Mrs. Ruble’s Classroom Handbook
WELCOME!
It is my pleasure to welcome you to third grade and to Nikkari Elementary School! I am sure you have many questions concerning your child’s education. I will attempt to answer them in this handbook. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me! I check my email at least once per day or you may call the school or send me a message on our classroom FB page.
Please read all the information in this handbook carefully and contact me with any questions you may have!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What supplies will my student need?
Our classroom is equipped with everyday supplies for each student such as crayons, glue, folders, etc..It is okay for your student to bring his/her own supply if they would like to or to contribute to our classroom. A list was sent out but I would like to stress the following items for our classroom. There are three MOST IMPORTANT items that I am requesting that each student bring:
2. How will parents and teacher communicate?
There are many ways to find out what’s going on in school!
3. Will there be a snack?
Yes. Our class will take a 15-minute break in the morning. It is a time to stretch our legs, use the bathroom, get a drink, work on unfinished work, and have a small snack. It is NOT recess time. Snack time is a PRIVILEGE and not required and students can lose snack time due to poor behavior, not doing homework, or wasting class time. Also, snack is not provided by the teacher. Students may bring a healthy snack IF THEY CHOOSE, but the teacher will not be providing snacks. Healthy snack ideas include fruit, veggies, pretzels, crackers and cheese—I am pretty flexible on this. HOWEVER, JUNK FOOD items with high sugar content, like candy bars, cookies, and Little Debbie snacks are poor choices for this time and will not be allowed for snack time, however, they may eat those at lunch.
4. How many students are there in the classroom?
There are currently 25 students enrolled in our classroom. There are always changes in the first few weeks of school.
HOMEWORK POLICY
In third grade, students have HOMEWORK EVERY MONDAY! I very much believe in the fact though that kids need to be kids and PLAY AND try to respect your family time at home. Here are some homework need to knows:
SPELLING HOMEWORK: Students will have spelling homework EVERY Monday (or Tuesday if there is no school on Monday). This NEVER CHANGES. Students who forget their Spelling homework the next day will NOT BE ALLOWED to just “bring it tomorrow.” They will be required to work on it during snack and/or break and REDO the Spelling Assignment. No excuses. ALL LATE PAPERS receive an automatic 10% off PER DAY LATE. The spelling homework is always only a single sheet and for most students takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
OTHER HOMEWORK: There may be homework assigned periodically throughout the year on other days for special projects and assignments. HOWEVER, for the most part, Homework during the week happens only for students who use their class time poorly and miss their classroom working time. Also, students who are behind in their work due to absences or speed, may bring their work home at any time and progress reports will be handed out frequently for students who are behind. You can always check the progress of your student’s grades and assignments online at Power School. You’ll get more information on this soon.
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THERE IS HOMEWORK??? Many ways: Each student has a “planner” that we write in DAILY and I sign it each night! This will be filled with important reminders & homework and is another way to communicate with the teacher. I sign the notebook every day for every student before they leave. I ask parents to sign the notebook to return to school each day and if there is no homework, we write “no homework” in it and I sign it. You may also email me if you have a question or lose the notebook home.
ABSENCES, LEAVING EARLY, AND TARDIES
If you have an appointment in which your student will need to arrive late or leave early, it is helpful if you can contact me ahead of time or call the school and let us know of arrival or departure times. This helps with ordering lunches and gathering homework and I can have your student ready and waiting for you in the office.
Please note:
School starts at 7:50 a.m. and we do start class immediately. Students arriving at 8 a.m. are considered tardy, and students arriving more than a 1/2 hour late will be considered absent for a half day (school policy).
School ends at 3:07 p.m. I would ask of you to please have patience at the end of the school day when picking up your child. It is quite a process to get 25 kids ready for going home, and requests to have students leave 5 mins early to avoid the traffic in the parking lot is really disrupting to the class. Students will not be released earlier than 3:07 p.m. without advanced request. If you need to leave a few minutes early for an appointment, it is okay, but PLEASE try to make every effort to call the school or email me or send a note ahead of time. Thank you for being mindful of this!
ABSENCES: Students who are absent will be responsible for making up the missed work at home. When the student returns to school, they will receive their packet of missed work, but if you know of absence ahead of time, I can usually provide the work ahead of time as well with at least a full school day ahead for notice. They will then have 1 week to make up the missed work. Work that is still not made up after 1 week will be made up during recess and break times in school.
Field Trips-Periodically we will need chaperones for field trips. I will send a note home for volunteers. I usually will need 3-4 per trip. THANKS
Grades
Students in 3rd grade receive letter grades for all academic subjects! This is sometimes hard to get used to for new 3rd graders as they did not have this in 2nd grade. All grades and assignments can be found online through Power School, which you will get information about soon.
Students are responsible for completing their own work. If they do not finish an assignment, they may take it home during the week to finish OR may get it out once all their other work is done. Students who receive a C or less on an assignment may choose to “redo” their work to receive up to half the points missing back! I believe in TEACHING students the concept, not failing students through a letter grade. In 3rd grade, it is basically impossible to FAIL a subject EXCEPT if the student simply refuses to do their work and constantly loses it.
Here is the grading scale:
94%-100% A
94%-100% A
93%-90% A-
88%-89% B+
84%-87% B
80%-83% B-
78%-79% C+
74%-77% C
70%-73% C-
68%-69% D+
64%-67% D
60%-63% D-
below 60% E
Progress Reports-Occasionally, students will bring home a progress report that states missing assignments, redos, and their current grade (if possible). You can also check on your student’s progress using the online. We will be using Power School again this year, so you will get more information about this later. Printed progress reports should be signed by the parent and returned the next morning.
****If you have concerns about your student’s work and grade, please feel free to contact me.
Discipline Policy-Mrs. Ruble
I am expecting that all my students will make wise choices regarding their behavior. Students who follow the rules learn more and have fun in school!
School Wide Rules:
Rewards:
Students who display positive behavior and character can move their “clip up” to show outstanding student citizenship! These clip ups earn rewards! Examples:
Consequences:
Students who break a rule “clip down” and each clip down has a consequence.
1st offense-verbal reminder-warning
2nd offense-loss of break time, behavior plan with teacher
3rd offense-office referral form to principal, teacher-student plan, parent contact
*******behavior is recorded in their planners as well. Please check with your student daily about their behavior in school!
WELCOME!
It is my pleasure to welcome you to third grade and to Nikkari Elementary School! I am sure you have many questions concerning your child’s education. I will attempt to answer them in this handbook. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me! I check my email at least once per day or you may call the school or send me a message on our classroom FB page.
Please read all the information in this handbook carefully and contact me with any questions you may have!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What supplies will my student need?
Our classroom is equipped with everyday supplies for each student such as crayons, glue, folders, etc..It is okay for your student to bring his/her own supply if they would like to or to contribute to our classroom. A list was sent out but I would like to stress the following items for our classroom. There are three MOST IMPORTANT items that I am requesting that each student bring:
- a large box of tissues
- dry erase markers (expo brand only please)-at least 5
- a container of Clorox/Lysol cleaning wipes.
2. How will parents and teacher communicate?
There are many ways to find out what’s going on in school!
- Newsletters-every week on Mondays, I send home a newsletter. The classroom newsletter will contain vital information.
- Also, our principal, Mr. Binder, will also be sending home a school newsletter.
- Contact me! Our classroom can be found on ALL social media platforms!
- ***NEW THIS YEAR….we will be using google classroom for many assignments! More information to come.
3. Will there be a snack?
Yes. Our class will take a 15-minute break in the morning. It is a time to stretch our legs, use the bathroom, get a drink, work on unfinished work, and have a small snack. It is NOT recess time. Snack time is a PRIVILEGE and not required and students can lose snack time due to poor behavior, not doing homework, or wasting class time. Also, snack is not provided by the teacher. Students may bring a healthy snack IF THEY CHOOSE, but the teacher will not be providing snacks. Healthy snack ideas include fruit, veggies, pretzels, crackers and cheese—I am pretty flexible on this. HOWEVER, JUNK FOOD items with high sugar content, like candy bars, cookies, and Little Debbie snacks are poor choices for this time and will not be allowed for snack time, however, they may eat those at lunch.
4. How many students are there in the classroom?
There are currently 25 students enrolled in our classroom. There are always changes in the first few weeks of school.
HOMEWORK POLICY
In third grade, students have HOMEWORK EVERY MONDAY! I very much believe in the fact though that kids need to be kids and PLAY AND try to respect your family time at home. Here are some homework need to knows:
SPELLING HOMEWORK: Students will have spelling homework EVERY Monday (or Tuesday if there is no school on Monday). This NEVER CHANGES. Students who forget their Spelling homework the next day will NOT BE ALLOWED to just “bring it tomorrow.” They will be required to work on it during snack and/or break and REDO the Spelling Assignment. No excuses. ALL LATE PAPERS receive an automatic 10% off PER DAY LATE. The spelling homework is always only a single sheet and for most students takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
OTHER HOMEWORK: There may be homework assigned periodically throughout the year on other days for special projects and assignments. HOWEVER, for the most part, Homework during the week happens only for students who use their class time poorly and miss their classroom working time. Also, students who are behind in their work due to absences or speed, may bring their work home at any time and progress reports will be handed out frequently for students who are behind. You can always check the progress of your student’s grades and assignments online at Power School. You’ll get more information on this soon.
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THERE IS HOMEWORK??? Many ways: Each student has a “planner” that we write in DAILY and I sign it each night! This will be filled with important reminders & homework and is another way to communicate with the teacher. I sign the notebook every day for every student before they leave. I ask parents to sign the notebook to return to school each day and if there is no homework, we write “no homework” in it and I sign it. You may also email me if you have a question or lose the notebook home.
ABSENCES, LEAVING EARLY, AND TARDIES
If you have an appointment in which your student will need to arrive late or leave early, it is helpful if you can contact me ahead of time or call the school and let us know of arrival or departure times. This helps with ordering lunches and gathering homework and I can have your student ready and waiting for you in the office.
Please note:
School starts at 7:50 a.m. and we do start class immediately. Students arriving at 8 a.m. are considered tardy, and students arriving more than a 1/2 hour late will be considered absent for a half day (school policy).
School ends at 3:07 p.m. I would ask of you to please have patience at the end of the school day when picking up your child. It is quite a process to get 25 kids ready for going home, and requests to have students leave 5 mins early to avoid the traffic in the parking lot is really disrupting to the class. Students will not be released earlier than 3:07 p.m. without advanced request. If you need to leave a few minutes early for an appointment, it is okay, but PLEASE try to make every effort to call the school or email me or send a note ahead of time. Thank you for being mindful of this!
ABSENCES: Students who are absent will be responsible for making up the missed work at home. When the student returns to school, they will receive their packet of missed work, but if you know of absence ahead of time, I can usually provide the work ahead of time as well with at least a full school day ahead for notice. They will then have 1 week to make up the missed work. Work that is still not made up after 1 week will be made up during recess and break times in school.
Field Trips-Periodically we will need chaperones for field trips. I will send a note home for volunteers. I usually will need 3-4 per trip. THANKS
Grades
Students in 3rd grade receive letter grades for all academic subjects! This is sometimes hard to get used to for new 3rd graders as they did not have this in 2nd grade. All grades and assignments can be found online through Power School, which you will get information about soon.
Students are responsible for completing their own work. If they do not finish an assignment, they may take it home during the week to finish OR may get it out once all their other work is done. Students who receive a C or less on an assignment may choose to “redo” their work to receive up to half the points missing back! I believe in TEACHING students the concept, not failing students through a letter grade. In 3rd grade, it is basically impossible to FAIL a subject EXCEPT if the student simply refuses to do their work and constantly loses it.
Here is the grading scale:
94%-100% A
94%-100% A
93%-90% A-
88%-89% B+
84%-87% B
80%-83% B-
78%-79% C+
74%-77% C
70%-73% C-
68%-69% D+
64%-67% D
60%-63% D-
below 60% E
Progress Reports-Occasionally, students will bring home a progress report that states missing assignments, redos, and their current grade (if possible). You can also check on your student’s progress using the online. We will be using Power School again this year, so you will get more information about this later. Printed progress reports should be signed by the parent and returned the next morning.
****If you have concerns about your student’s work and grade, please feel free to contact me.
Discipline Policy-Mrs. Ruble
I am expecting that all my students will make wise choices regarding their behavior. Students who follow the rules learn more and have fun in school!
School Wide Rules:
- Be respectful
- Be responsible.
- Be safe.
Rewards:
Students who display positive behavior and character can move their “clip up” to show outstanding student citizenship! These clip ups earn rewards! Examples:
- Positive notes home.
- Praise
- Free time
- Reward trips!
Consequences:
Students who break a rule “clip down” and each clip down has a consequence.
1st offense-verbal reminder-warning
2nd offense-loss of break time, behavior plan with teacher
3rd offense-office referral form to principal, teacher-student plan, parent contact
*******behavior is recorded in their planners as well. Please check with your student daily about their behavior in school!