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