Updates

Updates:

Nov. 1 --

Important update -- conferences:

1) As you know, Parent-Teacher Conference Day is Monday, Nov. 12, Veterans Day observed. Ms. Jones and I have 50 students between us, so of course we cannot meet with all parents on the actual conference day.

Having said that, of course, every parent is welcome to schedule a conference at any time.

Regarding Nov. 12, Ms. Jones and I will be sending home a letter next week to schedule a meeting with those parents that we feel we would like to conference with -- whom we have not met with previously. Please look for such a letter to be stapled in their agenda books. If you do NOT see such a letter -- no worries! :-)

2) Other miscellaneous updates:

The First Quarter ends Nov. 5. The students have a half-day Monday, Nov. 5. Dismissal at 11:55 pm. Report grades will be published by then.

Tuesday, Nov. 6, school is closed for Election Day.

Wednesday, Nov. 7 -- Classic pictures: Retake day at Heather Hills.

Monday, November 12 -- School is closed for Parent-Teacher conferences -- with scheduled parents.

Tuesday, November 13 -- Number the Stars Choice Board project due! (Instructions sent home and also are on this web site under "Projects."

Wednesday, Nov. 21, through Sunday Nov. 25 -- school closed for Thanksgiving holiday.

Oct. 29 --

Just to let you know that this is the last week of the quarter, and we will be having some assessments as the grade publishing window opens Thursday and closes next Monday. Of course we always have our spelling test on Mondays, and we accomplished that today. I also plan to give an assessment on the last few chapters of "Number of the Stars," and a unit test -- on either Tuesday or Wednesday -- more likely Tuesday. It will be open book so there should be no problem with that. I also plan to give a social studies test on geographical vocabulary on Wednesday. The kids have made flashcards with those terms, and they will be able to use those flashcards during the test. They were told about this last week.

Oct. 26 --

I have several updates for you. A few things have changed regarding what I have written previously:

1) On Wednesday, Oct. 31, we will have a fall festival and celebration of literacy at Heather Hills. The kids are encouraged to dress as a favorite character from a book or story they love. Also, the kids may bring some treats to school and during the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 1:55, they may have a chance to present about their favorite literary character, and to share a treat.

2) On Monday, Nov. 5, we will have a half-day and early dismissal, and in the morning we will have our event for students who have earned enough "Starbucks" to attend the event. This is called the PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) event.

On other notes:

3) I had said that I was trying to avoid overlap of projects, however there will be a slight overlap between my "Number the Stars" project and the Write-A-Book project. This was necessaryt due to my collaboration with the other intermediate language arts teachers. The impact will be minimal as only a few small things are required during the overlap days; and this will give the families more time to think about the Write-A-Book.

Here is the updated "Number the Stars" and Write-A-Book timeline:

Nov. 7 -- Write-A-Book instruction packets go home.

Nov. 8 -- Parent signature slip due back.

Nov. 15 -- Slip with choice of genre (type of book), and working title of your Write-A-Book, due back.

Nov. 13 -- "Number the Stars" final product is due (note: I had originally said, Monday, Nov. 12, but that actually is a day off for kids, and Parent-Teacher Conference Day.

Nov. 28 -- Rough draft of Write-A-Book is due.

Dec. 12 -- Final product of Write-A-Book is due.

4) Martin Luther King poster contest: Again, this is something that has come up in planning with my colleagues and is a school-wide activity. It is a good contest, I am told -- and involves money! :-) . We probably will do a lot of this in class, if possible, and then maybe send it home for the finishing touches. This contest is sponsored by the Prince George's County Education Association.

The final due date for submission to PGCEA is Dec. 13. I will let you know what the earlier deadlines are.

5) American Legion Essay contest: This is another very good contest with money prizes. The final due date for submission is January 31, 2019. We will do a lot of this in class, and send it home for finishing touches, and to be typed, if possible. This probably will be a January project.

Wow! That's a daunting timeline but I think a very worthwhile one! Thanks! Mr. E

Oct. 24 -- letter sent home for parent signature about web site and Number Stars project:

To: Parents and Guardians

From: Mr. Etheredge

Date: October 22, 2018

Re: Please acknowledge a couple of updates

We definitely can all feel the chill of fall and approaching winter now! It really does make us feel that we are “back in the swing of things at school.” The first quarter draws to a close at the end of next week. I hope we all are into the swing of things in our weekly spelling and homework cycles, and other routines.

I have sent home a project on our first quarter novel study, “Number the Stars.” It is due Monday, Nov. 12. I realize we already have had a Maryland counties project, and an ICAL project, and Write-A-Book is coming up – however, “Number the Stars” is such a wonderful novel that I really feel the kids should have a chance to sum up their learning and reaction to the book in a culminating project. I have sent home a “choice board” enabling the kids to pick from nine activities something they will enjoy – the activities involve writing, art, and drama. My hope is the students find something that will involve a talent they love.

I will send home Write-A-Book packets around Nov. 12 -- hoping not to overlap. After that, I have no projects planned until after Science Fair season will be over. J

In my project instructions, I said they can work in groups, though each student needs to turn in their own activity. They may do up to two extra activities for homework extra credit. If they do a “tic-tac-toe” – they may receive extra credit for that! Grades are for all three of my subjects.

Please note that my Web site is up and running, under the fourth-grade Web site, under the Heather Hills Web site. You can reach that Web site by googling it; through the PGCPS site; or by using this address: https://goo.gl//2Fd0AS.

Unfortunately, some of the formatting doesn’t carry over in documents that I have tried to load on there. But I am continuously trying to improve and update the Web site to make it user-friendly and useful for the students and families.

Enjoy your fall season! Mr. E

I have discussed these updates with my student ….

Parent Signature: _______________________________________________________________

Oct. 5 -- Career Day is coming on Columbus Day -- October 8! Our school counselor, Ms. Bartley, is running this wonderful annual event. We need parents to volunteer to present at this event! Please consider doing so. The signup link is below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054ca8ad2aa02-college