Mrs. Rutherford's Class Blog: August 2017

WELCOME TO 4th GRADE!!!

Welcome to 4th grade at Rocky Branch Elementary School. My name is Heather Rutherford and I have the privilege of being your child’s Math, Science, and Social Studies (Block 2 only) teacher this year. I have been teaching for 9 years. I have taught 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in Fulton, Gwinnett, and Oconee County. I have a Bachelor's degree in Speech Communication (former life/profession!), a teaching certificate in Early Childhood Education, and am Gifted Certified. I am a "Georgia Peach" having grown up just down the road in Snellville! My husband, Mike, and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this summer. We have three children; Ella, Benjamin, and William...all three are 4th graders at RBES! That's right, triplets! We are a busy with sports, musical instruments, and a new puppy, Kirby, but we have a lot of fun!

I love to work out...running is a huge passion of mine that I unfortunately do not get to do as much as I would like to! I enjoy reading, shopping, listening to music, and being outside whenever possible. Teaching is a true joy and I absolutely love my job. Just like your sweet kiddos, I get nervous the days leading up to a new school year. I am really excited about this school year and look forward to getting to know your children.

I have listed some important information below for you to refer to throughout the school year.

RBES phone number: 706-769-3235

RBES address: 5250 Hog Mountain Road, Bogart, GA, 30622
RBES website: www.oconeeschools.org/rbes

If you ever have any questions or wish to set up a conference, please feel free to send me a note, email, or contact me at the school. My planning period is from 12:40-1:30, and I am available to talk after school from 2:30-3:30 most days. My email address is hrutherford@oconeeschools.org. Also you may want to bookmark my blog –http://hrutherfordsclass.blogspot.com/. I suggest when you visit the blog that you subscribe by email. This way you will automatically receive the blog information via email as it is updated, and it is the easiest way to keep up with what's going on in our classroom.

SCHEDULE

For Block 1, I will teach Math and Science. For Block 2, I will teach Math, Science, and Social Studies.

Below is our tentative schedule:

7:30-7:45 – Prepare for the Day, Announcements

7:45-9:25 – Block 1 (Math & Science)

9:25-9:45 – ROCKETS’ Way

9:45-10:15 – Recess

10:15-12:10 – Block 2 (Science & Math)

12:10-12:40 – Lunch

12:40-1:30 – Activity

1:30-2:30 – Block 2 (Social Studies)

Activity Schedule
Red Group: M-Art, Tu/F-PE, W-Music, Th-Guidance/STEM
Blue Group: M/W-PE, Tu-Art, Th-Music, F-Guidance/STEM
Green Group: M-Guidance/STEM, Tu/Th-PE, W-Art, F-Music
Yellow Group: M-Music, Tu-Guidance/STEM, W/F-PE, Th-Art
Purple Group: M/Th-PE, Tu-Music, W-Guidance/STEM, F-Art

STUDENT BINDER and BLUE ROCKET FOLDER

Students will have a binder that will come home every day. It will contain any teacher notes, homework, goal setting and assessment scoring information, and daily work that a child may need to use to prepare for an assessment. The daily work will be in the color pocket folders. All classwork should stay in your child's binder during a unit of study. When we finish a unit I will let each child know he/she can take that information out of the binder. It is up to you and your child how you want to keep papers at home at that time. I recommend having a place where papers go for each subject so your child can study for end of year testing. The Blue Rocket folder will also come home on Fridays with school and community notes and other graded classwork papers for you to keep.

ASSESSMENTS

In Math, Science and Social Studies students take unit assessments. In Math pre- and post-assessments are given, and formative assessments are given throughout the units to guide instruction. In Science and Social Studies formative assessments are given throughout the unit and summative assessments are given at the end of the unit. Assessments come in many forms: written, observation, presentations, performance, discussions, etc.

HOMEWORK

My philosophy about homework is that it helps in reinforcing schoolwork and in developing responsibility. It also allows you to know what your child is currently working on in the classroom. However, I also feel like students are in school long enough and do not need to spend hours at home on homework. Their time is better spent with family, friends, and doing extracurricular activities, therefore, I do not assign a tremendous amount of homework. Some homework will be weekly and some will be random and due the next day or two. All assignments and due dates will be written in the agenda. Reviewing classwork is a great way to begin to develop study skills. I tell my students one of the best ways to study is to simply have a discussion with a parent or another adult about what you are learning in class.

AGENDA

Students will use agendas to record homework, goals, and important reminders regarding assessments, field trips, and other classroom or school related activities. Students will log their reading minutes for homework in the agenda. I may also from time to time jot a note in a child’s agenda.

CONFERENCES
Teacher-parent communication is key to a young child's academic success. I would like to meet and/or phone conference with parents twice during the school year to share goals, successes, and areas of improvement. However, I realize there are certain circumstances where additional conferences may be necessary. Anytime you would like to request a conference please contact me. I will always be available through email as well when we cannot or do not need to meet in person.

SNACK
Please send a snack and water bottle with your child every day. I will not be able to provide snacks for students who forget to bring one. Parents may wish to donate snacks for students who forget, but parents and students should not depend on these to be available. The children can fill water bottles at school if necessary. No other drinks are allowed.

RECESS

Fourth graders will play outside at recess when the weather is appropriate unless a doctor’s note is sent asking that your child be allowed to stay inside. Please be sure your child brings a jacket when the weather is cool. If your child needs to be picked up during our recess time, please go to the office. Your child will be sent to you there. No child will be released unless they are signed out through the front office first.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING
RBES welcomes parents and others to volunteer for a wide variety of activities and events, however, ANYONE who wishes to interact with other students while at the school MUST attend one of our volunteer training sessions offered by Mrs. Mason. If you or someone else only wishes to eat lunch with your child you do not have to attend the training. Some examples of times you would need to be trained are if you want to volunteer in the classroom, or during Field Day, class parties, birthday celebrations, and field trips. If you or anyone else wishes to spend anytime at school with your child and also other students PLEASE attend the training!! It is the best way to keep all RBES students safe and for volunteers to know our expectations and procedures.

OFFICE PROCEDURES

If you are going to sign in, check out, or visit your student at school you will do so electronically at the office window. If you are visiting for lunch or volunteering you will be “buzzed” through the security doors. When you leave school, you MUST SIGN OUT at the window. The regular office door will remain locked at all times.

The ROCKETS' WAY

It is with great excitement that RBES became a National School of Character two years ago. At RBES we have implemented the ROCKETS' Way. ROCKETS' Way stands for Respect, Ownership, Contribution, Kindness, Effort, Teamwork, and Solutions. There are many aspects to this, one part being that we will not only establish our classroom guidelines, but you will also see posted guidelines throughout the school for our shared spaces. These guidelines will help to create a cohesive environment where everyone entering our school will know our expectations. This and much more will be discussed further during our Curriculum Night on August 15th. Students will be expected to know and understand The ROCKETS' Way. We will use class meetings to learn about The ROCKETS' Way and to discuss other home or school related difficulties, challenges, goals, and successes daily.

I am a firm believer in handling school situations at school. In such a case where inappropriate behavior or a problem continues and an end does not occur I will write/attach a note inside the agenda or send an email. In rare circumstances a parent conference may occur to discuss an alternative plan.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
I would love to celebrate your child's birthday at school with the class! If you would like us to celebrate your child's birthday please let me know at least a couple days in advance. Parents are welcome to attend IF you have attended the volunteer training.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

No adult will be allowed to enter the building through any door other than the main entrance during school hours. Please DO NOT knock on a door and motion for a child to open it for you. We will spend time in the classroom explaining that students should never open a door for ANY adult.
We must have a parent signature or phone call to the office to allow transportation changes. Emails will not be accepted.
Send in notes regarding absences ASAP. Email if you know ahead of time your child will be out. Ask your doctor for an excuse to bring to school regarding appointments or sicknesses that caused your child to miss school. The state will only allow 5 parent notes to excuse absences this year.
ALL monies should be returned to school in an envelope labeled with your child’s name, my name, and what the money is for. Monies for different items should be in different envelopes. (ie: lunch and yearbook payment)
I encourage you to come have lunch with your child if you are available. Outside food is allowed, but we prefer you bring something healthy to promote our system-wide healthy food initiative. You are welcome to eat in the lunchroom with your child at the designated tables.

Parents,

I know this is a lot of information so please feel free to contact me anytime throughout the school year when you have a question or concern. I strive to motivate all my students to learn and become better students and community members through engaging activities and lessons. Children learn in a variety of ways: games, centers, special projects, individually, from one another, etc. I want our classroom to be an enjoyable and positive place for your child to enter each day where they feel a sense of belonging and ownership of their behaviors and learning. My main goal is that each child feels successful. Please take an active interest in your child’s learning experiences at school. Read to your child, listen to your child read, look over school work, and encourage efforts made. Remember, your child is only young once. Let him/her see that you care about every aspect of his/her education, especially during these early years.

Thank you for your support. I look forward to working with you and your child this year!

Mrs. Rutherford

Mrs. Rutherford's Class Blog

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Picture Day

Monday, August 28, 2017

This Week: August 28 - September 1

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Curriculum Night

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

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