Arundel/MSAD71 will be sponsoring RSU Informational Meetings to answer questions the public may have on the consolidation process and the RSU Plan. The meetings will be on: Thursday, 10/16/08, 7 PM, Mildred L Day School in Arundel and Saturday ,10/25/08, 9 AM, Consolidated School Gym, Kennebunkport.
On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 7 PM, at the Kennebunk Elementary School Cafeteria, there will be a Public Hearing.
For further information go to www.msad71.net.
Dear Parents,
Now that we have settled in and homework is coming home on a consistent basis, I wanted to remind you about the importance of establishing a good homework routine. My students have homework every night, Monday through Thursday. This normally consists of a math homelink and at least 15 minutes of reading. Occasionally your child may have a word study activity or other work pertaining to a classroom project and there may be days here and there when there is no homework assigned, but as a general rule you should expect to see the homework assignment written in their planner each night. Letter journals come home each Friday,so please respond to your child or sign them and return them to school on Monday.
Here are some tips you may find helpful in ensuring your child's success with homework:
*Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.
Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.
*Help your child with time management.
Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects.
*Be positive about homework.
Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
*Read before bedtime. Reading before bedtime is a nice way to unwind and then fall asleep.
I hope that you find these tips helpful. Creating good study habits now lay a strong foundation for later on, when the homework demands become greater.
Happy Homework!
Jen
Dear Parents,
Happy Autumn! Today brings the official end of the summer season. While that is sad, it also brings the promise of crisp days and nights, football, apple picking and baseball playoffs- fun!
In our classroom, many new things are happening as well, as we are really beginning to settle in to our routine. In literacy, we began our week with our first creative writing project based on the Margaret Wise Brown book, The Important Book. The text in this book was written in a predictable pattern that allowed the children to create a new page for the book in a structured format, while still allowing for individual creativity. Next time you're at KES, check out the hallway outside our classroom for a display of their work! Bravo students! Our mini-lessons in literacy centered on topics like, "Reading is Thinking" and "Descriptive Language". These mini-lessons challenge the children to do more than just read the text, and to focus on what is going on in their mind while they are reading and to pay close attention to how the author uses language to create images for the reader.
Accelerated Reader! The children in my class will be using an online program called, Accelerated Reader. Some of the children also used this program in 2nd grade as well. Accelerated Reader is a program that allows the children to go online and take comprehension quizzes, here at school, after completing an independent reading book . It is a wonderful program that allows them to track how well they are understanding what they are reading and once completed, can print our their results to keep here in our room. For each quiz, they are awarded points so we will be keeping track of our class points that will eventually lead to a celebration of reading! This program really helps generate enthusiasm for, and encouragement of, independent reading. We will do one more practice run through with the program on Friday and then next week, the children can begin using Accelerated Reader at their own pace.
This week in math we will be taking our first unit assessment. The children are beginning to catch on to my enthusiasm for math as I try to show them how fun it can be! Thank you for helping your child out with their homework, it's really paying off! Mrs. Glynn paid a visit to the class and introduced the C.O.W, or Challenge of the Week. This is an optional challenge that the students can do each week. When they return their "COW" she will correct it and attach next weeks challenge for them to complete. These are fun, so encourage your child to try them out!
In science, we began our study of habitats. We began learning about what a habitat is and what things organisms need in order to survive. We will continue this study over the next few weeks, and continue our learning of owls that also began last week. Did your child tell you all about the owl pellets we dissected?
Finally, this week begins our study of government. The students will learn about the 3 branches of government and what each does. The presidency will also be studied and the chidlren will begin a research project into the president of their choice! Such fun!
Well, that's a lot isn't it? Keep an eye on your child's mail over the next couple of weeks as volunteer information and our first book order will be coming along soon!
REMINDER: NEXT FRIDAY IS PICTURE DAY!
Have a great week!
Jen
The Golden Sneaker!
Dear Parents,
This is just a reminder that our field trip to the Maine Wildlife Park is tomorrow, Thursday Sept. 11th. The weather forcast is for a sunny but cool day, so you may want to dress your child in layers, and apply sunscreen and/or bug repellent as you deem necessary.
The children all need to bring a bag lunch, but no glass bottles please! We will be leaving school at 8:30 with our chaperones following and return to school by 2:00.
The children are all very excited and this is one of my favorite trips! Thank you to all of the parents who will be joining us!
Have a great day!
Jen
Dear Parents,
What a wonderful first week! I just can't get over how fast this week went by! This week was all about team building, getting to know each other and establishing routines. We made name maps, participated in classroom scavenger hunts and friendship games and activities. We chatted about our hopes and dreams for this year and began to set some goals. We began our first math unit, and I introduced the children, through "Guided Discovery", to many items in our classroom that we will be using throughout the year.
Of course, we also made time for some extra outdoor play during which the kids learned some new cooperative games. The children worked very hard on all of our projects and I got a first glimpse into their "3rd grade work", and boy was I impressed.
As the kindergarten children arrived and had their first day, I asked my class if anyone would be willing (since they are the big kids after all) to go to the kindergarten classrooms and the pick up room at dismissal and help the teachers get the little ones to the proper bus lines, etc... Well, every hand in the room went up! I couldn't have been more proud of their willingness to pitch in. So, on Th. and Fri. my class dispersed just before dismissal and reported for duty. The K teachers couldn't have been more thankful. What a way to start the year!
Next week, we will continue with our team building activities, I will introduce more things in our classroom environment and together we will discuss and create classroom rules.
REMINDERS: Next Wed., Sept 10th is an Early Release Wednesday and next Th., Sept 11th is our field trip to the Gray Wildlife Park. Please be sure to send in the permission slip and $4.00 by Tuesday if you haven't already done so. If you would like to chaperone, please let me know by Tuesday as well.
Thank you so much for all of the classroom wish list supplies that have been sent in! It is much appreciated!
Well, I'm sure you'll have some tired children on your hands this weekend but hopefully they'll be ready to go again on Monday morning!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Fondly,
Jen
Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year! I am so thrilled to be your child's 3rd grade teacher and I enjoyed meeting you at Parent Orientation this past Tuesday. It was wonderful chatting with so many of you and seeing some old friends. I couldn't be more excited to get this year started!
This blog will be an important part of my home-school communication, and therefore, it is my hope that you will all become subscribers. I will be posting editions often to tell you about current studies, upcoming projects, field trips, special events and volunteer opportunities. I hope that you will find my blog helpful and if you have any suggestions as to things you would like to see me add, please let me know!
Since this is an election year, we will open our year with a study of our government and will do many activities involving our current candidates for president. I wrote to both campaigns over the summer asking for campaign materials to put on my bulletin board and use to educate my students about each candidate. Unfortunately, as of today, I haven't received any information from the Obama campaign. If you have any brochures, campaign signs, bumper stickers etc... that you would part with, I would love to use them in our room. Thank you so much in advance!I look forward to working closely with you and your child this year! Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions or concerns. I can be reached at jpoulin@msad71.net or 985-2382 x2405
Thanks and see you soon!
Jen
Dear Parents,
I hope you are enjoying your summer! As I prepare for my new class of students, I want to take a moment to wish you and your children well in the upcoming school year. They were my first 3rd grade class, and as such, will always hold a special place in my heart. They taught me so much and I will miss them. They will have a wonderful year at SRS and I hope that you will drop me a note sometime to let me know how they are doing.
Now that you will be moving on, please feel free to unsubscribe to my blog. Enjoy the rest of your summer and good luck with the upcoming school year!
Fondly,
Jen
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