Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 2) is Read Across America Day in honor of the 106th birthday of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel). Sarah Connolly, Ticket Office Manager for the Portland Sea Dogs, will be the commnity reader in our room. Be sure to ask your child about her visit, especially what she read for us.

This year's Coin Quest has started. Your child should give you a yellow calendar covering the 15 days of Coin Quest. Please send in that loose change - we'd all love the pizza party that is the prize for the winning class.

Tonight, in addition to at least 20 minutes of reading, there is a math worksheet - Renaming Fractions as Decimals. This should not take any more than 10 minutes to complete.

We've started preparing for conferences - I am busy with report cards and the students are busy selecting things that they would like to share with you during their conference. I've had a couple of kids sit with me while I filled out the section of the report card that deals with work habits and behavior; it's great to listen to them assess themselves and give reasons for each grade.

Please return your conference requests as soon as possible. So far is has been possible to honor everyone's first time preference.

Conferences to discuss your child's progress during the second trimester will be held starting on Thursday, March 11. You should have received a form (from your child) to indicate the day and time that are most convenient for you to schedule a meeting. Please give several days and times in case your first choice has already been taken. Please be sure to select times when your child will be able to be with you.

Birthdays

The following students have birthdays in March

Dylan - March 13
Nick C. - March 17
Ben - March 23

Second Trimester Conferences

I will be holding conferences for the second trimester starting on Monday, March 15. Further information will be sent home with your child after vacation.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, February 23 - CMP presentation on electricity
Thursday, February 25 - Variety Show at 6:30
Tuesday, March 2 - Read Across America Day
Tuesday, March 9 - Portland Symphony Trip
Thursday, March 11 - Music in Our School Assembly
Thursday, March 18 - Owls of Maine by Chewonki
Friday, March 26 - Dismissal at 11:30
Monday, March 29 - No School

February 10

This morning, the class is completing the Mid-Year Assessment in Math. This can be a little stressful for some kids because it covers everything we've done in math since September - but all of them seem to have taken it in stride.

Round 4 of Math Olympiad will be tomorrow morning at 11 for those students who are participating.

On Friday morning, I will be at the District Office for a workshop. This will introduce the revised edition of We The People, a text on the United States Constitution. The "carrot" to attend is that the publisher gives each teacher a free classroom set of the materials. (Elementary teachers are always willing to go to anything that promises free materials!) Mrs. Ulrickson, recently returned from a 15-day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles via the Panama Canal, will cover for me - and perhaps tell the class about some of the interesting places she visited.

Remember that February Vacation starts at the end of the day on Friday. (If you forget, I'm sure that your child will remind you.)

Mid-January 2010

We've finished January Universal Screening for reading. I am happy to report that all of the students have made good progress since the beginning of the year.

Did you know that one thing that increases reading ability is practice? All students have 30 to 40 minutes of uninterrupted independent reading each day in class. In addition, each student is expected to read for at least 20 minutes every day at home (week-ends and vacations too).