ABSENCES
If your child is absent from school, please call the school (816-316-5525) or send a note of explanation. All homework and class assignments must be made up within two days. I am typically at school around 7:30 am, I would love to have them come in before school to make up work. It is important that your child has very limited absences. We do a great deal of activities in class that are very difficult to make-up.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
School starts promptly at 8:50am. Dismissal begins at 3:50. On EARLY OUT days, dismissal begins at 12:50pm. Lunch will be served on most EARLY OUT days.
BEHAVIOR CHART
GREAT DAY-(Green) A great day is when I don't have to remind the student about appropriate classroom behavior. SAFE SEAT-(Blue) This signifies that the student needed to "take a break" from a situation that occurred. This could've happened in the regular classroom, SPECIALS, Lunch, or Recess. BUDDY ROOM-(Yellow) Sometimes the Safe Seat doesn't work for a child and they needed to be sent to another teacher's classroom. This is a way for students to reflect on their behavior outside of their own classroom environment. Here they will fill out a reflection piece. PRINCIPAL-(Red). If none of the above worked for the student, they will be sent down to the office to discuss the situation with the principal. Along with the behavior chart is a section for whether or not the homework was completed and turned in the night before. A Green star indicates that it was done, a Red star indicates that it was not.
BIRTHDAYS
We have lots of birthdays to celebrate this school year. Please contact me prior to your child's birthday so arrangements can be made if you plan on doing something special. Feel free to send in cupcakes, if you so choose. Some parents have sent in birthday pencils, erasers, etc. for each student in the class. In the past, others have donated a book to the classroom library in honor of their child's special day.
CALENDAR
Located on the website, you will find an online calendar. I update often with school information, classroom events, and other items. From previous parents, I know this is a favorite spot on the website. I hope you find it as beneficial as they did!
COMMUNICATION
Communication between school and home is vital to your child's success. It's very important to me that you are aware of everything that is going on at school. To keep you informed, I will post a newsletter on the website at the beginning of every week. Also, each child will have a Meadowmere Folder that will travel to and from school every day. Of course you can always reach me by phone or email. Please feel free to contact me at anytime for any reason.
DIFFERENTIATION
Here at Meadowmere, we differentiate instruction, which means that students are taught based on their instructional levels as well as interest. Groupings change frequently, as students' levels increase, or if they have an abundance of or less prior knowledge of the subject we're about to learn.
FIELD TRIPS
We will be going on field trips throughout the school year that are both fun and educational for the children. Permission slips will be sent home in advance informing you of all the details regarding the trip. Please return permission slips and money as soon as possible once they are sent home. We will often request parent volunteers to chaperone field trips. Please let me know before each trip if you are available and cleared through the district to chaperone.
GRADING SCALE
In our district, we use the following grading scale. If you have any questions
regarding your child's grade, please don't hesitate to ask.
Mrs. Abuyo's Grading Scale
A
94% - 100%
A-
90% - 93%
B+
87% - 89%
B
84% - 86%
B-
80% - 83%
C+
77% - 79%
C
74% - 76%
C-
70% - 73%
D+
67% - 69%
D
64% - 66%
D-
60% - 63%
F
59% or lower
HEALTH
Please let me know of special circumstances that may affect your child. Also, please let me know of any allergies your child may have, especially food allergies.
HOMEWORK POLICY
Students will be given homework Monday through Thursday.
All homework is due by Friday the week that it is given. If it is not turned in by Friday Morning, the child must complete it during their free period or s/he will receive an incomplete grade. Homework is very important in reinforcing the day's lessons!!!
If students complete all assignments Monday through Friday, they will be rewarded by playing Homeworkopoly to win prizes!
Click the Homework Hotspot section for further explanations, homework schedule, spelling lists, etc. so there should be NO EXCUSES for late homework!
If your child has trouble with his/her homework, please write me a note at the top of the page, so that I can spend some additional time with your child. If you've written me a note, I will count their homework as complete for that week, even if the assignment isn't entirely completed.
LIBRARY
We will visit the library throughout the year. Our library day is FRIDAY. If books are lost or damaged, we will ask that you replace the book.
LITERACY STATIONS
During our Literacy Stations, children practice reading and writing skills while I work with small groups. The station activities are designed to strengthen students' phonemic awareness, listening skills, reading fluency, oral language expressions, and cooperation.
LUNCHES
If your child is purchasing a school lunch please send lunch money in a sealed envelope with the following information written on the envelope: Child's Name, My Name, and the amount enclosed. This helps prevent "floating" money.
We will eat lunch from 11:55-12:25 each day.
MATH
We are using the Scott Foresman math series. In addition, I will teach the children to show and explain the stops of how they figured out the answer, not just getting the correct answer. This is what they must be able to do to perform on the MAP Test.
MONEY
Money is difficult for children to keep track of. Whenever you send money with your child (lunch, field trip, etc.) please put it in a sealed envelope that is labeled with your child's name and what the money is for.
NEWSLETTERS
I will post my weekly newsletter to the website at the beginning of every week. It is very important that you read the newsletter so that you can keep your child prepared for the week's upcoming attractions. The newsletter will contain information about our classroom activities, schedules, and events for the month. It will also include an overview of the week's lesson plans.
NURSE
We are fortunate to have such a wonderful nurse on staff here at Meadowmere. She is here to tend to minor scratches and scrapes, as well as sudden illnesses, and to administer medications. All medications that your child may need to take during the school day should be sent to our school nurse. Please be sure your contact information is kept up to date in the event that she needs to get in contact with you.
PARENT CONFERENCES
Please feel free to write a letter to me if you are concerned about your child or if you have a question. Also, you may write a note in your child’s planner, which I will be checking on a daily basis. In addition, you may also reach my voice mailbox at the school by dialing 816-316-5525. If you prefer, I can be contacted through email at andrea.abuyo@csd4.k12.mo.us.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Progress Reports are sent home three times a year; in the fall, winter, and spring. The Progress Reports are designed to reflect the progress your child has made toward 3rd Grade Expectations.
PTA
Your involvement in the classroom and at Meadowmere helps tremendously! Take time during the first few weeks of school to join our PTA!
READING
This year, students will be reading from many genres. Each month at home, they are to focus on a certain genre and read at least one book from that assigned genre. In school, we will be doing author studies, as well as reading genres such as realistic fiction, non-fiction, informational, biographies, mysteries, and much more!
RECESS
Determined by the weather, the children will play either outdoors or indoors for 30 minutes each day. Please keep this in mind when helping your child select clothing for the day. Recess is from 2:00-2:30 daily.
SCIENCE
Our Science program is centered on inquiry-based lessons: Magnetism and Electricity, Plant Growth and Development, Rocks and Minerals, and Solar Systems and Shadows.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB
Each month students will be able to order books from the Scholastic Book Club. The Scholastic Book Club is a great way to help foster your child's love for reading and to help your home libraries to grow. Not only does it benefit your child, but it also helps our classroom accumulate bonus points. These points allow me to get free items and books for our classroom library. Many of the books in my extensive classroom library are here because of these bonus points. If you would like to order books, I ask that you please follow the guidelines listed below. This makes it much simpler for me to submit the order form without error. Scholastic guarantees that books will be received within two weeks.
Please do not send cash. Only checks or money order are accepted.
Please make checks payable to "Scholastic Books."
Make sure the books you are ordering are clearly marked on the book order form.
Please send orders to me in an envelope labeled with your child's name and "Scholastic Book Order."
SPECIALS
The SPECIALS classes offered at Meadowmere consists of Art, Music, and PE. We will attend one SPECIALS class at a specific time each day. Please ensure that your child "dresses for messes" on Art days and wears sneakers on PE days. The SPECIALS rotation can be found on the class website.
SUPPLIES
When school supplies are brought in, some will be combined as community supplies since they will be shared. However, items such as pencil boxes will be kept for your child's personal use. Please label your child's personal belongings such as lunch box, book bag, and coats. Check out the Supplies page to find out what your child needs to have for the classroom as well as what items needs to be labeled.
TOYS
Bringing toys to school is discouraged because they distract the children from learning. Please encourage your child to leave personal items at home such as toys, electronic games, etc. Our classroom is filled with items to keep us busy, and lost or broken toys can result in very sad feelings.
TRANSPORTATION
If for any reason your child is to go home a different way than normal, I must have a note in order to ensure a safe arrival home. If I do not have a note, your child must travel home the normal way.
VISITORS
All guests, including familiar faces, must sign in and get a visitor badge in the school's office. Meadowmere welcomes and encourages family involvement. It is important to remember that while this may seem inconvenient to frequent visitors, it is the goal and responsibility of the school to create a safe learning environment.
WEBSITE
We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at http://ms-abuboo.com! Please bookmark our site for your child on your computer at home. Check it out regularly for updates and newsletters-it really is the next best thing to being in our classroom each day!
WISH LIST
Throughout the year I will post requests for items that we need in our classroom. You can browse our online Giving Tree anytime and I encourage you to visit frequently throughout the year. You just never know when I may need something that you're about to throw away.
WRITING
During Writer's Workshop our class writes together (interactive writing) and independently (journals and book making). Students are involved in explicit demonstrations of the connection between reading and writing. They learn concepts of how written language works while engaged in the writing process.
ZZZZZZ
Please make sure that your child gets plenty of rest each night. Setting and keeping a bedtime routine helps them to be alert and ready to learn each day!