Mrs. Arnold’s 3 rd Grade

1. Mrs. Arnold’s 3rd Grade • Anyone who has never made a mistake has never learned anything new! • Every child can and will learn, not all at the same time, and not all will excel in the same areas at the same pace. I expect their best effort not perfection.

2. This is a team sport! • For ultimate success we have to work as a team. Each member must work hard to gain the most from our educational sport. I am the trainer, the children are the players, and you are the cheerleaders and supporters of both of us. • I expect your support and ask for your trust. I want the best for your child.

3. Important Information • ASP: pay in advance • E-mail is very important in our room: check your email daily for updates and email me whenever you need me: betty.arnold@cobbk12.org • I am an excellent communicator about our classroom, your child, on what we are doing, and how you can help at home

4. Some personal information • In my 50’s and happily married to husband John for over 30 years. • mother of two sons, both married, and one grandson, Austin Christopher Arnold. Oldest son is an Internal Medicine Doctor, in Charlottesville, VA and the youngest is a Cobb County Firefighter.

5. Life Experiences • Have lived in New Orleans, Georgia, Delaware, South Carolina, Albertville, France, and Burkina Faso, West Africa. • Speak fluent though not perfect French and some Jula and Bwamu - African Languages. • Have experience in Kindergarten, second, third, and fourth grades • Have taught in private and public schools and one International School in Ouagadougu, Burkina Faso, West Africa.

6. Homework • Homework is very important, it is not busy work! It serves your child when done correctly. I expect you to assist your child and I expect your child to complete and turn it in weekly. • No negative consequences when not done or complete, but a positive reward is given when a child fulfills this responsibility.

7. Homework given out each Friday and due the following Friday • You can assist your child by teaching them time management and how to schedule completing this in sections not all in one night. This is very important for both of you especially when your child enters Junior High School. • Time management is learned over time. This will make your life easier in later years and make your child more successful in life. • You have 7 evenings to do this homework packet weekly, do it in small sections over the week so it helps your child learn.

8. Parent Answer Keys are Provided • Even we teachers have to refer to answer keys sometimes. Answer keys have been provided to you for the Drops in the Bucket Math and Grammar exercises. • These two exercises are very important and spiral and build on each other throughout the year. Please go over your child’s homework and correct it with them. This is your teaching time. Homework is tracked but not graded.

9. Reading Unravel • Unravel is a strategy that we will use faithfully. Please learn it and insist on it at home too. • U- Underline the Title, N- number the paragraphs, R-read the questions first, A-are you circling the important words in the questions?, V-venture through the text, now read!, E- eliminate the trash and keep the treasure, L- let yourself double-double check your work! • Unravel will make your child a better test taker, make better grades, and feel less overwhelmed with reading assignments. It works!

10. New Spelling Program • Weekly Spelling Words will come home and your child can learn the words in any way that works for them individually. However, if a child is doing poorly in spelling then required weekly work will be assigned. • You study in whichever manner works for you and your child, I do not expect to receive spelling homework, and the weekly activities are optional not required unless a child struggles on the weekly tests. • I will assess your child with weekly tests. • Spelling involves sorting words and understanding word patterns and how words are formed.

11. I am a very concerned and involved teacher! • I will communicate with you. • I want to work with you. • You may not always agree with me, but I ask for your support. I know it is asking much but please trust me. • I am accessible through email and phone. • I believe in praise and rewards and also in consequences for actions, both positive and negative. • I raised two responsible, polite, and well adjusted children and I will treat your children like I did my own. • I am very strict but am not mean. I have high expectations and am clear in what I want and what will happen. I am strict but fair.

12. Grades • New grading system this year. • I do not believe that grades in and of themselves are vitally important. Learning the concepts is much more important than just a grade on a paper. • Grades can reflect success and mastery, or they can show areas of struggle and concepts not yet mastered. This helps all of us when we use grades correctly. • Mastery is the ultimate goal and grades help show where we are on route to this goal. Use them as a GPS on our educational trip this year. • Grades reflect strengths and weaknesses.

13. Homework helps a child reach mastery and repetition keeps them sharp! • Homework helps a child to earn better grades by helping them to master the concepts. • It is the exercise club for the brain. Keep those academic brain muscles working and you will see the results. • Look under Homework Page for Homework details and expectations.

14. 3 Main Classroom Expectations • Respect: for yourself, others, property, and your teacher. This means in tone of voice, speech, actions, and even in facial expressions. “Yes mam” and “No mam” is expected. • We are a classroom family and Arnold’s take care of Arnold’s! • Our weekly classroom meetings help to develop a sense of family and community and is used to teach respect and how to handle conflicts. These are every Friday afternoon.

15. Responsibility • Responsibility: I will be diligent and prepare for class and expect you and your child to do the same. • Each child is responsible for completing and turning in homework. It is their job to put it in their backpacks, not yours. They are responsible to give me notes and to give you notes and school correspondence. This is their job! • Third grade is a year to grow up and take over more areas of personal responsibility. This takes time but can be taught and learned. Let your child know that you expect them to do this and it is not your fault when they forget!

16. Consequences • Consequences are both positive and negative and are earned not just given out randomly. • Good consequences: Praise, treats, privileges. • Negative Consequences: email home, discipline letter to write and get signed and returned, Webster’s Club (definition skills), loss of privileges or reward. • You need to allow them to learn from their mistakes and support this at home. Letters home provide you with a good time to talk to your child to find out what they did wrong, help them discover what they can do better next time and let them grow up and learn from their errors. This is part of maturing and we all mess up and they need to know that it is ok as long as life lessons are learned. • Let them know that you have made lots of mistakes too and that this is how you also learned. Let them know you still mess up, it is just a part of life!

17. Wrapping it Up! • I have the best job in the entire world. I love what I do. I am passionate about teaching the whole child. I want them to learn, to grow, to mature, and to become wonderful and productive students and future citizens. I want to teach them information, how to learn and use resources, and how to handle conflicts. I am excited about this school year and expect it to be exciting and successful. • It will be as successful as we all make it! It is a team sport!