Conferences are this month. This is your chance to ask questions, view samples of your child's growth, and learn about their strengths or areas that need improvement. Students are graded upon the common core standards, not as a comparison to others in our class or school. Please read more on report cards so you can prepare and better understand our process.
In Language Arts we will be focusing on why people tell stories. Students will be able to ask what, when, where, why and how questions about why writers tell stories. Students will compare experiences of characters in familiar stories and describe the relationships between illustrations and text. They will identify the reasons an author gives to support points in text and work on a deeper understanding of the books through answering and asking questions. They will explore the connections and relationships between books and their own lives and using information learned through text to make connections with familiar people, places, and thinking in their own lives. The high frequency or sight words that your students should know are posted in class and on my website. Please practice reading these words nightly. In Fundations, we have learned the names, sounds and keywords to almost all of the lower case letters. In November, we will be adding y, x, q, and z. We will move quickly after finishing the lowercase letters.
With our wonderful 3rd grade reading buddies, we continue to explore Fairy Tale characters and settings as we prepare for our Fairy Tale plays.
In this module the students will be introduced to the concept of addition. They use stories and concrete materials to identify the features of this operation. Two types of addition are explored – active and static. Active stories use language that talks about one of the parts is joined to the other, for example, “two frogs hop onto a log to join three frogs.” In static stories, there are no action words, active stories are important because they are used later to help relate addition to subtraction. As they gain confidence, students will write words sentences for addition situations. They write both addends and the total. Concrete materials or pictures are always used to assist the children.
We will also focus on developing number sense related to numbers between 11 and 20, including how to write the teen numbers and number names. We will also begin the idea of place value by having the students recognize the teen numbers as one 10 and some ones (17= 1 ten and 7 ones).
Committees this month will focus on needs vs. wants, leaves and Thanksgiving.
As an employee of Albuquerque Public Schools, you know better than most what is at stake in the upcoming bond and mill levy election.
You know what it’s like to teach and work in stuffy classrooms or offices when the air conditioner isn’t working right, or in chilly conditions when the heater is on the fritz.
Many of you teach and work in an aging school or office building where roofs sometimes leak or where fixtures need to be replaced to keep lead out of the water.
If your students, their family members, or even you have a disability, you know the challenges of maneuvering through schools and offices that need to be brought into ADA compliance.
You understand the need for good working copiers. You get how important it is to have modern technology for our students and staff. You want our schools to have quality equipment for PE, libraries, career vocational classes, music and fine arts, science.
You know how critical it is to make our schools safe, with locks on all doors, quality fencing, card access, security cameras and alarms. You know what it takes to make our students and families feel comfortable and secure.
The bond and mill levy package on the Nov. 5 ballot would help address all of these needs and more. It is a pared-down ask from this year’s earlier mail-in election, focused this time primarily on urgent and basic repairs.
What we’re asking voters to approve is a continuation of the property tax that helps pay for capital improvements. This tax is already in place, so your tax rate won’t go up.
We’re also asking for authorization to issue up to $100 million of general obligation bonds to build, remodel, equip and furnish schools and school grounds. The bond issue also helps pay for technology.
There’s lots more information about the bond and mill levy election posted to our website:2019 APS Bond and Mill Levy Questions and Answers.
I encourage you to share this information with your family, friends, and neighbors. Help inform them, then encourage them to vote.
Please visit my SignUpGenius to help our class out.
We will be exploring the seasons, weather, sun energy and wind energy. We are still talking about germs as we are working hard in class to keep our hands out of our noses, eyes and mouths.
We will focus on needs and wants, the relationship between needs and wants is an important concept for children to understand. Needs are things that we must have in order to survive - things we truly can’t be without. Wants, on the other hand, are things that we would like to have, but that are not necessary for survival. Some needs and wants don’t cost any money at all: we all need air but we don’t have to pay for it. Likewise, we all need exercise to be healthy and we can run around outside for free. Many needs and wants, however, cost money.
We will also talk about our family traditions and history of Thanksgiving.
November presentations will be throughout the week of November 11th-15th. We will be focusing on Family Traditions. Try using cue cards or pictures so the students don't read their paper.
On Friday, November 22nd at 11:30 will enjoy a special Thanksgiving lunch. This is a great way to celebrate and share our family traditions. All parents are invited to join us, however you will need a background check to attend. Please sign up on my sign-up genius.
Our annual canned food drive will be coming up soon. Start saving those cans, boxes and non perishable items.