September 12th

Hello Parents!

     I hope that you all had a terrific weekend.  It's another exciting week with a few extra specials treats in store for your student.  The first one is...(drum roll please) our Colonial America Learning Experience.  Your student has been working super hard on learning about how our community and amazing country has changed over the last few centuries.  While our field-trip to Duke Homestead (in the Spring) will help cement those concepts it is important that we build our "schema" or background knowledge now so that it can be reactivated later this year and hopefully never forgotten.  As part of this learning experience we will be signing our classroom constitution, playing colonial games at recess, and hopefully eating some colonial fare.  I've got the recipes if you've got the time.  Just email me (gharvey@wcpss.net) or pop in and I'd love to give you a recipe to make.  Otherwise, it'll just be some bread and water for the Heroes (but hey, life was hard back then).  Also, don't forget that Friday is an Early Release Day so your student will be dismissed at 1:15pm.  Please make sure that you have arrangements in place and that if it is different than the usual then you notify the school before 11am.
     Other pressing news is that your student will recieving their Immigration Project today.  All of the information for the project is listed in the forms.  Please read over it carefully and then if you have any questions let me know via email.  Grading for the project will be according to the rubric so I expect all of my Heroes to score at least a 3.  If you need any supplies for the project let me know and I'll be happy to find some for you, but just so you know it doesn't have to be fancy.  The project only has to be informative.
     Your student will also be coming home today with a daily homework sheet.  Every day at the end of school (3:30pm) we will go over the homework for the day. Your child will record the assignments on the sheet inside the correct subject area and day.  I will keep a class copy at the front of the room and remind your student each day at calendar of what they should have done the prior day.  Don't forget that homework is due on Monday but that we go over the Math sheets daily.  It takes to long to go over all of the math sheets on Monday plus it doesn't help me to see which students are struggling with a concept.  Projects have significantly more time so please don't worry about that.
     The word of the week this week is Shifty which means of questionable character, duplicitous.  Please try to use this adjective at home this week and praise your child if they use it.  I am trying to increase your students' vocabulary so that we can bone up their writing however I am only going to be successful with your help.  The student of the week is Gavin.  Please be sure to give him a high five or pat on the back if you see this guy around school.  He's shown "STAR" behavior since school started and is an excellent Hero. 

Wrapping Up... 
  
     *Math Tiles will start next Friday (September 23rd) from 1:40-2:20 so if you are available to help out I would LOVE to have you!
     *The Radical Reader Assembly is on September 27th at 9:30 am.
     *Friday, September 30th is a Teacher Workday so please don't send your student to school.
     *October 13th is the One Hunter Family Fall Picnic at 5:30pm.  It should be awesome so please mark it down on your calendar!