Hello! Welcome to our classroom!

I am pleased and honored to have the opportunity to teach fifth grade this year. Research proves that family involvement is the most important factor in a student’s academic success, so I will be communicating with you regularly in regard to what is happening in our room. Please read all of the school information sent home carefully.

I am looking forward to a fantastic year. As a parent, you play an invaluable role in your child’s education. Working together, we can ensure a positive, productive year filled with success and growth. Thank you for all that you do.

Learning Highlights

Here are just some of the “big ideas” we’ll cover this year.

Language Arts:
·      Reading and Understanding Nonfiction
·      Understanding the Elements of a Story
·      Use a Variety of Sources to Research a Topic
·      Write and Present a Biography (Wax Museum)
·      Understand and Use Text Features

Math:
·      Solving Problems Using Algebra
·      Working with Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
·      Understanding and Working With Data Sets
·      Calculating Area and Volume
·      Converting between Metric Units of Measurement

 Science:
·      Structure of Living Things
·      Astronomy: The Earth and the Sky
·      Heat
·      Oceans and Rivers

Social Studies:
·      The First Americans
·      The Age of Exploration
·      The Colonial Period
·      The American Revolution
·      Structure of the U.S. Government

Behavior Expectations

         Be safe, responsible, and respectful! These are the basic behavior expectations of our school. As a classroom, we will generate specific classroom agreements that are also based on safety, responsibility, and respect. Inappropriate behavior will be addressed with the following steps:

1) Reminder or redirect

2) Think Time:  Students who disrupt classroom or demonstrate other inappropriate behavior will be removed from instructional setting and given time to think about their actions.  During the time away from the group, the child's job is to regain self-control, so he/she can come back to the group and participate in a positive way.  Before returning to the group, students must write appropriate answers to the following: 1) What was your behavior? 2) What behavior do you need to display when you return to the group? 3) Will you be able to do it?

3) Call Family- In the case of repeated offenses I will call or email families.

Most behavior problems will be dealt with directly in the classroom with logical consequences. Any physical violence or extremely disruptive behavior that cannot be corrected by the previous 3 steps will be cause for immediate referral to the principal.

Visitors and Volunteer opportunities

We love to have your help! Parents are welcome to come to our classroom to assist these brilliant young children with their learning. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and out of town guests are welcome, too.  Please call to let me know ahead of time. There are many ways to volunteer.  If you would like a scheduled time to volunteer in the classroom, please fill out the attached volunteer survey or just let me know what works best for you.

Study Island www.studyisland.com

Harborview Elementary continues to offer Study Island, a web-based instruction, assessment, and practice tool. The login for the students is HBV, followed by their last name, then the first letter of their first name. The password is their Student ID number.

Contact Info

Please do not hesitate to jot me a note, email (liz_agnew@jsd.k12.ak.us), or stop by the classroom after school with any questions or concerns you may have. My school number is 523-1887, however I may not be able to answer it during school hours since my focus is on the students. The quickest and most convenient method of contacting me is via email as I often check this throughout the day.  I appreciate any information that assists me in teaching your child!