For Wednesday

On Wednesday we took our spelling test, more and more students are passing it. I hope we can reach 100% on that. We are still working on our five paragraph essay. This is really a struggle for the students, but it is something they can do. There is a writing test in December administered by the state and our 4th graders have to know how to do this. Our goal is that by December our students can write a five paragraph essay without a second thought. Currently we are doing one paragraph each day. Our new math program is finally starting to move forward. As teachers we are trying to find out how to meet the state requirements - it is a new experience for all of us, but I believe the students are moving along fine. One of the new parts of the new program is how we grade students. A one in any area means the student has not understood how to do the requirement. A two means the students are beginning to understand and able to do the requirement. A three means they have it. A four is rare, it means, not only do students get the concept, but they are a few steps even beyond understanding. This trimester students will be graded normally, we think. But we are striving to find ways to correct to meet this new goal. If you have any questions about this, we hope to have a flier out to you soon. I will be gone on Thursday and Friday, and that should be the end of my missing school days.