Week of September 14-18, 2015

Thursday HW
1.  Show your test pack to a parent or guardian.  Have them sign the top page.  Make corrrections on the Dictation and the Number Sense quiz.  Do NOT correct the Morrison-McCaul survey -- it's a diagnostic.  When it is corrected and signed, return it to school and put it in the bin.  They are due for Monday September 21.  The results were good overall.  I especially liked seeing evidence of syllable breakdowns in the spelling dictation, which showed me that the students were using that practice to solidify their skills.  Well done kids!
2.  Math Makes Sense Homework book (royal blue duotang) Lesson one on pages 10 and 11.  The page numbers may have been cut off on some or all copies.  It's the first lesson.  It is due tomorrow for correction.  Hereafter I'll refer to it as "MMS HW book".

** There is a spelling error in this post.  Tell me about it tomorrow!


Wednesday HW
1.  Spelling text work on page 9 (# 1, 2 and 3, including the "Try This" section).  This work is for tonight and students should return with the books tomorrow.
2.  Photo Day on Friday September 25.

Tuesday HW
1.  Word Up dictation tomorrow.  Students were reminded to bring notebooks home to study.
The correct list to prepare with is called "Personal Word Up List"
2.  DEAR book in class.
3.  Photo Day Friday September 25.
4.  To bring to school:  completed yellow info sheets, agenda money, photo of yourself.  There are still about four students who need to do this.

I reminded students that they should not leave texts, notebooks or papers at home.  They should be returned t school each day so we can use them.  Today was the beginning of our second cycle and also the beginning of my homework tracking.  Two students did not return the math practice sheets bundle which I collected before the quiz.  A final check after breakfast before leaving for school should help students develop their own skills to stay on top of their things, a goal toward which we'll work this year.

Monday HW
1.  Finish Word Up cycle:  4 Lists and fifteen sentences, using one word in each sentence from the Word Up List.  There is a 'recipe' for the spelling cycle glued into the inside front cover of the Spelling notebook that explains the steps in detail.  We also modeled the expectations twice using document camera demonstrations.  What I am finding is that students are forgetting to skip lines in the lists (it helps them see the word in space) and they are unsure of how to number a list using a margin.  I will continue to reinforce these standard practices in class and would ask for some home reinforcement as well.
2.  Word Up dictation on Wednesday.  Students should study their Word Up lists.  We spent time this afternoon nailing down which list to study.
3.  Number Sense quiz tomorrow.  This quiz is based directly on the four practice sheets we've done and corrected.  I asked students to staple the four sheets together, use them to study, and return with them tomorrow to hand them in so I can check that they made corrections.
4.  To bring to school:  completed yellow info sheets, agenda money, photo of yourself.  There are still about four students who need to do this.
5.  A DEAR book (drop everything and read) should be in class as soon as possible.  This should be a chapter book of at least 90 pages -- no graphic novels please.  The public library is a good place to get one.  We have some silent reading most days for about 20 minutes.  Currently the students graze my book collection but I want them to form a more consistent connection with a longer book and follow the story through.

Welcome to the 2015-2016 School Year!

Week of September 8-11, 2015

Thursday HW

1.  Number Sense practice 3.0.  There will be a quiz based directly on the practice practice pages we are doing this week.  The fourth one is going out tomorrow.  I do not assign weekend homework so it will be completed in class.

2.  Please bring a roll of paper towel and box of Kleenex tissue for class use.  Thanks!

3.  Yellow forms filled in and returned.

4.  A lice check form was sent home today.  Signing up for this service is voluntary.  Students are to return the form and toonie directly to the office if you choose to sign up..

Wednesday HW
1.  Number Sense practice 2.0.  I have reminded the boys and girls that long division is difficult and will likely require several tries.  If a student makes an honest effort to try a problem and doesn't get it, that is fine with me -- practicing and building skill is what we're here to do.
2.  Please bring a roll of paper towel and box of Kleenex tissue for class use.  Thanks!
3.  Yellow forms filled in and returned.
4.  Bring a photo of yourself that you can cut up.

The class seem like a wonderful bunch so far.  They are eager to participate and share ideas.  They have been very cooperative in helping bring the lunch bins up for Primary classes and they have taken to our routines well in the early going.  Thank you for the reinforcement at home and for sending well-rested kids to school each day.  

Tuesday HW
Greetings to the new students in my class for 2015-16, which will be Runnymede's Centennial Year.  I'm looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of you during this first week.  We will jump right in to the school year with some ice breaker activities and some Math and Language reviews.  As the first week goes by we will be preparing for the first Math unit in Number Sense and the first Language activities with News Journals and a novel study.  

This blog will function as a weekly homework listing and be archived as the week ends.  Be sure to check out my class web page at http://areynolds.org/ all year long.  My current updates are in progress but should be complete by next week.  Plenty of useful stuff is posted, including downloads of class handouts which you should use to replace lost work.  As part of my Eco-Schools effort I am reducing the number of extra photocopies I am producing.  Usually the document can be downloaded and printed by students, using my web page as needed, by students.

At the bottom of this blog page is a calendar for the year.  I have updated it for the year.  I also use the calendar to make note of tests, field trips and other school events.  I urge you to subscribe to the blog posts to receive daily updates of your child's activity.  I do make time each day for agenda writing by the students and you should ask to see that book on a daily basis, but this page is a useful complement to that routine.  I will not be signing agendas each day, but you are welcome to do so and include any notes in it that you would like to have me look over.  Please have your child alert me to the note in the morning.  

Let's have a great year!