Hi All,

I hope you have enjoyed this chilly weekend. This week, we will be gearing up for the break. We are concluding our third theme in Language Arts, and taking a Math Benchmark. I will also have students reassess on the AR STAR, so some kids may have new reading levels for their independent reading during the break and new year. We will not have a Homework packet this week, and math homework will be sent home on Monday and Tuesday only. Please send back permission slips for our January field trip to the Natural History Museum, as well as the $2.00 contribution for the museum.

This Wednesday is not a Restructured Day. We will have our Pajama Day on Wednesday, and students should also bring books for the Room 24 Book Swap (up to 5 books).

Our class party is scheduled for Friday, at 12:15. If you did not receive an email with information about the party, please contact me and I will forward it to you.

Finally, please know how much I am enjoying your kids this year. I am finding this class to be a kind and thoughtful bunch, and I really appreciate their great spirits.

If I don't have a chance to check in with you before break, have a wonderful holiday, and I will see you in the new year!

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you enjoyed our unexpected "snow day" on Friday.

Students should turn in Friday's homework, and be ready for the spelling test on Monday. A new spelling packet will go home on Monday, as usual, and is due on Friday. We will also have a multiplication test this Friday, focusing on the facts for 0-4.

This week, all of Rio del Mar looks forward to the choir concert on Wednesday at Aptos High. The performance schedule is staggered, due to space. Please plan on arriving 15 minutes before your child's performance time. The second and third grade are scheduled at 6:00. The kids have been practicing weekly and are very excited about the show.

Permission slips for our field trip to the Natural History Museum in Seabright are going home on Monday. The trip is scheduled for January, but I'd like all permission slips and money before the winter break. Also, if you volunteer to drive, be sure to note the date in your 2012 calendar! (It's so easy to lose track of events scheduled after the new year.)

Finally, Room 24 will be having a winter "book swap" on Wednesday, December 14th. Kids may bring up to 5 books to exchange with their classmates. Everyone will get to take home the number of books they bring in, but all kids will get to choose at least one book.

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hello All,

There will not be a homework packet this week. There will be math homework on Monday. On Tuesday, we will be having a short test on the Ohlone Indians; last Thursday students brought home a brown folder with information and notes from this unit. The kids should be familiar with what the Ohlone ate and how they got it, the materials their homes were made of, and how they used baskets.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have a wonderful week.

Carroll Mayer

HI All,

Report cards will go home on Monday, November 14th. I have given the kids goals for their AR Reading this trimester, and many of them are also reading at a new level. Their current grade equivalent in AR is noted on the report card, and they should be reading books at about that level. It is easy to check book levels on the AR Book Finder, which is on the Rio del Mar website.

They will have a homework packet this week, but not the week of Thanksgiving. Although we are now focused on Geometry and Measurement in math, students should continue regular practice of multiplication facts. I will be giving occasional timed tests, and will have the kids note their time on the test. My habit is to give everyone the same test, and a lot of time. Kids work to improve their own personal time. Those kids that memorize their multiplication facts this year will be very glad as they move into the intermediate grades and use their skills in more complex applications.

On Tuesday, the kids' groups will be doing brief presentations on the Ohlone Indians. After the presentations, they will be bringing home short notes to study for a small quiz on Thursday. Please encourage your child to review their notes.

Take care, and have a good week,

Carroll Mayer

Hello All,

While it seems ages ago, thank you all for the contributions of time and energy to make the Halloween party a success. The pumpkins were adorable, and the kids had a great time. The food was delicious too. Thanks, especially, to Christa for organizing it!

I hope everyone is having fun with the landform projects, which are due on Tuesday. I look forward to seeing a variety of terrain, as well as materials. The kids will get to see the landforms in the other classes, and then they will bring them home on Tuesday afternoon. (There is not enough room to display them in the class for any length of time.)

This past Friday, I sent the kids with this week's Homework Packet, as Friday is Veteran's Day.

The homework will be due on Thursday, and that is when we will have the spelling test. In Math, we will be wrapping up the study of the concept of multiplication this week. (We will come back to it later when they learn multiplication with regrouping.) We will also continue regular practice, homework, and occasional timed tests to develop automaticity with multiplication facts.

Report cards for the first trimester will come home next Monday, 11/14. This week is the beginning of the second trimester. I will be giving all the kids point goals for their AR Reading this term, so that they can have a target to work toward. The goal varies according to the current Independent Reading Level of the student. The kids may take AR tests on their Lit. Circle reading, Read-Alouds I do in class, the books they note on their Reading Log, and any other reading they do throughout the week. Many of the kids did a great job with AR this past trimester, but others will need some pushing to follow through with the tests when they complete a book.

Finally, just a brief reminder about Lit. Circles. I am giving the kids about 2 hours spread throughout the week to work on their assignments, including the reading and the jobs. For most of the kids, the time has been sufficient to complete their responsibilities. A few kids each week have needed extra time, and know they are expected to take home their Lit. Circle assignment on Friday, and complete them by Tuesday morning. (I do a "check in" with each kid to remind them of this.) In January, the entire Lit. Circle assignment will become homework, and it's my expectation that the kids will be able to complete this homework very independently. In class, they are doing great work with minimal support!

Have a nice week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you have enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend. As I mentioned in my email, there will be no Homework Packet this week. In addition, we will take Monday night off from math homework, but will continue with multiplication concepts this week. A few students needed to work on Lit. Circles this weekend, but the majority of the class appears ready for the first Lit. Circle meeting on Tuesday morning. Finally, students brought home a handout explaining the landforms project, which is due in about a week.

Have a Happy Halloween, but please keep the candy at home!

Carroll

HI All,

Tomorrow (Monday) is our field trip to Aptos History Museum. We will leave school at 10 AM and return at 11:30 (before lunch.) John Hibble will talk to the kids about local history, including the Ohlone people and Klaus Spreckels. Also on Monday, all 3rd graders will be gifted with a dictionary by the Rotary Club.

This week, we will continue with the concept of multiplication in math, and students should also be memorizing these facts. The spelling concept this week is "long i".

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hello All,

It was great to meet with you this week and discuss your great kids.

This week in math, we will continue learning about multiplication, including the Multiplication Properties. We will also begin discussing various strategies to figure out multiplication facts that are not yet memorized. However, it is my goal for each student to have these facts memorized by the end of the year, and will be information that they will find extremely important in the next several years. Please encourage your child in this endeavor. I always tell the kids that their parents know multiplication, and that they can practice these facts while driving in the car, standing in line, or working around the house!

We are also beginning a short unit on maps and landforms. In about 2 weeks, students will be bringing home a fun homework/craft project on landforms as a conclusion to the unit.

Finally, a big thank you for the great books many of you were able to purchase and donate from the book fair. This benefits our class and the school library! In addition, thanks to the Parent Alliance, for providing the staff with a great lunch on Thursday. The soup was yummy.

Have a great week.

Carroll

Hi All,

I'm looking forward to meeting with most of you this week; with a few conference already held, or scheduled in the future! Please make every effort to be on time, even if you are coming from another class. Most of us have our conferences scheduled back-to-back, and so there is a domino effect if people aren't on time.

This week the kids have "regular" homework, with a spelling packet and nightly math. Many students elected to receive the packet on Friday afternoon, so that they would have a little extra time on it. This is completely up to you and your family. I did find that there were more errors on last week's spelling tests than previous ones, and so many students may have realized that additional practice time is needed now that we are learning harder words. The kids are also doing a great job on the reading logs, which I realize are a step up from the ones in 1st and 2nd grade. Please remind your child that they may take AR tests on the reading they do at home, as long as there are tests available. We will finish regrouping in math this week and move on to multiplication. However, many kids are still struggling with accuracy in subtraction facts which is why we have been practicing these facts weekly. In general, the kids have really gotten into the rhythm of the weeks, and are doing careful, consistent work.

I also had many more volunteers than necessary for our next field trip ( Aptos History Museum), which is a great problem to have! Please send me an email if you volunteered and would like to opt out. There will be several other great museum field trips this year, including the SC Natural History Museum, SC MAH, and Agricultural History Museum.

Many thanks for all your enthusiasm. I am having a great year with your kids.

Carroll Mayer

Hello All,

First of all, let me compliment you on your hard-working and flexible children! As you may have heard, two separate dental procedures and a drug reaction took me out of the class quite suddenly for most of last week. Mrs. McElroy stepped in, and had nothing but praise for the class and its behavior. This is wonderful to hear, but not surprising as it supports my own observations of our class.

As you may also have noticed last week, the math homework was a little different on several days. This was intentional, in order to give students some extra practice. We have begun regrouping in subtraction (borrowing), which is a difficult concept for many kids. This week we will return to the regular format. However, please take extra time to carefully review your child's math homework, as even the strongest students may have occasional glitches with this concept. In addition, many of the kids are still struggling with accuracy in subtraction, so the correct procedures may still yield errors! The homework packet this week will also be a "normal" one.

Several of you have sent questions regarding the conference schedule for the week of October 10th. On Tuesday, I will send home copies of the current conference schedule. If you need to make a change, please note 2-3 possibilities, and I will do my best to accommodate your needs.

Finally, if you have not returned the permission slip for our October field trip to the Aptos History Museum, please do so, along with a dollar for the museum.

Thanks,

Carroll

Hi All,

This week the Homework Packet will be smaller than usual, with no spelling words or practice book page. In class, we will be reviewing and assessing some of the Language Arts skills addressed during these first weeks of school.

A permission slip for the next field trip, to the Aptos History Museum, will be coming home this week. Please return it ASAP with a $1.00 donation for the museum.

Finally, if you have not yet signed up for a conference, please email me with preferred days. I have opening on most of the days, with greater space toward the end of the week.

Take care, and have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

First of all, our field trip to the Santa Cruz County Fair was a great success. Thank you to all the parents who were willing to drive and/or chaperon; without these volunteers a trip like this is not possible.

Secondly, thank you to the volunteers that began their scheduled times this past week. While I didn't make it entirely clear, my plan was to start with parent helpers in the class, and most of you made it as scheduled. For the many people sharing time slots, please stay in regular contact with your partner. I've found that people can get out of sync and I have 2 parents one week and no helpers the following week.

The kids are doing much better with the homework; only a couple of children lost play time because of missing assignments. I will keep reminding them that homework is their responsibility to complete and return.

Finally, the Harvest Festival is scheduled for this Friday evening. This event is a great way for the kids and families to hang out. It's an opportunity to celebrate our school and for your child to introduce you to new friends.

Take care, and have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hello All,

It was wonderful to meet so many of you on Thursday night and begin connecting children to familiar adult faces. For those of you who were unable to attend on Thursday, or arrange conferences, I will be in touch with times. Thanks, as well, to all my new volunteers. I look forward to working with you.

This week we are back to a regular homework packet: reading log, spelling list and practice book page, and subtraction practice sheet. I have been reminding the kids that this will be the first week of consequences for students that don't have all of their homework in by Friday; they may turn it in early. Any students who fail to turn in the homework will have a "make-up" to do while others in the class have free choice. I expect the kids to be responsible for remembering their assignments and do not accept, "My mom forgot to put my homework in my backpack," as an excuse.

On Thursday, we have our field trip to the SC County Fair. I am still missing permission slips from several children. In addition, many of the drivers have not completed their Volunteer Driver Forms or submitted their insurance and CDL. These forms must be taken care of now. Thanks in advance for your help.

Take care,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you all are enjoying this 3 day weekend, especially with our -- finally-- sunny Monday.

This week's Homework Packet will just contain math practice and a Reading Log; there's no spelling due to the Monday holiday.

Rio del Mar is having Back-to-School Night on Thursday. The primary classes will meet from 6:30 - 7:15. I will be having sign ups for parent volunteers and also for the October Parent/Teacher conferences on that night.

Finally, several students still need to return their permission slips for the SC County Fair field trip. We have enough drivers, but just exactly. If you have volunteered, please make sure your driver information is handed into the office.

Have a nice week, and I'll see you on Thursday night!

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

The kids and I settled into a nice routine last week. I was happy to see how well the kids adapted to my expectations!

This week, the final piece of homework will be added to the packet: a spelling list and spelling practice pages. The stapled packet consisting of spelling, a reading log, and math practice pages, is due on Friday. There will be a spelling test on Friday, consisting of the 20 words and 5 sentences on the list. The nightly math homework is due each day and is designed to support content addressed on that day. There is also a small review section each night, but I have been crossing these out because we began with chapters intended for the end of third grade, rather than the beginning. In a week or so, we will begin Chapter 1 in the math curriculum, and the rest of the year will be in sequence.

Students will also be bringing home permission slips for our first field trip: the Santa Cruz County Fair. If you are able to drive and chaperon, please return the forms right away! Insurance forms must also be filed in the office. Thanks in advance for your support with this trip; it really compliments our studies of Charlotte's Web, local history, and plants and animals.

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hello All,

Whew, we've got the first few days under our belt(s)! I really enjoyed meeting your children and those of you that stopped in to say "hi". Please be patient as it will take me a little time to connect names, faces, and kids with parents. I also want to thank the many people who sent in items from my wish list including many Ticonderoga pencils, dry erase pens, gift cards to Staples and Palace. You can be assured that we will consume all these items and more this year!

Hopefully, your children came home from school this week comfortable and confident that Third Grade will be just fine. Many of our activities last week were about getting to know each other and establishing the classroom behaviors. However, we did jump right into math! Next week, in addition to the nightly math homework, there will be a reading log and page of subtraction facts to practice. (The AR level on the Reading Log will be explained at Back-to-School Night.) This homework is due on Friday. There is also a Mystery Bag assignment due on Wednesday. Finally, if you haven't sent in the office Information Card and the signed Computer Use Agreement, please do so.

And just a reminder that this Wednesday is not restructured...

Finally, please feel free to email me with any questions. I check my PVUSD email daily, but not throughout the day. If you have an urgent message, please phone the office, and they will relay the message, or send a note.

Take care, and have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to Third Grade! We are going to have a great year.

A short supply list is posted. Please don't send pencil boxes, as they take up a great deal of space and are underused by the kids. I will have communal boxes with markers, colored pencils, and other supplies, which we will pull out as needed.

In addition, if you have copies of Charlotte's Web, please bring them as we will start reading this wonderful book right away.

We are also going to hit the ground running with math homework on Wednesday night. In addition there will be a Mystery Bag assignment that will be due on Wednesday, August 24th.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday morning at 7:55. Have a great weekend!

Ms. Mayer

Hi All,

I cannot believe we have arrived at the last week! I've had fun this year. Even with some challenges, your children have been an interesting and fun bunch. I know you will have lively summers.

This week, the second group will be presenting their Famous American speeches on Tuesday, with a few more on Thursday. The kids who did speeches on Friday did really well; I was very proud.

On Wednesday, we are heading to the beach. Please be sure to review Patti's email so that your children are properly prepared for the outing.

Finally, thank you all so much! So many of you have helped in the class, on field trips, and with organizing parties and field trips. You make the school year easier, smoother, and a lot more fun. You are truly appreciated.

Have a great summer, and come visit me next year!

Carroll

Hi All,

Wow, has this year zoomed by. Please send in those permission slips for the End-of-the-year Party. There are several children that have not returned their form or 5 dollars. I am also still short on drivers, by 9 students.

I will send math homework on Monday and Tuesday, but this week the primary homework is preparing for the "Famous American" speeches. The children have worked hard, and most of them have a 3-4 paragraph speech written in the first person, in draft form. Many of them have also been able to rewrite their drafts onto index cards, or to type them. On their day, children should arrive with their speech, and a "dress up" costume. Please find items for the costume around the house! Students' assigned days are indicated below, and anyone that is assigned to Tuesday, May 31, may switch to June 2nd. (I know how frustrating it can be to have an assignment due when you are leaving town.) However, please let me know by Thursday, May 26th, if you are switching to June 2nd. Parents are welcome to view the speeches and take photographs or video. I will not be recording this year's performance.

Friday, May 27th: Abigail, Gigi, Grant, Indy, Izzy, Jack, Jacob, Jaden, Jake, Jamie, Katelyn, Katherine, Lauren, Madisen, Ryan

Tuesday, May 31st: Amelia, Brett, Christian, Gabby, Gage, Jasmine, Jordan, Kye, Layla, Mohammed, Sean, Tara, Trevor, Zachary

Have a great week,

Carroll

Hello All,

I hope you had a pleasant Mother's Day and a relaxing weekend!

I received several responses to my email regarding missing Lit. Circle books. For those of you that did not reply, please carefully check your child's places for the books. This year I have had many more missing books than ever before, and that will have a frustrating impact on future third graders.

As the CSTs are now done, we will resume homework routines. The spelling packets over the next two weeks will look slightly different, because we have completed the HM spelling curriculum. The packets contain words that we frequently see misspelled in children's writing. There are only 14 words to study for Friday's test, but the packet is 2 double-sided pages, with a multiplication practice sheet attached. This homework is due, as always, by Friday. We will also resume nightly HM math homework.

In class, students are working hard on their "Famous American" note taking. These notes will be written into paragraph form over the next 2 weeks. Homework for the week of May 23-27 will include practicing the first person speech, and copying it into final draft form. Speeches will begin (in class) on May 27th, and continue during the last week of school!

This Thursday night is Rio del Mar's Open House. Please make a point of visiting our classroom between 6:30 and 8:00 and seeing your child's work place.

Finally, information about the class party (at the beach, beside 1st and 2nd grade) will be coming home shortly. This is always a fun and social way to wrap up the year.

Take care,

Carroll

Hello All,

I hope you all enjoyed the break; the last few days have finally felt like spring! Today I had the lovely surprise of a May Day bouquet hanging from my door. Thank you, mystery giver!

This week, we will continue with CSTs in Language Arts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

As we have completed the math section of the CSTs, there will be math homework this week. We will not have a spelling packet. In addition, parent volunteers will not be needed this week, except for Wednesday Lit. Circles.

On Thursday the class will be going to the Agricultural History Museum. All drivers who volunteered will be needed, and please make sure your driver info. is current in the office. Several students have not returned their permission slips or $3.00. Please bring these in ASAP.

Finally, students will begin researching their "Famous Americans". We will print our articles in the computer lab on Monday, but all students should have a biography about their person as well. Please confirm with your child that they have chosen a person and located a book.

Have a great week,

Carroll

Hi All,

Wow, the dioramas were wonderful! The kids took a lot of pride in sharing their projects and visiting the other third grade classes and dioramas as well. It is impressive to see the time and thought kids put into their work.

This week we will begin CSTs (state testing). In order to pace ourselves, we will continue after the break as well. Kids should come to school well-rested. They may also bring gum to chew (in class, during testing only.) Because of testing, there will be very little homework this week: Lit. Circles and reading logs only. I will not be needing volunteer parents, with the exception of Wednesday Lit. Circles.

On Friday, permission slips for our final field trip, to the Agricultural History Museum at the fairgrounds, were sent home. Please return the permission slips and $3.00 this week. The trip is one of my favorites, interesting and well-organized. The kids really love the hands-on activities.

Finally, most children have selected a "Famous American" to begin reading about. If your child has not made a choice, please discuss possibilities and support him/her in making a decision. We will not begin formal note-taking and writing until after break, although children are welcome to read about their person during the week off. Please do not have them write reports during this time, as we have a specific structure.

Have a wonderful week off. I think we are all ready!

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

This week students will be bringing home their Animal Reports to complete the final drafts, which are due on April 15th, along with the diorama. Directions regarding the final drafts are attached to students' folders. Some students may need to complete part of their writing as well, but this will be noted on your child's folder if it is the case. The spelling homework is light this week, with no multiplication attached. In addition, children do not need to do the writing assignment on the bottom of the Practice Book page, as it references a story we will not be reading until next week. Most of the class is doing a great job with multiplication, with many achieving a time of less than 4 minutes for 100 multiplication facts. Continue to encourage your child to practice their math facts regularly, particularly if they are struggling to complete the facts in a reasonable time.

We are beginning a new project on April 18th. Students should be thinking about and selecting a "Famous American" that they would like to research and write about. Each student should have selected their person and found a book to read about their choice. I have many biographies in class, as does the school and public library. We will also be researching on-line. The kids have been instructed to choose a person who has made a contribution to the U.S.; and not to choose people who are celebrities unless they have done something to support our country beyond their "claim to fame".

Also, we are in desperate need of wipes, which we have been using heavily during Spectra!

Take care, and have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

This week students will continue working on their Animal Reports in class. On Monday, they will also be bringing home information regarding the Diorama about their animal. This part of the project will be completed completely as homework. In addition, students will be bringing home edited drafts of their reports to type. While many kids enjoy the challenge of typing, parents may assist with this final draft. However, please resist making changes.

In math, we will continue multiplying, using bigger numbers. Most of the class has made good progress with automaticity in multiplication, and are easily applying the math facts to larger numbers. Students with solid math facts will also discover the benefit when they learn long division.

The kids will enjoy the 3rd of 4 Pottery sessions on Monday, from Jenny Ward. The opportunity for Spectra is through your hard work at fund raising.

Take care, and have a good week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

This week students will continue learning multiplication with greater numbers, including regrouping. For the most part, students are catching on; but some are finding out how difficult it can be to multiply 2 and 3 digit numbers, if you don't know your basic multiplication facts. I have reminded them that they will be using these facts in math for the next several years, and that knowing the facts will really serve them well.

As you may have heard, the kids have begun taking notes for their mammal reports. Most have articles we've printed from the Internet, and many have books from the school library as well. We will be taking notes from this material this week, and then rewriting the notes into paragraphs. Third grade teachers will send home a note regarding the homework portion of this research project shortly.

Finally, a big thank you to Patti Long, Jennifer Benson, and Cynthia Jacque for coordinating a little St. Patrick's Day celebration. The kids enjoyed the yummy cupcakes, green milk, and beads.

Take care, and have a good week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

This week the Spelling Packet contains review words from the last 3 weeks, and no sentences. In math, we are returning to multiplication -- this time, with larger numbers. We are also beginning a series of 4 Spectra Art lessons on pottery, from Jenny Ward.

The kids are beginning research on their mammal reports; most found articles in the computer lab and books at the school library. Information regarding the homework portion of this project will be coming home soon.

Take care and have a good week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

This week students will bring home the Spelling list for the story, Trapped by the Ice! The spelling homework includes a writing task so please make sure that your child completes it along with the practice book pages. As you may have noticed, the multiplication portion of the packet is primarily a cumulative review. I am also testing the children weekly on their multiplication facts. Please be sure your child continues to practice these facts until they can multiply with automaticity, which is a 3rd grade math standard.

Report cards go home on Tuesday. Please return your child's envelope, with your signature, on Wednesday.

Finally, thanks to Lisa Bird and her daughter, Taylor, for their work on Friday with the class on the Auction Art project. According to Miss Butler, the class had a great time and did very nice work. I look forward to seeing the complete project!

Take care,

Carroll

Hi All,

I hope you enjoyed the weather this weekend. I had the pleasure of seeing Scotts Valley blanketed in snow during the wee hours of Saturday morning, and it was like a postcard!

This week I will be gone from class on Tuesday and Friday to attend Data Team trainings, but the kids will be in the capable hands of our former student teacher, Joy Butler.

Two important fundraising events are on the horizon. On Friday, students will be participating in the Jog-a-thon, so be sure to send in your sponsorship dollars. As you all know, this fundraiser makes our Spectra Arts program possible. The kids will also be working this week, with Lisa Bird, on their Auction Art project. Without the money raised at the Auction, there are countless academic supplies, resources, teachers, that our students would do without. Thank you in advance for your support of these two activities.

The students took a multiplication timed test this week. I will be repeating this test weekly, giving the class 12 minutes to complete 100 problems. It's my goal that everyone will complete this test in well under the 12 minutes by the end of the year. We will also continue working on fractions in our HM math program, addressing addition and subtraction this week. In spelling, the kids will be working on the difficult -ough and -augh words. Please continue to support your child in organizing their homework time appropriately, so that all work is completed in a high-quality, timely fashion.

Have a great week!

Carroll

Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed this 3-day weekend. This week we will continue working on the story Across the Wide Dark Sea. The homework packet, which students received last week, is due this Friday. Students are doing a much better job handing in homework in a timely fashion since I began consequences for missing homework on Fridays. Please continue to support your child in organizing themselves so that they complete homework when it is due. There are still a few kids forgetting or not completing their Lit. Circle assignments.

In math, we have moved from division to a unit on fractions. However, students should continue practicing multiplication facts, which will support their studies when we return to division later this year. We will have a multiplication facts test this Friday, which will cover the facts from 0-10. Our goal in third grade is for students to learn to multiply with automaticity, so that they can focus on the more complex aspects of math problems that require multiplication.

Take care and have a good week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you have enjoyed this first of two three-day weekends; I know I have! And a Happy Valentine's Day as well. On that note, a big thank you to Patti Long, Sandi Kolassa, Jennifer Benson, Maria Meade, and Amy Humphreys, who worked to make a cheerful Valentine's celebration for our class.

This week, the students' Spelling list and homework will be good for two weeks. Therefore, it is not due until Friday, February 25th. I have found the students to be doing a better job at handing in their homework since instituting our Friday consequences for missing homework. Each week there have been fewer students with Friday "make ups" during our Finish Work block.

Finally, a few people have checked in regarding upcoming big projects. In March, third graders will begin researching their mammal reports. We will be asking students to select mammals from specific websites that have age appropriate readability and content. Most of the work will be done in class, but final drafts may be homework. There will also be a diorama component to be completed at home.

Have a good week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

The class and I said "goodbye" to Miss Butler on Friday. The students wrote letters to her, and signed a card and lanyard. Thanks to Patti Long for coordinating a gift and card from you all; Joy was very excited about the Borders gift card and all the children's notes. We do look forward to seeing her subbing at Rio, and possibly in Room 24 sometime in the future.

This week the kids will have a review spelling list, with 3 Practice Book pages instead of the usual 2. In math, we will continue with division, but I expect to complete this unit fairly quickly. Those children who have memorized their multiplication facts are finding that it really pays off in division as well. We will have another multiplication test soon, covering all facts from 2-10.

Finally, I've seen a big improvement in homework consistency since establishing consequences for those students who don't have their homework in by Friday. Please continue to support your children in planning and organizing their homework.

Take care, and have a good week.

Carroll

Hi All,

Back to five day weeks!

The kids are bringing home a spelling list focused on three rules for adding suffixes: doubling the consonants in short vowel words, dropping the "silent e" in long vowel words, and changing the y to i in words ending with the vowel sound y. We are also wrapping up the geometry math unit this week, and will be reviewing lots and lots of math words in class. We will also send home some unit review homework before the test toward the end of the week.

The new homework policy really reinforced your children's attitude about their math homework. By Friday, we were only missing a couple of math assignments, and only 2 students had to do the "Make- up Homework." Unfortunately, some students are still coming unprepared to Wednesday's Lit. Circles. Please remind your child that he/she is responsible for reading the assignment and carefully preparing for their role in the group. It is apparent that some kids neglect this homework until Tuesday, and then find themselves doing several days work in a sloppy and rushed fashion. These assignments are a great time to develop good work habits.

Anyway, have a great week -- the weather is supposed to be excellent!

Yours,

Carroll

Hi All,

I hope you are enjoying this 3 day weekend. It provides a nice, gradual re-entry into our regular schedule, especially with last week's 3 day school week.

As Sheila Hurley notified you, I wrote an incorrect date on the Spelling packet, which is due this Friday, 1/21. The kids will have their spelling test on that day as well. On that topic, I have established a new policy on math homework. While most students are very responsible and rarely miss completing and turning in their math homework, there are a few who are regularly missing this practice, or neglecting to turn it in. For students who have not turned in all the assigned math homework by each Friday, I will be providing an extra "make up" practice sheet that will focus on that week's concepts. The students will complete this paper while the majority of the class is enjoying "Friday Finish", which is a finish work and free play time.

Some other new things are beginning this week. First of all, Miss Butler will be solo teaching our class for the next 2 weeks. As many of you have had the opportunity to observe, she is a talented and energetic teacher. I will be on campus throughout this solo time, but will be in and out of the class. I will be using this time to further develop my own teaching practice by observing some of my fellow Rio teachers. In addition, our class will begin Spectra Art, which parents and supporters pay for through the Parent Alliance's fundraising activities. The class will have 4 weeks of cartooning. Later this year, we will have an additional 5 weeks of pottery with Jenni Ward, who we have enjoyed as a Spectra teacher for the last 3 years.

Finally, permission slips are due. There is one from Miss Butler regarding her program and a second one for our field trip to the MAH, which is the museum in Downtown Santa Cruz. At this point our class needs 1-2 more drivers for the trip, but many students have not returned their permission slips and money.

Have a great week. Feel free to send in notes or email if you have any questions.

Carroll Mayer