March 6, 2013

Free Books!

This spring, We Give Books, LeapFrog, and readers across the United States are teaming up to read digital books and donate 150,000 printed LeapFrog books to public schools across the country.

Starting March 19, 2013 and continuing through April 5, when you read online at ReadForMySchool.org, you’ll have the chance send a new book directly to a school you choose – just by reading from our free online library.

Pre-register now through March 18 to receive a reminder email before the campaign launches by visiting the Read for My School program site!



Symphony Under the Stars

This year, Symphony under the Stars presents… Kids on Broadway!


We are looking for singers, dancers, and musicians. All kindergarteners through fifth graders are invited to participate. If you are interested in joining our wonderful cast, please contact Cheryl Freeman at freemanc1@duvalschools.org by Friday, March 22.

Students must be available for rehearsals every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00-4:00 P.M. Rehearsals will start on Thursday, April 4. Students may only sign up for one group, so that we can provide as many opportunities as possible. No experience is necessary for the singing or dancing groups. If you choose to play an instrument, you must provide your own instrument- other than a piano. We have a piano here for the students to use.

Symphony under the Stars will be held on Friday, May 3, 2013 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. This is your child's time to shine!



March 1, 2013

Lunch

I've noticed many students buying additional treats during lunch time. 
This is something I'm not able to monitor closely, as I don't eat with your children.  Some of the kids are running out of money prematurely because of this.

Please discuss with your child as to when and how much they can spend if you are alright with this.

It was also brought to my attention by the cafeteria staff that you, as a parent, can go online to set spending limits for your child.  You can let it be known they should only buy lunch or even as specific as if you want them to only buy treats on Fridays.  Use the link for "My Lunch Money" under our links tab on this class site.

March Book-it goal

The March Book-It reading goal will be 20 books. In order to receive a pizza hut certificate and a sticker on our chart, your child must have 20 books recorded on their reading log in the month of March.  As a reminder, these should be books they have read independently.

Don't forget to read over Spring Break!!

February 25, 2013

February Character Student

February's character trait was charity.  This was a tough one for the kids to truly understand.  They definitely get what it means to be kind and do nice things, but to be giving of your things or yourself without wanting anything in return is harder concept to grasp.

Charity is defined as generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill, or helpless.

Our character student this month is Brooke.  Brooke had some great points to add to our conversations on charity.  She was even able to further show she understood the concept by sharing about a time she donated her hair to the organization Locks of Love. 
Finally, Brooke is ALWAYS offering to lend a helping hand to her POOR teacher :)

Great job Brooke!

Next month's character trait is honesty.

FCAT Writes

Due to the FCAT writing test that 4th graders will be taking on Tuesday, February 26, there will be no movement on campus until after 12.  That applies to volunteers and visitors coming for lunch. 

The same quiet time will be in effect during the FCAT test at the end of March.

Progress Reports

Progress Reports for the 3rd nine weeks will be in your child's folder today.  Please sign and return as soon as possible.

As always, if you have questions feel free to e-mail me or write me a note.

February 19, 2013

Reflex Math

Math homework this week includes logging into a new math program to help build fluency.  Here's the site:
www.reflexmath.com

Click "Launch" in the upper right corner to get started.  I've sent home unique username and passwords for each child to use to help with monitoring their progress.  Here's a quick overview of what they should see and do once they log in.

1. Students will start by creating their own avatar.

2. Speed Cube Challenge
Every Reflex session begins with a short assessment called Speed Cube Challenge. It's

the job of Speed Cube Challenge to determine a student's level of fluency with facts and
families.
During a student’s first several sessions, Speed Cube Challenge will ask a wide range of
facts as it assesses the student’s pre-existing fluency. After this initial exploration, Speed
Cube Challenge will primarily assess how students are doing with facts that they have
recently been taught.
(You’ll notice that some of the items in the challenge only ask a student to type in a
given number. This is done so that Reflex can measure how fast a student types,
something it needs to take into account when measuring how quickly a student can
answer a given fact.)

3. Reflex Island
Students will have access to two games at first.  Additional games are unlocked with continued play.
There are many other aspects to encourage students to do their best including earning tokens, watching their "progress tree" and getting the green light to light up after meeting their daily usage requirement.

Please let me know if you have questions about the program.

February 15, 2013

Valentines

Thank you for all of the LOVE!  I loved all my Valentines.  Thank you parents for including me in the exchange :)

February 7, 2013

Calendar Change

The week of Febuary 11 we will begin Theme 6, week 3 in our reading series.  Please practice the coordinating sight words that were stapled in the back of your child's folder.  Due to Valentines and President's Day, I will take the content for that week and stretch it over the following week. 

The calendar shows that we will begin Theme 7 on February 19.  Due to the change mentioned above, we will begin the theme on February 25.