Announcements:
Conference notes came home today, please schedule a time and send it in! The rest of the middle school doesn't schedule, but we have more to talk about because we teach your students all subjects, and a schedule helps out a lot! We will be doing Halloween parties and activities on November 1st. It's a half day, and the district has decided to do costumes and parties on that day. I will be sending out several reminders as we get closer to Halloween. Reading: This week we finished working on the rules and regulations for independent learning time. With that out of the way, next week we will start on our reading skills, and I can work with small groups and be confident that the rest of the class is being productive and becoming a better reader. Spelling: Spelling words can be found at the top of this page. They must not only be spelled correctly, they must also be sorted into the correct spelling feature. There WILL be a test next Friday. Writing: We planned out our stories this week, learned about story elements, and will start writing next week. Math: This week was all about addition! We'll be subtracting next week, so check in on your student's borrowing skills. Why doesn't my student have math homework? I almost never give homework. I expect that during the 90 minutes of math time each day, your student is working their hardest. If I've ever caught them slacking, you've probably seen an action plan! Because they work so hard here, I don't make them finish at home. I check each student's proficiency every day, and if they need help, I provide it. They will work very hard in school, when they go home I want them to be kids and have friends and family time. What is this math packet, and why is it half finished and not graded? The math packet that comes home may not always be finished. I give the students a very short quiz every single day to see if they understood the day's lesson. If they did, but didn't finish their work, no sweat. They understood and can move on. If they did not understand, then I pulled them to my side table to work with them individually and they probably didn't have time to finish, but they did plenty of work with me. The packets are not graded because I take grades on my daily and weekly quizzes. The packets are practice. Science: We started magnetism this week! Ask your student what sort of things stick to magnets. Is it all metals? Some metals? Where can those be found? Social Studies: This week the kids learned about landforms of the united states. We'll be having a vocabulary test on them next Friday, so check the social studies tab to see what they have to know! Announcements:
Welcome to the weekly newsletter! Here, you'll be able to find out what we did in class all week as well as any announcements that I may need to share. One announcement that I want to get out right away is about Halloween. We will be doing Halloween parties and activities on November 1st. It's a half day, and the district has decided to do costumes and parties on that day. I will be sending out several reminders as we get closer to Halloween. Reading: We haven't started reading yet! I spend the first weeks of school teaching them routines and practices so that we can have a very successful year. I also need time to test their reading and spelling levels so that I can give them targeted instruction in small groups. Writing: Our first writing is going to be a story, and we spent this week coming up with ideas and planning it out. We will be starting the actual writing next week. Spelling: You can look at the tabs above for next week's spelling words, and you'll probably be wondering why they look so easy. I don't give the kids a list of words to memorize. Each student has taken a spelling assessment that tells me where they are in their spelling development. The words they have are appropriate to how they can spell words they have not memorized, and I will teach them new skills and features in order to push them to be better spellers as the year goes on. Math: Fourth grade starts with place value and rounding, and that's where we are now. A practice quiz came home in the Friday Folder today, and you can use it to help prepare for a quiz on Monday. Why doesn't my student have math homework? I almost never give homework. I expect that during the 90 minutes of math time each day, your student is working their hardest. If I've ever caught them slacking, you've probably seen an action plan! Because they work so hard here, I don't make them finish at home. I check each student's proficiency every day, and if they need help, I provide it. They will work very hard in school, when they go home I want them to be kids and have friends and family time. What is this math packet, and why is it half finished and not graded? The math packet that comes home may not always be finished. I give the students a very short quiz every single day to see if they understood the day's lesson. If they did, but didn't finish their work, no sweat. They understood and can move on. If they did not understand, then I pulled them to my side table to work with them individually and they probably didn't have time to finish, but they did plenty of work with me. The packets are not graded because I take grades on my daily and weekly quizzes. The packets are practice. Science: Ask your students about circuits! We spent the last two weeks learning about, building, and testing circuits. Social Studies: Where is the United States? What's around it? What's in it? The class spent this week learning the answers to these questions and more. |
Old Newsletters
June 2023
Non-Discrimination Statement
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education amendments of 1972, Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title II of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, and Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1977, it is the policy of the Richmond Community School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, military status, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual orientation), disability, age (except as authorized by law), height, weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity, service or employment. Inquiries related to any nondiscrimination policies should be directed to the Superintendent, 35276 Division Road, Richmond, MI 48062, (586) 727-3565. |