Monday, January 30, 2012

Final Week in January

Hello families,

My apologies for the absent blog postings these past two weeks. I'm back and ready to tackle the week! Are you?

The homework packets have been working out wonderfully! Why didn't I think of these sooner? I hope you are finding that they are helping your student out in more positive ways than the journals were.

The spelling books are improving from the first week back from break. Remember, on most weeks, the spelling book pages average around 50 points towards your child's spelling grade. It is highly recommended that before your child turns in their book, you take a moment to look through their pages for completion as well as correct spellings.

Conferences are right around the corner. I am finishing up hearing back from other teachers trying to coordinate family times. I will send the final schedule out in an email this week.

I hope you all have an amazing last week in January. Can you believe it was 80 degrees today?

For the week...
1. Homework packets due Friday.
2. Spelling books (pgs. 44,45,46) due Friday.
3. Return any conference slips not yet returned.

Spelling words for the week:
1. island
2. design
3. calm
4. column
5. sword
6. half
7. yolk
8. walked
9. talk
10. chalk
11. wrinkled
12. wrong
13. autumn
14. solemn
15. aisle
16. foreign
17. lightening
18. benign
19. glistened
20. resign

Monday, January 9, 2012

January 9th-13th

Hello families,

Welcome to another week. How are your New Year's resolutions going? So far so good on my end but it is still early on in the year. I hope you had an enjoyable weekend and were able to enjoy the fabulous weather we've been having. Below you will find the information for this week in class.

Homework:
Packets for this week went home today. The format is the same as last week: math problems, a POW, reading log, and a social studies/language arts writing assignment. Please have your child complete their homework and turn it in by Friday. Don't forget about the spelling book. Pages 33-35 are to be done by Friday as well.

Spelling words to study are:
1. American
2. frozen
3. button
4. chapter
5. tractor
6. harbor
7. father
8. color
9. ancestor
10. hidden
11. hamburger
12. theater
13. weather
14. beckon
15. cannon
16. compassion
17. golden
18. taken
19. elder
20. turban

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Happy 2012

Welcome back!

New year, new starts! Perhaps one of my favorite times of the year. I was so happy to see the students and their new hair styles, new clothes and bubbling personalities today. We had a good day and even got to enjoy the wonderful weather with a morning recess. How was your day? Is 2012 off to a good start for you and your family? I hope so!

Below are some procedural changes for the spring semester. Homework is now in a packet format along with a spelling book. The amount of homework has not changed, just the style of turning it in. Homework is due on Friday mornings along with the completed spelling book pages. The reasons for changing the homework policy range from parent and student input to organizational effectiveness. Please ask your child tonight to review how she/he will complete the packet and spelling book before Friday. Thank you always for your support and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Tutoring begins next week. Students who approached 2 or more benchmark standards in reading or math will be assigned to tutoring. Permission slips to attend will come home this week. Mrs. Jeffries and Mrs. Sutton are the 5th grade tutors, I tutor 6th grade. If you feel your child should attend tutoring but did not meet the criteria on benchmark standards, please let me know. The goal is to keep tutoring fluid and small in numbers. Therefore, as students exit out of tutoring slots open up for others to fill.

Science fair deadlines are each week until the science fair. I have had several conversations with parents and students regarding the progress of the project. At this point in time, if you must change the science fair project all together, now is the time to do so. After this week, the amount of work that needs to be finished will be to great of an amount to be switching projects. My goal is to help make this process smooth for both the parent and student so please let me know if you have specific questions.

Our class schedule has changed a bit to allow for more time in given areas. Our current daily schedule is as follows:
7:35 Bellwork
7:45 REACH
8:15 Balanced Math
9:45 Snack and morning recess
10:00 Writing/Grammar
10:30 Whole class reading instruction
10:50 Specials
11:35 Read Aloud
11:50 Lunch
12:30 Reading Groups
1:30 Science/Social Studies
2:00 Pack Up/Dismissal

Please be aware of our daily schedule when making appointments and pulling students out of class. The best times would obviously be after school but please avoid math and reading instruction. Thank you.

Important dates/notes for this week:
- Wednesday: Science fair procedures and materials (if not already turned in) are due
-Friday: All homework and spelling book pages completed and turned in

This week's spelling words:
1. charged
2. injured
3. lying
4. created
5. spied
6. carrying
7. dying
8. tallied
9. moving
10. tasted
11. realized
12. carried
13. trying
14. receiving
15. provided
16. revising
17. practicing
18. becoming
19. fried
20. wearing
**** Pages 30-32 in spelling book ****