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August, 2009
Dear Parents,
You are cordially invited to be
a partner in your child’s education.
Stay-Tuned: Ask your child what he or she is studying, and look in the homework folder every night. The homework folder is where you will find corrected papers that can be taken out and kept at home, any notes that are sent home, as well as any homework that needs to be completed. Please make sure the assignments in your child’s assignment notebook are completed – and sign the book each night. I will check the assignment books each morning for a signature (and look for any notes that you may have written to me in the book). Students soon learn that an assignment notebook that has been signed each night for a week entitles them to put their name into a drawing for treats/prizes! If your child is absent or you wish to double check a day’s assignments, please go to the St. Jerome website (http://www.stjerome.org/school) and click on “Homework Website.” Also, I have a new website of my own this year to keep you informed of what we do in class. My website address is: www.mrsbass.educatorpages.com. Be sure to check it out! I had a great time working on it this summer!
I will also send home progress reports or make phone calls if we feel that your child is not progressing as expected. I will also send home assignments and tests with grades that are less than 70%. I ask that you look over these papers with your child and then sign and return them to me the next day.
Ask Questions: If you have any concerns or are wondering why something is happening, please feel free to call at any time. I welcome all concerns, ideas, and feedback that affect your child or my classroom. If something is not working, I am more than willing to talk. I welcome all feedback! If you leave a phone message on my classroom phone, I will respond to it sometime after 2:30 p.m. I also welcome any notes or comments that you might write in your child’s assignment notebook. You can e-mail me at my archmil address, however I do not check that site on a daily basis.
Homework: You should expect that your child will have some type of homework most everyday. I encourage you to set up with your child a scheduled time for homework each day. Students should be able to do most assignments independently, but do help if it is completely necessary. If you notice that your child is not able to do an assignment on his or her own, please send a note or jot a note to me on the assignment. I will contact you if your child is falling behind or turning in poor work.
Snack: All students may bring a nutritious snack and drink to school everyday for snack time. Students may have a water bottle on their desks during the day. Please also give us a heads up at least a day ahead of time if your child is planning to bring a treat for his or her birthday.
Read Ups: Each quarter your 3rd grader will be required to read books and take tests using the Accelerated Reader program. Students should always have reading material at their desks. A portion of our guided reading program includes sustained silent reading. During that time, students must be steadily reading. That time cannot be used to look for books to read.
Late Work: If students do not have their assignments ready for class, they must fill out a “Late Work” sheet and have it signed by a parent. That sheet must be returned the following day along with the late homework. If a special circumstance arises at home and an assignment cannot be completed on time, please send a note with your child the day the work is due explaining the situation.
Spelling: St. Jerome Parish School is again implementing Rebecca Sitton's approach to learning and correctly spelling high frequency words in grades 1st-5th. The word lists for this program come from the Spelling Sourcebook Series by Egger Publishing, Inc. The Spelling Sourcebook emphasizes correct spelling in everyday writing, not just for the end-of-the-week test. Mastery of words occurs in students' writing. To help assure practice with each grade's core words, the East Lansing School District has created on-line spelling activities that can be done along with each unit of study. I plan to take the third grade to the computer lab from time to time to work on these activities. I am also giving you that website address so that your child can work on them at home. It is:
(Don’t these addresses seem to get longer all the time??!)
You will probably notice early on in the year that many of the words we study in fifth grade are reinforced over and over again. (Example: their, they’re, and there.)
Book Clubs: The book club flyers I send home each month are all from Scholastic. These clubs match both the interest levels and curriculum areas that we use in class. Through these clubs we are able to earn bonus points that help to obtain both new books and classroom items we would normally have to purchase. This is all at no cost to you or the school. If you are inclined to buy books for your children throughout the year, I highly encourage you to use these clubs. (Note: All book orders (Arrow, Click, etc.) may be combined into one check made out to “Scholastic”.)
I am certainly looking forward to a great year with you and your child! We have lots of material to cover and explore! I am certainly blessed to be teaching in such a wonderful school and blessed to have such outstanding students and parents! I am a hard worker and will always give 100% every day to my students.
Sincerely,
Susan Bass