Polite Responsible Intelligent Dedicated, & Empowered
What is a P.R.I.D.E. Binder? It is a 3-ring binder notebook, put together by the teacher, that houses EVERYTHING the students and parents need to keep up with what is going on at school. No more wrinkled papers in the bottom of book bags. No more lost notes, newsletters, or calendars. No more searching the house to find paper to write the teacher a note. Everything is in one notebook!
Why is it important to have? This notebook helps students to establish good organizational skills. These organizational skills will carry on throughout their time in school.
The P.R.I.D.E. Notebook contains the sections listed below. Entries are made daily so please look at all of the sections, especially the Parent/Teacher Communication section in the back of the notebook. Please see that your child returns this notebook daily.
Class Newsletter
A newsletter will be inserted into the clear sheet protector at the front of the binder each 6-weeks.
Monthly Calendar
We will be sending home a calendar at the beginning of each month. The calendar will have important dates and reminders of special events in our classroom.
Behavior Chart
A behavior chart can be found in the inside pocket of the binder. A “Doing Great”, “Needs Improvement”, or “Poor Behavior, Please contact the Teacher” card will be found in this pocket. Note, this pocket should never be empty.
Important Notices From School
This folder will contain any notes from our school, principal, school district, etc, as well as any classroom information. Please clean out nightly. Also, please send any notes that need to be signed and returned back in this folder.
This folder is also for sending excuses to school when your child is ill. If a doctor has seen your child, please send notification of that as well.
Great Work to Keep At Home
This folder will contain slam-dunk work done by your “smart brained kid.” Please remove it nightly and discuss it with your child. After you have “oooed and ahhhed” over it, I’m sure you’ll want to show off the work on the refrigerator. ENJOY!!
Homework
This folder will contain homework papers. Please return them in the same pocket.
Spelling List
You will find your child’s weekly spelling words in this section.
Sight Words
You will find your child’s current sight words in this pocket. When your child has mastered the list, this is where you will find his/her new list. Please review these with your child at home.
AR (Accelerated Reader) Report
Your child is required to get at least one A.R. book from the library each week. A.R. books have a colored sticker on the spine that correspond with a certain level. Every week, your child will take a quiz on the computer. You will find the results of those quizzes in this section.
Your child will be able to earn reading points with each book quiz he/she takes and passes. With these points, your child can earn prizes such as bookmarks, appearing on the morning announcements to “twist a top” (students twist a top off of a cold bottle of water), choosing an item from the library’s treasure chest, and, if your child makes it to the top, he/she will receive an A.R. trophy. The better your child does on the quizzes, the more points he/she can earn. Also, higher level books are worth more points.
Parent/Teacher Communication
This section will be for notes between you and me. I will be writing notes to you in this section. Please check it daily and I will do the same for communications from you. Please remind your child that this section is only for you and the teacher to write in. I would also ask that you leave any notes that we may write in this section sothat we can look back and remember any communications we may have had. Please place the “Note from Parent” sticky note on the front of the binder under the plastic slip cover. Also, please remind your child to tell me when there is a note in the notebook from you. I try to check it regularly, but occasionally we get busy and a note goes unread.
Reading Milestones
The Reading Milestones workbook and reader will be going home with your child every day for homework. Please encourage your child to give their best effort in reading.
Lunch menus
Monthly cafeteria menus will also be included in the last pocket of the binder.
Reading Log
The reading log this year will not be assigned homework. With each completed reading log, your child will be able to enter his/her name into a drawing for a prize. Drawings will happen at the end of each 6-weeks.
Your child can choose to read a book from home, an A.R. book or other library book, a children’s magazine, etc to record in the reading log.
I do encourage our class to read the same books multiple times to increase their reading fluency and reading comprehension. Your child may want to read his/her A.R. book several times in order to be ready for the computer quiz.
BISD Calendar
For a quick reference, inserted in the back cover, you will find the 2009- 2010 BISD school calendar.
J Feel free to call (209-1567), send in a note, or e-mail me (awalsh@bryanisd.org) with any questions about the P.R.I.D.E. binder.