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