We have made it through the opening days of school, and now the real work begins. We have reviewed rules and processes, the schedule, and are getting to know one another. We are working out the kinks!
You can expect to hear of assessments. These are ungraded and used to give me a picture of your children's skills. We had a timed drill of addition/subtraction and multiplication/division facts. The students were surprised by the results. They have work to do. Please encourage them to devote fifteen minutes per day to committing these facts to memory.  With practice, they will improve steadily.
It has been great to meet them and I am working to learn all names and faces. I hope to know them all by the end of the week.
All students should be coming to school with their supplies.  Please let me know if there are any problems procuring them.

This year, we are introducing a new Science series from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that is built entirely from the NGSS, NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS.  Be prepared for Science in a new and challenging way! 

Expect to travel back in time to the earliest civilizations. How did the past bring us to where we are now?  How will we use what we learn to help us forge ahead into the future?

           *  Make sure to come prepared for class every day. *
If you have not yet purchased your supplies, I would like to specify the following 2 items from the supply list on the school webpage:
* 3 SPIRAL notebooks (Math, Science, and Social Studies) 
* Colored pencils, not crayons
If you have already purchased other notebooks and crayons, don't worry.  Come with what you have.


                       SPECIALS SCHEDULE for the YEAR
Monday:       Music                 Tuesday:   Art          Wednesday:   PE
Thursday:    Spanish              Friday:      Character Ed