Hola Parents and Students!
Welcome back to Brighton Park!
If you are new to our school, then welcome! I am oh so excited to be your teacher this year. I am ready to start the year off and mix entertainment with education. I will be your 5th and 6th Grade Reading Teacher. My first goal is to educate, enrich, and enlighten your minds the best that I can. My next goal is to have fun doing it!
A little about myself. I am entering my 2nd year here at BP and my 6th year overall. I was born and raised in Chicago, graduated high school from a CPS school and have only taught in CPS. I believe in the work that myself and my fellow CPS teachers are doing and I believe in the work that you, as CPS students, are doing as well. And parents, you are equally as important to your child’s education. Their learning does not end in the classroom. It continues at home. Become as involved as you can be. It will benefit everyone.
Parents- I want us to have the best possible communication. I will provide you with my email address at the end of this letter and encourage you to reach out to me any time you need. My email is hooked directly to my phone and if you send something, within an hour or so, I will definitely reach back out to you. If you need other ways to contact me (such as a phone number) please let me know and we can discuss.
A few things that I feel are important pieces of information:
Attendance: Everyone misses school or work. People get sick. Emergencies come up. We understand that. But unfortunately, when a student misses a school day, school is not cancelled. I still teach. The class still learns. And when that student comes back even if they only miss ONE day, they are still a day behind. It makes my job tougher. But more importantly, it affects the student. If you are sick or have an emergency, please let me know and we can work everything out. But please make sure you come to school as often as possible!!
Tardiness: It isn’t enough just to come to school...you have to come ON TIME. School starts at 8 am. Not 805. Or 815. Or 9. Please make sure you are here on time. I want to see you for as much time as possible! If you miss even FIVE minutes...I would be sad :(
Homework: I give homework. But I don’t always give it every night. I usually give homework about 2 or 3 times a week. Why? Because I want to make sure that a student understands the material as best as possible and I do a lot of in class activities. Often, what I do is give an assignment in class (such as completing a worksheet) and if a student finishes, awesome! No homework for the day! But if they don’t finish...then that is when they have homework. I WILL ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS POST THE HOMEWORK ON MY WEBSITE. ALWAYS. So parents, if you need to, you can look on the website to see if your child has homework.
My Website: I have a class website that EVERYONE is encouraged to visit everyday. The website is www.rivera101.blogspot.com On the website, I will post daily homework for both students and parents to visit at home if they forget the assignment. I will also post any videos, articles (when I can), or any other information that we use in class. My contact information will be available on the website and again, please feel free to contact me whenever you need to.
Grading Policy: The scale below is a school wide policy that should be maintained in each class.
Grading Scale:
A: 90% to 100%
B: 80% to 89%
C: 70% to 79%
D: 60% to 69%
F: 69% and below
Gradebook Weights (how much each assignment is worth)
Homework: 10%
Participation and class assignments: 20%
Formative (during unit) assessments: 30%
Summative (end of unit) assessment: 40%
CUT HERE………………………………………………………………………………….CUT HERE
I am beyond excited for this year and have a lot of confidence that everyone involved will get the most out of the school year. Students, if you need any additional help in my class, please feel comfortable coming to me! I will always try my best to help you. Parents, remember to reach out to me ANYTIME you have a question. My door (and email!) will always be open!
Parents, please cut this bottom portion out, SIGN BELOW, and RETURN. This is the FIRST assignment of the year and want everyone to start with an A!
Parent Signature……………………………………………...
Student Name ………………………………………………..
Date……………………………..
