Clark Davidson School
Administration
Ruth Wood, Principal
Mrs. Bond's
Classroom I-Newsletter
January-May 2008
Thank you for visiting our classroom web page! Our third graders are hard at work. Can you believe the year is already half-way over? Time flies when you are having fun, and these kids know how to have fun! How lucky I am to get to work with them each day and share in their excitement as they are learning so many new 3rd grade skills and concepts. Our classroom is truly a place where every child is a STAR!
Please read on to find a description of special reminders, concepts we are learning in our classroom this month, and Bond’s Baby News. You will also find some great educational websites, as well as our busy classroom calendar.
***Special Reminders and Notes***
- All Explorer and CDS third graders will attend a traveling, hands-on pioneer life exhibit on January 31st in our gym. Please make sure your child has sent his or $3 in order to participate in this activity. If this is a hardship for your family, please let me know so I can help out!
- Our Valentine’s Day party will be at 3:00 on February 14th. Please send a shoe box to school with your child by Friday, February 8th so that we can make our Valentine boxes here at school. Thank you!!!
- Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up soon in February. Please call the CDS office to schedule an appointment beginning February 1.
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic...
I have been so pleased with my students’ reading progress so far this year. They seem to enjoy reading and have been working hard to read longer and more challenging texts. This third nine weeks, the students are working hard to meet their reading goals. Students who meet their reading goals will earn their CDS Reading T-shirt. Some students have already earned theirs! Thank you for your part in helping your child read at home so that they can take AR tests here at school and earn 10 points towards their reward.
Also in reading, we are working hard to prepare for the state reading assessment during the first week of March. The students are taking formative (practice) reading tests on our laptop computers and are proving that they are capable of doing a super job on the real test. Please help your child get a good night’s sleep on March 3rd – March 5th and also a good breakfast. We will have our reading tests from 9:15 – 10:30 on each of these days. It is so helpful if kids are here when we are administering the tests rather than having to make it up at a later date. I appreciate your help in avoiding absences, if at all possible, during these mornings.
In math, we are knee deep in MULTIPLICATION! The kids are having a ball learning about this concept and beginning to memorize their x facts. Please send a set of 100 index cards for you child so that we can make some special flash cards for him or her to practice with. In third grade, students are expected to master 0-5 facts and also 10s. Many students, however, will be able to move on and master the remaining facts as well. Thank you for your help at home in encouraging your child to practice these facts.
Our state math assessment will be after spring break, on April 4th, April 7th, and April 8th. As with reading, please make sure your child is present and well rested during these days. Students who use their best effort during these state assessments and earn a star on their “Best Effort Button” during each of the 6 testing days, will get to attend a 3rd grade skating party at the end of April. I am positive that each of my students is going to do the very best he or she can and use all of the good test-taking strategies we have been practicing so that they can earn this reward. This doesn’t mean that I expect every child to get a 100% on the test, but it does mean that I expect them to do the very best that they are capable of doing! I know they will make both you and I so proud!
Finally, please help your child review any of these concepts if you see a paper come home with a low score. Remember to return any paper below a 70% with corrections so that I may revise the grade. If a spelling grade is below 70%, each incorrect word must be written 10 times, neatly in order for me to raise the grade.
Classroom Calendar
*January 31 – Pioneer Life Exhibit
*February 8 – Progress Reports go home and deadline to bring in a shoebox for our Valentine Box activity
*February 14 – Valentine’s Day Party at 3:00
*February 20-21 – Parent-Teacher Conferences
*February 22 - NO SCHOOL
* February 29 – Dental Screenings at CDS
*March 3 to March 5 – State Reading Assessments!!! (9:15-10:30 daily)
*March 28 – Report Cards go home
*April 3 – Spring Pictures
*April 4, April 7 & April 8 – State Math Assessments!!! (1:10 – 1:25 daily)
*April 18 – Progress Reports go home
*April 22 – 3rd grade to attend the Environmental Fair at the Zoo
*April 25 and April 28 – No School, teacher inservice
May 22 – Last Day of School!
Educational Web Sites
Check out these websites for some extra practice at home!
Math ~
Social Studies ~
Ben’s Guide to US Government for Kids
Bond’s Baby News!
I am so happy to tell you that we have a new Goddard teacher named Melissa Royse who will be my long-term sub when Baby Bond arrives. Miss Royse is a December graduate from WSU’s highly esteemed College of Education. She was such an impressive graduate, that Goddard administrators decided to offer her a contract to sub the rest of this year and begin teaching in her own classroom here in Goddard next year. She has already subbed in my classroom on several different occasions, and the kids have loved her! I feel so fortunate to know that these kids, whom I have come to love and adore, will be well tended to in my absence!
Most likely, I will begin my maternity leave in the middle part of March. Miss Royce will be here during my 6 week maternity leave. Please feel free to come in and meet her when she takes over and say hi. I am anxious for her to get a feel for this wonderful Goddard community and learn just what it is that makes this district so GREAT!!!
Please email me with any comments or concerns!
Also, this is a wonderful way to contact me during the day with any messages.
abond@goddardusd.com