First week notes

Dear parents,

Happy weekend!

I'll fill you in on all the policies and procedures at our meeting on September 21st, but there are a few things I thought might be helpful for you to know before then.


~  Schedule for Special Subjects

Monday - Art* and Computer
Tuesday - Sr. Rosela and Spanish
Wednesday - Gym
Thursday - Music and Library
Friday - Mass and Olweus (anti-bully program) meeting

*This week we have a school Mass on Monday so the 4th grade will miss Art.
Mrs. Bardo will be letting them know what they need for art class but they will not need art boxes.
Also, we will generally attend 8:45 Mass with the 5th grade on Fridays. However, this week we have the school Mass on Monday instead.

~ Reading Logs

The reading log policy is for the students to read every night (including weekends) for 15 minutes (increasing as the year goes along). However, they are allowed 4 FREE nights per month so if there is a night you have obligations or too much else to do, simply enter FREE in that date on the reading log.
There was some confusion amongst the children about the difference between having to do the RRJ and the Reading Log.  The Log is every night - the RRJ response is only when I assign it as part of the written homework. If I don't write Respond in RRJ, then they just read and fill out the log. Of course they can always write in the RRJ is they choose.

~ Gym Health Forms

Please return the Gym health forms as soon as possible. Ms. D. had asked for them back for today and most people brought them in. If you haven't please try to have it by Monday.

~ Books

If you're wondering about books, I'll be giving them out over the course of next week as I introduce them to the students.

~ Work

Finally, fourth grade work is substantially different for the students from what they've done before in that they are asked to look at things in a different way than they may be used to. I am working with them on focusing their thoughts on how they are working and what they are thinking. These skills will be crucial for them to do well on the NYS exams. So, if they (or you) seem confused at all now, please don't be concerned. Everything starts to gel pretty quickly and soon it will all become natural to them.
But, if you're concerned or confused by anything, please let me know and I'll be happy to talk with you.


Notes about weekend reading HW are posted below.