Mrs. Haley & Mrs. Green's 5th Grade Inclusion

Mrs. Haley, Mrs. Green, and Ms. Van Zelst

338-2320 exts. 323/321

chaley@rrps.net or jgreen@rrps.net

We are known as the "Halgreen Team"

We believe that all children can learn. Our main goal is to meet students where they are at, and bring them to where they need to be!

We are very excited about this year and are so happy your child is a part of our class.  We wanted to just remind you of a few important things.  This year we will be focusing on the concept of “Imagination”.  Our yearlong essential question is “How can imagination open your mind to the past, present, and future?”  By the end of the year we believe all students will be able to answer this question.  We have broken the year up into four eight week units.  As the year progresses we will send home information regarding the units we study.

We wanted to share with you our classroom policies, rules, and expectations.  The first week of school we let the students determine what our class rules and consequences are.  We are very proud of what they came up with and we want to share them with you.  The rules are listed below: 

• Be respectful each other, teachers, community, property, and self
• Be responsible
• Be ready
• Ask questions

Our class motto is “Have fun while learning!”

Students also determined what the classroom consequences are if the rules are broken.  Students decided to use a clip system.  Every child has a clip that is placed on a green plate at the beginning of the week. There are three plates:  green, yellow, and red.  Green means they are doing a good job; for example, they are following the rules.  Yellow means they have broken a rule; for example, if a student comes to school without their work or if they are being disrespectful.  If a child moves their clip to the yellow plate they are to stay in for recess and they need to write a note home to their parents.  The purpose in writing the note home is so that parents can be aware that there is a problem, therefore their child correct it.  If a student moves their clip  a second time throughout the week they will go to the red plate.  The consequences for this is they lose recess for the rest of the week and they are required to either call their parents and let them know what happened or they may be sent to the principal’s office.  It is up to the discretion of the teacher as to what they do (call or go to the principal’s office).  If a child remains on green through the week they get to participate in TGIF, which is free time for the last 20 minutes of school on Friday.  Those students who have turned a card during the week do not get to participate in TGIF; they get to go to detention for those 20 minutes.  We have learned that by having students determine the rules and consequences they are more invested and more likely to not break the rules.

We would also like to share with you our expectations.  Since this is a 5th grade inclusion classroom we make every attempt to personalize instruction.  Class assignments and homework are given and modified based on student needs.  If you find your child is having a difficult time with an assignment we encourage you to please contact us and we’ll adjust as needed.  We do give out homework packets on a weekly basis.  Typically, we give out a homework packet on Monday and it is due on Friday.  If a student has not completed their class work during the time allotted in class they are expected to take it home, complete it, and return it the next day.  We work very hard in this class and provide a rigorous curriculum.  We do our best to make learning fun and meaningful.  We believe it is our job to prepare our students for the sixth grade and we do have very high expectations of all our students.

Finally, we believe that the best way to ensure student success is to develop a positive and respectful relationship between child, teacher, and parent.  We believe that a positive relationship between the three of us can make the difference for your child.  If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please feel free

to contact us and we will always do our best to respond in a timely manner.