Week 1

Last week went by smoothly, and the students were really into the groove of summer school by day 2. We are still reading The Trouble with Tuck, so keep asking questions about what happened last in the story.

(Brief summary: Helen remembers how heroic and intelligent Tuck is. She recalls how Tuck saved her from a kidnapper in the park. Helen thinks about how Tuck used to chase birds away, but now the birds are no longer scared of him due to his loss of sight. Helen and her family take Tuck to the vet, Dr. Tobin, who gives them 3 choices - take him home and be unsure of how he will act, put him to sleep, or donate him for experiments to help cure dog blindness. Helen and her parents don't like any of the choices).

Thank you to all of the parents who signed and returned the Weekly Behavior Chart. At the end of the summer, there will be a reading assessment that compares pre-test and post-test scores. There are no academic grades given in summer school, but I would still like to keep you informed of your child's weekly progress on assignments and during class. Please feel free to jot down any comments or notes over the weekend.

FAUX FRIDAY - The students are working toward a fake Friday--a day that we will celebrate good behavior by having snacks and by letting the children pick where they'd like to do their work (on the carpet, at a different seat, in the teacher's chair, etc.). If you would like to donate some dry snacks, it would be greatly appreciated. Snacks include popcorn, PB crackers, goldfish crackers, and fruit snacks.

Brain Breaks: You may hear your son or daughter tell you about our brain breaks. These are times when student energy gets low and needs a boost to wake the brain back up again. Our brain breaks include dancing the Cha-Cha Slide/YMCA/Electric Slide, playing a getting-to-know-you activity, and stretching. These brain breaks are Kagan Strategies--they are things that are meant to keep you active and engaged with peers throughout the day. We even use Kagan Strategies during learning, like playing Pass-the-Pencil, Find-Someone-Who, and building team spirit through group activities.

Please continue to visit www.tickettoread.com at your home. Your child's username and password are located on a sticker in the Summer School folder.

To see some of the activities we've done this week, click on the pictures to the right.