your paper. Fifth graders will be expected to turn in typed material during the second semester. Select fonts that are easy to read and that are no larger than 12 point.
3. Use standard, white paper for typed essays/work & standard, white, loose-leaf paper for written papers. It should be 8 ½ x 11’ with regularly-spaced lines. Do not use paper torn from legal pads or spirals without removing the “fringes.”
4. Do NOT use the left-hand margin (even for numbering) & avoid squishing words in the right-hand margin.
5. All papers should have the following heading on the first page.
The heading should start at the red line at the upper left hand of the paper.
Example: Sonja Dreher
5th Religion
6. Every first page of an essay should have an appropriate title. It should be on the top line of the first page only. Capitalize the first letter of the first word and those of important words in the title. ALWAYS skip one line after the title.
7. Do NOT number your first page; the title will give it away that it’s the first page.
8. Do NOT skip any other line (unless instructed to do so).
9. In a composition, you should indent for paragraphs. (One inch is sufficient.)
10. Write on every line to the bot
11. The second and succeeding pages should be headed with your name &
number of the page.
Example: Sonja Dreher 2
12. Always start writing on the top line of the second page & each succeeding page.
13. Leave a slight margin on the right side of your paper.
14. Do NOT “dog-ear” or use origami to organize your pages together; use a stapler, tape, or a paper clip if necessary. Those materials are made accessible in the classroom.
15. You will be given ample time to complete your assignments; please do
NOT wait until the night before or morning the assignment is due to begin or complete it.