Crumb Chronicles, Issue 1

Crumb Chronicles

***A Family Newsletter***

August 24, 2012 – Issue 1

Dear Families:

Welcome to Portable 38!  I can't wait to get started.

For those of you interested in my background, here it is in a nutshell . . . I earned my B.A. and Masters degrees at the University of Washington and have taught at Snoqualmie Elementary School for sixteen years.  I am the youngest of nine children and have two kids of my own (my son attends school here at S.E.S., while my daughter goes to Twin Falls Middle School).  We live just outside of North Bend near Rattlesnake Lake.

Now, back to the stuff that you're really interested in.  You might have already purchased your school supplies.  The items which are essential to have on the first day include:  notebook paper, pencils (already sharpened, if possible), and a three-ring binder with
dividers (the rest of the supply list is posted on the S.E.S. web site:  http:// ses.svsd410.org/ ).  You do not need to bring all of your pencils, glue sticks, and notebook paper to school on the first week -- just enough to keep you going for the first month or two.  Please leave small toys and treasures at home.  If you're in the middle of a book, bring it to school -- we will always have time in the day for silent reading.  If you're not in the middle of a book, we have plenty to choose from in our class library.

Many of you already know that all 4th and 5th grades at S.E.S. are located in portable classrooms.  That means no sink and drinking fountain, but we do have a water cooler.  One helpful item to bring that's not on the supply list is a water bottle.  It should be labeled with your name and it should have one of those "spill-proof" openings . . . not the ones with caps that screw off and on.

Homework will be very important this year.  The requirement will be to complete about forty minutes of homework for each school day.  Five minutes of that time will be to practice number facts.  Every student in our class will need to know their fact families for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  That means that you should recall the facts accurately and quickly.  Please work on them at home for at least five minutes each night until you have them down (we'll talk more about what that means in class).

Twenty minutes of homework will be for reading (yes, feel free to read more than 20 minutes every night!).  This is reading a book, magazine, or newspaper of your choice.  You will record all of your independent reading in a Reading Log, which we will create the first week of school.  The other 15 minutes of homework will be in some other assigned activity, usually paper-and-pencil type assignments.

In addition to those requirements, there will also be "Extended Homework."  These assignments are usually ongoing projects which students should work on at least twenty minutes every weeknight.  They will require more thought, creativity, and initiative.  Math facts practice, reading,  and regular written homework are required of everyone.  Extended Homework is required only for those students who are willing to commit to it.  **Think about this, and make a decision.  I will ask students on the first week of school if they will be signing up for this added opportunity.

Students will keep track of all homework, in-class assignments, and long-term projects in an agenda.  These are the same agendas used in our 5th grade classrooms (and are very similar to the ones used in our middle schools).  We will learn how the use the agendas the first week of school so that we all remain organized during this very busy and important year.  Parents can check on in-class and homework assignments by consulting their child's agenda.  Students who are absent can check the class master agenda to see what assignments they missed.  Assignments will also be posted on my classroom blog (http://crumbblog.blogspot.com/).  Other important classroom information and fun educational links for kids can be found on the class web site (http://ses.svsd410.org/crumb/index.htm) .

My late policy for this year will be as follows.  Homework and short, in-class assignments not corrected in class will be accepted one day late.  Homework and assignments corrected in class will not be accepted late.  Long-term projects/assignments (i.e. reading projects) will be accepted up to five days late.  If you are absent, you will be responsible for making up the work you missed.  You will have as many days as you were absent to make up the assignments.

During the first week of class, we will be spending time getting to know each other, learning to work together as a class and in small groups, learning to correctly use the resources in the room, finding out what students know, and setting goals for this year.

I know that some of our parents may be interested in volunteering this year, either on a regular or occasional basis.  I am always appreciative of parent volunteers.  Please fill out and return the Parent Volunteer Form if there's something you'd like to do.

Be prepared for a great year -- I'm sure looking forward to it.

                                                                                                   Sincerely,
                                                                                                   Michael Crumb