Monday Update

Good Morning Everyone-

I wanted to let everyone know that due to the weather, and the cancellation of school today,  the Social Studies Test that was scheduled for tomorrow is on hold for now.  Sitting here listening to the rain and the weatherman, I am not quite sure if it will be later this week or early next week.  Let's see how the next 24-36 hours go.

I hope everyone is able to stay safe during the storm.

Mrs. D.

10-26 Savanna

Dear Parents,

         We have covered a good amount of ground this week.  The children learned a bit about the homeless population here in Arlington and participated in the annual Mini-Walk for the Homeless on Tuesday. The children were able to walk several laps of the sidewalk adjacent to the school to show their support of this worthy cause.  In addition to helping those here in Arlington, the children are also being given to help other children in the world through the “Trick or Treat for Unicef” this Halloween.  The children are bringing home a letter from Mr. Pascal today, outlining the program.  They will bring home their collection box next week.  I would like to encourage all the children to bring their boxes with them as they go trick or treating and collect for children around the world.  In the past Tuckahoe students have collected more than $5,000 in pennies, nickels and dimes. 

 Back in the classroom, we are about to complete our first Social Studies unit on Maps and Globes, learned about lines and line segments on Math, practiced the Scientific Method in Science and worked on where to find information when reading.  All in all we are moving along well.  As I mentioned before, I would like your continued help with going over your child’s assignments with them when they get home and have them explain what they need to do that evening.  If it is a long term project, use a calendar and help pace out the project.  Once your child has completed their work, review it with them, and then have them put all their work and supplies back in their backpack. 

There are several “house keeping” items I would like to bring to your attention.  First, I would like to encourage everyone to reach out to Jill Randles (Tyler’s mom) to see how you might help with the Halloween party on Wednesday.  We will need some help with costume changing around 9:45 am and setting up the party.  The parade is at 10:00 am and we should be back in the classroom around 11:00.  This is a fun morning for the children and your help is greatly appreciated.  Jill’s email is jrandler37@comcast.net. 

Two weeks ago the Scholastic Book catalogues were sent home in the Friday Folders.  If you would like to order books this month, please place your order on line, no later than Friday, November 2^nd.  Go to www.scholastic.com, Book Club, and enter my class code G22G to order.  

I also want to thank everyone for taking time out of your schedules to meet with me for Parent Teacher Conferences last week.  This meeting is very helpful for me to learn more about your child and how you see them adjusting to the third grade routine.  I was pleased to hear that so far everyone seems to be doing well, both at home and school. 

Below are some important October/November dates to place on your calendars.  If you could please let me know if your child will not be at school on Monday or Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving I would appreciate it. 

Wednesday October 31- Halloween Parade and Party 10am

Monday October 31- Trick or Treat for Unicef

Tuesday November 1- Return Unicef collection boxes

Monday, November 5- End of First Quarter

Tuesday, November 6- Election Day

Tuesday, November 6- Teacher Work Day- No School for students

Saturday, November 10- Tuckahoe/HB Woodlawn 5K Run

Monday, November 12- Veteran’s Day Holiday- No School

Friday, November 16- Report Cards Issued

Wed., Nov. 21-Fri., Nov. 23- Thanksgiving Break- No School

         As always, I want to thank you for all you do at home to ensure that your child comes to school each day ready to learn.  I hope everyone stays safe and as dry as possible this weekend.

        

                                                               Sincerely,

                                                               Mrs. DiNardo

Savanna 10-12-12

Dear Parents,

       I would like to begin this week with a big thank you to the parents who accompanied us today to the National Building Museum.  From the hum of excited voices as we left, through the morning of instruction and building everyone seemed to enjoy the day.  The city we built was both fun and functional.  Who knows, maybe the next generation of city planners will include one of our students.

       As you know, Parent Teacher Conferences will be held next week.  This is an opportunity for you and me to share how we see your child adjusting to the expectations of Third Grade.  I will also share information about beginning of the year assessments.  I enjoy this opportunity to discuss your child with you.  If you have not done so as of yet, I would like to ask that you confirm your conference time through email.  The conference schedule is on my blog under the October 3^rd entry.  When you open the Google Doc the first page of the spreadsheet contains conferences through Wednesday of next week.  There is a second sheet that can be accessed by clicking on the tab at the bottom of the page.

       As you may know from your child’s assignment notebook, we wrapped up our first unit in Math on Thursday.  We are in the middle of our Maps and Globes unit in Social Studies, and I would expect to test this out in the next two weeks.  I also plan to introduce the Scientific Method in Science next week.  In Language Arts we have been working on Visualization and sentence structure.  In addition, we have been working in our word study groups.  All in all we are getting into full swing.

       I would again like to remind everyone to take a few minutes each evening to go over the assignments your child has for the evening.  They should be able to complete these assignments with little assistance from you, but a bit of help from you to go over the pacing of the work will help.  I will say for the most part assignments are coming back on time and well done. 

The leaves are beginning to change outside out window and the temperature is fluctuating with early signs of change.  This signals me to take a moment out to remind everyone that the children do need to be dressed appropriately for the weather each day.  The children do go outside each day for recess and we want them to be warm enough to enjoy their time on the playground.

       Below you will find a list of some of the upcoming events at school.  Please mark the dates on your calendars.

              Thurs./Friday 10/18-19- Parent Teacher Conferences

              Tues. Oct. 23- ASPAN Homeless Walk- 9:15 am

              Fri. 10/26- Harvest Fest 6:30-9:30 pm

              Thurs. 10/31- Halloween Parade- 10:00 am

              Tues. 11/6- Election Day/Teacher Work Day

The forecast for the weekend looks like it will be good for sports games.  I hope you and your family will enjoy some time together.  As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.

THIS IS A FIRST!!!!!

Good Afternoon Everyone-

Today, during math class, I asked the children if they had any questions about what was going to be on the test tomorrow.  They said they were confident and had no more questions.  I suggested that if they felt ready maybe they should take the test today instead of tomorrow . Shouts of "Yeah! Let's do it now.",  began to echo through the room.  Mrs. DeFranza and I asked the children again to be sure, and they wanted to take the test today.  So..... they did.  I feel confident that they were all ready today.  Please be assured that if I had any concern about knowing the content, we would have spent that class period reviewing the material for the test. 

This is a first for me and I was excited to see their confidence in their knowledge, and their flexibility.  The result of taking the test today is that there is NO MATH HOMEWORK tonight.  I know the kids were very excited about this prospect.

I hope everyone enjoys their evening.


Mrs. D.

Please Confirm Conference Times

Good Afternoon Everyone-

I am writing to ask that you review your Parent Teacher Conference time in  the conference schedule listed in the October 3rd blog post.   Once you have done so, would you please drop me a quick email to let me know if this date and time still work for you.  If not, please let me know of some alternative dates and times that would work into you schedule. 

Thanks for taking the time to review this schedule.

Mrs. D.

10-5 Savanna

Dear Parents,

            This week has flown by!  The children have been busy in class with Math, Robust Vocabulary, Social Studies, learning about subjects and predicates, how to form complete sentences, and learning about emotions, honest, and respect.  We also enjoyed learning about a box turtle, a ball python, a hedgehog, and a ferret with the visit of Cindy Schall from the Career Center.  She took time with all the classes to explain adaptations these animals make to protect themselves from predators, as well as how they hunt for food and live in the wild. The children asked thoughtful questions and enjoyed Mrs. Schall’s visit to the classroom.   Overall, it was good week.  As we look at the month of October, there are several housekeeping items I would like to bring to your attention.

First, please take a few minutes to review your child’s assignment notebook each night with them.  This will help them organize which assignments need to be completed on which evening, and to pace out the work for the remainder of the week.  In the next week I will begin to back off checking the assignment notebooks each day before your child leaves.  It will be up to them to make sure they have all their supplies for the night.  Should you see that your child is not coming home with all they need on a repeated basis, please let me know.  I will also be keeping a close eye on completed homework that will let me know how your children are doing with this responsibility.

Second, we are asking for your help in getting your child get to school on time each morning.  We begin direct instruction at 9:00am.  If your child comes in 5-10 minutes late they have missed the initial instructions for the day.  It is in these first few minutes where we explain what will happen during the day as well as the expectations.  Missing these beginning minutes of the day can put your child at a disadvantage.  We want to ensure all the children experience success each day, and being at school on time will help them do so. 

On a related note, please try to schedule doctor’s appointments for afterschool or other non-school times.  While I know how difficult it is to get appointments and that later appointments are sometimes not available, I would like to ask you to keep this in mind when scheduling them.  Missing parts of the day and getting caught up during lunchtime is not always most beneficial for your child.  Also if your child does have to leave early for an appointment, please let me know the time to expect to pick your child up.  This will help me have your child as ready to leave as possible.

Fourth, as you may know, Fall Enrichment is begins next week.  I am reposting the message the PTA sent out on Wednesday about sending notes in each day your child has a class. 

            PTA Update for October 3, 2012   

FALL ENRICHMENT BEGINNING - BRING YOUR NOTES!  With the start of Fall School Enrichment programs next week, please be sure your students bring written notes regarding their participation in an Enrichment program to their teachers so they are aware of where your child needs to go for their program. Please keep in mind that a note must be written each day that your child is participating in a program. This is to ensure that children arrive to their programs at the right time and at the right location. A master list of the programs and room locations will be posted outside of the office on Tuesday so you will know where to pick up your children. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. 

Please know these enrichment notes, as well as all other notes concerning a change in dismissal, are essential for us to ensure your child’s safety.   

Finally, I have posted the Parent Teacher Conference form on the blog.  Please take a look at it to make sure you can make the time you signed up for at Back to School Night.  Should you need to change your time just send me a note and I will do my best to accommodate your request.  I am looking forward to talking with each of you during our conferences to hear your perspective of how your child is transitioning into Third Grade.  Please know I will I will also share some of my initial observations as well. 

As always, I appreciate all you do for your child to ensure they come to school ready to learn each day.  I hope everyone enjoys a relaxing weekend.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Mrs. DiNardo

                                                                                    kim.dinardo@apsva.us

Upcoming Events

Mon. 10/8- Columbus Day- School Holiday

       Fri. 10/12- Building Museum Field Trip- 9am-12:30 pm

       Thurs./Friday 10/18-19- Parent Teacher Conferences

       Tues. Oct. 23- ASPAN Homeless Walk- 9:15 am

       Fri. 10/26- Harvest Fest 6:30-9:30 pm

       Thurs. 10/31- Halloween Parade- 10:00 am        

Parent Teacher Confernce Sign-up

Good Afternoon Everyone-

Below you will find the link to my Parent Teacher Conference Schedule.  Please look it over and make sure the time you requested at Back to School Night can still work for you.

If you need to make an adjustment in your time, please email me, and  I will do all I can to accommodate your requests.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks-

Mrs. D


Click here to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conference