3.7 Math Home Link

WE DO NOT HAVE A MATH HOMELINE TONIGHT! I didn't feel the students were ready for finding area just yet. Sorry for the confusion this might create at home, but please always look at your child's assignment notebook each night. We might make changes daily . . . Thanks!

Spageddies Dinner and Book Fair

Reagan's upcoming spaghetti supper and bookfair will take place Thursday, October 4th.  Dinner is served from 6:00-7:30.  Early reservations and payment for the spaghetti supper are due on MONDAY, October 1st, in order to get the discounted rate of $5 per person.  After that date and at the event, the dinner is $6.50 per person. 

Families will have time to shop at the book fair from 6:00-8:00, too! We hope to see you all for the delicious dinner from Spageddies!!

***If you cannot make it to our school's book fair and/or your child will not be purchasing items on Tuesday, October 2 with our class, I will still place a Scholastic order for you if you wish from the catalogs I sent home last week.  However, I want to encourage families to purchase from the school book fair as that helps out our entire school!

Reading Counts Quiz FAQs

Should I be reading a book from the SRA booklist that came home last week with my child? Reading lists came home with students that include suggested books for the students to read that are at each student's reading level. The books are also titles that have a Reading Counts quiz at school.

Are there any books that are read in class that my child can use for a monthly Reaching Counts quiz?Yes and No: Some of the stories in our reading books, for example Nate the Great, had an RC quiz online for students to complete. Some students chose to use that story for their September RC quiz grade where others wanted to take a quiz over an additional book. Students are also encouraged to check out a book at his or her Lexile reading level at the Media Center when our class has check out dates.

Does my child know his or her Lexile reading level? YES! Or each student should know this number! We've taken two different SRI assessments to determine reading levels. We will continue to do so once per month through May.

How do I know if Reagan's Media Center has a Reading Counts Quiz for the book my child's currently reading? Each book that comes from our school library will have a label on the back that indicates the books Lexile reading level and whether Reagan has a Reading Counts quiz online here at school. See the image attached to this blog post for an example.

How can I find the Lexile and whether Reagan has a Reading Counts quiz for the book my child is currently reading? To access our school's online card catalog, the site is http://destiny.brownsburg.k12.in.us/common/servlet/logout.do?site=201. You can also access the web address www.lexile.com to find a book's lexile level. ***These links are on linked on the right side of the blog for future access.

Can my child take an RC quiz at home? Not currently. The quiz time will be provided in class during daily literature stations.The due dates are set in advance, the students will write the due date within two weeks of its due date, and parents will receive reminders via the blog of upcoming due dates.

***Sorry for the sideways image . . . I just could not figure it out today!

***If you have any other questions about the RC quizzes, lexiles, SRI assessments, etc, please don't hesitate to ask.

Stamps and Addresses

In order to connect real-life meanings to our friendly letters, students will be writing a letter home to their families next week. In order for this to be successful, it's necessary that ALL 3rd graders know their home addresses. Please, please work on this with your child this week, and through the weekend.

If you would kindly send in one stamp for your child's letter, too, I would greatly appreciate that! If you have more than one stamp you're willing to part with, please send those in also! Thanks!

This Week At A Glance . . .

Orange Leaf fundraiser tonight, 9/25--bring your flyer or just mention you're supporting Reagan, and 10% of the total sales will come back to our school!

Send in picture order forms is you wish to order. Picture day will be next week, Tuesday, October 2.

Book fair information newspapers will go home on Friday. Take a look at some of the awesome deals and exciting books to get your 3rd grader motivated about reading! WE WILL BE SHOPPING ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 during our Media Center time: 9:00-9:30 OR students can shop with you at the spaghetti dinner Thursday, October 4.

Vocabulary: Quiz on Friday and pages 34-35 due Friday. There is only one back-to-back page due this week for vocabulary.

Fantastic Fall Party

WOW! What an enjoyable, fun-filled afternoon Mrs. Owens and many of the other parents had in store for us on Friday! From BINGO with candy corn to a blowing leaves competition, we had a blast!

Thank you to ALL of the parents for donations and volunteering! A special THANK YOU to Mrs. Owens for organizing the festivities!

Vocabulary This Week ONLY

Vocabulary "packets" went home today! I goofed on Friday, and I completely forgot to send them home. As not to "punish" the kids for my mistake, I took one of the pages off the backside of the packet. Therefore, the kids ONLY have to complete pages 34 and 35 (back to back) this week for an assignment. It will be due Friday, as always. We will still have our quiz on Friday as normal, too. Thanks for understanding!

Paws for Reading

Please take a minute to read through the Paws for Reading packet with a cat or a dog on the front this weekend. We discussed this AT HOME reading program during stations today, and I'm hoping you'll join forces with me to reach our reading goals this year! There will be prizes for students that turn in their reading log for reading 20 minutes AT HOME each day!

Keep in mind, "reading time" looks very different than what you might expect. Kids can:

• Listen to a book on an iPod, CD, tape, etc
• Read aloud with an adult (taking turns reading a sentence, paragraph, or page at a time)
• Reading silently
• be read book by an older sibling or adult
• read to younger siblings

Reading materials also go beyond just books and beyond this list, too:

• eBooks
• Playaways (portable digital books at public libraries)
• magazines
• online news for kids (yahooligans.com, timeforkids.com)
• reading baseball cards or similar
• Raz-Kids
• IREAD links on our blog
• Comics
• Scrapbooks

***Book orders went home today, too! For EVERY online order, our class will receive 1 FREE book! I was able to purchase 25 books with the last order using points from our class order. These books go directly into your child's hands! Thanks for considering your order! (Think gifts . . .!)

Parent/Teacher Conference Reminders

I'm looking so forward to talking with families on Wednesday, October 10 or Thursday, October 11 during our Parent/Teacher Conferences! Each time slot is only 15 minutes long, though, so please arrive on time! This is greatly appreciated!

Your child is bringing home an orange reminder slip today with your scheduled conference time and date. Many parents signed up for a conference time slot at Parent Night in August, so that time is indicated on the form you'll receive today. If a change is necessary, please just let me know. If no change is needed, no information needs to be returned. I have very few spots available, however, so if you can stick with the scheduled time you already have, I would greatly appreciate that!

Feel free to bring your 3rd grader with you to the conference. I highly recommend that they be an active member of their success this year!

Yankee Candle Fundraiser for BEF

Brownsburg Education Foundation's 12th Annual Yankee Candle sale is upon us just in time for the holidays! Fundraiser packets are coming home today!

100% of the money earned from the sales of the candles goes directly to Brownsburg student scholarships and classroom grants! At a time with many education budget cuts, this is an easy way to get some funds back into the classroom for your children!

Out of town friends and family can check out the website at www.brownsburgeducationfoundation.org to order, too! Check out the great prizes your child can win in the packet/envelope today!

Keep in mind:

• Orders and payment are due on or before Monday, October 8.
• Checks made out to BEF.
• Return ALL copies of the order form with payment.

Everyday Math WORKING!!!

Go ahead with working online at home on math skills . . . the site is officially third grade ready! It also hosts Home Link copies, Family Letters, and games. Great tool for home use!

www.everydaymathonline.com

Everyday Math & IREAD links

We're experiencing, and apparently have been for some time, some issues with student accounts, when accessed from home, are linked to the fifth grade skills. Thank goodness this hasn't been an issue at school when logging into the program.

I have a request in with our tech department, and I will keep my fingers crossed that the issue is fixed soon. Please be patient with this rollover process. Thanks!

In the meantime, please use some of the iRead links on the right side of the blog, and/or other academic links, too. These are ALL excellent resources for practicing skills. *******In fact, the newest link titled "iRead and ISTEP Practice Questions" includes math, reading comprehension, language arts, and writing online skill games and sample questions.

Reading Counts Quizzes

Starting NOW, each student will be REQUIRED to complete at least ONE Reading Counts quiz on the computer at school (The first due date is below).  A quiz score of a 7 out of 10 or higher will be required on each quiz or your child will retake the quiz until he or she achieves the passing score. The passing score will go into your child's cumulative reading grade for each quiz. The online quiz content includes comprehension skills from leveled books that we currently have in our classroom library and Reagan's library.

I will send home a list of "just right" books for your child based on his or her current Lexile reading level in Friday papers this week. This list will help you guide your child's reading at home, and it will help with selecting appropriate books here at school, too. We're working on our reading stamina, too, so any attention you can provide for your student with guiding book choices would be helpful! ***Your child can read the books at home or at school, but the reading and quiz taking of at least one book MUST be completed by the following dates:

#1 RC Quiz: due Friday, October 12
#2 RC Quiz: due Wednesday, November 21
#3 RC Quiz: due Friday, December 21

RC Quiz due dates for 2013 will come out in the beginning of December. I will, of course, remind the students of the due dates, offer them time in class to read and take the quizzes, and place reminder due dates on the assignment board for the kids to copy into assignment notebooks each week.

Thank you so much for helping me guide your child to be a successful reader!

Tuesday Talk

WOW! Our class math tests for unit 2 were just WOW!! We had over 95% of the students score an A or a high B on the last test! We're doing something right here at school, and the kids are working hard at home on facts, home links, and online games! Keep up the good work!

Our Fall Party is Friday, September 21 from 2:45-3:30. Please attend if you'd like. However, please keep in mind that if you wish to attend and/or work in the classroom or on a field trip, you MUST have a background check filled out with the office prior to volunteering! Please ask me if you're unsure of how to go about this.

Last reminder: Please help, if you can, donate "Coins for Cancer" tomorrow and Friday. Kids can dress up in beach-type clothes tomorrow (Wedensday) and Bulldog gear on Friday. We will also have popsicles for sale for $.50 during recess on Wednesday.

Fundraiser Reminder

Don’t forget about our Fundraiser for the Leukemia Society next week!

Please donate a $1 if possible for each dress up day.

Monday- Hat Day

Wednesday- Beach Day (popsicles out at recess)

Friday- Brownsburg Spirit Day

All students will receive a popsicle and can dress up if even no money is donated!  We are encouraging a donation, but we understand that not everyone is able to donate at this time.

Thanks!

Giving Tree

September makes me think of visits to the apple orchard! Which makes me think of apple trees! Which then reminds me of one of my favorite books as a kid called The Giving Tree! This tree gave and gave and gave to the little boy until she could give no longer . . . eventually he gave something simple back to her: just visiting with her daily again and taking a rest against her trunk as an old man!

The giving in our classroom has been so generous this year! I have many parents helping on every day of the week, snacks are piled up high for our "brain fuel," and other donations have come in when asked! Students are also showing more and more giving with peers. So, thank you so very much for your generosity with items, as well as positive role modesl for your children! I promise to repay you ALL with a successful, mature third grader (in May), who also acts like a good citizen at school and in the community! Thank you for sharing your child with me this year!

This Week's Math Homework

ALL students have only one task this week in math for homework: Complete the Unit 2 Study Guide by Friday! That's it! This is a change from completing Home Link 2.9 tonight. I did not see it as helpful for test prep.

We will test on Friday of this week, and we will review tomorrow and Thursday for the test.

Learning Lab Concerns

Our class has had, over the last few weeks, a "revolving door" experience with reading and math labs in the learning labs here at Reagan. I wanted to assure ALL parents that your child will only attend these labs if I've first notified you. However, after the first initial contact, your child could move in and out of lab as the professionals that work with you child see fit.

To ease your mind about how I'm hitting all of concepts with ALL students, I'm enriching reading instruction during Reading Block with content text such as non-fiction passages from Read to Succeed, Time For Kids, Social Studies and/or Science Weekly newspapers, Snapple Facts (see links), National Geographic, BrainPop Jr., and Raz-Kids.

Some of these resources are embedded within literacy stations (small groups) each day, too, either individually or with the teacher or parent helper.  These resources are leveled text pieces that will expose children to use different strategies for different types of text.

All of these resources are important for providing non-fiction exposure to prepare students for IREAD 3 in the spring.

Happy Reading at home with your kids, too! Try to read different types of text: magazines, newspapers, online news, novels, picture books, etc. Listen to you read aloud is also KEY for raising a fluent reader!!!

Scootpad Online Tool

I introduced Scootpad to the students today to browse during stations! Once we got through the login issues, the students seemed to enjoy the program. It's a completely optional resource, but an additional one for students that want that extra practice at home.

Students received their log in cards today. Although their login ids are different, everyone's password, for now, is welcome. Once into the program, the kids can work through skills to earn coins. Coins can be "spent" on rewards such as extra computer time, sit by a friend for a day, free homework pass, etc.

There really isn't a deadline on this skill work. And, in fact, it's completely optional for students. It's just a fun way of reinforcing the skills for math and reading that we use here at school!

www.scootpad.com

Spirit Days for a Great Cause!

Kids with Leukemia and Cancer need your help!

Please help us raise money to donate for the Leukemia Society.  We have our very own HERO right at Reagan Elementary School.  Aiden is 2^nd grader who is battling leukemia and he is WINNING!!!!  When we donate money we are helping kids like Aiden!  We also have a sister of one of our students who is battling brain cancer.  Faith is a 4 year old girl who loves to play Barbies with her big sister Savanna who is a fifth grader at Reagan!  We will be having another fundraiser in the spring to donate to Riley Hospital in Faith’s name.

 Please donate a $1 for each dress up day.  We are also selling popsicles at recess on Wednesday, September 19 for $.50 each.

Monday, September 17 – Hat Day

Wednesday, September 19 - Beach Day (wear flip flops and sunglasses, you will need recess shoes!) and Popcicles out at recess for $.50

Friday, September 21 – Spirit Day (wear your favorite Bulldogs Gear)

Brain Fuel FAQs

Many students are bringing in snacks, and boy are we so thankful!!! The kids really work hard all morning and afternoon, so refueling is a MUST!

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that not everyone will like what we choose for snack on a certain day. We all eat the same snack for obvious reasons. However, some students have chosen to bring their own daily snacks, just in case. This is absolutely acceptable!

Thanks again for the generous donations. Please keep in mind that we have 26 students now!

Friday papers

My goal is to send home papers on Fridays each week. It is your child's responsibility (with my prompting) to collect his or her papers from the individual mailboxes. Other important papers and your child's Friday Letter notebook will come home in that mailbox, too. The only item that needs to be returned is the Friday Letter notebook on Mondays (or the first day of the week).

EDM Online Games = Clip Up Daily

www.everydaymathonline.com

The website above is an EXCELLENT resource for online math games, family letters, Home Links, and really any other resources parents and kids need to be successful this year in math. Please check out the site with your child's EDM login information (found in their pencil pouches in binders).

***For each student that spends at least 10 minutes per night working on EDM online games and/or math skills (flash cards, problem solving, telling time, skip counting orally, etc . . .), he or she may clip up on our behavior chart each day (optional). Of course, a note in the assignment notebook or directly written to me about your child's efforts toward math success is a requirement. This will start as soon as Monday.

***Students can still clip up each day they wear an analog watch, too.

iREAD Useful Sites

Along with ISTEP this year, iREAD is an important reading test that third grade students will take in the spring semester. I've linked a few GREAT sites to our blog labeled "iRead" for your child to browse or work through as you wish (completely optional).

Another great way to succeed at iRead is to READ, READ, READ!!! Research shows that reading increases vocabulary and spelling skills, as well as writing skills.

Find time to read with your kids or allow your kids to SEE you reading! My boys often see me reading a good book (too often maybe) or browsing through a magazine. I enjoy listening to audio books, downloading books on my iPod or Nook, checking out books at the public library, or even swapping books with friends. A class competition is in sight soon . . . Our class library is open for any student of mine to utilize, too! I encourage reading and LOTS of it!

Story Quiz and Vocab This Week

We WILL NOT have a story quiz this week. We will discuss some of the skills for our story, but we will NOT take the quiz individually this week.

We WILL NOT have a vocabulary quiz on Friday either this week. Packets are still due, but we will spend the time in class to discuss the words and their meanings.

We WILL have a Home Link for math each night (other than Friday). Those are due the following day.