Mrs. Crain

WELCOME PARENTS AND STUDENTS

2011-2012 RWC

To get things off to a good start, I've got a few pieces of helpful and important information for you:

• Please make sure that the Computer User Agreement is signed and returned just as soon as you possibly can. Students can not use any of the district's computers until we have one of those turned in.
• Contact Information: If you are on this page, I am assuming you have internet access and email. Please send me an email with your child's name in the RE: line. In the email, include the best time and method for contacting you if the need should arise. If you have additional information that I need to know concerning your child, you may include that in your email too or simply request a time to visit with me so we can discuss the matter. Email is the easiest way for me to contact you and that is why I am requesting that you send an email; however, that may not be best for you. I will normally be making contact around 2:00 p.m. and that is why I am asking for your preference. It's also easier for me to add your contact information from an email that you have so that no information gets entered incorrectly of omitted (some email addresses don't look on paper like they need to be entered, especially if they contain spaces). Your email also allows me to have easy to access to your information and your contact information all in one location. There is a link to send me an email using the mailbox at the top of the page or you can paste my email address which is kcrain@cj.k12.mo.us My Plan time is 7th hour and that is the best time to catch me.
• Contact information and a signed User Agreement are part of their first assignment and your child will earn 10 points when I receive those items.
• Supplies:
• Needed every day! Students are allowed to use either wide or college-ruled paper in my class. I prefer that they do not use spiral notebooks, even with the perforated edges, because that tends to create litter in the classroom, students don't usually take the time to tear at ther perforation and the papers have a tendancy to stick together. Looseleaf paper works best and should be kept in a folder of some kind. It does not matter to me whether they have a three-ring binder or just a paper/vinyl folder. Pockets are beneficial because we will have handouts or assignments from time to time that the students will need to keep track of until completed which may take a number of days. Therefore it is best if they have a folder for my class that they can bring with them each and every day.
• Needed every day! Students can use pen or pencil in my class. I prefer they use whichever they write with the best. This class is about communicating and it's very difficult to grade what we can't see or read. That is why I allow the students to choose which works best for them. If using pens, it must be either black or blue ink, not a gel pen or off colors, just standard ink. Gel pens smudge and fade badly! If you find that your child only needs the pen for my class and you don't want to buy a package, I have some that I purchased at a "dent and ding" type store that I will sell to the students for $0.10 which is what I paid for them.
• On occassion, we will be doing some peer editing, grading, or similar exercise. In this case, students will need a pen with colored ink. That means something other than blue or black. Red, green, purple, etc. Again, please avoid the gel type pens or marker types because they tend to bleed and run. We will also be using hi-lighters on occassion and the color does not matter to me as long as text can be read after it's been hi-lighted. I am requesting that your child donate one of these items (grading pen or highlighter) to the class so that I can keep those materials in the room where they can be used as needed. I will not turn down extra pens or highlighters, but I am only requesting one.
• OPTIONAL BUT GREATLY NEEDED AND APPRECIATED!
  
• Kleenex - Runny noses are a real problem in a computer lab! This is especially important during the cold and flu season or when allergies hit. Right now, we have a partial roll of TP in the room because we ran out of Kleenex last year, so WE DON'T HAVE ANY FOR THIS YEAR YET!
• Germ-X or similar hand sanitizer - Multiple hands will be on those desks and computer keys each day and so will your child's. We hope the hands are clean and without germs, but we can't gurantee that and it's much harder to clean and disinfect computer keys than it is a flat desk.