Hi All,
I can’t believe we are a month in to the school year!

This week most Parent Volunteers begin working in the class. Thanks so much to those of you who are able to make Room 9 a regular part of your schedule!

This past week both  3rd and 4th Graders had their first mid-module math test. For the most part, kids did well. When there were errors, I tried to communicate the kind of mistakes they were (understanding of content, formatting/direction-following, or misconception of the problem.) Ideally, you look over the test with your kid to review this feedback.

Kids completed the Youth Truth Survey last week. I shared with them that Mrs. Green reads each of their anonymous comments, and she’ll read yours too! Find the parent version of the Youth Truth survey on the Rio Del Mar home page.

Kids are getting into the routine and responsibility of returning the weekly Choice Board, and their library books, on Fridays. Most of the class has been doing well with this. If your child is struggling with procedures, please support them in organizing their papers so that they can do this successfully.

Finally, congratulations to those of you who participated in the Run for Rio last weekend. I heard it was a lot of fun. Next up, Harvest Festival!

Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you enjoyed another delightful weekend.

We will continue with the routines established during the last several weeks, including the Homework Choice Board I sent home for the first time last week. I will give kids a new Choice Board each week, and it is due on Friday. Last week, most of the kids took on this responsibility, and brought a carefully completed form. A few did not. If your child forgot, please work with them to develop a routine that includes nightly reading, planning and completing their week’s homework activities, and returning the Choice Board on Friday. I appreciate that parents make the kids responsible for managing this, and understand that it may take some kids time to build this habit.

This week we will also begin a program called MAP Accelerator. Kids will be assigned Khan Academy lessons based on their own MAP results. I will send home more information about how kids can log into this from home, once we have used it a few times in school.

Both grades began Social Studies units last week, and will be reading Studies Weekly issues and completing hyperdocs to address the content. Fourth Graders are learning about the 4 California regions, and will be researching one of them and making a poster to share. Third Graders are learning about landforms, and will be making a picture dictionary. They will also be making a landform model as homework, which will be assigned in early October, and due October 25th. I will send home information about this project several weeks before the due date so everyone has plenty of time to work on it.

Have a great week, and remember to respond to the Youth Truth survey I mentioned last week, if you haven’t already. The link is in last week’s post, or on the RDM home page.

Have a great week!
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you have enjoyed this lovely 3 day weekend!

A few thoughts about this week...Parents, please respond to the Youth Truth Survey  This is your opportunity to share your thoughts about Rio del Mar Elementary in a clear and efficient way. The kids and staff take time to do this survey at school, but we'd like to hear from more parents. Ms. Green shared at Site Council how carefully she looks at each written response, as well as the overall trends from each group of stakeholders.

I've included links to the 3rd and 4th Grade math homework for anyone that wishes their child to do more traditional, pencil and paper homework. They are to the right of this post, and should be printable. Let me know if there are issues. Also, if anyone wants their child to print homework pages here at school, please let me know and I will work with your child to print out a packet of homework pages.

I've also attached a link to the Choice Board that I mentioned would be your child's homework each week. If your child misplaces the hard copy I give them Mondays, or is absent, feel free to print one. You may also have your kid hand write a list of the things they did for homework on any piece of paper, and submit it to me when the Choice Board is due, on Fridays.

Finally, to those of you that were able to attend the Back-to-School Night, thank you for coming and getting to know about this year. If you were unable to attend, thank you for finding your way to this blog!

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

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

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

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

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