Greetings,

I hope your children had a chance to tell you about the assembly we attended on Friday: a musical performance by Shoreline Middle School's band. It was so impressive and a great reminder of the value of music in our schools.

This week will begin in a new way at Rio del Mar. We will be having a flag ceremony every Monday morning, outside on the intermediate playground. I will bring our class down today, and when Mrs. Dorney and Mr. Coffin feels the students are ready, we will have the kids independently gather and line up for classes down there. During the flag ceremony we will be discussing character traits. This month's trait is pride. We will talk about taking pride in our school and our own behavior, and taking actions of which we can be proud.

The bookend to this first flag ceremony will be the Halloween parade on Friday. The class will meet at Rm. 24 and then head down to the other playground at the usual time-- I believe it's 8:15. Each class "parades" around the basketball courts so that the rest of the school can see their costumes. Parents and younger siblings are welcome. Our class will be having its party at 9:40, after the first recess.

Have a great week. While the kids usually start escalating in their excitement as we head toward Halloween, let's remind them that we still expect their usual strong efforts. The third graders will still have their spelling test on Friday, and the second graders retaking the "Envelope Test" will do it then as well.

See you soon,
Carroll

Hi All,
What a wild week! Conference week is always a little different, but the weather and power outages were an interesting twist. Fortunately, I was able to meet with most of you (sometimes in the dark) and we had some great conversations about your kids.
The remainder of the conferences will be made up this week, or on an individual schedule.

It was also fun to celebrate our first Red Hot party this week (in the dark.) Thanks to all of you who contributed such fun and healthy red foods. I think the kids felt proud of their accomplishments.

It will be a relief to get back to the regular schedule. However, both grades will be taking Unit 3 tests in math on Monday, so there will be no math homework on Monday night.

Despite the weather, the Landforms Projects turned out really well! The kids were excited and eager to share their projects and explain what landforms they included and how they made their models. Some students picked out specific places to model their landforms after, which was very cool. The second graders enjoyed seeing the models and are eager to have their chance next year. We also toured Mrs.Terribilini's and Mrs. Maraldo's rooms to see the other third graders' work.

I will be out of class on Wednesday this week, attending a training. Mrs. Nigh will be substituting this week, and also for a half a day next week.

Finally, a big thanks to those of you that attended the school book fair and purchased books for your kids and/or our class. The book fair is another great way to support our school. If you were unable to attend, I understand they are extending it for 2 more days (Monday and Tuesday) because of the power failure.

Keep in touch,
Carroll

October 11, 2009

Hi Parents,

As this week will be restructured (short!) every day, I've decided to cancel Language Arts centers. Those of you that volunteer in the second academic block, from 9:40-11:00, will have the week off.

In addition, I've scheduled a "Red Hot" party to celebrate our students' achievements in Reading & Spelling, and Timed Math. Students received a sticker to place on our chili pepper every time they passed a Red Hot Spelling list, or a Timed Math Test. (This way 3rd graders could be included.) Please have your child bring a red food on Tuesday to share. If this is an inconvenience, let me assure you that there will be other parties and that you may pass on this one. Please email me if you wish to bring something sweet, but let me encourage you to think beyond sweets to healthier foods like: tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon and red peppers. If you participate, just send a small amount (like a bite or piece for each child). Finally, the children should wear red on Tuesday if it's at all possible.

I'm looking forward to seeing and meeting with all of you this week to discuss your children's progress and our goals for the year. Please arrive on time, so that we may keep our room, and your other children's teachers, on schedule. Feel free to let me know if you need to wrap up a conference to head to another room. (It's somewhat of a hike from our room to the rest of the campus.)

Thanks,
Carroll Mayer

Hello All,
I hope you are enjoying our lovely autumn weather. I saw many people at the Harvest Festival on Friday, having a great time. The playground was jammed when I left! I'm so glad our school began such a pleasant, community-building tradition.

This week, third graders will not bring home spelling homework. I am giving them the week off, and I expect them to use the extra time wisely, working on their Landforms projects. The projects are due on Wednesday, October 14th, and will not be accepted late. Students should have brought home a handout explaining the details, but if it has been misplaced, please let me know and I will send a replacement. Only third graders will be doing this project, although second graders will get to see them, and tour the other third grade rooms when we visit and admire the students' handiwork.

This week, second graders will bring home a permission slip for their field trip to Seacliff to study fossils. Our second graders will join Mrs. Werner's class on this trip, and I will be staying back at school with the third graders. We will need 2-3 parent chaperons for our 10 second graders. Second graders will also be discussing fire prevention this week. Students from our class will join Mrs. Hegerle's students for a presentation on fire safety from a local fire fighter. They will have homework supporting this presentation during the week of October 12th, after all the classes have met with the the fire fighter. The week of October 12th is also conference week so you will be receiving notice of your conference time as soon as I do. Let me know if there are any problems.

Have a great week. I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Carroll Mayer

Hello All,
What a lovely weekend! Fall around here is such a pleasure, from the heat to the fog!

This week in math, third graders will begin multiplication. We will be working on the concept, using arrays and pictures, and we will also review the math facts addressed in 2nd grade: 2s, 5s, and 10s. From there, we will work our way through the times tables. In a few weeks I will be shifting all the 3rd graders to multiplication timed tests, regardless of whether they passed the 2nd grade addition and subtraction timed tests. Just a reminder, that nightly practice is the best way for your child to develop automaticity, whether they are working on addition, subtraction, or multiplication.

In addition to flash card practice, third graders take home a spelling packet each week. Unfortunately, some students don't put forth their greatest effort on this homework. Please take the time to glance over your child's spelling, especially the sentences. Some kids are returning papers with glaring errors, such as missing periods, or misspelled SPELLING WORDS. Let your child know that that quality of work is unacceptable.

The second graders have been working very steadily through the Red Hot Readers lists. Please let me know (with a note or email) if your child hasn't been tested within several days of returning their list. While we occasionally get backed up, in at least one case the list was misplaced and I didn't know the student was ready to be tested. On that note, please remind your child to put their name on their list, otherwise we don't know who to test!

Second graders are also beginning a new unit in math:money! Please give your child every possible opportunity to practice with real money. While we will be addressing the concepts in class, the kids that really understand what they are doing are the ones with practical knowledge. The same holds true with measurement and telling time.

Finally, don't forget about the Harvest Festival this Friday, October 2nd. The kids really look forward to this event each year and it's a great way to celebrate our community.
Yours,
Carroll

Hi All,
I only have a few brief reminders. First of all, this Wednesday our entire class -- along with the two third grade classes -- will be attending the fair. On that day students should come with sack lunches, including drinks, and be dressed to walk around the fairgrounds. They are not to bring money, and no adult chaperons will be buying snacks for kids at the fair. We are fortunate to have wonderful chaperons that make this fair day possible and safe.

Secondly, now that we're fully into the year please be sure that you make time for a consistent homework routine. Students in both grades should be reading out loud, doing math homework, and practicing math facts every week day. In addition, 3rd graders have a spelling packet and 2nd graders have the self-paced Red Hot Readers Spelling program. Most of the class have been turning in carefully done work, but please continue to monitor your child's homework. As I am only expecting students to do 2 of the 6 leveled story problems, they should be answered carefully and completely. Furthermore, the spelling sentences that are part of the third grade spelling packet have varied in quality, so please have your child show you the work before turning it in.
I hate to return papers for a redo!

Finally, thanks for all your help. It's been great these last 2 weeks as I get to meet all of you parent volunteers. I've been finding the help invaluable and our class is settling into some great routines.
Yours,
Carroll

Dear All,

I hope you have enjoyed a refreshing 3 day weekend! It's amazing what an extra day off can do for the psyche.

This week we will continue building the routines that we began last week regarding Centers, although the schedule is slightly shifted with the extra day off. Parent volunteers may find themselves with slightly different tasks this week, but I still need lots of copying and collating of workbook pages in order to keep the class running as smoothly as possible. We may also be watching the President's speech on Tuesday morning, although there is some concern that our technology infrastructure on the district level may be overwhelmed. We will do our best, but I encourage you to check in with your child and watch at home if we are unable to do so at school. Goal setting--the speech's topic-- is a valuable exercise for all of us.

Have a great week; I imagine it will fly by!
Carroll