Mrs. Kimbrue's Fifth Grade Class
2018-2019
Mrs. Kimbrue
Mrs. Dunlop-Kimbrue has worked in the Swartz Creek district since 2000. After graduating from Flushing High School in 1991 she earned a bachelor of elementary education degree from Eastern Michigan University and a Master’s degree in the Art of Education from Marygrove College. Two of her six children have already graduated from Swartz Creek High School, two currently attend Syring Elementary and one is in early 5's at Dieck Elementary.
Email: tdunlopkimbrue@swcrk.org
Location: 5300 Oakview Drive, Swartz Creek, MI, United States
Phone: 810-591-1313
Twitter: @kimbruekids
Class Schedule
8:45 - 9:30 Special
- Monday - Tech & PE
- Tuesday - Music
- Wednesday - PE
- Thursday - Art
9:40 - 10:20 STEM (Tuesday's and Thursdays)
12:05 - 12:45 Lunch and Recess
Friday is library day:)
Suggested Supplies
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This letter is to inform you of a suggested list of supplies your son/daughter will need for the fifth grade. Please keep in mind many of these items will need replacement throughout the school year.
Suggested Supplies for Fifth Grade
· 3 boxes of tissues ***
· 1 Roll of paper towel ***
· 1 Clorox wipes ***
· colored pencils
· crayons
· 4 Red checking pens
· 4 Highlighters
· School glue or glue sticks
· 2 Scotch tape
· 4 Post-it’s
· Pencil box
· 3-6 Composition books (100 sheet)
· Pencils
· Pencil Sharpener
· Fine tip dry erase markers
· Ear buds (students should have their own to use with the iPads)
*** These items are for the classroom.
I will provide as much as I possibly can. Enjoy your summer vacation. I look forward to working with all of you.
Thank You,
Mrs. Kimbrue
HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS
Fifth Grade Homework Expectations
Why we assign homework:
Homework is important because it is a valuable aid in helping students make the most of their experience in school. We give homework because it is useful in reinforcing what has been learned in class, prepares students for upcoming lessons, teaches responsibility, and helps students develop positive study habits.
Student’s homework responsibilities:
We expect students to do their best job on their homework. Homework should be neat and legible. Assignments that are sloppy and illegible will receive a “1”. If this should happen, the student will have a chance to re-do the assignment for an appropriate grade. We expect students to do the work on their own and only ask for help after they have given it their best effort. We expect all assignments to be turned in on time.
Parent’s homework responsibilities:
Parents are the key to making homework a positive experience for their children. Therefore, we ask that parents make homework a top priority. When asking your child about their day, ask to see their planner. Their planner should have all material taught that day listed on the appropriate date. Additionally, it will include homework assignments and any future tests. If your child needs to complete an assignment, please provide a quiet place for them and set aside a daily homework time. If possible have a central location where their book bag can be easily viewed by you and remembered by your child. By signing your child’s planner it lets us know you are aware of your child’s assignments. Contact us if you notice a problem with planners or homework not being completed.
If there is a legitimate reason why a student is not able to complete their homework, please send a note to us on the day the homework is due, stating why it was not completed. Sign and date your note.
Students who choose not to complete homework on a consistent basis, choose to lose certain privileges as well (see homework policy)
EXTRAS
Additional Fifth Grade Procedures
Snack
Students may bring in a healthy snack each day. This should be something nutritious, that they can keep in their desk and eat during morning break. No cookies, chips, candy or chocolate. Water bottles are also allowed in plastic bottles and must have an appropriate top.
Lunch
You are always welcome to have lunch with your child during our lunch time (12:05-12:45). Please remember you are to bring only your child’s lunch. Pizza party lunches are not allowed in the lunch room so please bring only enough for you and your child. If you wish to celebrate with pizza for the class please let us know ahead of time so we can make arrangements.
Birthdays
Students are welcome to bring in treats for their birthday. Please inform the teacher prior to their birthday so we may plan for their special day. If your child has a summer birthday and would like to celebrate their ½ birthday during the school year they are more than welcome to do so. Please ask your child how many students there are in the class for the number of treats needed. Please note that private party invitations are NOT allowed to be passed out at school unless you have one for each child in the class, or one for each girl or one for each boy in the class.
Book Orders
Throughout the school year Scholastic Book Orders will be sent home. Students will have one week to view the order, fill out the form and return it to school. Please send a check or money order with the completed form in an envelope. Do not send cash. We cannot accept cash on these orders and they will be sent home to be exchanged for a check or money order.
Library
Library books are checked out weekly. These books are for pleasure and require no testing. They are due back to the library one week after being checked out, they may be checked out for a second week if necessary. We also have classroom libraries in which the students may borrow books. We expect these to be treated with the same respect as the school library books.
Book Talks
Students are required to present two book talks each marking period. One book must be fiction, and one must be non-fiction. The book may be from any book read during the current school year and be within the students reading level. The students may use library books, accelerated reading books, or books from home. Your child will receive a copy of the book talk form they will be using to give their presentations. This will count for two homework assignments toward your child’s reading grade. Presenting additional book talks each marking period will earn your child extra treats and incentives in the classroom.
Planners
At the beginning of the school year each student receives a planner. They are required to fill this out daily with information covered that day along with homework assignments. We ask that parents initial the planner on a daily basis. It is the students’ responsibility to communicate with you what happens in the classroom. This will be a major form of communication for us, because not only does it inform you of what your child is doing in school, but it will also let us know that you are aware of the content covered and homework assigned.
TOKEN ECONOMY
Token Economy Guidelines and Overview
You have probably heard from your child about our “Token Economy” used in the fifth grade classrooms. We would like to take the time to explain how and why it is being used. The rational for “Token Economy” stems from the need for student’s to understand economic concepts in the real world. The Michigan Curriculum Standards and State Benchmarks require that the students learn these concepts. The students will also be tested on economic concepts in the Social Studies portion of the fifth grade MEAP test. It’s also a great way to learn life long economic lessons while they are still young.
Why use Token Economy?
This is part of the behavioral management system that has been used in the fifth grade classrooms for the past 13 years, and has been found to be very successful. Furthermore, we have learned that it teaches more than just economic concepts and vocabulary. It teaches and reinforces responsibility, math skills, and positive decision-making.
How does Token Economy work in the classroom?
This is a year-long economics game which reinforces positive behavior and holds your child accountable for their actions. Students will be learning about earned income, rent, savings, debit cards, line of credit (IOU’s), human resource (all students have a class job), payday, inflation, opportunity cost, scarcity and auctions. The students are gaining tokens daily as they begin learning these life-lessons. The students are also charged, or lose tokens for a variety of reasons, such as not having their homework when due, inappropriate behavior either in class, or any other area of school. The students will also have to pay for additional restroom breaks (the students are given five free restroom breaks throughout the day). This eliminates classroom disruptions and hallway wandering. If your son or daughter has a medical need to use the restroom on a more frequent basis, please contact us so that we can work together on a solution to meet your child’s needs. It is their responsibility to follow the CREEK rules at all times, if they don’t, they are charged whatever amount of tokens is needed to curb the inappropriate behavior. The same goes for students that do follow the CREEK rules and are being good, they receive additional tokens for positive behavior.
Please feel free to donate any dollar store items for our classroom auctions!
STANDARDS BASED GRADING
Standards Based Grading
Quality matters and the ability to measure the quality of one's own work is a learned skill. So how can we teach this essential skill? One way to teach quality is to demand it. We must create an environment where standards can and must be met and where students are not permitted to submit substandard work without being asked to revise.
When we base our grades on standards rather than attendance, behavior, or extra credit, we can actually help students grapple with the idea of quality and walk away with a higher degree of self-sufficiency. Standards-based grading measures what a student understands and is able to demonstrate at each grade level according to state content standards.
We can and do report information about your child’s performance in areas like attendance, effort, work habits and participation but these characteristics aren’t included in the assessment of your child’s academic skills. These characteristics are reported under our CREEK Work habits and Citizenship;
C=Commit to learning
R=Respect others
E=everyone is responsible
E=Everyone is Safe
K = Kindness Counts
What is a standards-based report card?
A standards-based report card lists the most important skills students should learn in each subject at a particular grade level. Instead of letter grades, students receive scores that show how well they have mastered the skills. These scores show if your child meets (3), each standard. They will also show whether or not your child is still developing towards each standard (2), or having difficulty and not demonstrating the standard (1).
How are standards-based report cards different from traditional report cards?
On many traditional report cards, students receive one grade for reading, one for math, one for science and so on. On a standards-based report card, each of these subject areas is divided into a list of skills and knowledge that students are responsible for learning. Students receive a separate score for each standard.
The scores on a standards-based report card are different from traditional letter grades. Letter grades are often calculated by combining how well the student met his particular teacher's expectations, how he performed on assignments and tests, and how much effort the teacher believes he put in. Letter grades do not tell parents which skills their children have mastered, or whether they are working at grade level. Standards-based report cards provide more consistency between teachers than traditional report cards, because all students are evaluated on the same grade-appropriate skills. Parents can see exactly which skills and knowledge their children have learned.
Academic Rubric
3 = PROFICIENT – Student meets grade level expectations with consistent accuracy and quality.
2 = DEVELOPING – Student is developing an understanding of, but is not yet meeting, grade level expectations.
1 = LIMITED – Student is not demonstrating an understanding of grade level expectations.