We are so happy to have your
student in fifth grade this year and look forward to meeting all of you!
Meet the
teacher!
Ms.
Coss:
I’m so excited to be a part of
Highline Academy Southeast this year in fifth grade! Originally from San
Francisco, California, I made my way up to Spokane, Washington, to attend
Gonzaga University (Go Zags!) where I completed my undergraduate degree and
teaching program. While in Spokane, I helped start a mentoring program for kids
and college students that inspired me to become a teacher! After spending my
summers working at an outdoor adventure camp in southern Colorado, I finally
decided to make my way back to the Rockies two years ago. This is my second year teaching 5th grade here at Highline South East. When I am
not teaching, I enjoy hiking, running, skiing, and playing tennis and
volleyball. I look forward to getting to know your family and connecting with
the Highline Southeast community!
Communication
E-mail is the best and most efficient way for
quick communication regarding questions and concerns. If you’re interested in
following our daily community and academics, sign up to receive notifications
for blog updates. We update them frequently with upcoming dates, news, and
homework.
Ms.
Coss: acoss@highlineacademy.org
(phone extension 310)
Blog
Site: MsCoss5.blogspot.com |
Tutoring
Teachers will set up
tutoring hours for individual students/classes. Please contact the teacher
directly for more information.
THURSDAY
FOLDERS
Every Thursday night, a blue folder will go home. This folder will contain recent work your
student has completed, as well as important school information. Please send the blue folder back to school
every Friday so we can ensure that your student’s papers stay organized.
SNACK
Students are welcome to bring one healthy snack item to eat during
their morning. In order to ensure that
each student is eating healthy brain boosting foods, we ask that these snacks
be healthy snacks (natural, low sodium, low sugar). Please also ensure that the snack that you
send with your student will not become a distraction to their working environment
(peeling an orange, crinkly packaging, sticky mangoes, giant sized portions,
etc.). If students bring an unhealthy
snack, they will not be permitted to eat it during snack time. If you have any questions, please feel free
to send us an e-mail.
As a reminder, our school is a nut-free school due to students in our building who have potentially
life-threatening nut allergies. Please
refer to the food packaging for nut-related information.
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Performance
Groups
Highline Academy places students in performance
groups to best meet the needs of all the students at our school. Students have been placed into appropriate
English Language Arts (ELA) and Math groups according to their learning needs
and strengths as learners. To meet individual students’ needs, guided reading
is a part of ELA and a skills block is a part of Math.
Behavior
We expect all students to exemplify REACH
characteristics. Reach Up by striving for academic success. Reach In by striving for personal excellence.
Reach Out by striving for civic excellence.
If a student fails to uphold these characteristics, they can expect to
go through our restorative practices routine to help them identify the harm done
and how to repair it. If you’re interested in more details about this approach
please contact us directly.
Absences
When a student is absent from any class
for any reason, it is the responsibility of the student to communicate
with all of his/her teachers (this includes
Spanish) to find out what he or she has missed. Our classrooms have absent
folders where they can find the work they missed easily. Depending on the nature of the missed work,
the student may have to schedule time outside of school to complete missing
class work. The student will be granted
the same amount of days he/she was absent to complete the work.
Homework
Homework is expected to be an assignment that
your student can complete independently.
However, if they need help, please reach out to their teachers or write
a quick note on the assignment. Fifth
graders will have approximately 50-60 minutes of homework each night. They can expect to have homework in ELA, Math,
Writing, and/or Science homework. We will work closely together as a team to
balance out homework from different subjects. Every student has been given a
planner to help them stay organized. Teachers
will sign or stamp each student’s planner upon assigning homework. Please check your student’s planner and/or
our blogs each night to help get all assignments completed on time. Please also support your child in helping
him/her to bring this to and from school daily.
Lost planners must be replaced
at a $5 fee to the office.