No Word Study Next Week

Families,

       

        We will NOT have word study next week due to the 3-day school week. Students have October 1^st and 2^nd off from school because of statewide teacher in-service. Students will get a shortened homework packet on Monday (9/28) that will be due on Wednesday (9/30). Spelling will resume the week of October 5-9. Words for that week will come home on Wednesday, September 30. Questions? Please email me at hoschouer.ana@westada.org.

 

Thank you,

Mrs. Hoschouer

Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling

Families,


Last week information about how to schedule a conference during Parent Teacher Conferences came home. Some of you have tried to schedule and encountered difficulty. The schedule will go live on Thursday, September 24. This is when you can begin to schedule your conference(s). If you have difficulty with the online scheduling process, please send me an email. I look forward to meeting with you all!


Thanks,
Mrs. Hoschouer

News, Notes, and Updates

Families,


Thank you so much to those of you who came to Parent Night last night. It was great to see many of you again and meet a few of you for the first time. For those of your who were unable to make it, I'll be sending home a folder of handouts on Monday--I ran out of time today!


Kids brought home their first word study homework today in the BIRD folder. As I spoke about last night, students have been divided into groups based on spelling ability. We currently have two lists in our classroom, though I may add an additional list if needed. The homework menu also looks a little different. There are four "required" activities and a number of optional ones. Please encourage your child to do their word study homework while keeping in mind my message below.


I want to reiterate what I shared last night about my homework philosophy. Homework is intended to support and practice some of the skills and concepts we are learning in class. Homework helps build routines and should be encouraged. With that in mind, please do not let homework become a stressful, overwhelming experience at your house. If you or your child become frustrated, take a break. Homework is not worth fighting about and should never cause unhappiness for anyone. Homework should not take more than 20 minutes each night--word study and homework packet combined. If your child doesn't finish their homework by Friday and needs the weekend to complete it, that's ok. Just send me a note or email so I know. If you're not sure how to do a part of the homework (this happens sometimes with math), I'm more than happy to help your child. Out of all the homework (word study, weekly packet, and reading), reading is the most important. The fluency practice and 20 minutes of reading are vital to help develop a child's reading skills and should be the #1 homework priority.


Parent-Teacher Conferences will be on October 21 & 22. A salmon-colored note came home yesterday, Thursday, September 10. This note explained the online sign up process for P/T Conferences. In short, you'll need to be a registered member of the West Ada Website and this will allow you to sign up for a time of your choice on either day conferences are being held. If you do not have a computer with internet access, you're encouraged to use a computer at CJE.


The fall testing season has arrived. Students will be taking the IRI reading fluency test on Tuesday, September 15. We are also scheduled to take the MAP reading and math tests later this month. Results of fall tests will be shared at P/T Conferences.


Head lice continue to be a nuisance in our classroom. Please check your child each day. It is the West Ada School District's policy to keep students in class even if they have a confirmed case of head lice. So, head lice will likely continue to be present in our classroom until the problem is resolved at home. If you have more questions, please contact our nurse, Kim Monson, at monson.kimberly@westada.org.


Enjoy your weekend!


Mrs. Hoschouer

Volunteer Sign Up

Families,




I've decided to try VolunteerSpot to organize our classroom volunteers. If you're interested in helping out in our classroom, please see the information below. I'll explain more about this at Parent Night tomorrow, Thursday, September 10.


 Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/WivRK3
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.


Sing ups are open through Thanksgiving break. Since I have never used this before, I thought we'd try it until then and see if it's user friendly and manageable. If so, I'll open more spaces after Thanksgiving. If not, we'll find another way to schedule volunteers.






Thank you,
Mrs. Hoschouer

A few reminders

Families,


We had our lockdown drill this morning. Everything went smoothly and students did a marvelous job waiting patiently.


Library books are due every Wednesday. Students have library on Thursday, but books are due the day before. Please help your child remember to bring their library books to school each Wednesday.


Homework packets will come home today. There have been changes made to the fluency portion of the homework for some students based on reading ability. If your child's fluency homework looks different and you have questions, please let me know! Homework is always due on Friday (or the last day of the week).


Parent Night is this Thursday, September 10 from 6-7:30 pm. I hope you're able to attend. I'll be discussing many important things related to this school year, as will other "specials" teachers throughout the building. The evening will begin in the CJE gym at 6:00 pm. There will be two teacher sessions--one beginning at 6:30 pm and the other beginning at 7:00 pm. I look forward to seeing you all there.


Snacks should be brought daily. Students will have a snack time each day in the morning. Snacks cannot be shared and I am unable to provide snacks on a daily basis to those who forget. Please be mindful of the numerous students who have peanut allergies--all snacks should be free of nuts and peanut butter. Thank you!


A reminder that book order are due by Friday, September 11. Orders can be done online or sent to school. See my earlier post for more information.


As always, thank you for your support!


Mrs. Hoschouer

Book Order

Families,

I sent home a book order today for Scholastic Reading Club. You can order online at scholastic.com/readingclub and use the activation code H7HPW. You can also use the order form included in the flyer and return it to school with a check. Please don't send cash. Book orders are due by Friday, September 11. I'll give a reminder at Parent Night on Thursday, September 10.

I included both 2nd and 3rd grade book orders. For each book, you'll notice a Lexile score. This is a reading scale used to find appropriate books for your child to read independently. While I don't have your child's individual Lexile reading range yet, I will after our fall MAP test. In the mean time, here's are the grade level Lexile ranges for an average student (between the 25%ile and 75%ile):

1st grade: 230L to 420L
2nd grade: 450L to 570L
3rd grade: 600L to 730L

Of course, choosing a book that's appropriate is easier when you can open the book and preview it. When you're choosing books at the store or library, here are some tips for selecting a "Just Right Book":

Choose a book that is a good fit for you!

Read two or three pages and ask yourself these questions:

Will it be an easy, fun book to read?

• Do I understand what I am reading?
• Do I know almost every word?
• When I read it aloud, can I read it smoothly?
• Do I think the topic will interest me?

If most of your answers were "yes", this will be an easy book to read independently by yourself.

Will this book be too hard for me?

• Are there five or more words on a page that I don't know, or am unsure of?
• Is this book confusing and hard to understand by myself?
• When I read it aloud, does it sound choppy and slow?

If most of your answers were "yes," this book is too hard. You should wait awhile before you read this book. Give the book another try later, or ask an adult to read the book to you.

(Information for choosing a good fit book found at:  http://www.readingrockets.org/article/selecting-books-your-child-finding-just-right-books)