This document provides information for parents of students in Mrs. Thurman's 4th grade class at Ozark East Elementary. It outlines policies and procedures for various aspects of the classroom from absences to homework. Key points include expectations for attendance, assigning missed work, use of assignment books to communicate homework, scheduling for special classes like art, music and PE, and encouraging parental involvement and open communication.

1. Mrs. Thurman – Teacher
Ozark East Elementary
2449 E. Hartley
Ozark, MO 65721
417-582-5906 ext. 3629
email: annathurman@mail.ozark.k12.mo.us
blog: http://ozarktigertalk.blogspot.com

2. The ABC’s of Fourth Grade
A is for…
Absences: If your child is ill, please call the school office 417-582-5906 before 8:30
A.M. to inform the school of your child’s absence and the reason for it. As a safety
precaution, if you have not called and your child is not present, the office will be calling
you. If a student must leave early for a doctor’s appointment, please come to the office
to sign him/her out. Assignments missed are due the day after the student returns to
school. If the student is absent for more than one day they will be given one day for each
day missed to make up the work.
Art – On Thursdays our class will visit the Art Studio. Please contact Mrs. Shepard with
any questions.
Assignment Books: The cost for student assignment books is $5.00. Please send this in
as soon as possible so we can begin using them. Each day your student will write down
what we are working on in each subject. They will also write down homework. It should
be highlighted in the assignment book. Please sign each night to let me know you have
seen the assignment book.
Attendance: Regular attendance without tardiness is very important! If your child is late
to school, please remind him/her to stop by the office to get a tardy slip before coming to
class.
B is for…
Birthdays: Birthdays are special occasions for young children. If your child wishes, he
may bring a store bought treat for the class. If at all possible I will send them down to the
lunch room to be enjoyed for desert! Cupcakes or individual treats usually work best!
Please no big cookies unless you send two. It is hard to cut one of those into 25 pieces!
Invitations to birthday parties can only be handed out at school if everyone is receiving
one. If you are not inviting the entire class please don’t send them to school.
Book Order: There will be a Scholastic book order that comes home each month. I will
send it in the Friday Folder. If your child would like to order please send the order form

3. back to school by the next Wednesday. All checks should be made out to Scholastic. I
will place the order online by Friday that week. (I will also send home information on how
you can order online.)
Blog: Our classroom blog address is ozarktigertalk.blogspot.com. This is a blog that will
house information for you as a parent and for students. If a student wishes to comment
but does not have access to a computer outside of class I will work out a time during the
week that the students would have access to the blog on our classroom computer. The
blog is set up so that I have to approve any comments before they appear on the blog.
This will keep people that are not part of our class or community from posting. It will also
ensure the content of the posting is appropriate. I will also post our class newsletter,
celebrations from our class, and general information. Please post a comment as a
parent to let me know if this information is useful to you as well. The blog is a new
aspect for our classroom and I am sure there will be adjustments along the way.
C is for…
Conferences: Conferences are held in October. I will have a sign up sheet available. If
you feel a conference is needed before that time please give me a call! I welcome any
opportunity to visit with you about your child.
Computer Class – Our class will go to Computer Class on Mondays and Wednesdays. If
you have any questions about Computer Class please contact Ms. Wilkerson.
D is for…
Discipline: Throughout our school and within every classroom there are general
expectations of appropriate behavior. In our classroom we will be given warnings for
expectations that are not being met. After the first warning I will ask the student to fill out
a “think sheet”. This sheet will let the student record the behavior, what led to the
behavior, and what we can do together to make sure that we can meet our school
expectations. A copy of the think sheet will be inside the Friday Folder. Please sign and
return the think sheet on Monday. This will keep you informed of your child’s behavior at
school. Please contact me with any questions about the think sheets.
E is for…
Email: You can contact me via my email address annathurman@mail.ozark.k12.mo.us.
I check my email daily and try to respond by the end of the work day. If I do not receive
your email before leaving school I will respond as soon as possible the following day.

4. Early release: Each Friday this year we will dismiss at 2:45 p.m. Please make sure you
have made arrangements if needed for the earlier release time. (Buses will run at this
time.)
F is for…
Forgotten Books, Lunch Boxes/Money, etc.: If your child forgets lunch money, books,
homework, etc., please take the item to the office, and they will make sure that it gets
down to our classroom.
G is for…
Gym/PE Class: Our class attends PE on Tuesdays and Fridays. It’s a good idea to wear
tennis shoes for PE class. For questions about P.E. contact Coach Mell.
Guidance and Counseling: Our guidance counselor is Leigh Jennings. She is available
to help children and parents. Please call her with any questions about the counseling
program.
H is for…
Health: Please let me know of special circumstances which may affect your child at
school. These could include: medication that may make him sleepy, a death in the
family, death of a pet, an upcoming move, etc. Also, please let me know of any allergies
your child may have, especially food allergies. We sometimes cook or do food activities
to complement lessons and it would be helpful to know when I make plans.
Homework: Reading homework will be nightly. I expect students to read for a minimum
of twenty minutes each night. This is a good opportunity for them to make sure the finish
the book for their book report. They will bring home their spelling book each Monday. I
would recommend they study the words each night. This might mean they read over
them one day, you read the words to them to spell one night, or they write them. I know
studying for spelling isn’t very exciting so encourage them to mix it up a little! (I even let
them spell them in sand sometimes!) They will also have math homework almost nightly.
Please look in the assignment book or on the newsletter to see what homework has
been assigned. Homework is due the day after it is assigned. Homework that is not
returned the following day will affect your student’s grade. I know there are times
when this might not happen; for those cases students can go to the Second

5. Chance room during recess to get the homework finished. It is their responsibility
to realize it is not finished and to make sure they go at recess to get it completed.
On weeks there are tests look for a study guide to come home two days prior to the
testing date. My weekly newsletter will have a list of any tests for the upcoming week. If
you need any ideas on how to help them study for a test please contact me. I know that
this is sometimes a new concept for fourth graders and I want to make sure they do not
get frustrated.
I is for…
Independent Reading: Because children learn to read by reading, they need plenty of
opportunities to read independently. Sufficient time and appropriate materials are
necessary to develop and strengthen reading abilities. By giving the children time to
read both at school and at home, we can work together to provide a literature-rich
environment and a life-long love of reading.
J is for…
Just try it! I know that as kids get older they become more reluctant to try new things. I
will encourage them to just give things a try! They might find they like things they didn’t
like before.
K is for…
Kindness: Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members
of our class as well as others with kindness and respect. Bothering others, bullying, and
interrupting learning will not be permitted.
L is for…
Library: The children will go to the school library two days each week. Our class will go
on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please contact Mrs. Overall for any questions about
library.
Lunch and Recess: Students will go to lunch from 11:25 – 11:45 each day. Our recess
time is in the afternoon from 1:00 – 1:30.
Lunch Price: Breakfast - $1.10/Lunch - $1.65 (Please put all lunch money in an
envelope with your student’s name on the outside.)

6. A lunch menu will be sent home on the Tiger Paws newsletter each week. It is also
available on the Ozark School District web page.
Lost and Found: We have a lost and found section just outside the Cafeteria. We
encourage children to check the lost and found collection for any missing items. Please
label clothing items (especially jackets and coats) worn to school. This will help us
return a lost item to its owner.
M is for…
Music: We will have music on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please contact Mrs. Burwick for
any questions regarding music.
N is for…
Newsletter – My goal is to get information to you quickly. Last year I started emailing the
newsletter to parents. This helps you get it quickly and saves paper. There will be a sign
up sheet to see if you have internet access. If internet is not an option I will send home a
hardcopy of the newsletter.
O is for…
Open Lines of Communication: Please let me know if you have any special concerns
about your child that you feel I should be aware of, in order to make this a great start to
school. If you notice a problem developing, please let me know as soon as possible so
we can work on the problem together. If you ever have any questions or concerns,
please do not hesitate to contact me during the regular school hours, send a note with
your child, or send an email.
P is for…
Parent Involvement: Your support of school activities makes your child feel important
and sends the message that you value school! We are always happy to have your help
for special activities in the classroom. Special activities will be noted in the Weekly
Newsletter with plenty of notice of upcoming activities.
PTA – Our PTA organization at East Elementary is the BEST! It is a great way to get
involved, meet other parents and support our school. If you haven’t already joined PTA
watch for the sign up sheet to come home soon.

7. Q is for …
Questions: Please contact me at any time for questions. Phone – 582-5906 ext 3629
R is for…
Recess: The children will play outdoors after lunch each day for about 30 minutes,
weather permitting. Please keep this in mind when helping your child to select clothing
and jackets for the day. If it is especially hot or cold, the children will have “recess time”
in the classroom with games and activities.
S is for…
Snacks – Students can bring an individual snack for themselves. I allow students to eat
snack during the day whenever they are hungry. We do not have a set snack time. The
snack needs to be healthy in nature. Some nutritious snacks include fruit, vegetables,
granola bars, pretzels, raisins, or even a baggy filled with healthy cereal. No chips or
cookies will be allowed.
S.I.S – This is the parent portal program. You can keep up with your student’s grades
and assignments. You can sign up on the District’s homepage: www.ozark.k12.mo.us
T is for…
Toys and Gadgets: Bringing toys, trading cards, and electronic games to school is not
permitted. Items such as this distract the children from learning. Books are okay to bring
in, but please make sure that they are marked with your child’s name, and are
appropriate for school.
Think Sheet: If a student is having trouble meeting our classroom expectations I will ask
him/her to fill out a Think Sheet. The sheet will be filled out by the student and will
explain the behaviors and reason for the behavior. This sheet will be signed and sent
home to you on Friday. Please sign and return the sheet the following Monday.
U is for…
Unusual Weather – Check the district website for weather and school closing
information. You can also sign up for text alerts. www.ozark.k12.mo.us
V is for…

8. Visitors & Volunteers: All Ozark schools require that ALL GUESTS are required to check
in at the school office and obtain a visitor’s badge. This is required so that we know who
is on campus at all times for the safety of our children. Our school welcomes and
encourages family involvement. It is important to remember that while this may seem
inconvenient to frequent visitors, it is the goal and responsibility of the school to create a
safe learning environment.
If you would like to volunteer in the school, remember to contact the office to obtain the
proper paperwork.
W is for…
Water: Students are welcome to bring a water bottle for class. It needs to be a water
bottle with a spout. No twist on lids will be allowed. Water bottles should be taken home
each night to be washed and refilled.
X is for…
An eXciting year!
Y is for…
Yearbook: The yearbook last year was outstanding. Look for information about ordering
a yearbook later in the year. Make sure and order early, you don’t want to miss out!
Z is for…
Z-z-z-zzs: Thanks for making sure your child is getting a good night’s sleep. I know how
busy we all are these days but learning definitely is much easier when your child has
gotten an appropriate amount of rest.