Each morning when students enter the building, they will go to their designated location in the building and wait until 8:15 AM, which is when they are permitted to go to their homeroom. All fourth graders who arrive before 8:15 AM will report to the Kensington Commons. Students are not permitted to enter the classroom before 8:15 AM, unless they have received special permission by the teacher.

When students arrive to their homeroom at 8:15 AM, they should first make sure their teacher is inside the classroom. Students can only enter classrooms that have teachers in them. If no teacher is present, or if there is a meeting in progress, the students should remain quietly in the hallway until the teacher returns or invites them into the room.

As member of this new fourth grade team, I am responsible for bringing the correct materials to school and class each day. My teachers understand that we are fourth graders, not adults, and we might make a mistake every once in while, which is perfectly fine and normal. However, what's not normal is repeating the same mistakes day after day after day. If I make no effort to correct my mistakes and I keep making them over and over again, I understand that my teacher and I will have to meet with my parents to develop a plan to fix the problem.

In addition, I am responsible for my behavior. I may not be able to control what others say and do, but I can control the words in my mouth, the expression on my face, and the message I communicate with my body language. It is my job to respect my classmates, teachers, and ALL staff members at Kensington. I can be respectful to others by smiling at them, looking them in the eyes when they are talking, being a good listener, and asking follow-up questions to things that I find interesting.

My teachers know that I don't have to be best friends with everyone at Kensington, but they expect me to treat everyone kindly and respectfully. If I have a conflict with another student, and I cannot resolve it by myself, I should ask my teacher or Mrs. Liberatore for assistance before the problem gets worse.

Using the bathroom is something every person in this classroom needs to do during a typical day. We are fortunate to have a bathroom right down the hallway next to the elevator. The boy's room is on one side and the girl's room is on the other, closest to our classroom. Mr. Wilhelmy, Mrs. Jones, and Mrs. Minch prefer that we try to use the restroom between classes instead of during classes to avoid missing instructional time. When a student needs to leave the classroom, not just for the bathroom, but for any reason, that student moves one of the magnets next to their name on the roster near the hallway door. When the student returns to the classroom, they will return the magnet above the roster.

In the event of a fire drill, tornado drill, or lockdown, the teacher and students will be able to look at the roster near the door and know instantly who is out of the classroom. Nobody is allowed to leave the classroom without permission, unless...

you're going to be sick. If you know you're about to be sick, get out of your seat and run as fast as you can to the bathroom. Mr. Wilhelmy will understand what's happening and will get help as fast as he can.

Hallway Behavior

When the class travels to another room, a special, or an assembly, we will walk in a single-file line through the hallway at level 0-0.5. What does 0-0.5 mean? That's not on the classroom poster. It means I shouldn't hear you talking. The 0.5 level allows you to whisper in line as long as I can't hear your voice. If I can hear your voice, so can the teachers and students in the neighboring classrooms, which means we are distracting them and not upholding our responsibility of being respectful of others in the hallway.