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November Newsletter
2008
Well, here we are already into November. Thanksgiving and Christmas are
right around the corner. It is so hard to believe how the days seem to fly
by. We are off and running to some good learning and we are continuing to
refine necessary skills in many areas.
Our first quarter has gone very well. A huge percentage of the class
will make the Honor Roll and there were only a handful of homework offenses.
YA HOO! I am extremely proud of our kids and I can not express how thankful
I am for them. They are such fun and they continue to challenge me daily in
so many ways. I am growing and learning right along with them. I really
enjoyed speaking with all of you at our conferences this week. Thank you so
much for all your efforts at home. I know you all lead busy lives. I know
it is not easy to juggle work, nightly schoolwork, extra studying, church
and extra curricular activities and still be able to have quality family
time. All that extra effort and attention will; however, have great and
lasting effects. It truly does make a difference when you expect your child
to do his/her very best, hold him/her accountable for actions and efforts,
and you support and encourage those positive efforts.
I expect to see continued growth in this next nine weeks. As we move
through our academic curriculum this quarter, we will learn the last of our
capital cursive letters. Once we are finished, all writing will be
completed in cursive. (This could be a good thing, because the kids are
enjoying cursive and tend to write more neatly.) We will continue to build
on math skills and learn new processes for solving problems. Keep watching
for areas of weakness in math. Give extra practice at home. Some of us are
struggling with long division steps right now. The memorization of those
multiplication math facts is vital. We will be moving into 6 and 7 in the
coming weeks.)
In science, we will be completing our unit on plants and begin a big
study on animals. We will continue to build on language rules and work in
more creative writing. We will continue to progress through our spelling
units. Another unit review test in spelling and reading are coming
quickly. Spelling tests will begin to be completed in cursive. We are
continuing to stress how letters are properly formed and how they should
look when connected to other letters. We will also be doing our practice
pages in cursive now.
Aside from our actual curriculum, there are a few areas this quarter
that will really be a focus for us. Our routines and practices are
established and the kids are doing well. We will work on better listening
habits like making eye contact, reducing distractions by having out only
necessary supplies and materials, and by having empty hands while
listening. We will also try to encourage more neatness and extra efforts on
tasks. Many kids are rushing through daily jobs and final efforts are
noticeably less than their best. I am continually trying to stress the
importance of neatness, careful work habits, following directions and being
more organized. We are working on keeping our papers, desks, centers and
room organized and tidy in hopes that these good habits will carry over into
other areas of their lives.
I want the kids to begin to realize how their attitudes, efforts and
work ethics speak about their character and how these will be of such
importance later in their lives. They just have so many gifts and so much
to offer. I want them to discover how much they can expect of themselves
and how much they can accomplish with determination and hard work. Please
join me in stressing these same issues at home. It is very important for us
to establish, expect, and practice these good habits. I will let you know
of concerns or difficulties that your child may be having as we move along
through this next quarter. Please call or contact me if I can help or
support you in any way. If I don’t know the answer, I will find someone who
does. I pray that you will have a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving holiday with
your loved ones and renewed thankfulness for God’s many blessings.
God Bless,
Mrs. Dadez
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