Welcome to Parent Orientation!Mrs. Maus 3rd Grade

About Me….. Professionally

• Earned my Bachelors Degree of the University of South Florida. Go Bulls!

• I am certified K-6 grade, I am an endorsed ESOL teacher and will finish my endorsement for Teaching Gifted children this summer.

• I have worked in Pasco county since 2006.

• I have worked at Sand Pine Elementary in grades 3, 4, & 5.

• I have worked and opened Double Branch Elementary in grades 3 & 4.

• This is my second year at Veterans teaching 3rd.

About Me……. Personally

• I grew up in Pinellas County• I am married. My husband, Travis, is a

police officer in the City of Tampa. He is also a member of the Army, where he is a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

• I am the mother of 2! I have 2 daughters. Olivia who is 3 (and a half, the half is important.) Lillian is 2.

• My husband’s work life, having 2 toddlers and teaching keep me very busy, so I do not have any particular hobbies to speak of.

My Family!

ScheduleOur daily schedule is found in the center

prongs of your child’s (red) communication folder.

Reading will be at the end of the day. This is an important time in 3rd grade. Try to avoid early check out.

Specials: Monday- Art & PETuesday & Friday- MusicWednesday & Thursday- PE

AttendanceIt is important that your child comes to school

each and every day well rested and ready to learn. Regular attendance at school is critical for your child to achieve his/her highest academic potential. Academic learning occurs all day and students who arrive late or leave early miss valuable instructional time aimed at their academic success. If your child arrives after 9:40 a.m. tardy bell, you will need to park your car and come to the front office to sign your child in for the day. If you child will be absent, you need to notify the school of the reason why your child is absent. You can call (813) 346-1488 to leave a recorded message why your child is absent from school. This number is available 24 hours a day to record a message.

Behavior Plan: SUPER RulesEveryone starts on a 5.

If a student breaks a SUPER Rule, the student moves their super hero down one number. They can move back up if they make better choices. If they move to a 3 or below, they cannot move back up.

If they move to a:4: Verbal Warning3: Instant written reflection and note in

the Planner2: Parent Contact via phone or email1: Referral to the Principal

Homework PolicyVeterans Homework Policy:

Homework Policy states that a 3rd Grade teacher can only give a total of 30 minutes of homework a night in all subject areas combined.

We ask that students read 15-20 minutes each night as a part of their homework. We will also be sending home math practice worksheets. However, we will only be sending those home when the skills have been completely covered in class.

Mrs. Maus’ additional HW info:• Reading logs will be kept monthly with a different

focus each month.

• Math homework will be assigned each night a new lesson is taught. No homework the night a test was

taken.

• No weekend homework. : )

GradingA- Well Above Expectations

Your child has demonstrated performance that is well above expectation on concepts and skills emphasized or addressed during this reporting period. This grade recognizes excellent achievement based upon your child’s ability to independently and on a consistent basis apply critical thinking, problem solving or innovative thinking that goes above and beyond teacher’s expectations for successful performance.

B Above ExpectationsYour child has successfully demonstrated performance on concepts and skills addressed during this reporting period. Your child has successfully learned concepts and skills and independently and on a consistent basis is able to apply them in a variety of settings.

Grading continued…..C– Adequate Progress Your child has adequately learned concepts and

skills emphasized or addressed during this reporting period and is independently and on a consistent basis continuing to perform at the expected level.

D– Below Expectation Your child is in the process of learning concepts

and skills emphasized or addressed during this reporting period. Your child is making minimal progress and needs assistance to complete the tasks at the expected level.

U- Well Below ExpectationsYour child has made little or no progress in learning concept and skills emphasized or addressed during this reporting period. Extra assistance is needed to perform assigned tasks. Your child is working well below expectations

AssessmentsWeekly (Fridays):

• 2 forms of a reading assessment (hot & cold)

• Word analysis (Spelling) & GrammarEvery 3 weeks:

• Writing3 times a year:

• Core K12 (Math & Science)

• FAIR (Reading)Once a year:

• FCAT (Reading & Math)Other:

• Pre & Post Tests (Math, Science)

FCAT Testing

Florida law states that if a student cannot demonstrate an ability to read proficiently on a third grade level, they must be retained. (Level 1 on the FCAT Reading)

BIRTHDAYSWe will be recognizing your child’s birthday

through our weekly pod meetings, school-wide morning announcements, and by the school giving a small birthday token on their special day. At the end of each month he/she will also enjoy birthday cake at a special birthday table at lunch. It is VES policy to recognize students’ birthdays in this way so that we are not interrupting instruction. Gifts, cupcakes, cakes, and other “party” items will not be allowed.

VolunteersIf you would like to volunteer in the classroom, at

school or on a field trip, at all this year, you must be approved by the county. I suggest that everyone fill out the application and be approved so that you don't have to worry about it later. It takes about 3 weeks to get approved, so it is almost impossible to apply at the last minute before a field trip if you want to chaperone. Please note that you must re-apply each year. It can be done on-line contact me for the link.If you are already an approved volunteer, please let me know or if you apply let me know when your approval comes through. I like to keep track of my parents who are already approved.

Mrs. Maus3rd Grade Class!

COMMUNICATIONPlanners: minor behaviors and some notes will be written in planners.

Email: weekly emails (Monday Nights) will be sent to all parents. I will also email for more detailed issues or behaviors if my schedule does not allow me to call.

Newsletters: The first week of the month a news letter will come home from the Incredibles Team.

Web Site: Our team website can be found under the “teams” link on the school web page.

The planners are used school wide. They are used for parent/teacher communication as well as keeping the students organized.

In my classroom, the planner can be a good tool for family planning. Every Monday, when the students come in, I have them copy my planner at the front of the room into their planners. This lets them know what topics we are learning about in each subject that week, when we have a test and when we have a schedule change. It also helps to know about tests ahead of time or if your child is absent, it lets you know what they missed or will be missing that day.

I suggest reviewing the planner on Monday evenings with your child and initialing for me that you saw it and are aware of the week’s activities. Each day, please glance at the planer to check and make sure there are no new notes or behavior notes. The planner is also used to check and see what that night’s homework is. TESTS will be written or boxed in REDHOMEWORK will be at the bottom of each day in the KEEP TRACK section and will be added daily.BEHAVIOR notes and YOUR INITIALS should be in the BLUE box at the bottom of each day.

PLANNERS

PLANNERS……… continued

TESTS will be written or boxed in RED

HOMEWORK will be at the bottom of each day in the KEEP

TRACK section and will be added daily.

BEHAVIOR notes and YOUR INITIALS should be in the BLUE box at the bottom of each day.

All your child’s folders and spiral notebooks are color coded to match a specific subject to help them and me stay organized. Here is the color system so you are aware as you look through their backpacks. 

RED- CommunicationGREEN- ReadingYELLOW- Science & Social StudiesBLUE- Math

FOLDER COLOR CODES

Please be aware that besides the planner, all parent communication takes place using the red folders. Inside your child’s folder you will notice that the pockets are labeled. One is labeled STAY HOME and the other is labeled BRING BACK. In the “stay home” side you will find newsletters, parent info letters, etc. In the “bring back” side you will find permission slips, tests that need to signed and returned, etc. Please check this folder, along with the planner nightly.

RED COMMUNICATION FOLDER

THANK YOU FOR COMING!

We are going to have an “INCREDIBLE” year!