Classroom Notes for Room 30

Week of August 8 through August 12 in 2016

Monday is Day #4 of our five-day specials schedule. Each student was assigned to a color-named team on Tuesday.

EARLY RELEASE ON WEDNESDAY beginning August 10th… The first and the last weeks of the year are the only two Wednesdays of the year that have regular dismissal times. Beginning Wednesday the 10th, the students will be released at 3:00.

Dear Room 30 Families,

Thank you for providing your Email address to use for contact from our classroom. I think every student has returned the forms for Room 30! (Wow- the awesome power of a jolly rancher bribe) I will usually send a message on the first day of the school week with a subject line of ‘Classroom Notes.’ The message will include classroom information and a general outline of the week’s plans. Specific lists of the assignments will be in each child’s assignment notebook. Every child is to complete the assignment book, using our own ‘shorthand’ listed on the board. The students are expected to bring the assignment book home each night even when their daily work is completed. Please initial the assignment book for each day.

Please make a quick reply to this message and each email account for Room 30. Some families have multiple accounts. I intend to correct errors and typo’s in our classroom Email group. If your accounts change throughout the year, please let me know. Also, I added every contact listed on the forms. If you don’t want the duplicate Emails, please let me know and I will delete them from the classroom group.

Dress Code- MGES will be making an effort to enforce our dress code this year. Shoes are one item that needs to be looked at carefully. As you see from our handbook below, beach-style flip flops are not allowed. If I understand correctly, we will be expecting the sandals that have no strap across the heel to have some amount of molded heel on the sole.

inappropriate dress (not acceptable)

Would include but not be limited to:

1.  Mini-skirts (less than fingertip length), dresses which are backless, strapless, or have parts of the garment “cut out”, and dresses with spaghetti straps.

2.  Short shorts (less than fingertip length or more than four inches above the student’s knee), cut-off shorts and bicycle shorts.

3.  Halter tops (backless dresses or tops), spaghetti straps, strapless

dresses, bare midriffs, or muscle shirts.

4.  Tank tops worn alone. (Exception – students in kindergarten through third grade may wear tank tops)

5.  Clothing with writing or symbols that advertise or make reference to alcohol, tobacco, controlled substances, encourage violence, or “suggestive” connotations.

6.  Pants worn below the waistline.

7.  Jackets and coats designed as outerwear.

8.  Hats, caps, bandanas (except on designated hat days).

9.  Unusual hair coloring.

10.  Beach-style flip-flops

11.  Any other attire which the administration determines to be unacceptable.

appropriate footwear

Includes but is not limited to:

1.  Tennis shoes are required for physical education.

2.  Comfortable shoes that can be worn all day, including recess, without creating a safety hazard.

3.  Sandals with ankle straps.

Thursday, August 18th is PICTURE DAY! Lifetouch Studios will be here on Monday, Aug. 18th to take pictures.

Website- I will try to post this message on our classroom website each week. Just click on the ‘Teacher Webs’ to find our classroom. I will try to update the pictures soon!

Student Council Elections- Please see the attached about student council elections that will be held on Friday, August 12th. Our class will elect two representatives.

Citizenship- We will begin the year with a lot of talk on new routines, rules and expectations of behavior. Beginning Monday, any classroom ‘marks’ will affect the citizenship grade. A weekly score will be recorded.

O Marks- 100%

1 Mark- 90%

2 Marks- 80%

3 Marks- 70%

4 Marks- 60% (and so on)

Data Sweep- This testing began last Friday and continues this week. These quick tests give us a snapshot of your child’s math and reading skills. They happen each nine weeks.

NWEA TESTING- Students will be taking the Language, Math, and Reading tests for NWEA on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. This round of testing will be a baseline for their growth this year.

Parent Volunteers- We have had several parents express interest in helping in our classroom. What a blessing! Before long, I will send an email with a calendar listing some morning and afternoon times that we can use helpers. To begin the year, I would like to ask that no one requests more than two slots to allow all parents an opportunity. Volunteers may find that other things come along after they have ‘committed’ to help. Don’t ever worry about that. Please just let me know, and we will hit you up again on the next calendar! Current Background checks are necessary this year if you are chaperoning a trip or working with students away from the teacher. Look for information on the MGES website. (Cost for this more extensive check is $12.95)

Math- We have already started our daily math fact tests. Students take a 25 problem test each morning, beginning with addition facts through 12+2. We are covering Topic 1 (Chapter 1) on Place Value and Numeration. (WB pp. 6-28)

-Lesson 1: Numbers Through One Million

-Lesson 2: Place Value Relationships

-Lesson 3: Compare Whole Numbers

-Lesson 4: Round Whole Numbers

Spelling- BEGINS Next Week!

If you are new to MGES, we will be using a program called Words Their Way. Students will work on the needed level and sort a list of words to help them be more aware of the patterns and features. Students have already taken diagnostic test.

Reading- We are beginning our Reader’s Workshop approach to reading instruction. Through the year, the students will use the basal readers, three novels, and other personally selected books. We will begin with procedures of our reading time for about the first twenty days. Hopefully, our procedures will ensure a productive reading time.

-The Case of the Gasping Garbage, pp. 26-41 in our basal reader 4.2.

-Target Skill: Schema- Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World.

Language- Language will not be a standalone subject this year. Language skills will be taught through the new writing program.

Science-

-Introducing the Scientific Method

Sorry that this is such a long note! Many important items have not been covered here yet, but I want to pass some of that along to you in small doses!