Transcript www.endeavorcharterschool.com

th
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Welcome to
grade at
Endeavor Charter School!
Language Arts
Reading:
• Homework: nightly reading log (20 minutes), one Study Island
assignment per week, one at-home book project each quarter
• Grammar quizzes
• Book clubs during 3rd and 4th quarter
Writing:
• Writer's workshop/Writing process (plan, draft, revise, edit, and
publish)
• There is typically no homework in writing.
We do about 2 units of study each quarter in each class. Most lessons
include a mini-lesson, modeling, independent/group task, independent
reading or writing, and conferencing.
Mrs. Landwehr- Math
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Fifth year at Endeavor and 27th year of teaching
My typical class has nightly homework to review the day's lesson.
We have at least two test grades per quarter and 3-4 units of study
per quarter.
A math class is 100 minutes long, 3 days per week, and 70 minutes
2 days per week. We start with a daily problem that requires an
explanation of how the student answered the question, review
homework and answer questions, a lesson on a new concept (or
building off of the day before), hands on activity, independent work,
group work, and closing comments/questions before homework is
assigned.
Mrs. Dalton Science and Social Studies
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Social studies -the state of North Carolina
Science - electricity, rocks and minerals, food chemistry, and
animal adaptations.
Students usually have several days or a week to complete
homework, and it may involve anything from keeping a
food/exercise diary to research, using technology, or longer-term
projects. There are unit tests in science and social studies.
The students experiment, make observations, and complete lab
reports in a science notebook. We do lots of nonfiction reading and
learning new vocabulary. Many hands-on activities..
Homework/Quizzes/Tests
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About one hour of homework per night. This depends on time management,
projects, and time of year.
How much can parents help? Let students work independently for the most
part. If there is a particular skill your child is struggling with, give them
guidance but please don’t help them with all of the assignment. Please
email the teacher to let us know if there is a struggle. Keep in mind, there is
usually a little bit of a struggle for the beginning of a new concept.
Reading and Math have nightly homework.
The fourth grade team plans ahead to coordinate the dates of tests,
quizzes, and projects at different times for each class.
EOGs are in reading and math in 4th grade.
Memorization Tasks and
Extension Projects
We do one required memorization task
each quarter.
Several optional extension projects are
offered each quarter so that students have
the chance to earn extra credit and extend
their knowledge.
Our Daily Schedule
Blocks: Reading/Writing, Science//Social Studies, or Math
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
8:05-8:30 Arrival
8:30-8:45 Morning Meeting
8:45-10:25 Block 1
10:25 – 10:50 Block 2
Recess 10:50-11:20
Lunch 11:20-11:50
11:50-1:15 Finish Block 2
1:15-3:00 Block 3
3:00-3:15 Agendas
Tuesday/Thursday Schedule
8:05-8:30 Arrival
8:30-8:40 Morning Meeting
8:40-10:10 Fine Arts
10:10-10:50 Block 1
Recess 10:50-11:20
Lunch 11:20-11:50
11:50-12:20 Finish Block 1
12:20-1:30 Block 2
1:30-2:40 Block 3
2:40-3:00 Homeroom – Cursive, afternoon meeting, read aloud, pride time,
Rules, Procedures, and
Expectations
• The fourth grade team expects students to be
responsible, respectful, raise their hands to share
opinions/ideas, and to follow directions. This includes
their work, supplies, and relationships that they make.
• We reward students with Pride Time which is an extra
recess time.
• Conduct cards are given as consequences for not
following 4th grade procedures and expectations.
Special Events
• Field Trips and approximate fees:
• Haw River State Park $100.(Sept. 3-5)
• High Touch/High Tech $16. (Nov. and May)
• Coast $66. March (PAWS paid for part)
• Mountains $76.(overnight) PAWS paid $45.
• Day of Reading, Math, Writing
• Pirate Day
• Guest Speakers - author Candy Dahl $3. Junior
Achievement
When in doubt….
*Email is our best form of communication! Per the communication policy,
please allow us 24 business hours to reply to your emails.
[email protected]
[email protected] (This address goes to all of the 4th grade
teachers.)
*Tuesday folders- Tuesday folders go home every Tuesday. This is how all
graded papers go home.
*Website- Our website has links to most long terms assignments that are due.
This is where you can find extensions and a calendar with our due dates.
Headlines
• Students will learn to keep materials
organized, bring materials to class, and
use the agenda appropriately.
• A big change for 4th grade expectations
are more responsibility and time
management.
• We only give assignments that students in
4th grade are capable of completing.
What You Can Expect from
Teachers
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Fair, consistent
Bi-weekly newsletters
Frequent communication with emails, etc.
Challenge your child to be/do his/her best
Work tirelessly to provide engaging
lessons
Provide timely feedback on assignments
Expectations for Parents
• Check agendas daily at the beginning of the year.
• Read the newsletter every other Tuesday.
• Review the Tuesday folder.
• Communicate with teachers.
• Try to have your children in school every day, all
day. Be on time and avoid leaving early.
• Volunteer to help with lunch/recess at least once
a month/3 times a quarter.
• Complete a yearly background check.
http://www.endeavorcharterschool.com//Domain/60
Fine Arts
4th Grade
$5 Fine Arts Fee
$8 Recorder Fee (If you do not already own one) All 4th grade students will
need a recorder, they will also be used in 5th grade music class.)
All students are asked to purchase a purple binder with 3 dividers for Fine
Arts Classes
Students should expect to have homework in Fine Arts classes .
Chorus offered as before school enrichment class.
Please see the Fine Arts webpage for information on behavior expectations,
curriculum information, quarterly newsletters, and important dates. Feel
free to contact [email protected] with any questions.
Looking forward to a wonderful
year!
• We are so excited to work with you and
your children!
• We are confident that it will be a great year
of learning!
Quotes from Current Parents
Smooth transition from 3rd grade. I did not notice a huge change from 3rd
grade in homework or projects due or challenges with class changes. I
have faith in the 4th grade team.
I love the higher expectations and the organization that is taught at this age. It
has seemed to work well for both of my children.
You are an excellent team and I am thankful for all of your hard work. We will
all miss you next year as we move on to fifth grade.
I think it was a fantastic, smooth, supportive transition and he had a good
balance of challenging homework, projects, and experience with long term
projects and learning to prioritize and be independent. I also liked or
thought the balance of consequences (w/detention) and Pride Time was
fantastic.
Parent Comments
The projects in 4th grade were great and really gave my child a chance to be
creative. My child was always very motivated to do her projects. Her brother,
was in the AG program at his elementary school and I found that the projects
(both this year and last) were similar to the projects that my son did in his AG
program.
We feel that our son had a smooth transition from 3rd to 4th grade. He has
been consistently challenged and we feel that the amount of homework has
been appropriate. We are impressed with how much he has developed his
organizational skills and the ability to manage his time. We feel that being
held accountable for turning assignments in on time has been beneficial, as
well as offering rewards (ie. extra recess time) is great for him also.
It has been a tough transition with the level expectations that jumped up quite
a bit in the terms of organizing and type of work. The grading has been
much harsher than what we had been used to.
More Parent Comments
I guess I did not think much of the transition, maybe because I have older
ones. I feel everything that was expected was achievable if your student
stayed organised. Not to say we didn't have a few over load moments. I do
feel overload is important to experience. What I see at the High School and
even middle school level, kids are expected to stay organised with little help
to none from parents. Learning to juggle and priorities is probably the
biggest and best lesson they can learn. This is a "life" skill that prepares
them for the next journey.
Hello, we have had a wonderful fourth grade experience. All three teachers
are extremely professional and loving to the kids. The homework was about
the same as 3rd grade. (If my child was responsible and didn't
procrastinate). Homework was 20 to 30 minutes a night. I love these
teachers and wish we could have them again. Thanks for a great year.