Mrs. Figueroa's All Stars: Information and Events

Welcome to Mrs. Figueroa’s class and the All Star learning community, our team name is the All Stars. We will treat each other with respect as we learn together. I want all of the students and parents to feel comfortable and welcome in our class. I am looking forward to getting to know each of you.

I will describe myself to help you get to know me. This will be my twenty fourth year of teaching for TUSD and my eleventh year of teaching fourth grade at Soleng Tom. I love my job and my students! I received my Bachelor’s and Masters from the University of Arizona. Besides teaching, I enjoy other aspects of my life. I have been happily married for over 29 years to Luis Figueroa who is a vice president of a construction company. We have one lovely daughter, a son in law, one grandson and one granddaughter. In my spare time I like to be with my family, participate in church activities, walk and spend time outdoors. I consider myself a happy, friendly person.

We will use class time wisely and I assign about an hour of homework each night Monday through Thursday. I expect the students to hand in every assignment on time and I appreciate when parents review the homework with their child. I will do my best to challenge each student at their level.

All Star Blog

Our class has a blog titled Fourth Grade All Stars where you can go to find information about projects, homework assignments, spelling lists, teacher notes and upcoming events. The blog will be updated weekly. The address of our blog is www.figueroa4thgrade.blogspot.com. Or you may go to the Soleng Tom Elementary website and click on staff. Then go to fourth grade and Mrs. Figueroa and you will see the blog link. I recommend saving it in your favorites for quick access.

Dragon Folders

Every Monday Dragons Folders will be sent home. I place new information on the right side of the folder and graded work will be returned on the left side. Please return the Dragon Folder every Tuesday.

Homework

Students will have homework every night Monday thru Thursday. Usually each night there will be three assignments that will always include math and reading. The third assignment will vary among the other subjects.

The math homework is due the next day. Frequently we start the math assignment in class and then complete it at home. Parents are more than welcome to review the nightly homework assignments with their son or daughter. Students need to be responsible for their own homework. If a student is late or missing four or more assignments they will not receive a Distinguished Dragon Award.

Reading log

I want to encourage my students to develop a habit of reading self-selected material. I expect the students to read at least 100 minutes per week – I know many students will read far more than that. This is the most flexible homework assignment of the week. Students may read five days a week for twenty minutes, seven days a week for seventeen minutes or 100 minutes on Saturday. They just need one hundred minutes completed by Tuesday morning. Each student needs to read, record the minutes on their reading log and have an adult verify the reading with a signature. Reading logs are due on Tuesday morning. I would like to suggest reading a book for the next book report and take care of two jobs at once.

Book Reports

The students will be completing a variety of book reports through out the year. We will rotate between fiction, nonfiction and biographies so we can read a variety of books. You will be given a schedule listing the type of book and due date for each report. Students may only work on the next report due and not complete all the reports first quarter. The students will be given many choices on the method of their report. Basically they need to convince the class and me that they really did read the book. They can produce a poster, write a summary, make a power point presentation, write a letter, or make a diorama, ECT. Just convince us that you read the book.

Science

We will enjoy doing many hands on science experiments this year. Our investigations will include plants, snails, crayfish, electricity, weather, and the changing earth. Students will record their experiments in their science notebooks which will be stored in the room. You will not see many science papers coming home because they will be kept in the notebook. I can assure you that we will be doing science. We tend to love science due to the exciting investigations.

Social Studies

We will be studying the regions, government, history and geography of Arizona and the United States. The fourth grade has a habit of planning our field trips based on our social studies curriculum. We will also be using many maps and graphs during social studies.

Birthdays

We love celebrating birthdays! Each child will have an opportunity to celebrate their birthday with the class. As my gifts to the student they can pick the P. E. game for that day and no homework for that night. The students with birthdays that fall on a weekend or in the summer may select a school day that works for them. The students may bring a nutritious treat to share with the class to be eaten during the snack break at 10:15. Of course, we will sing a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday.

Discipline

If a student is not modeling respect or doing their best they may be invited to my room after they eat lunch. They will not be allowed to go outside and play, but will write a letter to a parent(s) describing the situation and how they plan to solve the problem. I will write a short note on the bottom of the letter. The student will be responsible to take the letter home and have a parent read it. Please sign the letter and return it to me the next morning. I will call or write as I feel appropriate. Severe discipline issues may be sent directly to Mr. Dotson. I truly hope the kids are working hard and modeling respect so they do not have to write the dreaded letter.

Physical Education

I consider P.E. a valuable part of the curriculum. We will do a variety of activities that will improve our coordination, fitness level, skills and knowledge of team sports. One day a week the entire fourth grade will gather for stretching and then a ten minute jog. At first, the ten-minute jogs seems extremely difficult, but the kids that exert effort take great pride in being able to accomplish the goal of running for ten minutes with out stopping. We will be participating in P.E. nearly every day and the students should wear shoes and clothes that enable them to be involved.

Nutrition Snack

Every morning the students may eat a healthy snack about 10:15. Please provide a snack that can be eaten in five minutes or less and does not have to be heated or cooled. Please do not send in candy, sweets, chips or soda pop for snack. I will definitely encourage healthy snacks.

I am sure I did not answer all of your questions, but I hope you now know more about what to expect this year. I honestly hope each one of us has a wonderful school year! Go All Stars!

Mrs. Figueroa's All Stars

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Saturday, February 7, 2015

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Saturday, October 25, 2014

Spirit Week/Red Ribbon Week Schedule

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Spirit Week December 16 - 19

Monday, September 9, 2013

Book Report Schedule 2013 -2014

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Figuring Out Mrs. Figueroa!

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