Room 39 Policies and Procedures
The following procedures help keep our classroom running smoothly all year and help our third graders build independence and responsibility as learners. To review additional school-wide policies and procedures please consult the Highland Parent Handbook.
Recess, Lunch, and Snack
Our lunch will take place from 12:50-1:10 and recess from 12:30-12:50. Because this is a later lunch time we will also have a morning snack. Please send a healthy snack to school with your child each day. Students are welcome to bring a water bottle to drink from throughout the day, but please ONLY send water for in class enjoyment – it keeps us healthy and our classroom stays clean. If you have any questions about appropriate food choices please review the school policies below. Thank you!
School Health Policy from the Highland School Health Office
- Students with fever should remain home until they have been fever free for 24 hours.
- Students with vomiting or diarrhea should remain home until 24 hours after last incident.
- Please notify the health office of any contagious illness such as strep throat, flu or pneumonia or if your child has an illness lasting more than two days.
- Any medication that may need to be administered during the school day, including inhalers and Epi-Pens, requires an order from your child’s doctor. A blank Medication Authorization form can be printed from the Highland School website, in the Services tab, under Health Office. All health related forms are available in this location.
- Please notify the Health Office of any new diagnosis that may impact your child at school. All health information remains confidential. I am happy to work with families to manage any health needs at school.
- Lice can be an issue in schools. In order to protect the privacy of our students, we do not send out notices if lice has been identified in any of our students. I am happy to check individual students at the request of their parents if lice is suspected or upon return to school following treatment. We do not perform routine checks or whole class checks in order to protect the privacy of all students.
- Please be mindful of any snacks that are sent into school for celebrations. We have several students with food allergies at Highland. If your child is in a Nut-Free/ Peanut Free class, please send in only prepackaged,sealed, nut-free snacks with ingredients attached for class celebrations. In classrooms that are not designated nut free, it is still helpful to have ingredient labels available for review as some students have allergies other than nut products. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions regarding classroom snacks.
- Please ensure your contact information is current and correct in PowerSchool. If a child is sick or injured at school, it is important that we are able to contact you as soon as possible.
- When cold and flu season is approaching, hand washing remains our best defense against the spread of illness. Please keep in mind that children in school remain in close contact, and encourage frequent hand washing. If your child is unwell at home, please keep them home to help prevent the spread of illness in school.
Birthday Celebrations
Your child’s birthday is a special time, and we want to celebrate with him or her. This year we will be facilitating socially distant celebrations featuring a special read aloud, game, or individual activity in the classroom. If you would like to join our class virtually via Google Meet to celebrate your child's birthday or participate in an activity please let me know!
Dismissal Plans
Highland School uses the School Dismissal Manager system to track students' dismissal plans. If your child’s dismissal plan changes, please enter the new information on School Dismissal Manager before 2:45 on regular school days, and 1:00 on early dismissal days. If you need to make a last minute change closer to dismissal times, please call the Highland School office.
Travel Folders
Each night your child will come home with a ORANGE travel folder labeled with his or her name. This folder will carry homework to and from school as well as any notices that will be sent home and completed work. Please make sure that you help your child establish a routine for cleaning out their travel folder each night. (Where will your child put notices/forms to be signed and returned? How will your child make sure signed notices and homework assignments are in the folder to return to school?) Routines are important to help your child be more independent and prepared – travel folders are needed EVERY DAY.
Homework and Agenda Books
Each week, students will have homework assignments to support the work that they do in class. Children write down their homework each day in their personal agenda books. Per Cheshire Public School guidelines homework for 4th graders should take approximately 40-45 minutes each night. Twenty minutes should be dedicated to independent reading. Your child will record their reading each night on a reading log. Another 15-20 minutes will be spent on written assignments (such as reader responses or math practice problems). The final 5-10 minutes will be devoted to math fact practice.
You will find that your child may need additional time for homework responsibilities such as spelling and math fact practice. Mastering the multiplication, and division facts is an important component for success in 4th grade. As with independent reading, students should practice the facts nightly for 5-10 minutes and complete the math fact log. Please visit the 'Math' page for resources to support fact fluency practice at home.
If your child is unable to complete homework because of a family celebration or difficulty, please email me or send a note. We all have those times in our lives! You may also write a note in the agenda book, which is a convenient way to communicate, as it will travel to and from school with your child each day. Please make sure your child then completes the homework the next night. Agenda books should travel to and from school each day.
Scholastic Orders
Our class will be participating in Scholastic Book Club orders this year! Order forms will be sent home each month. Your family will have the opportunity to purchase books through the flyers and online while also earning FREE books for our classroom. If you would like to order online, our classroom code is NDHK7. To order online, visit Scholastic Book Clubs Online. Thank you for encouraging reading at home!