Last spring, on Step Up Day, we read the book, Me I Am! Students created art work that told what made them special and unique. (This work is displayed on the bulletin board between the two third and fourth grade classrooms.) This week we continued and expanded that discussion, including topics such as standing up for yourself, understanding and appreciating differences, and treating others with kindness and respect. If you have other suggestions for books with these messages, we are always looking for new ideas.
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August 25, 2015
Dear Students and Parents, Welcome back to school! We are so happy to finally have our classrooms filled with friendly faces. We are ready for a great year and hope you are too. We have some new friends joining us this year. Evan Veves has returned to Vermont and will be joining the 4th graders in Ms. Lewis’s room and Jemma Halter has just moved to Vermont from the west coast and will be a 4th grader in Mrs. Koch’s room. We hope you will help us welcome them into our community. Each year we like to help your child build an increased sense of responsibility. One way of helping to support your child is to set up a consistent place and time for reading and doing homework. Research shows that fluency and comprehension increase through independent reading practice, using text that is at a child’s comfortable reading level. Deeper reading comprehension occurs when students make connections between themselves, the text, and the outside world. This year we will be trying a different approach to weekly reading. We would still like your child to read 80 minutes (3rd graders) or 120 minutes (4th graders) each week. However, instead of counting time, we will be asking them to be writing and blogging about their reading. We will also have students record the title and author of the book they are reading on a separate piece of blue paper (a Book Log) that will be kept in their homework folder. As they start and finish books they will record those dates. There is importance in reading a book to the end and we want students to focus on finding “Just Right” books that are interesting and sustain their attention. Increasing their reading stamina is an important skill that can be practiced at home and at school. We will work in the first few weeks of school to help students pick “Just Right” books and establish the routines that we are hoping to use throughout the year. Students have a Home/School Folder that should travel back and forth to school every day. Inside will be a Weekly Assignment Sheet (this week’s is green, but the color will vary) on which students will record their homework. They will also have a separate Book Log (blue paper) to record their independent reading selections. We are also sending home an explanation of our homework policy (on bright pink paper) that should be kept for reference throughout the year. This folder will also hold notes, homework papers, and any other important information. Students do have homework tonight, which is explained on a separate piece of paper, stapled to their Weekly Assignment Sheet, and due tomorrow. There is a lot of other information coming home with your child today, including a packet from the office. Please review this information with your child, and return the necessary forms and lunch money as soon as possible. We are also including a weekly schedule for our classrooms as well as an outline of the major topics and themes for the year. There may be slight changes and deviations throughout the year, but if there are any significant changes, we will let you know. All of this information is also posted on our 3rd & 4th grade webpage, linked to the Fayston School Website. In an effort to save paper, from now on, we will post our letters and other important information on the website. If you would also like a hard copy, please let us know. Parents are always welcome in the classroom. If there are topics that you are particularly interested in, or relate to a special talent of yours, we would love to have you share that with us. If you are here for Morning Meeting please plan on joining the circle. We are working on building a classroom community and as part of this we want everyone to feel included. Additionally, if you are staying for academic subjects please reach out to us to see how you can best support your child or others in the classroom. If you would like to set up an observation this can be arranged through Jean Berthiaume. Please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions throughout the year. E-mail is often the fastest way to communicate, but voice mail is fine, too. ([email protected], [email protected], Ext. 200 for Carla Lewis, Ext. 110 for Erin Koch) This information is on the Fayston School Website. In addition to posting information and letters on our website, we will also send an email to the address that you have provided the school. If you have an additional email address that you would like us to use, please send it in. We look forward to learning more about your children and working together to provide the best educational experience possible. With your support and guidance, we know we will have a great year. Sincerely, Carla Lewis & Erin Koch |
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