CROSS – MAY – DROELLE TEAM

Happy Thanksgiving from ALL of us. Wishing you a happy and safe holiday.

Don’t forget the last day to donate can goods is Tuesday 11/29.

We will be starting our unit on exploration this Friday. We will be discussing the reasons for exploration and the impact those discoveries had on the world.

This week starts MEAP testing. It is important that students get a good night sleep and eat breakfast. Please remember that scheduling doctor appt. for these days is very disruptive. We will also have a different schedule on T/W of this week and next. Those students who are sensitive to schedule changes may feel the impact of this. Thank you for your help.

Students have several different Scholastic book order catalogs from which to choose this month.  All orders are due October 14. I encourage you to order online whenever possible–it’s easier for you, no money or forms need to be sent to school, and the best part is that for each online order we receive a free book for our classroom library!  Our classroom online code is: GQPNY. Thanks for your order!

Reading is essential to students’ success.  This week I’ve introduced two different reading incentive programs to the kids on our team: Book-It! and Michigan Reads. Each child was given a reading log to track their reading minutes for October for Book-It.  We also learned how to navigate to the Michigan Reads! website and learned how to log books we read into the system for a free ticket to a Red Wings hockey game.  Ask your child about these wonderful opportunities!

Hello,

Tardies – Since school started we have had many students late to class in the morning. The morning homeroom period is an extremely important part of the day. Morning announcements are read, our agenda for the day is discussed, important announcements for our team are given. It really puts our students into a scramble when they are late. They do not have time to properly start their day (including filling out their homework book). We know emergencies arise, but that is an exception not the norm. We are seeing morning tardies as more of a norm. Thank you for your support with this.

Absences – As we all know…getting a worksheet when you return is not the same as being there for the instruction. It puts a hole in the understanding of the concept or learning that is happening.  Obviously if a student is ill they should be at home and recovering, but stomach aches are a common reaction to new things at this age (especially on Mondays:)). Please try not to schedule appt. during the school day unless it is unavoidable. (12-1:40) is a time that would be best to pull them out and bring them back if it is necessary. Thank you for understanding.

This week we started our first unit in Social Studies. We will be learning about the native people of North America and how their climate, region, and resources effected their culture. Any “show and tell” type items from home are welcomed, just as long as they are appropriate for school.

Don’t forget MONDAY is picture day.

WEDNESDAY is CURRICULUM NIGHT at 6:30 pm. This is a parent event.

We will be getting starting our normal schedule and starting content this week.

 What a great first week!!! We are getting to know each other, mastering names,

 opening lockers, and getting to know our schedule.

Applause for everyone.