Dear Parents and Students,
Well, what a week it has been. I am convinced GOD is at work, if for no other reason than I can see the backlash. Self-control, patience, reverence, and co-operation are all growing in this mix. For those of you with kids who are already strong in these, encourage endurance. GOD reigns, and this will become more and more evident in the lives of our kids and their teacher as we settle into what GOD has planned for us this year.
Thank you for coming to Back to School Night. It was a special time that we shared. Thank you for your encouragement and your prayers.
BIBLE
We are reading through The Story For Kids on Mondays, and then following it up with significant stories from that section on Tuesdays through Thursdays. This week we have focused the follow up time on Jacob and his relationship to GOD. It is an amazing story of faithfulness. Your kids are being encouraged to choose to follow GOD in spite of their imperfections, just like Jacob.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Starting next week, September 2nd, I will only be sending out one monthly newsletter announcing the activities and events along with all the Bible Verses and Spelling Words for the entire month. Much of the information is repeated each week and this will also give you an overview of what’s coming each month. You can access it online each week and I will also be sending a hard copy home as well.
HEAD ROOM MOM
If you are interested in serving this class in this capacity this year please contact me.
POWERSCHOOL
Please check your child’s grades on Powerschool weekly and let me know if anything needs to be changed. I am not the only one grading assignments; we are only human and will make mistakes. Please save your child’s work each quarter in a file at home and send in anything that doesn’t jive with Powerschool. I will correct the mistakes. Also, be checking to see which assignments your child might be missing and have them complete them for a grade. By 4th grade they are responsible for remembering to turn in their homework.
HOMEWORK
Any work not completed in class, such as math, reading. language or spelling, is considered homework and needs to be returned the following day. Students not finishing their work that night are subject to finishing it the next day at recess or lunch before they play. Please communicate with me if there was a valid reason as to why a child was not able to complete an assignment. Thank you for your partnership in this area.
HONOR ROLL/MERIT LIST
At Back to School night I handed out the requirements for the Honor Roll and Merit List certificates. If a student receives honor roll all 4 quarters, they will also be awarded with a trophy at the end of the year awards ceremony! Please note that citizenship grades will count towards earning Honor Roll, as well as academic grades. If your student has N’s or P’s in their character development grades this will disqualify them from earning honors.
GRANDPARENT’S DAY
Grandparents Day is on Friday, September 13, 2013. It is a fun day for the children to spend with their grandparents. If their grandparent is unable to come, feel free to invite a close family friend. It is a long, hard morning for students who have no one to fill this role in their lives.
The schedule is as follows:
9:30-9:50 AM K-12 Pick up schedules
9:50-11:40 AM K-12 Visit classrooms
11:40-12:25 PM K-12 Lunch
12:25 PM K-12 Say Goodbye to grandchild
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent conference forms will be coming home next week on Tuesday, September 3. Please sign and send your form in before Monday, September 16th. Early dismissal will begin on Monday, September 23rd at 12:00. Early dismissal will be each day of the week through Friday, Sept. 27th. Please assist each other by being on time to the scheduled conference as we have only 20 minutes per conference. At conference time we can focus on strengths and areas for future growth together. I am looking forward to seeing each of you.
STUDENT COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENT
Student Council is a team of students who play a vital role in every school. Participants share ideas and interests to promote school wide events, fundraisers, and service projects. Student council promotes responsibility, commitment, and collaboration among students. On Monday, students in grades 3-6 will be given the opportunity to apply. Those who desire to be an active leader must complete and return their application by 8:00 AM on Thursday, August 29. Those who are elected must be willing to commit to the following responsibilities for the 2013-1024 school year.
Responsibilities of Representatives:
-Attend meetings twice a month to discuss ideas
-Work at special events
-Help with school service projects
-Serve as a positive role model to other students
-Maintain excellent academic and behavior status
-Pray together and for our school
A total of 12 students will be selected based on academic performance, availability, leadership and demonstration of responsibility.
Thank you,
Mrs. Hancox
MATH
Last week we continued our math lesson on place value and rounding and this week we will be finishing it up. Our first test will be next week. Students will receive a “Chapter Review” to complete at home to help them review the skills in Chapter 1. Please look over it once they have completed it and have them fix their mistakes to make sure they understand the concepts. These will be due on Wednesday, the day of the test. They may need to bring their math books home to use as a guide.
At Back to School night I also addressed the Math 4×4 Rewards, which are as follows:
4th grade Math Club (Pass multiplication facts)= Ice Cream Party & Lifetime members (Pass through Mixed Facts) = Pizza Party
LANGUAGE
The first week of school we began reading a historical novel as a class titled, The Courage of Sarah Noble. We are completing a literature study guide together in class so that the students can recall how to answer questions in complete sentences and use proper grammar and punctuation. We reviewed vocabulary and also learned to locate similes and the use of personification in the text. The next novel we will read together and discuss, but more and more they will learn to answer questions on their own.
WRITING
This week students began their first Expository Writing piece on a “Summary of a Story” to prepare them for their first benchmark test. We completed a practice summary after reading a familiar story, The Three Little Pigs. We will continue using familiar children’s stories or novels to help them learn to summarize using an opening sentence, a key word outline and proper grammar and punctuation.
READING COUNTS PROGRAM
The Reading Counts Program has now been updated with the new classes. I have encouraged children to continue to read books and then, during Computers they can take their quizzes. They may take quizzes in class or online at home with adult supervision. They are not allowed to use their book to answer the questions. Go to Fresno Christian’s website and choose Grades K-6 on the home page then SRI & SRC and then click on Scholastic Reading Counts. They will need their username and password to access this from home.
At Back to School night I also addressed the Reading Counts Rewards which are as follows: 100 points= Ice Cream Party & 500 points=Pizza Party
BIBLE VERSE
Bible Verse: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Reference: Proverbs 9:10
Character Trait: Wisdom
SPELLING WORDS
Week 3-Pattern Words-Short e
1. hotel
2. selfish
3. meant
4. breath
5. instead
6. several
7. leather
8. Mexico
9. protect
10. already
11. connect
12. pleasant
13. seventeen
14. everybody
High-Frequency Words
15. music
16. during
Vocabulary Words
17. envelope
18. entrance
19. expedition
20. exclamation
Challenge Words
1. obedience
2. authority
3. character
4. Hebrews
5. bonus
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
September 2 NO SCHOOL-Labor Day
September 10 Elementary Pictures
September 18 School dismissed @12:00 PM Teacher In-service
September 23-27 Parent Teacher Conferences-Noon Dismissal
Remember us in your prayers whenever we come to mind. The needs represented in this classroom are important. They are the things chains can be made from. GOD desires these kids to be free and to live and love boldly. The work needed is work of the heart. It’s work only He can do. Please, I beseech you, knock on Heaven’s door for His blessing in our lives. In truth, you’d be praying for your own good, as whatever these kids choose will effect you. May we, like Jacob, choose to follow the GOD of his father Isaac, and his father Abraham.