Hulstrom Options School

Connections Program

The Connections Program is an accelerated program that provides a balanced approach to education for students in grades K-5 who learn best in a structured, rigorous environment combined with inter-disciplinary thematic studies. Students will focus on critical skills in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. However, creative endeavors and opportunities for students to create projects to demonstrate their learning will also be provided. 

Textbooks will be used for all Language Arts as well as Mathematics.  These texts will be combined with novel studies and curricular materials designed to encourage higher levels of thinking.  Students will receive instruction on grade level or higher which will address the state and district standards. Differentiated learning will be provided for students when appropriate. Pacing, speed, and complexity will be accelerated one-half to one year ahead of grade level expectations for all students. 

The program is dedicated to:

• Students are taught and held accountable for critical skills
• Mastery of skills will come from daily work and authentic homework practice
• Students will apply these skills at higher levels in assignments and projects
• Differentiated learning will be provided for students more advanced in certain academic areas
• High expectations for all students
• Teacher directed instruction as well as collaborative group learning
• All reading and writing materials are taught on or above grade level
• Strong literacy foundation of Open Court blended with a variety of materials to encourage high level thinking
• Utilize Spelling Connections text materials one grade level above
• Everyday Math text is accelerated grade level above
• Students are held accountable for spelling, grammar, and penmanship in written assignments

Continent focus for each grade level to teach social studies content standards

• • Kindergarten - Australia
  • First grade - Asia
  • Second grade - Africa
  • Third grade - Europe
  • Fourth grade - Colorado History and Antarctica

History
The Connections Program began in the 2004-2005 school year for grades K-3 at Hulstrom Options School. The program will continue to expand one grade level each year progressing to grades K-8.

Program Design for Connections

Students who are most successful in the Connections Program exhibit these characteristics:

• High motivation
• Independent
• Enthusiastic about learning
• Risk takers
• High achiever
• Creative and critical thinker
• Values quality of work and related practice
• Prepared to work on grade level and above
• Flexible learning style

Other characteristics (positive and negative) exhibited by our students may include:

• Keen observation
• Reasoning and problem solving abilities
• Wide interests
• Curiosity and questioner
• Underachievement, especially in uninteresting areas
• Perfectionism
• Emotional sensitivity or excitability

Teacher Characteristics

Certain characteristics and strengths are needed to teach our learners.  An effective Connections teacher may have these characteristics:

• Highly creative educators
• Expects excellence from all students
• Enthusiastic about learning/teaching
• Recognizes individual differences
• Can organize, plan, and deliver instruction effectively
• Utilizes data to drive instruction
• Values professional development
• Believes in best practices based on current research
• Employs team building in all areas of the classroom
• Other competencies include:
• Can develop or select methods and materials for use with gifted children
• Is skilled in teaching higher thinking abilities, including creativity and problem solving
• Effective communicator with parents and colleagues

Parental Support and Family Expectations

Parents are valued partners in the educational process.  Parents are invited to volunteer in the program. While parents occasionally work in the classrooms, all instruction is the responsibility of the classroom teacher. Parents provide additional adult hands for projects, copying, filing, creating classroom displays, etc., allowing the teacher to spend more time interacting with the students.  Parents may also volunteer to help out on field trips as per necessity and teachers' discretion.  We ask that parents do not interrupt the learning process by dropping by. If parents need to speak to their child(ren), the office will use the intercom to ask that the teacher send the child(ren) to the office momentarily. If parents need to speak to the teacher, they are encouraged to call and leave a voicemail or email the teacher. Also, please do not escort your child to the classroom in the morning. Forgotten items such as homework, planners, and/or lunch money can be dropped off in the office and will be delivered to the classroom. There are many ways parents can help build positive relationships with all those involved in educating their child.  Here are a few of those ideas:

• Have a sense of humor
• Develop a positive rapport with school and teacher
• Model achievement: be an achiever yourself, but also share with your children realistic and positive views of achievement
• Stay involved with classroom and school activities
• Review and go over work from Wednesday folders each week
• Actively interact with children about daily homework

Planners, Homework folder, and Wednesday folders

To communicate effectively and to teach students to be organized, each student will fill out their homework folder or planner daily. It may include any of the following:

• Homework assignments
• Behavior or academic comments
• Personal notes from the teacher

Parents are expected to sign the folder/planner each day so communication is frequent and problems can be taken care of quickly.  Teachers will check the folder/planner every morning.

Homework

Homework is an important part of the home-school communication. Homework is a combination of completion of assignments from the school day, daily reading, mathematical fact practice, sight word practice, etc. All homework will be relevant to what is being taught in class, can be done independently, and is practice and generally not new material. Homework will be assigned four nights a week, with an expectation that the only weekend homework will be longer-term, on-going projects or make up work. All homework times are averages.  Please keep in mind that depending on your child's speed and ability, these times may vary. Expected homework and nightly reading should fall into the following ranges:

• Kindergarten  - 25 minutes per night
• First grade - 25 minutes per night
• Second grade - 30-35 minutes per night
• Third grade - 35-45 minutes per night
• Fourth grade - 45-60 minutes per night

Make Up Work

When a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to check with the teacher to get the make up work. Students will have the day they return to get the assignments, and one day for each day missed to get the make up work completed. If your child is absent, you may call the office by 10:00 a.m. to request make up work and pick up the work at the end of the day in the bin outside the front office.

Incomplete Homework

Incomplete or missing assignments will be done at recess that day or the following days until the work is complete. Loss of Friday Fun may also be a consequence for incomplete homework if needed.

Grading

Grades K-3 use H, HS, S, N, and U for report card grades. Grades 4 and up use letter grades A, B, C, D, and F.

Report cards are sent home three times a year. Midterm reports will be sent home in Wednesday folders in the middle of each trimester for parental review. Regularly scheduled conferences will be held in the fall and spring, however, conferences can be held at any time during the trimester if there are concerns about a student's grades or behavior.

Discipline Procedures

The expectations for students in the Connections Program are to be: safe, respectful, responsible, and prepared. Behavior that interferes with the learning of any student, including oneself, will not be tolerated.

If the student does not control his/her behavior at school, the following steps will be taken:

Level I

1. The student will be given a verbal warning to correct the behavior.
2. If the behavior is not corrected, parents will be notified through the daily folder/planner.
3. If the behavior continues, the student will be written up and sent to the office.

Level II

1. If poor behavior continues on a consistent basis, the child and parent(s) will be asked to come in for a conference. A plan will be discussed to help the student correct the behavior.
2. The parent(s) and student will be required to have weekly meetings with the teacher to follow up on the behavior plan.

Level III

1. If the behavior does not improve by the fourth meeting, the principal will be asked to attend the fourth meeting. The plan will be reviewed and adjusted, as the parent(s), teacher, and principal deem necessary.
2. If necessary, weekly meeting will be held to see that the plan is successful or if special resource people will be needed.

If the behavior of the student is dangerous to others or oneself, District guidelines and policy will be followed.

Classroom Dollars and Friday Fun

Classroom Dollars are a reward system to encourage daily communication between school and home, good work habits, and mathematical skills.  Every other week for 30 minutes, students have the opportunity to participate in Friday Fun. They may trade their Classroom Dollars for various choices ranging in prices. Those who do not have dollars will sit out of Friday Fun. Students missing assignments will also sit out.

Curriculum Materials Matrix

To be successful in the Connections Program, your child should be able to do the following:
Expectations for Incoming Kindergarten Students
Basic Skills:

• Tie shoes laces independentlyPut on coat and zipButton shirt, pants, all clothing independentlyCan blow nose when neededWash hands with soap independentlyCan verbalize when the restroom is needed and can use facilities independentlyCan sit quietly to listening activities for a minimum of 20 minutesWill follow simple directions
• Knows phone number and parent(s) names

Language Arts:

• Name all 26 letters of the alphabet, lower and upper case in random orderGives the sound associated with the 21 consonant lettersWrites first name legible with capital as the first letterWrites using proper three finger pencil gripNames eight basis colors
• Says the days of the week

Mathematics:

• Counts orally from 0 to 25
• Counts backwards from 25 to 0

 Expectations for Incoming First Grade Students Students are expected to know and be able to do everything from previous grades and:

Language Arts

• Write first and last name with capital and lowercase lettersName and write all 26 letters of the alphabet, lower and upper case in random orderGives sound association for all consonants and short and long vowel soundsDemonstrates an understanding of spatial relationships: top-bottom, over-under, big-little, long-short, right-leftRead and correctly spell all Kindergarten sight wordsRecognize and write rhyming wordsSequence pictures from a short story
• Write a simple complete sentence

Mathematics

• Counts orally from 0 to 100 forward, counts backward from 50 to 0Demonstrates understanding of number concepts from 0-100Demonstrates understanding of ordinal numbers first through thirtiethTells time to the hour and half-hourIdentifies and understands value of a penny, nickel, and dime and is able to count various combinations of those coinsUnderstands comparisons - greater than, less than, more, less, same, differentIdentifies and draws the 6 basic shapes: triangle, square, circle, rectangle, rhombus, and ellipse
• Identifies simple number or shape patterns

Expectations for Incoming Second Grade Students  Students are expected to know and be able to do everything from previous grades and:

Language Arts:

• Can read orally the 2nd grade high frequency wordsCan read and understand a simple picture bookNeat, legible manuscript handwritingKnows to use margins in compositionsUses punctuation correctly-period, comma in date, question markWrites a simple complete sentenceWrites a simple story or paragraph with a beginning, middle, and endKnows how to use a simple dictionaryRecognize and write antonymsKnows full name, address, phone number, and parents' names
• Knows the months of the year and the days of the week in order

Math:

• Count to 100 by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's Knows addition and subtraction facts to 18Knows how to add and subtract 2 digit numbers with no regroupingCan tell time to 15 minute incrementsCan count money and make change with coins up to $1.00
• Recognizes fraction parts

Expectations for Incoming Third Grade Students Students are expected to know and be able to do everything from previous grades and:

Language Arts:

• Able to read for meaningAble to read fluently orallyCan identify main idea of a paragraphReads and understands simple novels and nonfictionCan organize writing with beginning, middle, end, and titleWrites complete sentences with good word order and ending punctuationKnows to indent paragraphsCan spell and read all high frequency wordsKnows multi-meaning wordsCan find words in the dictionary
• Can alphabetize to the third letter

Math:

• Reads, write, counts, and can sequence numbers through 10,000Can count by 2's, 5's, 10's, 25's, 50's, 100's, 1000's. Knows multiplication facts 1's-5's. Can add and subtract 2 digit numbers with regroupingKnows math symbols =, <, >, +, -Can solve one-step addition and subtraction word problemsCan tell time to the minute on an analog clockCan count money and make change up to $10.00
• Recognizes equivalent fractions

Other Curriculum Skills:

• Knows their city, state, country, and continent

Expectations for Incoming Fourth Grade Students Students are expected to know and be able to do everything from previous grades and:

Language Arts:

• Reads and understands novels and non-fiction material
• Identifies literal and inferential meaning from reading
• Uses context clues in reading for meaning
• Consistently uses legible cursive and manuscript
• Can write a complete paragraph with topic sentence, supporting details and closing sentence
• Uses proper grammar in written and oral responses
• Uses correct capitalization and punctuation in all assignments
• Can write complete sentences using a variety of sentence structures
• Identifies parts of speech; noun, verb, adjective, adverbs
• Recognizes prefixes and suffixes
• Alphabetizes words to the fourth letter
• Possesses good organizational skills
• Can use the dictionary easily for spelling, definitions and pronunciations of new words
• Can use the encyclopedia to find new information
• Can determine fact from fiction and opinion

Mathematics

• Has mastered the multiplication facts through 10's
• Has mastered addition and subtraction with five digit numbers with regrouping
• Knows the division basic facts through 9's
• Can make change from any amount of money
• Can convert simple fractions into decimals
• Knows Roman numerals 1-10
• Problem solving of one step problems involving addition, subtraction and multiplication
• Knows and can read numbers through 1 million
• Can gather mathematical information from a graph or chart
• Can use the English and metric ruler