Upcoming Events
Monday, 9/15
Tuesday, 9/16 Roberts Night @ JerryBuilt, 5:00-8:00 pm
Wednesday, 9/17
Thursday, 9/18 SDMC, 3:30 pm
Friday, 9/19 Staff Appreciation Lunch, hosted by PTO Board
Monday, 9/22
Tuesday, 9/23
Wednesday, 9/24 Early Dismissal, 12:30 pm
Thursday, 9/25
Friday, 9/26
Monday, 9/15
Tuesday, 9/16 Roberts Night @ JerryBuilt, 5:00-8:00 pm
Wednesday, 9/17
Thursday, 9/18 SDMC, 3:30 pm
Friday, 9/19 Staff Appreciation Lunch, hosted by PTO Board
Monday, 9/22
Tuesday, 9/23
Wednesday, 9/24 Early Dismissal, 12:30 pm
Thursday, 9/25
Friday, 9/26
Spotlight on Homework
What Should a Parent Expect?
Homework is an opportunity for your child to practice important skills they are learning at school. At Roberts, homework should generally take 10 minutes each night for every year your child has been in school, plus 20-30 minutes of nightly reading. So, a first grader may have 10-20 minutes of homework and additional reading each night. A fifth grade student would likely have one hour of homework plus nightly reading.
How Can Parents Help Establish Strong Habits?
Set a routine for homework. Decide with your child when homework will be done each night, and find a location that is free from distractions. Make sure your child understands what to do, and then check the work when it is complete.
Why Isn't Homework Graded?
For many years the policy at Roberts about homework has been that while it should be checked, it should not be graded. Many parents wonder why. Homework is an opportunity for students to leave the safe confines of the classroom and practice what they learned independently. Children need the repeated practice to firmly root new learning. Teachers need to know whether students could complete the new learning with accuracy. Often times, students need support at home when they can't remember how they "did the work" at school. When you sit with your child and help with homework you are supporting their understanding. The confusion comes when students return with work completed accurately, but they actually could not do the work alone. The best way to support your child when they are struggling with homework is certainly to help, but make a note on the assignment for the teacher. If you helped with questions 3 and 5, the teacher will want to know that. A strong line of communication with your child's teacher will let her know what reteaching needs to be done during the next class period.
Our goal is to ensure your child is proficient with the work. When homework is graded, often the focus shifts from independent practice, to a focus on getting everything correct for the best grade. This will often work against us because the teacher won't have a clear picture of what your child is doing well, and what she is still learning.
When Is It Done?
an excerpt from the article entitled, Avoiding Homework Wars by Diana Browning Wright
What Should a Parent Expect?
Homework is an opportunity for your child to practice important skills they are learning at school. At Roberts, homework should generally take 10 minutes each night for every year your child has been in school, plus 20-30 minutes of nightly reading. So, a first grader may have 10-20 minutes of homework and additional reading each night. A fifth grade student would likely have one hour of homework plus nightly reading.
How Can Parents Help Establish Strong Habits?
Set a routine for homework. Decide with your child when homework will be done each night, and find a location that is free from distractions. Make sure your child understands what to do, and then check the work when it is complete.
Why Isn't Homework Graded?
For many years the policy at Roberts about homework has been that while it should be checked, it should not be graded. Many parents wonder why. Homework is an opportunity for students to leave the safe confines of the classroom and practice what they learned independently. Children need the repeated practice to firmly root new learning. Teachers need to know whether students could complete the new learning with accuracy. Often times, students need support at home when they can't remember how they "did the work" at school. When you sit with your child and help with homework you are supporting their understanding. The confusion comes when students return with work completed accurately, but they actually could not do the work alone. The best way to support your child when they are struggling with homework is certainly to help, but make a note on the assignment for the teacher. If you helped with questions 3 and 5, the teacher will want to know that. A strong line of communication with your child's teacher will let her know what reteaching needs to be done during the next class period.
Our goal is to ensure your child is proficient with the work. When homework is graded, often the focus shifts from independent practice, to a focus on getting everything correct for the best grade. This will often work against us because the teacher won't have a clear picture of what your child is doing well, and what she is still learning.
When Is It Done?
an excerpt from the article entitled, Avoiding Homework Wars by Diana Browning Wright
For some kids, right after school is the perfect time to do the work because the assignment is fresh in their minds. Others need a break before they can tackle more school work.
Sometimes team sports, a parent's work schedule, or other activities interfere with doing homework immediately after school. With your child's input, you may need to develop two plans: one for the usual day and one for unusual events. When you agree on the plans, write them down.
If your child usually resists homework, make sure it doesn't immediately follow an interesting, rewarding activity (e.g., skateboarding with friends, playing a computer game). That can make the task look even more distasteful. Instead, transition her from fun activities to activities less enjoyable but also less difficult than homework. For example, ask her to bring in the mail, then ask her to set the table, and follow that with a request to help you tear lettuce for the salad. This is called "behavioral momentum," getting your child to do tasks that are not hard and are rarely resisted before you ask her to do something challenging. The idea is to create a distance from the fun activity to the more difficult one by inserting small, neutral tasks. Resistance is less likely if the momentum of compliance is built first.
Early Pick-up
Please make every effort for your child to attend school each day for the entire day. When your child leaves early, they miss instruction. When you must pick up your child early, please remember that it may take up to 5-10 minutes to call your child to meet you at reception. We will not call your child from class before you arrive. Please also note that if your child is in an ancillary class they will not be able to go back to the classroom for their things.
Please also note, at 2:50 p.m. we will no longer call for children for early pick-up. After 2:50 p.m. you will need to go to the dismissal area for your child.
State Accountability
Last week at our Annual Curriculum Night, I provided an annual school update that included information on our 2014 State Accountability Rating. Roberts Elementary met standards, earning 6 of 6 Distinction Designations for Academic Achievement in Reading/ELA, Academic Achievement in Mathematics, Academic Achievement in Science, Top 25% in Student Progress, Top 25% in Closing Achievement Gaps, and in Postsecondary Readiness. You will receive an overview of our State Accountability report this week in the Tuesday Folder.
Please make every effort for your child to attend school each day for the entire day. When your child leaves early, they miss instruction. When you must pick up your child early, please remember that it may take up to 5-10 minutes to call your child to meet you at reception. We will not call your child from class before you arrive. Please also note that if your child is in an ancillary class they will not be able to go back to the classroom for their things.
Please also note, at 2:50 p.m. we will no longer call for children for early pick-up. After 2:50 p.m. you will need to go to the dismissal area for your child.
State Accountability
Last week at our Annual Curriculum Night, I provided an annual school update that included information on our 2014 State Accountability Rating. Roberts Elementary met standards, earning 6 of 6 Distinction Designations for Academic Achievement in Reading/ELA, Academic Achievement in Mathematics, Academic Achievement in Science, Top 25% in Student Progress, Top 25% in Closing Achievement Gaps, and in Postsecondary Readiness. You will receive an overview of our State Accountability report this week in the Tuesday Folder.
No comments:
Post a Comment