Dear Parents,

Thank you for sending your students into Jet Land ready to ‘Seize the Day’ learning in Jet Land!

Fast Facts about Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. McCracken’s Classroom Management and Behavior

• Neighborhoods are the small groups your children sit in throughout the day (typically 4-5 children in a neighborhood).
• Students live in neighborhoods or small groups and are responsible for their individual behavior as well as their neighborhood behavior.
• No behavior chart is posted in my classroom because I believe your behavior is between you as the student, your teacher (including Mrs. McCracken), and your parents.  Student behavior is recorded in each individual child’s homework chart with AM and PM behavior documented by the student.  For example, students fill in their charts before lunch (AM) and have a “clean slate” in the afternoon (PM).  If there is a problem with behavior, I will let your child know by showing them a 1 and then a 2 with my fingers or telling them individually to prevent them from being embarrassed or ashamed in front of peers.
• Please know Mrs. McCracken and I hold them to the same high expectations you as parents hold them to, we love your children and want the best for them so we are fair and consistent.
• If your child is on yellow, we always discuss/debrief why this happened (privately), how we can change it, and problem solve ways to prevent future behavior issues he/she is struggling with.  This will be noted in the homework/behavior chart before your child goes home.  Students must understand why this happened and have a plan to prevent it to feel empowered in changing behavior for the better. 
• Mrs. Fordham and I are here to help and support our students and you, their families!  J Please know that I love to share that great things your child is doing so if you see a yellow with a quick note describing what happened, please know that I will definitely be celebrating all the great things your child is accomplishing at school as well.

Thank you for all you do to support your child!  You are making a difference!

There are 3 colors on the bottom of the homework/behavior chart explained in detail: green, yellow, red.

Students are rewarded for their individual and neighborhood behavior:

Students who are on green (for individual behavior) will be rewarded on Friday from the “Treasure Box” with 1 item or an “I had a great day” J phone call from teacher.

Students who are on green and in the winning neighborhood will get 2 rewards (2 treasure box items or student could opt for positive phone call home and 1 item from treasure box).

*Students who are on yellow more than once will be allowed to shop for a toy, but it will be on “layaway” pending teacher discretion when it goes home.  For example, when I see you/student exhibiting “green” behavior and taking charge of your behavior, I will be happy to send you home with your “layaway” reward and/or positive phone call home. 

Homework and Class work expectations:

Students are expected to complete work when assigned.  Therefore, students who “waste time” or wait until the last minute to complete class work will be held accountable.  Students who consistently do not complete/turn in homework (2 or more times within a week) will take their assignments to lunch.  For example, our lunch time is from 10:55-11:25 so a student who needs to finish assignments would be given from 10:55-11:15 to eat and 11:15-11:25 would be spent completing assignments that were incomplete.  I do not give students “silent lunch” but if they are not completing assignments in time allotted to them during class and at home, they must be held accountable so they will be completed during this time.  *If your child is having difficulty completing assignments we (teacher, student, family) will problem solve and figure out ways to get homework completed.  **This response strategy is only used if a student is complacent and not completing assignments in class or at home.

Jet Pride Wings

Mrs. McCracken and I “pay” for each wing which goes into your child’s neighborhood bank for Friday.  For example, Jet Pride Wings will be rewarded on their neighborhood poster (with your child’s decorated house from the 1^st day of school) with tally marks, money, ten frames, or whatever tangible reward is relevant in Math during this time to reinforce Math concepts.  Students can only benefit from getting Jet Pride Wings!   If students do not earn wings, there are no consequences.  For example, right now I am “paying 5 tally marks per wing” for their neighborhood banks and if they did not earn a wing our next stop would be to reflect.  For example, before going to that special (they did not earn the wing in-PE, Media, Reading Lab, etc.) we would quickly problem solve and reflect and think of ways we could improve as a team.  The times we are not given wings are teaching moments to reflect on the importance of showing Jet Pride and what it means to us as individuals, as a class, and how we represent our families.

We look forward to a great year in Jet Land!  Please contact us if you have any question or concerns.

As always, thank you for all you do to support your child’s education at home.  You are making a difference!

Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. McCracken