News and Announcements for L3 in the week of 8-21-17

Welcome to the 4th Grade. We had a great first two days of class. Hopefully your scholar told you all about it. If you ever have any questions please feel free to email me at lllemon-rush@cousd.net

This week we will focus on organizational strategies (your scholar should have brought home a shopping list for supplies needed for our AVID notebooks), language arts routines, place value lessons in math (the first math quiz on vocabulary words from chapter 1 will be this Friday), the big science current event - The Solar Eclipse, i Ready initial assessments, and getting to know each other and the classroom routines.

Homework each day will include 20 minutes of reading and filling out the reading log and the worksheet from our daily math lesson. Homework will be checked each morning and yellow cards will be marked for those who haven’t completed the assignments.

The weekly newsletter can be found on our classroom page on the Charter Oak website. Don’t forget to visit the student and parent sections of the website for important links.

Needed paperwork:

    Signed Discipline form

    Signed Instagram permission slip

Dates to Remember this Week:

    PTA membership Drive begins. Please send in your $8.00 membership dues as soon as possible. These dues help fund class field trips, classroom needs, assemblies, and many other exciting things that happen at Cedargrove. You do NOT need to come to meetings to be a member, although we would love to have you there to share your ideas and give input. The 1st class to 100% participation earns a pizza party!!! Ms. Lemon’s class has won the last 2 years in a row… let’s keep the streak going!!!

    Wednesday, 8-23: Fundraiser, Mooyah’s in San Dimas

    Friday, 8-25: Math Vocab QUIZ on chapter 1

Think Central Website for Math: https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

    9-4-17 - Labor Day Holiday, No school

    9-7-17 - Meet the Teacher Night, 5:30 PTA meeting, 6:00 - 7:25 in classrooms

WELCOME TO FOURTH GRADE

Dear L-3 Families,

         Hello and welcome to an exciting school year. My name is Ms. Lemon and I am looking forward to working together with you and your scholar this year and making LEARNING come ALIVE! I am so HAPPY to announce that our class will have 1:1 Chromebooks for classroom use for each scholar this year!!! Scholars need to memorize their Google email account. Assignments will be given in Google Classroom throughout the year. I am looking forward to the many digital possibilities that lie ahead for this group. I am asking that each scholar bring in their own pair of ear buds to use with their Chromebook. Please bring them in a zip lock bag labeled with your name.

Our school-wide theme this year is: BE GOLDEN! The following is a description of what is in store for the scholars in my class. If you have any questions and or concerns about the expectations of the class, please feel free to contact me. I would also be glad to correspond by e-mail. My address is: llemon-rush@cousd.net.

            In addition, parents and families are always welcome to stop by and visit our daily learning experience. I believe in the T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More) approach to teaching and encourage your participation in our learning exploration. As a way of informing the L-3 families of our daily classroom experiences, I will be posting pictures of our learning consistently on our classroom Instagram account, ScholarsforHOPE. Please make sure to sign the permission slip and send it back to class immediately. I thank you in advance for the opportunity to work with your scholar.

         I will attempt to send home a weekly newsletter each Monday with information for the upcoming week. This will also be accessible on our classroom web page on the Charter Oak website. A copy of my discipline policy will be sent home on the first day of school. Please sign and return it immediately.

HOMEWORK:

I believe that homework is an important aspect of the curriculum and that good study habits are essential to success. You can help your child by providing them a quiet place to do their work, establishing a homework ritual, helping them to be sure all assignments are placed in their folder, and the folder placed somewhere where it will not be forgotten. We all have busy schedules; still, homework and good study habits need to be encouraged. The habits they establish now will pave the way for their future endeavors.

All homework is due the morning of the next day it was assigned. Late homework will only be accepted 1 day late. Scholars will not be allowed to call home for forgotten homework. Homework should take approximately 1 hour to complete. If your child seems to have an excessive amount of homework, it could be class work that needs to be finished. Please check their binder reminders and Notebook nightly. This will help you to see what has been assigned as homework and what is unfinished class work. If your child has to complete class work at home on a continuous basis it will result in a grade reduction in study habits.

1. READING/LANGUAGE ARTS

         Benchmark Advanced is our reading program. The emphasis of this program is annotation and collaborative conversations. The concepts that will be taught are aligned with Common Core Standards and are intended to prepare the scholars for SBAC testing. The program utilizes small group instruction time to meet the needs of all scholars. I have extensive experience teaching this model and am excited about incorporating it this year. All scholars will also be expected to read a specified amount nightly at home. They should be reading chapter books that are age-appropriate. Time will be allotted daily in class for our supplemental program, i Ready.         Comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary will also be incorporated into the homework structure for Reading & Language Arts.

2. MATH

         Math homework is assigned nightly and will be due the following day. Math lessons will be taught in class and will be practiced together. Homework will be assigned each day that corresponds to the daily lesson and will be due the following day. We will plan to correct the homework together each day in class; therefore it is essential that it be returned on time.

         If your child does not know their multiplication facts, they must work on these each night.

         I Ready Math will be utilized weekly in class to support the math curriculum. The Think Central website should be used to assist with all math concepts being taught. http://www-k6.thinkcentral.com

4. SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE

         Homework and projects will be assigned periodically in social studies and science. The 5^th grade social studies focus will be California history and I will be taking a STEM approach to science, which will incorporate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Study guides will be given for each unit of study.

5. SPELLING AND VOCABULARY

         The spelling and vocabulary will be coming straight from our Language Arts program and will be assessed approximately each week. The units are intended to take 3-4 weeks each. I will have informal assessments to check for understanding throughout each unit so that each scholar can be successful.

6. P.E.

P.E. is every Wednesday and Friday. Scholars are expected to participate and dress appropriately (shorts under skirts, tennis/type shoes that are sturdy and protect their feet, clothing that isn’t restrictive or too baggy) for their safety. Scholars will begin the trimester with an “s” in P.E. Above average and exemplary participation will earn a grade of an “O”

         If a scholar has an injury or illness that requires missing P.E., they must have a note from their parent. If the illness or injury requires them to miss more than 3 days of P.E. in a row, a doctor’s note is needed. Excessive absences from P.E. will affect their grade.

7. AVID NOTEBOOKS

Organization is one of the keys to success. Scholars MUST be responsible for keeping their AVID binders organized, taking daily notes during instruction, and handing in their daily homework. Failure to do the above will result in a grade reduction on the report card in the area of study skills.

8. CHOIR

Choir will be every Tuesday from 1:00 to 1:35pm.

9. 9. LIBRARY AND BOOK BUDDIES

Library will be every Friday morning from 8:30 – 9:00am. Our first grade book buddies from Mrs. Fillinger’s class will join us every other week.

10. GRADING SCALE

90- 100 = 5

80 -89 = 4

70 – 79 = 3

60 – 69 = 2

59 and below = 1

ATTENDANCE

Regular school attendance is critical to the learning process. When a scholar is absent they miss valuable instruction time. Excessive absences create gaps in learning that can be difficult to overcome. Scholars should remain home when they have a fever and are ill, but missing school for less urgent matters is not in their best interest. Please phone the school to report your child’s absence or send a note the next day. If your child will be out for longer than a week, please request an independent study packet.

TARDIES

Scholars are allowed 3 excused tardies. If they have an excused tardy please send a note. Yellow cards will be marked for each unexcused or excused tardy past the 3 tardy limit. Our day begins at 8:00a.m. and being tardy is disruptive to others and means your child begins their day behind.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK

Return all paper work sent home on the first day that required a signature.

FIELD TRIPS:

A more detailed description of field trips and fund-raising possibilities will be discussed at Meet the Teacher Night.

BOOK ORDERS:

Book club order forms will be sent home approximately every month to month and a half. All orders earn free books for the classroom. Look for the first book club order to be sent home in the next week. Online ordering is available for your convenience. Checks are preferred if you do not order online. Please make your checks payable to Scholastic Book Club.

WISH LIST:

Many families want to know if there is anything that they can provide for our classroom. We are always appreciative of donations. Some of the items that are frequently needed include: baby wipes (for our hands and desks), zip-lock baggies, glue sticks, hand soap, healthy snacks, pencils, erasers, Kleenex, stickers, and small prizes for the treasure box.

BOX TOPS:

Please cut and send to class Box Tops for education on General Mill’s products. This is a great way to earn money for our school.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

* PTA membership drive begins soon. Please support our wonderful Parent/Teacher Association by sending in your donation. These donations help fund field trips, assemblies, and special events at Cedargrove. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

         *Welcome Back brunch, September 21^st, 2017, 9:45am – 10:40am

         * Labor Day Holiday, Monday, September 4th, 2017

* Meet the Teacher Night, September 7, 2017 from 6:00-7:25,

PTA meeting at 5:45pm

* Fall Fundraiser begins, September 11, 2017

* COEF Fun Run, September 17^th, 8:00am

* Constitution Day, September 18^th

* Minimum Day, September 19th – 11:20am release

* Picture Day grades 4-6, September 22^rd

* Fall fundraiser ends September 26^th

* Family Math Night, September 28^th – 6-7:30pm