Welcome to the 2016 - 2017 school year!
| Dear Parents: Hello! My name is Julieann Barrera and I am your child’s 4th grade teacher. I am very excited to be back at Leaders Preparatory and look forward to working with you and your child during the upcoming school year! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you and give you an overview of my classroom policies for the next school year. I graduated from the University of Central Florida and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in December of 2005. I am also certified in Elementary Education K-6 for the state of Florida. In January of 2006 I began my career at Seminole County Public Schools as a long-term substitute to fill in a three month leave of absence in 2nd grade. During the 2006-2007 school year I taught 4th grade at the same school. Last year was my eighth year teaching 4th grade at Leaders Preparatory School. I have always wanted to be a teacher since as far as I can remember. I love children and enjoy watching as they grow and develop. I have had many teachers who have inspired me and I hope to be an inspiration to all of my students. I believe that all children can achieve their dreams if they try hard enough. Children are the future and therefore it is important to provide them with the educational foundations necessary for them to become successful in life.  As your child’s teacher, I will do my best to prepare and guide my students through these sometimes difficult changes. However, I cannot do it alone. I need the support of you, the parents of my students. Good communication is the best way to accomplish this. On my end, I will be setting up my online grade book to be viewed and accessed by parents. More information about this will be sent home in the upcoming week. I am also always willing to sit down with you and discuss any questions or concerns that you have. The best way to get in touch with me is through email. On your end, it is very important that you get in touch with me as soon as any problem or concern arises. While I know it is often easier or more comfortable for you to go to administration or another parent when you have a concern, I would greatly appreciate it if you would please come to me first so we can solve the problem together. If I do not know what is going on, it will be difficult for me to help you. Please know that I always have the best interest at heart for my students and I want you to feel comfortable communicating with me. In order to create a learning environment that will benefit all students, I believe it is essential to have effective
Each month, every student in my class will apply for a
classroom job (i.e. teacher assistant, librarian, etc.) in which they will
receive a daily “salary.” In order to earn their daily “salary,” each student
must fulfill the duties of their job. Different
jobs will have different “salaries” based on the tasks required. Students can
also earn a “bonus” for good behavior and helping others. However, they can lose part of their “salary”
for not completing their classroom job or for breaking a classroom rule. At the
end of each month, students will have to apply for a different classroom job so
everyone has the opportunity to learn a new job. To learn the responsibility of managing their “salary,” each student will “deposit” their “salary” into the classroom “bank” at the end of each week. Everyone will have their own checkbook with register in order to keep track of how much “money” th ey have in the “bank.” At the end of each month students will then have the opportunity to spend their “money” on various items at t As part of my classroom management plan I also have a set of behavioral rules, consequences, and rewards. They are as follows:he classroom store and will have to balance their checkbook afterwards. I have found this method to be effective as it teaches students important life skills. As parents, I know a major concern for you is your child’s grades and how they are being graded. I would like to give you a general overview of my grading policy.
In order to decrease the amount of work turned in late and to teach students the responsibility of turning in work on time, I will deduct points on assignments turned in late. Students who are absent are required to make up missed work. Of course, if a student is absent, they will be given time to make up the assignments from when they are gone if the absence has been deemed excused by administration. Unexcused absences will be handled by administration. It is always best to let me know if your child is going to be absent that way I can prepare materials before hand. Math homework is always due the next day and will not be accepted late or incomplete. To keep you informed on how your child is doing, each student will have a graded papers folder. Every Tuesday this folder will be sent home with all the graded assignments completed the week before. Included in the folder will be a log for you to sign so I know that you have seen it. There will also be a section where you can write comments back to me if you have a concern you would like to address and a section to inform you of your child’s behavior during that week. Students will be expected to return this folder on Wednesday. Another aspect I would like to discuss with you is my homework policy. I believe homework is very important as it teaches responsibility and gives students extra practice on things learned in class. I assign reading and math homework Monday through Thursday every week. Every Friday, students will receive a spelling list for the following week. Spelling homework will be due every Thursday. Also, before every science and social studies test I will assign review homework. From time to time students will also be assigned projects to be completed at home. I encourage you to check your child’s homework every night and help them with any trouble areas. I also require that you sign your child’s planner each night. I hope you enjoyed your summer and I look forward to working with you and your student this year. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me at j.barrera@leaderspreparatoryschool.org. I hope we can work together in order to make the year a success! Sincerely, Mrs. Julieann Barrera |
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