About Mr. Casey
I am thrilled to be your new 4th grade teacher. This is my first year teaching fourth grade at Central New York Elementary. I've lived here, in central New York, all of my life. I received my undergraduate degree from Ithaca College and then my Master's degree from Le Moyne College.Previously, I worked as a teaching assistant for five years in the Syracuse City School District. Over the last few years, I really started to develop a passion for teaching. It may be attributed to my competitive nature, but when I’m teaching I feel as if there is some sort of competition going on where I only win if the student learns the material being taught. Most of my family still liveshere, including my parents. My immediate family grew this past January when my wife and I welcomed our beautiful son Mason to our family.
My Educational Philosophy
Through my teaching I hoping my students become active, honest, compassionate, life
long learners: preparing for middle school, high school, college, career, and beyond.
I hope to inspire my students to be individually determined to meet high expectations as
they're preparing to transition from elementary to middle school.
Expectations
Academic
I expect my students to be able to achieve these goals and more:
In Reading/Language Arts:
· Write stories or passages that contain a beginning, middle, and end; focus on a specific topic or idea; and include appropriate word choices and details about setting and character.
· Use proper spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure when writing (Spelling contracts will come home every Monday, and there will be end of the week tests).
· Use the writing process (plan, rough draft, revise, edit, and final copy) when completing a writing assignment. Please read your child's work and encourage them to revise and edit.
· Use correct grammar (subject- verb and noun -pronoun agreement when using writing and speaking).
In Math:
· Recall and use multiplication and division facts to 100 (10x10 and 100 divided by 10).
· Add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers and use these operations in problem solving and estimation.
· Make an estimation before finding the answer to a problem; then decide if estimation is reasonable.
In Science:
· Use observations and experiments to investigate physical and chemical processes.
.· Develop scientific questions and make a hypothesis (prediction) about living organisms that can be tested and described.
· Observe and describe the characteristics that help living organisms to grow, reproduce and adapt to their environments (habitat).
In Social Studies:
· Discuss different types of jobs and careers as well as economic terms such as opportunity costs, producers, consumers).
· Use maps, globes, atlases, and thematic maps to locate cities, countries, continents, oceans, and other geographical regions.
.· Create replicas of the geographic shapes of New Yorkand the United States and to label and describe major features and regions.
· In depth study of New York history and how New York's physical features (close to water) and natural resources influenced settlers choices in clothing, crops, jobs, housing, and etc.Behavioral
I expect my students to:- Respect others and other’s property.
- Come to school prepared and ready to work.
- Listen and follow directions.
- Respect the school environment.
Message to Parents/Guardians:
There will be an increase in the amount of homework and the amount of time needed to complete assignments this year. Assignments may combine science and social studies with literature. Reports and projects may be complex and long ranged. I encourage all parents and guardians to coach and encourage their children by taking them to the library, providing them the opportunity to use newspapers, magazines, and community resources. Every child needs time to complete homework. Please try to designate a specified time slot each night when homework is expected to be completed. I think if you shoot for a minimum of 30 minutes every night, your child will have a great chance at succeeding. If your child is having difficulty please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.