Early Dismissal on Wednesday/Parent Conferences

Dear Parents,

The weeks are already getting busy as the holiday season approaches! We are having a wonderful time in class, but there is not enough time in the day to do all that we want to!

This Wednesday, November 4th students will be dismissed at 12:30. Report cards will be sent home with them. I will be available for parents conferences between 1:00 and 4:00. Please let me know if you would like to schedule a conference to discuss your child's school work, behavior, or any other questions or concerns. I would be happy to schedule a conference on a different date or time if you are not available on Wednesday. My e-mail address is rzirczy@hosutonisd.org.

We have been in LDC this past week and will continue through next week. The children are reading "The Green Book", which they seem to really be enjoying. This book works perfectly with our planner on resources. They are also practicing writing character journals from the point of view of characters in the story. It is challenging but they are improving every day!

We have started our 2nd planner on resources and the students are working very hard on their first research project. They are researching a region in Texas and creating a presentation to go along with their findings. As a class we came up with research questions that are aligned with the Key Concept questions which are an important part of our PYP curriculum. They students came up with wonderful, but challenging quesitons. The plan was to have them present their regions using PowerPoint presentations, but due to time constraints they were willing to do a paper presentation for this research project. However, I have promised that their Native American research project will be presented on PowerPoint.

In math we have been working on multiplication, division, and a bit of algebra and will continue that through part of this week. We will soon be moving on to decimals and fractions, although we will continue to revisit many concepts throughout the year. This Friday the students will have their 3rd multiplication quiz on facts from 0-9. So far, they have been doing a wonderful job on these quizzes! Please continue to encourage them to work on their multiplication facts, it simply makes more complicated math so much simpler if they know those facts.

We are preparing for Student Led Conferences on Nov. 11th. Students will be choosing items that they would like to put in their portfolios to share with you. Please try and sign up for a 30 minute time slot on Nov. 11th so your child can show off their work. If that date and time is not convenient for you please let me know what time would work for you. If needed, I can schedule times before school, or after school on different days. Any family member is welcome to come! There is a sign up sheet with time slots outside my door. If you have e-mailed me or returned the Student Led Conference form I have penciled you in.

You will see on the important dates that on December 2nd and 4th Nurse Cleary will be giving a Human Growth and Development talk. This consists of a video and short discussion. Please know that there will be permission slips going home and no student will attend without a singed permission slip. I was present for the talk last year for both the boys and girls and would be happy to answer any specific questions you might have.

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to Spooky Spaghetti. I had booked a ticket to Washington D.C. this summer before Spooky Spaghetti was scheduled. I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Lux for the wonderful job they did with the cake walk. I cannot tell you how many parents and staff members have stopped me to tell me what a wonderful booth it was! Thanks to all of you who were able to donate cakes and to Mr. and Mrs. Lux for their donation to the turtle fund for each cake provided from our students!

Now, the important stuff, the turtle! The students have raised enough money for the turtle! They have been very patient and have worked hard for their class pet. I admire their dedication. I went shopping today and bought the set-up for the turtle and will buy the turtle this week after we have the habitat in place and ready. Thank you for your support in this, it has been a wonderful incintive for the students.

A thank you to all of the parents who have been ordering books through Scholastic! I have been able to order so many free books through Scholastic already! I really appreciate your help in building our classroom library. A special thanks to Janet Schwind for setting up and organizing our orders, it is a big job!

As many of you may know, Monica Phillips, a first grade teacher at Mark Twain has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in her lungs. She will not be able to return to school during her treatment. The PTO has organized a calendar online where families can sign up to provide dinner one night for Monica and her family. There are also other ways to help detailed on the website. I believe an e-mail was sent out to all Mark Twain families, but if you would like more information about how to help please let me know. I know many of my students had Mrs. Phillips in Kindergarten.

This week's spelling words are:
1. tenth
2. hundredth
3. thousandth
4. decimal
5. landform
6. plateau
7. curl
8. shirt
9. search
10. cure

Important Dates:
Monday, Nov. 2nd: Last call for March of Dimes Reading Champion Donations
Wednesday, Nov. 4th: Early Dismissal Day, Report Cards, Parent Conferences
Wednsday, Nov. 4th: "Field Trip" to Paershing to watch a performance of the Aztec
Dancers from Mexico 10:30 - 11:30
Thursday, Nov. 5th: Library Day (and every Thursday from now on :))
Wednesday, Nov. 11th: Student Led Conferences
Thursday, Nov. 12th: Jon Levitt will be coming to share some of his scientific knowledge with the 4th grade!
Monday, Nov. 16th - Friday, Nov. 20th: Benchmark Week
Monday, Nov. 16th and Tuesday, Nov. 17th: Book Fair at Barnes and Noble
Wednesday, Nov. 25th - Friday, Nov. 27th: Thanksgiving Break
Monday, December 1st: Marathon Kids Mileage Logs Due
Tuesday, December 2nd: Human Growth and Development Presentation for the girls
Thursday, December 4th: Human Growth and Development Presentation for the boys

Thank you for your continued support!

Rebecca Zirczy

Spelling Words

Parents,

I did not hand out spelling word today at the end of the day. Sorry about that!! Here are the spelling words for the week of October 19th -October - 23rd:

Math
1. divisor
2. quotient
3. remainder
Social Studies
4. human
5. capital
6. impact
ou/o
7. couple
8. pound
9. gown
10. dawn

Thank you!
Mrs. Zirczy

Class Party, Spooky Spaghetti, Time for Kids

Dear Parents,

We have bittersweet news this week. Miguel will be leaving to return to Nicaragua on Tuesday. This is wonderful news for him and his family but we will miss him terribly! He will be returning to Houston periodically and promises to visit. It was wonderful to get to know the Castillos!

I placed the Time for Kids order this week and hope to start receiving the magazines in the next few weeks. Thank you for all that participated and to Mrs. Schachter for help organizing the order. This is a wonderful resource for the students and helps me bring more current events into the classroom

Thank you for allowing your children to do chores and odd jobs for the class pet fund. We already have over $50.00! I am hoping to get our pet by Halloween.

This Friday, October 16th is World Food Day. Some of the students at Mark Twain are organizing a canned food drive to support local food banks. Please feel free to send any canned goods or non-perishable foods to school.

Students may wear their Spooky Spaghetti T-shirts any day between now and Spooky Spaghetti.

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, October 20th: Scholastic Book Orders Due
Thursday, October 22nd: Class Party! 5:30 -7:00
Saturday, October 24th: Spooky Spaghetti 4:00-8:00
Monday, October 26th: LDC Begins (We will be doing a novel study with character journals)
Tuesday, October 27th: Library Day
Monday, November 2nd: March of Dimes Reading Champion Packets Due
Wednesday, November 4th: Early Dismissal/Report Cards Go Home
Wednesday, November 11th: Student Led Conferences 3:00-5:00
Monday, November 16th and Tuesday, November 17th: Book Fair at Barnes and Noble
Tuesday, December 1st: Marathon Kids Mileage Logs Due

Thank you for your continued support!
Mrs. Zirczy

Dear Parents,

We are having an exciting week! We are wrapping up our Matter Planner and getting ready to begin our Resources Planner. We are working on "Object Writing", addition and subtraction strategies, map skills, and revision/editing.

Just a reminder about homework:
Please expect to see Spelling, Reading Log, and another assignment (usually Math) Monday - Thursday. I also ask that student's get their agenda signed each day so I know that you are aware of homework assignments and announcements. Conduct charts and graded papers are sent home on Tuesdays and I ask that the students return them on Wednesdays. The students have gotten a little relaxed about these classroom procedures. If you could please help me keep them on their toes I would appreciate it!

Thank you for your support with the class pet. The students are showing a great deal of excitement about raising money for their turtle. I hope this is not an inconvenience to you. Please know you do not have to participate. Depending on how much the students raise we will get a pet turtle, or a less expensive pet if needed. We will work however much is raised.

This week's spelling words:
1. America
2. Asia
3. Europe
4. Antarctica
5. Australia
6. Africa
7. still
8. hint
9. inch
10. brick

Upcoming Events:

October 12 - 16: Announcements
Tuesday, October 13th: Library Day
Wednesday, October 14th: Early Dismissal
Thursday, October 22nd: Class Social 5:30 - 7:00
Saturday, October 24th: Spooky Spaghetti 4:00-8:00
Monday, October 26th: LDC Begins
Tuesday, October 27th: Library Day
Monday, November 2nd: March of Dimes Reading Champion Packets Due
Wednesday, November 11th: Student Led Conferences

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! Thank you for the continuous support and treats!! You and your children have made this school year so much fun already!

Thank You!
Mrs. Zirczy

Oops!

Dear Parents,

I have to say that I have not started off the week at the top of my game. Here are a few of the mistakes I have made :) Please forgive me! :

1) I could not get the spelling words to print and forgot to put them on the blog this weekend, however, I passed them out today
2) I repeated two spelling words on the list. Therefore, the students only have 8 words this week. Due to the fact that we have a four day week that is ok with me.
3) I completed the conduct sheets today, but forgot to send them home in the brown folders. I caught a few children after school, but most did not receive them.
4)Spelling test did not make it in the brown folders either!!

I hope that those will be the be the only slip ups for a while! I apologize for any inconvenience.
I will send the spelling tests and conduct charts home tomorrow.

** There were very few graded papers in this week's brown folders today. This is because we spent a great deal of our time last week taking benchmarks. Expect more graded papers next week. Thank you for your understanding!**

This Week's Spelling Words:

1. addition
2. subtraction
3.recycle
4. landfill
5. lead lead
6. led led
7.steel
8. steal steal

Important Events this Week:

Thursday:

• Picture Day (We get our pictures taken first thing in the morning so that it will not interfere with our field trip.)
• Field Trip: We will be leaving at 9am, and returning between 12:30pm and 1:00pm. We will eat lunch upon our return (there is no where to eat on the landfill :)) Please make sure you have returned your child's permission slip and $5.00 fee.

Friday:

• All Progress Reports must be turned in to me with a signature. I will return an extra copy when I receive a signed copy.
• We will have a place value quiz. We will review on Thursday and Friday for the quiz

Upcoming Events:

Monday, Oct.5:

• We will have a quiz on the science vocabulary words that the students will receive on Wednesday. They should already be familiar with these terms.

Tuesday, Oct.13:

• Library Day

Wednesday, Oct. 14:

• Early Dismissal

Saturday, Oct. 24:

• Spooky Spaghetti, 4pm-8pm

Monday, Oct. 26:

• LDC begins

Thank you for the birthday wishes, balloons, songs, goodies, and gifts!! You made my 30th VERY special!!

Mrs. Zirczy

Progress Reports

Dear Parents,


Progress Reports went home today. Please sign the copy you received and send it back to school as soon as possible. When I receive the signed copy I will send home a copy for you to keep.

We had a wonderful trip to the Children's Museum on Tuesday. The children had lots of time to explore and learn. Thank you to Mrs. Powers, Mrs. Spike, and Mrs. Castillo who joined us.

We have another field trip fast approaching! We will be going to the Landfill and Recycling Center next Thursday, Oct. 1st. The price in $5.00. The permission slips went home in Tuesday folders.

We have been having Benchmarks this week so the students have had to take 4th grade TAKS release tests. I spoke with them about not getting too worried over these tests, given the fact they are given at the end of 4th grade. I explained that there are many things on the test that I have not yet taught them. However, these tests are very useful for me to gauge their strengths as well as areas for improvement for each student. I will use the results to guide my instruction. We have been going to LDC every day, but the testing has taken up most of the day other than that. I would like to compliment student behavior during testing. They have been very quiet and respectful of other students!



This week's spelling words are:

1. mode
2. maximum
3. minimum
4. hundred
5. thousand
6. million
Science
7. solution
8. mixture
Language Arts
9. peach
10. cream

Upcoming Dates:
Monday, Sep. 28 - School Holiday
Tuesday, Sep. 29 - Library Day
Thursday, Oct. 1 - Field Trip 9am-1pm *please send sack lunch*
Wednesay, October 14 - Early Dismissal
Saturday, October 24 - Spooky Spaghettie 4pm-8pm
Monday, October 26, LDC begins
Tuesday, October 27 - Library Day
Wednesday, November 11 - Student Led Conferences : 3pm-5pm

A few notes from Open House:

My Classroom Schedule:
8:00 – 8:10 Announcements
8:10 – 9:15 L.A.
9:15 – 10:00 Ancillary
10:00 – 10:10 Restroom Break/Snack
10:10 – 11:45 Math
11:48 – 12:18 Lunch
12:18 – 12:48 Recess (with Restroom Break)
12:48 – 2:30 Planner
2:30 – 3:00 Reading



Times to Note:
School begins at 8:00. (*tardies)
Dismissal is at 3:00.
GT pull-out is Thursdays 12:15 – 2:45
Library is every other Tuesday 10:30 – 10:50.
LDC is 8:00 – 9:00 for two weeks at a time. We are then off for four weeks.



Homework:
Your child should be spending a maximum of 1 to 1 ½ hours on homework.
I expect all homework to be completed. If your child has a busy night scheduled, they can complete homework in advance.
They will get spelling, reading or LDC, and math homework nightly.
I will pass out spelling words on Friday for the next week.



Tuesday Folders:
Every Tuesday students will bring home their Green Folder.
The Green Folder will contain their weekly conduct chart, graded and returned work, and other notes.
Conduct sheets and graded work should be signed and returned in the folder by Wednesday.



Grading Policy:
Each assignment will be weighted as follows:
Daily Grades—40%
Tests/Quizzes/Projects—50%
HW (completion)/Spelling—10%
Students will have an opportunity to retake any failed tests or quizzes for a maximum of 70%.
Students will be given a week to complete missed assignments due to absences. (Long term absences will be dealt with on a case by case basis.)



Conduct:
Weekly conduct sheets must be signed and returned on Wednesday with the green folder.
Conduct grades will be based on daily conduct marks I take in class. I will try to add a note about what type of behavior resulted in a daily mark.
E—1 mark
S—2-3 marks
N—4-5 marks
(If N’s continue, we may need a conference.)
U—6 or more marks
(We may need a parent conference.)

4th Grade Testing Day:

TAKS
Writing: March 3, 2010
Math: April 27, 2010
Reading: April 28, 2010
Stanford Window:
January 20-28, 2010

Birthdays:
On your child’s birthday you may send cupcakes or goodie bags to be passed out after lunch.
When lunch ends at 12:18, the students go outside to recess and may have their cupcakes.
Please send enough for the entire class. We have a total of 21 students.

Time for Kids Magazine:
I would like to use Time For Kids magazine for reading and social studies instruction.
The cost is $5.50 per student. Please send cash (no checks, please), I will place the order online with my credit card.I will not be able to place the order until the majority of students have brought in their money.

Thank you for your continued generosity and support!!
Mrs. Zirczy

Spelling Words

Dear Parents,

I have been preparing for open house, so there is much info to come tomorrow. I just wanted to get this week's spelling words up. I will post a more informational letter later this week.

This week's spelling words:
1. equivalent
2. equal
3. place value
4. weight
5. mass
6. balance
7. pain
8. gain
9. aid
10. drain drain

Thank You!
Mrs. Zirczy