Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- What are the AR requirements for this nine weeks?
- How much homework should my child be doing each night?
- What should I do if my child is absent from school?
- What is your behavior policy?
- How can I contact Mrs. Ginder?
- Should I help my child with his/her homework?
What are the AR requirements for this nine weeks?
Each child has a different goal. You will receive your child's goal near the
beginning of the year.
How much homework should my child be doing each night?
Students should never spend more than an hour a night on homework. If you
notice your child consistently spending more than an hour each night, please
let me know. Students should set aside 30 minutes to an hour each night for
studying, even if they do not have homework. This study time helps create
good study skills that will be necessary later on during their school
career. During this study time, students should read, write, research on the
Internet, practice math skills, etc.
What should I do if my child is absent from school?
When your child is going to be absent from school and you know ahead of time,
please let me know. If your child is staying home sick from school, please
call the office that morning (579-5221). If a note or phone
call is not received, the absence is considered unexcused. If you would like
to pick up your child's homework or would like to have it sent home with
another student, please just let me know.
What is your behavior policy?
At the start of the year, the students made behavior procedures for our
classroom. If a student isn't following the procedures, his/her freedom
level can be changed. All students start each day with a blue card. When
procedures are not being followed, their cards are changed from blue to green
to yellow to orange to red. Green=warning, yellow=timeout and behavior
sheet, orange=lose privileges and phone call home, red=lose privileges and
leave classroom.
How can I contact Mrs. Ginder?
There are several ways to get ahold of me. The easiest and most convenient
is email. I can check my school email at home as well. My school email
address is gindera@bcsc.k12.in.us (You can easily access it by clicking on
the mailbox icon on my home page.) You can also contact me by phone at
school (579-5221.) Another way to contact me is through a
note sent to school with your child.
Should I help my child with his/her homework?
At this age, students should be responsible enough to complete their own
homework. They have had homework for at least 2 years by now and should be
able to complete it without having a parent over their shoulder. However,
there are a few students who are not taking that responsibility on themselves
so a parent may need to check their child's assignment book and check for
homework competion. Many parents worry about sending their child to school
with some homework problems they know are incorrect. I prefer you allow this
to happen. Homework is one way I can judge how students are doing on that
particular skill. I can tell who needs more help in that skill area. I do
not mind if you look over a child's work and circle any wrong answers for
them (although this certainly isn't necessary), but unless you are going to
explain how to do it and make sure they understand, leave it wrong. Homework
usually accounts for approximately 10%-20% of students' grades. As long as
homework is consistently getting done, wrong answers are not going to
negatively affect their grades. Having correct homework papers and then
failing tests is a signal that students probably aren't doing their own work
at home. When homework isn't correct, I know that I need to help that
particular student understand the skill before taking the test.