Scholastic Book Orders
Throughout the year I will be sending home optional book order forms. There are multiple book orders from which to choose. These companies offer a variety of books that are of high interest, at a reasonable price. Hopefully these selections will help you to choose books at reading levels, which will challenge your child. This is a wonderful way for your child to have reading books that they have chosen. If you are interested in placing an order, please return the order forms and a check payable to Scholastic Books. Please total up all orders and only write one check. We are not able to accept cash for these orders. If you are interested in ordering online, go to www.scholastic.com/readingclub. Our activation code is HNQ2Q. For every order placed from home, the classroom library also benefits, because it receives one free book. Happy reading!
Home/School Connection
The Parent Portal of PowerSchool is easily accessible at any time. You can see your student’s overall grades for each subject, and a list of the individual assignments and scores. As teachers, we have the choice as to when and how often to publish our grades to PowerSchool. In the interest of making the website most useful to you, I am choosing to publish my grades as soon as I enter them into my computer. In return, I am respectfully requesting that if you have any questions/concerns regarding a specific grade your child has received, please wait until the work comes home in their Friday folder. Look over the assignment with your child and discuss what happened. If you still have questions/concerns after reviewing the paper, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am committed to maintaining clear and effective communication with you. I encourage you to call, write, or email with any concerns or questions you may have, and I will be happy to address any issues with you.
Friday Folders
Every Friday the assignment book and Friday folder will be sent home. In the Friday folder you will find completed work and notes from the office. Please review these items with your son/daughter and sign the sheet in the back pocket of the folder. The empty folder will need to be returned to school on Monday. Also, please sign the assignment book for that week and send it back to school. This helps to ensure that you are aware of what your son/daughter is doing in school.
Healthy Snack
Every morning you child will have the opportunity to have a healthy snack while learning. We invite you to send a nutritious snack with your child. Some examples of things to pack are: fruit, yogurt, vegetables, cheese, crackers, etc. Only “healthy” snacks will be allowed during this time. Any other treats will be saved for lunch. No food is stored in the classroom, so please only send in what your child will eat that day. We have a peanut/tree nut safe room this year, so please make sure that your child’s healthy snack is free of all nut products.
Birthday Celebrations
Children always love to celebrate their birthdays in school. I am very excited to share with you how we celebrate birthdays in my classroom. In lieu of sending in an edible treat, I am asking that you send in a small gift for the class. The gift can be something for the class to use during inside or outside recess, a chapter book for our classroom library, or it could be a small nonedible item for each student (ex: pencil, eraser). It should be kept a surprise from your child. Please wrap the gift and send it in on your child’s birthday celebration day. They will unwrap the gift in front of the class and we will be allowed an extra 10-15 minute recess that day to enjoy their birthday.
Homework Policy
There are daily assignments. Each assignment is given time to work on in class. Anything that doesn’t get finished in school should be taken home to complete. Assignments are expected to be completed for the next school day.
Students should look over and/or re-do their graded homework assignments to make sure that they understand the content, but they will not be re-graded for a higher grade. Students are encouraged to do their best job the first time around.
Student report card grades will be calculated in the following way:
- Homework not turned in when it is due will receive a 0%.
- Homework that is turned in late will be reduced by 10% for each day that it is late, up to 3 school days from the assigned due date.
- After 3 school days, homework not turned in will receive a score of zero.
Students should look over and/or re-do their graded homework assignments to make sure that they understand the content, but they will not be re-graded for a higher grade. Students are encouraged to do their best job the first time around.
Student report card grades will be calculated in the following way:
- 40% Tests/Projects
- 60% Homework/Quizzes
Remind Program
I use the Remind program (formerly Remind101). It is designed to provide teachers a safe way to text message parents important reminders regarding their child’s school schedule. I will use it to remind you of upcoming special events and tests. If you are interested in receiving our Remind updates, please to send a text message to the phone number listed below and message the correct code. You will then be asked to provide your name, so we know who is being “subscribed” to our Remind account. The Remind program does not allow for replies or return messages. It is simply a reminder program. The Remind service is free, although you will need to know your cellular plan for texting, as all standard text messaging rates apply. You can learn more information about the Remind program at www.remind.com. If you have not already done so, please join the class. To join my Remind list text to 757-349-7599 and send the following message:
There is an option to sign up using email and receive messages via email. Please see below for specific information.
- To join Mrs. Balwinski’s class send @balw
- To join Mrs. Balwinski’s Social Studies class send @ssbalw
There is an option to sign up using email and receive messages via email. Please see below for specific information.
2021-2022 4th Grade Supply List
The following items will be used throughout the school year:
Please keep in mind that desks are not very big. Students will need to keep all their supplies in the desks. If you are purchasing a pencil case, please find one that is able to zip up, instead of the hard-plastic boxes. A simple Zip-Lock plastic bag will also work for supply storage.
We will be using a team approach to cover the curriculum in fourth grade. I will be teaching your child Language Arts, which includes spelling, reading, and writing. Your child will be working with all three 4th grade teachers this year in the following content areas:
We are looking forward to a great school year!
- Pencils
- Hi-lighters (two different colors)
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Protractor for measuring angles (NO tool kit please)
- A small handheld pencil sharpener
- 6-8 Glue sticks (more will be needed later in the year)
- 4 Composition Notebooks (Label: 3-Writing and 1-Science)
- 1 BLUE plastic pocket folder (Label: Music)
- Colored Pencils (24 pack). We prefer no markers or crayons.
- A couple of dry erase markers (dark colors) for individual student use.
- Two Boxes of Kleenex
- Antibacterial Wipes (the kind you use in your kitchen, preferred no baby wipes)
- One pump bottle of Antibacterial Soap
- **NEWLY ADDED** 1 two pocket folder with pockets labeled DO and DONE
Please keep in mind that desks are not very big. Students will need to keep all their supplies in the desks. If you are purchasing a pencil case, please find one that is able to zip up, instead of the hard-plastic boxes. A simple Zip-Lock plastic bag will also work for supply storage.
We will be using a team approach to cover the curriculum in fourth grade. I will be teaching your child Language Arts, which includes spelling, reading, and writing. Your child will be working with all three 4th grade teachers this year in the following content areas:
- Mrs. Balwinski: Social Studies
- Mrs. Boes: Math
- Ms. Killinger: Science
We are looking forward to a great school year!