Parent Newsletter for September 17

Dear Families,

 

I hope this newsletter finds you all well.  It was wonderful meeting all of you at parent night and open house.  I am looking forward to a great year with your children. 

Here is what's been happening over the past week and what is planned for next week.

 

What's Up!

·         Reading: This week we began Theme 1 by reading the story The Lost and Found.  We will be reading the story Mulan next week.  We have also been working with the students on teaching them that the best way to become a better reader is to read!  In keeping with this motto, we have been working with the students to build their stamina at reading silently to themselves.  They are doing great and have already advanced from 3 minutes to 15 minutes of silent sustained reading.

·         Writing: This week we are working on a personal narrative about a time we cooperated.  We will continue to work on this narrative next week.

·         Spelling: Words for next week are from Mulan (See attached)

·         Vocabulary: Next weeks words are from Mulan.  Quiz will be on Friday.  Please keep practicing.

·         Math: We began our new math series with Unit 1.  There will be math homework almost every night.  Monday we will begin Lesson 1.8.

·         Science: We are working on our unit on plants.  Students really enjoyed planting seeds today!

·         Social Studies: We have been working on our Map skills.

·         MEAP Review: This week we reviewed number lines and temperature in preparation for the MEAP tests in October.

Conferences

If you were not able to sign up for conferences at open house, please call the office at 323-5900 to set up your fall and spring conference.  I look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child’s progress.

Football Fitness Friday

The kids had a lot of fun wearing their sports wear, playing a football relay, and spelling NFL with their bodies.  I will be posting more pictures on the Blog (http://mrswinstanley.blogspot.com/) soon so you can see all the fun we had.

Homework

Don’t get stressed!  If your child is having a hard time with the math homework, please write us a note.  It is not worth creating a battle at home.  Also please make sure your child is practicing their spelling and vocabulary words each night.  These tests are usually on Fridays.  Students should be bringing their planners home each night so you can see what we have done in class that day and identify any homework that needs to be completed.

Math Facts

Please remember to keep practicing those math facts (addition and subtraction) every night.  There are many free resources online to print up flash cards and often they are available at many dollar stores. There are also several games websites available which are great independent practice! Below are some website you may want to check out.

·          http://www.mathfactcafe.com/

·          http://www.aaamath.com/

·          http://www.aplusmath.com/

Our Class Schedule

8:25: Morning Work

8:45: MEAP Review/Keyboarding/Cursive/Technology with Mrs. Winstanley

9:15: Science with Mrs. Salvat

9:45: Social Studies with Mrs. Jensenius

10:15: Spelling/Reading

10:45: Recess/Lunch

11:45: Read Aloud

12:00: Specials (Gym, Music, Media, Library, Computer Lab)

1:00: Language Arts/Reading with Mrs. Winstanley

2:15: Snack

2:25: Math (grouped based on pretest score for each unit – teacher may change each unit)

3:25: Planner and pack up to go home

3:46: Dismissal Bell

Dates to Remember

·          September 21 – APT Meeting 9am in the cafeteria

·          September 22 – School Picture Day

·          October 12, 13 and 19 – MEAP Testing for third graders

·          November 5 – No school for students

·          November 16 and 18 – Fall Conferences

·          November 24-26 – No School: Thanksgiving Recess

 

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Mrs. Jessica Winstanley