Dear Parents,

Several changes have occurred now in our classroom since winter break.  I hope that I can help you understand a few of them.  Thank you for your help and support in advance.  Most of these changes are to help your child with their future transition to another learning environment.  If you have any questions, please feel free to stop in and talk with me.

The first thing to change is dealing with late work.  The children were given an opportunity to figure out what strategies help them keep up with their work requirements during the first four months of the school year.  Now, if a child is late with a piece of work, they will write a late work contract indicating what they will finish at home in the evening.  I ask that they work at least a half hour on this work.  Please allow them the time to complete this work; however, please allow them to take care of this responsibility by themselves.  I would like you to sign the note whether they finish the work or not.  It just assures me that you have seen the note.  I have included a special comment space at the bottom for any information that you might like me to know; i.e. an unexpected occurrence kept them from finishing their work, or your child chose to watch t.v. rather than completing the work that was contracted.  If the latter is true, a consequence will come the following morning at school.  If this becomes a consistent issue, we will then come together to further SUPPORT them.

The next change is with experiential homework.  Since our children do not experience homework unless they are late, I will be sending some type of homework home with them twice a week on Wednesday and Friday.  The reason for this homework is to help them become familiar with this routine and figure out how they can become successful with the process of taking the work home, doing the work and then getting that work back to school; turning it in for credit.  The process is the focus for this special homework.  It is not intended to practice a particular concept.  They should not have to work on it any longer than a half of an hour.  If it is something that they are having trouble with, please put a little note on the bottom letting me know this and I will work with them on it the next day.

The final change that will take place is only for the 6th year children.  They will be working on some form of math on 5 out of the 7 days per week.  Every Monday I will be giving them a Math Response Sheet.  I am asking them to focus on math that they feel needs extra attention.  The requirement is that they spend at least 15 minutes on problems that they create.  They may also ask you to create these problems for them.  On the Response sheet, I would like them to indicate what type of math problems that they worked on for that day and to comment on if it is still a problem, where they are having difficulty or if it is getting easier for them.  I will give them their first sheet today and it will be due the following Monday.  Since next Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, they will bring this first one in on the 19th.  Please sign the top of the sheet indicating that you are aware that they have completed this assignment for the week.  Of course this is in addition to the experiential homework that they bring home twice a week and any late work that they may be finishing.  I am hoping that this will not only help them with any math application work, but I also want to start preparing them for their next educational environment where homework could come home every night.

Evenings can get very busy and over scheduled.  Please allow your child enough time in his/her day to fulfill these requirements.  It will help them in the future.

Our annual ski trip is coming up soon.  It is on Friday, January 22nd.  We have scheduled to go to Timber Ridge near Kalamazoo.  Because it is almost a 2 hour drive, we are leaving school at 8:00 a.m.  We will be arriving back at school at, or near, 5:00 p.m.  Children should arrive between 7:30 and 7:50.  If you can drive for this field trip, please send word in with the note that will be coming home in the next couple days.

Again, thank you for all your support.

Sharon