Disclosure Document and Welcome Letter

 Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to another school year and your final year at Valley View! My name is Lindsay Malouf. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you and for a magical 6^th grade year together. Thank you for trusting me with your terrific kids!

I am an avid Harry Potter fan, a lover of writing, learning, and spreading the “reading bug”. I have been married for 13 years to a wonderful man who teaches English at Timberline Middle school. I also have two beautiful daughters. This will be my 6^th year teaching, and I know it will be the best one yet!

Daily Schedule:

8:40 Opening (Pledge, Current Events)

9:00 Math

(Mondays 10:15 Recess)

10:30 Wonders Work

11:00 Specialty (Tues: Library, Wed: Computers, Thurs: P.E., Fri: Music)

11:40 Quick Write

11:50 Lunch

12:30 Read Aloud

12:45 Science/Muggle Studies

1:15 Recess

1:30 Reader’s & Writer’s Workshop

2:10 Mondays Early Out Day (Goodbye)

2:40 Hawk Time (Tues-Thurs)

Fridays: Class Meeting

3:10 Goodbye!

Grading: We will have standards based grades this year. 4-Students are performing above grade level 3-Students have mastered the standard at grade level ("A") 2-Students are approaching mastery 1-Students are below mastery

Reader’s Workshop:

I expect the students to read 40+ chapter books this year independently. They need to read a certain number of each genre, but novels will be of their own choosing. If the book is over 150 pages they can count it as 2 novels. Please take them to the local library often to help feed their reading diet! They will also have access to our wonderful school library and our class library as well as the online overdrive. They will have time to read in class and should read their books at home at least 30 minutes daily. I will know their progress through Student conferences, their Reader’s Notebook, student/Teacher letters, etc. They will choose from these books to do a book share each trimester.

`Realistic Fiction: 5

`Historical Fiction: 5

`Science Fiction: 2

`Fantasy: 5

`Mystery: 2

`Poetry Anthology: 4

`Autobiography/Biography/Memoir: 2

`Informational (Non-fiction): 5

`Student Choice: 10

Homework:

Their main homework will be their 30 minutes of independent reading time. Math homework will simply be a weekly reflection of what they have learned, how they can relate it to real life, and any questions they still have plus any unfinished class work. A weekly spelling list will also be sent home to study for the pre-test on Thursday and Post-test on Friday. Those who ace the test Thursdays are rewarded with free time Friday during the spelling test.

Classroom Management:

We have a behavior chart in our room. Students will move their number up or down the chart based on behavior. If they get to the top they get to enter the weekly drawing for prizes. If they move down, we will have behavior contracts and phone Calls home and possible Principal intervention. The students will be divided into houses and earn points. When a team gets to 100 points they earn a team reward. We also have a class marble jar. When it is full from good behavior we get to celebrate with a class party. I try to be very positive with the students and preserve their dignity. My policy is to praise in public and discuss problems in private. I will always communicate with you any concerns and hope you will do the same. I want to create a comfortable environment for the students to learn and to feel safe to fail as it is part of learning and growing. We will have a strong classroom community. We will do a lot classroom collaboration, communication, and creativity so it won’t always be a quiet classroom. It will however be respectful and focused.

Parent Volunteers:

I love having parents volunteer at school! I especially need help with getting parents to help teach P.E. on Thursdays from 11:00-11:40 and also Art projects on Thursdays from 1:30-2:!0. If you are willing to come and help, please email me! We will also need parents to chaperone our field trip. Alpine School District requires parents to get a background Check for field trips. Please contact the district office (801-610-8400) as soon as possible and ask to be transferred to the office making appointments for parent background checks. It is $55.

Communication:

Please feel to email me anytime at lindsaymalouf@alpinedistrict.org or call me at 801-610-8121. I hope we can foster a relationship of trust and respect as we both try to help your wonderful students prepare for Jr. High this school year.

I look forward to a fabulous year with you! Thank you for all you do for you do for your child’s education.

Sincerely,

 Professor Lindsay Malouf