Dear Parents/Guardians,

I will be your child’s 5^th grade teacher for the 2023-24 school year, and I am delighted to have your child in my class.  I am looking forward to a very successful year and I know you are, too.  I have high expectations for your child and I will do all that I can to help your child achieve their potential.

You can help.  I will be expecting all work assigned in class to be completed.  Of course, all children do not work at the same pace.  Some children will complete their work in class and some will not.  Whether or not your child completes their work in class has no effect on their grade. If your child does not complete an assignment in class, they will be required to complete it at home.  The way you can help is to ask your child every school day if schoolwork needs to be finished, and if so, make sure your child completes the assignment. 

All SLPS elementary classrooms will use standards-based grading this year. This is a system of grading that scores your child against the different learning goals (standards) that each child should acquire by the end of an academic school year.  SBG recognizes that learning is a process; therefore, students have many chances to show growth and mastery against these standards as the year progresses. Each standard will be scored on a 4(mastery above grade level),3,2,1 (no understanding of the standard), NE (no evidence) scale. More details about SBG can be found on the district website under “academics.”

Finally, I want you to know that one of my most important goals this year is to keep the lines of communication open with you.  I am available to talk with you from 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m., 9:00-9:45 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  Buder uses Class Dojo to make communication with home simple. If you have not already done so, please accept the invitation to join our class. This app allows you to see your child’s behavior points, messages and reminders from the school, and send messages to your child’s teacher(s) with ease. Alternately, you may contact me at (314)352-4343 or brittanie.clement@slps.org if you have any questions or concerns throughout the course of the school year.

I look forward to a fantastic year with you and your child!

Sincerely,

Brittanie Clement