Disclosure

Welcome to Mrs. Rivas’ Class

I am very excited to welcome you to fourth grade this year! I have many fun things planned, and I am looking forward to teaching your student. Here are some things you might want to know to help you have a successful fourth grade year.

Attendance: Please make an effort to be at school on time every day. Students will line up outside the classroom and enter at 8:05 when the first bell rings. Students entering after the second bell, will be marked tardy. Students who are ill should remain  at home, but I would appreciate a call or an email to let me know they will be absent. If you know in advance that your child will be absent, please let me know and ask for the work that will be missed. This will prevent your child from getting behind in class. A parent or responsible sibling may arrange to get the student’s work. However, if a student misses school, he/she will have a folder on their desk with the missed assignments and overview of what was done in class that day; students will be responsible for getting their own notes and making up the assignments

Homework : Students will receive homework in Language Arts on a daily basis. Homework will be given 2-3 days per week in math, depending on the understanding of new concepts. Since science will be taught in Spanish, students are required to take their notes and vocabulary words home to study. Please look in your child's planner to check for daily assignments. PLEASE check to be sure the homework is completed BEFORE you sign the planner.

The severity of the consequences for a students not having completed homework will be based on the frequency of missed homework assignments. Consequences for not turning homework  in on time include:

1. Missing two recesses.
2. A recording grade of zero will appear on the gradebook.
3. Parent contact to discuss chronically late assignments or missing assignments.
4. Loss of Field Trips or projects to make up missing assignments.

Reading Logs and Book Reports: Each student is expected to read a minimum of 20  minutes daily at home. The students must write the name of the book they read, and complete a sentence summarizing what they have read EACH day. Parents will need to sign the reading log on a DAILY basis. There will be one book report due each month. The book reports focus on different genres of books to give students the opportunity to try new things. Due dates are clearly given in the Reading Log, and there are examples of each type of report. Reading Logs will begin to come home the week of September 1.

Dress Code: The dress code is still the same as last year. Socks, undershirts, and leggings are to be white, navy, or baby blue. Also sweaters with hoods can no longer be worn. As always, sandals, or open-toe shoes are NOT allowed. Shirts may be white, navy, or baby blue and pants must be navy, or khaki. On Fridays, students are allowed to wear their spirit shirts, if they have one. Student name tags are required every day. Name tags are not only worn as a safety measure, but it helps the lunch line  move faster.

Curriculum and Instruction: This year we are digging deeper into the Common Core in Language Arts, Math and Science. What that means for our students is that I will be pushing students to achieve higher standards, particularly in the area of writing. We will be writing across the curriculum in EVERY subject..writing is no longer a “time of day.” Language Arts and Math will be taught during the morning with a break for specials and snacks. Students will also attend classes in Music, PE, Library and Art. Students in the intensive Spanish program will be learning science during their Spanish class. Please be patience, as some students might get frustrated at the beginning.

Field Trips: The fourth grade takes several field trips throughout the year to reinforce concepts we are learning in the classroom. We would love to have parents join us  on these trips.

Contact information: you may contact me  via email, writing in your child’s planner, or calling the school number at (801) 627-2066. My email address is nrivas@ogdenprep.org