Hi All,
Welcome to Week 3!
This Thursday, August 29th, Rio del Mar will have its Back-to-School Night. Please come to Room 9 from 6-6:30 to learn all about our class; other school presentations follow that time. We will go one more week before I send home the weekly homework page. I will be explaining how it works to you on Thursday night. I will also be doing sign-ups for Parent/Teacher conferences and in-class volunteer duties on that night. For more details about the evening, please check the school website.
Last week, we wrapped up our Beginning-of-the-Year assessments, and will now move full speed into the curriculum. Writing and Reading Workshops get underway this week, and we will continue with the math curriculum that we began last week. Today (Monday, August 26th), kids will bring home handouts and some of the math papers we worked on last week. Please review the math with your child during the week, especially if you see a lot of comments. Typically, I save papers to return for Monday.
Also on Monday, I sent home the first Scholastic book order; if you wish to purchase books, please order by this Tuesday night. Thank you to those that have already submitted orders.
Have a great week! I look forward to seeing you Thursday evening.
Carroll Mayer
Monday, August 26, 2019
Monday, August 19, 2019
Hi Families,
Welcome to Week 2 of the 2019-2020 school year!
This week we will begin some of our regular classroom routines, but also continue with some Getting -To-Know-You activities, including beginning-of-the-year assessments. MAP tests will be taken this week, and I hope to wrap up by Friday. (We only test for 1-2 hours per day. )
We are starting the regular math program, using Engage New York curriculum ( aka Eureka Math.). Last week, we enjoyed some creative math activities from Jo Boaler’s Week of Inspirational Math. I will work on integrating some of her other creative math throughout the year. I will not be sending home any homework, and will explain my homework program at Back-to-School Night on August 29th.
Our first writing project is a personal poem. We will also begin spelling sorts. I am reading The Wild Robot aloud to the entire class. Fourth Graders will begin reading Kate DiCamillo’s Tiger Rising next week during a portion of their Reading Workshop time. The entire class is also reading self-selected books, and conferencing with me about their book selections. We will begin mini-lessons in reading next week.
Today (Monday), I am sending home a letter explaining the format of our class overall. Feel free to contact me with any additional questions.
Have a great week!
Carroll Mayer
Welcome to Week 2 of the 2019-2020 school year!
This week we will begin some of our regular classroom routines, but also continue with some Getting -To-Know-You activities, including beginning-of-the-year assessments. MAP tests will be taken this week, and I hope to wrap up by Friday. (We only test for 1-2 hours per day. )
We are starting the regular math program, using Engage New York curriculum ( aka Eureka Math.). Last week, we enjoyed some creative math activities from Jo Boaler’s Week of Inspirational Math. I will work on integrating some of her other creative math throughout the year. I will not be sending home any homework, and will explain my homework program at Back-to-School Night on August 29th.
Our first writing project is a personal poem. We will also begin spelling sorts. I am reading The Wild Robot aloud to the entire class. Fourth Graders will begin reading Kate DiCamillo’s Tiger Rising next week during a portion of their Reading Workshop time. The entire class is also reading self-selected books, and conferencing with me about their book selections. We will begin mini-lessons in reading next week.
Today (Monday), I am sending home a letter explaining the format of our class overall. Feel free to contact me with any additional questions.
Have a great week!
Carroll Mayer
Monday, August 12, 2019
Hi All,
Welcome to Room 9. 💜I am so excited to have a combined Third & Fourth Class this year! Having 2 grades of students enables us to explore a wide array of content, build independent and collaborative learning abilities, and grow cross grade level friendships.
For those parents that don't know me, I am a long time Rio del Mar teacher. I began my years at Rio as a Parent Volunteer, then a First Grade Classroom Aide. When I was ready to take over full teaching duties, I started with a combined 1/2 class! After that, I moved to Third Grade, and taught that level for 9 years. This will be my sixth year teaching Fourth Grade.
As a teacher, my passion is reading, and I have tons of books in the classroom to share. When I was a kid, I loved reading fiction, and could easily lose myself in the worlds created by my favorite authors. In my adult life, I've come to appreciate informational text as well, and I love the great variety now present in nonfiction titles for kids.
My personal interests include reading (still!), walking, traveling, and this summer I committed myself to yoga. I am married, and have 2 adult children who live in great travel destinations: San Francisco and Kauai.
A primary goal for me in my personal and professional life is continued growth. While I love returning to old favorites (places, books, exercises...) I am always looking for opportunities to explore the new. This is something that I hope to share with you all.
It's going to be a great year!
Best,
Carroll Mayer
Welcome to Room 9. 💜I am so excited to have a combined Third & Fourth Class this year! Having 2 grades of students enables us to explore a wide array of content, build independent and collaborative learning abilities, and grow cross grade level friendships.
For those parents that don't know me, I am a long time Rio del Mar teacher. I began my years at Rio as a Parent Volunteer, then a First Grade Classroom Aide. When I was ready to take over full teaching duties, I started with a combined 1/2 class! After that, I moved to Third Grade, and taught that level for 9 years. This will be my sixth year teaching Fourth Grade.
As a teacher, my passion is reading, and I have tons of books in the classroom to share. When I was a kid, I loved reading fiction, and could easily lose myself in the worlds created by my favorite authors. In my adult life, I've come to appreciate informational text as well, and I love the great variety now present in nonfiction titles for kids.
My personal interests include reading (still!), walking, traveling, and this summer I committed myself to yoga. I am married, and have 2 adult children who live in great travel destinations: San Francisco and Kauai.
A primary goal for me in my personal and professional life is continued growth. While I love returning to old favorites (places, books, exercises...) I am always looking for opportunities to explore the new. This is something that I hope to share with you all.
It's going to be a great year!
Best,
Carroll Mayer
Monday, June 3, 2019
Hi All,
We have a busy, fun week ahead!
First of all, on Tuesday evening, the Fourth Grade will be singing songs we have been enjoying and practicing for much of the year. This is the first time the entire grade level has participated in this activity, and it's been a lot of fun! Please come from 6-7 on Tuesday, June 4. We will be in the cafeteria.
Secondly, all of the Fourth Grade will be heading to Green Valley Cinema to watch a movie. The kids voted last week, and their choice will be revealed on Wednesday. Thank you to all the people who volunteered to drive or chaperon. We should be in great shape! Thanks, as well, to those of you that sent a few extra dollars to sponsor the chaperons. Any extra money will roll into our supply fund.
I am passing out yearbooks today, so if you purchased one, your child should have it in hand. Otherwise, they are available in the office for $20, or in the park on Wednesday from Beth Catesi.
It's been my great pleasure to work with your kids this year. They are a responsible, hard-working bunch, and learned a lot as a result. It's been a fun year!
Have a wonderful summer, and feel free to stop by next year and say "Hi!"
Take care,
Carroll Mayer
We have a busy, fun week ahead!
First of all, on Tuesday evening, the Fourth Grade will be singing songs we have been enjoying and practicing for much of the year. This is the first time the entire grade level has participated in this activity, and it's been a lot of fun! Please come from 6-7 on Tuesday, June 4. We will be in the cafeteria.
Secondly, all of the Fourth Grade will be heading to Green Valley Cinema to watch a movie. The kids voted last week, and their choice will be revealed on Wednesday. Thank you to all the people who volunteered to drive or chaperon. We should be in great shape! Thanks, as well, to those of you that sent a few extra dollars to sponsor the chaperons. Any extra money will roll into our supply fund.
I am passing out yearbooks today, so if you purchased one, your child should have it in hand. Otherwise, they are available in the office for $20, or in the park on Wednesday from Beth Catesi.
It's been my great pleasure to work with your kids this year. They are a responsible, hard-working bunch, and learned a lot as a result. It's been a fun year!
Have a wonderful summer, and feel free to stop by next year and say "Hi!"
Take care,
Carroll Mayer
Monday, May 20, 2019
Hi All,
I hope you enjoyed the rainy weekend; I know I did! Fortunately, we followed up with a beautiful day here at school.
This week the kids are taking the MAP test. They are not thrilled to be doing another assessment, but are being good sports! When we aren't testing --which is actually most of the time-- the kids are continuing with their California reports, reading in their book club books, doing a hyperdoc about California's "Path to Statehood", learning about rocks, and refining their standard measurement knowledge and application skills. We are also enjoying Esperanza Rising as our final Read Aloud.
Today (Monday) kids brought home permission slips for the End-of-the-year Party. Please send in permission slips and money this week. We are also looking for volunteer driver/chaperons, and would love to hear from you if you are able to this. Just send me an email!
Finally, the district is doing a tech survey. I have attached the link below. I will be doing it with the kids in class this week, but they'd also like to hear from parents how you think we are doing with tech. This needs to be done this week.
https://questionnaire.bbyt.es/campaigns/55b05474bee927544dd73fb0
I enjoyed seeing so many of you last week at Open House. It's amazing how quickly the year goes by!
Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer
I hope you enjoyed the rainy weekend; I know I did! Fortunately, we followed up with a beautiful day here at school.
This week the kids are taking the MAP test. They are not thrilled to be doing another assessment, but are being good sports! When we aren't testing --which is actually most of the time-- the kids are continuing with their California reports, reading in their book club books, doing a hyperdoc about California's "Path to Statehood", learning about rocks, and refining their standard measurement knowledge and application skills. We are also enjoying Esperanza Rising as our final Read Aloud.
Today (Monday) kids brought home permission slips for the End-of-the-year Party. Please send in permission slips and money this week. We are also looking for volunteer driver/chaperons, and would love to hear from you if you are able to this. Just send me an email!
Finally, the district is doing a tech survey. I have attached the link below. I will be doing it with the kids in class this week, but they'd also like to hear from parents how you think we are doing with tech. This needs to be done this week.
https://questionnaire.bbyt.es/campaigns/55b05474bee927544dd73fb0
I enjoyed seeing so many of you last week at Open House. It's amazing how quickly the year goes by!
Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Hi All,
Thank you, thank you, for all the wonderful treats in honor of Teacher Appreciation and my birthday! It's been such a celebratory week, and I feel very grateful to be a part of a community that is able to support teachers so thoroughly. 💗
This week, we are returning to a "regular" schedule. The kids are reading historical fiction books as part of self-selected book clubs. The book clubs have set up weekly schedules, and your child is responsible for keeping up with the assignments so that he/she can participate thoughtfully in the Friday meetings. They also came up with various ways to respond to the literature (jots, question, character webs, etc.) We are also reading a lot of non-fiction history as kids work to research their final writing topics. They are all working on various subjects in California history-- from Native Americans to the Donner Party to the Golden Gate Bridge. Once again, their topics are self-selected.
In math, we are shifting to a measurement unit, and will also be reviewing a few of the geometry concepts addressed before state testing began. Kids will take one more short geometry quiz. In science we are having a lot of fun on a Mystery Science unit entitled "The Birth of Rocks" and began with learning about the "Ring of Fire" and 2 types of volcanoes.
This Thursday is Open House from 6-7. Please come any time within that window to check out the classroom and your child's work. On Friday, we are "Jogging for the Arts". Information and the sponsor form went home on Monday.
Next week, we have one more round of testing ( MAP) which is mandated by the district and gives more real time data than the state testing that is not reported until late summer. The MAP will not be nearly as time consuming as the CAASP, but still puts the kids on Chromebooks for a couple of hours at a time. Thanks for your support with all of this data collection! In that vein, there is also a survey posted on the school Homepage, and there is a parent version in which you can share your views. The kids will be taking the student version here at school, and I have already completed my teacher form.
I will also be sending home permission slips for our End-of-the-Year party next Monday. All of 4th Grade will be going to Green Valley Cinema to watch a movie! Each year, the entire 4th Grade class votes on a video (that we bring from our collection) to screen at the theater. Kids also enjoy popcorn and a drink. The theater charges us $7 per kid and $3 per adult chaperon, so we will be asking for contributions to the cost as well as drivers to ferry the kids to the theater. This all happens on the last Wednesday of the school year, from approximately 9:30-12:30. Save the date!
Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer
Thank you, thank you, for all the wonderful treats in honor of Teacher Appreciation and my birthday! It's been such a celebratory week, and I feel very grateful to be a part of a community that is able to support teachers so thoroughly. 💗
This week, we are returning to a "regular" schedule. The kids are reading historical fiction books as part of self-selected book clubs. The book clubs have set up weekly schedules, and your child is responsible for keeping up with the assignments so that he/she can participate thoughtfully in the Friday meetings. They also came up with various ways to respond to the literature (jots, question, character webs, etc.) We are also reading a lot of non-fiction history as kids work to research their final writing topics. They are all working on various subjects in California history-- from Native Americans to the Donner Party to the Golden Gate Bridge. Once again, their topics are self-selected.
In math, we are shifting to a measurement unit, and will also be reviewing a few of the geometry concepts addressed before state testing began. Kids will take one more short geometry quiz. In science we are having a lot of fun on a Mystery Science unit entitled "The Birth of Rocks" and began with learning about the "Ring of Fire" and 2 types of volcanoes.
This Thursday is Open House from 6-7. Please come any time within that window to check out the classroom and your child's work. On Friday, we are "Jogging for the Arts". Information and the sponsor form went home on Monday.
Next week, we have one more round of testing ( MAP) which is mandated by the district and gives more real time data than the state testing that is not reported until late summer. The MAP will not be nearly as time consuming as the CAASP, but still puts the kids on Chromebooks for a couple of hours at a time. Thanks for your support with all of this data collection! In that vein, there is also a survey posted on the school Homepage, and there is a parent version in which you can share your views. The kids will be taking the student version here at school, and I have already completed my teacher form.
I will also be sending home permission slips for our End-of-the-Year party next Monday. All of 4th Grade will be going to Green Valley Cinema to watch a movie! Each year, the entire 4th Grade class votes on a video (that we bring from our collection) to screen at the theater. Kids also enjoy popcorn and a drink. The theater charges us $7 per kid and $3 per adult chaperon, so we will be asking for contributions to the cost as well as drivers to ferry the kids to the theater. This all happens on the last Wednesday of the school year, from approximately 9:30-12:30. Save the date!
Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Dear Parents and Kids,
Thank you so much for all the flowers today! It was fun to see them come in, and combine them to make a beautiful arrangement! It’s the perfect metaphor for our classes each year, and our goal of nurturing each of the individuals, as well as the entire community, and forming a harmonious and complimentary whole.
Last week, our focus was on state testing, and most kids were able to complete the ELA portion of the assessment working approximately 2 hours a day. This week we will be working on math testing, and then there will be a period of “finishing up” for those kids that need a bit more time on one portion or another. When there are only a few kids with testing to complete, they will shift to another work space, under Mrs. Davis or Reading Specialist supervision, and the rest of the class will return to our regular work full time.
During non-testing portions of the day, we have been concluding our reading about various sustainable forms of energy (nuclear, solar, geothermal, wind, hydropower), and will wrap up with a Grand Conversation about these fossil fuel alternatives. Kids have begun research projects on various topics in CA. history, and are also working on a hyperdoc about California between the mission period and the Gold Rush. Finally, kids formed book clubs this week and have reading assignments based on their book. I am encouraging kids to bring their book club book to and from school, as there may not be a lot of in class reading time —especially this week. Most have about 30-40 pages to read by Friday, when their clubs meet again.
May is a busy month, so pace yourself and have a great week!
Carroll Mayer
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