Ms. Colbrunn
3rd Grade
Contact Information
I can be reached via phone before and after school, and sometimes at lunch. My extension is #22 if you get into the answering system.
I can also be reached via e-mail. In an efffort to control spam, staff e-mail addresses are not published on our websites, but it is listed in the the school directory you should have received, and is available on request if you don't already have it.
Grading Scale
90%-100% = E/A
80%-89% = G/B
70%-79% = S/C
60%-69% = P/D
0%-59% = I/F
For the first, second, and third quarters, the 3rd grade report cards include standard marks (#1, 2, 3, 4) as well as grade marks (E, G, S, P, I). For fourth quarter only, letter grades will be given instead (A, B, C, D, F). Classwork grades will be representative of the quarter’s grading system. (A, B, etc. will only appear on students’ papers in the fourth quarter.)
Correcting Marks. For written assignments, I will use the editing and proofreading marks (see attached sheet) used in 2nd and 3rd grade at PVE. The student is responsible to make the actual corrections. For other assignments, I will sometimes write the correct answer. Most times, I will simply indicate the missed problem, and the student will be required to correct the answer at home.
Planners
Every night (including Fridays), students will record homework assignments and notes to home in their planners. I will write the information on the front board.
Weekly Folders
Work to Home. Each week students will bring finished classwork and homework home (either from the same week or from the previous week).
Work to School. Please review the week’s work with your student. Discuss each assignment, and review any corrections that have been or need to be made. Normally, I do not need to see work corrected at home, but I might write a “Correct or fix at home and return” note on the top. Or, you might want me to see a corrected piece. Also, feel free to write any notes or to call/e-mail me.
Homework
Amount. At PVE, the homework policy is related to the grade—up to 10 minutes a night in 1st grade, up to 20 minutes a night in 2nd grade, up to 30 minutes a night in 3rd grade, and so on. Students are responsible to copy the night’s homework into their planners, and they are responsible to pick up their own homework from the back table in the classroom. So, if you hear, “I didn’t get the homework tonight! Ms. Colbrunn didn’t give one to me,” you’ll know that it was your student’s responsibility to grab a homework.
Responsibility—taking home, bringing to school. Also, it is each student’s responsibility to turn in his or her own homework and to write his or her first and last name and the date on the paper(s). I will put all unnamed papers in the “Guess Who?” binwhich is the trash. It is the students’ responsibility to check the bin for any of their papers.
Help at Home. Please be aware of your student’s work! The planners communicate this—simply initial each night when your student completes the night’s work. If your student has questions about the assignment, help him or her problem solve—don’t simply tell him or her exactly what to do. Guide your student’s thinking, don’t simply give answers. You may point out corrections that need to be made.
Grading/Credit. Homework should be reinforcement of skills and topics studied in class. If your student has grasped the concepts in class, the homework might not take the allotted 30 minutes at night. If the skill is still difficult for your student, then the at-home-practice provides opportunity for one-on-one help with you (or another adult). Because I assume that an adult has helped a student when needed, I will not record the actual homework grade. I will record if students have turned in each homework on time. (Sometimes, I won’t even correct the homework but will just initial it to indicate credit.)
Missing Assignments
Missed Work. When a student is absent, a “While You Were Gone” folder will be placed on his or her desk. All passed out work will be placed inside the folder. I will put the day’s (or days’) homework in the folder as well. Upon the student’s return, it is his or her responsibility to transfer the folder’s contents into his or her homework folder. The student may have a few days (depending on the length and nature of the absence) to complete the missed work. Please turn completed work into the homework bin.
Unexpected Absences. Parents, if your student is absent for something else unexpected, remember to contact the front office or me. I check my voice mail and e-mail every morning. Also, if you would like, feel free to come to school or have a sibling/friend come to the classroom to pick up the missed work.
Pre-Planned Absences. Please let me know as far ahead as you can of any pre-planned absences. It is easier for me to simply give your student all missed work after the absence (since things in the classroom often change), but I can also send work with the student before the absence. It will cover the content we will study, but it might not be the exact assignments we will do.
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