August 20th Classroom News

Curriculum News
Students have been taking beginning of the year assessments. It has been noted that many are still weak in their math facts (especially subtraction, multiplication and division). Please see parent letter/packet that was sent home with your child today.
I have asked students to make it a goal to practice on their own. Once they know a fact, they should be able to answer that fact in less than 3 seconds. Please encourage your child to practice:
www.funbrain.com
www.playkidsgame.com
www.freerice.com
www.math.com

We kicked off our Saxon Math program this week. We completed lessons 3-7 which focus on numbers and numeration. Each week we will also focus on a supplemental math skill. This week was graphing.

We have started our Character Counts lessons. We reviewed the 6 pillars of character and will be working on a separate pillar each month. We will begin with Trustworthiness and move on to Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

We have begun to read The City of Ember. What a great story to start the year. Students are learning “good reader” strategies, and we are integrating writing into our story time.
If your child still does not have his/her copy of the book, please try Borders, Barnes & Noble, Bookman’s or the public library to secure a copy.

We began Social Studies this week with an expository text scavenger hunt. Students will be learning strategies that will help them read expository text with greater ease this year.

Art and P.E. are in full swing. Please remind your child to wear athletic shoes on Tuesday and Thursday for P.E. class.

Parent Information
I wanted to let you know what a joy your children are to work with. They each have their own talents and special personalities.

A little about me…
I have been involved in education for over 20 years. I have my master’s degree in education and am currently working on my reading endorsement.
I have a husband, Steve, as well as two boys in Jr. High and High School. We spend a lot of time at football fields and in basketball gyms.

Homework: We are off and running with home-
work. As mentioned in the welcome back letter, students will receive 5 homework points each day when they return every assignment on that due date.
This past week, quite a few students have had homework points deducted. I spoke to the children about being responsible (which is one of our character pillars). If homework responsibility does not improve, I will start to issue after school detention to those who have missing assignments. Please check in with your child on a daily basis to discuss homework.

Your child will have independent reading, math and spelling most evenings. On some nights, students may have unfinished work or a study guide for an upcoming test.
Students are to record their homework assignments on the appropriate date in their planner. They should use their planner as a guide at home to complete homework.

Independent Reading:
Students are to record their reading minutes each night and write a 1-2 sentence summary after they have read. Students should also record any minutes read over the weekend (optional). The home reading log should be returned each Monday along with the Weekly Student Report.

Please help your child complete their homework by providing a quiet place to work each night and a reminder to bring their work to school each day.

If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me at denny@lpatucson.org or call the school office at 721-4205. I will check my email once a day, so I may not get back to you until the next day. Thank you.

PLEASE help your child to arrive at school on time. When he/she is late, it impacts their entire day. They miss out on the morning routine and instructions for the day and feel flustered about trying to catch up. I am hoping you will make it a top priority.
On the flip side, the end of the day is crucial as well. As a class, we clarify the homework for the day, hand out any notes to go home and discuss any reminders. Please allow your child to be in school the entire day.

IMPORTANT
Volunteers: Please note that in order to volunteer at school (including field trips), you need to fill out a form and be finger-printed. You can pick up the paperwork at the front desk. Dates to be fingerprinted will be posted at the front office.

Newsworthy Notes

8/23-9/8: Entertainment Book Sale Begins. Our class can win great prizes if we are the first class to turn in our orders.

8/30-9/3: The Book Fair will be set up in the library all next week. It will be open after school from 3:15-4:30 Tuesday through Thursday.
The book fair will also be open during open house.

9/1: 6-8 p.m. - Open House.

9/1: 1st Dress down day. Your choice if you bring one dollar. (Remember…no spaghetti straps, short skirts or flip flops.)

9/6: Labor Day. No School!

9/20: Dentist

9/21: Skate Night 6-8 p.m.

9/27: Picture Day. Please come dressed in the school uniform.

9/27: Cookie Sales Begin