Welcome to Our Class;
 I love teaching and look forward to working with your child every day. Your child will be working very hard in 5th grade this year, and my goal is to help your child reach his or her full potential. We will be working on mastering fifth grade academic standards, and building a cooperative community of independent workers who model strong work ethic. Character education is embedded throughout our day, and Love and Logic is the guiding principal of our class.

 The guidelines in a Love and Logic Classroom are as follows:

1. I allow students to remain in my classroom as long as they do not cause a problem for anyone else. 2. If they cause a problem, I will ask them to fix it. 3. If they can’t or will not fix it, I will do something. 4. What I do will depend on the unique situation.

 Team-work is very important for success in our class and helps train student's for future success in the work place. Fifth graders sit in small groups and work together to problem-solve and create solutions.  I place emphasis on identifying students' strengths and giving them strategies to help with weaknesses, preparation for Middle School, organization, responsibility, and learning the skills necessary to be well prepared for sixth grade. Character education is a very important part of the school experience. Our class is a cooperative community, where individual learning styles are celebrated. I believe that school should be fun and that students should be active participants in their learning.

 I will communicate with you if your child is struggling academically in our classroom. You and I are your child’s advocates. We need to work together to help your child reach their full potential.  Below are things you need to be aware of so you can help your child be successful in 5^th grade.

·        Your child will have a planner, that you will need to sign every night, and it will go back and forth every day between home and school.  

·        Your child will have daily assignments written down and you and I can send comments back and forth, if needed.

·        I do not give a lot of homework. They will have 10 or less math problems every night, to help reinforce what we did in school.  They will read for pleasure for 20 minutes ( please read the “Why Read Every Day” handout).  Your child will also have a Friday spelling test.  They will not have spelling homework, unless they fail the spelling test.  They will get their words on Monday, if you call them out to your child everyday while driving down the road, standing in the grocery line, or at night before they go to bed, they will pass with flying colors.

·        Your child will have a blue plastic folder coming home on Wednesdays.  This will have graded work from the previous week along with a log that you will need to date and sign.  Please be on the look out for this every Wednesday and make sure that it is returned on Thursday so that I know you saw their work.  I do not need the graded work back but it is always helpful to go over it with your child.  Praise them for their successes and work with them on things that show a weakness.  Many times I sit with my own child and we redo math problems or look at their misunderstandings and work together on how to fix them. 

·        Our study guides usually come home on Mondays to help your child prepare for a major test on Thur. or Fri.  When this happens, I do not require your child to read those nights.  I only ask that they study for the test, which is still reading.

•   We do have snack time in the morning.  Please have your child to bring a healthy snack to help them stay focused throughout the morning.  They can also have clear water bottles with only water in it.  Studies show that student's who stay hydrated and eat a healthy snack increase their ability to stay focused and learn better. 

  ·        Every week I update my web site about what is happening in our class. If you do not have access to email, I will send you home a printed copy of the newsletter.

  ·        Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  355-0300 or email me at rsurfus@greenville.k12.sc.us . 
  I know that we will have a great year in Fifth Grade. Thank you for trusting me with your child.