January, 2016
Dear Team 19 Parents,
It’s hard to believe that we are approaching the 100th Day of School in just eight short school days! As we begin the second half of the year, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of your child’s education. It is a truly a team effort and I am grateful for all that you have, and continue to do for your child.
In reflecting over the past first two quarters, I am amazed at the progress and all the children have learned! In Literacy, they have learned how to interpret characters and read non-fiction text, studying and presenting information on two extreme weather topics. As we embark upon our next reading unit of study, they will not only be learning about The American Revolution, but they will continue to develop their skills of reading non-fiction text. This will tie in nicely with our next writing unit of study, in which students will be writing an informational piece on an event/subtopic of the American Revolution. Other pieces of writing your child has worked through this year include a personal narrative and an opinion piece.
In Math, students have worked on place value, addition and subtraction of whole numbers, multiplication of one and two digit numbers and are working on division. It’s so important that students continue to practice their math facts for automaticity. This will help them as we prepare for our upcoming units in math which include fractions and mixed numbers. Students continue to develop their spatial-temporal and fact fluency through ST Math. Please be sure your child is also going on ST Math a couple of times a week at home to continue to develop these skills.
In the content areas, students have studied The 5 Themes of Geography, reviewed mapping skills, and have begun to study the history of New Hampshire. In Science we reviewed The Scientific Method, studied the water cycle and weather and are beginning our unit on Rocks and Minerals.
Students have also been busy honing their typing skills as we pilot a typing program for the district.
Today, I conferenced with each of your children, regarding their report cards. We talked about how grades are earned and how work habits and behavior scores are derived. We also did some goal setting for the remainder of the year. I have included the goals we’ve set and hope that you will take some time to review the goals with your child. Please sign and return with your child’s report card. I will make a copy for you to keep at home as a reminder for your child to keep working towards those goals.
We’ve also talked about Growth Mindset and how important it is to all of us. If you’d like to know more about Growth Mindset, the following link can give you some great information. I showed the video in class and the kids really enjoyed it and seemed to understand the theory behind the concept.
https://youtu.be/2zrtHt3bBmQ?list=PLIChyVOpASG3UTHeoU-z6GuwyAFIFfpFj
I am so proud of how much Team 19 has already accomplished and look forward to what is to come over the second half of the year. As always, thank you for your continued support. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Kristen M. McLaughlin, M.Ed.