Sunday, December 19, 2010

Hi All,
Just a brief note to wish you all a wonderful vacation, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.

There will be math homework on Monday and Tuesday, but no spelling this week. Please encourage your children to read daily throughout the vacation; they have Reading Logs for December/January. Otherwise, there is much to discover about our selves and our world outside of the school environment. Enjoy it!

Finally, thanks to those who are participating and/or supporting our "Snowman" party, especially Amy. The kids are excited to kick off the vacation with a celebration of an iconic winter activity.

Peace and love,
Carroll

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Hi All,
This week students are bringing home a spelling packet for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. The spelling focus is homophones (words that sound the same, but have different meanings and spellings.) It's essential that students study the meaning of the word along with the correct spelling, because I will give the test using examples of the word in its correct context. For example, a sentence for "hear" might be, " I hear birds chirping in the tree." I am not including multiplication practice in this week's packet, but students should practice all facts from 0-5 in preparation for a test on Friday. In January, we will begin practicing the facts from 6-9.

A big thank you from me to all the wonderful parents that drove and chaperoned on our trip to the Natural History Museum, and to Sandi Kolassa, our extraordinary field trip coordinator. The museum trip does a great job of reinforcing our study of the Ohlone people and culture.

Finally, Amy Humphreys has been in contact with many of you regarding our holiday party. The theme is "snow man" and the party is scheduled for Wednesday, December 22. Please contact Amy if you missed the email.

Have a great week,
Carroll

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Hi All,

We had great days last week with our new student teacher, Joy Butler. The kids received a letter from her and wrote letters in response. Miss Butler worked with small groups, individual students, and began teaching a few whole class lessons. She has already proven herself to be a wonderful addition to Room 24!

Homework packets go home tomorrow for the spelling words for Raising Dragons, and continued multiplication practice as well. Students are generally responsible about the Friday packets, and the nightly math homework. Two problems that arise every week are missing Literature Circle assignments, which are always due on Wednesday (and hurt the entire group when not completed), and "Nameless" homework assignments. Please insist that your child develop good homework habits; in the upper grades this work has a big impact on the students' grades.

On Thursday, our class is visiting the SC Museum of Natural History. Kids need to bring sack lunches that day. Also, if you are driving and need to update your Driver Information, please do so early in the week.

Finally, I've asked the kids to hold back on wearing Santa hats until the last week before break. I find that the class is excited enough as the break approaches, and that the hats are just an extra distraction.

Take care,
Carroll Mayer