daw.com - September 6

It was a terrible disappointment for the scholars to have to reschedule retreat since we had done a lot of work already, but the good news is that it was not cancelled all together.  As far as I know, we are all set for Oct 1-2. More info on this as we get closer to the dates.

Please remember that there are only three days of school next week, since Thursday and Friday are national holidays. There will only be home learning on Monday and Tuesday evenings. If anyone is leaving early or coming back late, please let me know so I can plan accordingly.  It is not a problem, but knowing in advance is very helpful for me.

Next week is MAP testing on Tuesday and Wednesday so please make sure your scholars have plenty of sleep the night before and a good breakfast in the morning.  These tests, if done accurately, can really show you where your scholar is in learning at that particular moment in time.

I have now asked all students to have some kind of pencil/supplies case for school.  I had not been too specific on this in the past but lately I noticed scholars not prepared for the day with pencils and erasers and when we talked about this, it was mostly that they had no place to store them.  I do know it is the one things that the school asks parents to supply for their students.  I will always make sure the instruments for learning are available.  Could this be done as soon as possible please.

I also need to ask that students have their computers fully charged when they arrive to school.  Leaving them plugged in overnight is the best way to accomplish this.  I have very limited access in my room to electrical outlets so it is hard for a student to work if their computer is not functional.  It is also a good system to have in place since the use of computers increases as the years go on. As most of our math lessons are first thing in the morning, there is no time to use the class charging station before we begin.

We are at the revising stage of our first piece of writing and while this is a struggle for most students, it is a very important part of their writing.  We are looking at making our writing bigger and better with each draft that his done. How we do this, depends on the type of writing and for narratives, asking the right questions is important.

Our math unit on multiplication and division of whole numbers is moving along nicely and we are looking at multiplying by 2-digit numbers.  Also required is a look into whether the answer is reasonable by estimating the product.  Two sets of multiplication for each question means twice the thinking and twice the work but checking an answer is always a good idea.  Most times, students can instantly catch any errors they make.  This unit really uses the basic multiplication facts so if your scholar is still weak in this area, have them orally practicing every night - you will see immediate results as this is a fast learn for most students.

We did our first reading journal entry this week and I was impressed.  We have looked at 4 examples and also done one as a class.  The important aspect here is to look for an idea in the story and then explore it deeper and have examples to back up the concept.  This, most likely, has never been done by my students so there is lots of learning here.  Please, please please make sure they are reading at home every day.  As a teacher of many years, I can, with authority, tell you the improvement will be significant if they do this and it will also prepare them for the increase in reading in the years ahead.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me and I will gladly set up a time to meet.