Week of May 29th

It is the last week of school.  Our last day is Thursday, May 31st and we will have an early dismissal at 1:30.

I will be sending home spelling workbooks that we didn't use this year.  You may keep them for your child to use for extra practice over the summer, or you may recycle them...whatever you like.

We will be cleaning out desks and lockers tomorrow.  Please make sure your child has their backpack tomorrow to bring their stuff home in.  If you have any grocery or shopping bags please send one with your child so they have extra bags to carry their stuff with.

Report cards will be sent home with students on Thursday.

It's been a great year and I hope that you all have a wonderful summer.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week of May 21st

This is our last full week of school.  This is also our last week for spelling tests.  Please practice words with your child. 

Reminder that all library books were due last Friday.  We still have many books that have not been returned.

Important Dates this Week

Library: Tuesday-NO CHECK-OUT
Spanish: Monday and Thursday

Reminder NO SCHOOL on Monday, May 28th

Week of May 14th

This will be the last week for library this year.  Students will be allowed to check-out only 1 book this week.  All books are due back to the library by this Friday, May 18th.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Also a reminder that there is a 1:30 dismissal on Wednesday, May 16th.

We will have no homework this week or next.  Please continue having your child practice their spelling words for the Friday test.

Important Dates this Week:

Early Dismissal Wednesday, 1:30
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday (1 book only)
Spanish: None this week

Week of May 7th

We are full steam ahead this month with lots of end of the year testing.  Since we are working so hard on so many different tests I've decided that assigning homework would just be cruel.  Thus, we are going to be officially done with math homework for the rest of the school year.  Please continue to have your child read the paper books and study spelling words.  We will have spelling for 3 more weeks.  If you have any questions about this please let me know.

I will be out of the classroom all day on Tuesday and Thursday of this week.  I will have access to email and my phone messages, so please let me know if you need anything.  You can always call the office too if you need a more immediate response.  This will be the last week that I have planned absences for the remainder of the school year.

Important Dates this Week:

Library and Check-Out:  Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of April 30th

This is going to be a bit of a crazy week for us here in room 115.  We have a math unit test, as well as a math district test that we need to take this week.  We also have our usual reading and spelling tests on Friday.  Due to all of the school testing we will be foregoing math homework this week.

I will also be out of the room quite a bit this week and next.  I will be out of the classroom Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, and Thursday morning for meetings and observations.  I will do my best to communicate with parents as quickly as I can.  Please do not hesitate to contact me or to talk to the substitute.  We will have the same substitute for all of my absences.

Important Dates This Week:

1:30 Early Dismissal on Wednesday, May 2nd
Homework: no homework this week
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Monday and Thursday

Week of April 23rd

As the weather starts to change our classroom temperature tends to fluctuate quite a bit.  It would be beneficial to send students to school with a sweatshirt or light jacket that can be worn in the classroom in case they get chilly.  This can be left in their locker so that they always have it here, or you can send one each day depending on the temperature.  If it gets warm enough outside for us to start using the air conditioner some students might still want a jacket for in the room...our air conditioner only works at the highest setting and those near it do tend to get cold.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything.

Important Dates This Week:
Homework: 9.5 on Tuesday, 9.7 on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Wednesday

Week of April 16th

This week is a review week in reading. We will be breaking our unit test into smaller pieces and testing a little bit everyday and taking it with paper and pencil. We usually do this test in one day and take it on the computer. Last week we took a weekly test this same way and the students scored much better than they have been. If you have any questions about the testing please let me know.

There will be no challenge spelling words this week. The regular words are harder during a review week and it would benefit all students to practice the words on the regular list a little more than usual this week.

Important Dates this Week:
1:30 Early Dismissal on Wednesday, April 18th
Homework: 9.2 Monday, 9.3 Tuesday, 9.4 Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of April 9th

Lots of little notes for this week...

Reminder that the deadline to return or pay for spring picture packets was last Friday. Please return pictures or send payment as soon as possible.

We are reviewing and testing in math this week so we will not have any homework.

Spelling tests from last week will be returned today. We had a substitute last Friday and the students did not have a chance to graph their tests until today.

I will be gone all day on Thursday for a class I have been taking this school year. Please know that I will not be able to respond to calls or questions sent on Thursday until Friday.

Important Dates this Week:
Homework: none
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Monday and Thursday

Week of April 2nd

Welcome back! I hope everyone was able to enjoy some time with your child over spring break.

Spring Picture Packets will be coming home today. If you would like to purchase and keep your child's pictures you will need to send payment to school by this Friday, April 6th. If you do not want to purchase the pictures you will need to return the picture packet to school by this Friday, April 6th. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Reminder that Friday is an early dismissal day.

Impotant Dates this Week:
1:30 Dismissal on Friday
Homework: 8.7 on Monday, 8.8 on Tuesday, and 8.9 on Wednesday
Spanish: Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday

Week of March 19th

We have a busy week leading up to our spring break with many school activities.

Our Woodlands Presentation Night will be held on Thursday at 5:30pm. Students will be sharing the murals and landscape that we have created in our room, as well as reading the woodland animal reports that they have written. We invite all parents and family members to attend. It is usually a quick presentation and the students really love getting to share what they have done.

We will be presenting again on Friday at 1:45 for our 4th grade buddies. If you are unable to attend on Thursday night, feel free to come on Friday afternoon. If you do come on Friday, please be sure to stop in the office and sign in before coming to the classroom. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Jump Rope for Heart is also happening this week. Any money raised for this event is due to school by Tuesday. The actual Jump Rope for Heart event will happen during our P.E. time on Friday. Please make sure your child wears appropriate gym shoes that day.

Important Dates this Week:
Homework: 8.5 on Tuesday, 8.6 on Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday
No School for Spring Break March 26-30

Week of March 12th

Look for a note home today about our Woodlands Presentation Night. It will be held in our classroom on Thursday, March 22nd at 5:30pm. Details about the night are in the note.

We are also gathering woodland animals to put in our classroom woodlands. Details for this are also in the note, and a list of animals can be found on the back side.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our woodlands project or presentation.

Important Dates This Week:
Homework: 8.1 Monday, 8.2 Tuesday, and 8.3 Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Monday and Thursday

Week of March 6th

Reminder that there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, March 5th.

We are doing some math review and taking our unit 7 math test this week. I am going to send home some math homework pages that will help students practice some of the skills that will be on the test. They are not our usual math homework pages, so be on the look out for pages that look a little bit different. Please return these sheets to school the next day as we do our regular homework. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this.

Important Dates this Week:
Homework: Fact Families sheet on Tuesday, Alligator Money sheet on Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Wednesday

Week of February 27th

We have a slow week on homework again. We're nearing the end of a short unit and we're going to be doing some extra problem solving, so not a lot of homework. However, it is a review week for reading so the spelling words are a bit harder since they are all sight words. You may want to have your child practice spelling a little extra since they won't have to do math homeowork.

Also, if you will not be able to attend your scheduled conference time, please let me know as soon as possible. I need to have conferences completed by the end of this week, so my schedule gets tighter each day. Any advance notice is greatly appreciated.

Reminder: No school for students on Friday, March 2nd or Monday, March 5th.

Important Dates This Week:
Homework: 7.5 on Monday (fact triangles)
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Wednesday
LONG WEEKEND, no school Friday or Monday

Week of February 20th

Conferences are Thursday of this week and Tuesday of next week. I plan to send report cards home on Wednesday of this week. Please look for them with your child's things on that day. If you have any questions about the report card please write them down and we can discuss them during your child's conference time.

Important Dates This Week:
Homework: 7.1 on Monday (fact triangles only), 7.3 on Wednesday and 7.4 on Thursday.
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of February 13th

Our Valentine's Day party is tomorrow at 2:45. If you are sending snacks for the party or your child is giving valentines to the class, please make sure to send them to school with your child tomorrow morning. Please let me know if you have any questions.

We are finishing up unit 6 of math and easing into unit 7. As we do this there will not be a need for homework, so we will have a week without homework. I hope everyone enjoys the homework vacation :)

Important Dates this Week:
Homework: No homework this week
Library and Check-Out: No library due to the Valentine's Party - we will check out before school as students finish morning work...please send books back on Tuesday as usual
Spanish: Wednesday

Week of February 6th

Our class is in need of a parent volunteer for our Valentine's Day Party. One volunteer is enough, but 2 is always appreciated. Our party is on Tuesday the 14th at 2:45. Please let me know if you are able to help out.

Conferences Schedule: Students are bringing blue conference schedule notes home today. Please retrun the bottom of these sheets to school as soon as possible. I know I have already talked with some of you about conference times, but please send the sheet back anyway.

Valentine Cards - Students are bringing home a note about Valentine Cards for our party as well as a list of student names. If you would please put names on cards before bringing them to school, that woudl be very helpful. Please let me know if you are unable to send Valentine Cards with your child or if you have any questions.

Important Dates this Week:
Early Dismissal on Wednesday
Homework: 6.9 on Tuesday, 6.10 on Wednesday, and 6.11 (fact triangles) on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of January 30th

I will be sending home another set of fact triangles on Friday. These do not need to be returned, please use them to help your child practice their math facts at home. Let me know if you have any questions about how they work.

Finally, we have a "normal" week. No early dismissals, I don't have to be gone for meetings, just a regular week. I'm looking forward to it, and I know that the students will be glad to have a regular schedule again, all of the changes have been throwing us off a bit.

Important Dates this Week:
Homework: 6.5 on Wednesday, 6.6 on Thursday, and 6.7 on Friday (fact triangles)
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Monday and Thursday

Week of January 23rd

This is going to be a fast and crazy week with our unexpected day off yesterday. Our Snow Make-Up day will be on Monday, February 20th. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Friday I will be sending home a sheet of fact triangles as math homework. You will be getting more of these sheets periodically as the year goes on. These do not need to be returned to school, we have sets of them that we use in the classroom. The fact triangles that are for you to cut out and keep at home so that students can practice with them. I typically suggest that you keep them in an envelope or plastic baggie. It's a great activity to do during commercials if you are watching tv, or quickly before or after dinner, etc.

This is how they work...
Fact Triangles are a type of flashcard. You cover up one corner with your finger and then have your child use the remaining numbers on the triangle to tell you which number you are covering. This allows you to use the fact triangles for both addition and subtraction practice. Please let me know if you have any questions about using your child's fact triangles.

Important Dates This Week:
Early Dismissal on Wednesday
Homework: 6.2 on Wednesday, 6.3 on Thursday, 6.4 on Friday (fact triangles)
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: No Spanish this week due to the early dismissal

Week of January 16th

This week we start "What's My Rule" in math with rule machines. This is a difficult concept and lots of students have trouble with it. I am going to send home a copy of a blank rule machine with every student. We will use these at school as well.

In order to use the rule machine sheet multiple times you may want to use a sticky note to write the rule on so that you don't have to write and erase the rule each time. Students will also need some type of counters (cheerios, crackers, pennies, etc) so they can actually act out what the rule machine is doing to each number that goes in. If you have any questions about this, or need any further assistance please let me know. It's somewhat difficult to explain until you've seen the sheet, but hopefully your child will know the basics of what to do from our math time in class.

Important Dates for this Week:
Homework: 5.12 on Tuesday, and 5.13 on Wednesday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday

Week of January 9th

This week we are working hard on routines and getting back to our usual method of operation. In order to re-train students to follow directions and be responsible, etc, I am giving some "automatic timeouts." This means that students will not get 3 reminders, but will get an automatic timeout if they do not follow certain procedures or directions. I always tell them if something will be an automatic timeout, so they all have one reminder from the start. With that said, some students are getting more timeouts than usual. If your child comes home with a dentention or responsibility slip, it is most likely due to not following directions or procedures, and they probably received some automatic timeouts. Please note that getting more timeouts than usual this week will not mean that we have to talk or have a meeting. Just know that we are working on the routines and encourage your child to listen carefully, follow directions and be responsible. I think that most students will be back to the usual routine and procedures by the end of the week. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your help in encouraging positive behaviors at school.

Important Dates for this Week:
Early Dismissal on Wednesday
Homework: 5.10 on Monday and 5.11 on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: No Spanish this week due to the early dismissal

Week of January 3rd

Welcome back to everyone. I hope you all had a nice holiday break. We will resume spelling and homework this week. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Important Dates for this Week:
Homework: 5.7 on Tuesday, and 5.9 on Thursday
Library and Check-Out: Tuesday
Spanish: Tuesday and Friday