Mrs. Fenstermaker “Mrs. Fency”

About Me… I attended Ansonia High School (Graduated in 1991) Central Connecticut State University (1995-BA in Child Psychology) Sacred Heart University (2001-MA in Elementary Education) Lafayette School – 1999-2000 (Instructional Tutor) Ripton Summer School Program -1999 Elizabeth Shelton School – 2000-2001 (Student teaching/Long- term substitute) Shelton Summer School – 2001 – 2003 Booth Hill School – 2001 -2010 – (4th and 5th grades) Perry Hill School – 2010 – Present (5th and 6th grades) (Formerly Miss McQueeney until 2008)

My Philosophy… Kids won’t learn if they don’t feel safe, comfortable and liked by their teachers and classmates. Kids need structure and guidance. A family environment fosters learning. Tough love only works if kids know that you care about them. It is important to have a system of teaching and re- teaching behaviors before giving consequences. If they’re taught first, then they know! Teachers and parents who work as a team create the best chance of success for kids. Now that your child is in the upper elementary grades, we should be fostering great independence, organization and time management skills. School should be fun and laughter is SO important!

Typical Daily Schedule 8:00- 8:20 – Arrival/Lockers/Pledge/Attendance/Breakfast 8:20– 8:50 – Social Studies 8:50- 9:35 – Writer’s Workshop 9:35-10:20 - Specials 10:20 – 11:05 – Reader’s Workshop on B day ASC/Enrichment/Small Group on A day 11:05- 11:55– Reader’s Workshop 11:55 – 12:19 - Lunch 12:19- 12:37 – Recess 12:37 – 12:45 – Lockers/Switch 12:45- 1:30 – Math 1:30 – 2:15 – Math on an A Day ASC/Enrichment/Small Group on B day 2:15 – 2:50– Science 2:50 – 3:00 – Lockers/Dismissal SNACK IS ANYTIME!

LANGUAGE ARTS READER’S WORKSHOP READ ALOUDS WRITER’S WORKSHOP VOCABULARY GRAMMAR IT WILL ALL TIE TOGETHER!

SOCIAL STUDIES EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY GEOGRAPHY NOTE TAKING SKILLS LOCATING INFORMATION TEST TAKING STRATEGIES CULTURAL DIVERSITY CURRENT EVENTS/TIME FOR KIDS

Will be done electronically Report Cards Will be done electronically Progress is updated regularly & can be accessed from Infinite Campus Grades will go in as number grades. Final Scores on Report Card will be a letter grade! Individual Standards as well EX, ME, PM, NM

Assessments – 35% Classwork – 55% Homework – 10 % Grading - Reading Assessments – 35% Classwork – 55% Homework – 10 %

Assessments – 35% Classwork – 55% Homework – 10 % Grading - Writing Assessments – 35% Classwork – 55% Homework – 10 %

Social Studies - Grading Assessments – 40% Classwork- 60%

Homework mrsfency.weebly.com Students will be given homework weekly, and will know ahead of their assignments by unit. Homework consists of practice of something already learned . Students will read for 30 – 45 minutes at least 3 times per week. Reminders are sent through the portal. All homework is located on my website at: mrsfency.weebly.com

Planners/Events/Due Dates Students will have their planners in every class and need to remember to take them home every night and bring them back to school every day. All login information, emails, websites, etc. are in there. Students will be responsible for putting assignments, etc. into their planner. The teacher sends all info home, but will prompt kids to put important things in their planner. I do not oversee planner use. I have a website that is updated regularly with homework, upcoming events, due dates, etc. You can also locate my website on the PHS staff directory page. mrsfency.weebly.com I will send Infinite Campus Portal Reminders with some of this info as a reminder to check my website. MAKE SURE YOU SIGN UP!!!!!

Assessments SRI/SMI – 3 times throughout the year Common Formative Assessments (CFA’s) – District-wide assessments & cannot come home Running records to chronicle accuracy and fluency growth in Reading On-Demand Writing Assessments (all 3 pre-tests already administered) Smarter Balanced Assessment

PBS *Class Dojo *Level 1 – Log Ticket *Levels 2 & 3 *Gold Card

Gardening Program Every other Thursday – Weather Permitting– Dress Appropriately Working peers in the Life Skills Program Outdoor classroom Vegetable Garden Cooking Planting Planning & Researching