Dear Parents,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that your students are rested, ready, and rarin’ to get back on the learning trail.

We’re starting a few new things with the beginning of a new year (and a new quarter as the 2^nd quarter ends tomorrow ~ Tuesday, Jan. 6).

Beginning tomorrow, students will be receiving an orange Take-home folder each week. The folders will contain graded papers, tests, and any notes or messages I may need to send to you. Each folder contains a Parent Signature sheet (with space for comments). There are also extra pages for notes (to be used by either parents or the teacher). After this week, the folders will go out each Monday and will be due back by Thursday of each week so that they can be ready for me to use over the weekend.

We will now take two weeks to cover each Wordly Wise lessons, as many of the students are struggling with mastering 15 new vocabulary words each week. Students will be responsible for learning half of the Wordly Wise words each week, as well as 6 or 7 5^th Grade “No Excuses” words. (These are words that all 5^th graders should already know how to spell and how to use correctly.) However, there will still be weekly spelling-vocabulary tests. Students will be responsible for knowing how to correctly spell, define and/or use the first 8 Wordly Wise Words the first week (as well as that week’s “No Excuses” words). For the lesson’s second week, students will be tested on correct spelling, definitions & usage for that week’s “No Excuses” words, as well as for the lesson’s last 7 Wordly Wise words. The comprehensive Vocabulary test will be administered at the end of the lesson’s 2^nd week, so students will also need to review the definitions and usage for all of the Wordly Wise lesson’s 15 words.

One last new thing: Math tutoring will now take place on a Thursday afternoons, from 3:45 - 4:45.

I’d also like to remind those who are participating in the Jekyll Island field trip that the 2^nd deposit is due this Friday, Jan. 9.

Finally, I’d appreciate if you could update me on any changes to your student’s contact information (new address, phone number, email address, etc.) Thanks.

(My apologies for the late posting. I left school with a migraine and was unable to post until now.)