August 25, 2016

Dear Parents,
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to 5 th grade! My name is
Stephanie Hiltz, and I will be your childs 5th grade teacher this year. We are going to have a great
year of exploration, growth and learning together. 5th grade is a fun and exciting year, but also
important as your child transitions from an elementary school student to a middle schooler. As it is
the beginning of the school year I want to familiarize you with some my beliefs that guide my
teaching and set-up of my classroom.
Over the first few weeks of school we will work hard to build a strong classroom community. It is
very important to me that each student feels as if he/she belongs in our classroom. We spend a lot
of time at the beginning of the year discussing what makes each of us unique and ways we can work
as a team. Hopefully your child will share with you some of the team-building exercises we do in
class! It is my hope that we can set the tone of our classroom community in the first few weeks.
I take into account the needs of every student when I set up my lessons, assignments and
classroom goals. You and I both want your student to be successful this year and I will do
everything I can to make that happen. However, I make it very clear to the students that they are
the most important piece in their success.
I expect your student to be prepared each day. They should have their homework done and ready
to go. Students should also spend time at home doing additional work; including studying, reading
or catching up on other assignments. In 5th grade, we work in being self-advocates. I encourage
students to get help when they need it; I make myself available to them at different parts of the day.
I want them to understand how to seek out help if they need it. Staying organized is another huge
thing for us in 5th grade. We will work really hard to get organized. Students will be expected to keep
a lot of material in order and be able to take those items back and forth between classes, their
lockers, other classes and home.
Finally, I want you to be aware of how I tend to deal with behavior and disciple. Our classroom
does have a few specific guidelines to keep everyone safe in the learning environment. We also
have a classroom behavior system that is based on points and relates to the classroom economy.
Students receive points for positive behavior and get them taken away for negative behavior. I feel
that students are old enough to know right from wrong and dont expect behavior to be an issue
this year. I will always keep you updated if your childs behavior is interring with other students
learning.
Please let me know if you have any issues, questions or concerns now or through the course of the
year. I am eager to get to know you and your child and look forward to a great year in 5 th grade.
Best,
Ms. Hiltz