Daily Routine:
1.Prior to the first bell, students should hang up their backpacks and go to
the playground where they can be supervised.
2.When the first bell rings at 8:15am, students should quietly walk down the
corridor and get into two lines outside our classroom with their binders out
of their backpacks.
3.Students who buy lunch need to sign up inside the classroom at the
beginning of school. If they are bringing a lunch, they can put it in the
lunch tub inside our classroom.
4.Students can bring a snack or two for the recess breaks at 10:10am and
1:35pm.
Attendance:
It is very important that your child attends school on a regular basis. If
your child needs to miss school, please email or call me, and I’ll gather up
a packet of the day’s lessons so your child doesn’t fall behind. I’ll put it
in the office for someone to pick up after school, or we can arrange to have
another student drop it off at your house. Also, if your child needs to go
to an appointment, it would be extremely helpful if you could schedule it
toward the end of school or after 2:40pm. As for arriving to school late,
please try to avoid being tardy as much as possible, as we start our morning
work and take attendance right away. If your child is tardy, he or she must
check in at the office first before coming into the classroom.
PARENT VOLUNTEERS:
Help in and out of the classroom is greatly appreciated. I will send home a
list and description of specific roles that family members can volunteer for
next week. After Back-to-School Night, the official schedule will be
determined and handed out. Thanks for offering your time and talents!
SCHOOL INFO
REMEMBER! The Sycamore Canyon Weekly Newsletter is available for viewing on
the 2nd, 3rd, 4th Wednesday of each month on the following website:
www.sycamorecanyonschool.com Click on "Newsletters". The Sycamore Canyon
Breeze is sent home as a hard copy with students the first Wednesday of each
month. If you DO NOT receive a copy of the Breeze on the first Wednesday of
each month, please contact Jo in the front office: jkuebert@conejo.k12.ca.us
or 498 – 1573 Ext. 104
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT = Wednesday, September 16 (K & 1st=6:30-7:10, MPR
meeting 7:15-7:45, 2nd and 3rd=7:50-8:30)
**Genre Reading Charts~ These charts will be explained at "Back to School
Night." The due dates will be listed shortly.
**By June, each 3rd grader must master his or her times tables math facts up
through 12 x 12 = 144. Remember, the deadline is many MONTHS away, so don't
panic (yet!). To help speed things along times tables-wise, there is a test
taking regime in class. We will be taking our weekly timed tests on
Tuesdays. Each test consists of 13 problems from a fact family that needs to
be completed correctly in one minute. These tests are strictly 100% for a
pass (anything less involves a re-take before moving on to the next test).
The students are working at their individual pace. I recommend 5 minutes of
practice with flashcards or paper/pencil exercises every evening on the
target times table for all students, regardless of what level they are on.
There is no shortcut to mastering times tables (with the possible exceptions
of the "tricks" associated with the 2’s, 5’s, 9’s, 10’s, and 11’s) - this
simply takes time, application, and dedication. Once your child has mastered
all the times tables up through 12 x 12, the delights of "The Big Kahuna"
test await!!! "The Big Kahuna" test is a mixed test of 120 problems for
which eight minutes is allowed for completion. "The Big Kahuna" is a REAL
test of times tables fluency. From there, he or she can go beyond the
standard and be challenged to complete several versions of the Kahuna, then
division tests, followed by mixed multiplication and division tests. The
sky’s the limit! It is my goal to work with your child on this throughout
the entire year, and any support that you can provide at home will make a
world of difference. Thank you in advance for your encouragement as your
child earns more and more “scoops” on his/her ice cream cone in the
classroom – which will lead to a 3rd grade ice cream celebration at the end
of the year for a JOB WELL DONE! It’s so inspiring to watch them rise to
the occasion, show discipline for their studies, and be determined to
memorize their facts.
