Grade 4B Newsletter
September 2010
My name is Sandy Adamson and I have the honour of being the homeroom teacher for the 4B class this year. This is my seventh year at High Park and my 24th year teaching for Parkland School Division. I am looking forward to a successful year teaching your child. I am writing this to share some information as well as some of my plans and philosophies for the coming year.
Homework book/Agenda
Your child will bring home a homework book every night. Whether you call the book a “homework book”, an “agenda”, or a “day-timer” its purpose is to help your child succeed. This will work in the following way:
1. Your child will write the day’s homework off the board every day. When they sit down to do their homework they will know what is expected of them. (It is not my plan to give a ton of homework this year. Much of the work will be work from the day that has not been completed).
2. I will sign the book at the end of the day. If there are any messages that I need to send to you about your child’s work or their behaviour I can pass that along in the book for you to look at that evening.
3. Parents will be expected to sign the book every night. If there is anything that you would like me to know you can send a message back in the book. If a note in the book will not cover what you need to share, by all means phone me or arrange for an appointment.
The homework book is most useful when the child, the parent and the teacher look at the book every day. Please help your child out this year by signing his/her book every evening.
Please help discourage students from ripping out old pages out of the book. These old pages often contain useful information.
Other Communication
I hope to write a regular newsletter with information about what has happened or what is coming up. I will also be sending notes home for different reasons throughout the year. If something is coming home it will be listed in the day’s homework.
We will, of course, have our Parent/Teacher Interviews as well as report cards throughout the year. These are formal communication opportunities. I am certainly open to more informal communication as well. As mentioned, my preference for communication is through the use of the agenda. I can also be reached at sadamson@psd70.ab.ca for those who like email. We have voice-mail at the school as well if you phone and I am unavailable (780-963-2222). I am open to meeting with parents at pre-arranged times that work well for both of us.
Parent Help
Parent helpers are welcome. Please arrange ahead of time and I would love to have parents help out by listening to reading, working with math facts, review, or help out in other ways. I may not always have something for you to do if you show up unexpectedly so please send me a note in the homework book or give me a call and I will have something ready. There will be other times when I will make a more specific request for help.
The most help you can be is supporting your child’s reading. Please read with your kids at home. Read every night if you can. Kids get better at reading by reading. Spending time with parents is always good as well. Parents that occasionally interrupt the reading and ask questions about what has just been read can help improve comprehension.
Nightly…
So, what should be part of your nightly homework routine?
1) Reading. Please read with your child or make time when they should read. They must read at least one approved book a month for their reports. In my family bedtime worked really well. Please find a time that works for your family.
2) Math. If your child has no other math homework (and maybe even if they do!) it is a good idea to review math quizzes that have come home, finish these quizzes and make corrections. Many students could benefit from review of basic math facts.
3) Any other work that comes home. Usually this will be work that was not completed in class.
Homework
Homework will probably be largely things that do not get completed at school. If you find your child coming home with an unusual amount of homework night after night, please let me know. I certainly encourage good use of class time and will move students around the room trying hard to find a seating plan to encourage good use of class time.
Parents should support kids by making sure they have a regular time and place to do their work. They should offer help when necessary but they should never do the work. I have had (no exaggeration) students hand in homework that the parent did while the child slept. This does not help the child learn.
I do not need homework finished at all costs. If your child is unable to finish their work, for whatever reason, please let me know that you know. You know your child better than I do.
I will expect work to be done unless the parent sends a note or leaves a voicemail telling me that the child was not able to finish it.
It would be helpful to know some things about your child:
A. Are there any physical concerns (allergies, asthma, injuries, etc.)?
B. What strategies have been successful with your child?
C. What strategies have not been successful?
D. What are the strengths of your child (academically, socially, athletically, creatively, etc.)?
E. What are the areas of challenge for your child?
F. What do you expect from your child’s school and teacher this year?
If you could take some time and write me a note sharing anything you think important I would love to know.
I like to make it a goal each year to see each of my students in an out-of-school activity. Kids often get a kick out of a teacher showing up to a sporting event, dance recital, church Christmas play, rodeo, piano recital, etc. If there is something coming up and you think your child would appreciate me there please let me know and I will make an effort. The more notice I have the more likely I am to be able to attend.
Social Studies/Science
There will be several stretches of time this year where we will put Social Studies aside for a while and concentrate on our Science. At other times the reverse will be true. We will have covered all that we are supposed to by the end of the year in both subjects. Math and Language Arts will be done every day.
I am honored to be your child’s teacher this year. Let’s have a great year. With a team made up of the student, the parents and the school this will be a successful year.
High Park Cross Country 2011
Well, cross country season is upon us again. There are five races scheduled this season. The races themselves have kids from kindergarten to grade 9. Athletes born in 2004 or younger run an 800 metre race. Athletes born 2000 to 2003 run 1000 metre races against students from their own birth year and gender. High Park is not entering older students this year (although individual students could enter on their own and compete).
The races are:
a. Thursday, September 15-Entwistle School
b. Thursday, September 22 – Blueberry School (at Chickakoo Lake Recreational Area)
c. Thursday, September 29 – Seba Beach School
d. Thursday, October 6 – Meridian Heights
e. Thursday, October 13-Tomahawk
We will book buses for each of the races. Many parents are not able to get their children to the races by the 4:00 start time and so appreciate having the buses. Unfortunately, there is a cost to busing and that cost must be passed along to the participants. There is not a significant difference between getting the bus one way or both ways and so we will book the buses for both directions.
We priced the buses and determined the cost. We have estimated the number of participants and divided up the bus costs. We added in the entrance fees and have arrived at a cost of $50 per athlete for the season. Should we collect more money than needed we are obligated to return the extra. We are not able to subtract bus costs for those who only use the bus one way. Anyone concerned about the costs is encouraged to talk to Mr. Adamson or Mrs. Rosborough at the school. We will accept cash or cheques made out to Parkland School Division.
We will have High Park tee-shirts for our participants to wear for the races. These shirts will be collected at the end of each race and will remain the property of the school. There will be warm days and we hope to see the kids run in shorts. There will likely be blustery days and we hope the kids wear warmer clothes. While we sit and wait for everyone to finish their races it is nice to be able to stay warm.
A water bottle is a good idea to send along, particularly on the warm days. Many parents send along an extra snack for after school on race days and the students appreciate this. We look forward to good behavior from all participants. We plan on having a couple of staff members at each race and there are often parents there, who help us out, but we will be busy getting kids to and from races and we will not want to spend our time chasing after kids.
Cross Country Run Information
So, this Thursday, September 15th, is our first race! There are some things to keep in mind as we enter the race.
v Each student will run in one race each race day. They will run against others their own age and gender. Kids born in 2004 and younger will run 800 metres. Older students will run 1000 metres.
v This Thursday’s race and the final Thursday’s race take a little longer to get to so we will take students out of their class at about 2:50 and hopefully have the bus loaded and rolling before 3:00.
v Some days are likely to be cold so have your child dress accordingly. After their races kids don’t have a lot to do (except cheer on their teammates) so they will want to keep bundled up.
v Students are often thirsty after the race. A water bottle labeled with your child’s name written on it is a good idea.
v Students should run in proper footwear. Sandals and boots are not good footwear to run in.
v If students bring an extra snack they might be better off eating it after they run.
v If students go home with their parents Mr. Adamson and/or Mrs. Rosborough have to know about this. Please find one of them at the race and let them know that you are taking your child.
v Buses leave the race site at about 5:00 p.m. to head back to High Park. Our best guess at when they will return is based on how far away the race is. Please make arrangements to have a parent at the school to pick them up. So, we hope to return to High Park School…
· Thursday, September 15th return by 5:50 from Entwistle
· Thursday, September 22nd return by 5:30 from Chickakoo Lake
· Thursday, September 29h return by 5:40 from Seba Beach School
· Thursday, October 6th return by 5:20 from Meridian Heights School
· Thursday, October 13th return by 5:50 from Tomahawk School
Thank you for supporting your child in this endeavor.
Mr. S. Adamson and Mrs. B. Rosborough
Please sign and return this permission form, along with the fee, to school prior to the first race.
I give permission for my child, _______________________________________, to participate in the Parkland School Division cross country runs. I understand that the students will be taken to and from by bus, September 15 at Entwistle School, September 22 at Chickakoo Lake Recreational Area, September 29 at Chickakoo Lake Recreational Area, and October 6 at Meridian Heights School and October 13 at Tomahawk School.
My child’s year of birth is ______________.
My child’s teacher this year is ____________________________.
Emergency contact number: _______________________________.
My child’s Alberta Health Care #: ____________________________.
I have enclosed the $50 fee to cover busing and entrance fees (cheques must be payable to Parkland School Division). _________
Signature of parent/guardian _____________________________________