Newsletter 9-16-11

Charlie the Capital Catching Seal

I’d like to introduce you to Charlie the seal. He arrived on the scene earlier this week as third grade began to learn all about capital letters.You see, he catches capitals, just like all studious third-graders should. So far, he has helped to teach them all about capitalizing the 1st word in every sentence, the word I, days of the week, and months of the year.

Last night, he somehow managed to get a hold of the third grade language papers. ;-) He painted beautiful green circles all over the correct capital letters. Unfortunately, he also found a couple of incorrect capital letters and blotted those out with black circles.

The third graders were quite excited to see that Charlie checked their capitals!

Just a Note

Due to flooding and school closings, there will be no science test tomorrow, Friday, September 9th.

The test will be postponed until Tuesday the 12th.

There will be a spelling test.

There will be no reading assignments.

Rainy Days are Here Again!

I learned very early in teaching that rainy days can cause students to become more and more wound up, the longer the rain continues. So last year, I determined that I would do something on rainy days to encourage better behavior. I use a lot of different methods throughout the year, but my returning 4th graders all know that a rainy day means something exciting is bound to happen in our classroom.

So, when I checked the forecast for this week and found that we are to be expecting rain every day, I decided that my positive reinforcement would need to be something that lasted throughout the week.

 

So, here are the simple charts each student found on their desk this morning. All day, I watched for great behaviors such as:

* following directions quickly

* quiet hallway behavior

* attentiveness

* diligence

* neatness

The good behaviors were rewarded with stickers, at the end of the week, the students will be able to redeem the stickers for candy and prizes.

As I tell my students, “The days that seem the gloomiest outside, are the days we need to be the happiest inside!”

Science Experiment

     Today we conducted an experiment during science class. We have been talking about how God created animals with the tools that they need to meet their basic needs. Specifically, we talked about how the hummingbird’s beak is specifically designed to sip nectar from flowers.

     So today, each student formed a hypothesis about which of three tools would be most similar to the hummingbird’s beak. The tools we used were needle-nosed pliers, tweezers, and a dropper. Most of the students decided that the pliers were the most similar in appearance to the hummingbird’s beak.

     Then, we tested their hypothesis by seeing which tool could move the most water in 30 seconds. They found that the dropper worked best for moving liquid. The students really enjoyed putting science into action!

Letter Home - 1st day of school 2011

Dear Parents,                                                                       Thursday, August 26, 2011

                Another year of school has begun! I am looking forward to an exciting year with your children as they learn new things.  

GOALS

Third graders will venture into the world of multiplication, explore nouns and verbs, write book reports, and get their reading into tip-top shape, along with learning many other new things. Fourth graders will conquer division, parts of speech, research reports, and will focus on reading comprehension.

Both grades will increase their knowledge of the Bible and Christian life with Scripture memory, catechism questions, and hymns. They will be learning all about great people in America’s past and will be spending six weeks studying our own beautiful state of Pennsylvania. They will be exploring the world around them through science lessons, activities, and projects.

My goal for our classroom this year is growth. With God’s help I trust that you will see your children grow spiritually, academically, and socially this year. I would truly appreciate your prayers that I will have the wisdom that is needed as I teach your children.

RULES & CONSEQUENCES

Our classroom has three basic rules. They are:

1.       No walking without permission.

2.       No talking without permission.

3.       Keep hands and feet to yourself.

There are also general school rules such as being quiet in the hallway, being respectful and obedient to teachers, wearing proper uniforms, and playground rules.

When a student breaks one of these rules, they will be given a verbal warning. If they continue to disobey the rules, they will serve time at recess. For more serious offenses or repetitive offenses, they will write sentences during break. In extreme cases, they will be sent to the office to meet with Mrs. DeStefano. If they serve time, write sentences, or are sent to the office, I will send home a note to let you know. Please sign the note and return it so that I know that you received it.  

HOMEWORK

The only homework that is regularly assigned in 3^rd and 4^th grade is reading. Your child should bring home their reading book each Friday with an assigned section to be read by Monday, and each Tuesday with an assigned section to be read by Thursday. Students should read this to an adult, ask the adult to initial, and return the assignment to school to be turned in.

Students may have additional work to complete at home if they do not finish all their assigned work at school. You may choose to review spelling words and Bible memory with them as well to prepare them for tests.

TESTS

Students will know about all tests at least a day in advance. For History and Science, they will generally have a study guide or study questions to use. In Language, they may look back through their books and review.

 Bible tests are solely memory work, and papers will be sent home at the beginning of each six weeks so that you can review at home. We do review all Bible memory 3-4 times per week in class as well.

Math tests (assessments) will happen after every five lessons. There will be a written assessment where your child practices procedures and concepts, and a fact assessment which evaluates your child’s mental computation and calculation.

 Penmanship (Writing) and Spelling tests occur once every week. Penmanship tests are on Wednesdays and Spelling tests are on Fridays, unless you are notified otherwise.

GRADING

                Grading will be based on the schools grading scale. Every grade will be categorized as either a test, quiz, or homework grade and will be weighted accordingly.

Every few weeks, I will send home a folder with your child’s graded work. Please review it, sign the folder, and return it to school the following school day.

CONTACT INFO

                If you need to reach me about anything, please feel free to call me at (570)541-2805, email me at morfordmail@yahoo.com, or speak to me quickly before or after school.

                This year, I will be trying to maintain a classroom blog. You can find it at http://mrsmorfordsclass.blogspot.com/ . It is not a necessity for you to check it. It is meant to be a helpful tool for students and their parents, not one more thing to add on to a busy schedule. At the blog you can find spelling lists (and links to study them at Spelling City), a copy of our classroom schedule, copies of letters that are sent home, contact information, and occasional updates on what we are doing in class.  

                Thanks so much for entrusting me with the education of your children this year. I promise to do my best to provide them with a quality Christian education. I will keep you in my prayers, and would truly appreciate your prayers for me.

                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                Mrs. Morford