Sunday, October 31, 2010

HI All,
I hope you enjoyed a busy Halloween weekend. The party was great. Thanks so much to Jennifer, Patti, and the team of parents that helped and/or sent in goodies. All the photos are really cute too! (Thanks Maria.) Many of the kids said they had never had a caramel apple, so you provided them with a cultural experience. This holiday is fun; however, please have your children save their candy for after school treats.

Last week, the kids took a set of multiplication quizzes on 2-5s. Most students were well-prepared, with mostly accurate responses. While I gave the kids 2 minutes for each 18 question section, I'd like to see them completing each part in 40 seconds or less. Very few kids met this goal. We will continue to practice the 2-5s on the weekly homework packet, and retest again in a few weeks. The homework practice will be reinforced with our in-class studies, as the current Math Unit is on the concept and practice of multiplication.

This Friday is our field trip to Aptos History Museum. There are quite a few children who have not returned their permission slips, and we are still a little low on drivers. Please send the slips in right away, or let me know if you need a duplicate. Many people also need to send in the dollar donation to the museum. On that note, I am finding that students are really slacking off when it comes to homework. Please remind your child to properly load and unload their backpack, and note that papers are not returned without a stamp or corrections on them.

Have a great week!
Carroll

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Hi All,
I hope you have enjoyed this cozy indoor weekend weather; I know I have!

This week will proceed as normally as possible (given students' increasing excitement as Halloween nears.) The homework packets covering the spelling words( three letter consonant blends and unexpected two letter patterns) as well as practice sheets on x3, 4 and 5, will be coming home on Monday. Please supervise your child's work, making sure that they write their name on each page and do them accurately and carefully. Every week I receive many pages without names. In addition, Lit. Circle assignments are due first thing on Wednesday morning. Kids should bring their book and completed assignment, and should also be prepared to read from their work. Make sure your child can fluently read everything he/she has written.

Permission slips for the Aptos History Museum field trip are coming home this week. This is an interesting (and short) trip. Please try to drive and attend if you are able.


On Friday, all of Rio del Mar will have our annual Halloween parade. After that we are going to try to do some work, including a spelling test and a multiplication test covering 3, 4, and 5. The class Halloween party is scheduled for Friday afternoon after lunch. Thanks to all of you who have volunteered to send in supplies or help with the party. I am sending a special thanks to Jennifer Benson for organizing the party, and Patti Long who is assisting.

Have a great week,
Carroll

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Hi there,

It was great to see you all this past week, and have a chance to discuss your children's progress so far this year. I enjoyed running into many of you at the Harvest Festival, as well. I feel so fortunate to be part of a learning community that supports children in so many ways.

This week, we return to a more normal schedule. As we have begun LIt. Circles, the weekly homework is now at the level that it will remain for the rest of the year. Please be certain that your child is completing (and turning in) math homework every day. The Spelling/Multiplication Packets and Reading Logs are due on Fridays. Finally, the Lit. Circle assignment are due on Wednesdays. Each week students must bring their book and assignment to be fully prepared for the Lit. Circle meeting on Wednesday morning at 8 AM.

Thanks for all your hard work, at home and at school. I realize that Third Grade is a jump from Second Grade, and some kids may need extra support and monitoring with their homework.

Take care, and have a great week!
Carroll

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Hi All,
This week every day will follow the restructured schedule so that teachers can meet with parents at Conferences. Students will be dismissed at 12:20 and there is no Homework Club. Conferences begin at 12:45 and are scheduled in 20 minute intervals, so please arrive on time. The Scholastic Book Fair is in the library and will be open during school and conference hours. You can send your child with money after you have identified purchases you would like to make, or you can stop by yourself before or after your conference. This is a great time to select holiday/ birthday gifts. On Friday, Rio caps off the week with the Harvest Festival. Please try to attend. It's a fun community-building activity and a great time to see your child mingle with their peers.

This week's homework will also be slightly different. There is no spelling in the homework packet. Instead, students will have a one page reading comprehension passage. They are to read the passage and identify the main ideas and details. Attached to this sheet are multiplication practice pages for 3s and 4s, which we are still working on. In addition, the Landform project is due on Tuesday. Students will view each other's project, and those of other classes as well. Finally, the first Lit. Circle assignment is due on Wednesday. New Lit. Circle assignments will be sent home each Wednesday and are always due at least one week later. Please make sure your child paces herself on the assignment; the reading and work tasks should be done over a period of days, not minutes.
Enjoy this busy week!
Carroll

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Hello All,

This week the third graders at Rio will have the good fortune to receive new dictionaries from the Rotary club. They will be getting the dictionaries on Wednesday and will be able to bring them home, or keep them in their desks. We will be writing Thank you notes on Wednesday as well! The dictionary gift is particularly timely, because I will be sending home Literature Circle assignments later this week, and some kids will need them for their "jobs".

In addition to the Lit. Circle assignments, students also have a special homework this week: the Landforms Project. Kids in our class brought home a description of this assignment last Thursday, on orange paper. In Social Studies, Mrs. Maraldo explained the various landforms. The students are to make models that include three of the landforms, and label them. This is a project the kids really enjoy, and an opportunity to discuss which aspects of geography interest them most. I encourage you to make this a fun project.

Thank you to all of you who continue to send in donations of pens, pencils, prizes and cash. And you also fund raise! Your support is so valued, and makes a huge difference in our classroom and school.

Finally, please remember that conferences are scheduled a week from Monday, October 11-15. This week I will send home reminders for the days and times you have scheduled. The Harvest Festival wraps up conference week; and there will be a Scholastic Book Fair in the library during the week as well. All of these are community building events, and important to your child and the school.

See you soon,
Carroll