Saturday Morning Reading

As we all struggle to help our kids get their 100 AR points, there is help right in front of our faces. Saturday Morning Reading is every Saturday at the school library, 9 a.m. - 11. am. Students can read as many books as they want in their reading level. There are students getting 3-7 points every Saturday!

I am a mom of a 1st grader and she is no where near her 100 point goal. I have vowed no matter how tired I am or how much opposition she raises, we will be there. I know she says it is not important to her but I can promise the day that everyone else is at Wonderland she will be upset. So will your student. Please help them so they are not sitting in an empty school building doing work while most of their classmates are at Wonderland!

Thanks Mrs. Moore!

We want to say thank you to Mrs. Cindy Moore. Our Valentine's Day Party was spectacular! We loaded up on sugar and just had a great time. We know that our year would not have been near as much fun without all the hard work she and other parents have put into our parties. Thanks!

Valentine's Day Party

TAKS Prep

By now you know how important the Reading TAKS test is to your student's future. We are spending a great deal of time practicing procedures and skills in preparation of March 3. The students are being troopers and hanging in there and doing everything I am teaching them.

Some of the most important procedures is that all students remain quiet and still until every student has completed the test. This is tough!!! Some students are finished very quickly and it is driving them crazy to have to sit and stay quiet, not get up, basically sitting like a statue.

Once a student has completed their test and handed it in they may read a book silently at their desk. However, it is not acceptable for them to take AR test or go to the library. Starting on Monday, February 9 all students will have a chapter book to keep in their desk and read while we take Benchmarks or practice procedures. This will limit the books they read each day because most are only allowed one 0.5 book and two trips to the library per day.

Pleas be patient with this process and help your student understand the importance of all students having a quiet, peaceful environment for testing. Everyone deserves an equal chance of being successful!

Just an Update

The week of February 2 we will be focusing our math attention to Time and Temperature. I know this sounds like a simple concept to most adults, but you would be surprised at the number of 3rd graders that truly have problems with the concepts. Finding the pattern of the thermometer (counting by 1's, 2's, etc...) and distinguishing the hour hand from the minute hand are the real issues. I encourage each of you to sit with your child and work through the problems that we have done in class. Your input makes more of a difference than anything I can do.

Reading and writing should be a fun this week. We will be reading Dr. De Soto in class and creating character maps. We will then make a Character Trait map on the laptops toward the end of the week. Not only is this a wonderful writing and technology lesson but it also teaches kids to examine themselves and what they understand about their character. We will continue working on TAKS strategies. Most of the students are doing a great job and just need a little reminding from time to time.

I will be out of the classroom on Monday afternoon so tutoring students will go to Study Hall. This will give them the opportunity to get their work done with someone there to help.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns I would be happy to visit with you at any time. Thanks for having such great kids. They all have special places in my heart forever!