Dear Parents,
I am so excited to get to work as part of a team with you this year in your child's educational success. At school, I will be there to facilitate their learning, but when they come home, you have many opportunities to extend their learning as well.
Some things you can do at home to ensure your child continues their success in school are:
~Read, read, read!
~Ask questions! Just so you know, we never do "nothing" in school... your child should always be able to tell you something we learned during the school day!
~Check your child's Red Folder nightly. This will keep you up to date on their homework assignments.
~Help your child get a good night's sleep so they are alert and ready to learn in the mornings.
~Arrive on time. Missing a few minutes a few times a week really adds up to a lot of lost instructional time.
Folders are sent home Monday-Thursday. Each child will receive a folder in each folder you will find a newsletter. This sheet should stay in your child’s folder. If you have a quick question, or want to let me know something, jot it here. I check the folder every day. If I need to send you a comment, it will be here, so check this sheet every day. Please initial my comment or respond so that I know you have read it. I will do the same for your notes.
Take home folders will not go home on Fridays.
If there is a change in the way your child usually goes home or you wish for your child to go with a different person than usual, you must send in a written note. Do not rely on your child to tell me this information, because children often become confused and relay messages incorrectly. If no written note is received, your child will be sent home by his/her usual method of transportation.
All monies sent to school should be placed in an envelope labeled with your child's name, amount, and what the money is for.
If you would like to volunteer in the classroom, let me know. We appreciate your help!
Consider this...
Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 minutes/week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.
By the end of 5th grade if Student A and Student B maintain
these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days. Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.
One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?
Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school....and in life?
Turn off the TV for 20 minutes a night and read....it's worth it!
--Follow the progress your child is making in math. Check with your child daily about his homework.
--If you don't understand your child's math assignments, engage in frequent communication with his or her teacher.
--If your child is experiencing problems in math, contact the teacher to learn whether he or she is working at grade level and what can be done at home to help improve academic progress.
--Use household chores as opportunities for reinforcing math learning such as cooking and repair activities.
--Try to be aware of how your child is being taught math, and don't teach strategies and shortcuts that conflict with the approach the teacher is using.
--Check in with the teacher and ask what you can do to help. Ask the teacher about online resources that you can use with your child at home.
--Read every night aloud to your child every night.
--Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do his nightly reading assignments.
--As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, pat, hat.
--When your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point out the words she has missed and help her read the word correctly.
--After your child has stopped to correct a word he has read, have him go back and reread the entire sentence from the beginning to make sure he understands what the sentence is saying.
--Ask your child to tell you in her own words what happened in the story.
--To check your child's understanding of what he is reading, occasionally pause and ask your child about the characters and events in the story.
--Ask your child why she thinks a character acted in a certain way and ask your child to support her answer with information from the story.
--Before getting to the end of the story, ask your child what he thinks will happen next and why.