Friday, August 22, 2008
It has been a great start to the new school year. I'm enjoying getting to know everyone, and we are all looking forward to having Lucca McKay join us on Monday.

Students took a multiplication math facts test today and will get the results on Monday. Mastery of math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division from 1-12) is not essential to success in life, but it will significantly improve your child's success in math from this point on (including middle and high school). If your child has not yet demonstrated mastery of basic math facts, I strongly urge you to work with your child to come up with a plan to work towards mastery. The website that complements our math textbook, www.harcourtschool.com (password: Andrews) has some very useful tools to help students practice math facts.

This week's Friday folder has a field trip permission form that I'd like returned by Wednesday, August 27. Our class will take several walking field trips to the creek behind the school throughout the year (I always walk the creek the day before to check things out--contact me if you have any questions or concerns), and this field trip permission form will cover all of those trips.

I look forward to seeing everyone at Back to School Night on Thursday, August 28--a flier will go home early next week to let you know the specific times for each grade level. This will be a minimum day for students, who will be dismissed at 12:30 P.M.

Have a great weekend!