August 17-21

Whew!! Well we made it through our first week of school and I will say overall we had a very nice week.  Thank you for making the week run as smooth as possible.

We went through most subjects last week and some students seemed to have some difficulty with transitioning.  I tried to remind them it will get a little easier as time goes on.  This week we will be adding English and Science to our studies. 

Since our school motto is "Compassion in Action" we were really focusing on how to treat others in and out of class.  I will continue to go over classroom rules and the way the students socially interact with others.  I am a big fan of working as a team and I will remind the students regularly that God wants us to love others. 

In the homework folder there was a paper about our class community project.  If you did not see it please review the letter.  We will be collecting toiletry coupons regularly to help with Mrs. Lorenzi who purchases the products with the coupons and give the items to our local agencies for those in need.  If you collect the coupons please turn them in right away. No need to save them up as they may expire.

I would like to talk briefly about homework.  I feel that I do not give a lot of homework and what I do assign helps the child's learning.  For example if a child writes all of their spelling words correctly on each homework assignment chances are they will receive a higher grade than those who speed through the spelling homework and write the words incorrectly.  As a parent I would encourage you to check your child's spelling homework to be sure they have spelled the words correctly and written neatly.  Also please be sure your child has their name, date and subject

The students did a nice job with the homework folder last week.  The green paper will be stared by me or highlighted depending on if there work was turn in and complete.  The star or check amounts as credit.  Highlighted means it was not turned in. If you have any questions please let me know.

Our class has began PE or Physical Education.  This will be on Tues from 1:15-1:45,and Thurs and Fri from 12:45-1:15. I know that it was a hot week and it looks like the heat will probably continue.  I have reminded students that they may bring water bottles and leave them in the back of the class along with staying hydrated during the day.  The girls are allowed to take off their jumpers as long as their shorts are arms length when they place their arms by their side.  I would encourage boys to wear shorts.  PE is a grade so I stress to students that if they can play full speed at recess then their is no excuse when it comes to PE time unless their is a health issue.  If the students shows any kind of heat stress we will handle all means necessary to ensure the health of your child.

If your child has a hand held pencil sharpener I would like them to bring it to school.  I know that the list said not to bring one but I have a lot of students using class time to sharpen pencils.  Also the electric sharpener is not for colored pencils.  Thank you

Their will be a Safe Environment meeting this week at 7 am for those parents who are not able to make a night meeting.  Again all parents must be fingerprinted and Safe environment trained if you are intending on attending any 3rd grade field trip or volunteering in our class.  This is the Diocese policy.

Open house will be on Sunday, August 30th.  Please mark your calendar to come and see your students work.  It will be from 11am to 1pm. 

Subjects:
English - Chapter 1 - we will be focusing on sentence structure
Reading and Spelling - Lon Po Po Tests on Friday along with Vocabulary
Math - Chapter 1 place value, comparing numbers, rounding
Social Studies - Chapter 1 - We will be finishing our chapter this week which means we will have our first test next Tuesday.  I will give the students a study guide that they will write in their spiral notebook on Wednesday or Thursday.  The students will write the questions and they are expected to come back the following day with answers so we can study in class. 
Science - Beginning Chapter 1 Plants
Religion - We are finishing chapter 1 and will have an open book test on Wednesday.  Please encourage your child to take their book home to study with you.

Thank you for all of your support and if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask.  God Bless.