Welcome to 5th Grade!

About the teacher:

My name is Kate Brinks and I am looking forward to getting to know you and your child
this year! I grew up in a small town of Crane, home of the Broiler Festival and Blue Ribbon
Trout fishing! I moved to Joplin in 2007 to attend Missouri Southern State University where I
received my Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. I began teaching 5th grade at
Kelsey Norman in January of 2013 and have loved every minute of it. If you have any
questions, please dont hesitate to ask.
Ways to contact me:

Email: katebrinks@joplinschools.org
School Phone: 417-529-7579
You can also contact me through our class website at: www.mrsbrinksclass.weebly.com

College Bound
Kelsey Norman is participating in a College Bound program. Together as a school, we
will be working to introduce students to the possibility of college. We hope to make college
or post-secondary career training a reality for our students by introducing them early to
college life and the opportunities a college education or post-secondary career training can
offer to their future.

This year, 5th grade will be visiting University of Arkansas (where our very own Ms. Sauer
graduated from!) for our University experience.

5th Grade Daily Schedule

Time

Schedule

7:35 7:45
7:45 8:00
8:00 9:30
9:30 10:20
10:20 11:10
11:10 11:50
11:50 1:10
1:10 1:40
1:40 2:00
2:00 2:35
2:35 2:45

Morning Bell
Morning Work
Math
Specials
Science/Social
Recess/Lunch
Reading
Eagle Time (RTI)
Recess
Writing
Prepare to go home

Studies

*The above Schedule is subject to change

Specials 9:30 10:20

A Day Music/PE
B Day Library
C Day Music/PE
D Day Art
Take Home Folder: Students will be bringing home a take home folder every evening. In
this folder you will be able to find mail from both the teacher and school, graded
assignments, goal sheets set by your student, and our daily success criteria.
The daily success criteria are part of the standards each lesson is based on. The success
criteria are the part of the standard we focus on that day. This sheet will be filled out by the
student each morning as well as reflected on after each lesson (a total of four reflections).
Please review and sign this sheet and return it the next day.

Goal Setting: Students will be setting individualized goals for themselves based on the preassessments of the standards we are working on in class. We will be using the SMART goal
format to do this.
o S specific does your student know exactly what they are wanting to achieve?
o M measurable how will your student know they have met their goal?
o A achievable is your students goal not too far out of reach but far enough it is
challenging?
o R relevant is your students goal something that is important to them?
o T timely when will your student reach this goal?
When your student fills out one of these smart goals (when we start a new unit or they meet
their previous goal), they will bring it home to review and discuss with you. Please sign this

and return it to school the next day. The student will then place their signed goal in a goal
folder so they can refer to it as often as they may need.
Homework: There is NO HOMEWORK! All work will be completed in the classroom during
school hours UNLESS a student does not complete their work during the day. They are then
expected to take it home and bring it back completed the following day. I will also offer
practice assignments for students who want to practice skills at home. There will be a
separate folder for students use for any unfinished work.
Behavior: PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions & Support) is a program based upon our
philosophy of recognizing positive behavior in students. PBIS means that teachers,
administrators, counselors, and support staff are going to take responsibility to TEACH
positive behavior expectations to students. Students will know exactly what is expected of
them and will also know exactly what consequences will result when they choose not to meet
the school-wide expectations. (Note: we will not be using the clip up chart or class dojo this
year.)
Behavior Expectations:

S Show Respect
O Observe Safety
A Accept Responsibility
R Resolve Conflict

Rules:
Rule #1:
Rule #2:
Rule #3:
Rule #4:

Follow directions quickly.

Raise your hand for permission to speak.
Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
Make smart choices.

Consequences: When a student chooses not to follow a behavior expectation or rule, the
teacher or staff on hand has a flow chart to refer to. Expectations have been broken into
two categories, majors and minors (Refer to PBIS handbook for list of majors and minors).
Depending on what category the student chose not to follow determines what course of
action is taken.
Major - If the student does not follow a major behavior expectation, an office referral will be
completed and the students will be sent to the principals office.
Minor If a student chooses not to follow a minor expectation, the teacher or staff on hand
will provide redirection. If the student persists in wrong choices the teacher or staff on hand
will move the student to a designated safe seat where he/she will fill out a think sheet. The
think sheet will need to be signed by the student, teacher and parent and returned the
following day. At this time, a classroom discipline referral will be filled out which will be used
to record what steps have been taken in behavior redirection. If the student continues to
make poor choices then he/she will be moved to a buddy room where once again they will fill
out a think sheet, which will also need to be signed by the student, teacher, and parent. If
the student again continues to make poor choices, they will be sent to a behavior support
teacher. If the behavior continues, the student will receive an office referral and will be sent
to the principal.

Students are able to work their way back into the classroom if they choose to make smart
choices. If they do not follow expectations once back in the classroom, the student will be
moved back to the safe seat (will receive another classroom referral) and will begin the
process over again.
If a student receives three classrooms discipline referral sheets in a day or five in a week,
they will be given an office discipline referral and will visit the office to talk to Mrs. Munn.
SOAR tickets: Students will have many opportunities throughout the day to earn SOAR
tickets. Students will receive a ticket for exhibiting one of the SOAR expectations. Any staff
members of Kelsey Norman are able to distribute these tickets. Once a student receives a
ticket, it will be placed in the classroom bucket. This bucket will be taken to the office at the
end of each week where a drawing will be held for each class. The students drawn will get to
choose from a menu prize board.
Birthday Snacks: Birthday snacks will always be acceptable in the classroom as long as
they are store bought. We cannot accept homemade food. Another thing to keep in mind is
that we do have computers at every desk so will have to be careful about not making a
mess. If you would like to bring snacks to school, please contact me so we can set a day and
time.
Also, students may handout birthday invitations during the day only if all students will be
receiving one.
Classroom Store: We do have a classroom store where we sell snacks and drinks ranging
from $0.25 - $1.00. The money raised from our store will be used towards a charter bus that
will take us to Silver Dollar City at the end of the year.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me or visit my website
www.mrsbrinksclass.weebly.com
Please sign and return the following portion to school by Friday, August 29th.
the handbook in case you would like to refer to it throughout the year.

Please keep

I have read and understand the information in the classroom handbook.

Student Signature: _______________________________________________________________________
Parent Signature: _________________________________________________________________________
Questions or Comments: ___________________________________________________________________
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